Cricket
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A FINE all-round performance from Leagues Club captain Paul Plummer inspired the Panthers to a six-wicket victory over reigning Griffith District Cricket Association champions Exies on Saturday.
Both teams won their opening one-day clash of the summer the previous week, but it was Panthers who maintained their perfect record at Exies No.2 Oval.
Asked to bowl first after losing the toss, Panthers rolled Exies for 93.
Plummer made light work of the top order, snaring a hat-trick to dismiss opener Grant Volz, Jamie Winkler and Cameron Arnold for ducks.
Jimmy Binks also had an impact with the ball, the all-rounder claiming 4-18.
In reply, Panthers made a terrible start to their run chase and were reduced to 3-7 after Logan Matheson (0), Ben Leach (0) and Binks (1) were sent packing early.
But there was no panic when Plummer joined Connor Matheson at the crease, the pair sharing an 80-run partnership to guide Panthers to the victory.
Plummer said it paid to be watchful out in the middle.
"Those small totals can sometimes be hard to chase," he said.
"But Connor batted really well again.
"Me and him knew we had to build a partnership.
"We just tried to stay there as long as we could and bat sensibly."
Plummer said conditions weren't conducive to big hitting.
"The pitch was a bit sticky," he said. "It (the ball) wasn't coming on as well as it could've been.
"We just had to stick to the plan and push the singles around.
"If you got a bad ball, then you would try and hit a boundary."
Exies captain Marc Tucker said his side was 60 runs short of a competitive total.
"Dom Brown (46) batted well at the top, but no one stayed around with him," he said.
"The way we started, we were 50 off the first seven or eight overs. We were looking at 180, 200.
"Plum taking the hat-trick didn't help, but then there were a few bad shots."
Tucker said Exies were the architects of their own demise.
"There were a lot of bad (shot-making) decisions out there," he said.
"If we kept our heads down we should've been able to get 160 at least."