PORTLAND Colts managed to defeat Portland Tigers in a game which was dominated by each team’s bowling attack.
Colts won the toss and elected to bat first, and the game was evenly poised early as Colts made their way to 2-34 with Matt Payne making 23 while Joel Askew and Paul Procter picked up early wickets.
James Chapple and skipper Luke Evans steadied the ship in Colts’ favour, with the pair putting on 36 for the third wicket.
Joel Hollis was able to break that partnership, and from there the run rate slowed dramatically for Colts, with the Tigers able to keep the pressure on with a steady stream of wickets.
A late cameo from Chad Hollis (18 not out) helped push Colts’ total to 8-142 after 45 overs.
Despite posting a suboptimal, albeit still defensible total, Colts were on top right from the get-go as Evans had Charlie Harvey caught early.
And while Ben Atwell (37) was a stalwart at the top of the order, he found himself running out of partners, as the Tigers faltered to 6-31.
Riley Cook was the one doing the damage for Colts, as he claimed a whopping five wickets in succession to put his side well and truly on top.
Atwell was able to find some support from Joel Askew (11), and the Harvey brothers Seb (18) and Artie (10 not out) who provided some resistance right at the tail end, but it was too little too late, as Damien Bell was a prominent figure as Colts bowled the Tigers out for 105.
Tyrendarra rounds out 2023
Tyrendarra has rounded out an excellent first half to their 2023-24 Hamilton and District Cricket Association campaign with a 65-run victory over College at Hamilton College on Saturday.
College won the toss and elected to send the Darras in, however their decision certainly didn’t pay off as Tyrendarra’s opener and skipper Cam Mather took to College’s bowling attack immediately, plundering boundary after boundary on his way to his second century of the season (first in A grade).
While College was able to get a couple wickets at the other end, Mather was met in the middle by Jordi Withers, who continued his excellent form with the bat.
The pair put on a staggering 166 runs for the third wicket at around run-a-ball pace, only broken when Lachlan Watt was able to bowl Withers for 74 off 72.
Mather was soon to follow his teammate back to the sheds, run out for 120 off 120 deliveries.
College was able to produce a flurry of late wickets, but realistically the damage was done, with Tyrendarra setting an imposing total of 8-259.
College was going to need the perfect start to their run chase to have any chance at getting to their target, and while they got off to a decent start, soon enough the wickets began to fall as Darren Killmister picked up the wicket of both openers.
Killmister picked up his third very soon after to have College at 3-38, before Jock Barrie (37) and Adrian Burn (31) put on 56 for the fourth wicket.
Dylan Murray got himself into the game, running out Barrie with the assistance of Hamish Withers, before picking up two wickets of his own in two balls to have College 6-109 and in dire straits.
A late partnership between Watt (33) and Lachie Brown (39 off 41) helped College near to the 200 mark, but ultimately, they remained well short of their target when the last ball of the match was bowled.
Killmister finished with the Darras’ best figures of 3-27 off nine, while Murray and Will Kirk each picked up a pair of scalps.
Mather said it was a fantastic way to cap off 2023 for the side.
“We got an okay start, and when Jordi came out I said to him if we can bat 20 overs together we’ll be able to put a fair few runs on, we’re both pretty quick between the wickets, they probably had a few fielders out there who we were able to target and turn ones into twos,” he said.
“From there we just picked the bad balls and put them away.”
Mather said College deserved credit for a committed run chase which his side was ultimately able to thwart.
“They came out with a mindset that they were going to go after us, especially their captain Charles Murrie, he went really hard at the ball,” Mather said.
“‘Killy’ was able to get an inside edge to sneak through and knock him over which was a massive wicket for us.
“Credit to them they didn’t go down without a fight and made us work for the win.”
South nearly chases down massive total
In a high-scoring battle of the Demons, it was Macarthur who proved to be just better than South Portland on the day, winning by 31 runs in a match which saw more than 500 runs scored in less than 90 overs.
Macarthur’s decision to bat first paid dividends, as while Rory Barry was able to break the opening partnership to have them 1-29, opener Michael Brilley and first-drop batsman Ollie Wortley soon took to the South bowling attack.
The pair put on an incredible 184 for the second wicket, with Brilley finally succumbing to the bowling of Tighe Warburton on 90 off 103 balls.
Wortley carried on to reach his century and beyond, as all up he made 122 not out off just 115 balls with 19 boundaries, including six sixes.
Warburton was the most successful of South’s bowlers, claiming his second scalp to finish with figures of 2-39 from seven overs.
Still, the day belonged to Macarthur at this point, as they finished up at 3-266 after 45 overs, and things only got better for them as South’s top order more or less collapsed early on as they stood at 4-12.
However, at this juncture Tighe Warburton joined his skipper and older brother Lachie Warburton, with the pair staging an impressive counter-attack to get South back in the race.
After putting on a 102-run partnership, Lachie departed after making 70 from 68 deliveries with seven sixes.
The focus soon turned to the younger of the pair, and he was able to step up to the plate, making 84 off 93 deliveries to keep them in the game.
Eamon Drew’s quickfire 26 not out helped them get closer, while some other late-order cameos kept the runs ticking over.
Unfortunately for South, they ran out of wickets, with Macarthur bowling them out in the 43rd over.
Go-Ports handled by Ponds
Another impressive knock from their skipper Nick Wills wasn’t enough to get Gorae-Portland over the line in their clash with Pigeon Ponds, as they went down by 113 runs at Pigeon Ponds Recreation Reserve.
Ponds were on top from the get-go, as an opening partnership of 74 saw them get off on the right foot, with half-centuries to Peter Staude and Simon Close proving to be the backbone of their innings.
Once Go-Ports got through the top order, the going got a bit easier for them as they were able to take wickets more regularly, with Zac Duncan picking up three while Wills (2-27) and Stephen O’Brien (2-46) were the other multiple wicket takers.
Set 232 for victory, Go-Ports struggled early, limping to 2-14 when Wills strode to the crease, before being 3-20 shortly after.
Wills ended up being the lone bright spot of the innings, with his 60 ensuring they posted at least a respectable total, getting past three figures.
Other results
Casterton District defeated Grampians in a thriller at Dunkeld Turf, winning by one wicket in the penultimate over of their run chase.
57 not out from Darryl Fry was enough to lift St Andrews over Hamilton at Kennedy Oval in the other clash of the day.
