MILLICENT’S dreams of a state title were dashed on the opening day of the 2019/20 Statewide Twenty20 cricket competition at Frew Park on Sunday.
After two games of fast-paced action, Lucindale progressed into the next stage of the knock-out tournament as the South East representative.
The Roos defeated a confident Demon’s outfit, which started its campaign in convincing form with a commanding victory over Millicent.
South dictated proceedings from the outset against the Saints as the match was brought to life by a dramatic opening over.
Off-spinner Daniel Loupos was given the new ball and Demons’ captain David Somerfield would have regretted his decision after the first three deliveries conceded 10 runs.
But after being hit out of the ground, the left-armer soon turned the tables with two wickets in as many balls to put the visitor’s on the back foot.
Millicent never recovered and could not challenge Loupos’ turn and control.
His second over saw two more wickets fall in consecutive balls, before he claimed a five-wicket haul in just 15 deliveries when Chris Hale was caught on the boundary rope by a leaping Adam Kuhl for an eight-ball duck.
At the other end Bryce Whicker continued to build dot-ball pressure and his hard work was rewarded after he dismissed Mark Pilmore.
The visitor’s top order came and went in the blink of an eye and Loupos almost claimed a sixth victim when James Varcoe miss-timed a shot, but Robert Drenthen could not hold onto a difficult chance.
Loupos’ devastating opening spell saw him finish with the figures of 5/17 from his four overs.
His feats left Millicent in deep trouble of being dismissed for an embarrassing total at 6/22.
Resistance finally arrived in the form of Daniel Stieler and Varcoe, who found a way to fend off South’s confident bowlers.
The spinning efforts of Loupos saw paceman Drenthen bowl an over of off-spin himself, but even his change up could not slow the Millicent pair building a partnership.
Varcoe and Stieler counter-attacked with a number of aggressive shots over mid wicket, but the duo’s 33-run stand came to an end when the latter was caught on the boundary rope by Drenthen for 18.
Just three balls later Camron Jorgenson bowled Varcoe for 19 and the tall fast bowler cleaned up the tail order.
The visitor’s meagre total of 74 was never going to be enough to challenge the Demons.
Despite taking David Vine’s wicket on the second ball, Millicent’s bowlers were on a hiding to nothing.
Somerfield was at his brutal best and smashed nine boundaries on his way to a match-winning 44.
He found strong support from Drenthen and James Dunn, as South’s batsmen were not afraid to rotate the strike.
The Demons’ captain fell nine runs short of the finish line, but there was no cause for concern as Dunn and Jakob Opie chased down the required runs with ease.
South’s convincing victory saw the side fight for South East representation honours with the Roos.
Lucindale batted first and posted a competitive 6/135 from its 20 overs.
In response the Demons struggled to find rhythm in their run chase, as the Roos struck at regular intervals.
A fine bowling performance ensured Lucindale defended its total and progress into the next stage of the Statewide Twenty20 competition at Langhorne Creek on December 15.
Full scores for the South v Lucindale game were not provided at the time of print.
