SWAN HILL DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATIONROUND 6 & 7 MATCH REPORTS
St.Mary’s-Tyntynder and Nyah District will meet in the Kookaburra Cup Grand Final next Friday night under lights at the Showgrounds after a drama filled weekend of SHDCA action. The Demons needed to win both of their games and make up a considerable percentage difference to Woorinen in order to go through to their clubs 16th Kookaburra Cup decider, while an understrength St.Mary’s-Tyntynder only needed to win one of their two matches to qualify, which they duly did in beating RSL on Saturday afternoon.Unfortunately, Woorinen were the unlucky side to miss out. After beating Wandella on Saturday, the Tigers could only watch on the following day, with the bye meaning their fate was at the mercy of the Nyah District and RSL match-up, with the Demons getting home in a nail-biter.
ROUND 6WOORINEN 10-166 defeated WANDELLA 10-147
The ball dominated the bat at Woorinen on Saturday, with both Woorinen and Wandella being bowled out in pursuit of victory – and in attempting to keep their Kookaburra Cup Grand Final hopes alive.The Tigers won the toss and batted first, with Mitch Uhlhorn doing the scoring early for the home side with 44 runs at first drop.With three wickets each to Logan Keighran and Bohden McKnight, Woorinen were staring down the barrel of a sub-par score. That was until veteran Dean Morpeth came to the crease and smashed an unbeaten 56 off just 33 balls to lift his side up to a challenging 166. Morpeth’s innings was all the more remarkable considering it was his first hit for season 2021-22 and although he is one of the competitions best batsmen, his late appearance will certainly add an extra spring in the step of his Tigers teammates for the remainder of the home-and-away season.In reply, the Bombers were unable to build a significant partnership through the early stages of their innings. Every time they started to settle, the Woorinen bowlers would find that breakthrough to keep Wandella on the back foot.With the score at 8 for 87, the game looked dead and buried – however, Luke Murray had other ideas and together with Logan Keighran, they set about giving the home side a scare. A 55-run partnership for the ninth wicket got Wandella back in the contest, but with the balls remaining ticking away, Murray perished – and so to did the Bombers chances, as they were eventually bowled out 19-runs short.
NYAH DISTRICT 2-91 defeated ULTIMA-TUF 10-90
Nyah District continued Ultima-TUF’s season of pain, recording an eight wicket win over the winless Roodogs at Nyah on Saturday.The Demons were well served by youngsters Drew Lloyd and Mackie Rogers, with both bowlers claiming three wicket hauls to bowl Ultima-TUF out for just 90 runs in the 27th over.The Roodogs scorecard read like a phone number, with every player, other than Josh Waldron, posting single figure scores. Waldron, who opened the batting, was the only shining light, scoring an impressive 55, as none of his teammates were able to bat with him for any length of time.Nyah District were needing to win, and win well, to boost their percentage and stay in the hunt for the Kookaburra Cup Final – and that’s exactly what they did, getting the runs required just two wickets down and with plenty of overs up their sleeve.Charlie Boulton was the mainstay for the Demons, scoring 48 not out opening the batting to guide his team home to a comfortable victory and kick start their weekend celebrations.
ST.MARY’S-TYNTYNDER 7-132 defeated RSL 9-131
An understrength St.Mary’s-Tyntynder continued their undefeated season on Saturday afternoon, after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against RSL.Batting first, the Blues posted a competitive 9 for 131, with Ryan Hinton (27) and Ben Hallam (20) getting the visitors off to the perfect start with a quick fire 49-run opening stand. That was until Bailey Talbot got his team back in the game, removing both openers within a couple of overs.While RSL continued to tick the scoreboard over, they were unable to find the big partnership to take their innings beyond the par score that would be required to beat the Saints. Cliff Ryan, who was playing his first A Grade game with son Koben, was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 25.St.Mary’s, who were missing seven of their regular A Grade line-up, quickly found themselves in trouble through the early stages of the run chase – and at one point found themselves five wickets down for just 49 runs.Frank Violi, playing his first A Grade match for the season, then turned the game on its head, combining with Nathaniel Holmes-Brown for 35 run sixth wicket partnership. Holmes-Brown departed with the score at 84, and was quickly followed by Koben Ryan, however Violi remained and set about guiding the Saints home with a 40-run eighth wicket partnership with Talbot.Violi would finish the game with an unbeaten 49, hitting the winning runs with just four balls remaining in the match, with St.Mary’s not only claiming the six points, but also securing the first spot in the Kookaburra Cup Grand Final in a fortnight’s time. ROUND 7ULTIMA-TUF 5-186 defeated SWAN HILL 9-88
Ultima-TUF got the dreaded monkey off their backs on Sunday, with a 98-run win over Swan Hill.The Roodogs middle order finally clicked, with Kyle Symons innings of 62 runs from 106 balls seeing him playing the lead hand. Skipper Kade Benfield chipped in with 25 runs at number four, while Mitch Seton-Stewart contributed a run a-ball 44 at the end of the innings, to see Ultima-TUF compile a more than competitive 5 for 186.The Swans, in an attempt to break their run of losses, used nine bowlers, with Ian Schodde the best of them, taking three wickets for 27 off of his eight overs.Swan Hill’s run chase never really got going, with only Jacob Hatcher (17), Conor McCreesh (17) and Alan Hatcher (15) reaching double figures, with the Swan’s scoring just 88 runs from their 40 overs for the loss of nine wickets.Sam Hinton’s return to the A Grade side also saw him register the best bowling figures for the Roodogs, taking 2 for 10 from seven overs.
WANDELLA 10-207 defeated ST.MARY’S-TYNTYNDER 10-183
Wandella caused the upset of the weekend, handing St.Mary’s-Tyntynder their first loss of season 2021-22 on Sunday afternoon at Riverside Park.Winning the toss and batting first, the Bombers amassed 207 runs from their forty overs. A fifty-run opening partnership between Laine Gibbons (29) and Patrick Oliver (21) kick started their innings, while 38 runs from in-form captain Greg Dickson and lower order contributions from Luke Murray (26) and Rohan Oliver (23) saw the scoreboard continually tick over.The Saints innings on the other hand didn’t get off to the best of starts, losing both Charlie King (0) and Bailey Codling (2) with the score at just six runs.Jake Foster (51) and Riley Daniels (33) set about the rescue mission, putting together a 61-run partnership for the third wicket, until Foster hit a return catch to Bohden McKnight. Daniels and Wes Harrison (16) continued to push the score along until Ethan McKnight slipped one through the defence of Daniels with the score on 105.From there, the run rate only climbed on the Saints – and with the constant loss of wickets, as well as the return of Ryan Barnes (4-43 off 8 overs) into the attack, the visitors were eventually dismissed for 183 – 24 runs short of their target.
RSL 10-129 lost to NYAH DISTRICT 8-133
They made hard work of it, but the Demons eventually got the vital six points they needed to send them through to the Kookaburra Cup decider with a heart stopping four run win over RSL at North Park.Batting first, the Demons were in all sorts of trouble at 5 for 30 at the halfway point of their innings. The hero of the day once again was Charlie Boulton, who capped off a remarkable weekend with the willow by blasting 62 runs from the top of the order, to catapult his team to a defendable target of 133.Pat Caldwell was his usual economical self, taking three wickets for the Blues, while Ben Hallam also contributed two wickets for the home side.In reply, RSL started steadily, with Ryan Hinton (8) and Ben Hallam (12) nudging the score along to 15 before Hinton edged one through to Ben Shadbolt at second slip. Hallam departed not long after, giving Drew Lloyd his second wicket, which brought Brenton Caldwell and Oscar Hier to the crease.Caldwell and Hier then put the Demon bowlers to the sword, putting together a 64-run partnership and giving their team the upper hand. Just as the Blues had the game at their mercy, Caldwell was gone for 40, with Cooper Andrews picking up the vital breakthrough for Nyah District.With Charlie Boulton and Ben Shadbolt slowing the run rate, the game began to tighten. RSL still held the upper hand until Shadbolt (4-26 off eight overs) and Mackie Rogers (3-31 off 7.5 overs) broke the game open, with the Blues losing their last seven wickets for just 20 runs when victory was within sight.While the win sent Nyah District through to the one-day decider, the game could also have serious ramifications for RSL, with the Blues now finding themselves nine points outside the top four.
