Tom Parry
WEATHER is usually a good indicator of how a cricket team will fare.
If the days are warm and sunny in the lead-up to a match, then grounds will be dry and ideal for batting; if those same days are cool or rainy, surfaces will be moist and green.
Yet this is not always the case, as the weekend’s results in the Sale-Maffra Cricket Association proved.
Contrary to last Friday’s predictions by yours truly, the heat that was felt on Thursday and Friday had a negligible impact on playing surfaces – it appears that bowlers, rather than batsmen, had the advantage across the district.
As such, there were some rather surprising results in the first grade competition on Saturday.
The conclusion of Round 13 brought with it the defeats of two premiership contenders, a tenacious display from a losing side, and a new leader in the pack of eight.
All four games were won on first innings.
Collegians v Sale
A NEW favourite for the flag has surfaced following the result at College Oval.
Chasing 212, Collegians had an ominous start to their first innings when captain and opener Zac Hurley was out for a four-ball duck.
Then, Jed Malone was caught by his Sale contemporary, Nathan Massey on 10.
The Morrison brothers, Charlie and Tom were next to go, followed by Henry Anderson on one – all in the first 24 overs of the day.
With the score at an unfathomable 5/32, Noah Hurley partnered with Nathan Giove to stabilise the innings.
But their efforts only lasted so long – after 17 overs and with 33 runs added, Giove was trapped on his pads by Sale’s Coenie Nel for eight.
The young Hurley then combined with another Nathan, this one being Whitford, for a partnership of 21, before Nel struck again by bowling Hurley for 31.
Mark Nicholls then joined Whitford to add 32 runs in an eighth-wicket, 22-over stand, before Whitford too was bowled by Nel at the end of the 61st over on 28.
Three balls later, Jake Durnell was out leg-before for a golden duck, leaving College 9/119.
Despite having used 10 of their 11 batsmen, Collegians’ innings concluded there and then, 93 runs short of their target, to hand Sale six points.
Nel finished with figures of 4/52, while paceman Matt Raidal was the Swans’ next-best bowler with 3/20 off 10, including five maidens.
The win, coupled with the result of the game at Stratford (see below) sees Sale leap to the top of the First XI ladder, relegating Collegians to second.
Stratford v Maffra
ANOTHER shock loss was suffered by the Redbacks, this time on their home ground at the hands of sixth-placed Maffra.
Starting the day at 16 runs without loss, Stratford suffered early with the fall of four batsmen in the opening 10 overs.
Two of those four wickets were Jack Tatterson and Jack Rietschel, both of whom departed without scoring.
Dean Devisser lasted another five overs before he was caught for 11, the Redbacks’ score at 5/34.
Ben Dinning and Ethan Albrecht had better fortune, forming a partnership that lasted 16 overs, yet yielded just 18 runs, ending with the former’s dismissal on nine.
Albrecht was out exactly one over later, caught for 15.
After Sam Anstee was bowled for a duck in the 48th over, Zane Waixel and Seb Pendergast attempted to launch a fightback, with some success – the tail-enders amassed 24 runs across 13 overs, the most productive stand of the innings.
But it too came to a premature end when Pendergast was caught for 14 in the 61st over.
Stratford’s innings ended five overs later with the wicket of Chris Aurisch, leaving Waixel as the top-scorer on an unbeaten 19.
Josh Davis claimed four scalps for Maffra, while Ben Durrant, Jack Kelly and Dylan Freitag each snagged two.
With a lead of 43 runs, the Eagles began their second innings and did so worryingly, losing their first four wickets – three of them off Tatterson’s bowling – in the space of five overs, and with just 10 runs added.
Josh Davis and Nathan Hibbins soon rectified the situation, amassing 73 runs between them in the proceeding 16 overs.
Davis’ wicket saw Maffra declare their innings at 5/83, giving them a lead of 126.
The Redbacks were given the briefest of opportunities to reply, making 12 runs in three overs before the match was brought to a close.
While the outcome does zilch for Maffra’s finals chances, it does have ramifications for Stratford, which has slipped to third on the ladder.
Photo: Tom Parry
Rosedale-Kilmany v Boisdale-Briagolong
IT’S official: the Warriors are bound for the finals.
Their place in the top four has been cemented thanks to a decisive victory against Boisdale-Briagolong at Rosedale Recreation Reserve.
The Saints resumed their first innings at 0/3, losing opener Steve Noble within three balls, followed by Michael Roberts in the 11th and then Toby Leeds in the 19th – all caught behind by Cam Freshwater.
In the next 25 overs, Mark Lobley and Dylan Bolton made a 44-run stand before the latter was bowled by fellow all-rounder Isaac Love for 21.
Nick Pang was next to arrive, combining with Lobley for 32 runs – 13 of which came off just one over.
Their stand lasted just eight overs before Pang was caught for 25.
By this point, the B-Doubles were sitting on 5/118 after 51 overs – halfway to their target, but with just 30 overs to reach it.
The loss of Jonathon Outhart for eight, and then Lobley for 43 put a dent in those chances.
This left Liam Hurst and Taj Threadgold to salvage the innings, although nothing substanital was made.
The pair only managed a collaboration of 24 runs in six overs, Hurst being the one to fall in the 72nd.
Threadgold and Kallan Randle lost their wickets in the five overs that followed, bringing the Saints’ innings to an end at 10/168.
Captain Love took the most wickets for Rosedale-Kilmany with four from 27 overs, while Dylan Rowley finished with two.
With their spot in the top four secure, all the Warriors need to do now is wait and see who their opponent will be in the semi-finals.
Longford v Bundalaguah
CONVERSELY, the Bulls’ hopes of reaching the finals have been dashed, despite being victorious at Stephenson Park.
Bundalaguah began the day at 1/63, needing 86 runs for a first-innings win.
Hayden Wrigglesworth was bowled in the second over of the day without adding to his score, paving the way for Kshitiz Sharma, who lasted seven overs and left the middle on two.
Chris Smart was out for 31 in the 43rd over, his wicket followed swiftly by the departures of Charlie Morris and Nick French for single digits.
Upon the latter’s fall in the 48th over, Bundy’s score was 6/95.
James Read was next to the crease, who stuck around for seven overs and contributed three runs to a stand of 17 with Steve Spoljaric.
It was the eighth and subsequently final partnership that proved most fruitful for the Bulls, with Spoljaric and Mitch Templeton together making 37 runs to surpass Longford’s total of 148 within 15 overs.
Having acquired the six points, Bundy declared their innings and sent Longford in to bat for a second time.
The Lizards started benignly but soon fired, with openers Walt Sutton and Sam Dean posting 47 runs between them by the end of the 13th over.
The wickets of both men resulted in the quick losses of batsmen in the 20 overs that followed, with all but one – Jack Heywood – departing for single figures.
Even so, Longford concluded their innings on a respectable 131, giving them a profit of runs to atone for being the losing team.
Heywood – who arrived seventh in the order – would be the last Lizard to fall, his 48 runs coming off 36 deliveries.
Bulls captain Jason Langshaw ended the innings with four wickets, as did Chris Smart.
Meanwhile, Longford’s key bowlers were Andrew Tyson and his captain, Lachlan Floyd, who collected two wickets each.
With just one round of the 2022/23 season to go, Bundy are currently fifth place on the first grade ladder and 13 points outside the top four.
Even if they win outright in Round 14, they’ll still be three points short, at best, of a place in the semis.
