GORAE-PORTLAND earned it’s second win of the 2022-23 Portland and District Cricket Association season on Saturday, downing Portland Colts by seven wickets with three balls to spare in their Twenty20 match at Alexandra Park.

Colts got a good start with the bat, as Glenn Hollis (21) and Daniel Chisholm (44) put on 34 for the second wicket, while Chisholm partnered with skipper Luke Evans (28 off 26) for 51 runs to see his side close to the hundred-run mark.

Eventually Colts would make it to 5-112 from their full 20 overs and the match was squarely in the balance at the half-way point.

Stephen O’Brien was the clear pick of Go-Ports’ bowlers, claiming 3-21 from his four overs, having Evans caught before trapping Chisholm leg before wicket.

They also got quality overs from Cameron Harker, and while he didn’t take a wicket, he conceded just 12 runs from his four overs.

Go-Ports’ innings belonged to Nick Wills, who belted a monstrous 56 not out from just 43 deliveries, including three fours and four sixes.

He was supported by skipper Zac Duncan (24) batting at the top of the order, however there were a few nervous moments towards the back end when Duncan was run out off the fielding of Karsen Edwards.

It was left to batsmen who were far from set to get them over the line.

Sam Atchison made a solid contribution scoring 11 runs from 10 deliveries, however when Evans had him dismissed in the second-last over it was left to Harker and Wills to get the final 10 runs off nine remaining deliveries.

With eight required off the final over, it looked as though the match might come down to the final ball, however Harker hammered a six off of what was just his second delivery faced to ensure his side needed just a single run off the remaining four balls, which they did courtesy of a wide.

Evans backed up his batting display with a solid piece of bowling, finishing with figures of 1-13 off four overs.

Oscar Barbary was at his economical best, as much like Harker he failed to take a wicket but conceding an even more miserly nine runs off his four overs.

Colts too good in B grade

Portland Colts proved the better side when these two teams met earlier in the day for their B grade clash, winning by eight wickets with five overs to spare.

Go-Ports batted first, and suffered primarily from a slow run rate, as they were eventually dismissed with three balls remaining in their innings with just 64 runs on the board.

Devon Miles was the pick of their batsmen, as he made 17 off 19 deliveries, while for the Colts, Travis Earl finished with remarkable figures of 3-8 off 3.3 overs, with Chad Hollis (2-7 off four) and Tony Hollis (2-9 off four) also in the mix.

Colts’ run chase transpired with some ease, as a 46-run partnership between John Grinstead (33) and Luke Andrews (23) saw them get the required runs with time to spare.

Juggle keeps season alive

IT’S hard to recall a more challenging start to a Portland and District Cricket Association season, but organisers were able to pull off a masterstroke to get Saturday’s round played.

The wet weather has seen barely a ball bowled in competitions throughout Victoria this season, however the PDCA has managed to get four of its five scheduled rounds away – albeit with a bit of creative thinking.

In comparison, the neighbouring Warrnambool and Hamilton competitions both called off their weekend cricket due to a lack of grounds with Warrnambool having played just one of six rounds to date and Hamilton just two of six.

Saturday’s Portland fixture was supposed to be a one-day round, meaning five venues would be required to fit in all the A grade and B grade games.

However, that was an impossibility, and the association instead switched Saturday’s fixture with the January 7 (round 11) Twenty20 matches.

That allowed Portland Tigers and Tyrendarra to play both their A grade and B grade Twenty20 games at Flinders Park, while Gorae-Portland and Colts played their games at Alexandra Park.

Only the Drumborg-Heywood and South Portland B grade match did not go ahead.

The wet weather saw Henty Park (turf and synthetic), Cavalier Park, Tyrendarra and Heywood all deemed unfit for play, while Hanlon Park is likely to be off limits for most (or possibly all) of the season with the Glenelg Shire Council having started a weed eradication process on the outfield.

Alexandra Park was supposed to be unavailable for the season due to the construction works happening there, however the PDCA was able to gain permission to play there on Saturday provided players steered clear of the construction zone.