NARRABRI copped one of the biggest hidings in recent memory last week at the hands of Tamworth but in some ways it was lucky.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Two weeks of rain-soaked wickets have meant little cricket has been played across the region and, despite not winning a War Veterans Cup game yet, Narrabri is still right in the mix to make the final.
The washed-out fixture between equal second-placed Armidale and Gunnedah would have cemented an outright second place for one of them and mathematically taken Narrabri out of the equation.
The wash-out meant that the two sides shared the points, and Narrabri is still within reach at the bottom of the table as it hosts Armidale tomorrow.
Captain Lachlan Cameron said they would still have to win the next two games to be in the mix.
“It is a big ask but it is a chance,” Cameron said.
“The rained-out Armidale clash was the second best result we could have got.
“The best would have been a double wash-out and we could have shared the points with Tamworth.”
Instead, Tamworth bowled them out for 59 and flogged the runs in 31 balls.
Narrabri will be looking for its first win in two seasons of the Cup this weekend and, despite last week’s result believes it has the team to do it.
“The bowling will look after itself and we have a great batting line-up,” Cameron said.
“We are a young side but we keep falling short with either the bat or the ball each game.”
“We need to learn to play for 100 overs with bat and ball together.”
Losing openers Jason Howe and Daniel Kahl won’t help their cause, although they have handy replacements.
Shane Murphy will step into the opener’s role and Daniel Cope will come into the side to replace Howe.
Brady Jenkins is also in to take the place of Grant French.
“All we are looking for is some improvement,” Cameron said.
“Last year we were close to winning four games but didn’t get any.”