The Temora Bowling Club Tigers A Grade side (1/89) notched two wins from two after defeating the Shamrock Leprechauns (10/88) in the second round of the South West Slopes Cricket League competition. The Tigers won the toss and elected to bowl first at Nixon Park last Saturday. Five Leprechauns’ batsmen dismissed for a duck played a part in the team’s defeat. Jake Humphrey was their highest run scorer with 27 runs in an innings that ended after being clean bowled by Matthew Gillard. His innings included two fours and one six from 54 deliveries. The Tigers’ wicket takers included Edward Oliver (4/15), Matthew Gillard (2/5), Billy Winkley (2/5) and Corey Robinson (2/14). In the run chase, it took 15.1 overs for the A Grade side to reach the target. Opening batsman Nate Breust was the star with the bat, finishing as the Tigers’ highest run scorer with 54 not out from 50 balls faced. His innings included four fours and one six. Corey Robinson was the only Tigers’ wicket to fall. The Leprechauns’ sole wicket taker was Ryan Kemp (1/12), who was also the last man standing when his teammates’ wickets tumbled. Kemp summed up his team’s performance. “We started slowly with the bat, but without losing wickets,” Kemp said. “A middle-order collapse left a lot of runs off the scoreboard. “Jake Humphrey was our standout batter. “Our opening bowlers kept the run rate low, but couldn’t take the necessary wickets to force a chance for the win.” Meanwhile, the Temora Exies Renegades (10/107) suffered a heavy loss against the Grenfell Blues (7/207) at The Oval. The Blues won the toss and chose to bat first. It was a decision that paid dividends as they racked up plenty of runs after batting for the full 40 overs. Bailey Edwards was the Blues’ top run scorer with 69 runs. He was dismissed when he was caught by Adam Swanston from a Joey Cotton delivery. The Renegades’ wicket takers were Harry Swanston (2/27), Harvey Drumore (1/18), Joey Cotton (1/22), Oscar Block (1/24), Adam Swanston (1/25) and Mark Wilesmith (1/29). Facing a formidable target in the run chase, the alarm bells were ringing for the Renegades when opening batsman Harvey Drumore was run out with just three runs beside his name. Things got worse for the Renegades when incoming batsmen Michael Macauley and Joey Cotton were dismissed cheaply, with Macauley adding a single run to the total and Cotton out for a golden duck. Lower-order batsman Mark Wilesmith recorded the most runs for his team with 33 runs, but it was too little, too late to give the Renegades any chance of victory. The Tigers’ B Grade side had the bye last Saturday. In Saturday’s Round 3 games, starting at 1.30pm, the A Grade Tigers will have an away game against the Grenfell Blues at Lawson Oval, the Renegades will play an away game against the Criterion Bin Chickens at Miller Henry Oval, Young and the B Grade Tigers will play the Leprechauns at Nixon Park.
