A new-look St John’s College side took little time to gel on Monday as it trounced Orange’s James Sheahan in the opening round of the Downie Trophy competition.
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A NSW Combined Catholic Colleges competition, the Downie Trophy draws in sides from all over the state and the St John’s has booked a date with Red Bend after the dominant 159-run win at Orange.
After winning the toss and opting to bat on a dry Jack Brabham Oval pitch, St John’s began well as Tom Coady and Jake Settree added 64 runs in the first 10 overs before the former fell for 16.
Settree fell soon after for a rapid-fire 49 and while wickets fell in the middle order, Thomas Stimpson (34) kept things ticking over.
Any hope of a James Sheahan fightback with the ball was ended by Ben Rosenbaum, who belted a late 58 to help the visitors pile on 228.
Patrick Williams was a shining light with the ball, taking a fantastic 5/28 from eight overs in one of few highlights on the day for the Orange side.
Rosenbaum hit 10 boundaries in his half century while Joe Cant’s 22 was also handy late in the innings.
The total of 228 was an imposing one and James Sheahan was immediately in trouble as Rosenbaum removed Hugh Daintith (2) in the third over.
Rosenbaum capped off a fine all-round game by finishing with 1-10 from six overs, a spell which included three successive maidens.
That pressure made things hard for the hosts to keep the score ticking over and soon after wickets began to fall at regular intervals.
At the first drinks break James Sheahan was 3-48 and things didn’t get better from there.
St John’s took the next seven wickets in a brilliant seven over spell, resulting in the Orange side being bowled out for just 69.
Cant was one of the main destroyers, his off-spin resulting in the figures of 4-17 from eights overs while Campbell Rose chimed in with 3-5 from four and Mitchell Ashford took 2-13 from his five overs.
“I was happy with the way that the team came together and played well as a group and the positivity they showed in batting, despite losing regular wickets,” St John’s coach and teacher David McAlister said.
St John’s will now take on Red Bend Catholic College from Forbes, the match likely to be played on November 12 at Dubbo.
