MURRABIT have claimed their first A Grade points since joining the Swan Hill & District Cricket Association, defeating Ultima-TUF by six wickets at home on Saturday afternoon.
After bowling the visitors out for just 121 inside 30 overs, Murrabit then made light work of the run chase, with Toby Gray smashing 65 from just 58 balls.
Coming in with the score at 2/34, Gray hit two sixes among 11 boundaries, and had an unbeaten 52-run stand with Brad Hein (15 not out) for the fifth wicket.
Murrabit captain Blake Watts praised the batting performance, along with the efforts of Hein and Leigh Sobotnicki (17).
“Toby is a very talented batsman and his knock was unreal, he just took the game away from them,” Watts said.
“He hits the ball so clean and is also deadly with the ball. He is a very valuable player for our side and a massive pick-up for us.”
The win lifted Murrabit to sixth on the ladder, directly above fellow former Northern District Cricket Association club Barham-Koondrook and within touching distance of the top four.
“It was fantastic to get that first win on the board,” Watts said.
“We had a couple of changes to our side, but the main thing was we got the job done and managed to get over the line.
“A win like that will give us a lot of confidence going forward. We have a few young fellas in the side and it’s amazing watching them get better each week.
“While I was happy with how we batted, I think we still have some improvement in front of us with the ball, but getting the win will definitely help that and give the boys a bit of confidence.”
Sobotnicki was damaging with the ball, taking three wickets for just four runs from 4.5 overs, including danger man Mitchell Seton-Stewart.
Watts also claimed three scalps, including both Kade Benfield and Kyle Symons with the new ball, to finish with 3/40 from six overs.
For the Roodogs, whose winless start continued, the only batsmen to offer any real resistance were Ayden Symons, who made a run-a-ball 30, and Jordan King, who scored 28 valuable runs in the lower order.
