George Town batsman Scott Davie is clean bowled in yesterday's play against Launceston. Picture: NEIL RICHARDSON
A SEVEN-WICKET haul by Mowbray paceman Justin Reeves helped the Eagles record a comprehensive 10-wicket outright victory over Riverside as their round 15, two-day clash wrapped up at Invermay Park yesterday.
Reeves picked up the excellent figures of 7-41, from his 19 overs, including six maidens, to help Mowbray knock Riverside over for just 90 in its second innings after it made 87 in the first.
The Blues resumed day two at 1-16, in their second dig but suffered another batting collapse with only Ramesh Sundra, who top scored with 38 and Aaron Campbell 21, making double figures and offering any resistance to the Eagles' attack.
Leading by 42 runs on the first innings, Mowbray needed only 49 in its second to win outright which it managed without the loss of a wicket.
``Over the course of two days we played some pretty good cricket and certainly bowled very well over the two innings so we're very happy,'' Eagles' captain-coach Clinton Reid said.
``Justin was exceptional with 11 wickets for the match and bowled really well.''
Reid said the Eagles knew if they bowled well they would not have to chase down too many runs in their second innings with a slow outfield at Invermay Park not conducive to making big totals.
``We turned up today and had real purpose in what we did with our bowling and fielding and got the job done.
``And to chase down a score without losing any wickets was a good result for us.''
The victory sets up an interesting top-of-the-table final round clash for Mowbray against ladder-leader Westbury next week as a prelude to finals.
GEORGE TOWN moved into third spot on the ladder leapfrogging South Launceston courtesy of its four-wicket outright win over Launceston in their clash at the NTCA No. 1 Ground.
The Saints resumed at 5-200, in their first innings after dismissing the Lions for 86 on day one.
They were eventually all out for 233, UK import Liam Johnson top scoring with 84 and Adam Davie making 32.
Trailing by 147 on the first innings, Launceston showed good application in its second dig scoring 236 - Liam Rice the standout with 91 and captain Rowan Smith making 31.
Needing 89 runs for an outright victory, George Town knocked off the required total but not before losing six wickets in the process to finish at 6-93.
Opener Scott Semmens top scored with 38 and coach Rohan Pooley made 30.
James Bowen had a good match for Launceston picking up figures of 4-68 and 4-34, while for George Town Gavin Nutting and Zac Barber both collected three wickets in the Lions second innings.
``It was a hard-fought win and to Launceston's credit they batted well on a wicket that wasn't offering bowlers much so we had to toil away at a good line and length to get wickets,'' Pooley said.
``In the end we had a little run chase and a bit of fun and we were lucky enough to get a few away.''
WESTBURY continued on its winning way with a comprehensive 335-run victory over South Launceston in their game at NTCA No.2.
South resumed at 4-40 chasing the Shamrocks' first innings total of 257 and was knocked over for 138, with Kyle Bowie 25 and Jeremy Jackson 23, the best with the bat.
Jonathan Chapman picked up the good figures of 4-43 with Nick Spencer and Richard Howe taking two wickets each.
Batting a second time, Westbury made the most of the batting practice to score 6-216 with opener Sean Stevenson top scoring with 63 and Josh Adams making 54 - the Shamrocks content with a comfortable first innings win.
``It was a fairly comprehensive victory and we're really happy with the win,'' Westbury coach Adrian Tudor said.
``There are still some key areas we need to address with batting for long periods.
``We seem to have batsmen in form but we're not making big partnerships and that's something we will have to address against Mowbray and then in the semi-final.''
BEST WITH THE BAT
Liam Rice (Launceston) 91
Liam Johnson (George Town) 84
Sean Stevenson (Westbury) 63
Josh Adams (Westbury) 54
BEST WITH THE BALL
Justin Reeves (Mowbray) 7-41
James Bowen (Launceston) 4-68 and 4-34
Jonathan Chapman (Westbury) 4-43