Peter Harrison and Tom Oliver took to the centre and started well, defending and leaving well.
Once Harrison was out to a good delivery by Riyaad Henry (2/13 off eight overs) the floodgates opened with the team losing four quick wickets to be 4/29.
Reilly Rennick (15) and Andrew Lean (28) rebuilt well, and things were looking positive with a 32 run partnership.
Unfortunately, Lean fell, leading to another with us being all out for 80 with Mitch Richmann being the main destroyer with 3/19.
We knew we did not bat as well as we could, but took to the field knowing we had to show fight and field well.
Rennick (4/63) and Andy Arthur started really well with the new ball, giving very little away and bowling some brilliant deliveries.
They managed to get some early wickets and keep the pressure up, leaving Barooga 5/56.
They were well backed up in the field, especially by Josh Wraight with some great ground fielding and Tom White with three catches.
Unfortunately, for us, Hugh Sutton (46) and Crue Lucas (46) managed a partnership taking Barooga to safety.
A declaration with 14 overs left in the day left us needing to work our way to the end of the day with as little damage as possible.
Unfortunately, we did not apply ourselves as well as we could have and are 5/21 heading into week two.
Tom White was exceptional under a lot of pressure, showing maturity beyond his years to remain six not out.
While it wasn't our day with the bat, we can take heart from our best fielding performance for a long time.
We have to come into next week valuing our wicket and wanting to bat long.
C-grade:
Tocumwal won the toss and elected to bowl first, away against Finley, on Thursday night.
The Finley opening pair got off to a good start before a direct run out from Lachie McDonald brought the first wicket.
Toby Chappell and Declan Cameron came on, and both picked up a wicket, with Chappell running through the middle order.
The away side continued to take regular wickets, but Finley continued to find the fence.
Tocumwal bowled Finley out in the 30th over for 179.
Chappell was the star with the ball taking 4/24 while Cameron, Amal Aji, Adam Hughes, Daniel Bennett and Shaun Goldman all took one wicket.
With the bat, Tocumwal lost Brandon Meloury early and, not long after that, Chappell.
Aji was out shortly after, too.
Goldman and Aaron Shepherd tried to rebuild before Shepherd was bowled.
Goldman and McDonald attempted another rebuild, however once Goldman was out Tocumwal lost their remaining wickets quickly.
Finley bowled the team out for 106 in the 27th over.
On a positive, they only bowled one no ball and zero wides for the innings.
Under-15s:
The Bloods Mixed have set up an intriguing two-day clash with Katunga after posting a very competitive 9/190 from their 40 overs at Tocumwal Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
Having won the toss and electing to bat, the Bloods found themselves under early pressure but showed real character through the middle and lower order to fight back strongly.
Skipper Archer Chellew got things moving with a brisk 12, including two boundaries, but a steady flow of wickets saw Tocumwal in a tricky position early.
With the top order back in the sheds, it was up to the middle order to rebuild.
James White anchored the innings superbly with 35 from 46 balls, finding the gaps and rotating the strike, while Oliver East added a valuable 30, helping to steady the ship when Katunga were well on top.
The real highlight of the day, however, came from the back end of the innings.
Archie Matters played a brilliant knock, finishing unbeaten on 46 from 46 balls, striking six boundaries and changing the momentum of the game.
He found excellent support from fellow under-13s player Samuel Borg, who remained 15 not out at the close, the pair combining beautifully to push the total towards 200.
Contributions from Harrison Wilson (11) and others ensured the scoreboard kept ticking over, with extras also helping the Bloods’ cause.
To recover from early trouble and reach 9/190 was a testament to the depth and resilience in the side.
It was especially pleasing to see younger players stepping up A-grade and making significant contributions when the team needed them most.
With a strong total on the board and another week to come, Tocumwal have given themselves an excellent platform to push for a first-innings win when Katunga begin their chase this Saturday.
Under-13s:
The Bloods put together a complete team performance on Thursday evening, recording a strong win over Berrigan Saints in their Murray Valley Cricket Association T20 clash at Berrigan Sportground.
After the Saints won the toss and chose to bat, the Bloods restricted them to 6/72 from their 20 overs before replying with an impressive 5/134.
With the ball, Tocumwal were disciplined and shared the wickets around.
Sam White set the tone beautifully, finishing with 1/2 off his two overs, including a maiden.
Max White was equally damaging, taking 2/7 from three overs and claiming key wickets through sharp catching support from his teammates.
Archie Matters was almost unplayable, sending down two maidens in his two overs to finish with the remarkable figures of 1/0.
Wickets were also picked up by Skye Chellew (1/12) and Archie (1/0), while Joel Harrison and Lucas Bell kept things tight and helped build pressure.
Although extras boosted the Saints’ total, the Bloods’ overall bowling effort and improving fielding were real positives.
Chasing 73, Tocumwal’s batting line-up was in control from the outset.
Opening batter Joel Harrison got the scoreboard moving with a well-made 20 from 17 balls, including four boundaries.
Max kept the momentum going with 16 from 16, and later in the innings, Archie Matters lit up the ground with an explosive 26 retired from just 15 balls, striking two fours and two sixes.
Sam finished things off in style with a powerful 20 not out from 16 balls, including three fours and a six, while contributions from Charlie Wilson (8 not out), Samuel Borg (10 retired) and others underlined the depth in the batting order.
The Tocumwal Ice Creamery award went to Skye Chellew, recognised not only for her wicket with the ball but also for her consistency with the bat, retiring multiple weeks in a row and continuing to apply herself for the team.
Under-11s:
The under-11s took on Cobram on a hot Thursday night. We won the bat flip and chose to bat.
We posted a very competitive score as we only lost five wickets for the innings, which is a massive improvement. The stand-outs were Ross and Harvey, smashing a few fours.
We came into bowl, and we got off to a bit of a shaky start.
We bowled very well towards the end of the innings as Kobi and Harvey both bowled brilliantly. Furthermore, we ended up winning by two runs.
The award went to Ross for his outstanding batting, and shout out to Kobi for pickup a hat trick.
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