It will go down in Tamworth cricket folklore as one of the most unlikely wins - a rare happening that was fuelled by an unbeaten century and a key supporting role, and preceded by an unfortunate team-selection mix-up.
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For City United, their two-day clash against North Tamworth at Riverside 2 on Saturday had seemed doomed even before a ball was bowled.
By naming one player twice on the team sheet, naming an injured player and inadvertently leaving two players off the sheet, including dangerous off-spinner Scott Brennan, third-placed City were effectively reduced to nine players for the start of the match the previous Saturday.
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The substitute-fielder rule meant they had 11 fielders on day one of the match, but Brennan was not allowed to bowl. Propelled by Brendan Rixon's 113 - his second ton this season - the second-placed Redbacks made 222, then had City United at 3-26 at stumps on day one.
City and Norths spoke last week, and Norths agreed to let City field a full side on Saturday. But as it turned out, it mattered naught, as No 5 Tom Fitzgerald made 141 not out. Fitzgerald - who turns 21 in December - has played non-stop cricket for seven seasons (he plays for North Yorkshire-based amateur club Filey during our off-season).
He received tremendous support from teenage No 7 Liam Rodgers, who made 41 not out as he intelligently rotated the strike to allow his more experienced partner to punish Norths' attack and drive City to 4-226 off 65 overs. It was their sixth win of the season.
Brad Smith - standing in as City skipper for Pete Mead during the match - hailed Fitzgerald and Rodgers' unbeaten 178 partnership.
"It was pretty chanceless," Smith said, adding that Michael Rixon split a tough catch at first slip when Fitzgerald was in the 90s.
"It was just unreal," Smith said of Fitzgerald's inning. "He just punished the poor ball and then got the singles when he needed to."
He added: "I think what made it so good was it was so well-supported by Liam Rodgers ... They both played with a lot of patience; it was unreal."
Rodgers has scored 127 runs this season at an average of 31.8 and with a highest score of 54. Smith said: "The poor kid couldn't buy a run last year ... [but] he's really starting to come into his own in first grade."
Smith said not having Brennan on day one of the match was a big blow. "We had them 7-70, so it kind of rocked us a fair bit," he said, adding: "It was pretty good sportsmanship from them [Norths]: they allowed us to play with the 11 in the end ... but we didn't need them in the end."
Smith described the team sheet issue as a "muck up". "And I didn't proofread it ... I just assumed it was right. And you know what happens when you assume ..."
Meanwhile, South Tamworth moved off the bottom of the ladder after a comprehensive first-innings defeat of Bective East at No 1 Oval. The Bulls are now last. Chasing 120, Souths made 8-217 declared. Travis Ling top-scored for Souths (54 not out).
Adam Jones and Josh Howison both took three wickets for the Bulls, who finished on 1-23 in their second dig.