Round eight of the Murray Valley Cricket Association competition had the A-grade Rhinos up against the third-placed Katamatite.
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Due to the rain earlier in the week, the game had to be moved from Deniliquin’s Memorial Park to Barooga.
Katamatite called the toss correctly and had no hesitation in batting first.
Interestingly, the Rhinos’ captain Boddie Arthur has not won a toss of the coin all season.
The Rhinos went with the pace and spin opening combination again and had immediate success, with Manraj Virdi holding a very sharp caught and bowled chance.
Lucas was out for 0, which was a great start, considering he was their highest run scorer (35) in the round one clash.
Unfortunately, Dilip Boppidi sustained a bad hand injury in the third over, forcing him from the field and a visit to the hospital.
Boppidi has dislocated and fractured his thumb, which is looking like a six-week injury.
The left-handed Green was looking solid and aggressive.
Virdi struck again in his third over, having Brandon Nicholls adjudged LBW.
The UK import, Sam Gordon, and Tyler Green added 42 for the third wicket.
Prem Muppidi and Boddie Arthur were bowling well, and runs were hard to score.
Gordon tried to take on the spin of Arthur but skied the ball to deep midwicket into the safe hands of Harry Hillier.
When Muppidi bowled Green the next over, the Rhinos were back in the game.
Muppidi was using the conditions to his advantage and was swinging the ball.
Ben Beaton tried to slog Arthur and inside-edged the ball onto his wicket.
There were three wickets in three overs for the Rhinos.
Lachlan Holloway was introduced into the attack.
Holloway bowled the Katamatite captain, Brayden Beaton, with just his fourth ball.
Katamatite were 6/80 after 22 overs.
The experienced Andrew Erickson was the one the Rhinos needed to remove.
Erickson combined with Oliver Mynard to add 39 runs for the seventh wicket.
Dushan Rathwatte broke the partnership bowling Mynard.
There was some conjecture over his dismissal, but the Rhinos were confident, and the umpires agreed.
Erickson continued his smart batting and added 40 runs with Ben Lukies.
Muppidi produced another gem, having Lukies caught behind.
Katamatite finished their 45 overs with 8-164. Erickson finished unbeaten on 51.
It was a great effort in the field by the Rhinos, who had injuries to Tim Hillier (calf), Holloway (Shoulder), and Arthur (Hamstring) and had the coach John Arthur as a sub-fielder for most of the innings.
All the Rhinos bowlers did the job, with Boddie (nine overs 2/22) and Holloway (seven overs 1/8) being the hardest to get away.
The Rhinos only needed 3.5 runs per over on a good pitch.
Boddie Arthur and Hillier opened the batting for the Rhinos.
Hillier (3) chased a wide drive and was brilliantly caught at second slip.
Virdi departed soon after, skying a pull shot to mid-off.
Andrew Hogan was looking to dominate the bowlers.
He smashed two boundaries before a third attempt was caught at mid-off.
The Rhinos were in big trouble at 3/31 after 14 overs.
The run rate was still not an issue, but partnerships were needed.
Boddie and Jonty Tubb batted well and added 46 for the fourth wicket.
Things were swinging towards the Rhinos, with the pair taking nine runs off Ben Beaton’s second over.
The Rhinos had the run rate back to the required position.
Boddie (34) was dismissed next over when he clipped a full toss to square leg.
Tensions were running high, with some old-school sledging taking place.
Rathwatte and Tubb looked at ease before some confusion saw Rathwatte (3) run out, coming back for a second run.
It took some brilliant work by the bowler, Ben Beaton, who was able to collect a wide throw and flick it back onto the wickets.
The pitch was starting to keep a little low, making cuts and pulling shots hard.
Holloway (1) was bowled, and the Rhinos were 6-93 after 32 overs.
Tim Hillier came to the crease with a calf injury, which made running between the wickets hard.
Tubb’s (30) great innings came to a close when an attempted drive was caught and bowled by Erickson.
Hillier (1) was Erickson’s third wicket caught at mid-wicket.
Hamish Baker (8) and Muppidi (13 not out) added 25 runs for the ninth wicket.
That was the close of the innings, with Boppidi unable to bat.
Katamatite’s Erickson was man of the match with his uneaten 51 and three wickets.
The Rhinos were all out for 124 and Katamatite won by 36 runs.
While obviously disappointed to lose, coach John spoke of the positives and the reality that it was a game they could have won.
Special mention was made of Muppidi’s bowling and Tubb’s batting.
They are great confidence boosters for the pair.
More batting partnerships are needed, and fewer extras are conceded.
This weekend, the Rhinos will travel to Finley to contest the first of the two-day games.
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