In the hunt for a much-needed maiden win of the 2021-22 Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association season, Mil Lel and North Sportsman’s threw everything at each other at Frew Park on Saturday.
But after an 80-over run-athon, the Tigers held their nerve in a nail-biting run chase to get their title defence off the mark.
The win could not have arrived at a better time for North Sportsman’s skipper Nick McInerney.
“It was a huge relief to get that first win on the board for the season,” he said.
“It was a high-scoring match and a thriller was the best way to describe it.”
The excitement started from the toss of the coin when the Tigers sent the hosts in expecting the pitch to talk after the overnight rain.
However, the runs rather than wickets were flowing as Mil Lel’s top-order showed it had the guts to stand up to North’s storied bowling attack.
William Rowland smashed the first three balls of Declan Kenny’s over for 14 to set the tone for another show-stopping innings.
Craig Lock was the perfect foil at the other end and the pair raced to the 50-run milestone.
But just when things started to appear bleak, Tom Robertson unlocked the more experienced Mil Lel opener for 27 to keep the Tigers with a sniff.
Despite the visitors’ optimism, Todd Carpenter picked up from where Lock left off and rode shotgun to Rowland.
The duo piled on 97 runs for the second wicket to put Mil Lel in the commanding position of 1/160 from just 27.2 overs.
But Elliott Fisher changed the game with his off breaks firstly inducing a false stroke from Carpenter on 44.
Rowland flew into the nervous nineties with a big six, but was clean bowled swinging for glory two balls later to falls seven short of a memorable ton.
Despite some resistance from Carey Megaw (26) the double blow sparked mini collapse of 6/68 from the last 13 overs as the Tigers clawed themselves back into the game.
Fisher and Tim Young were the multiple wicket takers, while McInerney lauded his troops’ intensity in the field after having felt that was a big area of improvement from the disappointing opening rounds.
With a big total of 7/228 on the scoreboard, North needed a solid start and the captain made sure Mil Lel did not make any inroads with the new ball.
McInerney steered the Tigers to 53 off just 10 overs, but his opposite number Jack Miller struck at the other end.
When Fisher also fell to the Mil Lel captain, the visitors were in a spot of bother at 2/75.
But heroic débutante Tom Robertson arrived at the crease and was proactive straight away to keep the momentum building.
McInerney raised his bat for 50, but a string of 11 dots created his downfall which allowed Jake Schutz making his mark during a breezy 32.
Although his knock generated momentum, Mil Lel was still in the box seat as Robertson and new man Declan Kenny had plenty of work to do.
North required 50 runs from the final 40 balls at 10 runs per over, but this tall order was well within reach of Robertson and Kenny.
Their busy partnership brought the Tigers five runs from glory at the start of the final over and Kenny sealed the win in style with a four and a six smashed over mid-wicket.
McInerney said the most impressive aspect of Kenny’s (46 off 25) and Robertson’s (69 off 78) unbeaten stand was their busy approach with two dots recorded from the last 35 balls.
“With runs on the board, you are always nervous and never home until you get there which was the challenge,” he said.
“They did not panic and broke the chase down.
“They kept out the good balls, hit runs, rotated the strike and waited until they needed to hit the boundary ball.
“Their ability to always find a single and run hard between the wickets really stood out.”
