Men in green give Tonny the blues in round four thriller

The majority of Tonny’s stronger batters were already back in the sheds, with the home side four down when play resumed on day two of Goulburn Murray Cricket action, but with such a small target to chase any onlooker would’ve thought Tongala would be giving Echuca the blues in round four.

Yet, the three-time reigning premier proves over and over again that a classy side never rolls over in the face of defeat.

Adam Nunn and Darin Ohlsen resumed in the middle for Tongala on day two; however, the pair could only notch 10 runs before Nunn was sent packing, nicking behind off Nathan Elliott’s bowling for 13.

Keagan Miller only lasted nine balls before he too succumbed to Elliott’s classy bowling, this time it was Curtis Townrow’s hands that found the ball, dismissing Miller for a duck.

Stephen Townsend was able to mount a fightback with Ohlsen and developed a handy 25-run partnership and looked to take the game away from Echuca.

But, when needed Echuca’s captain Simon Maddox always finds a way to bring his side back into the game, sending the danger man, Ohlsen, packing for a hard-fought 20.

Now at 7-95 and with batting options dwindling, the Blues had to go after it and ride their luck to get the remaining 22 runs required.

But unfortunately for the Blues, luck was with the men in green on the day.

While going for broke, Townsend was caught off Archer Carlile’s bowling for 14 off a defiant 72-ball knock and two balls later Mackenzie Cowley was caught off Charlie Hinks’ bowling.

With the two tailenders, Luke Smith and Lachlan Caldwell, remaining and still 19 runs required, Tonny’s hopes were fading.

However, a defiant partnership brought the Blues to the cusp until Elliott delivered the final blow, crashing a beauty into the stumps of Smith and sealing the win for Echuca.

Tonny’s despair was visible, with the Blues coming tantalisingly close to pulling off an almighty victory, but alas it was not their day.

Maddox reflected on the match and his side’s performance, paying particular mention to Townrow’s impact with the bat and Elliott’s effect with the ball.

“We got the win, so we banked the points in a really close game. Tonny were great, it was a pretty challenging wicket to bat on, and the game came down to the wire, but we were on the winning side which was good,” he said.

“Nathan Elliott bowled well, but I think our bowling was a group effort with Nathan getting the spoils.

“In a low-scoring game, Curtis got 46 off 33 which was over a third of our runs, so that probably got us over the line.

“So, I would most likely lean to him (Curtis) for man of the match, but then again Elliott did bowl well and took four wickets, so it was a great performance from both of them.”

But, a close call against eighth-placed Tonny meant that Maddox and Echuca have some work to do to tighten up as they approach the halfway point of the season.

“One hundred and seventeen is not a great score, but we are only just getting going, and we are 3-1, so we aren’t in too bad of a position,” he said.

“We are going to have to improve on some things, especially with us facing Moama and Fire Brigade in the next two weeks. We had a look at a few areas we can improve on and, hopefully, we can address them in the next few games.”

In the remaining two fixtures of a truncated round four as three teams sat out with a bye, there was a pair of far more one-sided displays.

Echuca South and Leitchville-Gunbower declared their innings and put their respective foes through batting twice, claiming more than comfortable sets of points.

Asantha Singappuli contributed a brilliant century in Echuca South’s huge win over Bamawm-Lockington United, while Billy Hawken led the way with 80 in Leitchville-Gunbower’s equally emphatic triumph over Nondies Cohuna.