NOW there are only four teams that can reach the Hamilton and District Cricket Association A grade One-Day Final after all but one of the northern teams was knocked out of contention in round nine.
Overcast skies greeted the players at Monivae Turf, as ladder leader, Tyrendarra, hosted Grampians in a game the Pumas needed to win to maintain contact with the top four.
Grampians skipper, Will Collins, called the toss correctly and sent Tyrendarra in to bat on a surface that had a green tinge and had been under covers with rain falling overnight.
Darras skipper, Cam Mather, was joined by Lachie Kirk in the middle, and they found the new ball was doing plenty as Daniel Jones and Carl Joyce used the conditions to test the techniques of the batsmen.
The run rate was kept to a minimum, as the Pumas delivered a diligent line and length and Mather (13) fell in the 13th over with only 38 on the board.
At the drinks break after the 23rd over, the score had advanced to 3-44, with Jordi Withers at the wicket and soon to be joined by his brother, Hamish.
The pair added 56 for the fourth wicket with Hamish Withers (19) falling just as his innings was beginning to blossom.
Withers was exceptional with his shot placement, while Ben Menzel just worked the ball around to hand his young partner the strike.
The pair added 102 before Withers (89) tried to hook a slow bouncer from Collins only to manage to get a glove on the ball as it passed through to Ben Wallis behind the stumps and a century went begging.
Menzel (56-not-out) and Jake Wilson (15-not-out) took the final tally to 5-238 as the Darras piled on 194 runs from the last 22 overs.
When Tyrendarra returned to the field, the bowlers soon found even more movement from the surface than the Grampians attack did.
Hayden Phillips made his A grade debut and when he was called into the attack he was exceptional with his line and length and grabbed his his maiden A grade wicket, that of Hamish Withers for 19.
The Pumas were never in the hunt with even the highest run getter in the competition, Will Collins, finding the going tough, as he batted through the innings to carry his bat for 56-not-out as the visitors finished 9-146 with Ben Menzel (3-17) and Mark Pitt (3-33) being the pick of the bowlers.
St Andrew’s d. Macarthur
ST Andrew’s kept its hopes of reaching the one-day final alive with a dominant six-wicket victory against the Demons at Macarthur Recreation Reserve.
The Demons won the toss and elected to bat first, but Josh Nield trapped Michael Brilley LBW in only the fifth over with six against his name.
Jack Wortley and Ollie Wortley took the score to 83 before Jack was caught by Russell Elton for 24, but Ollie carried on posting 54, before the team was eventually bowled out for 189.
Bailey Walsh claimed 3-38, while Nield, Russell Elton and Damien Logan grabbed a pair of wickets each in support.
The visitors welcomed back opening batsman, Brendan Huf, from injury, who slotted back in as opener as if he had missed no games at all.
Huf and Michael Fitzpatrick posted a steady start in the opening overs, before increasing the tempo to have 66 on the board in the 13th over when Fitzpatrick (29) was bowled by Adam Fry.
Huf was joined by James Guthrig and they added 74 for the second wicket before Guthrig (27) was on his way.
Huf was finally out for a well-made 81 and the Drews coasted to victory with only four wickets down.
Portland Tigers d. Hamilton
PORTLAND Tigers earned just their second win for the season against Hamilton with one of their youngest contributors, Artie Harvey, dominating to take three wickets.
The Tigers have had a relatively slow start to the season in terms of victories, but managed to show some form on Saturday to move off the bottom of the ladder.
It was a 139-run win for the side with the Tigers batting first and notching up 183 runs in their 45 overs and bowling out Hamilton for just 44 runs.
In their bowling attack it was 14-year-old Harvey who did majority of the damage and finished with 3-4 off five overs.
“Artie was just awesome, he took those wickets all in one over and it was definitely the highlight of the day,” Tigers captain, Will Oakley said.
“He’s still got another year in Under-16s, but to do what he did (on Saturday) was very impressive. He’d had a couple of good scores in B grade, so we bought him up and gave him a bowl and if he’s able to keep taking wickets like that he’s a very exciting option for us.”
In the Tigers batting line-up, it was Ben Atwell who recorded a steady 70 runs as well as Dean Brewster who kept the scoreboard ticking over.
To get another win on the board was a relief for the captain who is urging his side to keep building heading into the back half of the season.
“It was a good day for us and after not having an ideal start and some close losses it was good to get a win on the board,” Oakley said.
“There have been a few games where we just haven’t performed as well so if we can compete a bit more like (Saturday) then we can definitely provide a few upsets later on.
“We’re not worrying so much about finals and what we need to do to get there, it’s more about enjoying the season and building into the back end of it and challenging what we think we’re capable of.”
Portland Colts d. Casterton District
PORTLAND Colts have defeated one of the top contenders in the competition in Casterton-District, chasing down 194 in the dying overs of the match.
Casterton won the toss and elected to bat but struggled to get off the mark with Colts’ bowling attack taking out their top order quickly.
Casterton District dug in at the back end of their innings with Logan Gibbs earning 52-not-out, while Carey Megaw locked in for 46 to get them to a 194 total.
Colts’ top order was solid with the bat with Glenn Hollis working his way to 90-not-out, while Alister Stannard recorded 44 and James Chapple locked in 34.
Matthew Payne came to the crease in the 44th over and managed to make his first runs the winning four to get his side across the line.
Gorae-Portland d. College
GORAE-PORTLAND was held up with two standout efforts on Saturday to get on top of College in round nine.
Captain, Nick Wills, was a powerhouse with the bat, recording 109 of his sides 211 runs for the game to put them in prime position after their innings.
With College batting second, it was then the bowling performance from Zac Stuchbery who claimed six wickets (6-31) in a dominant display to get his side across the line.
Stuchbery’s efforts were crucial for Go-Ports, as College put in a solid knock to chase down the 211 total, before being bowled out for 195 in the 42nd over.
Pigeon Ponds d. South Portland
SOUTH Portland had a tough run against Pigeon Ponds, as they went in to bat first before being all out for 71.
Their biggest total in the batting order was 15 from Cameron Rawlings and Rory Barry, while they struggled to get off the mark against Pigeon Ponds’ bowling attack.
Pigeon Ponds came out steady and managed to chase down the total in 17 overs.
