Second graders gain upper hand

A great all-round showing from Jonah Cameron put Gunnedah on top at the halfway stage of the second grade cricket contest with Bective East at Kitchener Park.

Cameron top-scored with 33 in Gunnedah’s first-innings total of 173, before his brilliant spell of 4-6 in five overs reduced Bective East to 6-46 at stumps last Saturday.

At first it appeared that the hosts could be in for a miserable day, as they were two wickets down for a mere four runs early in the 10th over after three runs came from wides.

Opening batter Josh Green scored a patient 27 before his dismissal made the score 5-77, and then the highest partnership of the innings featured Jonah Cameron and his dad Darrin.

The younger Cameron’s first two scoring shots were a six and a four, and he subsequently cleared the boundary two more times.

The older Cameron hit a four and a six in his 20, before Todd Burgess dismissed the duo in quick succession as Gunnedah slipped from 5-114 to 7-117.

Burgess also claimed the next two wickets to leave the hosts 9-140, but Ken Walters and Peter McCormack frustrated the visitors with a last-wicket stand of 33.

Bective East opener Craig Baker gained an early reprieve when two fielders collided and consequently bungled a catch.

Baker soon smacked a four and a six, before skying the last ball of the over to mid-on to depart for 15 off eight balls and make the score 1-29 after three overs.

After starting with a wide, Jonah Cameron struck with his second legitimate delivery when he had Burgess caught by Green.

James McGowan rattled Henry Haling’s stumps in the next over, before a catch was dropped off the same bowler as the score became 3-42 instead of 4-40.

The reprieve was not costly as McGowan held a sharp catch off Jonah Cameron, before Liam Griffiths survived a confident appeal for caught behind.

Cameron won two appeals for lbw from successive balls, before Keaton Walters peppered Griffiths with some short-pitched deliveries in the 15th and final over of the day.

Gunnedah will seek a strong first-innings lead this Saturday, and push for an outright victory.

Gunnedah 173 (Jonah Cameron 33, Josh Green 27; Todd Burgess 4-21, Cooper Jones 2-21) leads Bective East 6-46 (Jonah Cameron 4-6, James McGowan 2-25) by 127 runs on the first innings.