Results v Bective 27th February

Last round before the semis and the pressure was on in all grades to try and qualify - all that pressure and your opponent is Bective-East. Overall, City stood up tall today and were competitive. What's more, we had a fantastic roll up at the South Tamworth Bowling Club, with over thirty players and supporters enjoying City's hospitality through a few drinks.
1st Grade v Bective at No.1 Oval
City United 134 (Peter Mead 32x, Nathan Whale 31, Cameron Pyne 22, Chris Langston 17) v Bective 4-55 (Nathan Whale 2-7, Dan Lawrence 1-15, Brendon Reynolds 1-24)
After a disastrous 3-17 then 4-27 start, Pine and Whale looked the goods before both falling to the left arm spin of Kellett. Mead steadied the ship but apart from an aggressive innings from Langston, none were able to stay the course. Some strong inroads have been made into Bective batting lineup but its still all to do. Dan Lawrence's first grade debut was very impressive and Whale continued his improved contribution with the ball. Hard work ahead but this is winnable.
2nd Grade v Bective at Max Sutton Oval
City United 167 (Richie O'Halloran 83, Sean Hancock 20) v Bective 6-73 (Ben Semmler 5-11)
Playing the unbeaten Bective for a chance to play semi-final cricket, this day was dominated by two outstanding performances. Stand in skipper O'Halloran came in at 2-43 and never looked in trouble in delightful knock which included 14 fours and some wonderful use of the feet against the spinners. This was a century gone to waste and one which held his team together. Sean Hancock had started well and Gary Whale stayed for a 55 run partnership. With ball in hand it was all Semmler, returning to City after Uni holidays and his second Pfeiffer of the second grade season. Bective are most definitely vulnerable from here. Special mention to Ryan Sippel who snared two catches standing behind the stumps for the first time.
3rd Grade v Bective at Belmore Park
Bective 222 (Bruce Eather 3-34, Robby Smith 2-18, John Kennedy 2-38, Simon Bellamy 2-70) v City United 5-39 (Simon Bellamy 17)
How do you contain the powerful Bective batting line up to 222 on the small boundaries of Belmore Park? You bowl well, you take your chances and you never ever let the pressure off. A really good bowling performance and good work from the skipper. Unfortunately, much was undone in the last hour but until the fat lady sings, we don't stop trying.
4th Grade v Bective at Minor League 1
City United 64 (Dave Smith 26) v Bective 8 dec 191 (Nick Stacey 2-7)
Much as you don't like to count a side out, it looks a long way out of the bottom of the hole for the 4ths. Routed with the last 8 wickets falling for 20, one has to pay credit to an extraordinary bowling performance from A Kellett of Bective with 8-16 from 7 overs. We battled well and managed to snare 8 of their wickets but at five an over.

Club BBQ next Saturday. Let's see an even bigger rollup then as we celebrate the close of the regular season.

See CITY SNAPS for photos from play and CITY STATS for up to date stats for each grade. Full scoreboards are available in RESULTS.