Sport

B-grade wrap | Lions roar past defending champs

By Oliver Shedden

Oct 13, 2025

Cameron Laird and Bamawm-Lockington United defeated Echuca in the opening round of the B-grade Goulburn 2025-26 season. Photo: File.

With all of B-grade Murray, C-grade and D-grade yet to begin in Goulburn Murray Cricket, B-grade Goulburn got its competition under way alongside A-grade on Saturday.

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Bamawm-Lockington United took down defending champions Echuca in its first hit-out for the season.

Losing the toss and going into bat, BLU put on 5-187, with Joseph Holloway (75 not out) and Cameron Laird (60) leading the charge.

Taj Maddox (31 not out) top scored for Echuca in the second innings, with Rhys Varcoe (17) and Dimuthu Lakmal Kariyawasan Jalath Thanthrige (15) his only running mates.

Ultimately, Echuca was bowled out for 117, with the Lions emerging victorious by 70 runs.

Last season’s cellar-dweller Elmore opened its account in style, beating recently promoted B-grade Murray champion Cooma in emphatic fashion.

The Redbacks were bowled out for 142 with the combination of Matthew Woolley (45) and James Harney (39) doing the heavy lifting as Cooma’s Blake Watts took 4-19.

Cooma was then rolled for 89 in the second innings. Captain Ethan Palma-Ludeman top scored with 28, as Elmore’s Ben Morris and Harney took three wickets apiece.

In the closest game of the round, Rushworth (139) got it done against Stanhope (124).

Batting first, Liam Francis (45) led the way for the Tigers, while his brother Josh Francis added a nice 21-run cameo.

In the second innings, Hamish Stewart top scored for Stanhope with 24 while Shannon McMahon-Kinnear (17) and Luke Twynstra (18) added valuable runs to the tally.

However, Stanhope was bowled out 15 runs shy of victory, handing the Tigers their first win on the path to glory.

After earning the wooden-spoon last season, Moama has started its comeback season with a bang, downing Kyabram Fire Brigade at Moama Recreation Reserve.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, the Flames struggled for much of their innings, with all but Brett Andison (49) being dismissed for under 12.

It was a true all-round performance as Kirk Teasdale, Simon Porter, Tony Orton and Archie Teasdale all took two wickets to roll Fire Brigade for 100.

It took 30 overs for the Mowers to chase down the total, with the opening partnership of Kirk Teasdale (41 not out) and Matthew Watt (42) doing the bulk of the work in the seven wicket victory.