A grade
A GRADE had to travel to the Alan Garden Reserve knowing that a win would essentially lock in a finals spot with three rounds to go.
Bowling first, it was a real grind as Ultima TUF were patient and kept wickets in hand.
The bowling partnership of Ethan McKnight and Rohan Oliver really put the clamps on, and eventually wickets came as Oliver took 4 and was unlucky not to get 5, while McKnight took 2/12 off his 7 overs. Our target to chase would be 147.
Batting was a shaky start, with early wickets putting us in a lot of trouble at 4/25.
Young Bohden McKnight changed this though and in partnership with Luke Murray the momentum changed.
A 101-run partnership put us in the box seat requiring 20 off the last 5 overs before Murray was dismissed for 32, but Higgs joined McKnight and saw it through with an incredible 77 not out to Bohden to get us home with 17 balls to spare.
B grade
B grade had the challenge at home of playing Sea Lake.
Bowling first, Hodges and Bremner were solid but the Sea Lake batsmen managed to continue at a decent rate all the way through.
The introduction of Brodey Farley helped the wickets flow, with Farley getting 4-45 off his 8 overs.
They restricted the tally to a total of 200. Other wicket takers were Harry Bremner, Nick Oliver, Kyle Hodges and Scotty Bremner.
In reply, early wickets hurt, but a rearguard through the middle order of Hodges, Russell Bott, Mick Bott and Flynn McKnight all getting scores in the 20s ensured a competitive result with the boys finishing on 9/163.
C grade
C grade had the challenge of hosting Tooleybuc-Manangatang at home. Batting first, Laing Waddingham opened and absorbed a lot of balls, Russ Waddingham got to 10, and the reliable Jack Danckert played a solid 14 not out, but wickets continued to fall throughout and they could only manage 48.
In reply, Tooleybuc cruised to victory after around 7 overs. Our wicket taker was Harvey Macri who continued his really good year with bat and ball.
Under 16s
Under 16s travelled out to Murrabit to face Murray Raiders. These two teams had been evenly matched throughout the year, and the first half of their match proved the same.
Batting first, we lost Paddy Oliver early for 4, but a good partnership between Bohden McKnight who finished 22 not out and Archer Lancaster who was 18 not out opening the batting ensured that they have a solid base to bat from with 1/59 off 20 overs.
In reply, Murray Raiders batted very similarly with an early wicket to Harry Bremner helping, but a solid partnership ensured that they finished their 20 overs at 1/61. This match is evenly poised and could potentially decide a top two position.
Under 13s
Under 13s played the first half of their match against Woorinen at home. Batting first, the team put in their best performance of the year with the bat, with a lot of contributors. Nick Oliver was great again with 44 retired, Hugh Bremner got 37 retired, Sam Hollingworth got to 22 not out and Evie McKnight did well with 12. They finished the first half of their innings at 1/126.
In reply, they kept Woorinen tight with some good bowling — Sam Hollingworth taking two top order wickets, Alby Lancaster getting 1 and Max Sanders getting 1. All of these wickets were bowled.
They are in a really good position to take their second win in a row with Woorinen being at 4/64. This is a testament to how much this group have improved throughout the year.
