MILDURA Settlers Richie Wyld said his eight-wicket haul against Coomealla Wentworth was all about patience and luck.
Wyld took 6/20 during the first innings and followed up with 2/86 to earn this week’s Sunraysia Cricket Association Coomealla Club Player of the Round nomination.
The off spinner, playing his 19th season with Mildura Settlers, said the two-day format allowed him to pick up wickets by bowling consistently and building up pressure.
“It was nothing scary coming down to them. (I just made sure to) just keep repeating the ball and let them make a mistake,” Wyld said.
While bowling with the white ball forced bowlers to think about restricting the batter, he said the red ball offered pressure. It was pressure that got wickets.
Wyld’s six-wicket haul on day one came via catches, and he said most were due to the batmen’s defensive techniques which occasionally allowed balls to pop up.
“It was one of those days where everything seemed to go to hand,” he said.
Mildura Settlers took 43.5 overs to bowl Coomealla Wentworth out and take first innings points. After bowling 16.5 overs on day one, Wyld followed up with a 27-over performance on day two, as his side chased an outright win.
After missing rounds due to COVID-19 restrictions and rain, and with the prospect of lost play due to heat, Wyld said Settlers wanted to bank points ahead of the Christmas break.
“They’re hard to get so when there’s half a chance there, you might as well have a crack,” he said.
But it was a “frustrating” afternoon for the veteran, as half chances did not go their way.
“The ball turned more this week. But that probably just encouraged more play-and-misses, especially with the left handers,” he said. “We had a few half chances with catches, and it just didn’t stick.”
Settlers brought players in close. And despite stationing fielders between the infield and boundary to tempt the batsmen, Wyld said they were out of luck.
“It was just one of those days where everything went right last week and this week, it went right for them not us,” he said.
Despite not securing an outright, Wyld said a teammate’s reminder that they had won the match helped keep perspective.
“It’s just good to be out there playing sport again, and having a life and just being around your mates,” he said.
As the Player of the Round, Wyld receives a $50 voucher from the Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club.
