Staff Writers
CRICKET
TDCA THE Traralgon District Cricket Association went from famine to feast at the weekend, as runs were on the order, in contrast to previous rounds where ball dominated bat. Match of the Round had Glengarry visiting nearest neighbour Toongabbie. With good weather leading into Saturday, it finally meant Roger Ries Oval was in no doubt of being suitable for play, with both the ground and wicket looking an absolute picture. Amazingly, Toongabbie sent Glengarry in to bat and some home deck knowledge soon looked as if it would be a masterstroke, as a fired up Keenan Hughes made life difficult for the opening batsmen, removing Al Jenkin for just six while testing the resolve of Frank Marks by painting him black and blue with the ball. Marks toughed out the initial attack, and together with captain Nat Freitag, put on 138 before Marks fell for a superb 77. Freitag’s partners then came and went as Nathan Allen, Ben Marks and Lachlan Clark all got starts, but it was Freitag who just couldn’t be removed going on to make 117 not out which included 12 boundaries and two big sixes. This is the first hundred in TDCA A Grade this season, and although it included a little luck with a few miss shots going very close to the stumps, it was a masterclass in how to use your feet and crease when negotiating spin bowling while also taking on quality quicks on a good lively wicket. Toongabbie toiled hard in the hot conditions and used eight bowlers in the process. Kev Stoddart was the only multiple wicket taker with 2/63 as Glengarry went on to make a formidable 5/269 from 50 overs. With no Cam Graham, the new ball was entrusted to Gareth Waack-Hawkins and Jenkin, who got the Magpies off to a good start, but had to deal with the resistance of Jason Veneman who made a good 43. Once the dangerous Rob Wheildon and Stoddart were removed, it was going to be a bridge too far for the Rams as the middle to lower order strung a few starts together but couldn’t negotiate the pressure enough and were bowled out in the 40th over for 143. Allen continued to impress, as the leg-spinner claimed 4/37, while the opening bowlers claimed two wickets each. This was Toongabbie’s first loss for the season, which now has them fourth on the ladder, while Glengarry continue on their winning ways to now sit firmly on top of the table. ROVERS came into the match against Yarram & District on a high after notching up their second win for the season. Rovers batted first on a typical good looking Duncan Cameron wicket, and got off to a decent enough start being 37 before the first wicket fell. A few starts to Tyler Pearce (15), Liam Little (12) and Ewan Williams (20) had the score building nicely, as Dougal Williams was going along his merry way at the other end to 51 from 72 balls. It was Williams’ dismissal though that took Rovers from being able to achieve a score of 200-plus to being bowled out for 171 in the 46th over as Williams was the sixth wicket to fall at 153. Although 171 is a decent enough score, it can’t hide the fact Rovers lost their last six wickets for 21 runs, and with four overs still to be bowled maybe the young team shouldn’t have pushed for quick runs as early as they did. Still, with a score on the board anything can happen and happen it did. Unfortunately for Rovers it wasn’t in their favour. Yarram & District captain Anthony Scott, having batted in the lower order all season, must have had somewhere to be as he and regular opener Jack Moore came out in a mood and Scott smashed around the Rovers attack. Moore was the first wicket to fall as he made 23 from 27 balls and was dismissed in the 11th over with the score on 119. Up the other end, Scott was going crazy as no bowler was safe, with Ewan Williams going for 20 from an over, Mitch Floyd going for 22 and Lachy Patterson getting hit for three sixes in a row as Scott quickly got to 50 and then had a century in his sights. Three figures wasn’t to be however, as he was caught on the boundary off the bowling of Simon Duff, but the damage he inflicted was severe as he finished the day 95 runs from just 49 balls which included seven boundaries and eight monster sixes which had the VLine trains ducking for cover. Dylan Rash and Jarryd Swift finished the job for Yarram, who passed Rovers’ total in just 20.2 overs as the Pelicans walked away convincing winners, while Rovers walked away shell-shocked. EX Students batted first at Terry Hunter Oval against Imperials, and got to work straight away, scoring 39 before the first wicket fell. This wicket (James Pryde for eight) meant Lee Stockdale then joined Matt Dyke in the middle as the two batsmen then set themselves for big scores. Dyke ended up falling one run short of his 50, while Stockdale was cruising on 55 before Dilsahn Thillekarathna was brought on and knocked both of the batsmen over giving Imperials a reprieve. Mitch Membrey and Matt Robertson both got 20s, but when Tom Starkey was brought back on the middle order couldn’t handle it, and together with Joel Randall stopped the scoring, taking Ex Students from 4/186 to all out for 217, giving the visiting team a sniff at victory. Randall’s good record against Ex Students with the ball continued, as he finished with 4/28, while Tom Starkey now sits just one wicket behind top spot for the season, only going wicketless once this season. Imperials needed a good foundation to get near the Sharks’ total, and they certainly achieved that at 2/65. The only issue being that in form bat Ryan Morley was already in the sheds at 1/13. Once Starkey and Scott Aitken were removed, the depth of Imperials was tested again, and although Dean Campbell (10), Joel Randall (15) and Brad Wells (15) all got starts, they were just never in the hunt, finishing all out for 138 in the 46th over. Stockdale claimed 4/16 to go with his 50 rounding out a brilliant all-round performance, while Jack Robertson also claimed four wickets in his 6.2 overs. GORMANDALE had the bye.
