BONUS point victories occurred in five of the six games in the Hamilton and District Cricket Association BC grade on Saturday, as one-sided contests were the order of the day.
The only game of the round that featured two top four teams was Hamilton North versus Macarthur, and it was the closest result of the round.
Sam Groves won the toss for Hamilton North and told Macarthur to bat first at Monivae Turf.
Jesse Webster grabbed the key wicket of Matt Timms - who didn’t trouble the scorers - with the final ball of the first over to hand the home side a huge boost, and the Demons depth tried to ensure their bowlers had a total they could defend.
Ian Brilley took on the responsibility to score runs and the wicketkeeper-batsman posted 54 from number four and held the top order together, as wickets fell around him with the visitors slumping to 4-44.
When Brilley was dismissed, the Demons had 89 on the board, as Bingham Jarrett (22) and Warrick Mann (28-not-out) ensured that Macarthur had a tally it could defend as the side finished with 8-135 from its allotted overs.
Timms grabbed the early wicket of Alex Jacobson (two) to hand the advantage to the Demons, but Darren Jacobson and Darren Groves combined to add 67 for the second wicket to swing the game in favour of the Hammers.
With the tally on 76, the Macarthur bowlers struck three vital blows, as Logan Mann had a hand in all three wickets with Jacobson caught by Mann for 23, before Groves (44) and Patrick Simkiss (zero) both fell to Mann.
At 4-76 the game returned to an even contest, as both teams chipped away at the targets required of each to win.
Hamilton North finished on 7-138 to claim the victory and hand Macarthur its second loss in succession.
Tahara d St Andrews
WITH 27 players unavailable, St Andrew’s had to move players up the grades to ensure it had as many teams on the park as possible and this meant the BC grade side for the game against Tahara at Pedrina Park 2 was not the regular players.
St Andrew’s won the toss and elected to bat first, as Craig Dimond (20) and Adam Hill (30) gave the side a solid foundation of 40 for the first wicket on which to build the innings.
Drews skipper, Nick Emsley (44-not-out from 69 balls), was the batsman the innings was built around, as the home side finished on 6-125.
When Tahara came to bat, openers, Kieran Barker (55) and Marcus Rhook (41-not-out), added 80 in quick time, as the Bluecaps chased down the target in only 20 overs to claim yet another bonus point this summer.
College d Byaduk
COLLEGE was another team to record a bonus point victory after thrashing Byaduk at College Turf on Saturday after the Eagles hunted down the modest target set by the visitors in only 18.4 overs.
Byaduk could only manage 4-82 from the 40 overs, as the top order failed to push the scoring rate along with Jude Alexander claiming 3-13 with his leg spin bowling.
In reply. College skipper, Jonathan Jenkin, scored 43 at run-a-ball pace and the Eagles quickly hunted down the target before the drinks break.
Branxholme d Casterton District
CASTERTON District travelled to Branxholme Recreation Reserve on Saturday, knowing that victory on the road would knock Branxholme out of finals calculations.
The home side won the toss and elected to bat first with skipper, Andrew McFarlane, again raising his bat with 66 next to his name, as the Bulls finished with 5-160.
In reply, the Maroons were never allowed to gain a foothold in the run chase despite opener, Justin Carlin, top scoring with 30.
The visitors were dismissed for only 122 to hand the Bulls a bonus point and stay in the hunt for a finals spot.
Grampians d Tarrington
GRAMPIANS made short work of its game at Tarrington Recreation Reserve on Saturday, as the Pumas claimed a bonus point and remained atop the premiership ladder with an eight-wicket victory.
The Pumas sent the home side into bat after winning the coin toss and only Marcus Lowerson (33) and Ashton Kearney (14) the only players to reach double figures, as the Tigers struggled to post 63.
When the visitors came to bat after the tea break, they lost the wickets of Eddie McShane (duck) and Angus MacGillivray (seven) quickly, but Levi Templeton (28-not-out) and Oliver Fenwick (23-not-out) ensured the Pumas would collect the bonus point.
Hamilton d St Andrews Saints
HAMILTON rounded out the list of teams to record bonus point victories after the Blues thrashed St Andrew’s Saints at Kennedy Oval by 199 runs on Saturday.
Nick O’Brien won the coin toss for Hamilton and chose to bat first, posting 76 to top score, as every batsman reached double figures.
Isaac Shaw (55), Robbie Cook (47), Lachlan Walker (40-not-out), and Tyler Ellis (32) all batted well, while no Saints bowlers took multiple wickets, as the Blues posted 5/284.
In reply, the Saints could only muster 85, as Geoff Barker played a lone hand in making 43-not-out with Lachlan Walker grabbing the honours with the ball in taking 4-14 and Brody Gibbs in support with 3-13.
