MENTAL lapses stopped Hawkesbury Cricket Club from claiming a second win in Sydney Grade Cricket’s first grade at the weekend.
Blacktown defeated Hawkesbury by one wicket on Saturday, after Hawkesbury fell 12 runs short of the winning total.
Arjun Nair made his first halfcentury for the club in first grade, however, he, along with Shane Mott and Anthony Kershler, were run out during Hawkesbury’s run chase.
Blacktown made 7-234, a score which Hawkesbury cricket manager Aaron Lewis said was chasable on the pitch.
Lewis said Nair’s 57 runs setup the club for what should have been a winning run chase, but it was not to be.
‘‘It was good to see Arjun play well with bat and ball. His score set us up to put us in a position to win but we just couldn’t take advantage of it,’’ he said.
‘‘I think good fielding played a role in the run-outs, but poor decision making played a bigger part in it. There was bad running between wickets and bad calling.’’
Lewis said all things considered, it was a game the club probably should have won, but said there were positive signs from the match as well.
He said the fact Blacktown were 1-100 at one stage, and finished up with 7-234, demonstrated the club could fight its way back with the ball.
‘‘It was a team we probably should have beaten, we were a little bit disappointed in that regard,’’ he said.
‘‘They started batting well but we kept it pretty tight and restricted them well through the middle overs.
‘‘We thought 231 was a good score because they were 1-100 at one stage.’’
Second grade had a close win, while third and fourth grade both had close losses in the final over of the game.
Fourth grade ended up losing on the last ball of the day after giving up 16 runs in the final over.
Isaac Walker made his first century for the club, when he scored 114 in fourth grade.
Fifth grade won, which meant Hawkesbury finished the round in 11th place in the club championship with 101 points.
This week, Hawkesbury will take on Bankstown.