Fourth grade cricketers falter at final hurdle

Gunnedah’s fourth grade cricketers were beaten but far from disgraced in their maiden Tamworth District Cricket Association (TDCA) grand final appearance last Saturday, as the North Tamworth Redbacks clinched the premiership with a four-wicket victory.

The match was transferred from Riverside 3 to Riverside 8 following rain the previous day, enabling the players to revert to a synthetic surface after Gunnedah’s semi-final victory the previous Saturday was played on a turf pitch at the Riverside complex.

The first Gunnedah team to qualify for a TDCA grand final – the Gunnedah fourths – gained valuable experience with a largely youthful line-up while Norths also fielded a sizable contingent of youngsters.

Gunnedah was dismissed for a poor total of 65, yet had a good chance of producing a spectacular triumph when the Redbacks lost six wickets with just 24 runs on the board.

An unbroken seventh wicket partnership carried Norths across the line, with captain Phillip Judd the decisive figure.

Judd and Gunnedah opener Jono Middlebrook scored 40s as they were the only two players in the game to reach double figures, while the bowlers dominated.

Nine of Gunnedah’s batters tallied only eight runs before the first five Norths batters did likewise.

Gunnedah could have been dismissed for a humiliatingly low total were it not for Jono Middlebrook’s 45, while the Redbacks could also have been similarly embarrassed without their captain’s contribution.

The first ball of the game was a no-ball full-toss which Jono Middlebrook smacked through square leg for four, before he clouted the fifth legitimate ball for another four.

Eleven runs in the first over were followed by six in the second over which featured another boundary to Jono Middlebrook, only for his son Oscar to edge the final ball of the second over to the wicketkeeper.

Jono Middlebrook pulled the first ball of the third over for six before pulling the next ball for four, but then 12 successive dot balls were soon followed by the dismissal of Zoe Fleming when Craig Louwen bent back the middle-stump.

Jono Middlebrook pulled another four before Rhyse Frost opened his account with a four, but then Frost and teammate Tyler Small had their stumps rattled in quick succession as Gunnedah fell to 4-39.

The run rate slowed down before Gunnedah captain Ken Walters slashed a four through cover, but then he and daughter Marnee fell from successive balls with the total on 53.

Ken had his stumps splayed, before Marnee struck a full-toss to mid-wicket where Louwen held a sharp catch.

Martin Ward came desperately close to snaring a hat-trick, as Shane Fleming edged the ball just short of the slips fielder.

Gunnedah crawled to 6-63, before the final four wickets fell for two runs.

Shane Fleming scored just a single off 29 balls before being run out, and then Jono Middlebrook’s innings ended with a half-century in sight when he flat-batted a loose ball to mid-off.

Cooper Whitton skied a full-toss and was caught on the legside, before James Perrett was last to fall when a catch went to mid-off.

Four Norths bowlers nabbed two wickets each while Charles Jensen claimed one, with Gunnedah lasting 28.1 of the allotted 40 overs.

The first ball of the run chase yielded three runs as a tough catch at mid-on went begging, but Frost struck back just two balls later when he sent a delivery into the top of William Constable’s off-stump.

Two of the Redbacks youngsters were tied down, before Oscar Middlebrook was rewarded for bowling an immaculate line and length. In an incredible five-over spell, he captured three wickets while the only run off his bowling was a single from his final delivery.

Norths went from 1-9 to 4-9, with Jono Middlebrook holding a slips catch off his son’s bowling before a run-out was followed by a pull shot which Digby Grimm caught at square leg.

The Redbacks slumped to 5-10 when Oscar Middlebrook found the outside edge of Callum Anderson’s bat, and then the sole run off his bowling left Norths 5-11 after 10 overs.

Thirteen runs came in the next two overs, with Judd clouting a full-toss for a big six before his son was out at the end of a wicket-maiden from Grimm when Shane Fleming held a catch at mid-off.

With his team needing him to step up, Judd batted sensibly as he waited for the loose balls and punished them mercilessly.

The run rate slowed down while Henry Ingall held firm, before Judd pulled two sixes in the 20th over as the Redbacks closed in on victory.

Judd’s team was 6-62 at the 20-over mark, and he finished with 42 not out from 33 balls when Ingall hit the winning runs from the fifth legitimate ball of the 21st over.

Gunnedah captain Ken Walters was upbeat, saying it was a big occasion for the Gunnedah players.

“It wasn’t our best game but it was a valuable learning experience with so many youngsters in the team, and it will benefit them a lot in the long term,” he said.

“The occasion might have gotten to some of them a bit, but I’m proud of their efforts all season and on grand final day.

“Even with a small total to defend, we never gave up.

“Oscar Middlebrook’s bowling was outstanding, while Rhyse Frost and Digby Grimm had their moments too.

“The future of Gunnedah cricket is looking good, and I’m sure it won’t be long before we see more Gunnedah teams make it to the grand final.

“Credit to the Redbacks, who earned their win but at least we made them work for it.”

Walters also thanked the solid number of Gunnedah supporters for making the trek to support the team.

North Tamworth Redbacks 6-66 (Phillip Judd 42 not out; Oscar Middlebrook 3-1, Digby Grimm 1-10) defeated Gunnedah 65 (Jono Middlebrook 45; Callum Anderson 2-1, Martin Ward 2-8) by four wickets.