It was a warm breezy day at Iona on Sunday as the Gippsland Goannas Over 60 cricket team arrived for the Round 7 fixture against the Iona Over 60s.

The Goannas stand-in captain, Murray Moore, won the toss and chose to bat first, allowing Ray Smith and Rob Taylor to open the innings.

Smith was the first to go, caught for 14 in the ninth over, with the score at 33.

Col Carmody joined Taylor and they took the score to 66, before Taylor retired on 27 runs.

Ray Floyd came and went and Rino Metlikovec joined Carmody, who soon after retired on a score of 25, leaving the Goannas at 2/76 at the drinks break.

Neil Meredith made an even time 12, while Metlikovec retired for a well made 30, with the score at 3/129 after 29 overs.

Rob Bacchetti (21), Andrew Smith (7) and Moore (17) took the score to 7/151, which brought the two retirees back to the crease.

Taylor finished on 36 not out while Carmody was 26 not out, as the Goannas innings was completed at 8/179.

Bairnsdale’s Bernie Symons and Ian Southall opened the bowling for the Goannas, as Bacchetti ran out opening batsman, Mark McLachlan, in the 4th over.

The bowling was shared, too were the wickets, as the Iona score crept to 6/26 after 13 overs.

Ron Lovel’s 27 from 40 balls was the only innings to get going, as the Goannas effected four catches and two run outs.

Iona was all out for 70 in the 31st over.

Symons was awarded the Goannas man-of-the-match for his 2/13 bowling effort.

All Goannas bowlers were successful in keeping tidy, with Southall, Bacchetti, Merro and Ray and Andrew Smith all taking wickets for little runs.

Peter Felstead was awarded the Iona man-of-the-match, as his four overs yielded figures of 3/9.

 

The Goannas 60’s play the Ringwood Vets on December 18, at the Duncan Cameron ground in Traralgon, while the Over 70s have a next round bye.

The Goannas Over 50 team have two games to make up, and the next scheduled round on January 15, in Mornington, practice will continue in Glengarry in the meantime.

However, the Goannas Over 50 cricket team will travel to Melbourne on December 18, to play a game against the South-East Melbourne Over50 team.

Unfortunately, the Ringwood Over 60 team will not travel to Traralgon on Sunday, so that scheduled game at Duncan Cameron will not go ahead.

The next game for the Goannas Over 60s will be an away game against the Sunbury-Macedon Ranges Over 60 team on January 15.

As the Over 70 team has a Round 5 bye, their next game will be on January 8, against Mornington Over 70s.