The bulk of the players in the NSW Country Thunder Tornado under-13s side barely knew each other until a few days ago but that didn’t stop the side from scoring a resounding victory on day one of the State Challenge.
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The under-13 and under-14 State Challenge began on Monday, with matches played across Dubbo and at Wellington.
The under-13s Thunder Tornado, featuring Dubbo’s Tom Coady and Patty Nelson, began its tournament in perfect fashion, defeating NSW Metro Sixers Waves by seven wickets at No. 1 Oval.
A strong all-round bowling performance had the Waves dismissed for just 86 and then a composed 35 not out from Coady guided the Tornado, made up of players from the Western and Riverina regions, to victory.
“A lot of the players only met two days ago so to work out how they play as a team, run between the wickets and how the coach understands their role, to do that in the first game was really good,” Tornado coach Garth Dean said.
“There was very, very good bowling and the fielding was excellent. I think there was three runouts so that was a good sign.
“And then to get the runs inside 30 overs was pretty pleasing.”
The Tornado’s decision to field after winning the toss was a smart one as the Wave was reduced to 3-18 early on.
Despite a couple of partnerships through the middle there was never any significant scores as Bathurst’s Tom Lynch (2/13 from six) and Errol Burns (2/6 from six) helped roll the Wave for 86.
The Tornado lost one wicket early but it was always in control, and Coady played a mature knock to help his side seal an emphatic win.
Miles Hemann-Peterson (20) and Parkes Harry Bayliss (14 not out) also chipped in.
While pleased with the promise shown, Dean wasn’t getting too carried away.
“We’ll just see how the week unfolds because players develop through the week,” he said.
“You get to understand what they can do and they begin to understand their role and by the end of the week everyone is playing their best cricket.”