First graders routed for 50 as former local takes six

Former Gunnedah cricketer Hayden Baker wreaked havoc at Wolseley Park last Saturday as Old Boys achieved a five-wicket win against the home side in the Tamworth first grade cricket competition.

Baker snared six wickets for 16 runs from seven overs as the hosts capitulated for just 50 in 19.5 overs, before the visitors spluttered to the target in 12.3 overs.

The result could easily have been different had Gunnedah not spilled five catches, or if the home side had made another 20 or 30 runs.

The Old Boys team had four former Gunnedah-based cricketers: Baker, Mitchell Swain, and the father-and-son combination of Eddie and Adam McGuirk.

Sent in to bat on a green pitch, Gunnedah lost eight wickets to spin bowling before all five wickets in the run chase were to pace bowling.

Gunnedah had 16 runs on the board when the first wicket fell to paceman Will Howard, before Baker captured a wicket with his first delivery.

The hosts fell to 3-18 in Baker’s second over when Gunnedah skipper Andy Mack advanced down the pitch and edged the ball onto his stumps.

Will Ford edged Howard for the only four of the innings, before lofting

Baker for the only six of the match.

Two balls after clearing the boundary, Ford edged Baker to first slip to make the score 4-34 in the 13th over.

Another three runs were added before Nick Millar was bowled, and then four wickets fell with the total on 46.

Izaak Merlehan was caught at long-on off Baker, before Bevan Flanagan was disastrously run out. Paballo

Mogoera rattled Jack Hayes’s stumps, and then Baker nabbed his final wicket when he bowled Jye Hicks.

Andrew Osmond was the last to go when he edged a catch to the wicketkeeper.

The total would have been less had there not been 10 sundries, including eight runs from wides and one from a no-ball.

A miracle win for Gunnedah was possible as Old Boys fell to 2-0 after four balls, with Adam McGuirk caught at slip and Lawson Shepherd caught behind.

Another slips catch gave Ateeq-ur Rahman his third wicket which made the score 3-11, before Merlehan held a catch at short mid-wicket off Millar with the total at 28.

Missed chances hurt Gunnedah, however, with Harrison Hamilton vitally reprieved early in his innings.

Baker was required to bat as Millar hit the top of Mogoera’s off-stump with a great delivery which made the score 5-31 in the eighth over.

Sloppy fielding enabled Baker to register a four, before the bowler and wicketkeeper dropped a catch each from successive balls with the total on 41.

Hamilton polished off the remaining 10 runs from the first three balls of the following over, with a four to mid-wicket followed by a two and a four behind square leg.

Old Boys 5-51 (Harrison Hamilton 21 not out; Ateeq-ur Rahman 3-20, Nick Millar 2-21) defeated Gunnedah 50 (Will Ford 16; Hayden Baker 6-16, Paballo Mogoera 2-2) by five wickets.