Riding Mill have had an impeccable start to their virtual tour of Australia accounting for the hosts Burrabadine by 3 wickets in the opening fixture and backing it up with a 23 run blitz of the Cricket Library Podcast Invitational XI.

After some overnight rain, conditions were perfect for dice cricket and it was no surprise that when Burrabadine skipper Matt Fiction won the toss, he had no hesitation in batting first. It proved this may have been an error of judgement early on when opener Angus Norton was trapped in front for just one.

Ben Patterson blasted 28 from just 8 deliveries and was looking very dangerous before he departed to a smart catch from skipper Andy Watson off the bowling of Mallinson.

Hood, Seiffert and Kirk all made impressive 20s but no one was able to go on and make a big score with the innings closing at 9-155 from the hosts ten overs.

Riding Mill had the wobbles early in the run chase with off-spinner Elliott Diamond picking up two wickets in his only over.

However, Andy Watson and Ali Raza built a strong partnership and set things up beautifully before they were both dismissed by Ben Patterson making 37 and 23 respectively.

Kev Frazer and Lance Mallinson both held their nerve to see the visitors over the line with 3 balls to spare with Frazer finishing 26 not out off just 8 deliveries and Mallinson not wasting any time with a rapid fire 14 not out off just three balls.

The Riding Mill lads had no time to rest on their laurels with their next fixture getting underway against the Cricket Library Podcast Invitational XI.

Nina Stevens won the toss and opted to send Riding Mill in which was not looking like the best decision when the visitors charged to 0-43 off the first two overs. Gary Fisher was able to get the first breakthrough which helped to put the breaks on.

Scott Dickson was the star for Riding Mill setting the innings up with a scintillating 67 off just 22 balls before he fell to a smart catch behind the stumps by Tim Ludeman off the bowling of Tabbernor.

The skipper Nina Stevens brought herself on to bowl and found herself on a hat trick before Lance Mallinson took to the hat trick ball hitting it out of the virtual stadium for 6. He repeated the dose the following ball and finished with a very valuable 31 off just nine balls. A very imposing total of 6-169 had been set leaving the Cricket Library Podcast Invitational XI with the task of hitting 17 an over to win.

Riding Mill had been outstanding in the field in the opening fixture and this early tour form continued with Liam James and Cameron Longstaff both effecting run outs early on to have the home side on the ropes early.

Tim Ludeman and Nina Stevens consolidated the Cricket Library Podcast XI innings with Ludeman making a polished 52 off 19 balls before falling to Burns who also knocked over Nina Stevens for a blistering 30 off 9.

None of the other batters were able to get going and when Scott Dickson backed up his splendid work with the bat taking two for nine, the game was all but over. There was some tidy batting at the close from Gary Fisher and Nicola Browne but it was not enough to get their team over the line.

Riding Mill will hope to continue their good form when the tour continues later this week against Dubbo CYMS before heading south on the weekend to face off against the Wagga Wagga RSL Bulldogs.

Daryl Tuffey represented New Zealand across all three formats claiming 77 Test wickets and 110 ODI wickets for his country. He played 91 First Class matches claiming 288 wickets with the remarkable best figures of 7-12.

In a massive coup for the Cricket Library Podcast Invitational XI, Daryl Tuffey can now add dice cricket to his CV having been named alongside other marquee players Nina Stevens and Tim Ludeman to take on Riding Mill this Sunday Morning.

It is expected that Tuffey, who bowled the first over in the inaugural T20 International between Australia and NZ will open the virtual rolling in this historic encounter with Riding Mill. No doubt he will pose a serious threat to the top order in the T10 Fixture that has captured the imagination of dice cricket lovers around the world.

You can learn more about the Daryl Tuffey story in his chat with the Cricket Library Podcast last year.

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There is a buzz around the Riding Mill Cricket Club at the moment as they prepare to board the virtual plane Down Under for what should be a memorable month of Dice Cricket fixtures beginning early Sunday morning.

Normally the club that was originally founded in 1880 and is based in the beautiful village of Riding Mill in the Tyne Valley would be competing in the Northumberland & Tyneside Cricket League but due to COVID-19 they have had to seek out other options.

Brian Watson from the club got the lads organised to play in a dice cricket tournament organised by Dice Sport and he says it has proven to be a big hit with the club.

“With regards this season due to COVID-19 we’ve had to look for other things to do due to lack of cricket, I stumbled upon a dice cricket tournament being organised by @DiceSport on twitter and thought it would be fun to enter the club. I also thought it would also be a good idea to get the players to donate to our fundraising Just Giving page whilst at the same time having a bit of fun. We are fundraising for a new practice strip and an Electronic Scoreboard. https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/brian-watson?utm_term=dGA2dXZ92… All the players have taken it on board and got involved, and that’s how our love affair with #dicecricket started.”

It was so popular in fact that Brian was keen to keep things rolling and when this was not possible locally, he put his feelers out on social media. Much to his delight, he was able to plant the seed of a virtual tour with host of the Cricket Library Podcast, Matt Ellis

“In Australia i found a fellow dice cricket nut Matt Ellis and after a few questions the idea of a Dice Cricket tour was born. I helped Matt contact a few clubs via Twitter and he has kindly done the rest”

With the home tournament now concluded, Riding Mill have a practice match scheduled on Thursday against neighbouring club Mallards. There are some players who will be using this game as an opportunity to have one last tune up before the action begins with a highly anticipated clash with the Cricket Library Podcast Invitational XI.

The Cricket Library Podcast XI have already announced network seven journalist and #CricketCountdown patron Nina Stevens in their line up as well as former Adelaide Strikers & Melbourne Renegades wicketkeeper batsman Tim Ludeman.

We are also hearing whispers out of the Cricket Library that there will be one final marque player announced in the lead up to the tour opener on Sunday morning.