ROUND 2 of the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association almost didn’t go ahead.
Things were looking grim early on Saturday morning, as a downpour the previous evening left many grounds resembling wetlands rather than sporting venues, forcing the cancellation of junior games and leaving groundsmen hurriedly preparing ovals for the first-grade competition.
Thankfully, all four one-day games were able to go ahead at their scheduled venues.
Although cool temperatures, high winds and damp pitches favoured the bowlers, there was plenty of high scores to be seen around the grounds.
Whether this is a testament to the curators or the abilities of the batsmen, this author cannot be certain.
One thing is for certain though: if this round’s results are anything to go by, there’ll be more high-scoring encounters to come in the weeks ahead.
Rosedale-Kilmany 7/147(cc) defeated Boisdale-Briagolong 81
BRIAGOLONG Recreation Reserve hosted the clash of the double-hyphenates, with Rosedale-Kilmany making the 50-kilometre journey to play the Saints.
Having been sent-in by the opposition, the Warriors made a superb start via a 28-run partnership between openers Brad Scott and Brandon McDonald, before Scott was caught by Boisdale-Briagolong captain Dylan Bolton off the bowling of Englishman Nick Pang.
McDonald put on another 21 runs with Nathan Hangan as his batting partner, until the latter was bowled by Bolton.
Rohan Diamond and Anthony Scott fell cheaply after hitting sky-high balls, bringing to the wicket captain Isaac Love, hoping to atone for his Round 1 duck against Collegians.
Love and McDonald’s fifth-wicket partnership saw another 31 runs piled on, with McDonald eventually caught in the deep by Connor Hughes.
The opener’s gallant effort of 37 runs saw him earn an ovation from Rosedale-Kilmany’s support crew as he exited the ground.
Michael Walters was next to fall victim, with his captain causing a run out after slipping at the opposite end of the pitch, forcing the number seven back to his crease.
In fairness, Walters was subject to a superb throw from midwicket that squarely hit the stumps.
Love survived the remainder of his innings, making 55 not-out with seven boundaries to his name – five of them sixes – to have the Warriors at 7/147 after the full 40 overs.
In reply, the Saints could only manage a lowly 81 runs, all-out by the 26th over.
Love solidified his man-of-the-match status in the second innings with statistics of 4/26 off six overs, his figures followed by Diamond with 3/4.
Meanwhile, Toby Leeds was the highlight of the second-inning batters with 28.
Photo: Tom Parry
Bundalaguah 5/87 defeated Longford 84
THE Bulls were lucky to even play a game, let alone win, against Longford on their home turf.
The Colin Wrigglesworth Oval was, in the words of the visiting captain, “underwater” at the beginning of the day, with the game eventually getting underway one-and-a-half hours after the scheduled start time.
Bundalaguah won the toss and wisely made the opposition bat first.
Opener Jake Wynd fell for a duck, leaving Andrew Tyson and Waltley Sutton to get the Lizards’ innings going.
They did exactly that, piling on 40 runs before Bundy’s Eranda Aponso broke the second-wicket partnership by bowling Tyson for 22.
Tyson would be the highest run-scorer for the Lizards.
Kshitiz Sharma took two wickets in the same over, including Sutton for 17.
Hamish Anderson very nearly got a hat-trick, his two wickets – Longford captain Lachlan Floyd and then Liam Knight – falling in succession.
Bulls captain Jason Langshaw appeared to want the three-for more than young Anderson did, setting a very aggressive field for Sam Lucas-Laws, only for him to survive.
Longford was eventually all-out for 84 after 32 overs.
The Bulls won the match in the 25th over of their innings with five wickets to spare.
Langshaw and Sharma combined for a 37-run second-wicket partnership, the latter being the top run-scorer with 23.
Mick Murphy was the best of Longford’s bowlers, taking 2/23 of seven overs.
Collegians 7/192(cc) defeated Sale 9/170
PERHAPS feeling confident after their emphatic win over Rosedale-Kilmany the previous weekend, Collegians put themselves into bat after winning the toss at the Sale Oval.
It’s a decision that worked to the blue and red’s favour, with Zac Hurley and Tom Morrison scoring 44 runs between them before the first wicket fell – Sale captain Ben Jones making the breakthrough.
The loss of Hurley brought on Adrian Burgiel, who added another 24 before he was bowled by Brody Dobson.
Henry Anderson entered the crease to complete a 38-run partnership with Morrison.
Morrison was eventually caught out, but not before having scored 72 runs, the highest of all batsmen in the first innings.
Collegians ended their 40 overs with three wickets to spare on a daunting score of 192.
Jones was the best of Sale’s bowlers with 2/30, followed by South African import Coenie Nel with 2/37 and both men taking a catch in the field.
Nel backed-up his efforts with the ball in the second innings, the all-rounder scoring 108 for the Swans – the competition’s first century in the 2022/23 season – in a performance that included eight fours and two sixes.
He very nearly carried his bat through the innings too, not falling until the ninth wicket.
Sadly, Nel was one of the very few batting highlights for Sale, with Jones the next best performer on 24 runs.
The two men made a very respectable 54-run partnership; but it wasn’t enough to save Sale, which had only made 170 at the end of 40 overs with one wicket to spare.
Stratford 8/190(cc) defeated Maffra 82
MAFFRA’S home-ground advantage did them very little favours, losing to reigning premier Stratford by 108 runs.
As with Collegians, the Redbacks won the toss and opted to bat first on a track that was considerably drier than Bundalaguah’s and Briagolong’s – owing to the superb drainage of the Cameron Sporting Complex.
The opening partnership of Chris Aurisch and Lewis Bolton wasn’t broken until the 24th over, and by that time the pair had made 109 runs between them – more than the entirety of the Eagles’ 11-man squad.
Jack Rietschel also made a notable contribution with 41 batting first-drop.
By the close of their innings, Stratford had amassed a score of 190 with two wickets in-hand.
Jake Pendrick proved the star bowler for Maffra, taking 4/40 including the key wickets of Aurisch and Bolton.
After losing two batsmen early in their innings, Miller Eastham and Ben Harrington looked to have steadied the ship for Maffra, before they themselves fell for 25 and 23, respectively at the third and fourth wickets.
They would be the highest run-scorers for the Eagles, who were all-out for just 82 in the 36th over.
Ethan Albrecht was the Redbacks’ standout bowler, with figures of 3/12.
