Esler’s ton the highlight in thrilling tie

• C Grade, Division 1

NYORA welcome Koonwarra L/RSL down the road to the Nyora Recreation Reserve, won the toss and chose to bat first. 

The home side got off to a thrilling start, reaching 82 before the loss of their first wicket.

Even after that though, they were able to continue on with star opener Daniel Esler (111 from 93) putting together a superb unbeaten century to help his side finish with a competitive score of 5/198 after their 35 overs. 

In the second innings the Cougars set out in pursuit of the 199 runs required for victory and made solid work of it but struggled to find a consistent partnership in the end, with several betters getting starts and falling. 

In the end, the match became an instant classic, with Koony needing just 12 from the last 18 balls with five wickets in hand, Tyler Perkins (1/26 from 7) bowled a wicket maiden in the 33rd over, followed by allowing just four of the required five runs in the 35th, to force a tie!!

Cameron Harwood top scored for Koony while their skipper Kevin Thorne (3/21 from 5) was the best with the ball, his side will now face Wonthaggi and Nyora will head to Inverloch in Round 14. 

Sharks prevail in milestone match

PHILLIP Island hosted MDU at Reece Plumbing Park (Rhyll) and there were milestones aplenty. 

Four men celebrated big milestones as MDU’s Keiran (KB) Brown played his 200th club game, Tim Bright played his 300th club game, Steven (Skinny) Riley played his 450th club game and Michael (Mick) Cleary from Phillip Island played his 200th club game. 

Skinny is a club legend of MDU and a possible future LDCA life member, Bright became only the sixth player in history to join the 300 game club and he and Brown played in excess of 100 games at Tarwin Lower.

The MDU Cricket Club, Phillip Island Cricket Club and the LDCA congratulated the four players on achieving such significant milestones.

 As for the match itself, the Demons won the toss and chose to bat first and were able to compile 161 runs but unfortunately lost all ten wickets. 

Wayne Cocksedge (35 from 32) top scored while 200 gamer Michael Cleary (2/32 from 7) was able to claim a couple of scalps in his milestone match. 

In reply, chasing 162 for victory, the hosts were able to reach the target with two overs to spare, losing five wickets along the way to win by five wickets. 

John Manning (54 from 80) and Sachin Sirirthnage’s (55 from 65) half centuries were the difference in the win as Steven Riley (2/16 from 7) grabbed a few wickets in his 450th match.

The Dees’ will now have the bye which means their season comes to an end as they’re out of finals contention, as for the Islanders, they’ll host Korumburra back in Rhyll as they go for the minor premiership with a win. 

• C Grade, Division 2

Kilcunda Bass score too imposing for Cougars

KILCUNDA Bass backed up its decision to bat first at Koonwarra by setting the Cougars a daunting target of 253.

While the Koonwarra Leongatha RSL top order showed fight in the chase, the initial requirement of almost 7.23 per over proved a mountain too high to climb.

Kilcunda Bass set an aggressive tone from the outset when it batted, with Steven Oates blasting 109 off just 80 balls before retiring, and captain Ashley Joseph retiring after a quickfire 51.
Oates’ innings included 10 boundaries and six maximums.

Number three batsman Joe Reilly helped Kilcunda Bass maintain its rapid tempo, with an unbeaten run-a-ball knock of 68.

Geoff Birnie was the standout bowler for the Cougars, removing a couple of the Sharks’ middle order batsmen and finishing with 2/25 from seven overs on a day some of his teammates copped fearful punishment.

Dom Murdica opened the batting as Koonwarra Leongatha RSL embarked on its massive task and proved a solid presence, making an unbeaten 58, but facing 112 balls from the tenacious Kilcunda Bass attack.

Daniel Bettles was the winning side’s only multiple wicket taker, with 2/26 off his full allotment of overs.

Hunter Bettles took a wicket and conceded just 12 runs off his seven overs.

Murdica proved the only major contributor with the bat for the beaten Cougars, with Birnie’s 19 next best.

Town bowlers set up defeat of OMK

AFTER Outtrim Moyarra Kongwak chose to bat at Digger Park, Leongatha Town’s bowlers delivered a disciplined performance, ensuring their batsmen wouldn’t have to chase too many runs.

OMK was able to set the Scorpions a target of just 118 despite losing only five wickets, such was the difficulty of scoring freely from the Leongatha Town bowlers.

Travis Strybosch led the way for the Scorpions’ stingy attack, allowing just nine runs from his seven overs and taking three wickets.

Leongatha Town president Cam Dowling also proved tough to get away, sending down his full complement of overs for just 14 runs and capturing a top order wicket.

Michael Whiteside provided the most resistance in OMK’s innings, making 35 not out from 50 balls.

Opener George Lomagno and number three batsman Andrew Sorensen were the next highest scorers for the Diggers, making 23 each, with keeper Noah Furness unbeaten on 21.

 Despite defending a low total, OMK’s bowlers forced Leongatha Town to work hard for success.

Were it not for the flare of Ray Edwards at the top of the order, Leongatha Town may well have fallen short of the target.

He delivered his side a crucial 68 runs, facing just 58 balls, with 12 boundaries.

Skipper Paul Carter helped guide the Scorpions home with his undefeated 14 their next best score behind Edwards.

Jordan Myors was the multiple wicket taker for OMK, capturing 2/15 from his four overs.

By the time of Edward’s dismissal, just 17 runs were required for Leongatha Town success, something the Scorpions achieved with 11 overs to spare.

Glen Alvie handed points

GLEN Alvie picked up 12 points for the bye, resulting from Phillip Island’s withdrawal from C2 competition earlier this season.