South Wagga made light work of their run chase against Kooringal Colts to start their centenary celebrations in the best possible way.
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Set 165 for victory at Robertson Oval on Saturday, the Blues had five wickets in hand before sending the Colts back in.
Resuming at 1-28, captain Jeremy Rowe and Terry Willis did the bulk of the scoring.
Willis (48) was bowled by Kyle Hockley just short of his milestone while Rowe finished on 75 as the Blues returned to winning ways in front of a healthy crowd.
After rained forced a draw last round, and saw South Wagga slip back to second on the ladder, Rowe was thrilled with how all aspects of the day unfolded.
“We’re really happy with the result,” Rowe said.
“We were able to chase them down with the minimum of fuss in pretty quick time as well.
“It was a really good result for us and sees us heading into the last week still vying for top position and a degree of confidence we’re somewhere around we need to be.”
Willis was elevated up the order after Brayden Ambler was dismissed late on day one.
However the experienced cricketer proved to be much more than a nightwatchman as he put the Blues in the box seat for their 11th win of the season.
“Tex actually batted really well,” Rowe said.
“As he always does, he cut well but he also hit the ball quite hard and over the top nicely a few times as well.
“It was a really good knock from him and he’s obviously been an exceptional batsmen over his career, and at stages would have been in the best few batsmen in the comp but is probably more used for his off spin these days.
“Coming in last week it would be disrespectful to call him a nightwatchman, but in a nightwatchman's role to a degree he came out and batted really well.
“We hope in the final he’s not called upon to do too much but it’s a pretty nice thing to have guys like Cookey (Nathan Cooke) and Tex occupying your nine and 10 spots.
“It definitely shows we’ve got enough batting depth to post some big totals.”
After going past the Colts total, the Blues sent them straight back in with a lead of two but an outright win was never on the cards with the score at 1-74 when play was halted.
Sam Whitfield was unbeaten 27, Daniel Perri at the other end on 24 after Dave Bolton (22) was run out for the second time in the match.
The reunion dinner saw around 150 Blues from past and present come together at the Rules.
Current coach, president and former long-serving captain Joel Robinson was rewarded for his dedication to the club by receiving a life membership.
Blues stalwart Max Knight was also recognised for his decades of involvement with the club after being given Legend status as the Hall of Fame was initiated on Saturday.
Rowe said they were both deserving recipients.