Cougars keep the Imps under control

• B Grade, Division 1

THE Imperials welcomed Koonwarra L/RSL down to East Campus Oval and the hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. 

The Imps had a decent start, plotting their way along to the find the 100-mark without too much trouble, however, after sitting at 4/98 they lost another five wickets to finish 4/127 after their 40 overs. 

Mark Lafferty (28 from 28) top scored for the Imps while Michael Thomas (3/23 from 7) was the best with the ball for Koony’. 

Chasing 128 to win the Cougars lost two wickets early to be 2/20 and then post recovering with Anthony Hunt (11 from 45) and Isuru Darshana’s (74* from 83) 63-run stand lost another two wickets for no score were in a spot of bother again at 4/83. 

Mark Lafferty (2/30 from 7) capped off his solid day with the best figures for the hosts, they’ll now host MDU as they look to get back on the winner’s list. 

As for the Cougars, they’ll travel up to Korumburra to face the Cobras. 

Hayes helps OMK over Korumburra again

AFTER matching up last round, Korumburra welcomed OMK down the road to Poowong Recreation Reserve where the hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. 

However, they were in instant trouble losing two wickets before they even registered a score as Thomas Eustace (4/13 from 8) did the damage early. 

The hosts were able to recover briefly but unfortunately lost wickets with great regularity throughout their innings to finish 9/91 after their 40 overs. 

Eustace finished with four wickets along with Jaxon Hayes (4/21 from 7) who also bagged four, Zach Barrett (27) top scored for Korumburra. 

In reply, the Diggers didn’t quite find it as easy as they did last time, losing both openers early to have them 2/14 in pursuit of 92. 

After losing their captain James Paterson (10) to be 3/38, the visitors had some work to do, and after a brilliant spell with the ball, it was Jaxon Hayes (39*) who saw his team home, top scoring in a clear best on ground performance. 

Shane Dole (1/4 from 8) was the pick of the bowlers for the Cobras with an extremely economical spell. 

OMK will ride this 6-wicket win into this weekend’s contest with Inverloch at Thompson Reserve, while the Cobras will host Koonwarra L/RSL. 

Runs aplenty at the Velodrome

NERRENA welcomed MDU down to the Leongatha Velodrome and the hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. 

And what a great call that ended up being for Nerrena as they put the Demons to the sword, using the small boundaries to their advantage to put finish 4/300 in just their 40 overs. 

They upped the ante after being 2/40, as James Kelly (96 from 89) and Damien Symmons (69 from 64) combined for a mammoth 122-run stand.

Sam Vagg’s (79 from 45) late cameo saw him finish with an unbeaten half century on what was a tough inning for the visiting bowling attack led by Tyrone Zukovskis (2/40 from 6). 

In reply, needing a huge 301 to win, the Demons gave it a fair crack but ultimately still fell 91-runs shy, Gary Webster (47 from 56) and Wayne Prosser’s (39 from 37) 59-run stand the highlight. 

Nerrena skipper Zack Trease (2/27 from 8) finished with the best figures in his side’s big win, they’ll now go into the bye round with healthy momentum on their side. 

As for MDU, they’ll head out to East Campus Oval to battle it out with the Imperials. 

Inverloch had the bye

• B Grade, Division 2

Town too strong all  around for Island

LEONGATHA Town backed itself to bat first at Newhaven, with opener Matt Davies ensuring that decision paid off, racing to a century as Town notched an imposing 4/253 against Phillip Island.

While Tarryn Allan eventually claimed the wicket of Davies for 101, an unbeaten 73 from Josh Schelling helped ensure the hosts couldn’t restrict their visitors to a manageable total.

Allan was the only Phillip Island bowler to take more than one wicket, but his couple of dismissals came at a high cost as his eight overs yielded 52 runs.

His teammate, Chris Fall was unable to capture a wicket but was comfortably the Sharks most frugal bowler, conceding just 30 runs off his full allocation of overs.

Phillip Island skipper Connor Epifano excelled with the willow, not allowing a couple of early wickets at the other end to distract him.

His 96 at a good clip should have given his side a chance of being competitive, but he received little support as the Sharks mustered just 9/143 off their 40 overs.

Ethan Smith took 4/34 from seven overs, including the dismissal of the stubborn Epifano and a couple of mid order wickets, as the visitors completed a 110-run victory.

OMK comfortably overhauls Nerrena total

JUSTIN Greenwood’s 80 not out helped ensure a potentially tricky target was no problem for Outtrim Moyarra Kongwak (OMK) as it saw off visitor Nerrena by seven wickets with 11 overs to spare.

Earlier, half centuries to Nerrena batsmen Lachlan Roberts (52) and Rupesh Elava (61 not out) helped give their side’s bowlers a decent total of 6/169 to defend.

However, with Greenwood well supported by his captain Russell White who made 47, it proved a comfortable run chase.

Greenwood also did his job with the ball, allowing just 29 runs off his eight overs to help ensure Nerrena couldn’t set a more imposing tally.

Teammate Robert Quaife took wickets late in Nerrena’s innings to finish with 3/24 from his five overs, but Owen Fitzpatrick’s 0/20 was noteworthy given it came from eight miserly overs.

For the beaten Nerrena, Ryan Giliam was the toughest of its bowlers to score off, with just 29 runs taken off his eight overs.

Wonthaggi knocks off low Glen Alvie target 

WHILE chasing down low targets can prove challenging, Wonthaggi Club openers Luke McGuirk and Justin Licis ensured that wouldn’t be the case as they laid the foundation for a comfortable win over Glen Alvie.

Still, after Licis fell for 29 he was immediately followed by Jatin Shannon who was sent on his way for a golden duck by Joe Burke who found himself on a hat-trick.

Although Burke made a further breakthrough, it came 26 runs later, with Club by then needing just 16 more to win.

He finished as Glen Alvie’s sole wicket taker, managing 3/34 off his seven overs.

Much of the credit for Wonthaggi’s seven-wicket win goes to its disciplined bowling attack.

Chris Fraser took just one wicket, but allowed a stingy four runs from his eight overs.

Luke McGuirk sent down his full complement at just two runs an over, also taking a wicket, while Sam Liddle (2/26) and (Hamish Burns 2/22) were other Club bowlers who excelled.

Kilcunda-Bass has another rest

In a season in which rain has played such a prominent role, Kilcunda-Bass’ B2 team was sidelined by the bye and will look forward to a return to action.