Winning the toss was virtually the only thing that went Gunnedah’s way in last Sunday’s MA Connolly Cup clash at Wolseley Park, as Tamworth crushed the home side by eight wickets.
There were 24 sundries while none of the players reached 20 in Gunnedah’s disappointing total of 77, and then Tamworth was untroubled in the run chase.
Not many regular first graders made themselves available for Gunnedah despite having a bye the previous day.
Gunnedah’s line-up contained Ken Walters and his son Keaton and daughter Marnee, as well as Darrin Cameron and his son Jonah while Tamworth fielded three father-and-son duos.
Ken was the only one of the Walters trio to trouble the scorers, after Keaton was first to depart when he drove a catch into the covers in the second over with the total on eight.
Gunnedah’s first 11 runs comprised a mixture of wides, leg byes, byes and a no-ball, before Ash White scored the first run off the bat from the opening delivery of the fifth over.
White had a couple of lucky escapes in the seventh over before Doubleday hit the only two fours of the innings in the following over.
Boosted by 14 sundries, a score of 1-40 in the 12th over gave the illusion of mild strength until Charley Pickens’s third delivery rattled Doubleday’s stumps.
White struck the only six of the match, and soon afterwards he miscued a pull to mid-on where a simple catch was fumbled.
White’s luck expired with the final ball of the next over when he edged a cross-batted shot to the wicketkeeper, making the score 3-52.
Braith Winsor was unluckily bowled by a skidding delivery with the total still on 52, and the next wicket fell at 58 when Josh Langdon hit a catch to mid-off.
Fourteen runs were added before the final five wickets fell for just five runs, with Simon Stubbs and Lachlan Mason doing the damage.
Ken Walters unluckily edged a prod which then flew off his shoulder and lobbed to a fielder on the offside, before Jye Hicks chipped a catch to a diving Samuel Davis at mid-wicket.
Jonah Cameron lobbed a catch to mid-on, before Stubbs twice knocked the off-stump back.
Gunnedah lasted only 27.5 overs, before Tamworth took 20.2 overs to knock off the required runs.
All 21 sundries in the run chase were wides, with White conceding seven sundries from three illegal deliveries before a legitimate delivery was bowled.
Tamworth was 1-39 when Darrin Cameron gloved a catch down the legside off his son’s bowling, although the dismissal was doubtful as the batter claimed the ball hit his back pad.
Winsor’s first delivery sent Archie McMaster’s bails flying with the total on 59, before Mason was dropped with victory only nine runs away.
Mason finished the match with only the second boundary of the innings when he lofted the ball towards the playground.
With a washout and last Sunday’s hefty defeat behind them, Gunnedah will host Moree at Wolseley Park this Sunday.
Tamworth 2-78 (Lachlan Mason 33 not out; Jonah Cameron and Braith Winsor 1-12) defeated Gunnedah 77 (Sam Doubleday 18, Ash White 16; Simon Stubbs 3-5, Charley Pickens 3-9, Lachlan Mason 2-6) by 8 wickets.
