Seniors
A-reserve
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It was all to play for in the Wangaratta and District Cricket Association A-reserve clash between Benalla and Wangaratta Magpies at the weekend, with the two sides both searching for a third win of the season.
The high stakes contest would also see the loser consigned to the bottom of the ladder at the end of round 12, which despite a promising start with the ball, would ultimately be Benalla, with the Bushrangers going down by 29 runs at Benalla Showgrounds on Saturday.
Having been thrown the new ball after losing the toss and being made to field, Benalla made a bright start off the bowling of Tom Osborne, who struck in the third over of the contest to reduce the visitors to 1-12.
But the early wicket proved a bit of an anomaly, as the Magpies brushed it off to put together a 50-run stand for the second wicket, which eventually came via a Gary Priest run out to see Wangaratta reduced to 2-62, while partnerships of 23 and 38 for the third and fourth wickets, respectively, meant the Magpies sat at a comfortable 4-123 with 15 overs left in the innings.
The final six wickets would throw the contest into disarray, however, as the Bushrangers steamed through the middle and lower orders to wrest control of proceedings.
Joshua Montgomery (1-20) got the collapse under way, snaring his first of the afternoon to see the visitors fall to 5-148, followed up by Tom Osborne (3-20) snaring his second and third wickets within four balls just two overs later.
The following over produced another two wickets off the bowling of Matthew Priest (3-34) and a run out as chaos reigned, with Benalla having snared five wickets in 11 balls, and claimed the final six wickets for 15 runs, as Wangaratta slumped to be all out for 163.
All the momentum was in the Bushrangers’ favour following the miraculous end to the first innings, and with only 164 needed for victory, it seemed as though the home side was in the box seat to claim the win and lift themselves off the bottom of the ladder.
Opener Josh Heylbut looked assured in the middle, making a strong start alongside Nathan Delaney, however Delaney (6) fell cheaply to leave Benalla one down with 18 runs on the board.
Osborne strode out to the crease and complimented Heylbut well, with the pair adding 31 in a solid second-wicket stand, however Osborne’s (8) dismissal left the Bushrangers at 2-49, and set off a mini-collapse.
A further three wickets would tumble with the home side adding only 10 runs, as Bryce Cooney (0), Heylbut (34) and Matthew Priest (1) all fell victim to a Magpies attack that was slowly beginning to warm up.
Five wickets down and still 105 runs from victory, Benalla needed someone to step up, and for a while, it looked as though the pairing of Harrison Skelton and Josh Hart would do just that, adding 28 runs together before Hart was dismissed for eight runs, leaving Benalla six down with 87 on the board.
That soon became 7-95 as Gurpreet Singh Mann (8) came and went, and while Duncan McKenzie was one of only four Benalla batters to surpass 10 runs, he couldn’t add any more than 13 to his tally as he too succumbed, with the Bushrangers staring down the barrel at 8-113.
Skelton’s desperate dig came to an end shortly after, having survived 46 deliveries for his 15 runs, but at 9-121, the writing was on the wall for the Bushrangers, and while Gary Priest added 13 alongside Montgomery (4 no), he was bowled in the 35th over, bringing an end to the contest with Benalla posting a total of 10-134, 29 runs shy of victory.
The Bushrangers now sit on the bottom of the ladder, one game behind Wangaratta, and will face fourth-placed Rovers United Bruck this Saturday at Benalla Gardens Oval.
B-grade
The fight for finals will go down to the wire for Benalla’s B-grade side this weekend, following a loss to top side Merton at Arundel Street Oval on Saturday.
Stuck amid a throng of teams fighting for the sixth spot on the ladder, a win at the weekend would have greatly increased the Bushrangers’ chances of playing finals, and while they were in the contest right until the end, they ultimately went down by two wickets in a thrilling finale, ensuring the race for finals comes down to the final weekend of the regular season.
Hosting top side Merton, the Bushrangers won the toss on Saturday afternoon and opted to bat, and while the early losses of Thomas Snell (7) and Trevor Saker (6) came as a blow, skipper Jordan Smith and number four Noah Anderson steadied the ship.
Anderson proved patient at one end, adding 21 to the team total from 52 deliveries, while Smith ensured the scoreboard continued to tick over at a reasonable rate, with his 46 runs coming from 62 deliveries, bolstering the Bushrangers innings.
Outside of Anderson and Smith, however, it was slim picking in terms of scorers for Benalla, with only Mathew Hadj (12) and Brendan Anderson (18) making it to double figures, as the Bushrangers faltered against a strong Merton attack, bowled out for 129 from 34.5 overs.
The Benalla bowling lineup had only 130 runs to play with, a feat which was made much harder after the Merton openers made a big start to the chase, surpassing the 50-run milestone without loss.
Stewart McLeod finally broke the drought for the Bushies in the 10th over, reducing Merton to 1-58, however the visitors needed only 72 runs to win with nine wickets in hand, and still more than 25 overs to bat.
It looked a foregone conclusion as Merton was cruising at 1-70, which became 2-70 as Noah Anderson (1-17) snared his first, and when McLeod (3-29) found himself on a hat-trick after consecutive wickets to start the 16th over, Merton was suddenly four down for 79, and there was a glimmer of hope for Benalla.
Brendan Anderson snared a scalp the following over too, as Merton lost its fifth wicket with 92 runs on the board, and while the visitors reached the 100-run mark, they did so for the loss of another wicket, again to Anderson, as Benalla continued to press forward.
Merton added 13 runs to the board to come within 17 of victory before losing another wicket, as Brendan Duncombe (1-10) snared his first to leave the visitors at 7-113, before Anderson (3-24) dealt them another blow, claiming his third as the top side sunk to 8-116, and it became a real possibility that Benalla could snatch a miraculous win.
Unfortunately, however, that would be as close as the Bushrangers would come to realising victory, as Merton successfully ticked off the final 14 runs needed to win with two wickets remaining, meaning Benalla remains seventh on the ladder, level on wins with sixth-placed Yarrawonga Mulwala with one round to play.
The Bushies will face ninth-placed Rutherglen United at Barkly Park on Saturday, needing a win but also relying on the result of the Yarrawonga Mulwala match to decide their fate, with the Lakers taking on tenth-placed Wangaratta Magpies.
A win combined with a Lakers loss will see them through, however if both sides record the same result, it appears unlikely the Bushrangers will play finals, given their net run rate in significantly lower than that of the Lakers.
C-grade
A loss to second-placed Yarrawonga Mulwala has left Benalla’s C-grade side teetering on the edge of an early end to the season, with the Bushrangers now one spot outside of the finals positions heading into the last round of the home and away season.
Hosting the Lakers at Arundel Street Oval on Saturday, the Bushrangers were unable to chase down the total set by the Lakers, with the 63-run loss seeing them slip outside of the top four heading into the final round.
After losing the toss and being asked to bowl, Greg Hoysted and Vishal Fernando (2-22) combined well early to have the Bushrangers on top, as the visitors slumped to 3-37 inside the first 12 overs.
But a 97-run partnership for the fourth wicket left the Bushrangers on the back foot, as it took nearly 20 overs to find the next scalp while the Lakers piled on the runs at five per over, moving the team total well beyond 100 with ease.
Hoysted claimed his second to finally break the stand, with the visitors now in a strong position at 4-134, and while Noah Cooney (1-49) and Hoysted (3-18) each claimed another, the Lakers added 29 in the final five overs to post a total of 6-163 from the allotted 36 overs.
Needing 164 to win, the Bushrangers wouldn’t come close, as the Lakers’ bowlers ran rampant with the new ball.
Hoysted top scored with 18, closely followed by Tom Trewin (17), Vaughan Carter (17), Jatin Solanki (16) and Grayson Kirk (13) who all made starts, but were unable to go on to make a big score.
The remaining six batters for the Bushrangers combined for three runs in the face of some hostile bowling from the visitors, as Benalla was bowled out for 100 for a 63-run loss.
The defeat was compounded by top side Moyhu suffering a shock loss, too, with Beechworth, which entered the penultimate round a game behind Benalla, securing victory with a six off the final ball of the contest, climbing level with Benalla on wins and ahead on net run rate, leaving Benalla precariously placed in fifth ahead of the final round.
The Bushies will need victory over seventh-placed Delatite on Saturday and hope that Beechworth succumb to sixth-placed Rutherglen United if they are to play on into the postseason.
Juniors
Under-16s
Benalla’s under-16 side has been dealt a blow in its Eugene Kneebone Shield campaign, suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Beechworth-Ovens Valley United on Saturday.
Heading into day two of the contest at Benalla Gardens Oval on Saturday, the Bushrangers needed 202 runs for victory after the visitors posted a mammoth 6-201 from 40 overs on day one.
The chase got off to a rough start following the loss of opener Hugh Ross for a duck, leaving Benalla at 1-6, however Riley McCarthy and Xavier De Fazio looked to have settled into a solid partnership.
The pair added 22 together for the second wicket, and just as they looked to have got set, McCarthy (6) was dismissed, with Benalla falling to 2-28, which almost immediately became 3-29 as new batter Harrison Skelton fell for one.
De Fazio looked solid, making his way to 24 at the top of the order, however he too was soon back in the sheds, leaving Benalla in strife at 4-41, a situation which became even more dire as both Angus Hayes (2) and Tom Osborne (1) were sent packing straight after, leaving Benalla six wickets down with only 42 runs on the board.
Luke Boulton and Joshua Montgomery tried valiantly down the order, adding 15 and 16 respectively, however the damage had been done, with the Bushrangers’ innings coming to a close with only 83 runs on the board, condemning them to a big 118-run defeat.
Benalla still remains in the box seat to play finals, heading into the final round in third spot on the ladder; however, the Bushrangers aren’t guaranteed a spot by any means, with their final round opponent the top of the table City Colts, while both Wangaratta Magpies in fourth and Rovers United Bruck in fifth are within 2.15 points, meaning the Bushrangers could drop out of the top four if results fell against them.
Under-14s
Both Benalla Red and Benalla Blue are through to finals in the under-14 Len Hill Shield following wins in the final round of the home and away season.
With Red picking up a ludicrous win over Delatite in a single day last week, bowling them out for only 18, only Blue were in action at the weekend for day two of their clash against Yarrawonga Mulwala Bulls.
Having bowled the Bulls out for 107 on day one at Benalla Showgrounds, the chase began in earnest at the weekend, with openers Thomas Snell and Oliver Smith both looking to cash in against the new ball.
And cash in they did, with both openers retiring not out after reaching half centuries, Snell belting five fours and two sixes in his knock, while Smith reached the rope on three occasions, as the pair set the Bushies up for a dominant victory.
Benalla reached the 108 needed for victory for the loss of just one wicket before batting on, with Cash Nolen adding 32 as the next best behind the two half-centurions, with the Bushrangers eventually posting 7-193 from 38.3 overs.
The win ensures Blue finishes the regular season in sixth spot on the ladder, one place behind Red in fifth, with finals matchups and venues to be confirmed ahead of day one action on Saturday.
Under-12s
Benalla Green faced off against Benalla Red on Friday night in an all-Bushrangers affair at Arundel Street Oval, with Red claiming a big seven-wicket win as they sewed up top spot on the ladder.
Red won the toss and opted to bowl, with Green posting a total of 8-47 led by Archer Pickering (12) and Tom Lambert (8).
Jack McKenzie snared two wickets for Red to finish with team-best figures of 2-8, while Toby Smith (1-2), Miller Fowles (1-3), Bailey King (1-3), Tulson Reynolds (1-6), Isla Walker (1-6) and Neev Patel (1-9) all claimed a wicket each.
McKenzie and Smith dominated the chase for Red, contributing 17 and 15, respectively, to retire not out, as did King, who added an unbeaten 15 down the order as Red posted 3-91 to record a comprehensive victory.
Jonathan Goodwin (1-4) and Mitchell Murray (1-13) were the only wicket takers for Green, with the other wicket coming via run out.
There’s a silver lining in the loss for Green, however, with the side still qualifying for finals after holding on to fourth place.
On Saturday, Benalla Blue travelled to Wangaratta High School to take on City Colts Blue, and recorded a mammoth win to secure second spot on the ladder.
Sent in to bat after losing the toss, Edward Clancy blasted 54 not out from only 26 deliveries to help Benalla to a huge total of 6-153, well-supported by Finlay parker who finished unbeaten on 36 from 17, as the Benalla side eyed a big victory.
The win was wrapped up with a solid performance with the ball, too, as Clancy (1-2), William Staggard (1-5) and Jimmy Humphrey (1-6) all snared scalps, and two more coming from run-outs, as Benalla restricted City Colts to 5-98 to claim the win.
With three Benalla sides finishing in the top four, it means week one of finals will see Benalla Red face Benalla Green in semi-final one, while Benalla Blue will face Yarrawonga Mulwala Bulls, with the winners earning a spot in the decider.