After having North Coastal on the ropes twice in their opening game of the McDonald's Country Cricket NSW Colts Championship, Western failed to ram home their advantage and slumped to a disappointing, tournament-opening loss.
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New-ball duo Tanvir Singh and Harry McGregor left North Coastal reeling at 3-27 after an inspired opening spell and then returned to the attack to squash a fourth-wicket resurrection from Tim Martin (68) and Jared Humphreys (56).
Singh (5-42) and McGregor (3-71) combined to spark a middle-order collapse to the tune of 5-53, leave the visitors reeling at 8-177 and reclaim momentum, which Connor Cook (49) and Hayden Ensby (29) then wrestled back.
We weren't in the contest for the full 100 overs.
- Western's Tanvir Singh
They added a rapid 52 for the ninth wicket before McGregor and Singh finally dismissed them, although they both took some stick at the end too, with North Coastal eventually posting a competitive 244.
That became more-than-competitive after Western's top order faltered, only Tom Coady (26) made an impact as they limped to 4-57 before eventually being bowled out for 223..
Lachie Coyte (38) and Ben Wheeler (34) launched a rescue mission in the middle order which Cooper Brien (32 not out) and Hugh Middleton (23) tried to finish off at the back end, but they ultimately ran out of time and wickets.
Naturally Singh's five-wicket haul - he picked up a run out and made 21 as well - was one of the lone highlights for Western, but the now Sydney-based quick said a victory would've been far sweeter.
"It would have felt much better with a win. Personal achievements are nice. The focus is on winning the game and trying to get that five-for as a bonus," Singh said.
"We didn't really build partnerships today ... and we weren't in the contest for the full 100 overs."
In Monday's other tournament-opening games Central Coast (3-150) hammered Illawarra (149), Newcastle (3-172) easily accounted for Riverina (171) while Central Northern needed 23 from the final 18 balls, with two wickets left, to defeat ACT-Southern Districts (7-259) at time of publication.
Tuesday's games are all 50-overs-a-side with Western facing ACT-Southern Districts from 10am at Morse Park 1 before the Twenty20 stage of the tournament on Wednesday, and Thursday's final, one-day game.
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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.
