The contest between Barooga and Cobram was the pick of the bunch, however, with the Tigers holding on to claim victory by a single run after Barooga’s lower order collapsed in sight of victory.
Asked to bat after losing the toss, Cobram’s innings was bolstered by a top score of 37 to Andrew Hogan, with just one other score in the double-digits, as Flynn Griffiths (4-34) and Samuel Leigh (4-45) ran riot with the ball for Barooga, bowling the Tigers out for 123.
But the chase got off to an equally shaky start for the Hawks, who were down 4-21 early, although a steadying knock of 30 from Isaiah Benson saw the home side to 5-76 by the time he departed, while Will Lavery’s 33 saw the Hawks beyond 100.
Reaching 106 with five wickets in hand, and needing only 18 runs for victory, Barooga looked assured of victory, but when Lavery fell to leave his side at 6-106, things took a dramatic turn.
An LBW decision and a run-out saw the Hawks lose another two wickets without advancing the score, slumping to 8-106, and while Flynn Griffiths was looking solid, his departure for 18 left Barooga needing 11 runs for victory with one wicket in hand at 9-113.
They would score nine of those runs, reaching 122 with one needed to tie and two to win, but up stood Oscar Betts for Cobram, bowling Barooga’s Charlie Noonan to have the Hawks out for 122, giving the Tigers a one-run victory.
It was a much simpler victory for Nathalia in its bout with Katunga, claiming an eight-wicket win after bowling the Swans out for 130 at Nathalia Showgrounds.
Mark Wilson led the way with the ball, claiming 3-13 as the Purples ran over the Katunga batsmen, encountering some resistance only from Swans skipper Brendan Thorne, who made an unbeaten 61.
But the home side made light work of the 131 required for victory, with Wilson and Darcy Maloney finishing unbeaten on 47 and 67, respectively, as Nathalia reached 132 for the loss of two wickets to wrap up a comfortable victory.
Deniliquin beat Finley by three wickets in their clash at Memorial Park, restricting the Cats to 7-150 before chasing down 151 for victory in 34 overs, with Stephen Marshall’s 72 the highlight for the Rhinos in the win.
Elsewhere, Tocumwal claimed a six-wicket win in a low-scoring clash against Tungamah at Tocumwal Recreation Reserve, bowling the visitors out for 88 in 31.1 overs off the back of 5-3 from James White, while Archer Chellew top-scored in the chase with 29 for the Bloods.
Jerilderie and Berrigan both had the bye.
