Down but far from out in Alice

In its first game of the day, Northern Territory won the toss and elected to bat, advancing to 3-70 from the opening 12 overs.

After missing two catches in the deep, Victoria’s breakthrough came when Troy Oakley took an amazing one handed diving catch off Fletcher Stewart’s bowling.

“We were probably at a bit of an impasse and needed something special to get us up and about again – Troy’s catch certainly did that,” Stewart said.

Building momentum, Victoria restricted the tournament hosts to 7-100.

“Considering they were 70 with eight overs remaining, it was a great effort,” Stewart said.

Handy contributions from Nathan Gardiner (28) and Adam McDermott (24) saw Victoria surpass NT’s total, with Clay McCartney hitting the winning runs.

Unfortunately for Victoria, the afternoon match did not go to plan, with Noogal Toengorrt Tani sending New South Wales in to bat.

Although Bohdi Walker (3-15 from four overs) and Josh Eaton (2-18 from three) produced tidy bowling spells, NSW managed to pile on 9-135.

Noogal Toengorrt Tani showed their fighting spirit with Stewart top-scoring on 44, however, Victoria ultimately fell 18 runs short.

“We weren’t that far away in the end, so the loss was a bit disappointing,” Stewart said.

“However, hopefully we will still be in the tournament come Saturday and be able to make up for it.” 

To see full results from the 2013 Imparja Cup, click here.