Ultima TUF vs Woorinen
WOORINEN has let an incredible opportunity slip after their upset loss to Ultima TUF on Saturday.
Heading into the final round of the Kookaburra Cup season knowing they had to win, and Nyah District do them a favour by beating Wandella to make the competitions Grand Final, the Tigers let themselves down in a game they’ll be ruing for a while.
The Demons did do them that favour, but they failed to capitalise in their 33-run loss to the Roos.
In a rare high-scoring contest at Alan Garden Reserve, the Roos posted a great total of 203.
It was a team effort – nobody scored above 37 but starts from the majority of their top eight ensured they had enough on the board.
Kyle Symons opened and top-scored with 37 before Dylan Smythe (3-32 off eight overs) dismissed him.
The Tigers lacked penetration without opening bowlers Robert Rush and Gurmander Singh, who were missed dearly.
However, they were able to pick up regular breakthroughs to have the Roos 4-98 at one stage.
A crucial 47-run partnership from Roos skipper Kade Benfield (26) and Mitchell Seton-Stewart (30) steadied the ship before Josh Waldron (23 off 20) and Jordan King (18 off 22) brought the firepower at the end of the innings.
Whilst Singh and Rush were big omissions for the Tigers, the loss of Cooper Fox at the top of the order was an even more important exclusion.
Fox has been one of the most damaging batsmen in the competition this season, and without him, the Tigers struggled to keep up with the required run rate as they batted their allotted 40 overs but only managed 9-170.
Much like the Roos, the top six all got starts reaching double figures but couldn’t find anyone to go on with the job, with Smythe top scoring on 31.
With a depleted lineup, the Tigers bottom order fell rather meekly.
The loss was the Tigers fourth in a row across all competitions, and they’ll need to get their house in order sooner rather than later.
Nyah District vs Wandella
Wandella will be counting their lucky stars after they stumbled their way into the Kookaburra Cup Grand Final.
A win over in form Nyah would have confirmed their spot in the final, but that never eventuated in their nine-wicket smashing by the Demons.
Thankfully for the Bombers, the Tigers didn’t uphold their end of the bargain, and we’ll be seeing Wandella taking on St Mary’s Tyntynder on Australia Day as they chase their first piece of silverware in the SHDCA since their induction to the competition last season.
They’ll need to improve dramatically in the next couple of weeks before the big dance if they are even to get close to a strong Saints lineup.
The Bombers finished the KC season with a 2-1 record with a bunch of draws due to the dramatic weather earlier in the season.
Their two victories were close against average opposition in Swan Hill and the Roos, and their big loss on the weekend shows they are still a while off the competition’s benchmarks.
There is hope for the Bombers, though, with skipper and star batsman Gregory Dickson missing the contest on the weekend.
Dickson should return for the final, and he’ll be keen to stamp himself as the premier batsman in the SHDCA on one of its biggest stages.
Without him, they were no match for the red-hot Demons.
A paltry total of 109 was never going to be enough to defend.
Rohan Oliver (27), Patrick Oliver (21) and Ethan McKnight (21) were the only ones to provide any form of stiff resistance against a Demons attack brimming with confidence.
Joel Walsh (4-10 off 7.2) starred with the ball this time in one of the better bowling performances of the season so far.
Skipper Ben Shadbolt kept it tight as usual, finishing with figures of 2-15 from his eight overs.
In reply, the Demons chased down 110 with ease.
Bohden McKnight (1-15 off 5.0) picked up the only wicket of the day for the Bombers when he disturbed Charlie Boulton’s (14) stumps.
The Demons got to their target with over 21 overs left, with Dean Harrop (42 not out) and Walsh (37 not out) continuing their impressive seasons.
They are clearly the form side in the SHDCA but will be ruing their slow start to the season, which saw them miss out on the KC Grand Final.
Swan Hill vs RSL
RSL will be breathing a sigh of relief after they recorded their first victory of the season as Swan Hill crashed back down to earth.
On the vast expanses of the Showgrounds, the Blues ran the Swans ragged under the blistering Mallee sun with captain Ben Hallam (56 not out of 140 balls) stone walling the Swans attack into submission.
His long vigil ensured the likes of Ryan Hinton (41 off 47) and Stuart Patterson (35 not out from 36 balls) could play the role of aggressors.
The Swans attack lacked cut-through on the Showgrounds road as RSL posted a total of 2-163 from their 40 overs.
For the first time in more than a season, the Swans scored over 100 in a non-T20 game, but it wasn’t enough.
They had their chances – all four top order batsman were left smarting after they recorded starts but fell in innocuous fashions – Both skipper Nathan Spicer (8) and Lachlan Edwards (17) fell to seasoned spinner Stuart McGregor (2-18 off eight overs) whilst Jake Hatcher (24) was run out.
Alan Hatcher (10) will be left feeling more hard done by, though, with Todd Day-Henery taking a blinder one-handed pluck to dismiss the Swans stalwart in his 300th A Grade game.
Callan Noonan (46) kept the Swans in the contest, but his dismissal from the bowling of James Downing (1-37 off eight overs) was the final nail in the coffin.
As has been the problem with the Swans for a while now, their lower order provided minimal resistance, with Hannes Diederiks (9) recording the highest score outside the top five.
With the pair facing off again this week, another win will give the Blues plenty of momentum to charge into the back half of their campaign.
For the Swans, the question remains can they get the job done in the longer formats?
They’ve proven they’re a good T20 outfit and are now more than competitive in the longer forms, but that doesn’t matter if you don’t get the six points.
