Terrific two go to bat, save day for Norths
A MASTERCLASS in batting under pressure was given by some of Norths’ more experienced campaigners in a thrilling win over Rovers.
With one wicket in hand and still needing almost 50 runs, a jet-lagged Brendan Smith (26 not out) combined with Mitch Warnock (21 not out) to guide the men in gold to an unlikely victory at Griffiths Park.
Set a target of 202, Norths’ run chase started terribly after a blistering new-ball spell from Rovers gun Brenton Edwards (3-35). Norths first-drop Angus Warnock steadied the ship, returning to form with a crafty 73.
However, Rovers looked destined to win when Warnock became the ninth wicket to fall with the score on 155.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man.
Having only just returned to Cairns days earlier from a European holiday, Smith’s cool head proved an invaluable addition to a Norths side desperate to avoid consecutive defeats.
Rovers dropped a chance to win the game, and Norths hit the winning runs with five balls to spare.
Norths skipper Chris Stanger thought his side was still a chance of winning after Warnock’s dismissal.
“When you lose a batsman who is set on 70-odd, it’s a big point of the game,” Stanger said.
“But some of the field placings by Rovers allowed Smithy and Mitch to play some lowerrisk cricket.
“Having two of our most experienced players at the crease helped us for sure.”
Stanger described Smith, a towering all-rounder, as the “heart and soul” of the team.
“He’s a massive inclusion … one of the hardest-working guys in our team,” he said.
Rovers captain Tom Lever was disappointed, but said there were some positives to take out of the clash ahead of this weekend’s match against Mulgrave.
Opener Rhys Camilleri hit 12 boundaries on his way to an impressive 79 but didn’t receive much support from the Rovers’ middle and lower orders.
“We probably sold ourselves about 20 or 30 runs short … we didn’t make enough in the last 10 overs,” Lever said.
“You can never feel as though you’ve got the game won, especially against a team like Norths.
“We’ve got a decent record against Mulgrave and we’ve got to be confident going into every game.”
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1ST INNINGS - MULGRAVE J Reid c P Nasser b L Parnell ......... 8 M McGregor-C’dy c&b T Boorman49 N Philp c G Fox b G Barletta ......... 2 +A Bone c G Fox b C Adams ........ 55 *J Stanton c&b T Boorman ............ 2 K Di Salvo b H Steele .................... 1 T Curmi run out (C Adams) ........... 1 W Matthews c Nasser b Boorman ..... 15 W Robertson not out ..................... 6 B Raper run out (G Fox) ................ 3 M Di Salvo not out ........................ 0 Extras: 13 Total: 9/155 (cc) Bowling: G Barletta 8-0-121, L Parnell 8-0-1-42, P Nasser 40-0-20, JW Gardner 3-0-13, T Boorman 8-3-3-14, C Adams 3-01-21, H Steele 6-0-1-24 1ST INNINGS – ATHERTON +G Fox b W Robertson ................. 63 C Adams c McGregor-Cassady b Matthews .... 2 P Nasser c W Robertson b J Reid.25 *P Sceresini lbw b J Reid .............. 5 B Nasser b J Reid ........................... 0 E Sanderson lbw b W Matthews..13 T Boorman not out ...................... 29 H Steele run out (A Bone) ............. 6 Extras: 11 Total: 7/154 (cc) Overs: 40 Bowling: B Raper 7-2-0-18, W Matthews 8-1-2-28, M Di Salvo 40-0-26, N Philp 2-0-0-21, W Robertson 8-0-1-11, J Reid 8-2-335, K Di Salvo 3-0-0-10 BARRON V UNITED 1ST INNINGS – BARRON TJ Ward b M Brookes ................... 70 K Metzeling c JE How b P Beal...12 A Trewin c&b K Stuchbery ........... 15 T Germano run out (K Millwood).11 JJ Kohn c M Brookes b C Davis ...... 5 W Trewin c M Raso b C Davis ........ 7 L Sutton lbw b K Stuchbery ........... 7 L MacLaren run out (J Koch) ......... 0 *J Fulton c M Raso b P Beal .......... 9 D Malcomson not out .................... 9 H MacLaren not out ....................... 3 Extras: 18 Total: 9/166 (cc) Bowling: L March 8-3-0-22, C Davis 8-3-2-27, K Stuchbery 70-2-3, P Beal 8-1-2-28), J How 30-0-24, K Pietras 3-0-0-16, M Brookes 3-0-1-11 1ST INNINGS – UNITED *C Davis lbw b J Fulton ................. 5 B Brix c&b J Fulton ........................ 9 L March b TJ Ward ......................... 8 M Raso c TJ Ward b JJ Kohn ....... 51 +K Millwood b JJ Kohn .................. 8 J Koch c L Sutton b J Fulton ....... 20 K Stuchbery lbw b JJ Kohn ............ 2 M Brookes b JJ Kohn ..................... 1 KC Pietras c Kohn b Malcomson ..... 2 P Beal c Metzeling b Malcomson...5 JE How not out .............................. 8 Extras: 18 Total: 137 Overs: 34.0 Bowling: J Fulton 8-1-3-22, H MacLaren 3-0-0-27, T Ward 7-0-121, J Kohn 8-0-3-42), D Malcomson 6-1-2-26), A Trewin 20-0-14. ROVERS V NORTHS 1ST INNINGS – ROVERS
YOU CAN NEVER FEEL AS THOUGH YOU’VE GOT THE GAME WON, ESPECIALLY AGAINST A TEAM LIKE NORTHS