Easts brought City’s winning run to an end on Saturday as the bowlers dominated matches across the grounds.
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City had been the surprise packet of the one-day season with the side unbeaten until they met Easts in the round eight clash.
For Easts, their batting was the thorn in their side earlier this season but their total on Saturday was first grade’s highest score of the round.
City sent their opponents in to bat and their bowlers set the pace with Easts batsmen falling early on.
Nathan Porter showed some resistance with 17 before more wickets fell for Easts. Matt Jackson top scored in his side’s total of 89 with 19 not out.
For City, Karl Triebe finished with four wickets, Dylan Yeomans one, Simon Stubbs four and Andrew Skinner one.
“They won the toss and bowled which is a fairly obvious decision, I was going to do that as well,” Easts captain Sam Uphill said.
“They bowled really well and took a couple of really good catches. We had a few boys out but that is not an excuse they were just really good with the ball.”
It’s no secret Easts have a handful of young quicks who can inflict damage at anytime and that’s just what they did.
Defending a low total was no easy task but they set to work and ripped through City’s batsmen to dismiss them for 42.
The opening pairing of Jackson Gwynne and Tyson Burey proved formidable with Gwynne finishing with 4-13 and Burey 2-9.
Todd Francis finished with 4-5 from 6.2 overs.
“Jackson Gwynne again was unbelievable, he bowled just as well as he did last week, if not better, so he has been a real asset for us at the moment,” Uphill said.
“Tyson Burey at the other end was just as good but didn't get the wickets but bowled really well also.
“To not have to use Matt Jackson who has been our highest wicket-taker of the year is a big bonus.”
In the other game, Andrew Curry turned in a vintage performance to bowl Hillgrove to a 12-run win over Ex-Services in a low-scoring affair at Lambert Park.
Curry took advantage of the sideways movement the green wicket provided to claim 7-28 as Hillgrove routed Services for 75 after they had scrambled to 87.
Andrew Byrne and Liam Howard equal top-scored with 12, while Will Archer and Will Waterson scored 11.
“I don't think we were patient enough, we didn't even look close to batting 45 overs,” stand-in Hillgrove skipper Brad King said.
They only lasted 25.4 overs.
“No respect for the bowlers and no discipline, no one valued their wicket I guess so it was a little bit disappointing that way,” he said.
The Ex-Services bowlers did too bowl “very well”, John Elliott (3-34), Josh Targett (3-18) and Leon Clifford (2-30) doing the damage.
“It was a good, gutsy win in the end,” King said.
“Cuz [Andrew Curry] grew an extra leg and bowled awesome, a big fella like him on a deck like that is always going to be hard to handle.”
“We caught very well and I thought our ground fielding was very good.”
“It was just our batting that let us down but we did enough because Cuz was very good with the ball.”
Archer backed him up with 3-44, King only using the two bowlers.
Opener Andy Benetti hit 15 and Nick Day 21 before Ben Murphy renewed Services’ hopes with 23. Clifford also made a quick-fire 11, King admitting that he thought it could be the end for them when Clifford came out and “went bang bang”. But then Curry bowled him.
“They could've batted a bit smarter as well and taken the game away from us but that is probably Armidale cricket, we haven't played a lot of cricket because of the weather and the byes,” King said.
“No one has got in their groove at all because there's no batting scores at all.”
“I'm not complaining about the wicket but that's what made the scores low I imagine.”
“We haven't played a lot of cricket so we were very thankful to get a game of cricket in and we were just lucky to be on the right side of the run board.”
“We did have seven unavailable, we had a few second graders there and we had Adam Partiridge make his first grade debut.”
Batting at 11 Partridge was unbeaten on nine.