Gunnedah’s U11 representative cricketers finished their season with a respectable 14-run loss to Tamworth Blue at Riverside 7 last Sunday.
The hosts overcame a horror start to finish with 4-167 in their 30 overs, before the visiting team fell short despite being well in contention for most of the run chase.
The sundries count was similar for each team, with both teams conceding 27 runs in illegitimate bowling.
Gunnedah’s decision to bowl first looked good when a wicket each to Bailey Irwin and Oscar De Groot left Tamworth Blue reeling at 2-3 after five overs.
Oscar Rixon hit 10 runs in the seventh over before Nate Chaffey registered three fours in the 11th over, and then a four to Oscar from the last ball of the 13th over was followed by a four to Nate from the next ball.
This boundary from Nate took him to 31 retired, before the dismissal of Thomas Treloar was followed by Oscar Rixon reaching 33 retired with his sixth four.
Cooper Hammond found the boundary five times in just 19 balls as he sped to 30 retired, and the only remaining wicket came via a run-out in the final over.
Douglas Pengilley struck the last two balls for four to make the run chase just that little bit harder.
Gunnedah skipper Jack Wright gave the visitors a healthy start to the run chase as he scored 22 at a run-a-ball, having struck five fours before he fell in the sixth over with the total on 35.
Rex Plevey raised Gunnedah’s 50 with a four in the ninth over, only to depart in the next over before the scoring rate slowed down.
Oscar De Groot retired for 16 in the 17th over, and Gunnedah fell further behind the required run rate despite 10 runs coming from the 23rd over.
Lachlan Finnerty reached 30 retired, before Bailey struck a four in the 24th over. The following over cost 13 runs, but the final ball also featured a run-out after the batters completed a single.
Forty-one runs were needed from the final five overs, but the task proved too steep.
Another run-out occurred in the 27th over, and then three runs in the 28th over and five in the 29th meant 23 were needed from the final over.
Gunnedah’s hopes died when the third ball of the final over yielded another run-out before a four, two no-balls and a single made the result seem somewhat close.
Gunnedah’s U11s finished the season with three wins and three losses while Gunnedah’s U13s finished with two wins and four losses, having forfeited against Inverell last Sunday.
Tamworth Blue 4-167 (Sundries 34, Oscar Rixon 33 retired, Nate Chaffey 31 retired, Cooper Hammond 30 retired; Oscar De Groot 1-2, Bailey Irwin and Jack Wright 1-5) defeated Gunnedah 5-153 (Lachlan Finnerty 30 retired, Jack Wright 22; Oscar Rixon 1-5) by 14 runs.
