SOUTH Portland has continued their impressive resurgence in the 2023-24 Hamilton and District Cricket Association, toppling a previously undefeated Casterton District side by 67 runs at Monivae College on Saturday.
South won the toss and elected to bat first, with openers Scott Martin (16) and Rory Barry (21) getting them off to a solid start as they stood at 1-53.
But the Demons really started to hit their stride when skipper Lachie Warburton joined Karsen Edwards at the crease, as the pair put on 66 runs for the third wicket.
And while Edwards eventually departed for 45, Warburton pressed on, making 72 not out to push the Demons past 200, with the assistance of younger brother Tighe Warburton (14), with their final score standing at 5-204.
In Casterton’s reply, the Demons got the ideal start, with Lachie Warburton getting the early wicket of Logan Gibbs for a duck with just three runs added to the total.
When Barry got in on the action soon after to have Casterton at 2-14, the Demons had firm control over the run chase.
While Casterton did find some solid middle and lower order scores to keep the game from getting out of hand, the Demons were able to restrict their scoring rate heavily and take regular wickets.
The Warburton brothers were once again at the fore, with Tighe picking up three key wickets through the middle order, while Lachie added another three to his own tally to finish up with figures of 4-18 from 6.3 overs.
Barry, as well as both Karsen and Kayden Edwards, also picked up a wicket apiece.
The win now sees South sitting at three wins from six games thus far, and currently in fifth spot on the table, with Lachie Warburton saying he’s very pleased with what the side was able to accomplish on the weekend.
“(We’re) very happy with the win, especially after last week which was a bad result against Tyrendarra,” Warburton said.
“With our batting, Rory and Karsen laid the foundation and made the job for me and the rest of the middle order a lot easier.
“And then with the ball and in the field, we were great, we didn’t drop a catch and we were able to build lots of pressure with lots of dot balls.”
Warburton had plenty of praise for his brother, who he said contributed to all facets of the game.
“He played well in the middle-order with me, turning the strike over regularly and even getting a few through the field.
“He’s going to be a very good off-spin bowler for us as well for years to come.”
Warburton said a 3-3 start is a fantastic result for a club which endured a winless season in A grade in 2022-23.
“I’m really stoked with how the club is going, our B grade has struggled a little bit so far, but we’ve been dealing with some injuries,” he said.
“In A grade we’ve got a pretty young team so it’s just about making sure we can keep up the consistency over the whole season.”
Evans lifts Colts over Go-Ports
Portland Colts captain Luke Evans has continued his inspired start to the season, notching 90 runs to lift his side past local rivals Gorae-Portland at Henty Park on Saturday by 43 runs.
Colts batted first and got off to a less than ideal start, losing opener Adam Barbary and number three batsman Glenn Hollis in the span of four balls, as Stephen O’Brien went to work for Go-Ports.
However, this brought Evans to the crease, and combined with veteran opener Alister Stannard the pair put on 114 runs for the third wicket to turn the game on its head and have Colts at 2-120.
However, Go-Ports captain Nick Wills eventually stepped up to make the breakthrough, trapping Stannard LBW for 36, before catching Daniel Kinghorn short of his ground for 12 soon after.
Through it all Evans had been able to hold strong, but eventually his innings of 90 – including 12 boundaries (three sixes) – had to come to an end, with Wills able to earn the most valuable wicket of the match to help Go-Ports keep their opposition to a gettable score of 160.
O’Brien was able to do some further damage with the ball down the order to finish up with very impressive figures of 5-24 off 7.5 overs, while Wills finished at 3-21 off of four overs.
However, Colts got a good start to their defence, dismissing both Go-Ports openers cheaply to have them at 2-9, as Evans claimed both scalps.
And while Wills (20), O’Brien (13) and most notably Harvey Reynolds (34) did their best to keep Go-Ports on the right track, Colts just kept on taking wickets.
Damien Bell was once again at the fore, finishing with miserly and yet damaging figures of 3-14 from seven overs.
Sam Atchison was able to provide some late-order resistance for Go-Ports, making it to 20, but it was too little too late as they were ultimately bowled out short of their target.
Darras claim top spot
Tyrendarra has put itself in top position on the HDCA ladder after six rounds, producing an emphatic away victory over bottom-placed Hamilton by 95 runs at Kennedy Oval.
The Darras were sent in to bat by Hamilton, and while the hosts got an early scalp, Tyrendarra skipper Cam Mather (26) combined with Sam Wilson (57) to push the Darras along, before Jordi Withers (66 off 61) and Hamish Withers (39) pushed them close to the 200 mark.
Eventually, the Darras finished up on 7-229, before Hamilton made early inroads into the target, standing at 2-89 at one stage.
However, a pair of wickets in short order from Darren Killmister and Ben Menzel removed two of Hamilton’s set batsmen, and soon enough the wickets began to tumble.
Able to both restrict their opposition’s run rate and take wickets, the Darras eventually bowled their opposition out for 134 in the second to last over.
Dylan Murray played a key role in cleaning up the middle order, finishing with figures of 3-19 from 6.4 overs, while Menzel also had three scalps by the end and finished at 3-20 off nine, with Killmister as the other multiple wicket-taker.
Tigers rolled by St Andrews
Portland Tigers’ disappointing start to the season continued on Saturday, as they were comfortably beaten by St Andrews by 95 runs at Hanlon Park.
The Tigers bowled first and were able to claim some early scalps, as Axel Du Plessis got in the wickets early, picking up two.
However, the Drews’ star batsman in Brendan Huf was once again clinical, laying the foundation for their innings with a solid knock of 59 from the top of the order.
James Guthrig (35), along with Darryl Fry (23 not out) and Rylan Pech (22 not out) helped St Andrews to a competitive total of 6-176.
Du Plessis finished up with the Tigers’ best figures of 3-33 from nine overs, while Saad Mushtaq picked up two scalps in his first game of the season.
However, the Tigers were never quite on the pace in their reply, as while Charlie Harvey made a quickfire 15 from just 12 balls, the Tigers weren’t able to kick on even when a handful of others – namely Du Plessis (12) and Paul Procter (13) – made starts.
Their skipper Will Oakley top scored with 25, but it proved to be far from enough to get the Tigers in a winning position, as they were bowled out for just 81.
Ponds defeat Grampians
Pigeon Ponds has made it two wins in two games, defeating Grampians by five wickets at Dunkeld Turf.
It was a match typified by a number of even contributions, as eight players (four from each side) made at least 29 runs, with Anthony Close the top scorer for the day with 52.
Macarthur knocks off College
Macarthur has found their footing, adding another victory to their tally as they defeated College by 22 runs at Hamilton College.
Jack Wortley top scored with 45 as Macarthur was able to put together a strong total, all out for 168, which College wasn’t quite able to chase down.
