GORAE-Portland have notched their first win of the Hamilton District Cricket Association A grade season thanks to a second-innings blitz with the ball, Sam Atchison and Tom Roberts combining for nine wickets as their side defeated Hamilton by 66 runs.

Batting first in Hamilton, Gorae-Portland opener Sam Roberts set to work in a dashing innings of 89 off just 83 balls after opening partner Zac Duncan was dismissed.

Roberts smashed 10 fours and four big sixes in his quicker than a run a ball innings, as he and his skipper Nick Wills combined for a 91-run partnership as Go-Ports tallied 175 runs from their allotted overs.

Early in the second innings, Hamilton openers Xavier Stevens and Nick O’Brien had Gorae-Portland on the ropes as they patiently started off the chase with a 50-run partnership before Tom Roberts bowled Stevens to kick off the collapse.

Roberts would follow this up with the cheap dismissals of Isaac Shaw, Mitch Lang and Ethan and Robbie Cook as Hamilton fell to 5/47, adding just 17 runs as the wickets tumbled.

 From there, Atchison joined in the party and tore through the tail end with four wickets of his own for just 24 runs, including the last two wickets to wrap up the win.

When all was said and done, Roberts had wrapped up his incredible bowling performance with figures of 5/15 from his eight overs.

Portland Colts v College

James Chapple has starred with the bat once again for Portland Colts, as the side easily chased College’s total of 153 to claim a nine-wicket win and remain top of the table.

Chapple led the charge in the second innings chase, smashing an unbeaten 80 runs which included 12 fours and one major boundary, to see his average push close to three figures, having scored 391 runs from his five matches at an average of 97.75.

Chapple and his opening partner Adam Barbary scored 91 runs together, before Barbary was stumped off the bowling of Lachlan Watt for 52 runs.

Skipper Luke Evans took in the Chapple show from the other end of the pitch as part of his unbeaten 15 run innings, but Evans’ work was completed with the ball as he ripped apart College in the first innings to dismiss them for 153.

Evans started off the day in perfect form, dismissing College opener Charles Murrie for a duck before his onslaught with the ball continued and College’s batsman found themselves unable to score off their opposing captain.

Evans’ performance wrapped up his first five-wicket haul of the season with figures of 5/13, to rocket himself up to first place in the league’s bowling statistics.

 Riley Cook’s bowling was somewhat overshadowed by Evans’ performance, but he also bowled terrifically for his 3/9 figures which included the key wicket of Adrian Burn, while English all-rounder Jak Hotchkiss also took two wickets for the game.

South Portland v St Andrews

Although there were moments of joy for South Portland, an innings-long batting performance from St Andrews opener Brendan Huf was too much for the Demons to overcome.

With blustery winds smashing Cavalier Park, Huf carried his bat in the first innings after St Andrews elected to bat and slowly accumulated an unbeaten 84 runs, knocking the ball around and running strongly as part of his team’s total of 186.

Tighe Warburton threatened to be the difference maker with the ball after 15 overs, when some classy glovework from South Portland wicketkeeper Harri Dennert led to the stumping of Fraser Hill and Nick Emsley followed just three overs later when Warburton dived forward to dismiss him caught and bowled for just four runs.

But Huf and number four batsman Darryl Fry steadied the ship for St Andrews as part of a 133-run partnership while the wind played havoc on South Portland and made it difficult for bowlers to hit their spot.

South Portland found difficulty with the bat as well, losing their first four wickets for just 18 runs before Warburton and captain Scott Martin found their footing and scored a 57-run partnership before Warburton was dismissed LBW by Russell Elton.

Martin followed soon after for a team-high 35 run innings, and while Craig Cummins and Lachie Warburton did their best to soak up deliveries, South Portland were unable to fire with just two players exceeding 10 runs.

St Andrews bowlers Bailey Walsh, Russell Elton and Damien Logan all took three wickets each.

Tyrendarra v Tahara

Monivae College played host to a rampaging Tyrendarra side, as they came away as seven-wicket winners over Tahara in a chase that took just 16 overs.

Ben Menzel had Tahara in strife early after Tyrendarra won the toss and chose to bowl, dismissing both of their opening batsman to have his opponents at 2/6 in the third over.

Brad Gauci and Taine Morris battled through the adversity to add 43 runs before Mark Pitt dismissed Gauci, the dismissal signalling the start of a middle-order collapse.

Shay Rhodes was impressive with the ball, dismissing Tahara captain and important batsman Marcus Rhook on his first delivery faced caught behind by Hamish Withers.

Three more wickets went to Rhodes, including the wicket of Taine Morris for 40 runs who was the most solid performer for Tahara, while Lachlan Kirk claimed two late wickets for just 12 runs.

Tyrendarra proved they didn’t want to hang around and slowly chase Tahara’s 101-run total, coming out in the second innings on the front foot and immediately setting to work.

Cam Mather managed 11 runs off his first six balls faced, setting the tone early as he smashed eight boundaries as he fell just short of a half-century when he was dismissed by Luke Barnes for 47.

Mitch Arnold scored quickly for his 27 runs, but it was two fresh batsman Will Kirk and Mark Pitt who were in the middle when Pitt hit the winning single.

Macarthur v Casterton District

After tearing through Macarthur’s top order, an upset looked to be on the cards for Casterton District when they had dismissed the first three batsman for just two runs.

When Ollie Wortley was dismissed for three, Macarthur finally hit their rhythm through Jack Wortley and Charlie Summers who put together a 111-run partnership to push the total to 5/129 when Wortley was caught off the bowling of Kaden Humphries, while Summers was dismissed for 44 runs, Harry Turnham finished unbeaten on 27 as Macarthur made 184.

Logan Gibbs was the pick of Casterton District’s bowlers with 3/22, while Carey Megaw and Jacob Edwards took two wickets each.

Although Casterton District’s attempt to chase was solid, Macarthur’s bowling ensured no batsman were able to build from their starts.

Kane Forbes was Casterton’s top scorer with 25 and Logan Gibbs managed 23 runs, while Simon Sharrock led the Macarthur bowlers with 3/23 off five overs.

Kyle Smitten, Adam Fry and Charlie Summers all took two wickets each.

Portland Tigers v Pigeon Ponds

This match will need to be played at a later date, after the game was postponed due to a number of Pigeon Ponds players missing the match as some players were involved in fighting the bushfire to the northwest of their town.