Wandella v Barham Koondrook
BARHAM Koondrook’s hopes of reaching this season’s Kookaburra Cup grand final have ended at the hands of former Northern District rivals Wandella, with the Bombers securing their second win of the season thanks to an unbeaten 95-run sixth-wicket partnership.
Bohden McKnight (43 not out) and Luke Murray (39 not out) proved the heroes for the home side, with the Bombers chasing down the Raiders’ impressive target of 178 in the 36th over.
An 84-run second-wicket partnership between Lance Davidson (70) and Hayden Solar (35) had Barham Koondrook in the driver’s seat early.
Some late-order hitting from Lachlan Laursen (18 from 14 balls) and Riley D’Silva (21 from 17 balls) helped get the Raiders to 9/178, while Bohden McKnight was the pick of the Wandella bowlers with 4/29 off eight overs.
The Bombers made a confident start to their chase with a 50-run opening stand between Flynn McKnight (50) and Sam Copland (13), McKnight’s half-century coming from just 35 balls.
Thomas Guerra and Caleb Davidson combined to slow the run rate through the middle of Wandella’s innings, with the Bombers losing 5/34 to leave their run chase in danger of collapsing before drinks.
That was until Murray and McKnight steadied the ship, the pair batting for the next 20 overs to guide their team home and end Barham Koondrook’s hopes of reaching their first SHDCA decider.
Despite using eight bowlers, Caleb Davidson (3/18 off eight overs) and Guerra (2/34 off eight overs) were the only wicket takers for the Raiders.
RSL v St Mary’s Tyntynder
RSL have set up a mouth-watering elimination final against Woorinen this Saturday after defeating St Mary’s Tyntynder by six wickets at Gurnett Oval.
The win lifted the Blues to second on the Kookaburra Cup ladder ahead of their clash with the third-placed Tigers, which will decide who plays Nyah District for the one-day premiership in January.
Meanwhile, last year’s grand finalists St Mary’s Tyntynder sit on the bottom of the table with just one win from their first five matches, the Bulldogs’ worst start to a season in more than a decade.
Batting first, St Mary’s Tyntynder were bowled out in 27th over, well short of their allotted 40 overs, for a quick 128.
The constant and regular loss of wickets proved costly, with Charlie King scoring an unbeaten half-century in his first game for the season, and Riley Daniels (27) and Jake Foster (18) the only other batters to reach double figures.
It was another strong bowling performance from the Blues, particularly from Henry Cox (3/6), along with Oscar Hier and Brenton Gurnett, who each picked up two wickets.
The Blues were far more patient in their response after losing opening batters Ryan Hinton and Paul Munro early.
A 101-run third-wicket partnership from Stuart Patterson (61) and Brenton Caldwell (38 not out) got RSL home.
St Mary’s Tyntynder captain Nathaniel Holmes-Brown took 3/22 from eight overs to best of his side’s bowers.
