Diggers have ensured they will stay at the top of the table for at least another week after picking up their seventh win of the season after taking on Leagues at Exies No 2 on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Leagues captain Logan Matheson and Matt Kennan looked give their side a start to build from however after seeing off the opening bowlers Keenan (9) was caught by Dean Villata off the bowling of Dean Aylett while Matheson (1) was bowled by Matt Peruzzi (1/14).
The middle order from the Panthers gave their side a chance with Reece Matheson (11), Jimmy Binks (33), Andrew Madden (13) and Raj Singh (11) all able to get starts but not able to go on and make the big score their side needed.
The introduction of Ben Watts (4/16) into the attack saw the game swing back in favour of the Diggers.
The fast bowler was on a hat-trick at one stage after picking up the wickets of Singh and Ryan Greenaway (0) in successive deliveries and while Connor Matheson was able to see of the hat-trick ball, Watts didn’t have to wait long to do further damage as he dismissed Madden and Liam Greenaway in the following over.
Set a target of 126 for victory, Diggers lost an early wicket as Mick Duncan (0) was dismissed by Singh which brought the ever-reliable Trevor Richards to the crease.
Richards alongside Diggers skipper Theo Valeri were able to lay the foundation for their side’s chase.
The pair were able to take on the bowling attack as they put on 93-runs over the course of the next 18 overs to get their side to 94 before Valeri (42) fell to the bowling of Ryan Greenaway, and Richards (48) was dismissed by Singh (2/11) in the following over.
Tom Valeri and Watts were able to get their side to within four runs of victory before Greenaway (2/41) removed Watts (14).
It only delayed the inevitable with Matt Peruzzi wasting no time as he hit a boundary off his first ball to bring the game to an end and hand his side a six-wicket win with 5.2 overs remaining.
Leagues have the bye next weekend while Diggers take on Hanwood.