AROUND THE GROUNDS...
Foster
FOSTER was defeated by Kilcunda-Bass in a one-day match in A1 on Saturday.
Playing at the Bass Recreation Reserve, the home side won the toss and chose to bat.
After losing Jaydan Tregear early at the hands of Foster bowler Luke Rooker, Bass dominated at the crease with Robert Wallace making 28 runs, Gregory Miller 35 and Steven Oates 41.
The pick of the batsmen for the day was Bass captain Matthew Grayson with 93 runs.
Mitchell Allott was Foster’s star bowler with two wickets, and the remaining wickets were shared between Rooker, Max Johnston, Andrew Pattie, Khy Davy and Brad Cripps.
Kilcunda-Bass was set to defend 7/250.
Mitchell Jones had Foster off to a strong start with 62 runs, but the team lost a few early wickets at the hands of Bass bowlers Ryan Brown and Jackson Baker.
Sixty-two was the top score for Foster, but Johnston also added 27 runs. Foster conceded defeat with 8/149.
Foster is now set to play Glen Alvie in the T20 match before the Christmas break.
Glen Alvie
GLEN Alvie’s C2 division secured a victory over Leongatha Town at Scorpion Park on Saturday.
Glen Alvie won the toss and chose to bowl.
Karl Aeschlimann opened for Town and delivered a great performance with 66 runs.
He had a successful partnership with top scorer Jack Aeschlimann, who added 85 runs to the tally.
However, Town ran into trouble through the bottom half of the order, as three ducks were taken by Glen Alvie bowlers Charlie Andersen and Nate Luff.
Pieter Loos was the pick of Glen Alvie’s bowlers, taking 4/34.
Glen Alvie was chasing 10/207.
Kent and Charlie Andersen opened for Glen Alvie, but were both bowled for ducks by Poly Joseph Kallookkaran and Jack Aeschlimann, respectively.
Darcy Tiziani steadied the ship with 74 runs, and captain Ian Thorn and Owen Luff added 25 and 36 runs respectively.
For Town, Kallookkaran and Melvin Mathew Kezhuvanthanam took three wickets each.
Glen Alvie won the day with a score of 8/215.
Glen Alvie will take on Nyora in next week’s T20 match.
The Imperials
THE Imperials made it onto the board with a win against MDU in B2.
After losing the toss, the Imperials were sent into bat first and managed to post a score of 156.
Jaxon Hayes, in his first game for the season, made the biggest impact on the scoreboard with 68 runs.
Andrew Meyer made 25 runs, and Cameron Bruce and captain Sam Vagg contributed 20 each.
The Imperials fell away towards the end, losing wickets to MDU bowler Steve Arnup.
“It was looking like we were heading towards 180, but the MDU bowlers did well to keep us to 156,” Imps president Kristina Gray said.
“Cameron Bruce opened our bowling and answered with some early wickets.”
Bruce dismissed the top three bats for MDU. A partnership got going between Max
Murray and captain Scott Browne, but by the halfway mark, five of MDU’s wickets had been claimed.
Callum McCaughan stepped up late in the game and was aggressive with the bat, top scoring with 40*.
However, James Jeffery, Isaac Bolge in his first game after injury, and last-minute inclusion Martin Reidy bowled well to get the Imperials over the line.
“It was a much-needed win. We bowled well and were lucky to get the last four wickets or so fairly cheaply,” Gray said.
B2 will play a T20 match against Koonwarra/LRSL this Saturday.
The Imperials will be looking to go into this match with a bit of momentum and confidence in hopes of securing another win before the break.
A1 will have the bye.
Inverloch
INVERLOCH had a good win against Leongatha Town to secure the fourth spot on the ladder.
Strong winds impacted the game at Leongatha’s Scorpion Park, and playing on a soft pitch allowed Inverloch to bowl out Town for 111.
Ron Abeysinghe was the pick of Inverloch’s bowlers, taking 4/6 against his former club.
With the bat, Riley Harris opened well and made 39 runs and 21* to Walter Taberner had Inverloch on the road to victory.
“We’re definitely heading in the right direction at fourth on the ladder. We’ve got a tough game next week as we’ll be going up against the top of the ladder in the T20 match,” Inverloch senior coach Dylan Clark said.
“If we can pinch a win there, it will give us the momentum to win a few more games in the new year.”
Kilcunda Bass
KILCUNDA Bass A2 delivered an all-round performance to comfortably defeat Foster by 101 runs.
Batting first, Kilcunda Bass posted a strong 7/250 from 40 overs.
Opener Robert Wallace (28) started well whilst Matthew Grayson anchored the innings with 93 off 79 balls, striking 14 boundaries.
Valuable contributions from Gregory Miller (35) and a run-a-ball 41 from Steven
Oates ensured the scoreboard kept ticking along as the pressure stayed firmly on the visitors.
In reply, Foster never truly recovered from early setbacks and was restricted to 8/149.
Mitchell Jones (62) led their innings and had great support from young gun Max Johnston (27).
Ryan Brown led the attack superbly with 2/17 off eight overs, while Matthew Grayson backed up his batting effort with 2/17 of his own.
Regular wickets prevented any sustained partnerships, and Foster’s innings fell short of the target.
Kilcunda Bass will be on the road next week, facing Korumburra and will look to take another win heading into the Christmas break.
Kilcunda Bass went down to Nyora by eight wickets after making 6/130 batting first in B Grade.
Alister McBride top-scored with 42, with contributions from Brett Joseph (17) and Vijai Kumar Gopal (19), but the innings lacked a strong finish.
A great catch from James Papworth and strong fielding efforts from young gun Cruz Bettles couldn’t stem the flow of runs with Nyora chasing down the target after 28 overs.
Bass will look to regroup and get back to winning ways in next week’s T20 against Glen Alvie at home.
Koonwarra L/RSL
TWO undefeated teams went head-to-head in A2 on Saturday, but Nyora was the one to come out on top.
Playing in a one-day match at the Nyora Recreation Reserve, the Cougars won the toss and chose to bat.
After a few wickets were lost at the hands of Nyora bowler Reece Cordeux, Tanuj Namalge and captain Kayden Scrimshaw combined well to make 35 and 21 runs respectively.
Captain Callum Buckland made 23 runs, and tailenders James Rushton and Jason Kennedy each added 32 runs.
Nick Arnup finished off the innings with 22*.
For Nyora, the top bowler was Aaron Thompson, who took 3/21.
Koonwarra L/RSL was tasked with defending 10/198.
Nyora was off to a slow start as Arnup dismissed the openers, but Myles Cordeux (22) and Jy Hull (48) kept Nyora in the game.
Aaron Kaddatz ensured a victory for Nyora with 46 runs.
For Koonwarra L/RSL, Arnup and Kennedy were the best bowlers with two wickets each.
Nyora won with a score of 8/201.
This was Koonwarra L/RSL’s last game before the Christmas break, as A2 will have the bye this week.
B Grade will play MDU and C2 will play OMK.
Korumburra
WITH last week losing most of the day with rain, day two kicked off with Glen Alvie starting at 2/39 in the A2 match.
Tight bowling from the Cobras kept the runs in check with Glen Alvie finishing its innings at the agreed overs nine down. Skipper Harry McNeill 4/32 of 15, Jacob Whtieside 3/51 of 21, Rueben Foster 1/17 of 10 and Levi Gooch 1/16 off four did the damage with the ball.
The Cobras’ innings kicked off with a rocky start before Rumesh Rangana 60 off 53 with 10 fours and a six, and Jacob Whiteside 38* of 85 in an outstanding all-round game settled in to guide them towards the win.
Late cameos from Jason Richards 13 off 36 balls and Harry McNeill 13* of 20 balls brought the win home.
In B Grade, Town batted first in a one-day game due to last week’s washout to post the big total of 187, with wickets hard to come by.
Aaron Damon, Liam Dole, Owen Maskell and Tyler Dole each picking up a wicket, having some good tight periods with the ball.
Following the break, the Cobras kicked off the run chase but lost three early wickets before Damon 33 with three fours and a six and Tyler Dole 28 with three fours steadied the ship with solid partnership with Maskell 14* seeing the innings through to the close.
Korumburra batted first in C Grade with all Trevor, Matt and Nathan Allen all taking the field together for the first time in the side.
The top order all had starts but no one went on to post a big score before Tim Morrison in career best form took control through the middle order with 28 of 36 balls and four fours with great support from Tom Sorrell 25 of 35 and two fours and Troy Shepherdson channelling some inner bazzball, finishing the innings off with 28 off 19 balls and three fours to complete the innings with a big total to defend.
MDU’s innings was never able to get momentum with the Cobras bowling attack well in control.
Sorrell 2/10 of 7, Pat Beadel 2/14 of 5, Nathan Allen 1/9 of 7, Charlie Carew 1/7 off five and Troy Shepherdson 1/5 off four all bowling tight with great effect, bowling the side to victory.
Leongatha Town
SEVERAL Town players made solid starts, but a steady fall of wickets prevented the innings from building momentum in A1.
The side was eventually dismissed for 111 off 24 overs.
Jack Hume top-scored with a composed 30, well supported by Rory Gilliatte (28) and Seb Kyle (22).
With the ball, Town made a positive start, claiming early wickets to put Inverloch under pressure.
However, Inverloch consolidated and went on to chase down the target in 27 overs.
Archie Fixter led the attack with 2/15, while Jack Hume (2/42) and Madura Madusanka (1/9) also contributed.
Town travelled to Korumburra to come away with a strong first win of the season, built on solid contributions from the club’s senior players in B Grade.
At the top of the order, Mark Hardy set the tone with a composed 36, while support came from Pandu Jayasinghe (34), Luke Bowman (26), Matt Davies (15) and Alex Aeschlimann (24).
Captain Col Bruce anchored the innings with an excellent unbeaten 40.
Town posted a competitive total built on depth and consistency.
With the ball, the workload was shared evenly across the attack, keeping
Korumburra under pressure throughout the innings. Hugh Livingstone led the way with 2/13, while Matt Davies (2/16) backed up his batting effort with the ball, including a sharp caught-and-bowled from his eight overs.
Lachy Gill (1/10) and Pandu Jayasinghe (1/16) also chipped in as Town secured a well-rounded team victory.
Batting first, Town opened with Karl Aeschlimann and Harvey Aeschlimann in C Grade.
The early loss of Harvey brought Jack Aeschlimann to the crease, and the pair combined for a strong partnership that set the tone for the innings.
Karl produced an excellent knock of 66, while Jack went on to top-score with a superb 85.
Further contributions came from Melvin Kezhuvanthanam (18) and Ray Edwards (11), as Town posted a competitive total of 207, all out off 30 overs.
With the ball, Town made an encouraging start by claiming two early wickets, but Glen Alvie responded strongly and kept pace with the required run rate. Poly Joseph (3/28 off 7 overs) and Melvin Kezhuvanthanam (3/27 off seven) led the bowling effort and kept Town in the contest right to the end.
In a thrilling finish, the match came down to the final over, with Glen Alvie narrowly snatching victory to finish 8/215 off 35 overs.
MDU
MDU was defeated by the Imperials in a one-day match in B2 on Saturday.
Playing at Leongatha’s East Campus, MDU won the toss and chose to bowl.
Steve Arnup took 4/12 off three, Scott Browne took 2/19 off eight, and Alex Battersby took 1/22 off five.
The Imperials had MDU chasing 9/156.
In reply, MDU fell short, being bowled out for 121.
Callum McCaughan was the pick off the batsmen, making 40* off 45, Max Murray made 31 off 41, and Browne made 27 off four.
With one round to go before the Christmas break, MDU’s B Grade side will be Koonwarra L/RSL in a T20 match.
On the ladder, Koonwarra L/RSL and MDU are sitting third and fourth on the ladder, respectively, so it is set to be a competitive match-up.
Nerrena
OMK was unable to get the runs it needed to defeat Nerrena in A1 on Saturday.
Picking up from last week, Nerrena went into bat 34 overs with Mitchell Clark and Tadgh Gannon still at the crease.
Tadgh went out cheaply and captain Tom Cameron went into bat with Clark, putting on 50.
Cameron added 30 runs to the score before he was dismissed, which saw Eamon Berryman at the crease in his debut A Grade match.
Clark stayed in until he reached 108, and tailenders Jarrod Hoy and Tim Wightman combined to put on 70.
OMK was chasing 278 and needed to do it in 42 overs.
The Diggers lost a wicket early when Archie Gannon bowled Clayton Quaife in the first over.
It was looking like OMK might make it over the line with Jugraj Singh, Ethan Lamers, captain Koby Brann and Paul Fermanis making 23, 73, 67 and 68 runs respectively.
Gannon came back in and bowled Brann at 4/214.
Hoy also bowled again, taking out a couple of wickets to slow the run rate.
In C Grade, Nerrena played Kilcunda-Bass and secured the win.
The Red Caps were unable to get their first wicket until Kilcunda-Bass had already reached 65.
Christos Marinou then took two wickets, and the Sharks were 2/85.
Adam Miller and Joel Huckett had a good partnership to keep Kilcunda-Bass in it, and the Sharks reached 4/172.
Nerrena was in strife early but managed to steady the ship after the score had reached 4/37.
Rohan Baudinette and Ben Croatto put on 50 and after Baudinette was dismissed, Nick Tucker added 34 runs.
Croatto made 102*, getting Nerrena over the line.
Nerrena is sitting comfortably on the ladder across the board heading into the Christmas break.
“A Grade is equal second, B Grade is third and C Grade is sitting fourth as we head into the last T20 match before Christmas. Everyone is looking good, and we are hoping to see more numbers after Christmas,” Nerrena president Zack Trease said.
Nerrena will play in a double header at Leongatha’s Scorpion Park this Saturday.
A Grade will play first against Town, after which Town’s B Grade will play Inverloch.
Nyora
NYORA remains undefeated after coming up against second-placed Koonwarra L/RSL on Saturday.
Playing in a one-day match after last week’s washout, the heavy hitters of A Grade faced off to see which team would continue its winning streak.
“It was a pretty good game of cricket, and we won with four overs to spare,” Nyora’s Adam White said.
The pick of Nyora’s bowlers was Aaron Thompson, taking 3/21, and Jy Hull was the top batsman with 48 runs.
Tailender Aaron Kaddatz ensured Nyora got the runs it needed, finishing the game with 46*.
“We still have a T20 to play in Meeniyan, but we will be looking to go into the Christmas break undefeated. You can’t ask for me,” White said.
“Hopefully we can keep it up through the second half.”
B Grade had a good win over Kilcunda Bass in another top-of-the-table clash.
“B Grade played very well. It was the best game they’ve played all year,” White said.
“They kept Kilcunda Bass to 130 and managed to pass that score with only two down in just 28 overs. We hope to see this form with the bat and the ball continue in the new year.”
Nyora is looking forward to its Christmas break up this Saturday after the T20 and, looking ahead into 2026, is planning for its Pink Stumps Day on February 14.
