Sport
19 January, 2023
Weidemann dominates with telling century
RUP/MINYIP opener Connor Weidemann has dominated the opening day of round 12 in Horsham Cricket Association A Grade against Jung Tigers on Saturday. A blazing unbeaten century saw the talented left hander carry his bat through the innings and finish...
RUP/MINYIP opener Connor Weidemann has dominated the opening day of round 12 in Horsham Cricket Association A Grade against Jung Tigers on Saturday. A blazing unbeaten century saw the talented left hander carry his bat through the innings and finish unconquered on 173. The innings highlighted the second round of two-day matches with Rup/Minyip in a powerful position to claim victory, while at the Sunnyside Reserve, ladder leader West Wimmera Warriors has a fight on its hands in a clash against Homers. It was a good day on the pitch for Rup/Minyip who, after winning the toss, batted first and put together a potent score of 314, bowled out after 73.2 overs. Weidemann was the story of the day with his 173 coming at a good clip off 226 balls and included 26 boundaries. A 94-run opening stand with Clinton Midgley, 34, had Rup/Minyip on the road early before a 38-run stand for the second wicket with brother Lachie, 12, took the score to 132. Jung Tigers enjoyed their best period with the fall of Lachie’s wicket as they claimed three wickets in the space of five runs before Rup/Minyip produced strong partnerships to the end of its innings. Gavin Young made 33 in the middle order and shared a 114-run stand for the sixth wicket as Weidemann took complete control of the innings. Jung Tigers used 10 bowlers in their attempts to curb the influence of the batting team with Chris Eagle finishing the best of the attack to claim 3-15 off 3.2 overs, while Amrit BK and Angus Adams both claimed two wickets each. At Sunnyside, West Wimmera Warriors won the toss and batted on their way to a total of 182. The innings was dominated by Brad and Nathan Alexander who were the only batters to post double-figure scores with Brad clipping a top score of 76 and Nathan making 57. The pair shared a 117-run stand for the third wicket, placing their team in a strong position at 2-142 before Homers hit back hard with the ball to prevent a target in the 200s. Their fightback came off the back of opening paceman Baxter Perry who continued his good form with the ball to claim a five-wicket bag and finish with impressive figures of 5-27 off 16 overs. Simon Hopper provided good support to claim 4-50 off 15 overs as Perry’s haul included the scalps of both Alexanders with Brad’s innings coming off 117 balls with five boundaries and Nathan’s coming off 75 balls with three boundaries and two sixes. With 18 overs left in the day’s play, Homers took the crease and carefully made their way to 30 runs for the loss of two wickets which were claimed by Nathan Alexander who took the new ball to top a big day on the park. Homers opening bat Paddy Mills remained unbeaten on 17 which came off 60 balls, while Hugh Dougherty, three off 22 balls, will return to the crease tomorrow. Alexander finished with strong figures of 2-8 off eight overs which included five maidens. Saturday’s B Grade matches has Horsham Saints, Laharum and Bullants in strong positions in respective matches against Colts, Blackheath-Dimboola and Jung Tigers. Second-placed Horsham Saints will test fifth-placed Colts after the Saints won the toss and batted their way to a strong total of 188 off 56.2 overs. Ben Sawyer led the way for Saints with a top score of 56 which came off just 41 balls and included seven boundaries and a six. Six Saints batsmen posted double-figure scores with Tom Sostheim, 25, Dezi Carter, 24, Brock Hamerston, 21, and Aidan Laffy, 14, all posting valuable contributions to the score. For Colts, opening paceman Josh Colbert toiled hard to claim 2-45 off 11 overs, while Jaxon Crooks finished with figures of 2-17 off four overs. Blackheath-Dimboola found the going tough against Laharum who finished the day with first innings points and will look to go in with the job and push for a top four berth. Winning and toss and batting, the Bulls were reduced early through some tidy bowling spells and slumped to 5-22 as Josh Mahoney and Patrick Smith teamed to trouble all batsmen. The Bulls recovered in the middle order through Luke Hutchinson, 25, and Brenden Marrs, 19, but were unable to handle the bowling and were dismissed for 80 in 24 overs. Mahoney finished the best of the attack to claim 5-25 off 12 overs, while Smith claimed 2-18 off seven overs and Xavier Shevlin chimed in to finish with 3-36 off five overs. In reply, Laharum claimed first innings points and will resume at the wicket at 5-110 and look to build a strong lead before a possible outright attempt. Ben Peucker dominated with the bat to post a quickfire 60 which came off 66 balls and included 10 boundaries. Skipper Daniel Griffiths, 11, and Shevlin, five, will resume at the crease. Bullants dominated with the bat in their clash against Jung to post a total of 9-261 with Nathan Hughes clipping a top score of 61. Austin Smith, 36, Ben Anson, 34, Troy Dumesny 32, and Jordan McDonald, 28, all enjoyed strong stints at the wicket. For Jung, opening paceman Prabath Bandara finished with impressive figures of 4-66 off 21 overs.