Nine does it for OMK’s Hayden James

HAYDEN James, playing for Outtrim Moyarra Kongwak, took the staggering figures of 9/40 on the second day of the Diggers’ B1 contest against Imperials on Saturday, helping his side to a big first innings win.

“It was a funny old day,” the medium pace swing bowler said of his dream 26.1 overs.

While it was a remarkable performance, James is amused his first wicket came from a full toss, the unfortunate batsman finding the only fielder on the leg side.

“Wickets kept falling and the captain kept backing me in,” James said.

Despite being the only wicket taker, with the penultimate dismissal a run out that came during one of his overs, the modest OMK player expressed his appreciation of his teammates’ contributions.

“All the boys on the field looked after me,” James said, explaining there was some excellent fielding and the bowlers at the other end kept the pressure on the batsmen and were unlucky not to break through.

As for the fielding, a stunning one-handed catch by junior keeper Clayton Quaife was the highlight in James’ eyes.

It was the first big bag of wickets James has taken for some time, with his figures surpassing the previous OMK club record haul of Nathan Cant.