Saturday marked yet another adjusted round in this year’s Gunnedah District Cricket Association (GDCA) season. 

It saw Albion and Court House, the grand finalists from the 2020-21 season, face off in the 4pm time slot for round six. Due to inclement weather to start the campaign, three of the first six rounds were declared draws.

Defending premiers Albion, won the toss and elected to bat, sending captain Brad Cady and Bailey Lennox onto the field as they managed 30 runs before the fall of Cady’s wicket to Oscar King.

On the very next ball, Andy Mack was sent straight back to the stands after being caught behind. King finished the over with two wickets with only three runs conceded.

Ash White was the standout performer for Albion bringing a sense of security in the batting lineup. He entered the field with the team at 3-52.

“My mindset going into bat was for the team to get at least 100 which we got in the end,” White said.

“We needed to set a target that was half-competitive.

“We needed to turn the strike over as much as possible. There was plenty of gaps in the field and it was important to get at least six runs an over.

“I just kept telling everyone as they were coming out to bat to not smash it because there was heaps of time left.”

While the aim wasn’t to score as many boundaries as possible, White managed to score two fours and two sixes on his way to Albion’s top score. He hit the best shot of the day, a massive six that went down the ground.

“It was in the slot, I felt like it was now or never,” White said.

“I was thinking if I miss it, I’m out but it paid off and the luck was on my side.”

White’s batting along with 26 runs from Lennox, saw Albion set a total of 103 runs for Court House to chase down.

Although it wasn’t a strong target set, White once again stepped up for the team, picking up two wickets in four overs bowled but he has been disappointed with some performances this season.

“I feel like I haven’t bowled up to my usual standards this year, I’ve had a fair bit of luck I reckon,” he said.

“Our fielding has been unreal, we’ve got a pretty good bowling lineup as well.”

Despite not being confident in his performances, White finished with figures of 2-9, displaying his low economy rate.

Similar to White, Lennox also contributed with the bat and ball and recorded figures of 3-20 to go alongside with his 26 runs. 

James Mack was also a standout picking up two wickets for 15 runs against.

Court House began its innings quite strong as Oscar King and Jake Urquhart opened the batting.

King was dismissed for 13 after being bowled by Mark Ewington but was impressive early on, smashing one six and one four.

Urquhart followed shortly after, as he was sent packing on 18. Lennox picked up the wicket – caught and bowled. 

It then saw a major batting collapse from the remaining batters, only managing 32 runs between the nine players.

Mitchell Herden picked up the final wicket as Court House was all out for 70 runs, 33 shy of Albion’s target.

It has been a disappointing start to the season for Court House which is still chasing its first win in what has been a disrupted campaign.

A stark difference to Albion which remains undefeated while battling limited numbers.

“It’s good to be undefeated but when it comes to finals, it doesn’t mean anything,” White said.

“We’ve been struggling with low numbers but I don’t think it’s just our club, it’s cricket in general in Gunnedah.

“No matter who plays we seem to stand up and deliver, we just bond really as a team.”

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