For this season this contest moved to Dalby with the format being changed from the regular two day match to two limited over games. On the first day a match of sixty overs a side was played, on Sunday the match was scheduled to be of fifty overs for each team. The venue was the home grounds of the Dalby Cricket Association located in the Dick Alland Sports Centre, just off the Warrego Highway and to the south east of the town centre.

The weekend saw the return to cricket by Adam Dale who began with eight tidy overs and followed with a match saving 74 of a fourth wicket partnership of 175. Captain of the Country Origin team, Martin Love played a fine innings of 103 before being third out at 170. He was well supported by Jerry Cassell and Wade Seccombe, the Queensland keeper staying put while Love's successor Steve Paulsen hit out for a fine 60. The lower order did not add much to the score but still kept the scorers busy as runs and wickets all came quickly. During this onslaught Dale in particular and Petrie remained quite economical with MacKenzie and Hopes being quite expensive.

After the break it seemed Country Origin had control of the game when Hartley was brilliantly thrown out by the youthful Toowoomba player Peter Reimers to make the total three for 98 with 37.5 overs to go. But Duncan Betts was showing good form and now came Dale who settled in nicely. Even so the situation reverted back towards Country when these two batsmen were dismissed in successive balls by left armer Matthew Anderson. Mitchell Johnson hit firmly in his short stay and Philipson and Hopes took their team to victory, the winning run coming from a no-ball, the match concluding as darkness was setting in. Shortly afterwards a storm broke over the grounds.

Though not a lot of rain came from the storm there was sufficient to sneak under the covers and this caused a problem on Sunday morning. There was a wet patch at each end, both affecting the bowlers run up and it took some time to dry each area sufficiently to allow play to commence. Instead of play commencing at nine o'clock a start was not made until 10.35am and the match was reduced to forty-five overs a side.

Batting first City soon lost their captain, James Hopes, run out by Joe Dawes. Kruger and Betts shaped nicely and added 99 and the following batsmen all made useful contributions and a total of 247 provided a good challenge. The Country batsmen, led by a fine century from Daniel Payne proved equal to the task, the runs coming with four overs to spare. Towards the end Peter Reimers displayed fine promise to reach 33 not out at a time when another wicket could have been sufficient to allow City to obtain victory.

Throughout the day none of the bowlers could be said to be very economical but on the day it was the old campaigners of Joe Dawes and Adam Dale who provided the least expensive returns. The spinners Anderson and O'Leary managed most of the wickets while Chris Simpson, fresh from some good cricket in Townsville in late July, managed two wickets in a four over spell in the latter part of the Country innings.

© 2002 CricInfo Ltd

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