WOORINEN have come from the clouds to secure a home semi-final against Wandella this weekend, after defeating the Bombers by three wickets on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers’ win lifted them from fourth, leapfrogging both Wandella and St Mary’s Tyntynder into second, after the Saints were unable to defend their total of 134 against RSL.
The win also sees last year’s premiers enter the finals as one of the in-form teams, with three wins from their last four matches putting them in the perfect position for a tilt at back-to-back titles. Woorinen captain Jason Mangiameli spoke with The Guardian following his team’s victory at the weekend and was quickly looking forward to another final’s appearance.
“It was a good lead-up for us as we head into this weekend – it’s always good to play in a high-pressure game and get over the line, it’s always a good preparation,” Mangiameli said.
“There were a few scenarios that could have happened prior to the weekend, but we’ve ended up with the home final which is good, although it doesn’t guarantee you of anything really – it’s a cut-throat scenario now and it all comes down to the best team on the day.”
Overnight rain made batting difficult right across the competition, with 53 of a possible 60 wickets falling across all three SHDCA A Grade games on Saturday. While both matches in Swan Hill started on time, it was a different situation that faced Mangiameli and his team in Kerang.
“We didn’t get started until about 1.30pm (scheduled start time is 12.30pm) – it was a little bit wet to start with and at one point it was looking like we might not get on at all, but I think both teams were keen to play,” Mangiameli said.
“It was pretty tough to bat on, as the scores probably showed.”
Having won the toss, Woorinen had no hesitation in sending the home side in, with their decision paying immediate dividends after Guri Singh and Robert Rush combined to dismiss Wandella’s top three batsmen in Laine Gibbons, Brodey Farley and Bohden McKnight, all without scoring.
Singh certainly made use of the better bowling conditions, returning the remarkable figures of three for eight from 11 overs – which included an impressive seven maidens.
Not to be outdone, Stefan Mangiameli also had a day out with the ball, claiming the last five Bombers’ wickets, to also finish with five for 31 from 11.2 overs.
“It was Stef’s type of deck to be honest – he bowled well, as did Guri (Singh) early, but when Stef came into the attack, he just got the ball to pop and do a bit and he just kept bowling that consistent line and length,” Mangiameli said.
“He just let the pitch do the work for him and then when they tried to up the run rate, they were still finding it hard to score.
“Wandella probably had the harder of the conditions, having to bat on it first, but that’s cricket – I’m sure they would have sent us in if they had of won the toss too.”
With runs on the board, the Bombers would have still been confident of victory – however an early injury to in-form opening bowler Logan Keighran was not the start they were after. Keighran was only able to send down 7 balls for the afternoon before breaking down, with the Wandella spearhead not returning to the attack.
Wandella’s injury woes only got worse later in the day, with Ryan Barnes also going down with injury mid-over and failing to return. While it’s hoped that both opening bowlers will be fit for this weekend’s semi-final against the Tigers – it’s hardly the ideal preparation either.
While batting didn’t improve as the afternoon grew longer, the Tigers were still able to do enough to get the job done, reaching their target of 104 in the 43rd over and with three wickets still in hand.
“We didn’t take the run chase lightly because we saw how difficult the pitch was to bat on – even at the back end of our bowling innings it didn’t really improve too much,” Mangiameli said.
“We thought their score was about par to be honest – we got off to a good start, but then they started taking a few wickets and we just couldn’t really string another partnership together until Stef (Mangiameli) and ‘Morpy’ (Dean Morpeth) finished things off at the end.”
“Dean batted really well through those middle overs and just kept us in the game.”
While Woorinen needed to beat Wandella in order to move into the top two, they also required St Mary’s Tyntynder to falter in their game against RSL – which is how the afternoon panned out for the Saints.
Missing several key players, including Corey Daniels, Bailey Codling and Dom Violi, St Mary’s were unable to get the job done against their arch rivals, with the Saints failing to defend their total of 134. Jack Shannahan did his best to help his team to a defendable score, making a better than run a ball 72 – while Pat Caldwell saved his best for the last game of the season, taking four wickets.
Ryan Hinton’s 66 and Brenton Caldwell’s patient 37 proved to be the difference between the two sides, as the veteran Blues batsmen led their team to a season ending victory – despite the best efforts of Nathaniel Holmes-Brown, who bowled unchanged for 22 overs and ended with figures of three for 62.
In the final game of the round, ladder leaders Nyah District franked their top spot with a 16-run win over Ultima-TUF. Batting first, the Demons posted a challenging 123, with Mitch Grinham, Dean Harrop and Drew Lloyd all contributing scores in the 20s.
The Roodogs, whose hopes of an outright had already been extinguished, batted aggressively in an attempt to force a result – only to be dismissed for 107 with 13 overs still remaining. Cooper Andrews proved to be the destroyer for Nyah District, taking six for 31 – his best ever A Grade figures – while Drew Lloyd also found form ahead of this weekend’s semi-finals, taking three for 33 off 12 overs.
SHDCA A GRADE RESULTS – ROUND 13
WANDELLA 10-103 (Stefan Mangiameli 5-31, Guri Singh 3-8, Robert Rush 2-38) lost to WOORINEN 7-104 (Dean Morpeth 33*, Jason Mangiameli 28, Ethan McKnight 3-13, Toby Gray 2-23)
ST MARY’S TYNTYNDER 10-134 (Jack Shannahan 72, Pat Caldwell 4-35, Stuart McGregor 3-15) lost to RSL 6-135 (Ryan Hinton 66, Brenton Caldwell 37, Nathaniel Holmes-Brown 3-62, Austin McKerrow 2-44)
NYAH DISTRICT 10-123 (Drew Lloyd 25, Luke Doolan 3-16, Jordan King 3-18, Ben Shepherd 3-25) defeated ULTIMA-TUF 10-107 (Kyle Symons 29, Cooper Andrews 6-31, Drew Lloyd 3-33)
