Hillgrove hit the ground running in Armidale District Cricket Association’s two-day competition, with a dominant display against City.
Hillgrove beat City convincingly with an innings to spare at Lambert Park over the weekend.
Captain Matt Baillie opened the batting with Josh Croft and starred, scoring 173 runs.
Croft scored 48 before Matt Schaefer added 93 to a total of 344.
With his aim to set his side up by batting a patient innings, Baillie said his top order were able to put a good total on the board without losing too many wickets.
"I had a good mindset out there when I was batting,” he said.
The bowlers stuck at it and we ended up spending pretty much the whole day in the field but to get the extra points on the board, full credit goes to our bowlers and everyone did a good job on the weekend.
- Matt Baillie
"Our top three, myself, Matt Schaefer and Josh Croft all did that.
"To post a score with just our top four batsmen is really good.”
He said the total posted by his side gave the bowlers plenty of confidence when it was their turn out in the field.
"I thought we may have needed to bat again when we sent City in for their second innings but we managed to get the 20 wickets which was really pleasing,” he said.
"The bowlers stuck at it and we ended up spending pretty much the whole day in the field but to get the extra points on the board, full credit goes to our bowlers and everyone did a good job on the weekend.”
Hillgrove’s win sets up an exciting encounter against the Barbarians this weekend with the Baa Baas coming off a powerful performance against Ex-Services.
The Barbarians also finished their match with an innings to spare and batsman Clarrie Moran belted a century.
Baillie said his side have to be wary of the Baa Baas but is confident he has the talent to get the job done.
"I know Barbarians have got a lot of talent in their side and if they get it right, they have the potential to score a lot of runs if they bat for a long period of time and also take wickets,” he said.
"We need to go into the game with the right mindset and if we keep playing cricket the way we have been playing we should go okay.
"Barbarians have a lot of talent and they can take your game away from you fairly quickly so we have to be careful.”
Ellen Dunger
Originally from the Blue Mountains, I spent my teenage years in the Riverina at boarding school before moving to Bathurst in 2012 to complete Bachelor of Sport Studies/ Bachelor of Communications (journalism) at Charles Sturt University. I started my career at The Blayney Chronicle in May 2015 and worked casually, one day a week at the Central Western Daily later on that year. I moved to Armidale in March 2016 to take on the role as the Northern Tablelands' sports journalist. Played a variety of sports in my lifetime including touch football, league tag, gymnastics, dance, cross country running and equestrian. Always happy to hear news and tips. www.facebook.com/ellendungerjournalist/
Originally from the Blue Mountains, I spent my teenage years in the Riverina at boarding school before moving to Bathurst in 2012 to complete Bachelor of Sport Studies/ Bachelor of Communications (journalism) at Charles Sturt University. I started my career at The Blayney Chronicle in May 2015 and worked casually, one day a week at the Central Western Daily later on that year. I moved to Armidale in March 2016 to take on the role as the Northern Tablelands' sports journalist. Played a variety of sports in my lifetime including touch football, league tag, gymnastics, dance, cross country running and equestrian. Always happy to hear news and tips. www.facebook.com/ellendungerjournalist/
