Highlights shine through more cricket frustration

THE frustrating start to the 2022-23 Leongatha and District Cricket Association continued at the weekend with most games impacted by the on-again, off-again nature of the rain.

While many of the underage games were completed in fine, warm conditions on Saturday morning, November 19, the rain started to move across the region, from Phillip Island and Bass venues in the west around lunchtime, and spread to Wonthaggi, Inverloch, Leongatha, Meeniyan and Foster by early afternoon.

Despite that however, all teams persevered and miraculously, most matches reached an outcome and there were even some thrilling highlights.

Chief among them was Dave Newman’s mercurial century not out in A Grade for Inverloch on a lush Thompson Reserve. While five Inverloch batsmen finished in single figures including two with zero, and Jake Dennerley on 10; Jack Butcher 60 and Newman 101 off 173 balls, dominated the scoring to set up the worthy total of 6/200 at the compulsory closure. It’ll be a fair test for Phillip Island next week (weather permitting).

In other A Grade two-day games, Nerrena have already wrapped it up at Wonthaggi and Town are well poised against OMK at Scorpion Park, where players were off the ground for a lengthy period mid-afternoon.

There was no play in the Imperials versus Koonwarra game.

In A2, three games got started, in B1 there were results in three games, likewise in B2 and C1.

There were three results in C2 as well, including a rare tie in the Leongatha Town versus Glen Alvie match.

At various stages, Town looked the team most likely, especially with Nigel Hodges controlling the chase with a fine 92 not out, requiring all his concentration as the rain persisted during play, heavily at various stages.

Town appeared to have Glen’s 142 target clearly in their sights, level with three or four balls to go.

But they simply couldn’t get enough runs with Glen Alvie’s Lachie McRae bowling superbly at the death. A desperate attempt to take a suicide run on the last ball ended in the stumpings of Max Carter by Daniel McGuirk, off McRae, and the moment was lost – ending in a hard-fought 142-run tie.

GCL Sunday matches called off

The weather impact extended into Sunday when all Gippsland Cricket League matches involving the LDCA were called off.

The selected Leongatha GCL Senior Team included the following players: Selected Team - *T Wightman, SL Rathnayake, +J Giardina, RL Williams, M Clark, T Keily, A Geyer, L Wright, J Ginnane, E Lamers and A Ratnaike.

But the schedule senior match against Traralgon at Scorpion Park was called off without a ball being bowled.

A Leongatha Town CC spokesman said that while the weather wasn’t too bad on Sunday, the ground received a lot of rain overnight and simply wasn’t suitable for cricket.