Highlands District Cricket Association first grade wrap up | round one

With two first grade teams, Robertson-Burrawang Colts and Bulls both came away with the points.

Robertson-Burrawang Bulls v Bowral

It was far from an easy victory for the experienced Bulls side which won by just 10 runs.

Up against Bowral, Bulls captain Nathan Wright won the toss and elected to bat.

But with a "fair bit of moisture" underneath the wicket, batting first was a challenge.

"The wicket did a bit," Wright said.

The Bulls made 203 from 43.2 overs.

Dean Roxburgh top scored with 61 and was well supported at the crease by Matt Cupitt (41).

Sajjad Qaiser picked up three wickets for Bowral (3-32 off 9) while Nicholas Gardner and Daniel Harrington took two apiece.

And while the Bulls got off to a good start with the ball, taking a couple of early wickets, a strong partnership had the game in the balance.

With Bowral needing a run a ball with just a few overs left in the match, Wright said Robertson had been extremely relieved to take the final wicket.

"It got the nervous energy going," he said.

Bowral finished with 193- Harrington (48) and Ben Tucker (32) both putting in strong performances with the willow.

The Bulls' wickets were shared between the bowlers with Mitch Wright, Nathan Ring, Riley Hurford and Roxburgh all claiming two each.

While it was a tight finish to the match, Wright said he was pleased his team was able to seal the win.

With each of the six sides playing each other once in each format this season, Wright said there were no second chances against any team.

"We've just got to go back to basics a bit- bat long periods."

Robertson-Burrawang Colts v Moss Vale

The two newest first grade sides found themselves squaring off in round one of the 2020-21 season.

And it was the Colts that claimed the win.

With limited first grade experience, Colts captain Tom Angel said he has several grade cricket debutants feature in his side on the weekend.

"It was a massive effort from all the guys and it will be a massive confidence boost for them."

Moss Vale was first up at the crease and made a total of 170 runs.

Jack Webb (40) got the bulk of his side's runs, while Patrick Webb (25) and Matthew Conquest (21) also chipped in with the bat.

For the Colts, David Cupitt picked up three wickets (3-18 off 4) while Cameron Clay and Charles Whatman took two wickets each.

The Colts then finished at 3-171, finishing with a seven wicket victory.

Nicholas Wilson was solid with the bat, top scoring with 68.

While Angel was pleased to start the season with a win, he said the side needed to give away less sundries when it came up against the more experienced first grade sides.

"We leaked about 30 odd extras. If we can sharpen up our bowling and restrict a few more runs in the field I think we'll be looking good."

Wingello v Hill Top

With 210 runs on the board and having taken a few early wickets, it looked like Hill Top was well on its way to a first round win.

But that was before Dale Wellington (74) and Matthew Pike (71 not out) got going.

From then on, Wingello was in the drivers seat and went on to win its first round clash against the Kookaburras.

"We've got a fair few new names in the side this year. It was good to get everyone together, training's been a bit all over the place," Tigers captain Grant Pike said.

Hill Top won the toss and elected to bat, posting a total of 210- with Lleyton Wallace (47 not out), Dave Spies (37) and Josh Whitfield (29) the main contributors with the bat.

Cameron Pike, Trent Woods and Ben Bromfield all picked up a couple of wickets each.

The Kookaburras then took a few quick wickets before the drinks break and with Wingello sitting around 50 runs, the odds seemed to favour Hill Top.

But the partnership of Pike and Wellington proved to be the difference in the end.

Wingello finished at 6-211 off 41 overs.

"It was good. In the past we've been in the same situation- four or five down for not many and then been all out for less than 100," Grant Pike said.

"It was good we showed a bit of fight."

For Hill Top captain Alex Debs, it was a missed opportunity.

"We let ourselves down after drinks with the ball. Full credit to them [Wingello], it's a big learning curve for us not to let our foot off the throat so to speak," he said.

"Wingello are a good side and they haven't won two out of the last three premierships for nothing."

As well as shaking out the cobwebs, players have had to adjust to new rules to be Covid safe.

Debs said certain things such as shining the ball which were done out of habit would require players to retrain themselves.

"The main thing is the competition is up and running."

Hill Top also welcomed back Jimmy Debs into first grade.

Jimmy has not played first grade for the past few seasons and Alex Debs said in a positive for them, he bowled with "good pace and aggression" on the weekend.

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