COLLEGE has failed at the first hurdle in its defence of the Dundas Cup as Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) A grade reigning premier, after Grampians eased into the new season with a commanding 74-run bonus point victory at Mitchell Park on Saturday.

The parks and gardens team of the Southern Grampians Shire worked miracles to have Mitchell Park in a playable condition, as the HDCA unveiled its new hard wicket home ground with the match of the round.

The weather looked likely to have the upper hand all week leading into the match, but the match committee made the decision to play late Friday afternoon after inspecting those grounds that were available and the players took to the field at noon on Saturday to get the 2022-23 season underway.

Charles Murrie won the toss and elected to send Grampians into bat, which was a tactic that was very successful for the Eagles all last season, as the team seems to believe they chase better than they set targets.

Will Collins and Lachie Field opened the innings for the visitors knowing a solid start against the reigning premiers was crucial if the Pumas were going to cause an upset.

Field was available for the match after premier cricket was called off the weekend prior due to the weather, and his availability going forward will depend on whether the higher-grade competition gets a start or not.

The pair was steady in their approach to scoring, looking to keep wickets in hand while scoring.

The Eagles went to the drinks break at the halfway point of the innings with no wickets showing on the board and 76 runs for the Pumas.

Field was the first to fall for a cautious 31 from 80 balls as he looked to attack the bowling and eventually held out in the deep with 81 on the board for his team.

The dismissal gave Ross Milne the first of his three wickets for the day.

From 0-81 the Pumas collapsed to be 7-116, as Field was joined back in the pavilion by Collins (51), Josh Gordon (two), Harrison Wood (three), Ty Gilmore (one), Eddie McShane (duck) and Ben Wallis (duck), as the Eagles swooped the Pumas after the break to roar back into the match.

Only Carl Joyce offered any resistance after the openers with the all-rounder posting 33 for his opening knock of the summer.

Even he couldn’t keep the bowlers at bay though, as Grampians’ innings ended in the final over with 141 on the board.

Henry Bensch led the way with the ball, claiming 3-28, while Milne grabbed three wickets as well.

After the initial 23 overs of the innings, the Eagles came back to claim 10-66, as the Pumas collapsed.

College would have been confident at the afternoon tea break that they would chase down the target, especially as the Pumas were without Stefan Burnell and Tom Polkinghorne, but Grampians was on fire with the ball and in the field, pressuring College into making mistakes from ball one.

College changed its known batting order by dropping Murrie to number five as Lachie Brown joined Heath Schmidt in the middle to get the chase started.

Brown didn’t last long though, as he was back in the pavilion with a duck for company after only his first four balls, as Joyce struck the early blow for the Pumas in the second over.

From there it only got worse for the Eagles, as the top order collapsed totally with not one batsman making anywhere near double figures, as the side capitulated to be 8-30.

It took Russell Bennett (15-not-out) and Angus Brown (12) batting at numbers eight and 10 respectively to offer any resistance to the bowlers, as the Pumas wrapped up victory and a bonus point inside 22 overs.

Joyce grabbed the bowling honours with 3-11 while Harrison Wood claimed 3-19 with his first spell in the competition.

PIGEON Ponds has handed Hamilton a case of the blues with a first-up come-from-behind victory to open the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) A Grade season under cloudless skies at Casterton on Saturday.

With daylight savings not starting until Sunday, the start time for the games was brought forward an hour due to the possible lack of light late in the day, but it wasn’t an issue, as both matches proceeded at a good pace to be finished well inside the time for stumps.

Hamilton skipper, Simon Sharrock, won the toss and elected to put the Pigeons into bat.

Sharrock may have been swayed by the length of the grass in the outfield, which was a little longer than ideal, but the conditions were the same for both teams.

Peter Staude and Simon Close took strike for the first time this season for Ponds, as Cam Templeton marked out his run up and the season was underway when many thought that play wouldn’t go ahead after the rain that fell during the week.

Templeton was on song right from the first ball, as the pre-season work Hamilton had undertaken shone through.

The left arm bowler swung the ball away from the groping blade of the left-handed Staude and then back into the bat of Close, as he asked questions of the opening batsmen with every delivery.

The length of the grass didn’t allow for the batsmen to gain any short singles and the run rate was slow, but in the fifth over Templeton finally found the edge of Staude’s bat and Fionn Neeson clung onto the catch at second slip.

The bowler didn’t have long to wait for his second scalp of the day, as he brought the ball back into Will Staude to have the number three on his way for the first duck of the season with Ponds 2-11.

Close had to take control of the innings and he started to play his shots, as Brandon Weatherson came into the attack, but it would be Michael Close who the bowler claimed first, dismissing him for five.

Weatherson then had another, as Simon Close played what could only be described as an ‘up country slog’ from well outside off stump which he missed easily and was bowled for 23 to leave Ponds limping at 4-45.

Josh Grant was playing well with attacking shots over the infield, as he tried to take the bowlers on but with his score on 16, becoming Riley Casey’s first A grade scalp when he failed to get hold of the ball and offered Neeson a simple catch.

At 5-58, it looked likely to be an early finish, before Hamish McCrae and Jack Beaton joined forces.

Beaton is normally a number 11 batsman and by his own admission his form with the bat is not great, but he must have had a good pre-season, as his blade was straight and true and he only gave a couple of very difficult chances to the keeper down the legside in his knock.

McCrae is known more to be able to handle the willow and the pair added 70 for the sixth wicket to drag the Pigeons back into the contest with McCrae scoring at better than a run-a-ball.

He posted 48 before looking to hit over the top once too often and Robbie Cook got the breakthrough.

Beaton followed soon after for a career-high 40 and the Pigeons were bowled out for a very respectable 155, as Neeson grabbed the honours with the ball in grabbing three wickets as Templeton, Weatherson and Cook bagged two apiece in support.

Brenton Callaby and Neeson took strike looking to get the visitors away to a solid start in the run chase, with Beaton and Simon taking the new ball.

Callaby didn’t get off the mark until the ninth over when he struck the first boundary of the innings from his 33rd ball, before eventually holding out to Peter Staude for 12.

Cook joined Neeson in the middle and the veteran was in sublime touch, scoring at a run-a-ball pace.

The pair added 53 for the second wicket and they looked at ease with the bowling as drinks were taken at the hallway stage of the innings as the board showed 1-78.

The first ball from Eliza Jagger after the break however had Cook on his way for 28, and Neeson went soon after with 94 on the board and 33 against his name, as Josh Grant held onto a sharp chance at cover to see Hamilton lose its third wicket.

Jagger continued to bowl stump to stump, and claimed a third scalp for the innings when she bowled Rory Steff for three and Hamilton fell to 5-120.

Larry Leeming tore through the lower order and the final wicket was taken with the score on 136, as Hamilton collapsed to lose 9-68 after the drinks break.

Jagger was the pick of the Ponds attack with 3-28, but Leeming (3-22) and the rest of the bowlers all performed well for a first up hit out.

“I was very happy with the way we got back into the match through Hamish (McCrae) and Jack (Beaton) with their great partnership, but also with the way Eliza (Jagger) bowled, it gave us the momentum to carry on and win,” Staude said after the game.

“It was great the way the Casterton District club was able to get the ground ready for play and we really appreciate their efforts.”