Kissing Point Cricket Club have inflicted Riding Mill just their second defeat of their virtual tour of Australia with an emphatic 27 run win at virtual Auluba Oval.

Andy Watson won the toss and asked himself what Nasser Hussain would do before announcing that the Mill would field first.

The gamble did not pay off and when Kissing Point raced to 0-47 off just two overs it looked like it could be a long evening for the visitors.

However, Lance Mallinson was able to remove the dangerous Dan Morton with a peach of a delivery that hit the top of off stump. Morton’s 38 off ten deliveries had certainly caused some carnage before his dismissal.

The skipper himself put the breaks on the flurry of runs with 2-11 off his over including a very smart caught and bowled chance to remove veteran Jeff Stewart for 26 off 9. He was on a hat trick when next ball Nick Hasler lifted his back foot and Iain Longstaff did a remarkable job to effect a leg side stumping.

Joel Marks was expensive but did remove Tim Love who had raced to 18 off 5 after he chopped on attempting a cut stroke.

Josh Howe and Naveen Sivanathan put on a very handy partnership before Kev Frazer took a screamer to remove Howe for 28 off 11 off the bowling of Ali Raza. Sivanathan was next to go when he glided one straight into the awaiting gloves of Iain Longstaff behind the stumps and headed back to the virtual pavilion with 38 off 13.

Rob Burns death bowling gave the visitors a sniff, restricting Kissing Point to just 7 runs off the final over and included the wicket of Aubourg who was LBW for 14 off 5. Kissing Point skipper John Ferguson remained 8 not out while D’Silva finished on 1.

Riding Mill would have the tall order of trying to chase down a very imposing 7-171 from their ten overs.

Steve Kent and Rob Burns got the chase off to a steady start and it appeared that they were looking to build a platform from which the middle order could launch.

The last ball of the third over saw Burns dismissed LBW to Jude D’Silva for 19 off 9. Raza and Kent set about building a partnership and at 1-74 off 5 the Mill boys were still well within a chance of victory particularly with wickets in hand.

Again though it was a wicket on the final ball of the over that saw Kent departing just two balls short of his half century LBW to Josh Howe.

Liam James and Aly Raza did their best to up the run rate but were not able to find the big over that they were searching for. Jeff Stewart was able to draw a mistake from Ali Raza who danced down the wicket in an attempt for quick runs only to be stumped by the handy glove work of Kissing Point skipper John Ferguson. His 39 off 14 provided some hope but it would not be enough to get Riding Mill over the line.

Dan Morton capped off a great game picking up two wickets in the final over finishing with 2-10. Liam James was caught by Aubourg for 29 and Iain Longstaff top edged one straight up in the air attempting to hit it into the adjacent virtual bushland before being caught by Ferguson who had a solid day with the gloves.

Sources close to the Riding Mill camp have indicated that there may be some changes to the line up for the all important clash with the UTS North Sydney team of the decade which boasts a host of top line cricketers.

Riding Mill Cricket Club are buoyant on their arrival in Sydney prior to the next leg of their virtual tour of Australia. The visitors have won three out of four matches so far and will look to continue the positive start when they take on Kissing Point Cricket Club this Wednesday Night UK time.

Kissing Point Cricket Club is located in the leafy suburb of South Turramurra and they boast both senior and junior teams in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai and Hills District Cricket Association. A massive virtual crowd is expected at Auluba Oval for what promises to be one of the matches of the tour so far.

The Riding Mill lads have been inspired by former England batsman Mark Butcher who has thrown his support behind the side on Twitter giving a shout out to their fundraising efforts.

It is believed that the Mark Butcher’s hit single Dice has been the soundtrack for the tour and inspiring the lads to roll out some of their best work.

A hallmark of the tour so far has been the astute player rotation from team manager Brian Watson who has again made some changes to ensure the Sydney leg of the tour is a success for the visitors.

Wicket keeper in the last two starts Steve Kent will relinquish the gloves as Iain Longstaff takes over the wicket keeping duties. Big hitters, Dave Cox, Aly Hall and Scott Dickson will all be rested against Kissing Point but sources close to the team have confirmed they will slot back in for the massive clash with UTS North Sydney scheduled for the weekend. Andy Watson is back to captain the side, while Lance Mallinson and Liam James also return to the line up.

The Bears announced their team of the decade last week and it is packed with high quality players which will ensure a game to remember at virtual North Sydney Oval on the weekend.

Strap yourselves in for what is expected to be two high quality games on the Sydney leg of the Riding Mill dice cricket virtual tour of Australia.

Conditions were absolutely perfect for Dice Cricket at the virtual Wagga Wagga Cricket Ground with Riding Mill hoping to bounce back after a narrow loss to Dubbo CYMS during the week.

Aly Hall who was incredible for the visitors in Dubbo took over the captaincy having immediate success winning the toss and sending the home side in.

When the score raced to 0-78 after four overs, things were looking bleak for Riding Mill and they desperately needed to remove Ethan Perry who was looking indestructible on 47, or Neil Morton who was also in sublime touch on 31.

Skipper Hall needed to roll the dice and call upon tour new comer Joel Marks who had not had a happy start to the tour, with figures of 0-21 and a golden duck in his first appearance. In what proved to be an incredible turn around, Marks was able to have an immediate impact with Dave Cox taking a smart catch to dismiss Ethan Perry three short of his half century on the first ball of the over. Wagga Wagga wicket keeper Todd Henderson went next ball trapped in front for 0 and all of a sudden Riding Mill were back in the contest and Marks was on a hat trick. Hall brought the field in for the hat trick ball and when Cooper Henderson was struck on the pads first ball it looked like we may have our second hat trick of the tour. It was adjudged not out but two balls later Steve Kent had the bails off in a flash and Neil Morton was stumped for 31 off twelve balls.

There was a period of consolidation with Cooper Henderson and Shaun Perry putting together a partnership before Steve Kent was again in the action taking a sharp catch off the skipper’s bowling to send Henderson back to the virtual pavilion for 22 off 8.

Dave Cox had an immediate impact in the 8th over bowling Shaun Perry with a yorker with Bulldogs skipper Sam Perry getting a feather on one that carried through to Steve Kent behind the stumps who was having another good day with the gloves. The hat trick ball was negotiated but two balls later, Kent had another catch as Fletcher Morton was on his way for 1.

With the score at 7-130, the feeling was that the Bulldogs were still on track for a big score and despite wickets in each of the last two overs, the final score of 9-168 still looked to be enough. Earlier in the tour, against the highly fancied Cricket Library Podcast XI Riding Mill had posted 6-169 so they knew it was possible but would still require some clean striking to get them over the line.

This total looked even more imposing when danger man Scott Dickson was bowled by Will Morton on the final ball of the first over to have the visitors 1-13. Enter Dave Cox, a Kiwi import & new signing from Clara Vale to the crease dispatching 5 sixes from the first nine deliveries he faced.

The Bulldogs had no answers until skipper Sam Perry brought himself into the attack luring Rob Burns down the track and Todd Henderson completing a sharp stumping chance to send Burns on his way for 34 off 13.

Riding Mill skipper Aly Hall made his way to the middle joining in the fun with Cox in a 49 run stand before he fell LBW to Cooper Henderson. Meanwhile, Cox had raced past 50 and despite Iain Longstaff being caught behind for 6 off two deliveries, Riding Mill were still well on track for victory.

Joel Marks looked like a completely new man after his first ball duck in Dubbo, smashing 15 off just four deliveries including a towering six off Neil Morton’s bowling to win the game for Riding Mill.

Dave Cox finished unbeaten with a magnificent 74 from just 20 balls to go with his 3-6 with the ball earning the Kiwi player of the match honours.

Riding Mill team manager Brian Watson has been absolutely thrilled with the way the team has been performing on the tour so far saying,

“If you take out the narrow defeat to Dubbo CYMS we’ve had a great tour so far, we’ve rotated the playing staff and everyone’s stepped up to the plate, proud of the lads tonight.”

Next stop on the tour is virtual Auluba Oval in Sydney for a game against the Kissing Point Cricket Club followed by the picturesque virtual North Sydney Oval for the highly anticipated clash with the North Sydney Cricket Club team of the decade.