Without key personnel and off the back of a bye weekend, Katamatite skipped away to a seven-wicket triumph on the road at Tocumwal Recreation Reserve.
It was an impressive win from the outfit, headlined by two standout performances from young gun Harry Paterson and talented batter Damian Cupido.
Paterson (5-21) collected a sublime five-wicket haul while Cupido registered a classy unbeaten 80 with the bat.
The round nine victory keeps Katty locked inside the Murray Valley Cricket Association A-grade top four — on equal points with second-placed Deniliquin.
“It was a bit strange to come back after the Christmas break and have a week off again after playing one game. It kind of felt like we hadn’t played for a long time,” Katamatite coach Brayden Beaton said.
“It was great to see some nice contributions and to get the win over there, especially without three of our usual suspects.
“Full credit to Tocumwal, I thought they batted really well, especially their captain Andrew (Lean), I think it was their highest score of the year.”
Tocumwal reached 146 from 31 overs thanks to a blistering 78-run knock from its skipper Lean.
Paterson’s efforts helped restrict the hosts to under 150, with the spinner wreaking havoc once Beaton tossed him the ball.
In the run-chase, Katty got off to a tough start with both openers back in the shed with 21 runs on the board.
Enter Cupido.
The star bat, fresh off four catches and a stumping in the field, crafted a superb half-century to steer his side over the line in the last over of the match.
Beaton was full of praise for his side’s two leading performers.
“I think Harry is now our equal highest wicket-taker for the season which is a massive effort,” he said.
“It’s the second time this season that he has come on at the death and bowled really well. He bowled seven of the last 14 overs and kept it really tight.
“And Damian performed brilliantly; he really anchored the innings which is what we set out for him to be at the start of the season.”
With an upcoming match against Nathalia, who is fresh off toppling Barooga at the weekend, Beaton understands how vital the win was over Tocumwal.
“It was super important we got that win,” he said.
“The top four is really tight and with Barooga going down to Nathalia at the weekend, we know we have got a real test ahead of us on Saturday.”
- Around the A-grade grounds, Barooga suffered a surprise defeat to Nathalia.
The Hawks were bundled out for 101, 37 runs short of victory, thanks to a five-wicket haul to Nathalia’s Clancy Congues.
Kale Watkins (3-21) and Justin Maley (25 runs) were the standouts in the loss for Barooga.
Lastly, Deniliquin clinched a six-wicket triumph over Katunga.
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