Tom Parry
IT was summer’s last hurrah over the weekend, with players in the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association greeted by a blast of hot weather.
Temperatures neared the mid-30s as the senior games got underway, but by mid-afternoon the heat had subsided, owing to overcast skies and a breeze from the west.
Round 14 of the first grade competition, the last of the 2022/23 season, commenced on Saturday.
Three of the four matches were one-sided affairs, seeing teams that batted first all posting scores of 260 or more.
The other match saw a much closer contest, with 13 wickets falling and just 174 runs made across 80 overs between two teams.
Nevertheless, it was the highlight of the weekend’s action – save for the Fischer Cup.
The round resumes this Saturday, March 4.
Photo: Tom Parry
Rosedale-Kilmany v Stratford
THERE was little that separated the two teams at Rosedale Recreation Reserve.
Stratford won the toss but, rather than capitalise on the conditions, sent Rosedale-Kilmany in to bat.
Brandon McDonald and Sam Treasure opened for the Warriors, scoring at a leisurely pace to reach 25 by the end of the 13th over.
Two overs later, McDonald was caught for 17, bringing Michael ‘SOS’ Walters to the crease – who was out five overs after that for a miserly single.
Walters’ demise paved the way for the mighty Rohan Diamond who, together with Spencer Fox, made 38 runs during the fourth wicket.
Fox was run out in the 37th over, and Diamond caught behind the over after that.
The next decent partnership for RK didn’t occur until the ninth wicket, when tail-enders Nathan Hangan and Dylan Rowley made 45 runs off 17 overs.
Jack Tatterson was the bowler who broke that stand, trapping Hangan leg-before in the 65th over.
Five runs and four overs later, the Warriors were all out for 148.
Rohan Diamond was the innings’ top-scorer with 33, followed by Hangan (28) and Rowley (23).
Tatterson claimed four wickets and the run out of Fox, while Jack Rietschel snagged three scalps and Ethan Albrecht two.
The Redbacks made an unfortunate start to their first innings, losing Dean Devisser and Lachlan Channing off Hangan’s bowling in the opening over – and in successive balls.
Hangan’s chance of a hat-trick was scratched when his third delivery to Tatterson was deemed a no ball.
RK collected their third victim in the sixth over, when Ben Wilkinson was run out by the bowler, Rowley.
Stratford finished the day 3/26, Tatterson and Rietschel the unbeaten batsmen.
Boisdale-Briagolong v Collegians
MORE runs were scored at Briagolong Recreation Reserve than any other First XI game on Day 1 of Round 14.
Collegians batted first after winning the toss and didn’t waste their opportunity, posting 52 runs in the first 18 overs.
That opening stand between Tom Morrison and Jed Malone ended when the latter was caught behind for 23.
Captain Zac Hurley entered next, lasting exactly five overs before he too was caught behind.
Morrison’s dismissal in the 28th over gave way to Noah Hurley, who combined with Adrian Burgiel to post 50 runs in just nine overs.
Following the stumping of Burgiel on 39 and a 22-ball cameo from Charlie Morrison, the young Hurley was then joined by Stuart Anderson, together forging another 50-run partnership – this one lasting 13 overs.
Noah was caught-and-bowled in the 56th over, shortly after garnering his half-century.
This allowed Henry Anderson to join the older Anderson, Stuart in the richest stand of the innings, seeing 75 runs scored in the next 23 overs.
Both Andersons finished unbeaten when Collegians declared their innings at 6/278.
Dylan Bolton took two of those six wickets for Boisdale-Briagolong.
With 10 overs left in the day’s play, the Saints began their chase, losing Steve Noble to an lbw shout and Mark Lobley to the hands of spinner Jake Durnell.
Their score currently sits at 2/18; Toby Leeds and Ned Sutton are their unbeaten batsmen.
Bundalaguah v Sale
ANOTHER week, another dominant display from the ladder-leading Swans – this one occurring at Colin Wrigglesworth Oval.
Opting to bat after winning the toss, Sale made an unassuming start to their innings – just 34 runs were on the board by the 16th over.
Both openers were lost by the 24th over; in the 15 overs that followed, Michael O’Brien and Coenie Nel collaborated to make 35 runs.
O’Brien was caught-and-bowled in the 39th, leaving Nel to partner with Nathan Massey to add 66 runs off just 14 overs.
Brad Jones was next to form a stand with Nel, this one netting 40 runs off nine overs before the latter was caught for a well-constructed innings of 78.
Jones and Matt Raidal took the score past 200; upon the former’s departure, another 15 runs had been added.
A total of 46 runs were added in the final 10 overs of the day; although three wickets were lost, Sale still managed to finish their innings with a wicket to spare.
Notably, all bar one of their batsmen – an unbeaten Brody Dobson – posted scores in the double digits.
Bundalaguah’s Steve Spoljaric and Kshitiz Sharma both garnered three wickets each; Gayashan Munasinghe finished with two.
Photo: File
Maffra v Longford
THOSE who attended the match at Cameron Sporting Complex witnessed Maffra’s highest first-innings score of the season, and the highest of the round thus far.
The Eagles were the only home side that won a toss in Round 14, and used the opportunity to score first.
Dylan Freitag was given another chance to open the batting; he combined with Ben Durrant to make a 45-run stand off 18 overs before being caught for 25.
Durrant then partnered with Miller Eastham for a 46-run collaboration across 16 overs, ending when the latter was trapped on his pads for 21.
The third wicket stand between Durrant and Josh Davis yielded 89 runs, the duo seeing through 30 overs.
Longford’s Jordan Price was the man to find the breakthrough, bowling Durrant for 79.
At that point, the Eagles had 180 on the board.
A busy partnership came during the fifth wicket, when Davis and captain-coach Lee Hopkins amassed 64 runs in the space of nine overs – a rate of better than seven runs per over.
Hopkins departed for 25 with five overs left in the day; by the close of the innings, 34 more runs had been added.
Maffra finished with their score reading 6/289.
Davis top-scored with exactly 100 runs, his ton reached off a single in the last over with four balls to spare.
The milestone was reached in 125 deliveries, including 12 fours and two sixes.
Lachlan Floyd was best of the Lizards’ bowlers with three wickets, followed by Price with two.
