Last season Newtown finished with the RSL-Pinnington Cup wooden spoon but it’s taken just one round in the 2017/18 campaign for the Tigers to stamp themselves as contenders.
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Newtown opened its second grade season with victory on Saturday, producing a strong all-round effort with the ball which mirrored the performance with the bat a week earlier.
After posting 248 on day one of the clash against Macquarie at Lady Cutler 3, Newtown knocked over the Blues for 116.
Five different players took wickets, but Andrew Gardiner’s 3/14 off 12 overs was the standout effort and the opening bowler never allowed the Macquarie batsman to feel settled.
Shane Dupille finished unbeaten on 25 and that was the top score among Macquarie batsman. Ian Marchant (20) was the only other batsman to make a start.
A lot of damage was done early when Macquarie was reduced to 3/32 while the Blues also lost 4/15 at one stage in the middle order.
As well as Gardiner, Daniel Flannery (2/15), Craig Pettit (2/20) and Daniel Coen (2/33) also proved a handful while Alex Sambrook (1/15) also struck.
Across at Lady Cutler 4, a strong performance with the bat helped CYMS chase down Rugby’s total of 8/240 and claim victory.
With an imposing total behind them, Rugby went in with confidence but Heath Larance (40) and Connor Watts (34) got the Cougars off to a strong start before young gun Tom Coady took over.
The teenage keeper-batsman toughed it out early before setting about building a match-winning partnership with Ben Williams.
Williams made 51 while Coady finished unbeaten on 54.
It was an impressive showing from the Cougars, with two 50-plus partnerships and one of 40 runs.
Experienced Rugby captain Glenn Shepherd stood out with the ball, claiming 3/27 from 11 while Troy Tracey (2/62) was the only other multiple wicket-taker.
The final match of the first round of the season saw South Dubbo score a convincing victory over defending premiers, RSL-Colts.
After posting 233 on day one, the Hornets were in a strong position and despite Colts top order bat Matt Keenan showing some resistance the men in red battled.
Keenan (57) was the only batsman to pass 20 while Saad Khan was South’s best with the ball, taking 4/30 from nine overs while Joe Cant (2/12) and Andrew Cusack (2/18) also took wickets while keeping things tight.
The best of Souths’ work with the ball came in the middle stages where Colts lost 5/30 at one stage.
That included the key wickets of Josh Smith (0), Nathan Jones (2), Nathan Finlay (4) and Jakke Gardiner (0) and each of those batsmen fell to a different bowler, proving the Hornets’ consistency with ball in hand.
Colts take on Macquarie next round while Souths meets Rugby and round one winners CYMS and Newtown do battle.
Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior journalist. I cover all that's happening in sport in Dubbo and the wider western area and have a passion for doing so. If you've got a story that needs telling, reach out.
