THE calendar may have ticked over to 2017 but things haven’t changed at the top of Dubbo cricket.
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On Saturday, runaway competition leaders RSL-Colts started the new year the same way they finished 2016 with – dominant.
They easily toppled struggling defending champions Macquarie, scoring a seven-wicket win and maintaining their massive buffer at the head of the table.
Bowling first after winning the toss, the Colts bowlers dominated from the second ball of the match when youngster Tom Atlee bowled Anthony Heraghty for a duck.
From that point on Macquarie struggled to find any rhythm as the Colts bowlers strangled their scoring opportunities.
Ricky Medway (12) and Angus Norton (5) fell soon after but the turning point came when run machine Jason Green fell for 21 with the score on 45.
Some late hitting from the Blues lower order pair of Ban Taylor (35) and Hamish Smith (38no) helped Macquarie reach 149, which was something for their bowlers to work with.
Joe Haylock landed two blows for the Blues early, removing Wes Giddings (3) and Greg Buckley (2) to have the competition favourites 2/15 but as has happened many times over the pasty decade, classy batsmen Paul Hulthen and Brad Cox steadied the ship.
The pair combined for a 132-run partnership that took them within three runs of victory before Hulthen fell to the bowling of Ricky Medway for 57.
Cox remained unbeaten on 80 and was at the crease with Marty Jeffrey (4no) when the winnings runs were hit in the 42nd over.
Colts will be out to maintain the dominance of the competition next week when they face Newtown, while Macquarie has a task on their hands as they are scheduled to face Rugby.
