Travelling to WJ Findlay Oval in Wangaratta, Benalla won the toss and elected to bat first, with skipper Brayden Stepien and James Carboon striding out to the middle.
It was a steady start from the pair, with Carboon rotating the strike and Stepien playing his extensive array of shots, as they kept the scoreboard ticking over in the early stages.
They lasted 13 overs and put 46 on the board together before Stepien holed out off the bowling of Paddy McNamara, gone for 37 off 48 deliveries, bringing Ross Cavill to the crease.
Cavill played a superb and patient innings, finding the boundary rope on seven occasions during his 94-ball stay at the crease, raising the bat for a half-century before eventually being dismissed on 54.
Unfortunately for the Bushrangers, there would be no other scores of note, with Carboon’s 15 and Gary Priest’s 14 off 50 deliveries the next best scores, as the Bushies were bowled out for 172.
Rovers co-captain Jeremy Wilson did the damage for the home side, claiming 5-47, while McNamara (2-34) and Brady Bartlett (2-13) also claimed multiple scalps.
With 172 to defend next week, the Benalla bowlers will have their work cut out for them, as the home side has surpassed that on five occasions so far this season, although there is hope for the Bushies, with Yarrawonga Mulwala bowling Rovers out on the same ground for just 58 in round 11.
The Game
Benalla Bushrangers 10-172 (R Cavill 54, B Stepien 37, J Wilson 5-47) plays Rovers Bruck United
