Coly will go into the semi-finals of the Griffith District Cricket Association second grade competition riding a nine round unbeaten streak dating back to December, 12, 2015.
They travelled to Hanwood to take on a Leagues side that will feature in this week’s minor semi-final.
Coly won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bat first.
Things didn’t start well however.
They lost openers Jacob Breed (7) and James Lyell (2) early.
This brought Sam Casey and Cooper Smith to the crease who looked comfortable initially.
This was until Leagues’ Jack Johnstone struck.
He got rid of the normally reliable Casey for just 10.
Jack Painting then came and went which left Coly in a bit of trouble.
Graham O'Connell came in and upped the ante.
A string of wickets soon left Coly in a spot of bother.
They lost Smith (37), O'Connell (14) and Josh Fattore (0) all in quick succession.
Now seven down, Coly still had one ace in the hole.
Coming into the game in scintillating form, Simon Mackie had kept himself down the order to give others a crack at the top.
Batting at number eight may be unusual for the competition’s leading run-scorer, but this didn’t stop him from doing what he does best.
He combined with Luke Roberts (14) and they put Coly back in a winning position.
Mackie got out for 61 just prior to the close of innings and Coly were eventually bowled out for 169.
With ball in hand it was Roberts who struck some early blows.
He picked up both Leagues openers to leave them two for not many.
They then hit a dry patch.
The bowling was a little wayward as they started to rack up the wides.
Mackie was then introduced into the attack and with the help of Roberts, turned the game back in Coly’s favour.
The wicket of Ryan Greenaway (23) was the big blow as Leagues’ lower order didn’t put up much of a fight.
Coly rolled on to dismiss Leagues for 95.
Roberts and Jack Painting finished with the best figures as they each picked up three scalps.
Coly will now play off against the Coro Cougars in the major semi-final this Saturday at Hanwood Oval.
The winner of the game will move straight into the grand final while the loser will face off against either Leagues or Diggers in an elimination final the following week. The grand final will be played at Exies No.2 on Saturday, March 19.
