It was billed as the grand final replay and it lived up to expectations with North getting the upper hand against Wests after a superb opening partnership in round 1 of the Barrier District Cricket League.
The A Grade season began on Saturday morning at Alma Oval with North doing battle with last year’s grand final opponents West.
Both teams had plenty of familiar faces returning from last year, as well as North blooding new-to-town Connor McLean.
West Captain Mackenzie Attard won the toss and decided to send the Dogs in to a true pitch with a lightning fast outfield.
North skipper Tobias Hack and newly promoted opener Michael Maalste got the innings off to a great start, both keeping the scoreboard ticking over at a fierce rate.
They managed to put on 50, including plenty of boundaries, before Maalste (27) skied one to the keeper.
Last year’s Denis Watts medallist, Ben Jurd, was next to walk to the crease to join Hack.
Things were looking ominous early when he hit two of his first three balls for four.
Jurd and Hack (27) were beginning to motor, before Hack hit one straight to Austin Ferguson at point. North was 2/71.
Jurd then decided to put the foot down, hitting a couple of beautiful sweep shots for six off the spin of Adam Perry to see the total really push up towards three figures.
He was dismissed for 29 from 16 balls after missing a straight one from Laurence Hebbard.
Austin Wilson and Jordan Vella then joined forces to try and make sure the North total was a winning one.
Wilson knocked plenty of ones and twos around the field, while Vella looked to take the less strenuous route of finding the boundary.
Eventually, Vella took on the fieldsmen one too many times, and a great throw from Peter Christos had him caught short of his ground to be run out for 17.
From here there was a mini collapse, North losing 4 for 2 with Hebbard running through the North lower order.
Anthony Tidball, Luke Hall and Connor McLean were all dismissed without troubling the scorers, with young Rhys Pitt showing plenty of grit to face out the hat-trick ball from one of the premier bowlers in the A Grade competition.
North creaked to 7/128 with Wilson unbeaten on 16 and Rhys Pitt scoring a very well deserved two not out.
The Dogs had given the bowlers plenty to work with, but would need an all-round fielding performance to hold off the Robins.
It would be the opening bowling pair of Jason Cain and Austin Wilson, as it was in last year’s decider that would begin the innings with the ‘throwback’ red ball.
Both bowled a tight line early, not giving the West batsmen (or umpire) a whole lot to jump on. Eventually, the frustration got to Tom Burke, who was bowled by Wilson (1/18) with the score at 1/10.
West skipper Attard then came to the crease, and the score began to flow a little more freely.
The fielding from North was top notch, keeping the pressure on the Robins batsmen with outstanding efforts from McLean, Hall and Pitt to name a few.
Spin was brought into the attack with Tidball and Vella operating from either end.
While Tidball (0/24) was the better performed bowler, it would be Vella (1/23) who claimed the big wicket of Attard (13), with Maalste taking the catch on the deep mid-wicket on boundary.
When Lachlan Kaye was bowled by Jurd the very next over, West were struggling at 3/46 with only eight overs remaining.
This bought the pair of Max Everuss and Jordan Meehan to the crease who decided it was time to push the score along a bit quicker.
Both hit multiple boundaries after some loose bowling from the North attack.
The openers returned to finish their overs, and Cain (2/15) did the damage to finish off any sniff West might have had of punching an unlikely victory. He bowled Meehan for a well made 32, before Hebbard (0) was Maalste’s second catch of the day.
Benjamin Jurd (2/8) finished off the innings dismissing Ferguson for one,.
West finishing their innings at 6/107.
North have the late game against a strong Central side tomorrow at Alma Oval at 2.30pm.
North 7/128 (Jurd 29, Maalste 27, Hack 27) defeated West 6/107 (Meehan 32, Jurd 2/8, Cain 2/15) by 21 runs.
