Ash Borella hits 50 as North Albury beats New City by nine wickets

Borella carried his bat for an unbeaten 50 off just 32 balls as New City were crushed by nine wickets at Urana Road Oval.

There were two sixes and four fours in Borella's classy knock, the last of which won the match for the Hoppers in only the 10th over of their run-chase.

Having earlier dismissed the Phoenix for just 92, this was a show of real power by North Albury, who are going to take some beating this season.

"Up front, with the ball, we were really good," captain Brendan Simmons enthused.

"Our top line bowlers did very well and we were able to get them on the back foot early.

"Keeping them to 90 was good and Ash batted well; 50 off 32 balls puts the game away pretty quick.

"He's been working really hard, doing extra hours in the nets and the hard work's starting to pay off for him.

"We're proud of the way he's going about it and he's getting the rewards."

As soon as Tendai Maruma was caught behind in the first over of the match, New City looked up against it.

They struggled to score against North Albury's powerful bowling attack, with Blake Elliott almost unplayable on his way to 3-10 from four stingy overs.

Haydyn Roberts (2-26) and Jake Burge (1-22) led from the front, with Tim Hartshorn claiming 2-17 and Callum Langlands (1-15) in miserly form.

New City tried to rebuild around captain Parminder Singh Hundal but when he was bowled by Elliott for 18, there was an air of inevitability about the result.

Gagandeep Singh Dhunna blasted an entertaining 26 off 19 balls down the order but the Phoenix never had enough runs to play with.

Borella soon cut loose, heaving a huge six over square leg which landed on the roof of the pavilion. He and Hartshorn both played a series of sublime shots before the latter was stumped for 15.

David Farrell (20 off 15) was with Borella at the end as North Albury wrapped things up before a huge thunderstorm hit.

An impressive spell of control by spinner Maruma (1-16) was one of the few bright spots for New City, whose coach Akki Murthy conducted a lengthy post-match debrief with his players on the outfield.

"We're better than that," Murthy lamented.

"We were hoping that we'd at least put up a par score of about 140. Our batsmen are capable of doing that but they're overwhelmed and putting themselves under pressure to perform.

"Two losses in a row (before this), they want to get a win on the board but the boys have to relax and start enjoying their cricket again.

"That's why are having a separate talk, a stick in the bum if I can say that. We needed this kick up the arse against a top side because we were pretty confident we could push North Albury to the wire, take it as deep as possible.

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"Otherwise, the attitude was pretty good. Defending 90 against a top side is always difficult but we had a good crack at it.

"The boys are capable but it's about mindset. Our number nine blasted some huge sixes so it's not about the capability; it's about your mental ability.

"The boys are thinking they don't belong here. That's the wrong way to go about it. If you're picked as the best 12 of the club, there's a reason behind it.

"The skill set is there, it's just the mental ability we need to work on."

North Albury is the first team to reach four wins in the provincial competition this season, after Wodonga's game against St Patricks was abandoned as a draw.

"There's plenty of improvement still to come," warned Simmons.

"We'll keep working hard."

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