Cowboys create history with Brewery Shield win
Wednesday February 11, 2009
The Cobar Cowboys contingent at Nyngan on Sunday. - Photo contributed
The Cobar Bowling and Golf Club-sponsored Cobar Cowboys are the champions of Macquarie Valley cricket after their sensational come-from-behind victory over Narromine in the Brewery Shield competition at Nyngan on Sunday.
Cobar got the first break when captain Phil Harley won the toss and elected to bat; always a big advantage on hot days.
However, the advantage soon swung back to Narromine when the two Cobar openers, Tom Good and Jake Harbison, were out in the second over with only six runs on the board.
Doug North and Stewart Fraser took the score to 34 before Fraser was out for 11.
North was batting like a man in a hurry and he and Harley scored 29 quick runs before North was out for a well-complied 39.
Peter Neale was looking good before he was out for 14 and Harley made 18.
The runs were coming at a good rate but wickets were falling just as quickly and, after 17 overs and the first drinks break, Cobar was reeling at 6/83.
The situation became worse and at 8/115, it looked like it would be another low score and an early finish with Narromine well on top.
Then came the critical partnership between Stephen Nicholson and Paul Gauci which changed the course of the game and Narromine lost their way.
Captain Harley urged his players to “scrape up another 30 runs”, while coach-driver Pat Prendergast said “if we make 150 that will be enough”.
The runs came slowly at first with 12 runs in five overs.
Nicholson batted with rare composure while Gauci struggled to find his timing.
Twice in one over he gave difficult chances before he finally got his eye in and batted in the only way he knows how—with some lusty hitting.
The runs came thick and fast; 18 off one over as the pair got on top of the Narromine bowlers and added 95 valuable runs for the eighth wicket before Gauci was out for 53.
Damien Harbison joined Nicholson and added a further 39 runs for the final wicket.
He was out for 14 in the 50th over.
Nicholson was left not out on 67 after having played the innings of his life and Narromine had to score 250 to win.
In the hottest time of the day Cobar bowlers toiled as the Narromine openers quickly gained the ascendancy by taking 23 runs off the first two overs.
It was hard to set a field for Narromine’s big-hitting Tony Harding who swung wildly at everything - but it couldn’t last!
The first wicket fell at 35 before Narromine consolidated and at the end of 17 overs, they were 2/83.
Wade Potter made the break for Cobar after drinks and broke the Narromine middle-order by taking 3/8 in a five-over spell to put Cobar back on top.
The two Harbisons, Jake and Damien, bowled in tandem for a while with great success as Cobar tightened their grip on the game.
Damien took 4/20, including the wicket of the dangerous Mark Munro for a first ball duck.
Narromine was bowled out for 139 in the 38th over and must have wondered where it all went wrong when they had such a stranglehold on the game.
After the game Macquarie Valley’s Steve Chippendale presented Phil Harley with the Brewery Shield and Stewart Fraser with the Cricketer of the Year award.
After some close finishes and humiliations in the last nine years it was good to finally “get the monkey off their backs”.
The Brewery Shield commenced in 1952 and Cobar has been competing in it since about 2000 and this win is a great inspiration for future Cobar teams.—Wisden
Next story | News home
.jpg)