Two of the heavy hitters this season have been Goolma and RSL, and wins by both sides were required to remain in the bid for the desired first place.

It was Goolma that got their bid first, against Centennial at Victoria Park in Gulgong, and Centennial set things off as they batted first off the toss.

Although many of their batters collected double digit runs, there was no stand-out defence and Tim Papworth’s 20 runs was the best of the day.

This, in part, was due to Goolma lethal bowling, as Shaun Doherty bowled three maidens in ten overs, and Troy Kenny used his ten overs on the attack to knock down four wickets.

With Centennial leaving 106 to chase, Goolma got to work.

Openers Jason Warner and Brian O’Reilly did most of the leg work with 67 runs between them.

Kenny then added 27 before Doherty’s 6 put them over the line for the win, finishing two runs clear of the necessary count and putting important competition points on the board.

Over at Billy Dunn Oval 1, RSL had to make sure they secured a win to answer Goolma’s successful run chase, and they too missed the opening bat off the toss.

It was a similar story in the second match, with Bowlers collecting 112 off a team effort – Shaun Lumsden’s 35 was the best of the batting.

RSL’s Matt Jarvis put a stop to their innings attempts with four wickets under his belt, and Greg Parish added to the problems by bagging a double with his overs.

Mark Hundy then stepped up to bat for the opening pairing of RSL’s innings, and almost met Bolwer’s run count on his own.

Though Hundy and Jesse Sahyoun combined for 76 before the latter fell, Hundy himself bagged 88 to close out the match, with the help of Sayhoun’s 14 and Jared Clulow’s late 9.

The wins from RSL and Goolma keeps the battle for the top going as the elimination rounds draw close.

Gulgong Cricket, Rd 19; Sun, February 26

Centennial v Bowlers, Victoria Park Gulgong; Coolah v Goolma, Coolah; Gulgong RSL-BYE