Magpies fly the local flag
CRICKET: Southern Districts has flown the flag for Toowoomba on the opening day of the Harding-Madsen Shield.
A spirited run chase from the Magpies saw them swoop home for a thrilling six-wicket defeat of Brothers with four balls to spare in their division two encounter.
The twin bowling attack of Ruvith Dompayalage (4/56) and Rahul Suresh (3/32) restricted the visitors to 8/187 at Middle Ridge Park.
A hot start from openers Nicholas Budden (75) and Harrison Tzannes (36) had Souths in a promising position early on.
The job to finish off was left to Cameron Moodie and Rex Tooley, with the veteran and young gun holding their nerve to get the season off to a flyer.
Manager Matt Healy said it was a promising opening for the Magpies.
“It was a nice way to start the season,” he said.
“It was a tight finish, and our batting was the way we wanted it to be in grinding out the win.
“We’ve been working on improving our batting averages and did that with only losing four wickets.
“From a bowling point of view there’s room for improvement. We created lots of chances but didn’t take them
all, but we’re pleased for round one.”
With a number of key performances on both sides of the ball, Healy said there were some highlights to take forward.
“Rahul bowled really well at the death and Ruvith was able to break their top order,” he said.
“They both did their job. “The opening partnership was 92 runs between Nick and Harrison, and they almost went through to the second drinks break without losing a wicket.”
DIVISION ONE SIDES STRUGGLE
Ipswich held bragging rights in division one, sweeping all three games.
In a match of the round contender, Wests were unable to capitalise on a damaging spell with the ball, falling to
Central Districts by 28 runs.
Shaun McCarthy (3/20) and Regan Hoger (2/38) combined to have Centrals under the pump at 3/14, before they recovered to post 9/219.
Wests were travelling along nicely at 1/101, but the visitors tightened the screws late to keep their opponents at bay.
Northern Brothers Diggers had no answer to Raymond Coleman, who finished with figures of 6/9 to restrict the home side to just 54 runs.
The Thunder were able to reach the target with eight wickets in hand.
Metropolitan-Easts posted a competitive total of 8/169 to try and defend against powerhouse Laidley at Bichel Oval.
Despite the best efforts of captain Dan Pollock (2/23), the home side came away with a four-wicket win with less than five overs remaining.