Cootamundra won the toss and batted first on a wicket which was worn down from Saturday’s Triggs Shield match. 

Despite the excess of overs played on the pitch over the last two days, it held up well, with some variable bounce the only symptom of two matches’ worth of use. 

Cootamundra sought to take advantage of the cooler Sunday weather, but sharp bowling from Billy Bolger and Craig Irwin reduced them to 3/16. 

Yass District Cricket Association President, Paul Barnes, said before today’s match that Bolger’s addition to the team was a significant advantage, and so it proved to be. 

Yass captain Dave Field was also pleased by Bolger’s return of 2/35 after the first innings. 

“He’s a good bowler, I think he’s the best bowler going around,” Field said. 

However, the real standout of Yass’s bowling innings was Chris Rawlinson, whose wily legspin snared him 5/33 and restricted Cootamundra to 184. 

“He [Rawlinson] did bowl well actually,” Field said. 

Rawlinson’s role in the game was additionally significant considering “he wasn’t gonna play until yesterday,” according to Field. 

“He hasn’t played Sundays for a while.” 

Cootamundra’s total would likely have been lower, however wicketkeeper Matt Berkrey fought his way to 82 and set Yass a competitive total to chase. 

With clouds gathering overhead, Yass began its batting innings in good spirits, but those were quickly dashed when three early wickets fell – including Field’s, who was coming off a half-century the day before. 

The fall of the third wicket brought with it the lunch break, which came not a moment too soon as the rain began to fall. 

The light drizzle persisted for roughly 20 minutes, and gave the batsmen time to gather their thoughts before continuing the batting innings. 

Dan Poidevin, one of the not-out batsmen, took several overs following the rain delay to play himself in. 

He was joined by Mark Oliver, who contributed 31 runs to a stand of 84 between the pair. 

After Oliver fell, Poidevin continued to thrash the Cootamundra attack with powerful drives and elegant flicks off his pads. 

This continued until he was on 96, when he attempted a second run and was run out. 

He expressed his annoyance by remonstrating the Cootamundra wicketkeeper as he walked off, however his job was done and Yass was left only ten runs from victory.

“I give it to him [the wicketkeeper] when they were batting and he give it to me when we were batting, so it was just a bit of friendly fire,” Poidevin said. 

Although a century would have been pleasing, Poidevin was content that his innings had assured the result in a must-win encounter for the home side. 

“I just knew I had to be the one to bat right through, and get us close to the total,” he said. 

“I just put it in my head, I had to be the last one there.” 

The win puts Yass back into contention for the Stribley Shield. After losing the opening round to Wagga Wagga, Field knew that one more slip-up could end his team’s chances of the title this year. 

“If we lose this one, we probably can’t make the final,” Field said during the second innings. 

“If we can get a win here, we’re still a good chance.”