West Tamworth captain Jake Philp says their bonus point win over North Tamworth on Saturday was a big step in the right direction.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Only their second win of the season, it wasn't so much the result but how they went about it.
It started with the bat.
"It's the first time we've batted through the 40," Philp said.
READ ALSO:
The result was their biggest total for the season, posting 7-194.
Dave Mudaliar set the tone at the top, the opener carrying his bat for 84.
"He was very patient, very calculated," Philp said.
"He batted very well. He saw off the good bowlers and picked up the run rate when he needed to."
Having someone bat through made a big difference and they were able to build some good partnerships around him.
After a 74-run opening stand with Daniel Collinson (39), Mudaliar and Mitch Lincoln (36) then added 64 for the third.
Philp said they had spoken a lot about batting their overs out at training, which is something they have put a "big emphasis on" this year.
"We've had 11 blokes at training every week, which has been unreal, and we knew if we did the simple things right then eventually it would eventually pay off," he said.
As well as valuing their wickets a lot more than they had been, he said they also lifted in the field.
"Our bowlers have bounced back really well from the first few games," he said.
They didn't allow Norths to really get any momentum, picking up consistent wickets.
"That first 10 overs was massive, taking a few early wickets definitely put the pressure back on especially when they knew they had to keep that run rate up," Philp said.
Harrison Kelly then really turned the screws, ripping through the middle order.
He bowled brilliantly and finished with 5-13 from his seven overs as they rolled Norths for 89.
Lincoln followed up his efforts with the bat with 2-16, Philp also figuring among the wickets in what was an "all round good team effort".
The two will match-up again this Saturday with the washed out round four games being replayed.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark northerndailyleader.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News