A blazing start from Gunnedah’s third graders proved to be a false dawn last Saturday, as they slumped to a hefty six-wicket loss to City United at Chaffey Park.
Gunnedah lost only six wickets in its 40 overs but a total of 134 simply wasn’t enough, as City United bettered it in just 21 overs.
Gunnedah’s run rate nosedived at vital times, with the final 6.3 overs containing a miserable 15 runs including 10 from the second-last over and two from the final delivery.
The first over yielded 16 runs, after Gunnedah skipper Nick Herring chose to bat first on a pitch with very uneven bounce.
A first-up wide was followed by a no-ball, before Brad Gander struck the second legitimate ball to the boundary.
Another no-ball was followed by successive fours and a single, but the tempo quickly changed as the second over was the first of nine maidens in the innings.
Josh Green departed without scoring in the third over, before Paddy Paul scored two runs off his first delivery.
The run rate was kept in check thereafter, despite 12 runs from the first three balls of the ninth over including eight runs from byes.
Gander’s dismissal for 40 off 52 balls left Gunnedah 2-71 in the 17th over, before Paul batted out the remaining overs.
Paul carved out a patient 55 not out from 114 balls, while none of the players below him could register double figures.
The 35th and 36th overs were maidens, with the latter also containing the fifth wicket of the innings.
Paul posted his half-century with a boundary in the 39th over, before Gunnedah lost its sixth and final wicket from the first ball of the final over.
Pavan kumar Vadde had wonderful figures of 8-4-8-1 while Hudson Clunas was the most expensive of a very tidy line-up of eight bowlers as he finished with 2-26 from five overs.
Herring gave his team a glimmer of hope when he bowled Brian Morphett with a ball that barely rose above the ground, leaving City United 1-2 after one over.
Ashley Watt hammered the final ball of the sixth over to the boundary before opener Charles Bickersteth took control in the following over. He dispatched a no-ball for three, before clouting the final two balls for four.
Twenty-four runs in two overs took City United to 1-70 at the 12-over mark, before Watt departed with the total at 83 in the 15th over.
Bickersteth raced to 70 at better than a run per ball, before he and Asitha Jayawardana were bowled by Gander in the 20th over with victory just 18 runs away.
The match ended as 21 runs came from the 21st over, with Max Mcilrick smashing 20 runs from four fours and two twos.
The last scheduled delivery of the over was a no-ball which levelled the scores, and provided a free hit which Mcilrick struck to the boundary.
Having slipped to equal-last on the ladder, Gunnedah heads to Riverside 7 this Saturday for T20 clashes with Bective East and West Tamworth.
City United 4-138 (Charles Bickersteth 70, Max Mcilrick 32 not out; Brad Gander 2-16) defeated Gunnedah 6-134 (Paddy Paul 55 not out, Brad Gander 40; Hudson Clunas 2-26) by 6 wickets.
