Around the grounds
Inverloch
THE Stingrays launched their A1 battle with Wonthaggi Club on the Inverloch turf last Saturday.
Inverloch lost the toss and Club chose to bat.
Club made a great start with Mitch Thomas and Alexander Geyer at the helm, making a quick getaway to a score of 0/35.
Two quick wickets gave Inverloch momentum, which allowed the fielding side to restrict Club to a score of 168.
“We were pretty happy with that. We aimed for a score fewer than 180,” Inverloch’s Dylan Clark said.
Harry Butcher bowled well to claim two wickets. Rhys Newman had a good spell at the start, dismissing Thomas before any more damage could be done.
Ron Abeysinghe was the standout, taking four wickets for the day.
Inverloch faced six overs to finish at 0/12 with Riley Harris (3*) and Cooper Newman (9*) at the crease.
The Stingrays congratulate the Stingettes for making the women’s grand final after a tight contest with Glen Alvie on Sunday.
Leongatha Town
A GRADE played host to Phillip Island at Scorpion Park on Saturday.
Town won the toss and chose to bat.
A couple of early wickets to Phillip Island bowler Timothy Niven hurt Town’s momentum, but Madura Madusanka and Sebastian Kyle stepped up to record 33 and 28 runs respectively.
Archie Fixter was the star of the show, making 75 runs.
Niven and Jobe Williams shared Phillip Island’s bowling honours with three wickets each.
Town was bowled out for 169 and Phillip Island faced 14 overs.
Lachlan Gill dismissed Brodie Johnston for a duck, and Max Arceo and Heath Womersley are at the crease with 5* and 8* respectively.
“Our A Grade has a good challenge on its hands next week,” Town president Cameron Dowling said.
B Grade struggled against Phillip Island and was all out for 91.
Ethan Smith managed 41 runs, but Phillip Island bowlers Kurt Lane and Aidan Williams significantly reduced the run rate.
Phillip Island made 5/108 off 27 overs and will chase an outright next week.
Pandukabhaya Jayasinghe took 3/36.
C Grade lost to Nyora at Scorpion Park.
Captain Alex Aeschlimann opened with 38 and Matt Craig made 46*.
Town made 9/178, which Nyora chased down 4/183 with Daniel Blackney (50*) and Keith Maclure (30*). Nijo Devassy took 3/45.
Wonthaggi Club
MIDWAY through round 12, Wonthaggi Club’s A Grade side is defending 168 against Inverloch.
Inverloch bowled extremely well and put on an excellent fielding performance.
Club had a couple of starts but couldn’t get anything going on the scoreboard.
The standout batsmen were Ryan and Jakeb Thomas, who made 37 and 38* respectively.
Club had an impressive day in B Grade, making 349 against Inverloch.
Gavin Britt and Ian Hughes had a great partnership, adding 85 and 51 runs.
Mark McCall top scored with 89 and Jai Williamson pushed the score to 349 with 51*.
In C1, Club chased down OMK’s score of 222 in the last over. Will Speed had a great run with 71* and Mitchell Davey contributed 41.
C2 played Inverloch but fell 24 runs short.
Inverloch batted well to record 211, with David Harris and Dean Cashin putting on a 100-run partnership.
Matt Sharp was the pick of Club’s bowlers with three wickets and captain Luke McGuirk made 85*.
McGuirk had a good partnership with Blake Ton who made 55 runs and continued on with Archie Dynes.
“Blake backed up his 50 runs in the juniors with another 55 runs in C2. He has been batting really well lately,” McGuirk said.
McGuirk said Club has had a strong season with all teams on top of the ladder except A Grade in second. The under 15s are also on top and the club is looking forward to finals.
Koonwarra/LRSL
A GRADE made the journey to Foster in its game against the Tigers.
The Cougars won the toss and elected to bowl first to set the tone.
Josh Thomas (0/29 off eight overs) bowled well to go wicketless.
Will Cashin (0/20 off five overs) started up the other end.
Louis Read (2/28 off eight overs) picked up a couple of scalps as did Isuru Darshana (2/24 off eight overs).
Jason Kennedy (1/45 off 16 overs) bowled a massive spell.
James “Jimmy” Rushton took the best figures with 4/37 off 17.1 overs as the Cougars bowled out the Tigers for 205 in 65.1 overs.
Callum Buckland and Kayden Scrimshaw saw out nine overs to survive until next week.
B Grade trekked to Nyora.
Blake Smith (1/27 off 11 overs) opened alongside Sajeswarman “Saj” Kaneshathasan (0/15 off four overs).
Ben Davison (4/39 off 16 overs) and Ryder Pedlow (3/23 off 10 overs) started firing. Cambell Riseley (1/19 off five overs) also picked up a wicket as they had them 7/92.
Nyora’s wicketkeeper Adam White dug in scoring 51 before Pedlow had his wicket lbw at 8/151.
Nyora was bowled out for 158 as Reggie Read (1/11 off 3.5 overs) picked up the last wicket.
Kevin Thorne (26*) and Colin McPhee (18) batted 12 overs. The Cougars resume at 1/49 chasing 159.
The Cougars faced Glen Alvie for third on the C2 ladder at The Dome.
Spencer Chawick (1/46 off four overs) struck early. Glenn “Paulie” Boxall (3/18 off five overs) opened from the other end.
Tyson Lund (1/35) and Shane Paterson (1/17) snagged a wicket each whilst Matt Boswell took the best figures with 4/11 as Glen Alvie was bowled for 145 in 23.4 overs. Darcy Hale made 74 off 41 balls.
The Boxall brothers opened the batting. Ash Boxall (14) and Glenn Boxall (67) led from the front as the Cougars chased down their total finishing 8/149. Brad Cocksedge (21) was the second top-scorer.
Korumburra
IT was a big week for the Cobras celebrating club stalwart Trevor Allen playing his 300th game in Cobras colours. A true Cobras legend.
This round also marked LDCA Recognition Round, with club great Darren Scott recognised for his outstanding service and contributions to the Cobras and cricket across the district.
A strong batting performance from the Cobras at Summerfield Oval in A Grade.
Tom Crocker made 22 off 35 balls (three fours) and Simeon F contributed 15 off 34 balls, setting up a good opening partnership.
Jacob Whiteside and Rumesh Rangana built a big fourth wicket partnership of 73.
Rumesh was dismissed after a well-made 50 off 60 balls including nine fours.
Levi Gooch joined Jacob and the pair added 43 runs before Levi was dismissed for 15 off 43 balls.
Jacob departed after a terrific innings-high 72 off 131 balls including nine fours.
Captain Harry McNeill brought the innings home with his first A Grade fifty, scoring 53 off 65 balls.
The Cobras took an early wicket in six overs to put MDU on the back foot heading into day two.
In B1, the young Cobra team was treated to a batting masterclass as a Nerrena veteran produced an aggressive 148* off 126 balls, allowing Nerrena to declare at tea.
Hudson Jefferis was the only wicket taker.
Phil Richards (24 off 82 balls, one four) and Robert Belvedere (23 off 96 balls, three fours) settled in and batted through the afternoon. Both have set themselves up for bigger innings next week.
In C Grade, the Cobras struggled early but Matt Patten and Troy Shepherson combined for a crucial 54-run partnership for the seventh wicket.
Matt played an excellent 36 off 32 balls (two fours, one six) while Troy provided support with 15* off 22 balls.
Peter Edwards (16), Trevor Allan (16) and Charlie Carew (13 off eight balls) also contributed.
Nerrena got away to a strong start with Darren Scott taking the only wicket as the Red Caps celebrated their 90th anniversary with a big win.
Nyora
A GRADE travelled to the Wonthaggi Recreation Reserve to take on Glen Alvie on Saturday.
Nyora won the toss and chose to bowl first on the challenging pitch.
Nyora bowled Glen Alvie out for 95. Jy Hull took 3/18.
Adam White said it was an even team performance across the board.
In reply, Nyora made 5/66 off 33 overs. Daniel Esler performed well at the top of the order with Myles Cordeux also putting on a good score. Luke Palmer was 16* at stumps continuing his excellent form.
B Grade made 158 against Koonwarra/LRSL. Adam White led the charge with 51.
Michael Lynch and Lincoln Brock made 16 and 15. The Cougars replied 1/49.
B Grade will focus on bowling well and taking early wickets to slow the Cougars this weekend.
C Grade recorded a win over Leongatha Town.
“Our best player on the day was Elijah Le Serve, who played a good all-round game. He took three wickets and made 25 with the bat,” Adam White said.
Travis White took his first wicket in 20 years.
Nyora hosts Pink Stumps Day this Saturday from 1pm with auctions, drag queen bingo and McGrath Foundation representatives.
MDU
MDU is battling Korumburra in a two-day A2 match at the Korumburra Recreation Reserve.
Korumburra won the toss and chose to bat.
Sembakuttige Chathura Lakshan claimed four wickets for MDU. Archie Casey took 3/59 and Mark Cantwell took two early wickets.
For Korumburra, vice captain Jacob Whiteside was the pick of the batsmen with 72 runs.
MDU is now chasing Korumburra’s score of 245.
MDU faced six overs to finish the day. Opening batsman Wayne Prosser was run out for a duck. Captain Mitch McGrath and Steve Arnup had made 9* and 6* at stumps.
Foster
FOSTER hosted Koonwarra/LRSL in the round 12 two-day A2 match on Saturday.
The Cougars won the toss and chose to send the Tigers into bat first.
Mitchell Jones and Luke Rooker opened the batting with a strong performance.
Jones made 54 runs before he was dismissed by Louis Read and Rooker contributed 30 before he was dismissed lbw by James Rushton.
A fill-in tailender finished off the innings with 26 runs.
Rushton was the standout for Koonwarra/LRSL, taking four wickets.
Foster was bowled out 10/205. The Tigers will defend their score this weekend.
Nerrena
WITH festivities in the air as the Red Caps celebrated their 90th anniversary, the B1 side put on a show against Korumburra.
Damien Symmons opened the batting and made an aggressive 148*.
Mitch Croatto also recorded 64*, which led Nerrena to declare 1/239 off 38 overs.
The single wicket was taken by Hudson Jefferis.
Korumburra opened its innings with Will Croatto taking two wickets for ducks.
Philip Richards and Robert Belvedere were at the crease at stumps with 24* and 23* respectively.
At the Poowong Recreation Reserve, C Grade defeated Korumburra in 25 overs for Chris Marinou’s 100th club game.
Tim Salmon took three wickets. He and Jack Donohue put early pressure on Korumburra’s batsmen.
Nerrena chased down 10/155 with Ben Croatto making 49 and captain Brian Gannon and Darren Curtis getting the job done with 94* and 13*.
The C Grade team made it back for the 90th anniversary celebration.
President Zack Trease, Dave Trotman and Tim Clark were thanked for driving the weekend’s success.
Glen Alvie
GLEN Alvie’s B Grade side is battling MDU in a low-scoring event.
At the Glen Alvie Recreation Reserve, Glen Alvie won the toss and chose to send MDU into bat.
Dylan Zuidema was the pick of the batsmen with 24 runs.
Zack Scholz and Ryan Sinclair took three wickets each as MDU was bowled out for 112.
Glen Alvie faced 31 overs but it was a low-scoring affair with MDU’s Scott Browne and Alexander Battersby taking multiple wickets.
Steven Smith opened with 11 but was the only batsman to reach double figures.
Sinclair and Edward Spiteri-Stevens were at the crease at stumps with 7* and 2* respectively.
Glen Alvie will need to dig deep to come away with a win.
Leongatha Town 80th anniversary
LEONGATHA Town Scorpions celebrated 80 proud years with a special reunion and past players weekend, stretching across two big days at Scorpion Park.
Festivities kicked off on Saturday with A and C Grade senior matches at home, before the women’s semi-final took centre stage on Sunday - a fitting showcase of how far the club has grown.
Past players travelled from all corners of Australia to return home to Scorpion Park, reconnecting with old teammates and friends. The weekend was filled with stories shared across generations - poring over old score sheets, reliving great moments and spinning a few yarns (some with a little extra mayo on top).
While the celebrations honoured the club’s rich history, the sight of the women’s team competing in a finals match was a powerful reminder that the Scorpions’ story is still being written. The game has changed, the club has grown, and the future looks every bit as strong as the past.
The community built around the Leongatha Town Cricket Club runs deep, and the weekend showed that whether you padded up 40 years ago or just this season, Scorpion Park will always feel like home.
