Yogi Chawla and Jacob Bruce claim five-wicket hauls in RSL-Whitney Cup

Chawla's five wickets led Newtown to victory over CYMS while next door at No. 2 Oval it was a five-wicket haul from Jacob Bruce that helped Rugby defeat RSL-Colts in another somewhat surprising result.

CYMS and Colts entered the round in second and third on the ladder respectively but both were missing a host of players to due to Orana Outlaws representative commitments.

There was no such issue for competition leaders Macquarie.

The Blues extended their lead at the top of the ladder on Saturday by scoring a relatively comfortable victory over the winless South Dubbo at No. 1 Oval.

Macquarie rolled the battling Hornets for just 82 - Blake Smith's 4/18 from 7.5 overs the highlight - before they survived a couple of wobbles in the chase to win by four wickets.

READ ALSO:

- Outlaws left to lament a lack of runs after Regional Bash exit

- Ryan to help mould next generation after taking on Blues coaching job

- Western coaches excited by 'exceptional footballers' as preparation begins

The result gives Macquarie a handy seven-point leader over CYMS at the top of the table while defending premiers Colts are a further four points back in third after a rare two successive defeats in the past two weeks.

At No. 2 Oval, the performance of spinner Chawla and an unbeaten half century for Steve Skinner made the difference for Newtown.

Chawla, having started the season as captain of the Souths United second grade side, has made an immediate impact since his switch to Newtown and he picked up four of the first five wickets against CYMS on the way to finishing with 5/24 from his eight overs.

CYMS - without key batsmen Brock Larance, Thomas Nelson, Tom Coady and Ben Patterson - were knocked over for 105 and while there was some nervy moments in the chase the Tigers won by four wickets, with Skinner finishing at 51 not out.

"Those stats, I don't really care too much," Chawla said of his haul.

"Whatever I can do to contribute and help the team win. If you do the process right the wickets are the next step.

"You do the hard work at the nets and talk to the other spinners in the side and other experienced players it all helps.

"In a week or two you'll forget the five wickets but you'll remember you won the game for your side."

After losing the toss and being sent out to the field, Newtown captain Mitch Russo told his side it was a golden chance to beat one of the top sides given the players CYMS were missing.

The Cougars had six players out but Chawla said it was still important his side did its job.

"When you're playing first grade it doesn't matter," Chawla said.

"Any side can be good enough to win any game regardless of who is there but there was an advantage towards us with top order batsmen like Brock and Tom Coady unavailable."

The Tigers were also missing players, with the influential Mat Skinner away with the Outlaws while Matt Purse, another key bowler for the Tigers, was also unavailable.

Chawla provided the real spark with the ball in their absence but he was well supported by opener Mohammad Kashif, who finished with 1/19 from his eight overs, while Skinner (0/19 off eight) also kept things tight.

CYMS captain Ben Knaggs top-scored for his side with 21 and then he started things perfectly with the ball by removing Dan French with the first ball of the Newtown innings.

The hard-hitting Syed Ali Raza (12) then departed but Skinner went on to make CYMS pay after being dropped early.

Wickets continued to fall around Skinner but he still managed to get Newtown across the line while Chawla (7 not out) capped his fine game by hitting the winning runs.

"If I said I wasn't nervous I'd probably be lying," Chawla laughed of coming to the crease at 6/91, before praising Skinner.

"Full credit goes to Steve, he held his nerve and kept things going at his end.

"Those smaller totals can be tricky but we got there in the end and Steve was the one who got us across the line."

Chawla started his Dubbo cricket career at Newtown roughly a decade ago and said he's been welcomed back in recent weeks after stints at CYMS and South Dubbo.

He's also been impressed by the Tigers' lineup, which he feels is well-balanced and will be even better when the top 11 are on the field each week.

"It's going to be a headache for Russo when everyone is back," he added.

Newtown next meets a Colts side which will be stinging after back-to-back defeats.

While Colts were without five players because of representative commitments, Rugby were without arguably their most influential players in captain Jacob Hill and opening batsman Ben Wheeler while all-rounder James O'Brien was also away for the weekend.

But Bruce delivered with the ball for Rugby, taking 5/29 - a haul including the key wickets of Mitch Bower, Brads Cox, and Ant Atlee - to knock over Colts for just 131 and then opening bat Darcy Chewings proved the rock in the successful chase.

Wickets fell regularly around Chewings but the youngster held his nerve and made 73 not out as Rugby won by four wickets with 6.4 overs remaining.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: