CRICKET
CRICKET LATROBE VALLEY
By LIAM DURKIN and BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
Premier A Grade
CALCULATORS came out in Round 7 of Cricket Latrobe Valley Premier A.
With rain and one day conditions (reverted after Day 1 was washed away), a couple of games came down to little more than a few misdirected deliveries resulting in leg side wides, or fortuitous slashes once slips were taken out.
Moe def by Centrals by 3 runs
THIS is getting ridiculous now for Moe.
The Lions of Ted Summerton found themselves involved in another nerve-killing game, losing to Centrals by three runs.
With not even half the season yet done, three of Moe’s six completed games to date have been decided by margins of one run (Round 3; win versus Raiders), one wicket (Round 4; loss versus Morwell), and now three runs against Centrals.
Throw in the Round 5 game against Glengarry, which wasn’t decided until the 80th over (Moe loss) and Moe could have reason to feel slightly hard done by.
While rules are rules, you would be stiff to get relegated on the back of results like these.
The latest in a string of seemingly unexplainable tight finishes saw Moe go well against usual protocol and elect to bowl first at Moe Racecourse Turf.
Centrals compiled 146, the majority of which was scored by Mark Rawson.
As a man who has routinely played the ‘best looking 30s you’ve ever seen’ before finding a random way to get out in the past, Rawson went on with it this time, smashing 96 off 91 balls.
The burly right hander smacked eight fours and three sixes during his time at the crease.
Keenan Hughes did some good work up top, before coming back and finishing with figures of 4/20, while Ben Zomer chipped in with 2/44.
The Moe batting card saw Andrew Philip negotiate a tricky situation around him, getting to 53 batting alongside captain Noah Kane.
The pair put on 60 for the fifth wicket, taking the total to 103.
Kane and Hughes then took the team within 16 runs of victory before disaster struck.
Kane was dismissed for 32, meaning the tail was exposed to bat against Centrals quicks Nuwan Pradeep and Tyron Gamage.
Needing eight to win off the last over, Gamage blasted the stumps twice to leave Moe short at 9/143.
Gamage took 4/24, Pradeep 2/32 and the old stager Marc Fenech 2/31.
These close losses better not be a sign of things to come for Moe in footy season.
Morwell def by Ex Students by 4 runs (DLS)
EX STUDENTS defeated Morwell on Duckworth-Lewis-Stern.
The Sharks batted first, and made 7/163 off 46.5 overs at Keegan Street.
This proved to be enough once the adjustment was made, with the Tigers bowled out for 159.
Lee Stockdale made 68 opening the batting for the winners, with Mitch Harris helping out with an unbeaten 29.
Wickets were shared in the Morwell camp, with a highlight in the field coming from captain Blair Clymo, who threw down the stumps from mid on to see the back of Stockdale.
The home side had the worst start imaginable in reply, falling to 2/1. A rescue mission from Clymo and Jordan Campbell got the side out of trouble, before the latter fell for a busy 31 off 42 rocks.
Clymo played well for 71 against an impressive-as-ever Ex Students bowling and fielding return.
Adam Brady took 3/27 off 10 overs, while Stockdale chimed in with 2/20.
Sharks skipper James Pryde went for just 15 runs off 10 overs (three maidens), took two catches and got a run out.
After missing out with the bat earlier in the day, Pryde demonstrated just how many facets make up a game of cricket.
As they say, there is always an opportunity to contribute.
CATS def by Toongabbie by 30 runs
TOONGABBIE had a confidence-boosting win over CATS.
Confidence-boosting in the fact Amal Athulathmudali wasn’t required to make all the runs.
The Rams put together 183 on John Black Oval, headlined by club legend Rob Wheildon making 69 against the new ball, and new recruit and qualified pizza chef Gayashan Munasinghe boxing up 58, three of which were extra large (sixes).
CATS pair Jamie Cochrane and Sam Gissara did well to stem the flow of runs, going for less than three and taking 3/14 and 2/22 respectively.
One player aside, the batting never really materialised for CATS, who were bundled out for 153.
English import Owen Palmer stood tall with an insane 73 off 36 balls, possibly getting himself another three league votes in a losing effort following his 107 against Morwell in Round 2.
The next highest score after Palmer’s however was 16, which told those who were not there everything they needed to know. Two stumpings and a run out in the top six possibly reflected a CATS line-up that got bogged down, against another set of Toongabbie legends in Jason Veneman, who took 5/25, and Kev Stoddart (2/16).
Glengarry def Raiders by 139 runs
GLENGARRY versus Stratty would be a decent game.
The Magpies strode to another easy victory, their latest victim being Raiders.
Raiders made the brave call to bowl first at Fred King Oval, and despite taking wickets at semi-regular intervals, they just couldn’t get Nat Freitag out.
Not until he had scored 72 at least.
The Glengarry captain, along with Ben Marks (41), gave Raiders 200 to chase.
The visitors bowled pretty well in all fairness, especially Darryn Stares, who went for just 17 off 10 overs (four maidens).
George Cheshire nabbed 4/37 and Ben Rivers 3/40.
Raiders however completely fell apart with the bat, and were blown out of the water, rocked and rolled for a paltry 60 runs.
Nathan Allen was simply sensational, and took 6/13 off 9.1 overs.
Cam Graham (2/12) and Brandon Mayberry (2/9) provided strong foil.
Glengarry remain undefeated at the top of the ladder, nearly 10 points clear of their nearest challenger.
Such a gap between first and second will surely mean those in the Magpies camp are smiling more than Mariah Carey does at this time of year when she cashes her royalties.
A Grade
AFTER weather setbacks and two-dayers taking to the forefront, Cricket Latrobe Valley A Grade returned at the weekend producing some rousing results in Round 7.
This is only momentary as two-day play returns this weekend.
Mirboo North def Rovers by 3 wickets
MIRBOO North stumbled in a relatively quick evening, with the Tigers winning by three wickets over Rovers at Mirboo North Recreation Reserve.
In their third victory of the season, perhaps foreseeing a defensive style match, the Tigers elected to bowl after winning the toss.
The decision was justified as Rovers were shot out for just 83.
Max Woodall took 3/42 in nine overs, Anton Thomas 3/33 and Michael Daly with a quick 3/2 in just three overs to do the damage for the home side.
As they have a way of doing, the Tigers made life hard for themselves, but eventually won with three wickets in hand.
Zach Hollis produced the best total of the day with 44.
Despite the result, Rovers’ Nadeep Singh had plenty to be pleased about personally, taking 6/27 off 6.5 overs.
Imperials def by Willow Grove by 37 runs
WHERE has this been?
Willow Grove upset top of the table Imperials by three wickets at Catterick Crescent.
Imperials won the toss and elected to chase, giving the Wolves the chance to shine early.
While not much was made through the first 12 overs, once Luke Payton arrived it was as if a tsunami hit Catterick Crescent.
Payton smashed 144 not out off 121 rocks, which included 12 fours and 10 sixes, some going into nearby houses.
Liam Cumiskey added 31 as Willow Grove made it to the 50th over with 225 on the board.
Dominic Thompson took 4/69 and Anubhav Anubhav 2/26 for Imperials.
Imps captain Ryan Morley gave his side a chance, making 60, followed by Tom Starkey (43) and Brett Chapman (23) that made a favourable result seem possible.
Scoring however began to slow down, with Shane Galea next best with 25.
It ultimately was the day of the Wolves, with Darcy Walsh taking 5/31 in 8.2 overs and Nathan Wheildon 4/33 in 10.
Imps were without key bowler Todd Mann, who injured a finger on his bowling hand during the week.
Mann is set to miss a few games either side of Christmas, and Imps will be hoping it isn’t a case of ‘no Todd, no squad’.
Latrobe def by Churchill by 9 wickets
CHURCHILL made it look easy, as they practically walked to another win.
The Cobras needed just 16 overs to take Latrobe by eight wickets at Peter Siddle Oval.
The Sharks began proceedings strongly, with Sam Wilson notching 59 including 10 fours, giving his side quite the confidence as they faced one of the favourites of the competition.
Many others went past without much to their name, and it wasn’t until captain Steve Freshwater made 20 not out and Salman Rasool (16) added as the Cougars began to sharpen up.
Matthew Harvey took 3/26 including two maidens, Ross Whelpdale 2/23 and John Keighran 2/17.
Latrobe finished on 137, but Churchill made it look like nothing by the time they had their turn.
Keighran and Harvey carried the team the rest of the way home with scores of 61 and 38 not out respectively, moving past the total thanks to 22 extras including 17 wides.
The Cobras sit second on the ladder behind Imperials, but hold the most wins with a ratio of 6-1 on the season.
Gormandale def by Traralgon West by 3 wickets (DLS)
GORMANDALE was downed by Traralgon West in a Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) situation.
The Eagles won by three wickets as play was halted due to the rain.
Premier B (Round 8): Thorpdale 4/175 (M Powell 54*, M Graeme 54, L Morphet 23, M Bentley 2/27) def Ex Students 174 (J Zappulla 57, D Churchill 30, M Powell 3/28, B Dyke 2/17, R Kerrison 2/33); Churchill 9/148 (J Rae 30, S Freeman 28, J Motta 4/18) def CATS 147 (L Pass 57, R Marks 3/13, S Freeman 3/30, R Johnson 2/37); Toongabbie 101 (H Broad 30, C Bailey 3/14, S Gniel 3/26) drew with Morwell 2/19; Glengarry 8/205 (P Henry 123, D Cochrane 32, H Bright 3/47, D Cooke 2/36) def Traralgon West 55 (J Porter 4/27, J Duncan 2/4, P Henry 2/6, J Sands 2/7); Jeeralang-Boolarra 4/98 (B McCormack 31*) def Mirboo North 97 (B Van Heurck 28, D Gregor 5/29, L Smith 3/27).
B Grade (Round 10): Moe 9/173 (M Whitney 31, B Finn 29, J Atkinson 27, T Shankland 3/33, B Williamson 2/27, C Hughes 2/28) drew with Centrals 5/94 (J Downes 27*, A Johnstone 2/12); Rovers 6/255 (J Pearce 127*, S Boyes 48, C Schmidt 28*, K Hebbard 3/42) def Latrobe 8/155 (R Hebbard 41, L Woolan 3/35, A Van Zuyden 2/33); Raiders 9/153 (R Sidhu 33*, H Rai 27, J Jones 3/15, J Shankland 3/34, D Loots 2/11) def Imperials 74 (D Caulfield 25, J Varghese 3/18, H Rai 2/0, P Mills 2/9); Gormandale 159 (G Swann 93*, F White 25, P Grima 2/22, A Wilkes 2/49) def Willow Grove 114 (T Reynolds 4/28, P Korula 2/8, G Swan 2/23) on DLS.
Premier C (Round 8): Imperials 5/162 (M Twomey 63*, P Dunstan 47*, D Brain 3/31) def Rovers 154 (R Matthews 48, D Canning 33, L Sykes 3/4, D Buhagiar 3/15, L Hegarty 2/22); Ex Students 3/177 (D Millington 76*, S Thomson 47*) def Morwell 8/93 (T Kosterman 4/20); Toongabbie 7/175 (D Elms 66, B Hood 34, B Wall 26, D Calder 3/45, K Collins 2/28) def Mirboo North 105 (A Scicluna 49, M Cooper 3/35, J Elms 2/5, B Hood 2/12, D Veale 2/16); Moe 7/162 (T Oakley 80*, G Edwards 28, C Perera 3/17, H Pettie 2/38) def Centrals 9/190 (S Rajapakse 54*, H Pettie 40, J Poursanidis 25, D Biggins 3/27, B Cake 2/29); Glengarry defeated CATS via forfeit.
C Grade (Round 8): Raiders 6/138 (K Hutchinson 75, G Bachelor 3/15) def Gormandale (S Gamble 52, M Smallwood 32, S Arora 2/7, J Webber 2/15); Latrobe 4/256 (D Mcdougall 109, R Borlase 80) def Jeeralang-Boolarra 9/92 (A Bremner 2/0, J Ratcliffe 2/5, J Mooney 2/7); Rawson def Imperials via forfeit; Churchill vs Willow Grove – abandoned; Traralgon West – BYE.
CLV T20 (Round 3): Glengarry 6/91 (F Marks 32, D Keyhoe 2/16, T Reynolds 2/18) tied Gormandale 9/91 (D Keyhoe 41, M Merton 5/10) (no super over).
Note: Round 2 (November 26) was washed out, rescheduled to December 10. Results not known at time of press.
Women’s Championship (Round 8): Mirboo North 1/128 (K Collins 33*, C Johns 18*) def Rovers 4/37 (K Collins 2/7); Willow Grove 3/102 (J Christie 31*, H Ferguson 22, K Grima 16*) def Raiders 1/98 (T Hunt 32*, R Carr 30*); Ex Students 2/91 (A Hood 30*, J Langstaff 22) def Morwell 3/90 (C Mayberry 33*, R Ball 20*, N Freeman 16).
Women’s Premier (Round 8): Raiders 0/62 (Z Quinsey-Munro 30*, Z Hustwayte 18*) def Imperials 4/60 (P Wheeler 33*, R Reid 15); Churchill 4/75 (J Keighran 27*, Z McNaughton 17*, S Forbes 15) def Centrals 2/63 (K Peters 17*, K Doble 15); Willow Grove vs Latrobe (result not available).
Under 16 (Round 8, Day 1): Moe vs Willow Grove 6/238 (D van der Stoep 106*, D Walsh 75*, J Keily 27, H Boothman 3/43); Ex Students 153 (J Kee 26*, M Cropley 24, D Smith 22) vs Raiders; Centrals vs Morwell/Latrobe; Toongabbie vs Gormandale/Rovers; Glengarry – BYE.
Under 14 (Round 6, Day 1): Morwell 5/52 (C Gray 15*, A Shirreff 15) vs Moe 2/95 (H Boothman 34*, A Nardone 22*); Jeeralang-Boolarra 4/50 (O O’Brien 19) vs Ex Students 3/50 (T Churchill 17*); Gormandale/Rovers 5/73 (J Armstrong 24, C Taylor 2/7) vs Mirboo North 5/58 (L Chila 22*, J Bull 2/5); Willow Grove vs Latrobe (scores not in available); Centrals – BYE.
Under 14 Girls (Round 1): Willow Grove 3/81 (L Blackshaw 37) def Raiders 4/76 (H Baker 18, L Blackshaw 3/8); Traralgon West 6/58 tied with Ex Students 6/58.
