Round nine of Murray Valley cricket had Deniliquin playing Finley in the first two-day (80 over) games.
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Finley was hit by a powerful storm on Friday night, which saw the covers blown off the wicket.
Consequently, the pitch was rain-affected, which would make batting difficult in the early overs.
For the first time this season, the Rhinos won the toss and elected to bowl.
Andrew Hogan struck first in the third over having Archie Masoin LBW. Jonathon Cattell got off the mark by striking his third ball for six.
Justin Crowley and Cattell dug in against the moving ball and added 32 for the second wicket.
Prem Muppidi had Crowley caught spectacularly by Dean Herbert at the gully.
The drink break worked in Rhinos’ favour with the dismissal of Cattell.
Muppidi struck again, having Cattell caught at mid-off.
Manraj Virdi held a smart catch and Finley were 3/41.
Finley was having trouble scoring, and the wickets were falling consistently.
The Rhinos pace duo of Hogan and Muppidi attacked the stumps and bowled a great length.
Harrison King, Callum Campbell, Jonty King, Roree Wallis, and Dan Eldridge were all bowled out.
A marathon spell by Hogan saw him capture 4/17 off 16 overs.
Muppidi was equally as impressive with 3/17 off 11 overs.
Lachlan Holloway only bowled two overs but finished with three wickets.
Finley had slumped from 1/38 to be all out 51.
Finley had lost 9/13 in 20 overs.
Such was the pressure; there was a period when Finley failed to score for 35 balls.
The Rhinos had to bat the remaining 49 overs.
The Rhinos got off to a flyer with Boddie Arthur punishing the short-pitched bowling.
Arthur played a ball onto his wicket and was dismissed for 16.
Harry Hillier and Virdi looked solid and scored at ease.
Virdi was aggressive to anything short. The pair ran well between the wickets and added 59 runs for the second wicket.
Hillier smashed a full toss to mid-wicket and was caught for 21.
Virdi (35) mistimed a pull shot and was caught at mid-off.
Virdi’s innings included five boundaries.
Anthony Bradley scored 11 in his return to the A-grade.
It took a great catch by Dan Eldridge at deep square leg to end his innings.
Dean Herberte (18) and Charlie Paton consolidated the innings, adding 41 in just over 10 overs.
Herberte’s dismissal had the Rhinos at 5/142 with five overs remaining in the day.
Jonty Tubb (5) was dismissed with a one-handed high leap catch at mid-wicket.
The Rhinos finished at 6/154. Paton is 31 not out.
Kai Hillier was unbeaten on two but has been subbed out for the second week, replaced by Jack Tonta.
The Rhinos still have Hogan, Holloway and Muppidi to come.
Cattell was the pick of the Finley bowlers, taking 1/36 off 13 overs.
The Rhinos would have scored many more runs if it were not for Finley’s brilliant catching.
The Rhinos are currently leading by 103 runs and will be looking to add another 50-60 runs before bowling again.
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