HE hadn’t picked up a bat in 18 months, but you wouldn’t have known it.
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Wauchope RSL top-order batsman Josh King topscored with a near-faultless 64 as Wauchope RSL claimed their first win of the Mid North Coast Premier Cricket League on Saturday.
They chased down Wingham’s competitive total of 182 with 26 balls to spare and for the loss of eight wickets.
Wauchope captain Matt Day said King recently moved to Newcastle to attend university, but they were thankful he returned for the trip to Cedar Party Oval.
With a hundred beckoning, King was the seventh wicket to fall with 50 runs still required.
“He got a bit tired at the end and probably threw it away,” Day said.
“He batted really well and was really strong through mid-off and cover and was smart about his batting.
“He hit the ball over the top and then when they dropped the field back he took his ones and twos.”
Day admitted Wauchope learnt from their first-round defeat when they failed to chase Macquarie’s 174.
He batted really well and was really strong through mid-off and cover and was smart about his batting.
- Wauchope RSL captain Matt Day
“We pushed the button a little earlier this week than we should have last week because the weather was threatening and it got a bit dark,” he said.
“Wickets in hand were a bit of a worry for us towards the end because we had to go hard to get ahead of the run-rate.”
While Tony Brown (4-9 off 3.2 overs) “burgled” at the end, it was the performances of Matt Miller (2-27 off eight) and Bailey Smith (1-51 off eight) that impressed the captain.
“Matty bowled really well for us up front and Bailey went for 50 off his eight, but bowled a lot better than that,” Day said.
The Wauchope captain was most satisfied about the bowling effort after Wingham appeared set for a mammoth total at drinks.
“They were about 100 at drinks and could easily have scored 220-240 and when that happens you’re going to have a hard time chasing later,” he said.
“So for us to peg them back and then chase down 180 was a testament to the whole side.
“It’s been a while since we last chased that many.”
Day said while the overall performance was a positive one, they weren’t getting carried away.
“Wingham told us they were missing five or six of their regulars so their attack wasn’t as good, but we batted better than we did last week,” he said.
They were about 100 at drinks and could easily have scored 220-240 and when that happens you’re going to have a hard time chasing later.
- Matt Day
“Isaac King (12 not out) was also impressive for us down the bottom of the order and Haggers guided us home at the end.”
With the Macquarie Coast Stingers playing their Twenty20 Regional Big Bash games in Coffs Harbour next weekend, the Premier League will have a rest.
Day backed the decision to pause the competition.
“It’s a bit of a no-brainer,” he said.
“You can’t have blokes not playing for the Stingers because they want to play local cricket which is what would have happened.”
