WHAT a glorious Saturday it was.
Following successive weekends of overcast skies, cool temperatures and the threat of rain, cricketers were met with sunshine in Round 5 of the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association.
The day wasn’t perfect, mind – there was the occasional breeze to contend with, some moisture in the outfields, and green coverage meant that pitches weren’t quite the batsmen’s paradise many had hoped for.
Nevertheless, it remained ideal weekend for players and spectators.
As with Round 4, this fifth round of the association is a two-day affair, so matches will resume at the same grounds this coming Saturday.
Collegians v Stratford
JUDGING by their performance at Cunninghame St at the weekend, it appears the Redbacks have finally met their match in Collegians.
The ladder-topping side was feeling confident as the day began, winning the toss and electing to bat.
Ground conditions may have been a factor in captain Jack Rietschel’s choice – outer parts of the field were waterlogged despite sunny weather before, and on, game day.
Ergo, you wouldn’t want to be the fielding team.
Rietschel’s decision looked to be a mistake early on, with in-form opener Chris Aurisch lost for seven and the captain himself going out after hitting his wicket.
Lewis Bolton and Ben Channing provided some relief, adding 24 runs in their third-wicket partnership until the former fell on 18; the latter following four overs later for 16.
Kevin Stoddart and Bohdi Walker then combined for a 62-run stand – the best of Stratford’s innings – coming to an end when Walker was caught and bowled on 35.
Nathan French’s departure in the 39th over triggered a minor collapse, seeing Stoddart and then Harry Tatterson both falling with the score on 110.
By this point, the fielding Collegians were feeling upbeat, with plenty of chatter among the players.
A ninth-wicket partnership between British import Ben Dinning and Ethan Albrecht provided some relief for the visitors, who together added 37 to the total before Dinning was caught on 13.
Stratford was eventually all out for 166, Albrecht unbeaten on 35.
Collegians began their chase soon after, batting for 13 overs without loss and a score of 27 to their name.
The day belonged to their bowler Noah Hurley, who walked home with five wickets off 13 overs, but did have to be cautioned by the umpire for his aggressive play with the ball.
Longford v Boisdale-Briagolong
DESPITE being between the two bottom-placed teams in the first-grade competition, the clash at Stephenson Park was a cracker.
The Lizards chose to bowl first, and that looked to be the right decision when captain Lachlan Floyd got the breakthrough wicket of Jonathon Outhart in the fourth over.
Things only got better from there for Longford, with wicket keeper Ash Vogt taking two catches in the space of three balls – first Stephen Noble off the bowling of Floyd, then heavy-hitter Nick Pang at the other end of the pitch off Mick Murphy.
After Ned Sutton went for a duck and Connor Hughes for 10, the home side was sitting pretty on 5/34.
A sixth-wicket pairing of Liam Hurst and Dylan Bolton stabilised the Saints’ innings, who jointly made 37 before Hurst departed on a contentious leg-before decision.
Hurst left the field in disbelief, claiming that he smashed the ball into his pads – at least one Longford played conceded that he probably did.
But given he survived an earlier shout for LBW, perhaps the loss of his wicket was karma working its magic.
After captain Bolton was caught and bowled on 24, it was left to Ryan Marshall to do the heavy lifting, leaving the field on a team-best 36 not out.
With a score of 118 to reach and surpass, the Lizards started well enough before losing Andrew Tyson at 1/16.
Sam Dean went out without adding to the total, bringing to the crease Longford’s new recruit Jordan Price against his old side.
The all rounder didn’t trouble with the ball, and nor did he with that bat, going for seven off the bowling of his former captain, Bolton.
Ash Vogt and Jake Wynd were also sent back to the pavilion, leaving Floyd and Jayden Taylor to build a total.
So far, the yet-to-be-beaten pair has made 26 runs – a reasonable effort, but one that still leaves Longford 40 runs short of a lead.
Photo: Tom Parry
Sale v Rosedale-Kilmany
EARLY jitters gave way to an imposing total at Sale Oval.
The Swans won the toss and opted to bat first on their home turf, confidence that didn’t last long.
Matt Jackson fell in the sixth over for five runs, followed by Will McKenzie a couple of overs later on two.
In the next 13 overs, opener Hayden Glover and the usually-solid Coenie Nel contributed just 19 runs to Sale’s tally, their muted partnership ending with the latter’s wicket.
By the 31st over, the scorecard was reading 5/50, with Glover and Michael O’Brien both dismissed cheaply in the meantime.
Following this, Nathan Massey and Garreth Wolmarans initiated a fightback, combining for 107 to put the Swans in a more respectable position.
Both men made half centuries – Wolmarans was caught out soon after making his 50; Massey was trapped leg-before on 69.
Matt Raidal and captain Ben Jones also made contributions of 20 and 18 respectively, the latter declaring Sale’s innings at 9/207 after 76 overs.
Bowlers Brad Scott and Isaac Love took three wickets each for Rosedale-Kilmany.
In reply, the Warriors have so far made six runs off four overs.
Bundalaguah v Maffra
COLIN Wrigglesworth Oval had its own 200-plus innings, this one coming from the visiting team.
Maffra’s choice to bat first did them no favours early in the game, with Heath Shingles being run out in the third over for a duck and Brad Harrington making three runs before he was bowled by the Bulls’ Gayashan Munasinghe.
Promoted to third in the batting order, Dylan Freitag partnered with captain Lee Hopkins to make 51 runs until he was caught by Steve Spoljaric off his own bowling.
Miller Eastham too was caught and bowled, this time by Kshitiz Sharma, leaving the Eagles at 4/61.
Hopkins then combined with Nick Wozniak for the fifth wicket, amassing 86 runs by the time the latter was out for 35.
Cameos from Jake Pendrick and Andrew McKenzie followed, with Hopkins making a century – his first in four seasons, and the fourth of the 2022/23 season overall – in the 66th over.
He failed to add to his ton, going down the very next over to Lachlan Wrigglesworth.
A last-gasp stand between David Griffiths and Alex Kuizenga pushed the Eagles to 200, the former adding another three runs before his final batting partner, Cal Hennig, was dismissed in the 76th over.
Sharma was leading wicket-taker for Bundalaguah, with figures of 4/69 off 27 overs.
As with Rosedale-Kilmany’s game against Sale, the Bulls only faced four overs before the day’s end, scoring 11 runs without loss.
