A DAY of chaos seemed appropriate for a Sunraysia Cricket Association contest between two sides whose season is in the balance.
Both Coomealla Wentworth and Mildura Settlers entered last Saturday’s round 12 match-up at Mildura Senior College, holding a 4-7 record and separated by less than two points.
What resulted was 19 wickets on the opening day of a two-day game, a declaration and the home side returning to the crease without losing a wicket before stumps.
While first innings points went to the visiting Blues side, outright points are still up for grabs, making the second day of this match more important as the teams try to keep pace with the top four.
A younger Setts outfit, missing Richie Wyld and Jason Morrison, were dismissed for 79 despite a fighting 33 from Beau Kiel, before late order knocks from Tauseef Kataria (27) and Jay Turlan (26 not out) ensured they reached the target with three wickets in hand.
Earlier, Kataria and Liam Freeman took three wickets each for the Blues, while Setts’ Vick Singh has eight wickets in two matches with 4/18.
Coomealla Wentworth all-rounder Bevan Wade admitted that “chaotic” was the right word for the day.
“It wasn’t something I reckon either side were expecting,” he said.
“We had a bit of a plan of attack going in with the ball and we executed what we wanted to from a bowling perspective.
“They had a bit of a younger side on the weekend and I thought we got our lines right to get those wickets.
“Our batting was ordinary but at least we have the first innings points. An outright win would be huge for both teams, so it’s really a do or die situation in terms of finals.”
Freeman’s three wickets temporarily takes him to the top of the first division wicket taking table with 23, while Kataria has 17 scalps since arriving from England.
Wade admitted the Blues’ struggles with the bat during the season have been less than ideal.
“I think there was enough in the pitch to annoy the batsmen, but really it was probably just bad batting from us,” he said.
“It’s not ideal when you’re trying to win games when you struggle to get to triple figures at times.
“Hopefully we can get a couple of early wickets and put them on the back foot.
“Making those runs will be key to us at least finishing the season well, and hopefully if things go our way, we could be playing finals.”
Mildura Settlers will resume at 0/46 with a 24-run lead, with Luke Stanbrook (36) and skipper Keegan MacDonald (eight) at the crease.
Play continues at Mildura Senior College from 1pm Saturday.
