Teenage leg-spinner Zac Craig has had a dream first-grade debut, taking four wickets for Old Boys in their final-round clash against South Tamworth at No 1 Oval on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Craig - whom Old Boys captain Ben Middlebrook believes is 14 years old - stepped up from second grade in style as the runaway minor premiers look to get a slingshot into the finals with a win.
However, they finished day one on 4-41 after dismissing Souths for 191, with Souths quicks James Attard and Angus McNeill both taking two wickets.
Middlebrook said of Craig: "He bowled excellently, and I think he really enjoyed himself. And he took 4-59 off 16 overs, which is quite impressive for a young leg-spinner.
"He fitted right in ... so he's gonna have many more years to come in first grade."
Read also:
Middlebrook said Old Boys had a "couple" of players out on Saturday, and the club wanted to give Craig a "taste" of first grade before he returned to second grade for the finals. It is the youngster's first year at the club.
Heading into the match, Souths trailed fourth-placed Bective East by 12-and-a-half points. Middlebrook said Souths leapfrogging the Bulls into fourth place was virtually impossible.
The No 1 Oval clash was the only game to get under way on Saturday, with the Tamworth District Cricket Association announcing on Friday night that Bective's clash against second-placed City United at Riverside 1, and third-placed Norths and sixth-placed Wests' encounter at Riverside 2 had been postponed due to the wickets not being prepared after a heavy downpour on Wednesday.
"The committee voted on whether that game should go ahead as others cannot. It was voted that they should play," the TDCA said in a Facebook post.
If the other day games commence this weekend, it is possible they will be one-day games with two-day points.
On Saturday, South Tamworth won the toss and batted - with opener Mitch Smith (57) and No 3 Tom Groth (75) getting Souths off to a great start.
It was 3-143 when Smith fell - and the wickets then tumbled a regular intervals.
Old Boys lead City United by almost 26 points, and Middlebrook admitted to being surprised by the margin.
"I think our bowlers have been doing a really good job," he said. "We've won [the minor premiership] by a fair bit in the end. I thought it was gonna be a lot closer, but I guess the Twenty-20s gave us that bit of a gap.
"It's been another good season so far, so hopefully we can finish it."
He added: " I think we're lucky: we've got an experienced group there. But we've also got some good young kids, and you could see that in the final few games.
"Kids like Landan Price have really stepped up these last few games, and it's been good to watch."
Middlebrook said it was "anyone's guess" as to who would be Old Boys' main premiership rivals.
