CRICKET
CRICKET LATROBE VALLEY
By LIAM DURKIN and BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
Premier A Grade
TWO Day cricket resumed at the weekend in Cricket Latrobe Valley Premier A.
Round 12 returned some big first innings totals, and a number of curveballs in not only the finals race, but the battle for relegation as well.
Raiders def Centrals on first innings
YOU’RE only as good as your last game.
A week after beating Ex Students, Centrals might still have had the taste of champagne in their mouths, after succumbing to Raiders on Day 1 out at Yinnar.
The home side ended the day with first innings points, after defending what appeared to be a subpar total of 129.
Yet, with a host of past players looking on, Raiders did as their famed premiership teams of the early 2000s did, putting in a commanding bowling performance to knock the Lions over for just 56.
How much and yet how little has changed in local cricket: Raiders blasting teams out cheaply; Centrals capitulating with the stick.
Raiders were helped to their total through an unlikely source, with last wicket pair Harri McColl and Tim Hutchinson putting on 60.
There is nothing much more demoralising than a nagging last wicket partnership (still have nightmares about Roger Henry), and so it proved when Centrals went out to bat.
McColl resembled Marco Jansen in showing all-rounder status, top scoring with 44. Tom Robertson had chipped in with 27 earlier in the piece.
Marc Fenech led the attack once again for Centrals, taking 5/50 off 25 overs (to think how many overs that man has bowled in his time).
What the Lions veteran could do however, Raiders’ could do better.
Barney Webber steamed in with the new ball, and ended up taking 6/21, working in tandem with McColl who snared 3/22.
Centrals’ woes were possibly best summed up by looking at the modes of dismissal: five bowled and four lbw.
On an eventful day, Raiders then survived three overs before stumps, and will go into Day 2 with a lead of 87.
Having looked all but certain to claim the wooden spoon, the team from Yinnar could leapfrog CATS and Toongabbie if it happens to pick up an outright this weekend.
Moe def CATS on first innings
I MEAN, he has kicked nine in a grand final.
Keenan Hughes had a day that, in cricket at least, will take some topping.
When one ponders why we play cricket; a game that demands so much and promises so little, it is for days like Hughes had at the weekend that keep you coming back.
The left arm quick decimated CATS, taking 6/38 to see them rolled for 64 on their home deck.
Hughes then came in at number six and blasted an unbeaten century off just 68 balls.
It took Moe just 10 overs to win on first innings, which paved the way for Hughes to come in and start swinging.
He had no trouble locating the middle of the bat, blasting nine sixes and eight fours, making for what was surely one of the most standout individual performances across the entire state, possibly country, last weekend.
Perhaps lost in all of this was the efforts of his teammates, which on any other day would have elicited a degree of backslapping.
Laytten Smith took 3/3, Andrew Philip made 55 and Ben Zomer 42 off 39 balls.
Tinashe Panyangara did his best for the home side, making 27, before being knocked over by Smith.
Hughes may simply have been too quick for a few of the CATS batsmen, given all but one of his wickets was either bowled or lbw.
His work allowed Moe to declare with a lead of 190, and the Lions will start Day 2 a full 162 runs ahead.
Ex Students lead Toongabbie by 343 runs
EX STUDENTS piled on the runs.
The Sharks batted all day and closed at 4/343 after 85 overs against Toongabbie.
Michael Stockdale walked off Terry Hunter Oval with 97 not out to his name, and will surely be given the chance to register a ton on Day 2.
Ex Students have the option of batting another 10 overs, and a few nudges to reach triple figures seems the most likely course of action for the Woodside premiership coach.
Jimmy Pryde had to contend with 83 at the top of the order, as he and Matt Dyke (66) made the best possible start.
Jackson McMahon kept the runs coming with 52 before being run out.
After a few indifferent weeks in limited overs, the Sharks will be pleased to see a return to form in the format that wins premierships.
Amal Athulathmudali might have to go very large this Saturday if Toon are to be any chance.
Glengarry lead Morwell by 234 runs
MORWELL has some work to do.
The Tigers are 2/13 chasing 248 against Glengarry.
The Magpies batted for the best part of 80 overs on Keegan Street, and saw most players get to double figures.
Frank Marks missed a century by just 10 runs, while Hamish Busk (61) and Nat Freitag (27) were also prominent.
Military medium Dylan Day returned exceptional figures of 7/59 off 22.4 overs, entering the record books in the process.
His haul was not only career best figures, but also the best-ever for Morwell against Glengarry.
The unfortunate theme of Morwell being two for not many continued at the weekend, with the Tigers losing multiple poles in the six overs before stumps, both courtesy of Max Merten.
A Grade
IN the final hurdles toward postseason in Cricket Latrobe Valley A Grade, many would be hoping for results to merge the top of the order closer, simply for the entertainment value.
Returning to two-day cricket in Round 12, it just may answer those hopes, with both Churchill and Imperials sitting comfortably at the top of the ladder as it currently stands.
Imperials def Gormandale on first innings
A RETURN to form for Imps.
Imperials have first innings points in their bout against Gormandale at Stoddart Oval after the Tigers were knocked over for just 96.
Electing to bat first, skipper Mathew Hibbs (31) and Campbell Peavey (37) were the only ones to cease any of their chances while all but one other, Yohan Soyza (12), made it past five runs.
Joel Randall was superb, taking 5/22 across 8.4 overs, while Tom Starkey grabbed 2/6 across four.
Hoping to gain their second win in a row after a momentary blip in the middle of the season, Imperials captain Ryan Morley (35), Dilshan Thilakarathne (27) and James Skingle (39) started their first innings off exceptionally as they easily went past the target.
Anubhav Anubhav (14) and Scott Aitken (12 not out) were others of note.
Imperials head into Day 2 at 7/142 after 51 overs.
Mirboo North lead Latrobe by 205 runs
MIRBOO NORTH gained momentum throughout the day against Latrobe at Mirboo North Turf.
The Tigers went through to stumps on 205 as the Sharks wait to bat on Day 2.
Chris Anders began impressively for Mirboo North with 70.
Iain Allan (44) and Linc Chila (24) served well also.
Latrobe’s Sam Wilson stopped any chance of further damage by nailing the last two wickets in back-to-back bowleds against right arm bat/left arm bowler Will Lawrey and leggie Dale Banks.
Wilson took 3/33 and Steven Hanning 3/35.
Churchill def Traralgon West on first innings
THEY’RE almost playing with their opponents at this point.
Working on just one loss so far for the entire season, Churchill are giving luckless bottom seed Traralgon West a go in their matchup at Jack Canavan.
The Eagles chose to bat and things seemed positive with Matt Griffiths booming out of the gate with 42.
Unfortunately, not much else could be saved as captain Hayden Kimpton (26) and Sam Varsaci (19) were next best as they were all out for 124 in their first innings.
Ross Whelpdale took 4/49 over 16.3 overs and Steve Warr 3/17.
There was already a clear and sizeable gap between the two entering the match, but the Cobras once again walked through relatively unscathed.
The Cobras had scores in bunches with Brendan Mason (52), Ryan Ayres (44), Brae Kelly (44) and Joel Mason (21) leading the charge for the visitors.
Churchill declared on 189 after just 24.3 overs, showing full outright intent.
Ending Day 1, Traralgon West already lost four wickets in their second innings.
Rovers lead Willow Grove by 166 runs
ROVERS are in the box seat.
At Joe Tabuteau (Moe Racecourse), Rovers comfortably pushed out a solid total against Willow Grove.
Dougal Williams was a star with 78 off 94 balls, followed by an even spread from
teammates such as Tyler (34) and Jordan Pearce (20).
Rovers were all out for 206 as the Wolves’ Nathan Wheildon took 4/43.
Willow Grove made it through 18 overs before stumps, with Luke Payton making 20, yet with the score 3/40.
Rovers sit three games back from Imperials for second on the ladder, and are desperately trying to avoid the cluster of teams around them.
Premier B Grade (Round 14, Day 1): Toongabbie 3/39 vs Ex Students 5d/303 (H Canny 111, C Potalej 111, N Farley 3/79, M Cooper 2/60); Thorpdale 7/130 (M Graeme 38, K O’Connell 36, B Reside 3/32, N Day 2/3) vs Morwell 113 (R Semmler 29, Z O’Connell 4/18, K O’Connell 3/37, M Powell 2/20); Churchill 53 (J Wus 5/19, J Brierley 3/15) & 1/28 vs Jeeralang-Boolarra 7 dec 189 (T Beamish 52, L Smith 45, J Brierley 29*, R Johnson 3/42, R Marks 2/31); Traralgon West 82 (B Howe 26, R Hughes 6/37, G Walker 4/43) vs Mirboo North 3/252 (A Scicluna 121*, R King 43, C Schellekens 42); Glengarry vs CATS 334 (R Hare 171, T Hagley 42, J Bellingham 32, C Wilkerson 32, G Waack-Hawkins 4/46, D Cochrane 2/56).
B Grade (Round 16): Moe 7/147 (M Whitney 39, A Savige 31, L Pollard 2/10, S Rajapakse 2/27) def Centrals 161 (B Ould 46, J Downs 35, M Whitney 2/13, A Johnstone 2/18, J Atkinson 2/23); Raiders 3/139 (H Rai 49, A Joshy 37*) def Latrobe 136 (A Anthony 57, H Rai 3/30, N Sandhu 2/16); Rovers 4/107 (W Coad 46*, S Boyes 35, M Smallwood 2/34) def Gormandale 105 (K Scott 3/19, I Brown 2/13, S Carney 2/13); Imperials 9/141 (D Campbell 32, L Rickwood 25, P Grima 3/18, N Weatherhead 2/19) def Willow Grove 85 (B Sizeland 4/21, D Loots 2/21, H Dunstan 2/22).
Premier C Grade (Round 12): Glengarry 7/172 (J Lawrence 34, S Bonacci 25*, R Martin 3/8, H Martin 2/37) def Imperials 9/153 (L Bermingham 38, R Martin 36, P Dunstan 30, A Wright 3/26, S Bonacci 2/16); Toongabbie 9/221 (J McGown 34, D Laws 33*, R Farley 32, J Wall 26, C Johnson 4/35, C Monds 3/37) def Morwell 7/220 (C Monds 83, S Esler 49, A Domaille 3/48); Mirboo North 8/214 (P Woodall 71, D Shields 47, R Matthews 2/40) def Rovers 6/178 (R O’Donnell 39, B Donoghue 33*, J Speed 2/31); Moe 7/110 (B Howlett 4/29) def Centrals 109 (A Foley 39, M Burridge 3/10, B Cake 2/14); Ex Students – BYE.
C Grade (Round 12): Willow Grove 1/178 (T Cotter 93, J Keily 67*) def Raiders 5/177 (K Hutchinson 81, N Beecher 29, T Cotter 2/24); Jeeralang-Boolarra 7/173 (E Stanton 75, S Blines 37, N Jenkins 2/8) def Imperials 7/169 (L Sykes 70, H Owen 51, A Parker 3/26); Rawson 7/277 (L Watson 110*, J Wiseman 45, J Cargill 34, R Borlase 3/38, A Heatherington 2/91) def Latrobe 9/164 (H McKay 34, D McDougall 31, K McKay 29, B Graham-Wyntjes 2/10, J Cargill 2/29, M Williams 2/39); Gormandale vs Churchill (no score supplied), Traralgon West – BYE.
Women’s Championship (Round 13): Ex Students 5/110 (D Godenzi 32*, J Akkerman 22*, C Sutton 21) def Willow Grove 4/85 (J Christie 32*, H Ferguson 15); Morwell 2/115 (N Freeman 30*) def Rovers 2/44 (E Grant 15*); Mirboo North 3/77 (K Collins 41*, T McConnell 21*, def Raiders 4/76 (T Hunt 30*, L Van Berkel 19, D King 15*, A Dean 3/16).
Women’s Premier (Round 13): Willow Grove 3/64 (M Donoghue 32*, V Thomas 2/18) def Centrals 4/62 (F Morrison 30*, K Doble 18); Raiders 0/22 def Churchill 7/18 (S Blines 2/1, H Baker 2/9); Imperials 5/77 (A Murtagh 30*, M Hayes 2/16) def Latrobe 7/64 (M Duncan 21, P Wheeler 2/8, I Williams 2/13).
Under 16s (Round 10, Day 1): Willow Grove 136 (D Walsh 43, W Frankland 2/8, C Boys 2/15) vs Morwell; Moe 9/73 (K Micallef 24, M Cropley 3/14, F Graham 2/11, L Bastin 2/13) vs Ex Students 0/56 (L Henry 34*); Raiders vs Toongabbie 6/270 (B Cooper 51*, X Hurley 33, M Mayman 23, K Pritchett 23*, T Donoghue 22, S Darby 2/15); Gormandale-Rovers vs Centrals (no score supplied), Glengarry – BYE.
Under 14 Girls: Ex Students 2/88 (A Shine 20*) def Traralgon West 5/76 (A Hodson 22*, K Murtagh 2/5); Willow Grove 5/62 (L Blackshaw 29*, C Stockdale 3/6) def Raiders 3/49 (R van der Stoep 2/8).
Under 14s (Round 8, T20s): Mirboo North 1/105 (J Calafiore 30*, L Chila 17*, L McCarthy 15*) def Willow Grove 7/62 (A Stafford 18, O McCarthy 2/2, L Roberts 2/5); Centrals 1/167 (A Hurley 33*, J Poursanidis 30*, E Dissanayake 30*, K Morrison 25*) def Morwell 5/125 (C Gray 30*, T Casey 25, J Sterrick 21, A Shirreff 18); Latrobe 4/83 (B Duncan 30*, A Peavey 25*, M Whittaker 2/8) def Moe 5/79 (L Walsh 38*, M Hayes 2/2); Ex Students 6/93 (L Mackay 23, H Outhart 22, R O’Brien 2/16) def Jeeralang-Boolarra 5/85 (G Sanders 19*).
