It was a massive weekend of cricket for Boorowa Crocs who played a double header on Saturday and Sunday coming away with two very important victories.
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On Saturday they faced the Dalton Dingoes with both sides teetering on the top four whilst Sunday saw the local derby take place against the previously undefeated Gators.
The Crocs began their doubleheader against Dalton bowling first in warmish conditions.
The locals found wickets hard to come by early but eventually broke through after an opening stand by the Dingoes of 67.
Boorowa than began to chip away at the top order through the middle overs with Alex “The Destroyer” Blomfield dismantling the batting line up taking a stunning 5/38.
Jacob Piper bowled with control beyond his years to take 2/21 in an impressive spell whilst skipper Chris Dwyer took 2/18.
The Crocs did well to restrict the Dingoes to 9/173 after 40 overs.
In reply openers James Green and Phil Coggins put on 25 before Greeny fell in the 12th over.
Coggins was joined by Jye Paterson and together they put on 82 for the second wicket before Coggo, who may have been looking for some respite in the stands from Jye’s quick running, was trapped in front of his stumps with the score on 107.
Jye began to up the run rate in pursuit of the total and was well supported by Blake Anderson with a quick fire 31.
Byron Campbell relished his elevation in the order and together with Jye, guided the side to victory with two overs to spare.
Jye finished unbeaten with 84 playing a well-paced innings.
Buoyed by Saturday’s Victory, the Crocs went into Sunday’s game against the Gator’s knowing a win would firmly entrench them in the top four heading into the back end of the season whilst the Gators were keen to remain unbeaten.
The Gators elected to field and it was a decision that paid dividends early removing the openers early and at one stage having the Crocs at 4/80.
Jye Paterson was joined by Byron Campbell and together they put on an unbeaten 103 for the fifth wicket when the overs run out at 4/183.
Jye dispatched the Gators bowlers to all parts of the ground in the later stages of the innings to post his second century of the season and continue on to be 130 not out in a very classy display of batting.
Byron Campbell again played a steady hand of 21 not out in valuable support.
In reply, the Gators began steadily but as the required run rate increased so did the risks forcing the Gators to play some unorthodox strokes that resulted in a steady flow of wickets.
After losing openers Russell George for 2 and then Brendon Shean who was run out for 8, it was always going to be a big challenge for the middle order.
After 20 overs they had reached 4/79 but as the run rate climbed over ten it became a bridge too far despite a brilliant cameo of 32 by Murray Armour in the closing stages.
The Gators finished on 7/147 when they run out of overs finishing 36 runs in arrears. Best of the Crocs bowlers was Blake Toman with 2/13, Chris Dwyer 2/17 whilst Jye Paterson topped off a great day with 2/49.
There were some tired Crocs players by the end of Sunday afternoon but the ice bath for some of the older players and the fact they had banked maximum competition points from their two games eased the suffering.
Both Boorowa teams are in a handy position on the ladder heading into the Christmas break.
The Gators share the competition lead with Binalong whilst the Crocs are now snapping at their heels courtesy of last weekend’s two wins.
Provided both teams win half of their remaining games they should finish in the top four.
And finally, the Boorowa cricket club would like to thank all our supporters of both the junior and senior cricket teams and we wish you and your loved ones all the very best for the festive season.
We will see you after the break when all of our teams head towards the finals.