With the minor premiership title on the line, second-placed Rugby Union has made good inroads against first-placed Bathurst City in Bathurst District Cricket Association first grade on Saturday.
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Knowing that a win will give either team top spot, Rugby Union batted first and were dismissed for 180 before Redbacks finished the day at 3-40 at Brooke Moore Oval.
Stand-in skipper Ryan Peacock, who topped scored with 53 runs, said it was a reasonable total but is confident they can claim the win in day two of action.
“We probably could’ve kicked on and scored a few more,” he said.
“I think we’re a real hot chance of knocking them off if we get a few early wickets.
“We just got to do what we did on [Saturday] and stick to our guns. We should be pretty sweet heading into the finals. We’re playing some really good cricket.”
Imran Qureshi and Chris Albon opened the batting for Rugby Union, with Albon’s dismissal leaving the team at 1-7.
But in came Peacock, with the stand-in skipper combining well with Qureshi, who finished with 29 runs, to score 53, before he was caught out from a Ben Orme bowl.
Rugby Union were now at 2-80 and Qureshi fell just four runs later.
Tyler Horton’s 24 runs and Jameel Qureshi quick 15 helped improve the score and when both were finally dismissed, the Rugby Union were at 5-143.
Yet with five wickets in hand, Rugby Union only managed another 37 runs before they were dismissed for 180 runs.
Redbacks’ bowler Michael Tobin stared with the ball, taking 5-27 off 8.2 overs.
Peacock said it was tough batting on the Brooke Moore surface.
“Imran and I were on a grind at the start. It took a while to get going and then we started scoring quick for a bit,” he said.
“We would put on little partnerships, lose a wicket, then put on another partnership and lose another wicket. That was pretty much how it went.”
John Rudge and Trent Hemsworth opened for Redbacks, scoring 16 and two respectively, with number three batsman Mark Day dismissed for six.
Rory Daburger is in with 12 runs, alongside Joey Coughlan, who is yet to score.
Peacock said Redbacks could have scored an extra 30 to 40 more runs but believes the weather and the surface of Brooke Moore well benefit them come the second day.
“We’re a good shout. It’s always tough to start at Brooke Moore. With a bit of rain about this week, it might soften the wicket up a bit,” he said.
“We’ve got a few bowlers back next week.”
Regular skipper Sam Macpherson was absent, alongside youngster Aiden McBurney but both will return for the second day.
If Rugby Union were to win and claim the minor premiership, it would be an incredible turnaround after the team were last after losing its opening two matches.
“We were on a bit of losing streak at the start of the season but we’ve broke that and rolled on since Christmas and started performing how we should be,” Peacock said.
“With the team we’ve got, we should really be up the top, where we are now.”
If Rugby Union and Redbacks finish in the top two, they will play each other in the first week of the finals for the second consecutive year.
“It’s always good to be playing a good side like [Redbacks],” Peacock said.
“They’re always in the finals and it’s always good to play them. We kick it up a gear when we play them.”
Rugby Union are currently 6.79 points off Redbacks in the ladder, with the team looking to avenge its four wicket loss to Redbacks in the 2017 grand final in April.