ST Andrew’s can thank middle order batsman, Darryl Fry, for keeping its finals aspirations alive at Clem Young Oval on Saturday, as the home side struggled against Portland Colts in the Hamilton and District Cricket Association A grade match of the round.

The Drews won the toss and quickly announced they would bat first on its home ground with the pitch being very hard and well grassed, but that would be the only success the side would enjoy for the next 29 overs as the Portland Colts bowlers held sway over the batsmen.

According to reports, the pitch offered the bowlers some tennis ball bounce from both ends, which made scoring difficult for the three hours of the game before it settled down.

The first seven wickets fell with only 51 runs on the board after 29 overs, with Luke Evans (4-35) and Matt Payne (3-44) running through the Drews’ top and middler order seemingly at will.

Enter Darryl Fry, who came to the crease with the score on 3-29 and he watched from the non-strikers end as four more batsmen came and went, before he was joined by Latham Wishart.

The pair refused to hand their wickets to the bowlers and steadily the runs started to come, as they reversed the flow of the game to add 123 for the eighth wicket.

Both would raise their bat to acknowledge half centuries, but Wishart would depart for 54 from 79 balls, as Daniel Kinghorn finally made the breakthrough.

Fry carried on, reaching the final over of the day and he advanced down the wicket slightly, trying to get the single needed for a deserved century, but missed and failed to get his foot back into his ground, as James Chapple whipped off the bails to deny him the milestone.

The final ball was delivered with St Andrew’s having 9-212 on the board and a total that can be defended next week.

College v Gorae-Portland

WITH College Turf hosting this game, College entered the clash knowing an outright victory was if it was going to secure a place in the top four.

The Eagles were sent into bat on a green wicket that offered the bowlers some assistance off the surface, as the ball grabbed the well-grassed pitch.

Charles Murrie (50) was in no mood to hang around waiting for the wicket to settle down, smashing a 34-ball half century that included five boundaries and two maximums, as he and Jock Barrie (10) gave the side a fast start.

When Barrie was bowled by Stephen O’Brien, Murrie watched from the non-striker’s end, as Max St John was bowled with a slow ball from the very next delivery.

The entire batting order was looking to play Eagle-ball and score freely, despite the assistance the bowlers gained from the wicket, with Jack Austin (33), Hamish Bailey (22), Lachie Brown (14), and Adrian Burn (17) all scoring quickly.

At 7-146 in only the 28th over, the home side needed to consolidate or be dismissed before stumps on the first day.

Russell Bennett (43-not-out) and Lachie Watt (two) added 65 from 18 overs to calm the innings down, but when Watt was bowled by Tom Roberts, the end came quickly, as the Eagles were dismissed for 223 with Roberts (4-19) and O’Brien (3-79) the pick of the Go-Ports attack.

The visitors had 23 overs to bat to see the day out and Sam Roberts appeared to want to win the game on day one, as he struck three boundaries and three maximums in his 43, before Lachie Brown had Roberts sky a top edge that was well caught by Angus Brown.

While Jordy Anthony bowled with venom his line was poor and despite gaining the early wicket of Finn Saurine (four) his spell was ineffective.

Zac Duncan struck five boundaries in his 23 and with the score at 3-77 when stumps were drawn, as the game remains on a knife-edge with the Eagles desperately needing to dismiss the visitors very quickly next Saturday to have any chance of playing finals.

Tyrendarra n Grampians

PINK was the order of the day at Monivae Turf, as Tyrendarra hosted Grampians in a Pink Stumps Day, with all proceeds going towards the McGrath Foundation.

With the top spot secured already, Tyrendarra is using this game as a warm-up for the finals to come, and the side chased leather for much of the first part of the day after Grampians batted first and scored well on the benign surface.

Only Carl Joyce (five) failed to use his time in the middle for the Pumas, as Will Collins (22), Ty Gilmore (28), Daniel Jones (38), Alec McIntyre (29), and Zach Burgess (55) all batted well.

The Pumas batted out the day to be dismissed in the final over for 222, as Dylan Murray (4-36) and Ben Menzel (3-43) bowled well for the hosts.

A loss next Saturday will not be ideal preparation for the Darras, but the Pumas will want to end their season on a high.

Casterton Districts v Pigeon Ponds

THE northern derby between Casterton District and Pigeon Ponds is always a highlight of the season and Island Park Turf hosted this end of season clash between the two rivals.

The home side won the toss and elected to bat first, but Ponds opening bowler, Jack Beaton, gave his side the perfect start when he bowled Ben Holmes for a duck in the third over of the day.

Rick Killey came to the wicket to join Oliver Foster and the pair went about halting the Pigeons’ momentum with a steady partnership of 96 before both were back in the pavilion at the same score.

Killey (54) raised his bat for his half century before following Foster back to the pavilion, while Sullivan Gibbs (two), Kaden Humphries (four), Michael Jarrad (three) and Carey Megaw (zero) all followed suit, as Pigeon Ponds roared back into the contest by claiming 6-15.

Logan Gibbs (51-not-out) and Jacob Edwards (23) came together and rescued the innings with a 59-run eighth-wicket partnership, helping the home side reach a final score of 188, as Beaton claimed 5-36 and Hamish McCrae chimed in with 4-31.

Ponds finished the day on 0-2 from the two overs the openers had to negotiate, before stumps were drawn.

Hamilton v Portland Tigers

BOTH teams are playing their last game of the summer and bragging rights are up for grabs, as the two teams are at the wrong end of the ladder.

Dahl Turf was the venue and Anthony Read was celebrating his 300th senior game for Hamilton (plus another 48 for St Andrew’s), but it was far from a celebration for the veteran, as the home side capitulated for only 82.

A grade debutant, Josh Atwell, had an immediate impact to finish with 4-5, while Charlie Harvey grabbed 3-9 in support, as the Blues batsmen failed.

With 22 overs to bat before stumps, Portland Tigers fared no better and the game is in the balance with the visitors set to resume on 5-54 after Cameron Templeton grabbing 3-15 to keep his team in the contest.

South Portland v Macarthur

SOUTH Portland put together a dominant performance on Saturday to secure a first innings win over Macarthur at Cavalier Park, chasing down their target of 81 with seven wickets in hand before going on to post a day one total of 3-133.

While they met some resistance early, South’s bowling attack was on top throughout, with Rory Barry picking up the first wicket of the match before Craig Cummins stepped up to take three top-order scalps and set his side well on the path to victory.

From there, it was down to Lachie and Tighe Warburton to finish the job, with the pair taking two and three wickets respectively.

The only significant innings Macarthur was able to produce came from Harry Turnham, who carried his bat for 39-not-out, as they finished up all out for 80.

However, while South came into their innings in complete control of the game, they found themselves put on the back foot early by a flurry of wickets, with Macarthur reducing them to 3-16.

With the game suddenly in the balance and the momentum with the visitors, it came down to a remarkable partnership between Tighe Warburton and Karsen Edwards to get South over the line.

The pair thus far have put on 117 runs for the fourth wicket, with Warburton on 78-not-out from just 84 balls, with 11 boundaries to his name including four sixes.

With the first innings points locked away, South will now look to press on for a big score on day two with the possibility of an outright victory on the cards.