CRICKET
CRICKET LATROBE VALLEY
By LIAM DURKIN and BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
Premier A Grade
LITTLE surprises came out of Day 1 during the final round of Cricket Latrobe Valley Premier A.
The final nail in the coffin for Moe’s finals chances was confirmed by stumps, with the Lions now no chance of outrighting Ex Students.
Morwell meanwhile are going for an outright themselves, in the hopes of nudging ahead of the Sharks by quotient to secure a home final.
Teams would be well advised to play right to the end after what happened in Victorian Premier Cricket at the weekend.
Camberwell finished fourth, and Ringwood fifth on exactly the same points and percentage in the First XI. Their fates were decided by a stricter percentage difference of .002, or literally a single run.
Morwell (7d/284) lead Raiders (3/48) by 236 runs
MORWELL declared with 284 on the board.
The Tigers used 70 overs to make their total against Raiders at Keegan Street, before having a 15 over go which resulted in three wickets.
An unbeaten run-a-ball century from Blake Mills kept the scoreboard ticking over, as 68 of those runs came in boundaries.
It was Mills’ fourth ton for the Tigers, and came at an opportune time just before finals.
He found willing allies in Dylan Day (50 red), Tim Ford (37) and Blair Clymo (27).
Ben Rivers took 4/59 for Raiders, and Darryn Stares 2/58.
Todd Dixon then did some damage late in the day, snaring 2/16 to leave Raiders 3/48 heading into Day 2.
Morwell will need to bowl Raiders out for no more than 184 in order to enforce the follow-on if it still wishes to pursue an outright.
Ex Students (8/290) lead Moe (YTB) by 290 runs
EX STUDENTS got some batting practice in before finals.
The Sharks went to stumps at 8/290, keeping Moe on the Ted Summerton turf for 85 overs.
Pretty much every visiting bat spent quality time in the middle, and struck around 50, getting even more in tune for the rate normally required for finals.
Michael Stockdale walked off with 57 not out to his name, while others to help their averages were Jimmy Pryde (54), Jackson McMahon (49), Mitch Harris (43 after being promoted to first drop), Lee Stockdale (30), and Rick Battista (26).
Clinton Taylor bent his back for 19 overs, and was rewarded with figures of 4/50.
In keeping with Moe’s somewhat indifferent season, previous wicket-keeper Noah Kane even rolled the arm over.
The Lions have reportedly only ever had their best XI available once this season, evidenced by the fact close to 25 players have been churned through the firsts.
Club coach Pat Spiteri helped out B Grade at the weekend, in what was his first game for the season. Having vowed he wouldn’t play this season (Spiteri has actually umpired a few A Grade games), he very nearly got through before the situation required he throw the pads on.
Toongabbie (90) lead Centrals (3/72) by 18 runs
CENTRALS are just 18 runs away from confirming their spot in finals.
The Lions shot Toongabbie out for just 90 at Apex Park, before getting to stumps only three down.
Bowling first at home, Centrals had 10 wickets before 50 overs was up against a team who had likely mentally checked out for the season given they could neither go up nor down the Premier A ladder.
Tyron Gamage cashed in with 4/22, while Tye Hourigan (3/11) and Marc Fenech (3/32) did likewise.
Hourigan will resume on 25, and look to back up the work of Sam Gray, who played a patient hand of 34.
CATS (164) lead Glengarry (2/93) by 171 runs
GLENGARRY are well and truly cruising against CATS.
The battle between top and bottom is going largely as predicted, with the Magpies 2/93 after just 24 overs, in response to 164.
Glengarry elected to bowl first at Fred King Oval, and worked their way through the CATS order.
Cam Graham continued his wicket-taking ways, grabbing 4/33, while skipper Nat Freitag took 3/15.
Nathan Harrap stood tall with 52 off 103 rocks, as did Jamie Cochrane (28) and Ben Hagley (27 not out).
Frank Marks had somewhere to be, and promptly teed off when it was Glengarry’s turn to bat.
He hit 46 off 37, smashing two deliveries over the fence.
Al Jenkin was more subdued, making 25 off 54 before becoming one of Tinashe Panyangara’s two wickets.
CATS will look to avoid too much time in the field this Saturday, and will hope Glengarry want to get on the beers before tea.
The team from Traralgon South has known its relegation reality for a few weeks, and has possibly already turned one eye to next season.
If recent history is anything to go by, CATS will be pulling out all the stops to make sure it gets back into the top flight as soon as possible.
Churchill responded to relegation by bringing back most of its ex-champions this season, and now looks Winx odds of winning the A Grade flag.
Conversely, Centrals were promoted last season and increased their chances of staying there by adding former Test quick Nuwan Pradeep to their squad.
While the promotion/relegation structure has been generally well received, a possible unintended consequence has seen the same teams going up and down.
CATS came down in 2020/21 and went straight back up the next season after winning the A Grade flag. Mirboo North did the same in 2022/23.
Alternatively, former league club Trafalgar went up in 2020/21, and came straight back down the following season.
The Ships are still in a two tiered league in the Warragul District Cricket Association, and were relegated from Division 1 on the very last day of the regular season at the weekend.
In the post mortem, players were told in the changerooms after the game “we go back to Div 2 and win it by a street next year”.
Promotion/relegation has undoubtedly led to more competitive cricket, but arguably less competitive cricketers.
In the case for Trafalgar, it is most unfortunate to know there would be players more or less glad they are dropping back a grade.
Aggregate leaders heading into the final day are:
Premier A Batting: Andrew Philip (Moe) 755 runs, Nat Freitag (Glengarry) 598, Amal Athulathmudali (Toongabbie) 492, Tim Ford (Morwell) 409, Frank Marks (Glengarry) 370, Owen Palmer (CATS) 344, Benn Zomer (Moe) 338, Ben Marks (Glengarry) 324, James Pryde (Ex Students) 323, Jackson McMahon (Ex Students) 308, Liam Maynard (Raiders) 303.
Premier A Bowling: Keenan Hughes (Moe) 34 wickets, Tyron Gamage (Centrals) 23, Tim Ford (Morwell) 23, Marc Fenech (Centrals) 22, Ben Rivers (Raiders) 22, Adam Brady (Ex Students) 21, Cam Graham (Glengarry ) 21, Brandon Mayberry (Glengarry ) 20, Nat Freitag (Glengarry) 20.
A Grade
THE final round of Cricket Latrobe Valley A Grade is upon us with some shifts still to be made.
Rovers sit a game ahead of Mirboo North for third on the ladder, while Churchill and Imperials already locked up the top two weeks in advance.
Mirboo North (133) lead Imperials (2/127) by 6 runs
MAKING strides when it matters most, Imperials are still as much in the race to be promoted as ever.
After Mirboo North made 133, Imperials narrowly missed a first innings victory on Day 1, as they sit at 2/127 at Catterick Crescent.
Chris Anders opened for the Tigers finely with 35 before most of the order were dealt handily.
Brad Aitken (31) and Aaron Scicluna (17) were next best for Mirboo North.
Todd Mann took 4/24 in a standout performance and Dominic Thompson 3/31.
Imperials had an overall output once they entered the crease, with Ryan Morley (39 not out), James Skingle (33 not out), Brett Chapman (27) and Tom Starkey (20) all performing solidly before stumps.
Rovers (120) lead Latrobe (5/83) by 37 runs
ROVERS may have given some life (if any) to Latrobe and their chances for finals.
Rovers were all out for 120 at Peter Siddle Oval before Latrobe made their run, finishing 5/83 at the end of Day 1.
Dougal Williams was best for Rovers with 38. Steve Hanning took 3/37 for Latrobe.
Cameron Freshwater made 30 for the Sharks once they arrived for first innings, but others were sent out easily enough.
Anthony Bloomfield and his son Jacob remain in ahead of Day 2.
Navdeep Singh has taken 2/8 in six overs for Rovers.
Churchill (8/329) lead Gormandale by 329 runs
THE Cobras are truly dealing a mighty blow with finals around the corner.
Churchill laid 8/329 after Day 1, giving Gormandale zero hope at Andrews Park West.
The Cobras had four players make half centuries, coming from Ben Kearns (88), Ric Velardi (59), Brae Kelly (54) and John Keighran (53).
The Tigers’ Yohan Soyza took 4/98 in 33 overs.
Willow Grove (201) lead Traralgon West (6/56) by 145 runs
BOTH Traralgon West and Willow Grove would like to tie something of a nice bow in wrapping up their seasons.
The Wolves were bowled out for 201, before the Eagles endured and stand at 6/56 at the end of Day 1 at Jack Canavan.
Luke Payton made an unbeaten 116, including 11 fours and five even better then that, with next best being Ben Edebohls (28) against his old side.
Reece Falla took 5/44 and Ben Fleming 3/71 for Traralgon West.
Switching it up, Traralgon West mounted their chance to grab just their third win for the year.
Captain Hayden Kimpton (16) and Bryan Griffiths (15) had their best outputs as Fleming and Jack Cooke remain in ahead of Day 2.
Aggregate leaders heading into the final day are:
A Grade Batting: Luke Payton (Willow Grove) 647 , Tom Starkey (Imperials) 613, Brae Kelly (Churchill) 487, Ryan Morley (Imps) 455, Hayden Kimpton (T West) 435, Ewan Williams (Rovers) 400, Tyler Pearce (Rovers) 343, Ryan Ayres (Churchill) 343, Matt Hibbs (Gormandale) 325, Ca l Polo (Gormandale) 319, John Keighran (Churchill) 310.
A Grade Bowling: Todd Mann (Imps) 31, Anton Thomas (Mirboo Nth) 31, Chris Williams (Churchill) 27, Yohan Soyza (Gormandale) 27, Simon Duff (Rovers) 25, Steve Warr (Churchill) 23, Ross Whelpdale (Churchill) 23, Tom Starkey (Imperials) 23, Navdeep Singh (Rovers) 22, Max Woodall (Mirboo Nth) 22, Darcy Walsh (Willow Grove) 22, Jacko Cooke (Traralgon West) 22.
Premier B Grade (Round 17): Toongabbie 153 (B Gieve 42, M Farley 30, B Cooper 28, C Schellekens 4/26, R Hughes 3/20, G Walker 3/33) tied with Mirboo North 153 (G Walker 74, J Love 3/48, M Dunn 2/13, B Cooper 2/30); Glengarry 5/218 (P Henry 58, C Dunn 53, W Kennedy 32, J Cochrane 32, D Churchill 2/33, K Duncan 2/43) def Ex Students 8/214 (A Jaensch 82, Z Bastin 47, H Canny 28, D Cochrane 2/20, P Henry 2/37); Jeeralang-Boolarra 5/82 (H Hewawasam 44*, C Seymour 3/15) def Morwell 81 (H Hewawasam 3/4, L Smith 3/21, J Wus 2/14, J Brierley 2/23); CATS 3/108 (L Pass 43) def Thorpdale 104 (J Durkin 34*, K O’Connell 30, P McGill 3/16, M Anthofer 2/10, J Bellingham 2/13); Churchill 1/111 (S Forbes 47*, R Harvey 44) def Traralgon West 9/109 (G Stephens 40, B Howe 30, R Johnson 6/6).
B Grade (Round 20): Raiders 8/227 (H Rai 64, J Berryman-Lambert 34, R Sidhu 30, S Pooni 29, B Ould 2/26, T Shankland 2/43) def Centrals 148 (B Ould 67, N Sandhu 2/27, J Varghese 2/29, J Berryman-Lambert 2/34); Willow Grove 6/251 (M Failla 101, J Coombs 82, S Carney 4/23) def Rovers 214 (S Boyes 107, B Nicholls 36, A Van Zuyden 31, D van der Stoep 3/32, L Tumino 2/32, J Coombs 2/54); Moe 2/120 (P Spiteri 58*, A Savige 37*) def Gormandale 9/115 (J Scurlock 63, R Ritvik 3/33, M Whitney 2/11, R Blunt 2/25); Imperials 4/321 (J Anderson 91, D Campbell 89, D Caulfield 73, R Williams 26*, S Kangana Gedara 2/47, K Hebbard 2/49) def Latrobe 222 (R Duncan 50, N Brewer 40, J Mooney 32, R Hebbard 30, B Sizeland 5/27).
Premier C Grade (Round 16): Ex Students 6/245 (J Robertson 76, D Millington 45*, P Hennessy 44, D Brain 3/15, A Agustin 2/25) def Rovers 7/139 (D Canning 36, D Brain 32, I O’Donnell 31, M Isles 2/6, L Richards 2/32); Imperials 4/127 (K Morley 39, P Dunstan 38*) def Centrals 126 (T Poursanidis 34, D Buhagiar 4/24, R Martin 4/41); Mirboo North 6/218 (G Vanderzalm 66, S Anderson 37, D Shields 31, B Williams 2/34) def Morwell 8/217 (S Gniel 62, R Francis 42, S Douglas 39, C Johnson 29, G Shaw 3/34, K Collins 2/50); Moe 2/52 (R Whitney 2/2, T Duff 2/17) def Glengarry 44; Toongabbie – BYE.
C Grade (Round 16): Gormandale 5/65 (S Gamble 27*, B Beecher 2/10) def Raiders 61 (M Dykes 5/13, B Peavey 4/7); Rawson 119 (L Watson 32, A Young 27, S Wernham 4/11, L Urand 2/17) def Churchill 9/87 (S Wernham 27, B Brouwer 3/15, M Metcalfe 2/14); Jeeralang-Boolarra 2/216 (E Stanton 86, O O’Brien 48*, A Parker 43) def Willow Grove 155 (L Walsh 54, J Redman 51, J Cecil 3/34, A Baker 3/37, R Hardy 2/12); Imperials vs Latrobe (no scores supplied), Traralgon West – BYE.
Under 16s (Round 12, T20s): Centrals 2/88 (N Gamage 30*, S Rajapakse 22*) def Raiders 7/85 (A Ceeney 27, J Dunn 27, S Fernando 3/8, A Fernando 2/6); Willow Grove 3/130 (D Walsh 32*, Z Larkin 31*, J Keily 30*, K Hart-Theissling 2/9) def Ex Students 8/122 (L Henry 31*, F Graham 20, N Sallee 3/24, D van der Stoep 2/11); Toongabbie 6/144 (J Wall 36*, B Cooper 33*, J Hazelman 22, J Cochrane 20, B Cake 2/14, C Addison 2/17, T Duff 2/20) def Moe 6/70 (K Micallef 38*); Gormandale/Rovers 2/167 (R O’Donnell 30*, J Smith 30*, C Young 30*, K Scott 28, A Smith 24) def Morwell/Latrobe 9/98 (W Frankland 34*, R Farley 3/9, L Barnes 2/6); Glengarry – BYE.
Under 16s (Semi-Finals): Toongabbie 0/99 (B Cooper 51*, X Hurley 41*) def Centrals 95 (J Poursanidis 36, N Gamage 32, T Hood 4/15, T Young 4/19); Willow Grove 1/57 (J Keily 26) def Ex Students 55 (D Walsh 7/2 incl. double hat-trick, J Keily 2/14).
Women’s Championship (Round 17): Mirboo North 3/101 (K Collins 37*, S Williams 21*, A Dean 21*) def Willow Grove 4/74 (H Ferguson 30*, A Davey 20, K Collins 3/5); Raiders 1/94 (J Witney 33*, D King 30*) def Morwell 2/93 (N Freeman 31*, C Wilkie 30*); Ex Students 0/130 (J Millington 30*, C Sutton 30*, D Godenzi 30*) def Rovers 5/84 (S Minster 38*, S Brown 19*).
Women’s Premier (Round 17): Raiders 1/93 (Z Hustwayte 21*, Z Quinsey-Munro 19*, R Leeson 18*) def Latrobe 6/69 (J Rainbow 18*, M Duncan 18, Z Quinsey-Munro 2/9, R Townsend 2/11); Imperials 2/65 (A Murtagh 32*, K Morley 16*, K Downes 2/21) def Centrals 3/59 (K Doble 30*); Churchill 7/87 (D van Vliet 32, M Kearns 22, E Lugton 18, K Richards 3/11, K Mann 2/21) def Willow Grove 4/81 (K Mann 30*, M Donoghue 19, D van Vliet 2/21).
Under 14s (Round 10, Day 2): Jeeralang-Boolarra 7/193 (O O’Brien 31*, C Stanton 31*, O Stanton 29*, G Sanders 26, H Brighton 23, J Sterrick 2/13, W Crehan 2/24) def Morwell 68 (W Frankland 17, A Sherreff 16*, K Francis 2/3, D Richards 2/4, R Rowland 2/14); Mirboo North 8/144 (L Chila 51*, J Calafiore 18, B McKay 2/17) def Latrobe 127 (H Smith 23, B Duncan 21, E Conlan 2/8, J Calafiore 2/17, L Chila 2/13); Moe 5/157 (L Walsh 44, A Nardone 26, D Higgins 19*, B Savige 18*) def Ex Students 120 (B Cooper 26, T Churchill 18, S Darby 17*, H Boothman 4/32, L Walsh 2/27); Centrals 8/196 (N Gamage 54*, A Hurley 51, X Pettie 25, B Bremner 2/14) def Gormandale/Rovers 6/195 (B Fulham 53*, J Bull 40*, J Armstrong 21, X Clark 19, J Poursanidis 2/12); Willow Grove – BYE.
