A ruthless performance from Bowling Club’s bowlers has piloted the side to Twenty20 glory, accounting for Valleys in Saturday’s Doug Wright Shield decider.
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Bowling Club made light work of Valleys’ top order, restricting them to 71 after an early onslaught had the green and golds reeling at 7-34 after nine overs.
Bowling Club had earlier posted 131 after Valleys captain Jackson Moodie won the toss and elected to field – a move winning captain Matt Crawley would have also made.
“I probably would have bowled first, there was enough in the wicket so I was very happy with 130,” Matt Crawley revealed post-match.
”I thought 100 might have been a good score.”
Opener Scott Gray (41) anchored Bowling Club’s innings, forming three valuable partnerships at the top of the order with Ross Graham (9), Kurt Johnstone (28) and Tim Berry (22) before departing with the score at 3-95 at 14 overs.
Some late hitting from Aaron Thorn helped Bowling Club set Valleys 132 for victory.
Moodie was pick of the Valleys bowlers with 2-12 from four overs.
In reply, Valleys struggled to gather momentum as wickets fell consistently.
Bowling Club claimed seven wickets within the opening 10 overs.
Lower order batsmen Jarrod Mason (21) and Ben Cole (14) showed some resistance but Valleys never threatened to successfully chase the runs.
Bowling Club’s Charlie Johns returned figures of 3-15 from three overs.
Crawley said he’s pleased with Bowling Club’s form ahead of the return to the regular season.
“Our focus has pretty much been on the 40-over stuff the whole time,” Crawley said.
“Our batsmen have had some time in the centre and I’ve been conscious of giving all the bowlers a few overs each. Everyone’s done a good job over the past few weeks so I’m happy where we’re at.
“I thought Scotty Gray was really good. Batting was tough at the start, I wanted someone to bat deep into the innings. He did a really good job, he seems to enjoy opening in the T20s.
“Kurt Johnstone and Tim Berry chipped in nice and Aaron Thorn got a few valuable runs at the end. This team’s not relying on anyone, we need everyone to contribute and that’s what we’ve done.”
Earlier in the day, Canowindra scored a six wicket win against Bowling Club’s second grade side in the Matt Morrison Memorial Shield final.
Wickets were shared among Canowindra’s bowlers as they kept Bowling Club to 9-78 before chasing the runs in 14 overs. Craig Carpenter (28) and Nick Traves (19 not out) top scored.
