3rd Grade Report vs Northern Districts - Round 11 |
Howitt astonishingly won his first toss of the season and opted to bat at Asquith. The first hour of the game belonged to ND's as we lost 3 wickets for no runs with the score on 26. Colley and Tait began to rebuild, taking the score to 67, until Kris lost his wicket on 23 after batting for 75 minutes. Tait fell soon after, top scoring with 25. A 'measured' Tom Carruthers adds valuable runs to the total The steady loss of wickets meant our innings could not gain any momentum or rhythm to it. Pascal de l'Epine chipped in with 21, but again a third grade batsman failed to reach the magical number of 30 in two consecutive rounds. Tom Carruthers batted in a measured manner and was able to add valuable runs to our total. The innings came to a close with the score on 145 and Tom on 22 not out. There were some signs of things starting to come together, however the continuous loss of wickets meant that we could not link a quality partnership together. We were in need of a big score from the top order to anchor our innings. With 14 overs remaining on Day 1, and the Asquith wicket keeping low, Effeney, Carruthers, and Howitt all toiled hard for their wickets, and with the score at 3/18 at stumps, there was a glimmer of hope that this match could be ours. On the resumption of Day 2, we kept fighting to try and swing the match back into our favour, and the with the score at 6/88, we were still a chance, however a strong partnership saw the Rangers pass our total 6 down. Howitt was the standout taking 4/22 off 21. Our bowling was a positive that we can take away from the match, yet our total of 145 was never enough runs to work with. We are currently sitting in 6th place on table, with many teams hot on our tail. This forthcoming round against Penrith is a must win for Thirds to avoid the chaos of the middle table. We are not far away from our potential. A batsman to kick on after a start and partnerships are crucial so we can take the 6 points in our next round. Tom Beverley |
A shakey batting performance made it hard for the bowlers
