A wicket from the first ball of last Saturday’s second grade cricket contest at Kitchener Park spelt doom for Gunnedah, as West Tamworth went on to win by eight wickets.
Nobody reached 20 as the home side crumbled for 74 in 24.1 overs, before the visiting team cruised beyond the target in 13 overs.
Gunnedah’s miserable total included a 24-run seventh wicket partnership and a 23-run final wicket partnership, while there were 18 sundries including 13 from wides.
It was Gunnedah’s third straight defeat, after starting the season with a victory.
After winning the toss, Wests captain Mitch Lincoln bowled the opening delivery which pitched outside off-stump and cut back in to hit the top of Jaycob Price’s middle-stump.
The next delivery was a no-ball, and the next two runs came from wides before the third legitimate ball of the third over produced the first run off the bat.
A double-wicket maiden left the hosts 4-17 after 11 overs, before a disastrous run-out was soon followed by another wicket to leave Gunnedah in tatters at 6-24.
The ensuing partnership doubled the total, with Lachlan Swain finding the boundary twice while Darrin Cameron found it once. Swain however departed immediately after hitting his second four, and then Darrin Cameron was dismissed before another run was added.
The total passed 50 before the ninth wicket fell, and then Matthew Heit clubbed three boundaries while top-scoring with 19 not out from 17 balls at number nine.
Having made 13, Swain was the only other Gunnedah player to reach double figures.
Tyhla Condrick finished with 4-6 from 4.1 overs, having claimed the final wicket when he knocked back the middle-stump.
Jonah Cameron and Braith Winsor bowled without luck, as the Wests openers put on 33 runs.
Tyson Palmer struck two fours in the first five overs, and then found the boundary from a copybook square cut in the seventh over. He slashed the next delivery for six over point, and then exited two balls later as Price took a superb diving catch at cover-point.
Keaton Walters began with a bouncer to Lincoln, who pulled the following delivery for four and then crunched the third ball of the over in front of point for another boundary.
Lincoln struck successive sixes off Beau Herbert, and then departed moments later when Langdon held a stinging catch at mid-on.
Only four more balls were bowled, with Aaron Condrick hitting the last of them to the boundary to produce the winning runs.
Gunnedah’s second graders face the North Tamworth Redbacks at Wolseley Park this Saturday, after the Redbacks had their first win of the season last Saturday.
Wests 2-76 (Tyson Palmer 24, Mitch Lincoln 23; Keaton Walters 1-13) defeated Gunnedah 74 (Matthew Heit 19 not out; Tyhla Condrick 4-6, Tyson Palmer 2-15, Mitch Lincoln 2-24) by 8 wickets.
