Tocumwal took up the willow to continue from its 6 for 67 from last week’s first-day clash.
Cooper Harris (16 from 36) stepped out in partnership with Joshua Wraight (50 from 59) to knock the Bloods to 8-99, before Tom White finished his side’s first innings with 13 from 23 balls not-out.
Abeer Chowdhury then opened the batting for the home side, making one from eight deliveries until being sent packing by Tocumwal’s Liam Sutton.
After concerted efforts from captain Riyaad Henry (24 from 17), Crue Lucas (29 from 29), and vice-captain Brendan Lewis (13 from 19, not-out), Barooga posted four for 90 from 15 overs before declaring.
The Bloods took to the crease in their second innings with Peter Harrison knocking 32 from 52, with four fours, at the top of the order.
As the overs continued, Tocumwal’s batting appeared stronger and stronger. At the bottom of the order, Liam Sutton posted 36 from 52, while Rodney Meloury made 41 not-out off 37.
But seeking to claim Tocumwal’s remaining wickets, several of Barooga’s seasoned bowlers - including club president and spinner Sam Leigh (4 for 41) and John Oliver (4 from 19) - managed to push Tocumwal all out for 152 after 39.2 overs.
The end of the final over saw Barooga take the outright by 10 runs.
Barooga vice-captain Brendan Lewis highlighted the efforts from the whole team.
“The boys performed really well,” he said.
Different individuals stood up at different times, Lewis said, in his side’s fight to win the outright.
“When we rolled into the second innings, we really wanted 160 in front and probably at least 40 overs to bowl at them,” Lewis said.
“We needed ninety really quick runs, and Crue Lucas [29 from 29 balls, with three fours] stood up, he smacked the ball around.”
With four wickets for 41, spinner Sam Leigh wrecked havoc on the wickets on the second day, said Lewis.
“He reckons he’s the king of spin at the moment,” he said.
“Our plan was to attack and try to get the outright. To achieve that, we had to be a bit risky. And you have to be ready to lose to be able to win as well.
“We needed that outright to climb the ladder. But take nothing away from Toc, they dug in and had a crack as well.”
Looking to Thursday’s clash with Berrigan, Lewis stressed the message for his side was the same as ever.
“We’ve got to keep wining if we want to play finals cricket,” he said.
“Berrigan had a really good win at the weekend, but twenty-twenty cricket is very different to two-day cricket.
“We’ll have a game plan, and we’ll take Berrigan on their own merits.”
34°C