WOORINEN v BARHAM KOONDROOK
A SECOND mammoth chase in as many weeks has lifted Woorinen to second place on the SHDCA ladder with a five-wicket win over Barham Koondrook on Saturday.
Batting first, the Raiders were bowled out for 189, with Riley D’Silva dismissed on the final ball of his team’s innings off the bowling of Cooper Fox.
It was the second match in a row Woorinen have conceded a score over 180, with Garry Lolicato once again the mainstay of the innings for Barham Koondrook by scoring 62, while Robert Rush (4/34 from six overs) was the pick of Woorinen’s bowlers.
Having chased down 207 last Saturday, the Tigers began their reply in similar fashion, with Dean Morpeth (78 off 80 balls) and Darren Rushton (19 off 33 balls) combining for a 73-run second-wicket partnership before Rushton was bowled by Lolicato.
Morpeth then continued to up the run rate before he too perished, with Mitchell Uhlhorn quickly following suit with the home side still 63 runs short.
Jason Mangiameli (19 not out) and Cooper Fox (29 off 22 balls) steadied the ship, however, with a 32-run partnership getting the Tigers to within sight of their target, with Guri Singh (12 not out) joining Mangiameli to see the home side home with six overs to spare.
Lolicato (2/36 off seven overs) would end the innings as the Raiders’ only multiple wicket taker to complete a strong all-round performance.
The Raiders now need to beat Wandella this Saturday to be any chance of making their first Kookaburra Cup grand final.
RSL v WANDELLA
RSL are within striking distance of the top four after a dominant six-wicket win over Wandella helped secure the Blues back-to-back wins.
The victory was set up with another strong display with the ball, with the Blues dismissing the Bombers for just 97 in just 28 overs.
It is the second time in just four games that Wandella have been bowled out for less than triple figures this season, to sit them on the bottom of the SHDCA A Grade ladder with just one win.
It could have been much worse for the visitors if not for a hard-hitting 31 from captain Ryan Barnes, with Wandella at one point finding themselves at 7/58 and their top and middle order all back in the shed.
Brenton Gurnett (3/15 from three overs) finished with the best figures for RSL after cleaning up the tail, but it was skipper Oscar Hier (3/30 from eight overs) who did the bulk of the damage, along with opening bowler Brenton Caldwell (2/6 from six overs).
The Blues run chase started shakily as gun opener Ryan Hinton was dismissed without scoring, before Brenton Caldwell (26), Hier (27) and Stuart Patterson (21 not out) steadied the ship to see RSL home.
Laing Waddingham, Daniel Higgs, Kyle Hodges and Samuel Hollingworth all took one wicket each for Wandella.
