THE Stihl Shop Roodogs secured their first points of the McDonald’s T20 competition with a heart-stopping last ball victory over the Phones R Us Blues on Saturday.
With the Roodogs needing eight runs off the final Cameron Cook over for victory, Josh Waldron (18 not out) and skipper Kade Benfield (14 not out) found the gaps to have the scores tied with just one ball remaining.
Looking to force a super over, Cook found the outside edge of Benfield’s bat, only to see the catch by wicket keeper and first-gamer Kynan Laursen go to ground.
The Roodogs scampered through for the match-winning run.
It was a disappointing end for the Blues, who started the game with a 57-run opening partnership between Ryan Hinton (41 off 35 balls) and Ben Hallam (15 off 47 balls).
The dismissal of Hinton in the 12th over swung momentum – despite a 13-ball, 23-run cameo from Stuart Patterson – due to some tight death bowling from Jordan King (0/22), Kyle Symons (0/6 off one over) and Cassidy Sibley (0/17).
The Roodogs’ reply got off to a slow and shaky start, with Cook dismissing Symons in the third over for just one.
That left the top order of Mitch Seton-Stewart (36), Ben Shepherd (12) and Ayden Symons (16) to resurrect the innings, before the late heroics of Waldron and Benfield.
Swans v Demons
THE Beverford Tavern Demons scored a comfortable seven-wicket win over the Tyrell Cricket Swans.
Batting first, the Swans struggled to find any rhythm, consistently losing wickets as the Demons bowlers executed a tight line-and-length plan to perfection.
Alan Hatcher (16 runs off 12 balls) was the only threat at the top of the order for the Swans, with Sebastian Linssen (19 off 31) and Jacob Hatcher (25 off 19) the only others to reach double figures.
Demons spearhead Joel Walsh was the star with the ball, taking 3/16, while economical spells from Charlie Boulton (1/5 off three overs), Ethan Curran (1/12) and Jake Haynes (1/7 off two overs) heaped pressure through the middle overs.
There was a nervous start in the reply, with Walsh holing out in the deep off the bowling of Ian Schodde in the opening over, leaving the visitors in trouble early at 1/6.
That would be the closest the Swans would get to victory however, with Boulton steadying the ship with an unbeaten 58 off 38 balls, guiding the Demons to their 84-run target with nine overs still to spare.
Wandella v Saints
IT was a one man show when the WDEA Works Saints’ Jake Foster made an absolute mess of the Autopro Wandella bowling attack in his team’s run-chase.
Foster smashed an unbeaten 68 at the top of the order from just 29 balls, including six fours and an incredible six sixes – relegating the usually aggressive Bailey Codling (14 off nine balls) to play second fiddle.
With Foster creaming the ball to all parts of the ground, the Saints easily chased down Wandella’s total of 91 in just 5.4 overs at an incredible run rate of over 15 runs per over.
The performance of the Saints bowling attack set up the victory, restricting Wandella to just 5/91 from their full 20 overs, with Charlie King (1/11) and Robin Sebastian (1/13) the pick of the bowlers – and Ethan McKnight (22 not out) and Daniel Higgs (22) the best for the batting side.
Tigers v Swans
AFTER having the bye in the afternoon’s first game, the Pizza Kitchen Tigers produced a commanding 34-run victory against a tired and lacklustre Swans.
Batting first, Tigers openers Glenn Violi (67) and Cooper Fox (41) linked up for an 85-run stand as they toyed with a Swans side that lacked intensity in the field.
Losing star spinner Ian Schodde to a leg concern early in the innings forced the Swans to turn to secondary bowling options Jacob Hatcher (1/31) and Shane Roberts (1/29 from three overs).
Fox produced the highlight of the match, depositing Roberts over the Showgrounds grandstand with a six hit more than 100 metres.
A target of 158 was always going to be too much for an out-of-form Swans top order against a quality Tigers bowling attack.
When Guri Singh (3/7) knocked Alan Hatcher’s stumps over first ball, any chance of a resurrection seemed to evaporate.
One positive of the day for the Swans was the emergence of youngster Jacob Hatcher (32), who backed up his earlier form and paired with Sebastian Linssen (30) and coach Nathan Spicer (21) to provide some middle-order resistance.
Saints v Blues
THE Saints continued their unbeaten start to the season, and put themselves in the box seat for consecutive T20 titles, claiming a comfortable 66-run win over the Blues.
Meanwhile, the Blues – without a win from their three starts – have effectively been ruled out of the running for the grand final.
Jake Foster was promptly dismissed for a four-ball duck in the opening over from Cameron Cook.
It mattered little however, as Jack Shannahan took up the running for the home side, clubbing an unbeaten 78 off just 53 balls to guide the Saints to a very competitive 6/151.
Bailey Codling (20) and Connor Power (23 not out) were also strong contributors.
The Blues’ run chase never got going, as wicket losses were early and constant.
Brenton Caldwell (41 not out) was the only batsman to offer any real resistance, with Saints skipper Nathaniel Holmes-Brown the chief destroyer restricting the Blues to just 7/85 in reply.
Demons v Wandella
THE Demons kept their grand final hopes alive with a hard-fought 24-run win over Wandella.
Batting first, the Demons were in some early bother with their top order of Joel Walsh (11), Charlie Boulton (10) and Toby O’Grady (2) all back in the shed within the first six overs for just 28 runs.
From there, Dean Harrop (70 runs from 47 balls) helped put on an unbeaten 130-run stand for the fourth wicket and guide the Demons to a competitive total of 158.
With Wandella needing to go hard from the first ball, their batsman certainly made a game of it.
Kaine O’Connell (61 not out) carried his bat and gave his team a sniff of victory in helping to put on a 90-run partnership for the third wicket with skipper Greg Dickson.
Try as they might, it wasn’t to be, falling 24 runs short thanks to some tight death bowling from Joel Walsh (0/19) and Jake Haynes (0/23 from three overs).
ROUND 3 RESULTS
Phones R Us Blues 4-108 (Ryan Hinton 41, Stuart Patterson 23, Josh Waldron 2-21) lost to Stihl Shop Roodogs 4-109 (Mitch Seton-Stewart 36, Cameron Cook 2-20)
Tyrell Cricket Swans 9-83 (Jacob Hatcher 25, Joel Walsh 3-16) lost to Beverford Tavern Demons 3-84 (Charlie Boulton 58*)
Autopro Wandella 5-91 (Ethan McKnight 22*, Daniel Higgs 22) lost to WDEA Works Saints 0-92 (Jake Foster 68*)
ROUND 1 RESULTS
Pizza Kitchen Tigers 4-157 (Glenn Violi 67*, Cooper Fox 41, Dylan Smythe 35*) d Tyrell Cricket Swans 8-123 (Jacob Hatcher 32, Sebastian Linssen 30, Nathan Spicer 21, Guri Singh 3-7, Glenn Violi 2-15)
WDEA Works Saints 6-151 (Jack Shannahan 78*, Connor Power 23*, Bailey Codling 20, Cameron Cook 2-18, James Downing 2-37) d Phones R Us Blues 7-85 (Brenton Caldwell 41*, Nathaniel Holmes-Brown 3-16, Charlie King 2-26)
Beverford Tavern Demons 3-158 (Dean Harrop 70*, Shane Fleming 54*, Bohden McKnight 2-24) d Autopro Wandella 2-134 (Kaine O’Connell 61*, Greg Dickson 54*)
