Targets of 169 and 152 were beyond reach of Gunnedah’s second grade cricketers in T20 fixtures at Riverside last Saturday.

Gunnedah lost by 69 runs against Bective East, before West Tamworth downed Gunnedah by 38 runs.

Gunnedah won the toss and chose to bowl in the first encounter, before losing the toss and being asked to bowl in the following fixture.

Bective East’s openers put on 36 runs before a run out brought about the opening wicket in the sixth over.

The second wicket stand produced 84 runs, with Henry Haling and Shahid Khalfan lifting the run rate as 36 runs were added in three overs at one stage.

Khalfan exited with four overs remaining, before 14 runs in the 17th over were followed by a six from the second ball of the 18th over.

Bective East plunged to 6-143 as four wickets fell for two runs in six balls, with Lachlan King striking with successive balls before Brad Gander captured two wickets in three balls.

A late onslaught produced 23 runs in the final over, with Luke Paterson hitting the first ball for four before three runs from wides were followed by two consecutive sixes.

Gunnedah was never in the hunt, as six wickets fell for only 28 runs in the first seven overs before the tenth over contained 15 runs.

The seventh wicket fell at 53, and then Lachlan King struck a quick 19 in a 24-run partnership before Zafar Mukhtar fell with the total on 83.

The final wicket fell from the second-last ball of the allotted overs, when an appeal for lbw was upheld.

Five Bective East bowlers shared the wickets, with Craig Baker the standout with 4-13 from three overs.

In the next contest, Gunnedah’s Braith Winsor put in a fine all-round display as he captured 4-21 from four overs and then scored 34.

Wests kept the run rate ticking over, as Aaron Condrick scored 44 while three of his teammates made 20s in the total of 8-151.

Gunnedah again never looked like threatening the target, as Winsor’s 34 and Mukhtar’s 12 were the only double-figure scores from the bat while there were also 21 sundries.

The Wests opening bowlers did brilliantly, with Ben Schubach taking 4-23 while Colin Sparey nabbed 2-12 as they bowled four overs each.

Gunnedah returns to Riverside this Saturday for T20 clashes with South Tamworth and Old Boys.

Bective East 6-168 (Henry Haling 64, Shahid Khalfan 38; Lachlan King 3-45, Brad Gander 2-19) defeated Gunnedah 99 (Zafar Mukhtar 23; Craig Baker 4-13, Harry Morrow 2-11, William Burke 2-14) by 69 runs.

West Tamworth 8-151 (Aaron Condrick 44, Mitch Lincoln 28; Braith Winsor 4-21) defeated Gunnedah 113 (Braith Winsor 34; Ben Schubach 4-23, Colin Sparey 2-12) by 38 runs.