Sport
14 February, 2024
Laharum in strong position
An unbeaten 75 by Ben Peucker has put Laharum in the box seat in their two-day match against Bullants at Noradjuha Recreation Reserve in round 11 of the A-Grade Horsham Cricket Association season.
The Demons finished on 195 with Joshua Mahoney, 26, Daniel Griffiths, 39, and Jim McInnes, 23 all chipping in with scores.
Justtin Combe, 3/45 and Jordan McDonald, 3/50 were the best bowlers for the Bullants.
Demons captain Daniel Griffiths was thrilled with the score.
"It was good for a change. We got off to a steady but slow start," he said.
"Considering our recent form with the bat the score was good and it gives us something to bowl at and you never know."
They will be without Joel Pymer for the rest of the season as he is playing for Beaufort and whilst it's a loss, Griffiths believes they have the bowling to defend the score.
"We don't have lightning bowlers but we have consistent line and length bowlers, and that will hopefully trouble the Bullants," he said.
Brenton Hallam's 96 and David Puls' 3/14 have given the Tigers a good launchpad to win outright against Lubeck Murtoa at Horsham City Oval.
The Mudlarks won the toss and elected to bat and were bowled out for 118 in 32 overs. Blake Downer, 40, and Dylan Eats, 26 were the best batters for the Mudlarks.
In response, the Tigers finished the day at 9/221 with a lead of 103. Levi Mock and David Puls both remain unbeaten on 41 and 11 runs respectively. Blake Turner, 4/61 was the pick of the Mudlark bowlers.
Tigers captain Tyler Puls praised Hallam's knock.
"Unfortunately he couldn't get those runs but he batted well and has us in a winning position," Puls said.
"We won't have him next week. Hopefully, we can either bowl them out or make sure they don't go past us too much.
"They will get Shannon Reddie back and a couple of others so it won't be easy but we will give it a crack."
At Coughlin Park, Albert Schorback provided a spark for Blackheath Dimboola against Horsham Saints.
The Bulls won the toss and elected to bat and got off to a steady start with Sam Leith, Malcolm Barry and Daniel Polack all getting starts. When they fell, so did the wickets with Sam Polack getting a duck and Nathan Schorback, three runs.
Albert Schorback came to the crease and was a rock, scoring 24 (83) whilst playing some beautiful shots that helped guide the Bulls to 10/135.
In reply, the youngster trapped Brock Hamerston for LBW early and the Saints are 2/59 heading into day two. Jake McLean was the other wicket-taker for the Bulls.
For the Saints, Brody Devlin claimed 2/20 and Gary Davidson is unbeaten on 40 with Dezi Carter yet to score.
Bulls captain Sam Leith praised Albert.
"He batted well. The two-day batting suited him," Leith said.
"After the confidence he gained with the bat, I decided to give him a bowl and it paid dividends.
"He is maturing and getting bigger and stronger."
Next week the Bulls will get back Archer Laverty and Elliot Braithwaite which will help.
"With getting them back we will look to make early inroads and put pressure on them. Anything can happen," Leith said.
At Davis Park, West Wimmera is in the box seat against Homers. After winning the toss and batting, the Warriors were bowled out for 244 with Brad Alexander, 56, and Luke Smith, 69 leading the way. Baxter Perry, 3/61 was the pick of the bowlers for the Homers.
In reply, Homers are 2/9 with the dangerous Patrick Mills and in-form Logan Millar back in the shed. Luke Miller and Adam Atwood are both unbeaten and face an uphill battle when their innings resumes.
Adam Atwood rued the missed chances in the field.
"We dropped about five or six catches and they scored at least 60 runs from it," Atwood said.
"If we can get to 100 or 150 with two or three down then we are a chance, but if we get to five down by lunch then it could be over quick.
"It's a good test to see how we go as a batting lineup from this situation. It won't be easy."
HUTCHINSON DOMINATES AGAIN
Laharum's Josh Hutchinson has hit his second century in three weeks, scoring an unbeaten 130 in their win over Homers at Holy Trinity College on Saturday in round 13 of the C-Grade season.
After winning the toss and batting, he was on fire as he hit eight 6's and nine 4's as they posted 2/228 from their 40 overs. Matthew Whelan assisted with 51.
In response, the Homers finished at 8/138 with Lewis Hofmaier top-scoring with 33. Matthew Whelan had a day out claiming 3/7 to go with his 51.
Lubeck-Murtoa continued their undefeated season with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Blackheath Dimboola at Dimboola Recreation Reserve.
Alby Kingson, 6/14, was the star as they bowled the Bulls out for 87. In response, Cameron Newell hit 53 as they chased the total down in the 15th over finishing with 3/88. Lilly Schorback continued her great season for the Bulls claiming 2/16.
Natimuk bounced back with a 178-run win over Horsham Saints at Natimuk Recreation Reserve. After winning the toss and batting, Jett Munn and Jeremy Schmidt both top-scored with 51 in their total of 5/253.
In response, the Saints were bowled out for 75 in an innings which included seven ducks and David Pike's top score of 29. Alex Baker took 3/11 for Natimuk.
At Dudley Cornell Park, Colts stormed to a 176-run win over Tigers. After winning the toss and batting, Drew Carmody and Jay Couch both top-scored with 52 as they posted 2/243. Corey Emmerson top-scored for the Tigers as they were bowled out for 67 after 24 overs.
With two rounds to go, Natimuk and Colts are battling out second place on eight wins, which may go down to their contest in the final round, whilst Laharum and Homers are fighting for the last finals spot, on six wins sitting fourth and fifth on the ladder respectively.
COLTS AND PANTHERS MOVE CLEAR
The Colts and Panthers have moved two games clear at the top of the ladder following convincing wins in their two-day matches concluded round ten of the B-Grade season.
Colts defeated Quantong by 130 runs at Dudley Cornell Park with captain Josh Colbert the standout. Colbert scored 61 runs in their total of 6/257 and claimed 5/30 as they bowled Quantong out for 127.
Joshua McCluskey, 54 and Dylan Arnott, 55, also were strong for Colts. Jack Vague was Quantong's leading scorer with an unbeaten 57 whilst taking 2/50.
The Panthers had an easy win over the Tigers at Minyip Recreation Reserve. They bowled the Tigers out for 48 with Wilson Mitchell, 4/11, and Hugh Weidemann, 3/28 the stars with the ball whilst Nicholas Hudson scored 60 for the bat in their reply of 7/222 declared.
The Tigers fought hard to avoid an outright defeat finishing with 3/128 after 39 overs in their second innings.
At Sunnyside, West Wimmera defeated Homers by one wicket in a thriller. James Officer led the way for the Homers with 38 as they posted a total of 130. Xavier Bone was the pick of the bowlers for West Wimmera with 4/23.
Wallace Wheaton top scored with 46 as they chased the total down in the 41st over. Phoenix Hopper had impressive figures of 2/6 for the Homers.