Cooma’s decision to send Tongala in to bat after winning the toss paid handsome dividends, with its bowlers, led by Norris, skittling the home side for 43.
Opening bowlers Ben Napier and import Hugo Bell struck early for Cooma before Norris went to work and carved through the Tongala line-up with a sensational lethal burst of 6-3 off five overs with three maidens.
New skipper Alex Williams, with 14, was the only Tongala batsman to reach figures, with four home side batsmen failing to get off the mark.
Ben Napier picked up 1-12 off four overs and Bell 2-23 off seven overs.
Cooma’s batsmen then claimed victory in 7.1 overs for the loss of three wickets, with opener Rob Trewin showing the way with 24.
Alex Williams picked up two of the three Tongala wickets to fall.
· Moama’s batsmen hit out against Kyabram Fire Brigade, plundering 5-270 off their 45 overs.
Openers Joel Murphy, with a top score of 80, and Fraser Buchanan, with 33, figured in a 100-run stand, and new coach Michael Hill followed up with a half-century at better than a run-a-ball rate.
Anthony McMahon with 42 and Matt Saunders with an unbeaten 26 kept the runs coming with Tom Owen with 1-23 off six overs, the most economical of The Flames bowlers.
In reply, The Flames were never a chance, falling for 163 in 39 overs.
Rob Salter with 22 and Jake Gascoyne (18) got starts in the upper order, but at one stage The Flames had slipped to 7-85 before Shannon Fleming 15 and the last pair in Tom Owen (27 not out) and Charlie Barnett with a top score of 40 took the total to a respectable 163.
Hill completed a good all-around performance in the match by taking 4-18 off eight overs.
· Reigning premier Echuca’s total of 8-169 wasn’t enough to beat Rochester, which lost only six wickets covering this total in the clash at Rochester.
Opener Curtis Townrow, with 33, top scored for Echuca, while Adam Ward, with 3-21 off nine overs, Jesse Cuttriss with 2-31 off seven overs and Sean Williams with 2-15 off six overs, generally kept a tight rein on the Echuca batsmen.
In reply, Jesse Cuttriss with 46, Jake Wright (26 not out) and Blake Evans (17 not out) steered the home side to victory after handy top-order knocks from Sean Williams (23) and Dylan Cuttriss (28). Charlie Hinks, with 3-29 off seven overs, was the most successful Echuca bowler.
· Echuca South made it two on the trot with an eight-wicket success over Leitchville-Gunbower.
The home side could scramble only 83 runs together off 45 overs against the South attack led by AK Gunathilaka and Asantha Singappuli.
Gunathilaka bagged 6-14 off nine overs, including five maidens, while Singappuli took the remaining four wickets for only 22 runs off nine overs.
South’s batsmen, led by opener Jayden Rosin, who slammed an unbeaten 78, including 11 fours and 3 sixes off 45 deliveries, sealed the win in 13 overs for the loss of two wickets.
· Bamawm Lockington United had a decisive win over last season’s runner-up Nondies Cohuna.
With Archie Sussex (43), Rhys Bradley (34) and Karim Marcelle with an unbeaten 38 showing the way Nondies made 152.
But with BLU opener Regis Chakabva pounding a half-century and Declan Pearse (40 not out) and Luke Thompson chiming in with 44 at number six, LBU had the visitors’ score covered in 27 overs with five wickets in hand.
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