Brook Silver recovered from a less than ideal beginning to secure a 36-run victory, in a casual affair at Highbrook Park on Saturday.

Sharing a laugh throughout the match, the opening fixture provided a chance for the teams to feel each other out, and gave the newly-formed sides a chance to gel.

Batting first, Silver collapsed to 4-7 after a devastating spell from Cameron Eckersley, who was best for the Blues after taking 4-26 with the ball and adding 20 runs.

However, a couple of strong partnerships steered the winning side to 160 from 30.4 overs.

James Adams starred with the bat making an impressive 57,

He was well-supported by Mason Solly and captain Jarrod Watts, who made 27 and 34 respectively. 

Looking to defend a solid total, they made an early breakthrough via debutant Cody Tsaousis and wickets fell at a steady rate for the rest of the innings.  

Watts led proceedings with three scalps, while Alexander Armstrong can hold his head high for the losing side with a respectable 31 runs.

The Blues never really got going though – and the required run rate begun to force batsman into unnaturally aggressive shots, which ultimately led to their demise as they were dismissed for 124 after 33.2 overs.

Dropped catches were the theme of the day for both sides, as they struggled to shake of rust from the off-season.

That being said, a couple of impressive grabs were taken by Solly behind the stumps, and Adams had safe hands all match.

Friendly banter could be heard between almost every delivery, due to the fact many of the opposing players have been teammates in the past.

Blue will face the Bushrangers at Weeraman Fields next week, and Silver will travel to McNab Oval to take on Murrurundi.

In the other first round games, Merriwa defeated Bushrangers by six wickets, Rouchel downed Aberdeen, Belltrees were defeated by Murrurundi and Bunnan shared points with the Belmore Bulls.