Sunday’s clash was Moree’s final round game for the 2018/19 Connolly Cup and a must-win to remain in finals contention following losses to Tamworth and Narrabri in the first two rounds.

Moree and District Cricket Association president Glen Holland said the Gunnedah defeat was a good win for Moree.

Losing their first wicket with just one run on the board, Jay Urquhart (33) and Sam Lumby (38) helped Gunnedah post a first innings total of 8/157 from their 50 overs.

READ MORE:

Moree bowlers shared around the wickets, however Beau McMahon was their best with 3/26 off nine overs, while Alf Newman and Jack Montgomery took two wickets each.

In reply to Gunnedah’s innings, Moree required just 34.3 overs to secure victory, finishing at 6/158.

The competition’s best batsman Tom Ryan (31) scored the most runs for Moree, with Ben Legg (29) and Sam Brown (24) contributing to the winning total.

The victory comes off the back of their round three win in Bingara on Sunday, November 25 which saw Moree defeat Gwydir by four wickets.

Moree is currently second behind Tamworth Blue, followed closely by Narrabri in third place, however with the bye coming up, that position could be threatened depending on round five scores.

Holland said Moree’s loss to Narrabri in round two put a significant dent in their finals chances this year.

“The loss to Narrabri hurt us the most,” he said.

“We were short on players for that game.”

Despite two losses to their name, the Moree side boasts some of the best players in the competition.

Moree’s Tom Ryan is the competition’s leading batsman with an average of 166 runs.

Jack Montgomery leads the bowling with a total of nine wickets, while Alf Newman is the Connolly Cup’s third best bowler with seven wickets. Newman is also the best fielder, having taken three catches.

“Now that we’ve got the good turf wicket our players are learning more and more how to play proper cricket,” Holland said.

The finals of the 2018/19 Connolly Cup will be held in January.