Skippers claim three hauls of five-wickets in Maitland cricket

Northern Suburbs captain Jordan Callinan led the way with 7-52 against Tenambit Morpeth Bulls who were all out for 142 of day one of their two-day encounter at Bolwarra Oval.

Eastern Suburbs skipper Riley Horrocks took 6-63 to keep the Griffins in their match against Kurri Weston Mulbring who were dismissed for 253 in the 78^th over with Lachy Vassella top scoring with 77 at King Edward Park.

Western Suburbs captain Mitchell Fisher and spinner Jeewan De Silva shared all 10 Thornton wickets finishing with 5-33 and 5-38 respectively as the Thunder were out for 147 and the Plovers finished on 0/8 at A & D Lawrence Reserve.

In the final match at Robins Oval, Raymond Terrace skipper Daniel took 3-72 and had a run-out assist, while young spinner Jaxon Brooks took 4-68 as City made 9/245 with Josh Trappel out for 97 narrowly missing his third century from the opening five rounds.

With the mercury nudging 30 at 12.30pm for the start of play, it was tough going in the field with a top of 34 and the only respite a drop in humidity from 50 per cent to the mid-20s during the afternoon.

Norths skipper Callinan said it was one of the luckiest hauls he had bowled, and he definitely benefitted from a huge effort in the field by his team.

Bowling in tandem with Josh Callinan (0-26 off 16 overs), he credited Norths catching and out-fielding for building pressure and taking every advantage of their chances.

"The only catches to go down were two I dropped off my bowling and one Fletcher Cousins dropped off his," Callinan said.

However, Cousins took the one that mattered most, catching the in-form Tobias Van Den Heever off his own bowling for a duck after having Adam Sidoti caught brilliantly by Sean Gibson for 11 in the same over.

With their two best batters in the sheds, the Bulls battled on but couldn't put together any significant partnerships.

Cal Barber picked up the other wicket dismissing Lochie Heit for 24, but it was in the field that he impressed skipper Callinan most.

"He bowled well, but I think it was a real break-out effort for him the field. He took two catches including a brilliant one-hander in the deep, but just through his efforts probably save 30 or so runs which leaves us chasing 142 instead of 170 or 180," he said.

Callinan said the match was still evenly poised with the Bulls picking up openers Gibson and Harry Dunn, but fortunately Luke Farthing survived a narrow chance and he and Matthew Sugden took the score through to 2/28.

A super 6-63 off 31 overs by Easts captain Riley Horrocks has given his side a chance against Kurri Weston Mulbring who were all out 253 at King Edward Park.

James Killen backed up his skipper with 3-45.

Lachie Vasella anchored the Warriors innings with 71 and Tyler Power 37 and Ben Crebert 35 made good contributions before Nicholas Neild 20 and Jarryd Moore 24 added some valuable runs in the tail.

Western Suburbs batters will now have to deliver after their skipper Mitchell Fisher and spinner Jeewan De Silva took all 10 wickets to dismiss the powerful Thornton batting line-up for just 147 at A & D Lawrence Reserve.

De Silva. who finished with 5-38 off 26 overs, has been one the recruits of the season with 14 wickets now in first grade and a healthy batting average of 68,5 including a top score of 74. Fisher took 5-33 off 19 overs in another lion-hearted performance for his side.

Jamie Krake top-scored with 42, with Tom Long making 27, Jake Moore 25 and Dan Willis 21 as the Plovers bowlers put the clamps on the Thunder's normally fluid run-scoring.

City United's star batter Josh Trappel started the day averaging 97 and completed it with the same figure after missing out on his third century of the season by just three runs.

Trappel was out hitting a full-toss to cover in an otherwise chanceless outing. In his five innings this season he has scores of 75, 154, 109, 50 and 97 in what his brother and captain Matt Trappel says is his best form since returning to Maitland from several years starring in Newcastle.

He will missing this weekend when he was away as captain of the Central North team, which will also feature KWM all-rounders Sam Dalibozek and Steve Abel, Wests pair Harry King and Shannon Threlfo and Easts paceman Jett Lee.

Opener partner Liam Mullard made a patient 40 and promoted to No.6 Tim Burton made and unbeaten 50 as the remainder of the batting line up were out reasonable cheaply.

"We would have take a score of 245 at the start of the day. We got a great platform from Josh and Liam, but apart from Tim Burton we didn't go on with the start we had.

"We have a lot of improvement to make, but we've got some young players coming in and establishing themselves."

City lost Andrew Vickery and Tim Baker both retired from their premiership team and will welcome back all-rounder Todd Francis for his first game of the year next week.

Raymond Terrace skipper Daniel Upward said he was wrapped with his team's bowling and fielding performance to put pressure on City's batters.

Jaxon Brooks led the way with 4-68 off 24 overs and Upward took 3-72 off 23.

"We held our catches, which we haven't been doing, and stuck to our bowling plan,": Upward said.

"If we bat patiently, 245 is a gettable target. In the end it's just three runs an over."

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