Corowa made the journey to Bilson Park against an Albury side that has been earmarked as big improvers over the off season.
Following Friday’s deluge there was some nervous anticipation as to the conditions which awaited with the wicket table having been completely replaced over the off season.
To their credit Albury had done an impressive job of protecting the wicket area with only a few sodden parts of the outfield causing an hour’s delay to the start time and reducing the match to 40 overs per side. With the uncertainty surrounding the new playing surface, Albury won the toss and Corowa was asked to bat first.
Skipper Ben Mitchell and Charlie Hemphrey opened the innings and found conditions difficult early on with some sideways movement and plenty of variable bounce testing the defence and protective equipment of the opening pair, they dug in and weathered as best they could before Mitchell was caught for 6 from 20 balls.
Hemphrey's experience and defensive technique was on full display as Shaun Smith joined him at the crease. An error of judgement however saw Smith bowled without offering and Corowa 2 for 23.
Matt Wilson entered after recovering from last week’s wedding, supporting Charlie and grinding the score along to 42 before setting off for a risky single and finding himself short of his ground.
With the game in the balance Jarred Lane joined Charlie in a crucial fifth wicket partnership which began cautiously absorbing pressure and rotating the strike before upping the ante taking the attack to the Albury spinners. In particular Hemphrey’s class and exquisite timing lacing the attack to all areas striking 5 sixes and 6 fours to put together a match defining 113 run partnership with Lane who was first to go for 47 from 54 balls.
Hemphrey following soon after for 83 from 94 balls. Unfortunately Corowa's lower order was unable to capitalize on the strong position they were in with a constant flow of wickets and some irrational shots seeing all out for 175 in the 39th over - a competitive total however short of what could have been.
Nick Grant opened the bowling his form much improved from last week’s post harvest ball beginnings removing the highly touted Mcarthur with some assistance from the pitch to provide the ideal start for his team, this was soon followed by a sharp piece of fielding from Lane throwing the stumps down to have Philip ran out for 2 and the hosts reeling at 2 for 9, another couple of overs of tight bowling saw Grant again rewarded removing Nikolic with the score on 20. Turning the screws, Corowa picked up wickets with the score on 37 and 46 before a 50 run partnership between Stockdale and Botes breathed life into the contest as Englishmen Botes starting to strike the ball cleanly with 7 fours and a maximum before the drinks break, which allowed Corowa to regroup.
Nick Grant was again the man for the breakthrough having Stockdale caught behind in the first over after drinks swinging the match back in his team’s favour at 6 for 96. However Albury refused to lie down, with Botes well set at one end. Corowa's bowlers worked together to keep him off strike and build dots on the new batsmen resulting in Henderson holing out in the deep, with Botes following soon after with the score 8 for 127 and the run rate above six an over. Charlie Hemphrey then showed of his allround skill set picking up the last two wickets to ensure the win with Albury all out 149. Although far from perfect, a performance to build on as the team works into the new season with Charlie’s all round performance a standout well supported by Nick Grant and Jarred Lane along with Shaun Smith’s wicket keeping on a few tough surface providing great promise for the season ahead.
B Grade
B Grade didn’t get a start due to the wicket getting wet from Friday’s rain.
C Grade
The long wait for the start of another glorious cricket season is over. After being moved to another ground - because the others were wet - C-Grade (Division 1) captain Blayre Smith won the toss and elected to bowl first against a new and revamped New City side.
Veteran Dan Osborne struck the first blow with the score 1/8. The side also picked up where they finished last season (not in a good way) dropping 10 catches for the day.
Experienced bowler Andrew Clark played his first C-Grade game for the club after playing B-Grade last week and showed what he’s capable of, taking match-best figures of 3/16 off 6.
After a few misfields, extras and dropped catches the final score for New City was 120 all out.
And then the start of a quick chase highlighted by the always “self retired” Liam McDonell coming out of retirement for his first game in two years making his way to a 40-ball 80 (with 7 sixes and 6 fours)
It was also great to see experienced cricketer Greg Burgess back and help with the run chase, making a solid 21 not out.
Great first game by the boys, but there will be a lot of fielding practice this week after all those dropped catches.
Under 16s & Under 12s begin this Friday, October 25 and Under 14s start on Saturday, October 26.
The Club would like to acknowledge our sponsors for this season, A & A Auto, Davidson White Accountants, John Rhodes Bricklaying, Waldrons Fresh on River, Kilara Group, Rivalea, Terry White Chemist, O’Connors, Balldale Hotel, Federation Steel, Collins Transport, BJ Hanrahan Family Trust, Thrifty, Corowa Furnishing and Floors & Corowa RSL Club.
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