“We were just outclassed, in every aspect of the game”.
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That was the only way ORC skipper Wayne Sellers could think of to describe his side’s tough Royal Hotel Cup initiation on Wednesday night, the Tigers were handed a seven-wicket shellacking by the Ben McAlpine-inspired CYMS.
Despite a good start with the bat the Tigers limped to 7-115 from their 20 overs before McAlpine opened his shoulders in the chase and took the game away in next to no time, the second time he’s done so in as many games.
He smashed 44 to lead CYMS to a first-up win over Kinross, backing that up with a swashbuckling 49 on Wednesday night.
Tom Satterthwaite chipped in with 41 at the top too, the pair combining in a 91-run second-wicket partnership as the green and golds cruised home with seven wickets and seven overs still in the bank.
“Benny’s a bit of a freak, isn’t he?” ORC skipper Wayne Sellers asked, rhetorically.
“Once he got going he was pretty hard to stop and even though we dropped him twice, he batted well, took the game away from us.
“We were just outclassed, in every aspect of the game. Dave (Sellers) and I got us away to a decent start but we lost a few quick wickets and that slowed us down.”
Dave Sellers was the first of those quick wickets to fall, for 15.
His demise sparked a collapse, Wayne Sellers (19), Andrew Best (4), Brad Glasson (6) and Evan Jones (6) all being sent packing as the Tigers lost 5-33.
After sitting well at 0-36, the side was left reeling at 5-69 after that.
We were just outclassed, in every aspect of the game.
- ORC skipper Wayne Sellers
“We just collapsed really, they bowled well and it tightened us up in the middle overs,” Sellers said.
“It’s happens a bit in all forms of cricket, at times we tend to try and score a bit too quickly and it comes back to bite us a bit.”
Jeremy Judge (33 not out) and Trent Fitzpatrick (16) added 45 for the sixth wicket to lift the Tigers to a somewhat competitive, albeit meagre, 7-115.
Ed Wright (2-15), Chris Novak (2-18) and Sam Dwyer (2-24) all took multiple scalps for CYMS, while stand-in skipper Joel Crosswell bounced back from a wayward first over to snare 1-19.
CYMS lost Mick Hannelly (3) early to sit at 1-8, but it mattered little as McAlpine and Satterthwaite went to work.
The Tigers’ first game against Kinross was washed out, Sellers said Wednesday night’s clash was a steep learning curve for the side.
“We struggled under lights more than anything, that was pretty different,” he admitted.
“A lot of guys were battling to pick the ball up in the field and it had a pretty big impact. We haven’t played much Twenty20 either, so we are still learning the game.
“We’ve playing quite a bit in Bathurst over the next few weeks, so I reckon we can improve in our [last two] games.”
Those games, against Cavaliers on January 19 and Lithgow on February 9, will more than likely bring an end to ORC’s 2017-18 campaign, with a loss and a draw the Tigers are next to no chance of qualifying for the finals.
CYMS are on track for a play-off spot though, the undefeated green and golds now sit on top of the standings.