Cricket - around the grounds
OMK
OMK went into Saturday’s A1 match against Leongatha Town with the objective to make just 40 runs.
The Diggers claimed the win with ease as captain Koby Brann led by example and hit 98 runs.
He was well supported by Jacob Lamers, who made 33 runs.
OMK declared seven down with a score of 218, sending Leongatha Town back into bat in hopes of an outright win.
Jugraj Singh was handy with the ball, taking two wickets, but Town batsman
Madura Madusanka was unmoveable, making 101*.
B Grade also secured a win against Leongatha Town.
Nicholas Auddino led his team to the comfortable win by taking 5/39.
Young Liam Jones also bowled well and claimed a wicket, off the back of dad Luke Jones hitting 98 runs the previous week.
OMK’s bowlers were consistent and had Town bowled out for 184, winning with a score of 277.
C1 had a win over MDU at the Dumbalk Recreation Reserve.
MDU was bowled out for 59 in 33 overs.
Barry Wyatt was the standout with the ball, taking 4/10.
The rest of the bowling honours were shared around.
Scott Handley and Brad Hayes opened for OMK and made 35* and 20* respectively.
OMK passed MDU’s score in seven overs without the loss of a wicket.
C2 was beaten by Leongatha Town.
OMK made 121, which was easily passed by the Scorpions.
“This is a team full of juniors and it’s been good to give them a go in C2 for their development,” OMK’s Jordan Myors said.
“We’ve got one game left in A and B, and two left in C Grade. We are heading in the right direction leading up to finals. We are playing good, consistent cricket with the bat and ball, which is setting us up really well.”
Leongatha Town
LEONGATHA Town’s senior sides took on OMK across all three grades, with plenty of strong individual performances highlighted across the action.
In A Grade, Leongatha posted 141 in the first innings, led by Jesse Giardina (51) and Madura Madusanka (39), before OMK replied with 7/218 declared.
Bowlers Lachie Gill and Rhett Hume each snagged three wickets.
The Scorpions fought back strongly in the second dig, with Madusanka producing an outstanding unbeaten 101, supported by Jack Hume (21*).
In B Grade, OMK made 6/277, with Ethan Smith the standout with the ball claiming 4/94, while Hugh Livingstone and Pandu Jayasinghe also contributed with wickets.
Leongatha’s reply of 184 featured solid batting efforts from Luke Bowman (62), Dav Goss (46) and Sam Clark (20).
C Grade claimed the club’s win for the round at Digger Park, chasing down OMK’s 8/121 to finish 6/124.
Strong bowling performances from Ryan Jorgensen (3/10), Nijo Devassy (2/15) and Cam Dowling (2/22) set the stage.
With the bat, Alex Aeschlimann top-scored with 46, well supported by Ray Edwards (26).
Congratulations Alex on your hard fought first win as captain.
Phillip Island
HAVING won on the first day, the Sharks went for an outright win against the
Imperials in A1 on Saturday.
Phillip Island captain Daniel Mock made 71 runs and Phillip Island declared when the score was pushed around 60 runs past the Imps’.
Phillip Island sent the Imps back into bat but was unable to get the outright win with the Imps making 6/100.
Captain Jack Ginnane top scored with 61*.
Tim Niven and Jobe Williams were Phillip Island’s standouts with the ball, taking 2/16 and 2/17 respectively.
With one game to go, Phillip Island is sitting in fifth place on the ladder.
“We can’t go up the ladder, so we’re just hoping to end our season with one last win. We’ve won the last two games, which has been great,” Mock said.
It will be a challenge with Phillip Island slated to play OMK in the final round, which is sitting fourth on the ladder.
Nerrena
NERRENA lost to Inverloch in A Grade on Saturday.
The Red Caps were chasing 222 and started well with Eamon Berryman making 20 runs.
However, it began to fall apart with a few quick wickets through the middle.
Mitch Croatto steadied the ship with 24 runs and tailender Shem Murphy top scored with 32 runs.
Regardless, Inverloch bowled well and was able to get the job done.
B Grade had a massive score to contend with and was not able to match Wonthaggi Club’s effort.
Club had made 323 and was successful in defending it.
Kade Berryman was best with the bat, making 32 runs.
Gerard Murphy contributed 23 runs and Tyson Harris made 26 runs.
Nerrena was bowled out for 181.
C Grade was also beaten by Wonthaggi Club, playing at the Leongatha velodrome.
Nerrena batted first and opening batsmen Ben Croatto and captain Brian Gannon making 46 and 42 runs respectively.
Third bat Darren Curtis top scored with 54 runs.
However, some low scores would prove costly.
Nerrena managed to pull together a total of 8/179, which it hoped would be defendable.
It was not to be with Club’s Ian Hughes making 96 runs.
The bowlers battled with Daniel Grigg, Brendan Salmon and Raph Jefferis each taking a wicket.
Club’s winning score was 3/183.
MDU
KOONWARRA/LRSL managed to chase down MDU’s total of 250 with six wickets still in hand during Saturday’s A2 match.
Playing at the Meeniyan Recreation Reserve, Koonwarra/LRSL looked strong early with Tanuj Namalge opening the batting.
He went on to make a whopping 146 runs, with Isuru Darshana adding 53 runs to the tally.
MDU’s bowlers fought back with Mitch McGrath taking 2/58 off nine,
Sembakuttige Lakshan taking 1/40 off 20 and Mark Cantwell taking 1/24 off six.
Koonwarra/LRSL’s winning total was 4/251.
With one round to go, MDU is fifth on the ladder and will play Foster to finish off the season.
Foster
FOSTER won its first game of the season after a hard-fought battle with
Korumburra in A2 on Saturday.
Playing at the Korumburra Recreation Reserve, Foster had made 188 and dug deep to defend the total.
Some early wickets to Luke Rooker, Max Johnston, Noah McMillan and Josh Toner had Foster in a great position to take the game.
However, Rumesh Rangana put the pressure on when he made the first major impact on the scoreboard, making 54 runs.
Tailender Reuben Foster also kept it nice and close with 30 more runs.
Foster’s fielding side was determined and got the job done, bowling Korumburra out for 179.
Rooker was the pick of Foster’s bowlers with four wickets.
Koonwarra/LRSL
KOONWARRA/LRSL secured a win against MDU following an impressive performance with the bat in A2 on Saturday.
With the target of 250 in mind, opening batsman Tanuj Namalge seemed unstoppable as he amassed an amazing 146 run-haul before he was dismissed LBW by Sembakuttige Chathura Lakshan.
Namalge was supported by Isuru Darshana, who made 53 runs.
Louis Read and Jason Kennedy finished it off with 12* and 18* respectively.
MDU captain Mitch McGrath was best with the ball, taking two wickets.
Regardless, Koonwarra/LRSL was able to pass MDU’s score just four wickets down.
With a place in the finals locked in, Koonwarra/LRSL is looking forward to the final game of the season against Korumburra.
Nyora
B GRADE performed well and bowled out MDU for 92 on Saturday.
Nyora went in looking to defend 276 and exceptional bowling efforts from Ryan White led the way.
White bowled 2/7 off nine overs and Tully Bernaldo took 3/27 off nine overs.
This set the tone for the day, with Jaylen Waixel, Daniel Blackney and Lincoln Brock chipping in.
“This was Lincoln Brock’s best bowling effort for the year. It’s a good time of year to do it,” Nyora’s Adam White said.
C Grade had a tough day against Inverloch at the Inverloch Recreation Reserve.
Tristan Dowel and William Uren were the best with the ball, taking two wickets each, and Keith Maclure top scored with 35 runs.
“We were playing against the top team and it was a good effort from our kids to keep them to 160,” White said.
“A lot of our U15s played in C2 and gave a great effort.”
A and B Grade are now looking ahead to the last game of the season, with C Grade still to face Wonthaggi Club and OMK.
Wonthaggi Club
WONTHAGGI Club had a convincing win over Nerrena in B1 on Saturday.
Club had amassed 323 and managed to bowl Nerrena out for 181.
The standout with the ball was Mark McCall, who took 3/45.
Wickets were shared amongst the rest of the bowlers in a real team effort.
“B Grade is going quite well. It is undefeated on top of the ladder and has been well captained by Sean Roche,” Club president Luke McGuirk said.
C1 also played Nerrena and enjoyed a win.
The bowlers performed well and restricted Nerrena to 179.
Angus Benetti took 5/27, and the club was rapt with his efforts.
With the bat, Ian Hughes made 96 runs, with Kevin McLean contributing 46 runs and Jed Caddy finishing it off with 24*.
Wonthaggi Club is sitting in second place on C1’s ladder.
In C2, Club played Koonwarra/LRSL, which was a good test.
Club went into bat first and Brian Osborne expertly led the way with 138*.
McGuirk opened with 21 runs and Brayden Pentland made 20 runs.
Club made 5/247.
McGuirk went on to take three wickets, with Ryan McGuirk and 13-year-old Tyler Jeffery taking two each.
Koonwarra/LRSL was bowled out for 137.
Wonthaggi Club congratulated its U15s side for winning the semi-final, with Heath Crump named man-of-the-match.
The Imperials
THE Imperials had a tough game in B2 as they were outrighted by Glen Alvie.
Glen Alvie proved to be a tough opposition, declaring with a score of 230.
The Imperials were short on players and had several juniors step up to play.
Among them was Jaxon Eddy, who had top scored in the Imps’ first innings, claimed a wicket and took a catch.
The Imps came back this week to attempt to reverse outright Glen Alvie but lost a couple of wickets early and could not make up the runs.
Luke Rogers and Sam Vagg performed well, making 51 and 50 runs respectively.
In the last round of the season, the Imperials will take on Koonwarra/LRSL at Koonwarra.
The Imperials are going into this game with some confidence following
Koonwarra/LRSL’s loss to Kilcunda Bass and hope to end the season on a high note.
Korumburra
C GRADE secured a big win and more importantly jumped into the top four on the ladder with finals now firmly in sight.
On Sunday, March 8, the club’s C Grade team takes on Wonthaggi Club at Summerfield Oval in what promises to be a special day.
The match marks the final home game for club games record holder Darren Scott.
A true Cobras legend and club life member, Darren has announced his retirement at the end of the season.
After an incredible career spanning four decades, “Chop” will hang up the bat leaving behind a legacy of commitment, leadership and passion for the club.
The day will also celebrate a major milestone for Adam “Balf” Balfour, who will play his 200th club game.
A loyal servant of the Cobras, Balf began in the junior ranks and worked his way through to senior cricket including 81 A Grade appearances among his 200 games.
The Cobras invite all past and present players, supporters and friends to join them on Sunday to celebrate two outstanding clubmen and cheer the C Grade towards finals.
On Saturday, a strong all-round bowling performance kept Kilcunda Bass to a competitive total with Tom Sorrell leading the attack with three for 20 from seven overs. He was well supported by Darren Scott with two for 12 off seven tight overs.
In reply Peter Edwards provided a quick-fire 20 before veterans Trevor Allan (36 not out off 45 balls) and Darren Scott (52 not out off 44 balls) guided the Cobras home with 17 overs to spare.
In A2, Rumesh Rangana top-scored with 54 from 46 balls, well supported by captain Harry McNeill (23), before the Cobras slipped to 8/102. Reuben Foster dug in for a determined 30 and with Jason Richards put on a crucial 51-run ninth-wicket partnership before the Cobras fell 18 runs short.
