CRICKET – CRICKET LATROBE VALLEY – LIAM DURKIN

 

CRICKET returned for 2024 at the weekend.

The second half of the Cricket Latrobe Valley season saw Premier A and A Grade teams get back into the swing of things, while the lower grades enjoyed an extra weeks rest.

Players were able to partake in all three departments, with one day games completing the action.

A couple of teams played on Sunday, in an effort to make for an as-equal fixture as possible.

 

PREMIER A GRADE

OLD Moe had quite the weekend.

The Lions lost a match they perhaps shouldn’t have on Saturday, then won a game they probably thought they couldn’t have on Sunday.

With Ted Summerton Reserve still off limits, Moe took hosting duty to Racecourse Turf, where they were pitted against Mirboo North.

Batting first, the Lions had to rejig their order, as star batsman and usual first drop Andrew Philip was battling illness.

Rob Phoenix and opening partner Jesse Pheeney fell to Mirboo North young gun Max Woodall, before Moe skipper Noah Kane and Riley Baldi got together and put on 60 for the third wicket.

Baldi continued the good form he had shown before Christmas, making 40 off 52 balls, stroking five fours during his knock.

His twin brother Trent suited up for his first game in a number of years, and showed he hasn’t lost any of his touch, coming in at number eight and scoring 34.

How Moe would love to have both Baldi’s every week – in cricket and footy.

Lions veteran Pat Spiteri also helped push the total along, making 36 off 55 balls as Moe was bowled out for 192 in the last over.

Mirboo North bowled well as a unit, with all bowlers either taking a wicket or delivering a maiden.

Will Lawrey took 3/37, while Dale Banks took two wickets and just as many catches.

Zack Hollis chipped in with 2/18 and Woodall finished with 2/40.

The Lions enjoyed a dream start with the ball, as Mirboo North stumbled to 2/9.

Hollis steadied the situation with 31, before wicket-keeper Dom Davis and Will Cheatley got together and put on 60 for the fifth wicket.

Similarly to their last game, Davis and Cheatley batted together for a length of time, with the former being the anchor and the latter the aggressor.

Davis eventually fell for 25 off 60 balls, leaving the visitors still a fair way off the target at 5/115.

Cheatley however continued on, batting with the lower order to eventually see his side over the line with 12 balls to spare and three wickets in the shed.

The experienced campaigner scored a match-winning 87 not out off 82 balls, hitting six fours and one maximum during what was his second consecutive half-century.

Like their Mirboo North counterparts, all Moe bowlers made some impact.

Robert Blunt took 2/35, while Rob Phoenix returned exceptional figures of 1/18 off 10 overs with three maidens against the club he steered to a miraculous premiership 10 years ago.

There was a more lowkey miracle the next day, although Phoenix did not take part, with the old timer understandably not able to back up over consecutive days.

Wanting to atone for their close loss, the Lions went on to record one of the most astounding victories ever likely to be seen in local cricket.

Travelling to Traralgon South, Moe ended up beating not only CATS, but also the rain, which looked an absolute certainty of leading the match to end in a dull draw.

So much so, one reporter left the game early, so convinced was he of no result being achieved.

 

CATS fancied their bowlers on their home surface, and opted to inject Moe at the toss.

The Lions again had to shuffle their order, although this time, Kane was back opening and Philip was back at Number 3.

Kane played a busy hand of 30 off 39 balls, combining briefly with Philip who was back to his dependable self.

Philip and Riley Baldi put on 86 for the third wicket, and looked set to take the visitors past 200.

Baldi cracked a huge six over square leg that led to a delay in play, and then backed up with a glorious off drive the very next ball.

While always getting by with strong hand-eye coordination in previous years, Baldi looks to have developed his game even further in the last six months. Put simply, he no longer looks like a footballer playing cricket – he now looks like a cricketer playing cricket.

Baldi was undone by a genuine cricketer in former Zimbabwean Test quick Tinashe Panyangara, who slipped one past him on 40.

In a possible sign of just how good you have to be to reach the highest level, Panyangara was bowling off just three steps, and still getting the ball through at the same click as most local trundlers.

Cricket … actually life … just isn’t fair.

Philip continued on, and was dismissed for 59 off 103 balls trying to hit out toward the end.

His dismissal left the Lions on 180 with 30 balls left, meaning Moe’s hopes of getting the 200 they wanted was touch and go.

Some enterprising efforts however down the order took the Lions past the double ton, as they closed at 6/212.

Clinton ‘The Reverend’ Taylor provided momentum for the side heading into tea, striking an incredible lofted off drive for six from the last ball of the innings.

With heavy rain forecast, and with players from both sides apprehensive about how long the second half of the game would last, the need to devise a solid plan of attack was needed.

Kane cut his troops’ afternoon tea short, calling his side into the changerooms for a chat.

Upon the resumption, both sides knew a race against the clock was on the cards.

Moe opened with pace bowlers Taylor and Aaron Johnstone, before turning to the spin of Jarryd Atkinson and Callum Grant by the third over.

Taylor was able to prize a wicket in his early two over spell, while Atkinson secured a key wicket in CATS skipper Jamie Cochrane.

CATS knew the situation equally as well as Moe, and played their shots in order to try and get ahead should the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method come into play

With Moe having already faced 50 overs, the home side needed to at least get to 20 in order for DLS to apply.

The Lions therefore had spin from each end to try and race through as many overs as possible.

With rags in hand and the CLV rulebook not far away, the heavens looked like opening up around the 10 over mark.

Except … they never did, at least not enough to call the game off anyway.

CATS wrestled back some control, and got the score to 2/71 before Nathan Harrup was dismissed by Blunt caught by Kane, and then Harry Moore a short time later in the same fashion.

Then came Taylor.

Coming back for his second spell, he struck off the last ball of his fourth over, and then off the second ball of his sixth to see CATS fall to 6/98.

For CATS’ sake, Panyangara and fellow professional Callum Stewart were still in – but even they were no match for a Reverend working on a Sunday.

Taylor knocked both of them over to complete his five-fa, and then finished the job, taking the winning wicket to see CATS, somehow, bowled out for 113 in 26.4 overs.

In Scott Boland-like circumstances, Taylor finished with 6/28 off 7.4 overs.

How the rain stayed away is still baffling, however on the scoreboard at least, and in the history books, it shows Moe won by 99 runs.

 

MIRBOO NORTH also backed up on Sunday, but the radar went as predicted.

The Tigers bowled first at home against Toongabbie, who were knocked over for 149.

Batting woes again hurt the Rams, who saw a few players get starts before getting out.

Sean Pickles looked good in the floppy hat for his 30, while Tim Dun scored 28 before some quick hands from Dom Davis saw him stumped.

The Tigers bowled well as a unit for the second day in a row.

Darian Matthews bobbed up out of nowhere and took 3/9, and was joined by Will Lawrey who nabbed 3/34. Returning allrounder Jed Alexander secured 2/37 with his off breaks, and engaged in some good banter and light hearted push and shove with umpire Tony Flinn.

Toongabbie face 41.2 overs before rain saw an end to play.

 

MORWELL suffered an epic collapse.

The Tigers snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Ex Students, in a scarcely believable scorecard.

Chasing 163 at Keegan Street, the home side was 2/107, before things quickly went south.

As Ex Students have been known to do once they sense an opening, the Sharks pounced, and incredibly, bowled Morwell out for 129.

The Tigers lost 7/22 in dramatic, and equally alarming scenes after also suffering a collapse in the last game before Christmas.

Chief destroyer in the collapse was Mitch Harris, who took the wicket of Brendan Mason after the opener had made 75 – easily the best effort of any Tiger.

Harris finished with 4/28, along with Michael Warne who spun his way to 3/24 and fellow slow bowler James Pryde, who took 2/14.

Harris made 29 earlier in the day, while Andy Matthews and Hayden Richards helped significantly, scoring 38 and 44 not out down the order.

Ex Students were without gun allrounder Lee Stockdale, on Victoria Country duties, which could only spell even more danger for opposition teams.

 

RAIDERS more than proved a point.

The team from Yinnar took care of Glengarry with absolute ease.

Travelling to Fred King Oval following a six week layoff brought about from wet weather, byes and the Christmas break, Raiders showed just how much class they truly have.

Batting first against a Nat Freitag-less Glengarry (also on Vic Country duty), the visitors put up 4/229 from their allotted overs.

Mick Higgins was simply superb, smashing 114 and sending a timely reminder to many that he is still going along quite nicely.

George Cheshire posted a half-century, while skipper Liam Maynard chipped in with an unbeaten 26.

Nathan Allen was the only Glengarry bowler to experience much success, taking 2/36.

That is about where success ended for the Magpies, who were shot out for just 95 in reply.

Only stand-in captain Al Jenkin with 29, and runs from Number 10 Chris Dunn, who made 25, were able to make much of an impression.

Raiders shared the love with the ball, with four bowlers taking multiple wickets.

Cheshire completed a solid afternoon, taking 3/9, and Tom Robertson enjoyed even better figures of 3/4.

The Thornton boys of Luke and Brad proved a real thorn for Glengarry, taking four wickets between them.

While the inclusion of Freitag would surely make a difference for the Magpies, it is highly unlikely he would make a 134-run difference in a one dayer.

With that in mind, it does beg the question – are Glengarry a one man team?

 

ONE man who does carry a lot of responsibility each week is Churchill’s John Keighran.

The King Cobra wasn’t quite able to get his side over the line last Saturday, as Churchill lost on the road to Toongabbie.

The Cobras decided to bowl first, and saw the Rams close with 179 on the board.

Sean Pickles top-scored with 79 from first drop, although concerns are surely still ringing in the ram paddock that too much is being left to too few with the bat (the next highest score was Jimmy Chalmers with 22).

Matt Harvey picked up two wickets for Churchill, in a bowling card that saw seven bowlers take scalps.

Churchill suffered a top order collapse, leaving Nick Duncan and Kurt Holt to pick up the pieces.

The pair batted well, but their efforts were ultimately in a losing cause as the final wicket was taken with the score on 164.

Holt made an unbeaten 51 and Duncan 34 before falling to Tom Shippen, who took 5/27.

Seriously, build that man a statue.

 

A GRADE

A GRADE action in Cricket Latrobe Valley saw Rovers continue on their merry way.

The premiership favourites put up another 200-plus score, doing so for the second time this season against Willow Grove.

The Williams brothers Dougal and Ewan made 85 and 60 respectively, while vice-captain Lachlan Patterson made 32 at number eight.

David Bremner bent his back for the Wolves, and took 2/27, and was joined by Josh Hammond who picked up a couple of wickets.
Willow Grove to their credit didn’t roll over with the bat, and put up 177 on their home deck.

Luke Payton showed his capability, scoring 82, and Kyan Mulley helped with 25.

Like the two dayer however, Patterson was too quick for most in the Willow Grove line-up, and finished with 6/39.

Veteran Simon Duff also delivered a couple of wickets, taking 2/21 off 10 overs.

 

GORMANDALE got back to business.

The Tigers started the new year in the best possible way, defeating a highly-rated Imperials.

Taking to Stoddart Oval, the home side decided to bowl first, and saw the visitors make 191.

Runs came late for Imperials, with Dilshan Thilakarathne and Nila Thillekarathna making 43 and 55 respectively.

These efforts were followed by captain Ryan Morley making 30 earlier in the piece.

Gormandale swung the bowling changes, using nine bowlers to try and find inroads.

Those successful were Nat Campbell, who took 3/28, Yohan Soyza (2/16) and Dylan Freitag (2/49).

The Tigers got home in an exciting finish, crossing the line in the penultimate over.

Captain Matt Hibbs led from the front, top-scoring with 54.

Soyza and Freitag backed-up their efforts with the ball, making 44 and 36 not out, seeing Gormandale to their best victory in the new league.

Todd Mann asked plenty of questions, taking 2/28 off 10 overs. Joel Randall was also effective with 2/31 off 9.5.

 

CENTRALS easily won the battle of Gilmour Street.

The Lions made 213 batting first against Traralgon West, who were rolled for 125.

Half-centuries to Regard Hefer and Tye Hourigan got Centrals into a commanding position, along with Corey Pollard who made 27 not out off 29 balls.

The Eagles took nine wickets for their efforts. Ben Edebohls grabbed three, while spinners Reece Falla and Adam Thow each took two.

Traralgon West’s batting failed to fire, and had it not been for a 40-ball 37 from Rami Zafar, the situation would have been even more dire.

Hourigan found the edge of Zafar’s blade, making it one of three for the Lions captain.

Off spinner Dr Hiran Rajapakse also took three wickets, while express quick Tyron Gamage finished with figures of 3/26.

 

LATROBE had the bye.

 

All grades of senior cricket return this weekend.