A HARD-hitting display by Wandella’s Peter Moore helped the Bombers to a four-wicket win over RSL, securing back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Opening the batting, Moore smashed 67 runs from just 39 balls, including 10 boundaries and a six, to get the home side within sight of victory.
This was despite a devastating spell of bowling from RSL’s Brenton Caldwell, whose 6/32 kept his team well and truly in the game.
The only other batsman to reach double figures for the home side was Greg Dickson, who got Wandella over the line with an unbeaten 21 off 17 balls.
The former captain took control of the innings following the dismissal of Moore and guided the Bombers to their fourth win of the season, much to the delight of Wandella captain Ryan Barnes.
They both batted amazingly well,” Barnes said. “Peter (Moore) batted properly for the first 40 minutes of his innings, but then he put the foot down over the last few overs and started hitting the boundary.
“He set the platform for us with the bat and set the tempo and really helped us get over the line.
“Dicko, on the other hand, just came in and played his game and it was good to see him find some form ahead of the T20s this week.
“We’ll bat him a bit higher in the order and hopefully use his experience of being able to manage the innings to our advantage.”
Needing to win to stay in the race for the Kookaburra Cup final, Wandella held up their end of the bargain, but ultimately fell short when St Mary’s Tyntynder and Nyah District claimed the required points to remain above them after the final one-day fixture.
Despite failing to reach the grand final, Barnes was still looking for positives after the match as the Bombers move into the McDonald’s T20 competition starting this weekend.
“It’s a little bit disappointing that we found form a little bit late in the competition, but it was still great to come away with the win against RSL,” Barnes said.
“They have a few quality bats in their side and to have our bowlers stand up two weeks in a row and bowl to a plan and execute what we’ve been working on at training against a quality opposition was really pleasing.
“It would have been nice not to lose quite so many wickets. We had a few blokes play some horrible shots, but that’s cricket.”
Batting first, RSL made 9/109 from their 40 overs, with opener Paul Munro (21) the only batsman to pass 20 for the Blues. Samuel Copland (2/22), Ethan McKnight (2/27) and Moore (2/31) were the multiple wicket-takers for Wandella.
In reply, the Bombers surpassed the Blues’ total in the 17th over with six wickets down, Caldwell being the only wicket-taker for RSL.
