CATCHES win matches – it is a phrase which has been uttered by many a cricketer over the years after watching the momentum of a game switch on the back of a split second in the field.
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Rugby Union captain Sam Macpherson is one such player that knows how crucial holding onto chances in the field can be. It was the factor he felt determined the victor in his side’s Bathurst District Cricket Association first grade clash with St Pat’s Old Boys.
Unfortunately for Macpherson, it was his rivals the Saints that took the catches which mattered while potential dismissals for his side in the two-day contest at the The Scots School went begging.
It meant the Saints emerged as 29-run victors on Saturday against a Rugby Union outfit which had gone undefeated through its last six two-day fixtures in season 2017-18.
“They took the tough catches and we dropped them, which was a big difference,” Macpherson said.
Having fought back from 4-56 to reach 6-203 on day one after Bailey Brien (59) and Connor Slattery (71) fired with the bat, the Saints were keen to quickly bolster their total on Saturday when play resumed.
However, Rugby’s bowling attack did the job Macpherson needed as the next four wickets fell for just 16 runs.
Aiden McBurney was the pick of the attack as he took 4-64 off his 23 overs, of which five were maidens, while Tim McKinnon claimed 4-42 off 17 as the Saints were all out for 219.
In reply Rugby lost openers Imran Qureshi (15) and Chris Albon (three) cheaply to be 2-28 after eight overs, but Jameel Quershi and Tyler Horton then settled things.
They put on 71 for the third wicket in a stand which lasted 25 overs to take the score to 99.
READ MORE: Brien dishes out a battering to his rivals
But after Horton (40) fell to Ethan Ivory and Qureshi (51) was caught out off Tanvir Singh’s bowling eight overs later, it signalled another momentum shift.
The next five wickets fell in the space of 38 runs as Rugby went from a solid position at 4-135 to 9-173.
Though number five Brad Glasson looked good in hitting four boundaries on his way to 34, the rest of Rugby’s middle order fell cheaply.
The tail wagged slightly, Brenden Pallier making 11 while McBurney (three) and McKinnon (four) held on for six overs at the death, but when Slattery struck with the first ball of his fourth over it was game over.
Slattery finished with 1-1 to back up his efforts with the bat, Singh (3-29 off nine) and Nic Broes (3-40 off 16) impressed, while Ivory (1-23) went at just over two runs an over as he applied good pressure.
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Saints skipper Adam Ryan took four catches to help his side move ahead of Rugby on the ladder.
“We started well and the game was always in the balance,” Macpherson said.
“We did the right thing with the ball and took four quick wickets. But it was just our middle order which had a bit of a collapse which let us down, and the dropped catches from the week before.
“Jameel and Tyler did a great job with the bat, they set us up really well.
“[It meant] We had a small chance at the end of the day to draw the game out, Aiden and Timmy and Brendo were doing a great job.”