By Trevor Jackson
PENOLA cricketers are the toast of their town after they claimed the Hoggies Wines Barber shield over the weekend at Frew Park.
The Eagles were simply too strong for East Gambier, as they set the Bulldogs a formidable 218-run target for victory on day one with the bat, then bowled tight lines to bundle the Bulldogs out for just 110.
Much of the damage was done by player of the match Lachlan Jones, who managed a handy 20-run knock on Saturday, before claiming a five-wicket haul on Sunday to help ensure the victory.
It all began when Penola won the toss and elected to bat.
The opening pair of Jack Mullan – joint league Whitty medalist – and Lewis March did not let the side down, putting on a match-defining 109-run stand to set a solid foundation.
March was first to go, lbw to Ben Hentschke for 45, while Mullan fell agonisingly short of his half century, caught behind off East captain Alex Hentschke for 49, both with the score at 109.
That brought Jones and Penola skipper Mark Smith to the crease and while the latter could only offer four runs to the total, caught behind off Alex Hentschke, Jones stuck around until the score had reached 150, caught and bowled by Emerson Marks for his 20 runs.
Drew Clayfield managed 36, Josh Doyle 16 and Conrad Slabber 10 to see the Eagles bat out the 80 overs and set East a tough run chase.
Sunday came and it was not long before East was in trouble, with Leigh Von Duve out for four runs, providing Jones with his first scalp, with the total at just eight.
Kevin Thomson and Ben Hentschke looked settled at the crease, banging on a further 25 runs before the former was clean bowled by Jones for 20.
Steven Cameron strode to the crease, faced 11 balls and became Jones’s next victim without bothering the scorers.
At 3/33 East already looked in trouble and needed a settling hand to resurrect the run chase.
With the pairing of Ben Hentschke and joint Whitty medalist Dion Stratford at the crease, the tide could have turned.
However, just nine runs later Hentschke was back on the sidelines, yet another Jones victim, while with no further runs added to the total, Stratford departed, bowled by Michael Waters for just two runs.
By that stage the writing was on the wall and the run chase was fast escaping the Bulldogs.
However, Marks and Alex Hentschke breathed some life back into the innings with a timely 34-run stand.
Unfortunately Hentschke, looking to up the run rate, was caught off Slabber for 24 and it all-but spelled the end of the Bulldogs’ premiership hopes.
Marks went on to reach 37, caught behind off Jones for the final wicket of the match, while no other East batsman reached double figures.
It was an impressive performance by Penola, allowing no room for error for the Bulldogs.
Jones was a deserved winner of the man of the match, as he cleaned up the top four East batsmen, then chipped in to remove the dangerous Marks and drive the final nail in the coffin.
