ST Mary’s-Tyntynder continued their unbeaten start to the season with a comfortable 88-run win over rivals RSL at the weekend.
Despite a solid start with the ball, the Blues were quickly on the back foot, conceding 153 runs to the side with the best bowling attack in the competition and giving themselves an insurmountable task.
RSL went into the game without star all-rounder Brenton Caldwell – but the absence of one of their leading bowlers didn’t detract from the Blues’ start, with youngsters Jacob O’Meara (2/26 off eight overs) and Charlie Kingwill (1/49 off eight) combining with Cameron Cook (2/34 off seven) to have the Saints struggling early at 4/45.
Riley Daniels (17 from 68 balls) and Robin Sebastian (22 from 17 balls) began the rescue mission for the home side, putting on a 26-run fifth-wicket partnership before Sebastian went with the score on 71.
Skipper Nathaniel Holmes-Brown (25 from 34 balls) then joined Daniels and the pair added 22 runs before Daniels became the first of three wickets for Billy O’Meara (3/30 off eight).
Dom Violi (21 from 33 balls) then joined the party to continue St Mary’s-Tyntynder’s middle-order resurgence, with the Saints’ ninth wicket falling with the score on 127.
With youngsters Koben Ryan and Rylan Barnes at the crease, RSL were looking for a quick finish to the home side’s innings – however, Ryan (18 not out) and Barnes (7 not out) had other ideas, putting on a 26-run stand for the last wicket and giving the Saints a more-than-competitive 9/153 off of their 40 overs.
In reply, RSL lost their captain and the previous week’s saviour Ben Hallam without scoring. While Ryan Hinton (28 from 52 balls) was looking dangerous, his departure with the score on 35 brought about a collapse, with the visitors losing four wickets for just six runs as Dom Violi (3/10 off eight overs) tore through the Blues’ middle order.
It was all downhill from there. RSL lost their last nine wickets for 30 runs to be bundled out for just 65 in the 33rd over. Violi was the main destroyer, along with Hugh Thompson – who cleaned up the tail, taking 3/2 from 2.4 overs to end the match.
At Swan Hill Showgrounds, the 400th A Grade wicket for Swan Hill legend Alan Hatcher wasn’t enough for a depleted Swans to overcome Wandella, with the home side falling to their second loss in as many weeks.
It was the first game of the season for the Bombers, who survived a major scare to record a hard-fought two-wicket win.
Chasing a target of 94, the Bombers made hard work of it – but thanks to the efforts of Kaine O’Connell (29) and Ethan McKnight (24), the visitors managed to get home with almost 10 overs to spare.
With a below-par total and a couple of first-team bowlers missing, the Swans knew their only chance of victory was to attack hard early in the hope of taking 10 wickets.
Ian Schodde (5/28) did just that and proved he had made the jump to being one of the competition’s leading spinners, taking a second five-wicket haul in as many weeks.
The opening bowling partnership of Schodde and skipper Callan Noonan (1/13 from eight overs) is causing significant headaches for opposing batsmen, with the Bombers falling to 2/11, before a crucial 40-run third wicket partnership between O’Connell and Bohden McKnight (10) steadied the ship.
Finger spinner Schodde appeared to seriously hurt his calf in his final over, having to come out of the attack with a ball to spare in his spell. The left-armer is averaging 6.40 and the Swans will definitely need him if they are to beat Woorinen this weekend.
Momentum swung again just before drinks, with the Bombers losing three wickets for just three runs in a blitz by the Swans. However, any hope the Swans seemed to have was quashed when leg-spinner Connor McCreesh was taken to the cleaners by McKnight after the break. With the Bombers requiring 13 runs with five wickets in hand, an economical spell from Hatcher (1/6 from six overs) breathed life back into the contest.
Milan Hooper took his fourth catch of the day, but it wasn’t enough as Rohan Oliver guided one through the vacant slip cordon to ensure his side would have a happy, but long, drive home.
Earlier, a familiar poor batting performance cost the Swans victory, with captain-coach Nathan Spicer (39) the only Swan to make a score.
Tight spells from Daniel Higgs (0/6 off eight overs), McKnight (0/4 off five) and captain Ryan Barnes (3/22 off eight) choked the life out of the Swans.
Missing the bulk of their middle to lower order, failings at the top from Lachlan Edwards (2), Noonan (3), and Hatcher (11) decimated a Swans innings that never found any momentum.
While the Swans are now a team to be feared with the ball, there is still much work to do in the batting department.
Wandella will be delighted to begin their season with six points and will hope to continue that form line against RSL next weekend.
The Nyah Recreation Reserve was deemed unplayable after considerable rain late in the week and the other round 5 game, between Nyah District and Ultima-TUF, was abandoned. The Demons and Roodogs shared the points, but the draw left both clubs without a win this season and precariously placed in the Kookaburra Cup competition.
MATCH RESULTS
St Mary’s-Tyntynder 9/153 (40 overs) Nathaniel Holmes-Brown 25, Billy O’Meara 3/30, Jacob O’Meara 2/26, Cameron Cook 2/34 d RSL 65 (32.4 overs) Ryan Hinton 28, Hugh Thompson 3/2, Dom Violi 3/10, Charlie King 2/28.
Swan Hill 8/93 (40 overs) Nathan Spicer 39, Ryan Barnes 3/22, Bohden McKnight 2/26, Kyle Hodges 2/5 lost to Wandella 8/94 (30.3 overs) Kaine O’Connell 29, Ian Schodde 5/28.
Nyah District drew with Ultima-TUF (match abandoned)
