GUNNEDAH has begun its War Veterans Cup campaign with a win over Narrabri thanks to a blend of youth and experience.
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Youngsters Kaleb McIlveen (26) and Adam McGuirk (35), along with veteran Ben Haire (34 not out) were vital to Gunnedah’s first innings of 9-176.
Spinner Chris Sargent proved to be Narrabri’s most threatening weapon, claiming 5-25 from his 10 overs.
Sunday’s clash at Wolseley Oval comes after Armidale forfeited their opening round game against Tamworth on Saturday night.
Gunnedah captain Mitchell Swain praised his young charges for their efforts.
“We wouldn’t have won today [Sunday] without Kaleb and Adam,” Swain said.
“They batted really well and with some of the older guys like Farran Lamb and Sam Doubleday with the ball, we were able to blend our youth and experienced players together really well.
“We are pretty confident about our chances this year and this is a really big win for us.”
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In reply, Narrabri made significant inroads to Gunnedah’s total thanks to a powerful 73 from Nick Smart, but were unable to chase down the total – falling 20 runs shy to be all out for 150.
“You are always nervous when Nick and Lachy Cameron are in the same side,” Swain said.
“They are two of the best batsmen in the Central North, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit worried.
“But, I was always confident if we bowled well enough we would be able to get the job done.
“Credit to Nick though, he is a quality batsman and very nearly got his side over the line with what was a top knock.”
Swain said his side’s middle order would “have to improve” before Gunnedah’s next game against Tamworth on November 25.
“Our middle-order batting was ordinary at best today [Sunday],” he said.
“I thought going into the game it would be a strength of ours but, myself included, weren’t good enough.
“We need to get better throughout the middle order going forward and if we don’t, we may not be able to get the same good result we got over Narrabri.”
The Gunnedah captain said while his side’s batting needed some work, the side’s fielding performance was pleasing.
“I have told the boys we have got some stuff to work on in terms of batting and bowling,” he said.
“But, I thought our fielding was really good.
“There wasn’t too many dropped catches or misfields and we were good enough in the field all day.
“All up it is just really pleasing for us to get a win first up and hopefully we can carry it forward for the rest of the season.”
- Narrabri will next take on Inverell on November 25.