Brown Snakes lack bite

The Snakes opened the batting and put on just 154 runs, which Wellington had no trouble chasing down and they reached 155 with eight wickets and about 13 overs in hand.

Toby Miles led the squad and said the absence of hard-hitting batsman Tim Smith was sorely felt.

“He was a big loss … He’s probably the most dangerous batsman in the competition, I’d say,” Miles said.

“We dropped a couple of chances which probably hurt in the end, and some pretty erratic bowling – too many sundries.”

Miles was joined by Jak Jeffrey, Oliver Hoare, Jack Lupton, Jackson Hedges, Cameron Bourke, Terrence Ryan and father-son duo Stuart and Mark Barton, with Alan Glenton and 15-year-old Tyler Martin making their debuts.

Jeffrey was typically solid in the top order, contributing 36 with the bat, while the absence of some regular Snakes created an opportunity for new talent to emerge.

Glenton came in to the batting at no. 5 and top-scored for Nyngan with 49 in his Brewery Shield debut.

And Ryan impressed with the ball, the sixteen-year-old leg-spinner conceding just 17 runs in his 10-over spell.

“He’s got amazing control for a young kid,” Miles said.

“He’s getting more and more comfortable playing at this level and this performance yesterday typified that increase in confidence.”

Miles said the Brewery Shield provided opportunities for Nyngan’s juniors to expand their game, and play against the best adult cricketers from across the region.

“Without living and playing in Dubbo, a kid from Nyngan doesn't really get much exposure to that sort of calibre of cricket apart from the Brewery Shield,” he said.

The Brown Snakes now take on Dubbo in Dubbo this weekend, and need a win to keep their Brewery Shield campaign alive.

A win would see the side progress to the semi-finals, while a loss would spell the end the Snakes’ 2017/18 season.

Miles urged as many supporters to get along to the game as possible, and help cheer Nyngan over the line.

He said the side would have to learn from last Sunday’s mistakes, but with a full-strength squad he was confident they would have what it takes to defeat the defending champions.

“Tim Smith … he’s sort of the stalwart of the team so that will boost the batting line up significantly,” he said.

“Wellington punished any bad bowling pretty effectively, and … the batsman that were there valued their wickets pretty well, which is probably something Nyngan could learn from.

“Discipline with both bat and ball will be the key. Bowling tight and not throwing your wicket away with the bat.”