| Tatts achieved the treble of winning the Club Championship, 1st Grade and 2nd Grade trophies in the 2002 - 2003 season. A great effort by all concerned. Following are the match reports and photos. It was the club's 5th consecutive 1st Grade premiership! | |
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| 1st Grade | |
| Defending Narrabri first grade premiers Tatts crushed the minor premiers, RSL last Saturday to win a history making five straight first grade cricket crowns in what proved to be a disastrous grand final day for the RSL team. Tatts big game experience came to the fore as their bowler’s exerted tremendous pressure on the RSL batting line-up. RSL won the toss and had first use of a dry wicket protected from the rain the previous night by the covers. The toss would be the only joy for the RSL side as Daniel Lowder 1/10 from 6 overs and Nathan Ford 2/8 from 9 overs claimed the early wickets of Tony Dampney (3), Mick Davis (9) and danger-man Jim Pitman for an uncharacteristic duck to leave the minor premiers reeling at 3/15 in the 11th over. Russell Wood then followed up the work of his team-mates to apply even more pressure and dismiss Allan Munroe (9) and Mick Spalding (10). The dismissal of Munroe came about with a brilliant slips catch by rugby convert, Matt Panton. RSL captain Jason Trindall shared a brief but promising partnership with Tom Williams to take the score to 56 before he became Panton’s first wicket when he picked out the trusty hands of Nathan Ford on the deep mid wicket fence. RSL’s day of woe didn’t get any better as the Tatts fielding and bowling kept the pressure on to dismiss the remaining batsmen for a season low score of 71 for the RSL team. Matt Panton bowled with good variation to record the figures of 3/5 from 6.1 overs of off spin while his spinning partner Russell Wood also bowled well to return 2/17 from 9 overs. Neil Hatton also played his part in the RSL collapse by running out Rod Tomlinson with a direct hit. Tatts captain Tony Meppem praised the high standard of fielding and tight bowling as the catalyst for the RSL collapse. Meppem gave his previously out of form openers Craig Gleeson and Rod Kirk different instructions with Gleeson to be more aggressive and Kirk to provide the anchor role. The openers performed their roles to perfection as Gleeson slaughtered the RSL attack to belt 55 runs from only 36 balls in a display that saw three sixes and four fours struck as victory was achieved in only 13 overs with out the loss of a wicket. Gleeson was a deserving winner of the Man of the match medal for the grand final after a sharp display in the field and a devastating batting display. Tatts captain Tony Meppem later accepted the Col Cameron First Grade shield from association Treasurer Tony Longworth after the second grade grand final at No. 3 Oval and commiserated with his opposition on what had been one of those day’s they would rather forget. | |
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| 2nd Grade | |
| Wayne Knight’s Tatts second grade cricket team completed the double last Saturday when they defeated RSL to take out the Barrett Cup at Leitch Oval. Overnight rain fired the wicket up and Tatts had the unenviable task of batting first with the ball lifting off a good length. Tatts openers Brad Graham and Brendan Ward batted with maturity to post 18 runs before Graham was caught for 10 off the bowling of Darren Burton. Dave Lewis then joined Ward and the pair took the score to 51 in the 23rd over when Ward was dismissed by Sam Mensah for 11. Lewis then combined with Eddie Griffiths (22) to take the score to 89 in the 32nd over before Griffiths was also dismissed. Lewis continued to take control with a good mix of aggression and defence to stifle the RSL attack to top score with 59 runs on a difficult wicket. Paul Hulbert answered a plea for help from his clubs second grade captain to drop back from first grade and didn’t let his new skipper down with a little gem of an innings that yielded 34 runs (including two sixes) at a crucial time in the innings. Tatts finished their overs at 5/161 which was a very competitive target on a lively wicket. The RSL run chase began poorly with form batsmen Rick Fry (1) and Captain Derek Litzow (7) back in the shade after being dismissed by Dave Lewis. Jamie Butt (42) stepped up for the challenge and combined with Blayne Magner (21) to take the score to 73 before Magner became the first of the wily veteran Wayne Knights six victims. Knight bowled his off spinners with precision and aided by some spectacular catching from Hulbert and Steve Ford to return the amazing figures of 6/24 to dismiss the RSL batting for 125 and record a well deserved victory after finishing the minor premiership 30 points clear of their nearest opposition. Dave Lewis was judged to be man of the match by umpires Geoff Page and Rob Butler after a well compiled 59 runs under difficult conditions and an opening bowling spell that yielded the vital wickets of Fry and Litzow. Wayne Knight later accepted the Barrett Cup and thanked all those who had played throughout the season and a loyal band of supporters who attend every match. | |
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Tatts Cricket Club - Club Champions 2002 - 2003 |
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