Queanbeyan captain Dean Solway has declared his team will use next Saturday to freshen up after they secured just the fifth outright win on the first day of a two-day clash in Cricket ACT history.
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The side claimed a dominant 10-wicket victory over North Canberra Gungahlin, with Zac Beveridge finishing the day with eight wickets and 42 handy lower-order runs.
Tyler Van Luin collected a five-wicket haul in the first innings as Queanbeyan bowled their opponents out for 64 to set the stage for the dominant win.
It was three years since the last time a first-grade team had claimed an outright victory on day one of a match. Remarkably, that was also a Queanbeyan win over North Canberra Gungahlin.
The only other times it has happened in first grade, according to ACT stats guru Adam Morehouse, were in 1932-33, 1937-38 and 2012-13.
"It doesn't happen too often," Solway said. "It was a bit of a sporting wicket but we made the most of it and played a good day of cricket.
"It sets us up well in the two-day competition now, we're in a good position on the ladder and the guys are in some good form."
Queanbeyan added salt to the North Canberra Gungahlin wounds when they defeated the side in Sunday's Twenty20 semi-final. Tuggeranong beat Weston Creek Molonglo in the first semi-final.
It's been a busy few weeks for Solway's side, the team also collected the one-day final a fortnight ago.
Given the tight schedule and with the two-day semi-finals just a few weeks away, the skipper said they will make the most of a rare Saturday off.
"We've played a lot of Sunday cricket since Christmas," he said. "The guys will be happy with a week off, they can freshen up and then we'll come back and finish the competition strong with the final round."
Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
