PORTLAND Tigers has secured a dominant first innings victory over South Portland at Hanlon Park in the Hamilton and District Cricket Association on Saturday, bundling them out for 51 runs before making it to 5-102 at stumps.

The Tigers won the toss and elected to send their opposition in to bat, a decision which paid dividends in the very first over as Craig Blackberry had Scott Martin caught with South yet to trouble the scorers.

The situation continued to improve for the Tigers as Blackberry and Llewellyn Oakley also claimed wickets early.

A partnership between Harri Dennert (15) and Tighe Warburton righted the ship for a brief period, before the Tigers’ newest recruit Gerard Kissane along with Joel Hollis were brought into the attack.

With each picking up three wickets apiece, the Tigers cleaned up South’s middle order, and while Paul Drew and Jamie Ross occupied the crease for the 10th wicket, eventually South were all out for 51.

Hollis (3-6 from seven overs) and Kissane (3-7 from seven overs) were nearly inseparable in terms of who was the Tigers’ best bowler on the day, while Blackberry (2-19), Llewellyn Oakley and Will Oakley also picked up wickets.

A half-century at the top of the order from Ben Atwell ensured the Tigers got over the line comfortably, as Paul Procter (20) and Blackberry (16) chimed in with some solid performances.

The Tigers will resume next Saturday at 5-102 with Kissane and Nik Oakley at the crease, with their hopes set on consolidating their position and potentially going for an outright victory.

South will take some consolation in their solid bowling performance to close out the day, with Tighe Warburton picking up 3-35 from 12 overs, while Eamon Drew (1-2) and Dennert (1-15) also picked up wickets.

Evans picks up six as Colts are set 200-plus for win

Portland Colts’ skipper Luke Evans produced a fantastic display of bowling on Saturday, finishing up with six scalps as his side bowled out Macarthur for 224 before getting to 0-15 at stumps at Henty Park.

The game was evenly balanced early, with Evans and company keeping themselves in the game with some top order wickets, while Macarthur’s batsmen were able to create some decent partnerships.

64 from Charlie Summers was key to putting Macarthur in a strong position through their middle order, however Evans was able to continue to find the right areas and get wickets.

Eventually, Macarthur was bowled out for 224, with Evans finishing up on 6-32 from 16.5 overs, while Mat Belden (2-36), Oscar Barbary and Matthew Payne also got in the wickets.

Openers Alister Stannard and Glenn Hollis got Colts off to a decent start and will resume next weekend on 0-15 with a further 210 runs required for victory.

Darras with work to do

Tyrendarra has a big job to do this coming weekend after they were set 281 runs for victory by St Andrews on Saturday.

St Andrews’ monster total was set off the back of their dominant top three, with openers Brendan Huf (72) and Michael Fitzpatrick (50) laying the foundations.

And while Jake Wilson was able to produce the breakthrough by dismissing Fitzpatrick, that brought Damien Logan to the crease, who went on to make the highest score of the day as he reached 80.

Another solid knock from number four batsman Darryl Fry (38) saw St Andrews well and truly on top at this stage.

However, the Darras bowlers continued to toil away and eventually their efforts paid off, as Darren Killmister, James Williams and Ben Menzel were able to combine to dismiss all of St Andrews’ top four.

This opened the door for Killmister to roll through St Andrews’ middle and lower order, as he ended up with four wickets with St Andrews finishing up on 8-280.

Tyrendarra is now faced with a huge task if they want to tick off another win for the season, but if anyone is equipped to chase down such a total it’s them.

Roberts takes five for Go-Ports

A five-wicket haul to Thomas Roberts was the highlight for Gorae-Portland in their clash with Casterton District at Island Park Recreation Reserve, as they were set 235 for victory.

The game was well balanced early with Casterton seeing some solid innings develop, while Go-Ports were always able to find a way to break the partnership.

However, a captain’s knock of 74 from Kaden Humphries saw Casterton gain the ascendancy through the middle portion of the day.

At this point, Roberts was able to step up and secure the vital wicket of Humphries before he could take the game away from Go-Ports.

A cameo down the order from Kane Forbes (30 off 28) ensured Casterton got to the 200-run mark and beyond, as they were all out for 234.

Openers Finn Saurine and Sam Roberts were able to see out the last four overs of the day, with Gorae-Portland to resume on 0-6 come day two.

Other games

Hamilton is in a strong position to claim its second win of the season, as they’ll require only a further 36 runs for victory on day two with nine wickets in hand, as they bowled out Pigeon Ponds for 102 with Cameron Templeton taking 6-25.

In the other matchup, it was Carl Joyce’s 7-41 which highlighted the game between his Grampians side and College, with Grampians set 140 for victory on day two.