By Lachlan Onions
MILLICENT BLACKCAPS 7/186 d FOOTBALLERS FURNER BEACHPORT 10/112
Round 13 of the Millicent and Naracoorte Cricket Association saw Millicent claim a 74-run win at home over Footballers Furner Beachport on Saturday.
The Blackcaps batted first and lost Sam Hunt early after he was bowled by Harry Rana.
However, Mitchell Nitschke and Jaxon Cushion restored parity for the home side and made it to 1/56 before the former was caught off Ryan Bateman’s bowling for 22 runs.
Wickets began to tumble quickly and the away side seemed on top as they sent Cushion and Jacob Todd back to the pavilion to make it 4/59.
Despite the dramatic shift in momentum, Alex Wesolowski and Josh Mason fought back for Millicent and steered the ship back into the home side’s favour.
The pair combined for a 63-run partnership before Wesolowski was dismissed.
Campbell Hateley and Corey Baker both struggled to make an impact before being caught.
At 7/138, Footballers Furner Beachport had found a way back into the contest but Mason and Teej Lawlor combined for a 48-run eight-wicket partnership to make it to 7/186 at the completion of the 40 overs.
Ryan Bateman was the pick of the bowlers for the away side with 2/27 off seven overs.
The visitors struggled in response as Todd, Wesolowski and Michael Gibson ripped through the line-up with seven wickets between the three of them.
Ryan Bateman and James Varcoe were the only two players to provide some resistance with the former scoring 27 not out and the latter 36 as they were bowled out for 112.
LUCINDALE 7/223 d NARACOORTE TOWNIES 8/191
A 170-run opening partnership provided the platform for Lucindale as it claimed a 32-run win at home.
Shane McGurk and Josh Smith were in a league of their own as they put the Townies to the sword to begin the contest.
Shane McGurk was the first to depart when he was caught and bowled by Myles Bittner for 71 runs.
Bittner struck again shortly after when he dismissed Smith for 104 runs.
Smith scored his ton at an impressive strike-rate of 115.55 and hit 12 4’s and two maximums on his way to his century.
As the innings entered its final stages, Bittner was a thorn in the side of the Lucindale middle order and claimed six scalps to end with figures of 6/49 off seven overs.
Despite his best efforts with the ball, the Roos still posted an imposing total of 7/223 and the pressure was well and truly on the visitors with runs on the board.
With a difficult run chase ahead, the Townies could not have asked for a much worse start as opener Shoukat Ali was dismissed by Jesse Hazelman for a golden duck in the second over.
Soon after, Hazelman dismissed Bredon Smart to make it 2/19.
Brodie Foster, Rowan Ham and Takbirullah Ahmadi were all dismissed cheaply and the game appeared to be slipping away at 5/80.
However, opener Matt Smith and Bittner fought on and combined for an 85 run stand before the pair were dismissed in consecutive balls in the 36th over.
Form then on, thee was no way back for the visitors and they could only make it to 8/191 at the end of the 40 overs.
Smith top-scored for the Townies with 82 runs off 105 balls, while Bittner scored 38 runs in an impressive game all-round despite the end-result.
RENDELSHAM 1/113 d MOUNT BURR 10/108
The reigning premiers flexed their muscle on Saturday as they claimed an emphatic nine-wicket win over Mount Burr at Rendelsham Oval.
The Mozzies batted first and started promisingly through Timothy Schultz and Jordan Muhovics.
However, Rendelsham’s class shone through and their bowlers made light work of the Mount Burr batting lineup as six players were dismissed for three runs or less including three ducks.
Muhovics was a silver-lining in the contest for the Mozzies as he scored 52 runs before he was bowled by Ayden Reid.
After a relentless performance with the ball, the hosts bowled Mount Burr out for 108 runs.
Jake Wight led the way for Rendelsham with 3/13 off his eight overs, while Max Telfer also picked up two scalps.
In response, Wight was the standout performer with an unbeaten 65 runs, while Zach Jones scored 26 and Dylan Clough added 12 runs before the home side surpassed Mount Burr’s total.
ROBE 8/193 d KINGSTON 10/114
Robe claimed its second win of the season with an impressive performance at Kingston on Saturday.
The visitors batted first and started strongly with a 56-run opening stand between Zac Deane and Jordan Pettit.
Deane was the first to depart after he scored 32 runs, while Pettit continued on in what turned out to be a heart-breaking innings for the Robe opening batter.
Pettit made his way to 99 before was caught off Mark Collins’ bowling and was left to rue what could have been after he fell agonisingly short of his century.
Robe ended its 40 overs with a solid 193 runs and the game was in the balance as Kingston began the second innings.
The visitors were relentless with the ball as all five bowlers found themselves amongst the wickets.
Adrian Thompson was the best with 3/36, while Thomas Kurray, Jack Sneath and Robbie Chappel all claimed two scalps as Kingston was bowled out for 114 runs.
