WITH seven rounds of the 2019 Australian Country Cricket Championships at Shepparton now complete, the South Australian Outbacks had a slow start in the opening rounds.
The first four games – played in the Twenty20 format – saw a draw due to the heat rule the best result for the Outbacks.
But that changed on Sunday, when the side claimed a good win over New South Wales in the first one-day clash.
To make the victory all the more sweet, it was the first win over NSW since back in 2008.
The Outbacks won the toss and elected to bat, a decision which paid off.
Mount Gambier’s Matt McInerney led by example with the ideal captain’s knock and his total of 70-not-out was all the difference in the end.
Fellow Mount Gambier player Kieran Ashby had the next best score with 26, while openers Brodie O’Dea (18) and Peter Wilson (24) started well to create some momentum.
Down the order the Outbacks struggled and if not for McInerney’s efforts the side would have been far from its 164-run total at the end of the 50 overs.
NSW then took to the crease and it took just 35 overs for the Outbacks to send them packing with a meagre total of 74.
Opener Graeme Batty was one of only two who broke into double figures, with middle-order batsman Ben Patterson contributing 32 to prevent an embarrassing result.
Luke Wiese and David Golder excelled with ball in hand and bagged three wickets each, while Mount Gambier’s Nick McInerney was among the single wicket takers.
The Outbacks were not so fortunate in their second one-day match, struggling to post a strong enough total to hold off Queensland when they took to the crease.
Again South Australia won the toss and elected to bat, but its eventual 139-run total was not enough for the win.
O’Dea opened and managed 43 runs before he was dismissed, while it was not until further down the order another double-figure score was reached.
Mount Gambier’s Dion Stratford scored 21 before he was caught out, while Joe Brown made 12 and a 30-not-out from Nathan Van Eekeren helped to bolster the score.
The Outbacks were all out after 48 overs, while it took just 30 overs for Queensland to reach the winning total, with four wickets remaining up its sleeve.
In the previous Twenty20 games, the first loss of the 2019 country championships was dealt by Victoria in round one last Thursday.
Victoria needed just 12.3 overs to reach the target of 80 runs for victory, after the Outbacks struggled with the bat.
Matt McInerney led by example again and top scored for his side with 24 runs.
However, early in the innings the team struggled to string runs together, with Stratford falling for just four with the total at 16.
From there the wickets began to tumble with regularity and even the experienced Ben Parish was only able to contribute six runs.
McInerney fell with the score at 51, while brother Nick came and went for a solitary run.
The innings was done after 19 overs with just 79 runs on the board.
It was always going to be a tough total to defend, but Stratford played a part in the first wicket, as Wiese bowled a bouncer on the first ball which was gloved through by opener Cameron Williams to Stratford behind the wickets.
But that was the highlight of the innings for the Outbacks, as a 70-run partnership between Victoria’s Jordan Moran and Ashley Gray all-but reached the target and the side had no trouble wrapping up the win.
In round two on Thursday afternoon the Outbacks had the bye, before taking on Queensland in round three on the Wednesday.
That match resulted in another loss, with SA falling 30 runs short of the 161 total set by Queensland.
The sunshine state dropped just four wickets to reach its total after 20 overs, with opener Mitchell English managing an impressive 81, aided by a 42-not-out from Christopher Hall.
Wednesday afternoon’s match against NSW was abandoned due to 45 degree heat, while the final Twenty20 match for the Outbacks saw a narrow loss to Western Australia.
Losing the toss, the Outbacks were sent in to bat first and posted a credible 7/136 after the 20 overs.
The side was again led by its captain, with a 44-run haul from Matt McInerney the top score for the team.
Ashby also fared well at the crease with 32 runs, while Nick McInerney was next best with 13.
The total was defendable and the Outbacks were off to a solid start when WA opener Aaron Burrage was dismissed for five runs after four balls.
However, fellow opener Bevan Bennell held firm and managed 43 before he was bowled by Van Eekeren.
Halfway down the batting order Zane Marwick stood tall and served most of his 48-run haul partnered with Nathan Crosby, with the number five and six batsmen seeing out the innings.
Just two overs remained when the total was reached.
With the bye yesterday, today the Outbacks have a chance for redemption when they face Western Australia in the one-day format.
