IT WAS a case of two out of three ain’t bad for the Mallee Murray Bulls on Sunday.
The cricket region’s representative outfit opened its summer campaigns in under 18, under 16 and under 14 age groups, claiming victory in under 18 and 14.
All three took on the Western Waves in round one of pathway championships, with the under 18s setting a reasonable total of 217 from 50 overs.
Western Waves got off to a great start and looked likely to record a first up win at Horsham City Oval, with the score on 3/181.
But the Bulls tightened in the field and with the ball to spark a remarkable batting collapse that saw the Waves wave goodbye to the contest, losing six wickets for just 30 runs and falling an agonising three runs short in the last over of play.
Incredibly, the Bulls’ fielding sparked four run-outs in the Waves’ innings, with Swan Hill-based players Matt Smith and Trent Thompson each taking a wicket.
Cricket Victoria Mallee Murray manager Andrew Farlie said the win represented one of the best team performances he’d seen.
“It was an excellent come-from-behind win in the under 18s, and one of the best team performances that I’ve been involved with,” he said.
“There were solid contributions from many with the bat including Jayden Zanoni (47), and then Aiden Calarco (3/24) was outstanding with the ball on a dying wicket.”
Farlie said the Bulls’ fielding had been noteworthy.
“All round we were fantastic in the field, effecting four run-outs in the last three overs to restrict the Western Waves to 9/214 chasing our 8/217,” he said.
In the under 16s game, the Western Waves proved too strong all round.
After being set a target of 267, the Bulls struggled to be all out for 139 inside 40 overs.
Jonah Wright was the only player to offer any real resistance with the bat for the Bulls, managing 43 off 50 balls.
Farlie said bowling had been a key area to let the Bulls down.
“Poor direction in the bowling cost dearly with 30 wides being offered,” he said.
The under 14s enjoyed a winning start to the series, with a 75 run win.
“Outstanding batting from Kayden Cullinan (83) included 4 sixes and 6 fours and together with an even performance in the field the boys recorded a dominant win,” Farlie said.
He described the overall result as “excellent”.
The Bulls’ teams head to Melbourne next month for the next round of matches in the pathway series.
