A man-of-the-match showing from Ant Spruce inspired his CYMS side to a comfortable, 34-run victory over the powerhouse Lithgow Lightning in its Royal Hotel Cup opener at Wade Park on Friday night.
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Spruce, an always reliable middle-order bat and part-time tweaker, notched an unbeaten half-ton from five as the green and golds piled on 5-152 from their 20 overs, before taking two wickets as well to help restrict the Lightning to 9-118 in reply.
Batting first, stand-in skipper Matt Baker (3) and marquee player Mick Delaney (0) departed early to the leave the green and golds struggling at 2-6, but youngster Tom Belmonte (21) and Gavin Bridge (28) added 50 for the third wicket, before Spruce entered the fray.
He notched up 58 not out, linking with Grant Koch (24 not out) in an unbeaten, 70-run sixth wicket stand to propel CYMS to 5-152.
Michael Gant was Lithgow’s best bowler, taking 3-23.
The Lightning didn’t start well, losing hard-hitting opener Ryan Gurney (4) early, but Brett Sheehan (34) and Dallas Tilley (16) added 44 for the second scalp to give Lithgow a sniff.
Through the middle overs of their chase Joel Gurney (21) and Gant (13) did their best to keep the scoreboard ticking over but with CYMS bowling superbly the Lightning got bogged down.
Needing quick runs the Lightning bats were forced to hit out, resulting in the side losing 4-9 at the end to finish 9-118 in reply.
Chris Novak continued his good form, taking 3-19 while Spruce (2-27) and Ed Wright (2-7) both took multiple scalps too.
CYMS will enter next month’s blockbuster with Bathurst City – which has all the hallmarks of a grand final preview – full of confidence, while the Lightning will face the Redbacks in a must-win contest at the end of January.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
