Last Saturday was another one of those days when nothing seemed to go right for Gunnedah’s first grade cricket team, as City United coasted to an eight-wicket victory at Riverside.
Gunnedah scraped together only 80 runs before being all out in 30.2 overs, and then City United needed only 13.1 overs to score the required runs.
Gunnedah opener Justin Carter could hold his head high after scoring more than half of the visiting team’s total, but none of his teammates could reach double figures.
The visitors fielded virtually a second-string side as Andy Mack, Henry Johns, Ben Irwin and Izaak Merlehan were among the missing players.
The first wicket fell from the fourth ball of the third over, before Sam Doubleday hit the first boundary just two balls later.
It was Doubleday’s sole scoring stroke, and a sub-50 total looked possible when three wickets in nine balls left Gunnedah 6-29 in the 15th over.
There was a brief scoring burst as 14 runs came in the space of six balls, and the seventh wicket partnership produced 25 runs before Nick Herring departed.
Another 21 runs were added for the eighth wicket before Ateeq-ur Rahman exited, and then Carter’s brave knock ended just three balls later.
Carter found the boundary six times while he faced 83 balls for his 44.
All five City United bowlers shared the wickets, while Nathan Clark had the best figures after capturing the final wicket.
The first over of the run chase was a nightmare for Gunnedah as a first-ball boundary to William Doran was followed by nine wides, including seven from successive balls.
The over cost 17 runs, while amazingly there were also three dot balls.
Keaton Walters produced a run-out in the eighth over with the total on 44, and the other wicket fell in the 11th over when the same fielder held a catch.
City United 2-81 (William Doran 29; Ash White 1-40) defeated Gunnedah 80 (Justin Carter 44; Nathan Clark 3-9, Andrew Baines 3-10) by eight wickets.
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