It’s all Harwood in cricket decider

By Tim Howard

Harwood Cricket Club has celebrated its return to the Clarence Valley competition by wrapping up the CRCA first grade premiership with an eight-wicket win over Lawrence at Ellem Oval at the weekend.

Harwood dominated their Lower Clarence rivals from the outset, routing them for 79 on day one and finishing the day at 2/58.

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Overnight rain delayed the inevitable until mid-afternoon when Coby Tabor, 41no and skipper Ben McMahon, 17no, knocked off the required runs without drama.

It was all over in 33 overs. McMahon stroked the fourth ball of Jarrod Ensbey’s 11the over to the boundary to level the scores, then tapped the final ball of the over for a single to win the game.

With so much time lost to rain and Harwood so far ahead in the game, both skippers called stumps by mid afternoon.

Harwood’s clinical finish on day two followed a day of carnage on the Saturday

Lawrence skipper Nathan Ensbey had his only win of the day, calling correctly at the coin toss and deciding to bat.

Disaster struck almost immediately with veteran opener Ben Hill, 1, out on the final ball of the second over.

Mark Ensbey and first drop Rowan Green dropped anchor for 13 overs, but could not get on top of the bowling.

Harwood’s opening pair of Duncan Fischer and Troy Turner kept the runs to a trickle and until the 15th over with the score on 22, Fischer trapped Ensbey in front for 10.

Green and new man in Luke Moloney found runs had to come by and within five overs both had been dismissed.

After Ensbey’s dismissal McMahon made the fateful decision to introduce Corey Lewis to the bowling crease.

His ability to bowl medium pace off cutters on a tight, fourth and fifth stump line, was made for grand final cricket.

On the final ball of his second over Lewis had Green caught by Jacob McMahon, the first of this five wickets for the innings.

Three balls later Fischer had his third for the innings and the wheels had fallen from the  Lawrence effort at 4/28.

The pattern was set for the Lawrence innings. Clumps of wickets would fall in between in between  periods of stubborn defence.

The Harwood team celebrates after a devastating eight-wicket win in the Clarence Valley mixed first grade cricket grand final at Ellem Oval, Grafton at the weekend.

Nathan Ensbey, 17, and experienced all rounder Doug Harris, 5, dug in for on of those periods and took the score to 51.

But when Ben McMahon bowled Doug Harris, it kicked off another tumble of wickets.

Lewis lured Ensbey into a false stroke a few balls later and in his next over had Nathan Anderson caught for a duck,

At 7/54 it was going to take a miracle for Lawrence to post something for its bowlers to defend.

Darby Rouse, 9, was virtually becalmed but Chris Townson, took the fight up to the bowlers, striking three boundaries in his innings of 16.

But when he fell with the score on 78, the end came quickly with the final two wickets falling for just one run.

Harwood were in no hurry and openers Maison Simmons and Matt Farrell faced four maiden overs.

In fact Harwood’s first runs didn’t come until the end of the fifth over, when Townson bowled a ball that went for four wides.

The first wicket didn’t come until the 14th over when Simmons was dismissed for 6.

First drop Coby Tabor immediately capitalised on the dogged start from the openers and was more expansive with his stroke play,

Within a few overs he was in double figures and his attitude put the bowlers on notice that anything off line would concede runs.

When the score reached 44 Harris had Farrell caught for 12, but Ben McMahon and Tabor took took the score to 2/58 at stumps on Saturday,

Raid kept the players from the field until mid-afternoon and when it resumed Tabor and McMahon calmly moved total to 2/80 when it was decided to halt play.

It marked the end of a summer of cricket which began with enterprise with the new-look premier league featuring the return of Harwood and Lawrence making a successful foray into two-day cricket.

Harwood, a powerhouse in Clarence cricket since the formation of the original premier league in 1995, had left the Clarence to play in the North Coast Premier League competition.

But the exit of Grafton club Brothers after the the Christmas break revealed some weaknesses in the game which required some inventive work arounds to keep the competition viable.

In the end it was the newcomers to the competition who had the most success and who played the most enterprising cricket.

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