RUGBY Union can already boast the season 2014-15 Bathurst District Cricket Association one-day crown, but the Bulldogs know making it to the final week of March next year will carry with it plenty more prestige.
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It means making a good start to the two-day portion of their campaign is important, and skipper Andrew Mitton is confident the effort his bowlers produced on Saturday against City Colts can get them such a start.
Rugby had Colts all out for 235 at Loco Oval before Dean Watkins (four not out) and Scott Johnston (four not out) saw the Bulldogs safely through to stumps.
Aside from a small rain delay, Mitton was pleased with how the afternoon unfolded.
“We only ended up having a 40-minute delay and we took off tea, so we only lost 10 overs for the day. We bowled 66 and had them all out in the 66th over and they bowled two overs,” he said.
“I think getting them out for 235 is pretty good for us, on this ground I think that is sub-par. I reckon this is a 300-run deck with the outfield being so quick, so I am pretty happy with what we did.
“You look at last week’s one-dayer here, they scored 266 each innings, so obviously 230-odd is a really good result for us. There is a minimum 76 overs for us to bat and we’ve got eight runs on the board and Ben Hurford coming back next week plus Albo [Chris Albon], so that’s two good batsmen coming back in.
“If they weather stays kind and everything stays equal, I think we can win this match from the position we are in.”
Colts were first in to bat on Saturday and faced 18 overs before rain brought play to a temporary halt.
In that time Rugby struck twice, James Tristram removing Paul Clancy for 14 while Callum Hotham (10) was caught after getting an edge on a delivery from fellow new-ball bowler Jeremy Thackray.
That had Colts at 2-35, but it united two dangerous men at the crease in Hamish Bartlett and Colts skipper Daniel Casey.
Bartlett was coming off a well-made 76 against ORC the previous Saturday and had belted 42 in Monday night’s Twenty20 match. When play resumed he looked on track for another handy total as he and Casey settled in.
However, as a half century beckoned, a Thackray delivery breeched Bartlett’s defence and sent him on his way for 43.
Casey saw the score into triple figures but he also fell when looking dangerous – all but five of his 29 runs coming in boundaries.
That made it 4-114, but Connor Hotham and Craig Berry kept the momentum going as they formed a 63-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Berry made 42 of those before he fell to Tristram, while Hotham added 21 before he was dismissed by Dean Watkins to make it 6-182.
Watkins continued the Rugby fight back as he went on to claim 4-53 off his 10 overs, and when Tyler Horton had Lawson caught out for 17, Colts’ innings came to a close.
While Watkins was the most successful of the Rugby attack, the wickets were shared around between Horton (2-21), Thackray (2-42) and Tristram (2-47).
Rugby faced two overs before stumps, Watkins and Johnston each hitting a boundary to have their side 0-8 in pursuit of 236 for victory.
Though Mitton is confident his side can chase down that total, Colts captain Casey believes the pitch will assist his bowlers.
“It is a decent total because the deck has got a bit it in, it is moving around, seaming around a bit,” he said.
“When they bowled in the right areas it was really difficult to score. I think it is a decent total and they bowled pretty well, but anything loose we did get on to.”