Delahey dreams Crushed as Hounds stay alive in Goulburn Valley Bush Bash League thriller

The Hounds were on the front foot and then some with 10 overs down after electing to bat first, despite the first-ball departure of Regis Chakabva.

At this stage, the Crushers were staring down the barrel of chasing a 200-plus total as Paul Newman and Anthony McMahon easily took the task on.

With both teams’ qualification chances firmly on the line, Waaia’s Mitch Cleeland led the fightback, breaking up the 78-run partnership ― buffeted by two dropped catches off Reinhardt Engler ― and nabbing Joel Murphy shortly after.

A much tighter contest would emerge, or so it seemed.

Eventually setting a target of 159, it again became the batsmen’s show in the early going as the Crushers put their foot down.

Ethan Brookes, the only Crusher to raise his bat, was on the throttle with seven fours and two sixes before his dismissal at 2-102 gave way to an Archer-led constriction.

The Crushers’ middle-order crumbled under the combined attack of McMahon and Archer, losing five wickets for 15 as the wheels fell off the chase.

Taking the unusual step of making a tactical change in the middle with two overs remaining would not save the Crushers from a second straight defeat, falling nine runs short despite Dylan Klemm’s pinch-hitting effort.

The Hounds’ Matt Hinks was thrilled with scraping out a high-stakes win.

“I thought we stayed calm under pressure,” Hinks said.

“I thought the bowlers bowled incredibly well on a slower pitch and our second 10 overs were as good as we could have bowled.

“From the outside, looking at the 10-over mark it would have looked like they were a fair way ahead, but we knew we just had to execute our plans.”

Execute, they did.

Hinks had plenty of praise for the bowlers who brought back the arm-wrestle down the crucial stretch, creating repeat misplays through the Crushers’ order.

“It does become harder to score with the fielding restrictions, when you take the pace right off the ball and you’ve got five fielders out there,” Hinks said.

“McMahon bowled really well for us, as well as Archer, as he always does.

“(Archer) is a very high-quality bowler and, as a leg-spinner, he doesn’t give you many opportunities to put bad balls away.

“He’s so valuable in that role for us.”

The Hounds’ victory moves Hinks’ side into a win-and-in battle with the 1-1 SRP Mud Dogs, set for Echuca’s Victoria Park on Sunday, January 21.

Hinks remains hopeful of a team-oriented hit-out up north in the competition’s final regular season round.

“Playing in Echuca, our pitch has been pretty good this year. We’ve been finding a pretty good batting wicket,” Hinks said.

“With our side, we quite literally bat to 11. Michael Archer will probably hit there, whereas he could be in at four in local cricket.

“We don’t feel like you can get us six or seven down and just crush the tail.

“We think it’s an untapped population in Echuca for the Bush Bash, so we’re hoping for a strong turnout.”