IF only it were possible to be in four places at once.
Were that the case, you would have witnessed four gripping First Grade contests in the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association last Saturday.
Warm temperatures and dry surfaces in Round 11 allowed for a perfect day’s cricket, although the occasional gust of wind did prove a nuisance for all involved.
Two matches saw the home sides defend their totals, while the remaining two chased down their targets with only a handful of balls left.
Sale v Stratford
HEARTACHE continued for Stratford over the weekend as they suffered a second consecutive loss, this one coming at Sale Oval.
Home side Sale won the coin toss and, unusually, told the Redbacks to set a total on what looked to be an ideal batting pitch.
After the early dismissal of opener Chris Aurisch, Ben Dinning and Dean Devisser laid the foundations with a 42-run stand.
Devisser’s wicket in the 13th over brought Ben Channing to the crease, who made a cameo of 11 runs before he too was dismissed.
Lachlan Channing replaced him, partnering with Dinning for 38 runs before the latter was caught in the 30th over.
By that time, the Redbacks had amassed just 98 runs between them.
Captain Jack Rietschel, returning from representative duties, responded by forging a 44-run partnership with Channing that saw Stratford’s run-rate increase from three an over to six, leaving them at 142 by the fall of the fifth wicket.
The victim was Channing, who top-scored for the Redbacks with 48.
The remaining four overs saw just 12 runs added with the loss of five wickets, the scorecard reading 9/157.
Sale’s Coenie Nel finished his allotted overs with three wickets, while Ben Jones and Raaghav Sudan each snatched two.
With 158 runs to chase, the Swans made an unfortunate start by losing their first three batsmen for single digits in a span of 11 overs.
Nel and Nathan Massey soon rectified the situation, surviving the next 14 overs to add 60 runs.
The loss of Massey, and Michael O’Brien soon after, put Stratford back in the game, though not for long.
With fellow South African and all-rounder Garreth Wolmarans as support, Nel struck 27 runs of the next 35 runs in just six overs.
When Nel was caught on a match-best 66, Sale were looking comfortably at 6/133.
Wolmarans and Matt Raidal lasted the rest of the innings to hit the 25 remaining runs with eight balls to spare.
Zane Waixel was the standout bowler for the visitors, taking 2/27 off his eight overs.
The result marks Stratford’s third defeat of the 2022/23 season, and their second against Sale – which poses a danger for the Redbacks come finals in March.
As for the Swans, they now sit just four points behind Stratford on the First XI ladder.
Rosedale-Kilmany v Maffra
A WHISKER, figuratively speaking, is all that separated these two sides in their encounter at Rosedale Recreation Reserve.
The Warriors opted to bat first after winning the toss, a decision that paid handsomely – they made 60 runs without loss within the first 17 overs.
Not long after, the tables turned as openers Brandon McDonald and Leigh Freshwater both fell to Maffra’s Ben Durrant, leaving Rosedale-Kilmany at 2/63 just before the drinks break.
Rohan Diamond and Brad Scott appeared to steady the innings, making 19 off the next five overs.
From there on, things went dramatically south for RK as they suffered an almighty collapse – the subsequent 15 overs saw eight wickets fall with just 36 runs added to the Warriors’ total.
Or, to put it another way, one Warrior was lost every four-and-a-half runs.
In those final overs, the most fruitful stand was a last-gasp effort from Dylan Rowley and Michael ‘SOS’ Walters which saw 11 runs made, before Rowley was stumped on the second-to-last ball of the innings.
Maffra’s Josh Davis took three wickets in a dizzying spell; Durrant also finished with three, while Alex Kuizenga and captain Lee Hopkins both collected two.
Set a modest sum of 119 to win, the Eagles only needed to move at three runs an over to do just that.
A low scoring-rate and the demise of their top order put a dent in those plans – by the halfway mark, Maffra were 4/53.
Wicket-keeper Nathan Hibbins offered some relief, building partnerships with Hopkins (15 runs made between them), Davis (26), Ben Harrington (15) and Dylan Freitag (17) before eventually falling in the 29th over for 43.
Despite a late fightback from Durrant and David Griffiths, Maffra soon became overwhelmed by their opponents, losing their 10th and final batsman in the 36th over.
The Warriors had survived by a slim margin of 14 runs.
True to his nickname, RK’s Walters was involved in all three dismissals in those dying stages – he caught Allman off the bowling of McDonald, then ran out Durrant and Kuizenga in successive overs.
Nathan Hangan ended the match with 3/11 off his bowling, while McDonald and Isaac Love both garnered two wickets.
Photo: File
Boisdale-Briagolong v Bundalaguah
KSHITIZ Sharma was the hero for the Bulls as they triumphed by six wickets in a high-scoring affair at Briagolong Recreation Reserve.
Batting first, Boisdale-Briagolong lost Michael Roberts early, but soon found rhythm under Steve Noble and Toby Leeds, who compiled 90 runs between them for the second wicket.
Their stand didn’t break until the 23rd over, when Noble was bowled by Nathan Nikolajew.
Leeds departed two overs later, having slogged five fours and four sixes on his way to 60.
Following Dylan Bolton’s dismissal, another partnership was formed by Nick Pang and Liam Hurst, making 52 runs before the former was caught-and-bowled in the 36th over.
Pang fell agonisingly short of a maiden half-century on 49.
Hurst fired in the final moments of the innings, hitting 17 runs off Hamish Anderson’s bowling in the 38th over, before Anderson got his revenge near the end of his spell – Hurst was caught with 33 to his name.
It was one of Anderson’s two scalps for Bundalaguah; Steve Spoljaric did one better via his 3/25.
The Saints finished their 40 overs at 8/208, their highest total for their season in any format, and the best first-innings score of any First Grade match in Round 11.
Bundy’s men were now tasked with reaching a tally not amassed since their Round 3 victory against Sale.
Their chase began reasonably well, with openers Jason Langshaw and Kyle O’Reilly contributing 35 runs between them before both were bowled by Pang.
Spoljaric and Sharma continued from there, adding 66 until Spoljaric was given out LBW.
Sharma continued on, this time with Lachlan Wrigglesworth as his opposite number, the pair making 51 runs.
Wrigglesworth was caught at the very end of the 30th over; at that point, the scoreboard read 4/162, meaning Bundy were behind the required run-rate needed to win.
Two sixes from Sharma in the following over put the Bulls back in contention; from there, he and Toby O’Reilly steadily worked toward their target.
As they did, Sharma moved ever closer to his second century of the season, eventually reaching the milestone with a six in the 36th over.
The ton came off 95 deliveries, a knock that included five fours and six sixes.
In the following over, O’Reilly hit a four to level the scores, then a single to clinch the victory.
The Bulls’ incredible achievement served as the perfect tribute to club stalwart Neil Wrigglesworth, who passed away last week.
Collegians v Longford
FOR a fleeting moment on Saturday, it looked as though Longford could back-up their surprise win against Stratford in Round 10 by producing another upset, this time at College Oval.
To stress: it was merely fleeting.
Collegians won the toss and chose to bat first, only to lose their two best batsmen, Zac Hurley and Tom Morrison in the first four overs; then, Adrian Burgiel was gone in the sixth.
Charlie Morrison and Stuart Anderson stemmed the bleeding of wickets, yet only briefly, as the former was caught in the 13th over on 21.
By the end of the 17th over, with Noah Hurley and Tim Dessent having departed cheaply, Collegians were 6/72, undoubtedly shell-shocked.
At this point, it looked as though Longford were overseeing their second consecutive victory against a top-placed side.
Anderson and Nathan Giove soon put an end to that notion, lasting the next 22 overs and making 97 runs to place their side in a much stronger position.
The Lizards struck back with two wickets in the final over, but by then, the damage had already been done.
Collegians ended their 40 overs at 8/167, with Giove having contributed 42 and Anderson unbeaten on 54.
Lachlan Floyd snagged three wickets for Longford, while Clint Osborne and Mitch McMaster claimed two each.
In reply, the Lizards lost their two openers for 19 runs, then proceeded to collapse yet again, with all of their remaining batsmen falling for scores of less than 10.
All 10 wickets fell in the space of just 16 overs, four of them taken by spinner Jake Durnell, three by Nathan Whitford, and two by Noah Hurley.
Walt Sutton was the only player to survive the onslaught, and Longford’s highest scorer, with 13 runs.
Collegians were very-comfortable winners by a margin of 108 runs.
