A game on home turf proved advantageous for the Bowral first grade cricket team on the weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bowral won the first innings against Robertson Burrawang in the Highlands District Cricket Association (HDCA) competition at Bradman Oval.
Robertson Burrawang won the toss and elected to bat first.
It was a slow start in the testing conditions until Dave Spies scored the first breakthrough, claiming his first wicket for Bowral on debut.
When two wickets fell in the next over from Pat Irvine, Bowral were well on top with the score at 3/35 after 13 overs.
Robertson began to steady the ship with a series of handy partnerships and eventually batted out their allotted 45 overs scoring 207 runs.
All six Bowral bowlers tasted success, with Dave Spies and Pat Irvine picking up two wickets each.
It was good to see some improvement in the wides column as well as fielding this week.
Bowral got off to a slow but solid start in the run chase.
Openers Stuart MacPherson and Graham Brake saw off the new ball with an opening partnership of 54 from 19 overs.
Graham was first to be dismissed for a useful 16 runs.
Stuart and Dave Spies then added another 60 for the second wicket and looked to pick up the pace after being 1/64 at drinks.
Stuart fell in the 28th over for a well-made 65 from 86 deliveries.
Stuart played some exquisite strokes during his innings and it was great to see him back playing with Bowral and in full flight.
Stuart’s dismissal brought skipper Chris Weller to the crease and along with Dave immediately looked to up the scoring rate.
Chris and Dave scored freely and looked to take the game to Robertson and drive home the advantage.
Several of the Robertson bowlers took some punishment and disappeared over the short boundary on the western side of the ground as both batsmen made the most of their time in the middle.
Bowral lost no further wickets in scoring the required 208 runs.
All-rounder Spies capped off a great Bowral debut scoring 78 from 51 deliveries.
Chris finished with 39 from 26 deliveries.
Meanwhile Mittagong defeated the Wingello Tigers at Lackey Park in Moss Vale.
Mittagong won the coin toss and elected to bat first. Five batsmen reached double figures.
A highlight of the innings was a well-compiled 33 runs by Tony Payne.
Some valuable support was provided by Philip Dingle with 32 runs.
Others to make important contributions were Dane McAndrew with 25 runs and Reece Woods with 20 runs.
Mittagong’s batting team lost two wickets to bowlers Matthew Pike, Cameron Pike, Jacob Moore and Scott Woods.
Next week Bowral will go up against the Wingello Tigers at Bradman Oval from 12.45pm on October 28.
Meanwhile, Robertson Burrawang Cricket Club will take on Mittagong at Lackey Park in Moss Vale from 12.45pm on October 28.
Second and third grade cricket will continue from 12.45pm on October 21 at various ovals across the Highlands.
- Bowral vs Robertson Burrawang report by Chris Weller