Barrier Daily Truth

Central in control

Monday, 13th February, 2012

PLACEMENT: North’s Mick Moritz slashes a shot through the off side.

By Darrin Manuel

Central’s batsmen have bounced back from last week’s defeat to guide their team to a five-wicket win against North.

The Bulldogs opted to bat first on the Jubilee Oval wicket but struggled to make an impact on the scoreboard as the Magpies’ bowlers held sway.

Openers Scott Rogers and Ben Victory defended their wickets grimly before Jarred Paull had Rogers caught behind after scoring one run from 46 balls.

The Bulldogs continued to score at a modest rate throughout their innings, with Tobias Hack (23), Codie Howard (16), Mick Moritz (15) and Victory (16) all making good contributions.

Central took the Dogs’ final wicket in the 44th over with 118 runs on the board. Jarred Paull and Scott Shephard were the best of the Magpies bowlers, claiming three wickets each.

The Magpies made a confident start to their run chase with openers Matt Jardine and Cam Wells gaining the upper hand.

Their opening stand of 28 set the tone for the innings, which was a display of controlled and sensible batting.

Jarred Paull (27) and Wells (25) were the top scorers, with Jardine (17), Alex Bray (14) and Justin Netherwood (14) also chipping in.

The Magpies reached North’s total in the 41st over with Justin Netherwood and Shephard still at the crease.

Paull said his team had made a point of taking a patient approach to the run chase, and the strategy paid off.

“We saw we needed around 120 and we sat down and said ‘we’ll try and chase it down and keep wickets in hand until the second drinks break’,” he said.

“We thought it was a good score to be chasing. If it gets up to around 180 in can be a bit hard so we were happy to keep them to that total.”

Although Paull took three wickets himself, he credited spinner Shephard (3/24) with keeping the North batsmen restricted.

“The last few weeks with his spin bowling he has been really great,” he said.

“You don’t see too many good spin bowlers in Broken Hill but he’s really been on his game. He’s been landing them well and bowling really consistently.”