Gunnedah secured a berth in the Tamworth District Cricket Association (TDCA) fourth grade grand final, with a thrilling eight-run victory against Old Boys in last Saturday’s semi-final at Riverside 5.
Gunnedah batted out its 40 overs and lost eight wickets while tallying 175 runs, before Old Boys lasted 30.4 overs.
Wickets fell regularly in the run chase to give Gunnedah the upper hand at times, but Old Boys battled on and came within sight of stealing the glory while having the run rate under control.
The fourth-placed Gunnedah had also beaten the top-placed Old Boys four weeks earlier, when Gunnedah amassed 242 and then restricted Old Boys to 8-223.
Incredibly the first- and second-placed teams missed out on the grand final, with the third-placed North Tamworth Redbacks beating the second-placed City United by 79 runs last Saturday.
Old Boys won the toss and chose to bowl, with the pitch not easy to bat on while the bounce was variable. Moreover, the teams were familiar with playing on synthetic surfaces before being forced to play on turf for the finals.
Gunnedah began uncertainly, and was 1-11 when Oscar Middlebrook was caught at slip in the sixth over.
Jono Middlebrook found the boundary twice in the next over, with a snick between the wicketkeeper and slips fielder soon followed by a more authoritative cut between slip and gully.
Jono Middlebrook’s third boundary took the total past 30 in the 10th over, before the following over yielded three fours and a single. Zoe Fleming registered the last of those boundaries when she cut the ball in the air behind point.
Fleming recorded two more fours in the next couple of overs, with the latter from a textbook square cut.
Jono Middlebrook thumped a four through cover as a sharp catch was missed, before Fleming pulled a catch to mid-wicket to leave Gunnedah 2-60 after 14 overs.
Jono Middlebrook had another close shave when another tough chance at cover was put down, before he retired for 50 off 61 balls.
In the next few minutes, Gunnedah went from 2-82 to 4-82 when an lbw was followed by a catch at mid-wicket.
Tyler Small hit a full-toss for four before captain Ken Walters clubbed a no-ball to the boundary, but the total was still less than 100 when Small lobbed a return catch to Zane Perrett.
Ken Walters and his daughter Marnee were temporarily bogged down, before the former found the boundary in successive overs to help the score to 5-129 at the 30-over mark.
Marnee Walters was caught-and-bowled at 137, before 15 runs in the 34th over lifted the total to 6-153. A suicidal single could have resulted in a run-out, but the ball was fumbled.
With Ken Walters hitting two boundaries in the following over, Gunnedah needed 38 runs in the final five overs to reach 200 but managed only 13.
Ken Walters was caught at cover in the 36th over, as he sought his ninth four which would have taken him to 50 retired.
The only run in the final over was a wide, before the final delivery dislodged Nicholas Swain’s off-bail.
Old Boys’ hopes were dealt a blow as James Wilkinson was unable to bat due to illness, after he had made 95 not out as an opener when Old Boys previously contested Gunnedah.
Old Boys also lost its first wicket with 11 runs on the board, albeit with a needless run-out.
Old Boys was 1-21 after five overs when Dewayne Darlington lofted a four, but then the score stumbled to 3-34 in the 10th over.
Darlington spooned an easy return catch to Oscar Middlebrook, before Digby Grimm won an lbw appeal against opener Koby Byrne.
The pendulum briefly shifted, with 14 runs in Zoe Fleming’s first over before Tyler Small’s first over yielded the wicket of Clayton Holden to a catch behind.
A tough catch was missed from the following delivery, before Hayden Amos hammered a full-toss to the boundary.
The total approached triple figures before a double-wicket maiden to Rhyse Frost left Old Boys shakily placed at 6-98.
Amos lofted the first ball of the 19th over to Ken Walters at mid-on, before Zane Perrett top-edged a pull from the fifth ball and was well caught by a diving Zoe Fleming at backward square leg.
Marnee Walters handed over the wicketkeeping duties to Grimm during the drinks break, and then the former broke through with her second delivery when Jono Middlebrook held a catch at first slip.
Another huge turning point came when Jakob Brown perished for 44 off 42 balls, as he swung at a slower ball from Ken Walters and had his stumps rattled to leave Old Boys 8-116.
Eathen Byrne and Lindon Wilkinson weren’t about to surrender, as both found the boundary in the 23rd over which cost 13 runs before Byrne hit another four from the first ball of the next over.
The only six of the game occurred in the 27th over when a pull from Lindon Wilkinson cleared the boundary, before a no-ball provided Byrne with a free hit.
With Byrne whipping the free hit for four, the over cost 14 runs to boost the total to 8-156.
Another two runs were added before another clever change of pace from Ken Walters resulted in Byrne being similarly dismissed to Brown.
The tension was high as the last-wicket pair needed 17 runs for a tie and 18 for victory, with 76 balls remaining.
Lindon Wilkinson and number 11 Michael Barber chipped away, with the score creeping up to 9-167 before Wilkinson struck an Oscar Middlebrook delivery firmly but uppishly to mid-wicket.
Frost parried it into the air but he kept his balance and composure, and he snaffled the ball at the second attempt to seal Gunnedah’s grand final berth.
Gunnedah 8-175 (Jono Middlebrook 50 retired, Ken Walters 46; Michael Barber 3-19) defeated Old Boys 167 (Jakob Brown 44; Rhyse Frost 2-20, Ken Walters 2-23, Oscar Middlebrook 2-30) by eight runs.