One of the more dangerous batting line-ups is squaring off against the most fearsome bowling groups in town.
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The in-form batsman of the competition going up against a big, new fast bowler with premier-grade credentials.
The top dogs taking on the underdogs.
On paper, it looked like Saturday’s clash between Orange City and Cavaliers would be a mouth-watering clash.
However, it was all about “boring cricket” at the Country Club oval as the Warriors tried to “ground the Cavs down” in the words of skipper Craig Rogan.
“They dug themselves into a hole, we got a few early wickets but they were batting slow and dug in to get to the 50 overs,” Rogan said.
He was too good for a couple of the batsmen, he did really well.
- City captain Craig Rogan
“We really tried to tie them up and play, well, boring cricket really.”
The Warriors kept Cavaliers to just 164, and limiting the impact of danger man Josh Doherty – fresh of a 102 last week – to just 10 runs with the bat.
Rogan said he was especially proud of his side’s efforts in trying conditions.
“There was a lot of nuisance rain coming down and with a wet ball and a wet outfield the bowlers did a really good job,” he said.
“We only dropped the one catch and we had a few mis-fields, but it was like fielding with a bar of soap.”
He said debutant Taylor Beatty did well in his first game of cricket in Orange.
“There were a few nerves going in … and it took a while for him to find his rhythm but he was too good for a couple of the batsmen, he did really well,” Rogan said.
Beatty also took his first wicket for the Warriors, knocking over Hugh Middleton in the 44th over, but it was Brett Causer (3-31), Shaun Grenfell (2-9) and Ed Morrish (2-26) who did the damage with the ball to restrict Cavs to 164 all out.
The Warriors lost wickets at regular intervals to get to 5-74, with Josh Doherty proving you can’t keep a class player down for long by taking 3-36 from 10 overs, and High Middleton bowling into the rough to nab 2-24 from eight.
The fall of the fifth wicket saw Tim Low and Taylor Beatty come together in the middle, and from then on it was never in doubt, with Lowe finishing with 53 not out and Beatty an unbeaten 32 as the pair put on 93 to cruise past Cavs’ total with more than 10 overs to spare.
“Taylor’s a class act and Lowey was hitting them as good as he’s ever hit them,” Rogan said.
“We bat right down so we weren’t nervous at all, watching Taylor and Lowey bat was nice, we got there with 11 overs to spare.”
“The performance of the bowlers in difficult conditions was the standout. We didn’t give them a chance.”