Thunder win big over Newtown

After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, the Thunder team piled on the pressure from the get-go.

Cooper Baker was outstanding taking four wickets from his three overs for only seven runs.

Evie Peart showed how much she has improved through the season with one wicket.

Newtown finished 10 wickets down for 99 runs. In reply, the Thunder team had a day out with the bat to finish their 20 overs nine wickets down for 193. Yet again it was the Cosier brothers, also known as the Bash Brothers, that top scored Mitch Cosier with 23 runs and Alex with 22.

Cooper Baker topped off a good day with 19 runs. It was a brilliant batting effort by all the Thunder players which takes them one step further in securing a semi-finals spot.

The Lightning continue their struggle with players having to isolate but made it a true battle against the more fancied Dubbo CYMS team.

Winning the toss and batting first, the Lightning had to contend with some accurate bowling and posted a very respectable total of eight wickets for 86 runs. David McIssac top-scored with 11 runs. Lightning needed to bowl well to restrict CYMS which they did, however in a very close finish it was CYMS that snuck their noses in front to win, finishing with seven wickets for 92.

Ben Mudford was the star with the ball taking three wickets for three runs from his four overs. The team are maintaining a fantastic attitude despite the challenges the second half of the season has produced. The Storm team had a hard-fought win over Narromine Reds in Narromine.

The Storm batted well scoring 4/117 with Narromine posting a score of 6/97. It was another good win for the Storm team, who are also in the hunt for a spot in the semi-finals. The 14's went down to Wellington, in a game where both sides were significantly down on numbers.

Batting first, Wellington posted a score of three wickets for 79. Many would have thought that this would have been a walk in the park for the Gilgandra team but again they fell agonisingly short to be all out for 76 runs. In three games against Wellington, the Gilgandra team has gone down every time in close matches with only a handful of runs separating the team in each game.

 With only three rounds to play before the semi-finals, the Thunder and Storm continue to be in contention for a semi-final spot with 14s all but assured of a finals spot. So, the next few weeks will be important for all teams.

Round 13 draw, February 26 14Bs Gilgandra vs Macquarie at McGrane Oval, Gilgandra. 12Bs Thunder vs Narromine Junior Black at Ernie Knight Oval, Gilgandra. 12Bs Lightning vs Wellington White at Lady Cutler Oval South B, Dubbo. 12Bs Storm vs Dubbo Rugby at Bob Dowling Oval number one, Dubbo.

By David Neeves