ULTIMA TUF sent a warning to the rest of the SHDCA that they will be a force to be reckoned with in 2024-25 with a dominant 10-wicket win over Woorinen at Alan Garden Reserve on Saturday.
In their first game of the season, the Roodogs monstered the Tigers, firstly bowling them out for just 88 runs inside 19 overs, before passing their total without losing a wicket in just one extra ball.
It was a comprehensive performance from a team looking to break a 15-year finals drought, with captain Kade Benfield “overjoyed” not just at the result, but the way his team went about securing their first points of the season.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season really, we were absolutely rapt with that result,” Benfield said.
“It seemed like a perfect day if you looked at the scorecard, but there’s still a few areas where we can improve.
“We still dropped a few catches and we let them score an extra 20 runs than we would have liked, but apart from that, only two of our guys batted so that was pretty impressive.
“We still have a few good players to come into the team, which will throw up a bit of a selection headache.
“Jacob (Hatcher) has opened pretty much his whole life and ‘Symo’ (Kyle Symons) has been one of the best openers in the competition over the past two years, so I’m not sure how we’re going to go with that, but it’s a good problem to have.”
Both Hatcher and Symons missed Saturday’s win for Ultima TUF, along with Mitch Seton-Stewart, making it all the more impressive for a team which won just two matches last season.
The problem facing is Benfield is that his two opening batters in Charlie Kingwill (41 not out) and Lachlan Edwards (31 not out) will make it hard to change a successful formula, with both players guiding the Roodogs to victory without being dismissed.
“(Kingwill and Edwards) both came to me during the week and said they wanted to open together, so I gave them that opportunity and they took it with both hands,” Benfield said.
“Charlie was quite impressive, he showed signs last year and as a junior, but to have the confidence to put his hand up and then go out and prove it was special, it was good to watch.”
As strong as their performance with the bat was, the victory was set up by a dominant performance with the ball from openers Josh Waldron (5/21 from six overs) and Lleyton Purcell (2/39 from six overs), the pair reducing Woorinen to 7/43 at one stage, with Darren Rushton (26) the only top-order batsman to reach double figures.
Although Stefan Mangiameli (16) and Robert Rush (22) provided the Tigers with some hope of a resurgence with a 27-run eighth-wicket partnership, their joy was short lived.
“Our two opening bowlers Josh (Waldron) and Lleyton (Purcell) bowled well in their partnership and they didn’t let (Woorinen) get away to the attacking start that they like too,” Benfield said.
“We took our first three catches of the game which were all reasonably tough and as we all know, catches win matches and if you can start that way then it helps build momentum.
“Josh is bowling injury free at the moment, last year he had a bit of a dodgy shoulder, and Lleyton was unreal too, but Josh bowled awesome, apart from maybe one wide he was pretty unplayable for his whole spell.”
Ultima TUF will take on Barham Koondrook this Saturday in what looms as a danger game for both sides, while Woorinen will look to bounce back against Wandella, with Benfield hoping the confidence gained from Saturday’s performance will hold his team in good stead.
“As we spoke about in the pre-season, we feel we’re not too far away,” Benfield said.
“We want to play finals and this is definitely a step in the right direction. We have a bit of belief now, but we know it’s not going to just happen, we know we have to work hard still.”
