Sport
8 February, 2023
Brim-KSH return to winners list
WIMMERA-Mallee Cricket Association is setting itself up for a thrilling finish to the season after round 11 of competition on Saturday. Brim-Kellalac/Sheep Hills maintained its top placing when they returned to the winners list with a strong victory...
WIMMERA-Mallee Cricket Association is setting itself up for a thrilling finish to the season after round 11 of competition on Saturday.
Brim-Kellalac/Sheep Hills maintained its top placing when they returned to the winners list with a strong victory over Donald which has put them in a vulnerable position as spots in the top four tighten up.
Brim-KSH and Jeffcott are clear leaders at the top of the table but it is the battle below that will provide plenty of interest and will come down to the final round to sort itself out.
Birchip claimed a massive win the context of their season when they sent St Arnaud spiralling out of the top four with a big win on their home turf at Birchip, while Marnoo sat out a bye on the weekend and gained six vital points.
Three teams, Donald, Birchip and Marnoo occupy positions three to five on equal points, while St Arnaud is just half a game behind in sixth position.
Brim-KSH steadied its ship after suffering its first loss of the season in round 10 with a commanding win over Donald.
On their home strip at Brim, the home set up its victory with a strong bowling performance that limited its opponent to a modest score of 8-106.
Winning the toss, the home team invited Donald to bat and through some accurate line and length bowling had the visitors on the back foot from the outset.
Opening pair Mark McPherson and Lachie McGinniss maintained a tidy line as Donald openers Cooper Anderson and Will Noble put on 23 runs for the first wicket before Lache Hadley came on first change to dismiss the openers within the space of one run.
In fact, the Eagles claimed three wickets for just two runs to leave their opponent at 3-25, a position which they struggled to recover from despite the best efforts of Kalon Green and Josh Gilmour in the middle order.
Green top scored with 31 and Gilmour made 24 at the pair put on 50 runs for the sixth wicket before the Eagles claimed three wicket for no runs to leave Donald 8-106 over 40 overs.
Hadley finished with 2-20 off eight overs, while teenager Kobe McGregor claimed 2-9 off two overs to provide good support to McPherson and McGinniss who finished with 0-15, and 1-8 off their respective eight-over spells.
In reply, Brim-KSH made a strong fist of its run chase after a couple of early hiccups when they lost two wickets for 12 runs before an unbeaten 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket ensured victory.
Skipper Isaac McPherson and Hadley teamed for the match winning stand as McPherson finished unbeaten on 38, while Hadley topped a big day on the field to finish unbeaten on 33.
Brim-KSH finished its innings at 3-107, clipping its winning runs in 35 overs.
The upset of the round saw Birchip dominate St Arnaud when they produced a stunning bowling performance on their home deck.
Three quick wickets for just six runs was followed by a steady stream of wickets as St Arnaud was unable to recover and was dismissed for just 36 runs which came off 27 overs.
Only Nick Birthisel could muster a double-figure score of 16 as Birchip opening paceman Jonty Randall produced the figures of the day.
Randall finished with six wickets for just five runs off seven overs and with Connor McCredden, 3-8 off eight overs, completely dominated the batting team.
In reply, Birchip clipped the winning runs in just eight overs and finished at 3-37 with opener Will Marks top scoring with 19 off 12 balls.
Jeffcott claimed a commanding win over Wycheproof-Narraport when they posted 148 before dismissing their opponent for 84 on the home turf at Wycheproof.
Jeffcott opener Noah Berry clipped his second half century since the resumption with a run-a-ball top score of 57 and Lachie Jones, 42, provided the bulk of their team’s total.
Wyche-Narraport’s Hunter Connolly finished with the best bowling figures of 3-14 off eight overs, while skipper Tom Trewin claimed 3-22 off his eight overs.
In reply, a 37-run opening stand gave Wyche-Narraport a sniff of victory when Trewin and Connolly teamed with the bat with scores of 24 and 20 respectively but struggled to find support at the other end as Jeffcott ran through the batting line-up through the bowling efforts of Jett Adams.
Adams found a good line to finish with figures of 4-23 off eight overs, while Jones and Chase Campbell both finished with figures of 2-8.
In B Grade action, St Marys has climbed into third position on the ladder after claiming a strong victory over Watchem.
B Grade has a new leader in St Arnaud who took over top spot from Jeffcott while the battle for top four positions continues to heat up with four teams within one game of each other.
St Marys and Birchip are on equal points, while Charlton remains half a game outside the top four and Southern Mallee Giants a further half a game back in sixth place.
At Watchem, St Marys won the toss and sent the home into bat and produced a strong bowling performance to dismiss their opponent for 81 in 37 overs.
Skipper Sam Milne made an unbeaten top score of 23, while opening bat Matt Arnel made 20 as Shannon Bartlett returned to the Saints line-up to claim 4-14 off eight overs, while opening paceman Brodie Dennes claimed 2-21.
In reply, St Marys opener Kael Zanker helped guide his team to victory when he made an unbeaten top score of 26.
Zanker faced out 67 balls and with Nathan Priest, 20, and Bailey Watts, 14, ensured victory as the Saints finished at 4-86 off 25 overs.
SM Giants claimed a vital win over Jeffcott when they posted 152 with opener Matt Bellinger making 53 and Luke Mitchell making 45.
The Giants then topped a strong game when they dismissed its opponent for 90 in 29.5 over with Jack Flavel producing good figures of 4-7 off eight overs, while Bellinger topped a strong double to claim 3-36 off six overs.
In other games, St Arnaud climbed into top spot when they sent Birchip to fourth place with a strong game on their home turf at King Georges Park.
St Arnaud posted a healthy 150 with Zane Bigmore making 74 before dismissing Birchip for 76 as opening paceman Josh Walters-Marsh claimed 3-9 off five overs.
Charlton maintained its finals presence when they claimed a strong win over Brim-KSH in the match of the round at Charlton.
Batting first, Brim-KSH posted a competitive 7-127 with Ethan Schilling top scoring with an unbeaten 39 and Sean Wright made 32 as the pair combined for a 76-third wicket partnership.
In reply, Charlton produced a calculated run chase as they finished the day at 3-133 off 37 overs with Nick Thompson making 48 and opener Hugh Sait carrying his bat for 38 off 101 balls.