Hillgrove’s bowlers delivered an emphatic performance to deny last season’s premiers Easts the chance at winning back-to-back two day titles in Armidale District Cricket’s first grade competition.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The match was reduced to one day’s play with the week’s wet conditions taking its toll on the town’s pitches.
Hillgrove sent Easts into bat first and their bowlers inflicted damage early with Adam Thurlow claiming the scalp of opener Donovan Chalmers for two.
Max Laurie got in on the wicket-taking next, dismissing fellow opener Nathan Porter for five.
Last season’s top run scorer Todd Francis combined with Aaron Whackett to add 20 runs to Easts’ total before Whackett was dismissed on 29 off Thurlow’s bowling.
Thurlow landed another one run later when he sent Justin Hickey packing for a duck.
Francis then fell victim to Laurie’s bowling for 13.
Laurie struck again shortly after, this time it was Dean Waters.
Sean Skinner landed the wicket of Easts’ captain Sam Uphill while Jack Carey landed the final three of Matt Jackson, Mitch Gwynne and Brandon Burey to dismiss the side for 67.
Hillgrove’s innings didn’t start positively either when Uphill bowled their opener Tom Browne for one.
Josh Croft was trapped lbw to Jackson Gwynne for nine and then captain Matt Baillie was caught off Gwynne’s bowling for five.
Hugh Reeves was next to fall for four when Todd Francis hit the stumps.
Michael Cursons then stepped up for Hillgrove and scored 17 before he was removed by Uphill.
Uphill secured his third wicket when Todd Francis caught Ben Gleenson’s wayward shot.
Richard Heagney dug in for his side late in the innings an managed a match-high 23 not out to chase down Easts’ total.
It was Baillie’s first season captaining Hillgrove and said it was “unreal” to win especially without some of the side’s experienced players in the competition’s leading wicket-taker Matt Schaefer and Brad King, who hit form before succumbing to a thumb injury at the end of the season.
"I have been a part of a couple but that is probably one of the sweetest ones I have been a part of,” he said.
"Pretty stoked with the result under some tough conditions for everyone.
"I can put it down to bowlers and in the field today, we took catches, bowled in the right areas and made it hard for them to score. They just bowled in the right areas today and brought chances.
"I think we can thank those guys for putting in a big effort and bringing those wickets to us.
"We did it without Schaef which is a bit of a statement because he has been scoring runs and taking wickets.”
"In a way that makes it a little bit sweeter because we had no Brad King and Matt Schaefer.”