ALYSSA Humphries ruled the ground with bat and ball on Friday night, posting a hat-trick and unbeaten innings in the Maroons’ win over Pigeon Ponds.

Claire Widdicombe also raced to 36-retired, setting up a big total, while Humphries smashed a 30-ball, 39 runs to help Casterton District to 2-107 after 18 overs.

Madison McLean and Lilly McCure each claimed a wicket.

Eliza Jagger did her best to get the home side off to a fast start in the run chase with 35-retired, but the lack of support cost Ponds, as Humphries took her three, successive wickets late in the innings to restrict Pigeon Ponds to 6-85 from 18 overs.

Humphries finished with incredible figured of 4-4 from three overs.

A GRADE - Grampians d. Casterton District

CASTERTON District was sent into bat on its turf wicket at Island Park, as Grampians skipper, Will Collins, called correctly at the toss to hand the early advantage to the visitors.

On a surface that was well grassed but hard, the home side started with Kaden Humphries and Sullivan Gibbs in the middle as Stefan Burnell took the new ball.

The new ball decked away from the bat off the surface, as the batsmen struggled to lay bat on ball, but that is the way of opening the batting, as the new ball will do plenty as the bowlers test the techniques of the opposition.

Burnell grabbed the early breakthrough when he had Gibbs (one) caught at the wicket from a feather edge in the third over of the match.

Connor Kelly joined his skipper in the middle and the pair was resolute not to lose another wicket quickly, battling some very good line and length bowling from the Pumas.

Carl Joyce was swung into the attack after eight overs, and he also quickly found his line and length to maintain the pressure on Humphries and Kelly.

The score reached 30, before Joyce bowled Humphries for 12 and only four balls later, he had Justin Carlin (four) brilliantly caught by Zac Burgess behind the stumps to leave the home side struggling at 3-34.

The catch must be one of the best seen in the competition, as the association keeper flew to his right to snare the chance offered by Carlin with a stunning one-handed grab that he took behind him.

Harrison Wood came into the attack and gained appreciable turn from the surface from his first over.

The young English leg spinner grabbed three wickets in his spell to extend his lead at the top of the wicket list for the season, finishing with 3-41 from his nine overs.

Alister Bright (31) tried to lift the home side with some cross batted shots to the fence, but Lachie Phillips cleaned up the Casterton District tail by grabbing 4-22, his career best figures as the home side was bundled out for only 119.

The Maroons were not going to simply roll over and hand the game to the visitors, as Jacob Edwards and Jake Balzan took the new ball looking to apply pressure to Collins and Eddie McShane.

McShane (zero) looked solid in defence, but he called his skipper through for a suicide single and was left stranded well short of his ground by a good piece of fielding from Oliver Foster.

Burgess joined Collins and the pair had to survive some very good new ball bowling, as the ball beat the bat time and again without finding the edge.

They added 39 for the second wicket before Collins (22) was bowled by a great delivery from Carey Megaw.

Megaw was the pick of the attack, and his nine-over spell went for only 22 runs, as he also added the scalp of Burgess (38) by trapping the number three batsman in front of his stumps.

This left Carl Joyce to take the game in hand, guiding the visitors to yet another bonus point victory with a fine knock of 46-not-out, which included three maximums in one over.

The win sees Grampians book its place in the Hamilton and District Cricket Association One-Day Shield Final, but the Pumas will have to wait until the first Saturday of the new year to see which club they will play in the Australia Day clash, as second-placed Pigeon Ponds and third-placed St Andrew’s meet to determine their opponent.

B/C GRADE – Hamilton North d. Casterton District

HAMILTON North opening batsmen, Darren Groves and Sam Groves, posted an opening partnership of 209 to defeat Casterton District in its Hamilton and District Cricket Association B-C grade clash at Melville Oval on Saturday.

The father-son combination chased down the target set by the visitors, as the Hammers played its first home game at Melville Oval for the summer after the constant wet weather kept all games from the venue.

Hamilton North skipper, Brett Ezard, won the toss and elected to send the visitors in to bat on a surface that had been used all week for the Youth Premier League Under-16 carnival.

While the wicket was reported to be low and slow, the batsmen found form with Mark Penny (80) and Jedd Rhook (72-not-out) piling on the runs.

It was a maiden senior half century for Rhook, who will be playing in the Junior Country Week carnival next month, and the youngster showed he is a player to be watched, as the ball sped to the boundary on nine occasions in his 100-minute 88-ball innings.

He and Penny added 90 for the second wicket and Rhook batted through the innings after coming to the wicket at the fall of the first wicket, as Casterton District posted 4-201 from their allotted overs.

Knowing that the batting has been brittle this season, the Groves combination strode to the crease with the determination required to hunt down the target, as Darren played the aggressor and Sam (65-not-out) was content to turn the strike over.

The contest was tight throughout, as the run rate required was matched by the batsmen, but the Maroons continued to keep that rate at near run-a-ball pace.

Victory was secured in the final over when Darren Groves smacked the last of his 22 boundaries and then was dismissed for a match winning 134 to hand Billy Rhook a wicket, as dad Brian held the chance offered as the Hammers finished at 1-209.