In what might go down in Katamatite cricketing history as the year that could have been, the Tigers have missed out on a place in the finals despite a surprise crumpling of top-of-the-ladder Deniliquin at the weekend.
On Saturday, Katamatite returned to the crease with enough overs to continue its tally of 140 after cruising past the Rhinos’ 104 from last week.
Before it came time to hand the bat to the visitors, shared efforts from Tyler Green (71 from 116) and Kepler Lukies (81 from 98) saw the Tigers end their first innings on 263.
The first innings points were the Tigers’. Hoping to stamp its authority on the match, Deniliquin took its second turn with the bat.
But when the home-side’s bowlers pulled out some clutch action with the ball, the Rhinos were left stumbling.
Rhinos skipper Boddie Arthur was out for 17 from 94 thanks to the handiwork of Kepler Lukies, who would go on to claim wicket after wicket (5-23 from 21 overs and 10-39 from the match).
The woes soon added up for the visitors after vice-captain Harry Hillier was bowled for a duck by James Irvine (2-10). Jack Tonta top-scored for Deniliquin across an innings which saw the Rhinos all-out for 107 in the 55th over.
And with that, the Tigers won the match by an innings and 52 runs.
But further afield, Barooga continued to sweep the runs against visitors Finley and went on to supplant Katamatite at fourth by just 1.2 points in the league standings.
