Angus Heslin has taken a second consecutive five wicket haul to put the Lakers in a strong position on day one of their clash with Benalla Bushrangers at Victoria Park on Saturday.
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Having lost the toss, the Lakers were sent into the field in hot and humid conditions, and it didn’t take long for the inform Heslin to get on the board, finding the outside edge of Carboon’s blade with a diving catch taken low and to the right by Reid Clarke.
Runs were coming slowly for Benalla when their number three, Charlie Bull, decided to take on the lethal arm of Xavier Mitchell at mid-off.
Mitchell, with three stumps to aim at and a clean pick up and throw, made no mistake and Bull was well short of his ground.
With the score on 30 and Benalla’s dangerous skipper Brayden Stepien on 24, the ball was thrown to Van Kreeck, in hope that pure pace would put a stop to the flow of runs coming off Stepien’s bat.
The move proved a master stroke when Stepien went hard at a full ball outside off-stump, only to get an inside edge onto his stumps.
Benalla’s fifth wicket partnership stopped the flow of wickets for a brief period, Jonty Priest and Lucas Ham putting on 32 runs before Heslin was brought back into the attack.
Heslin took the next three within the space of six runs in a brilliant second spell, trapping Ham in front, then having Priest and Dale Stratton caught smartly behind the wicket.
Wily spinner Aneeque Azam was rewarded for his economical bowling with a wicket of his own, having Conor Brodie plumb lbw for one.
Down the other end on four wickets, Heslin wasn’t done with his work. He soon had his fifth and final wicket of the day, finding a thick outside edge of Gary Priest’s bat with Matt Knight doing the rest behind the stumps.
Angus McMillan and Brock McCabe quickly wrapped up the innings, taking a wicket each. Benalla finishing on 95.
With 21 overs to face, Ben Welsh and Clarke opened the Lakers’ innings and looked to chip away at the total.
With the score on 9, Welsh looked to defend but managed to edge it to second slip.
Van Kreeck was promoted to number three, he and Clarke batted patiently to get the Lakers through without losing another wicket.
The pair finishing on 1* and 22* respectively.
The Lakers will resume their batting innings at 1/27 this coming Saturday.
B grade back on winners list
Yarrawonga Mulwala 6/73 def Rutherglen United 9/71.
This week B grade hosted Rutherglen in an important clash after the boys had lost two on the trot.
After losing the toss Rutherglen elected to bat first on a green looking Lonsdale reserve. Jyda House and Gary Browning were once again thrown the new ball and the pair restricted the Rutherglen openers early with Rutherglen 0-20 after 12 overs.
After the slow start, the openers began to score quickly before Hunter Fraunfelder ripper threw the top order taking 4 wickets which included the catch of the year from high jump champion Ethan Thorpe.
From there on the wickets continued to tumble without much resistance with Will Murphy taking 1 and Xave Dowling 2 to have Rutherglen at 7-50.
The tail began to dig in before Thorpe once again provided a spark with a direct hit, and Xave Dowling the same in the following over.
Rutherglen finished 9-71 in a great bowling display.
After the break Hudson Gillies and Charlie Jaimeson opened up with the pair getting off to a good start before Charlie spooned one to gully.
Next in was the inform batsman Alex Kealy and he and Hudson began to take on the new ball smacking them around the ground before Kealy went for a quick fire “18” with the scores on 2-54.
Thorpe was next in and he seemed in a rush for the bar going for a big heave and getting bowled, in typical B grade fashion another mini collapse occurred with Phillips and Fraunfelder both being bowled in successive balls with the scores now at 5/63.
With two runs needed to win Hudson Gillies kicked one out for “34” and left it up to Jack Browning and Josh McCabe to finish it off and they were up to the task winning in the 18th over.
Good win for the boys who take on Ovens Valley in Myrtleford next week.
C Grade match delayed by Luke Combs
Yarrawonga Mulwala 7/197 def Benalla Bushrangers Blue 10/157.
The start of play was delayed, not because of rain, bad light, or even a streaker—but thanks to a Luke Combs concert. Apparently, cricket waits for no man, unless that man is Luke Combs.
The toss: Bushrangers Blue won the toss and, in a bold tactical move inspired by absolutely nothing, decided to bowl first.
Lakers batting: Opening the batting were Slim Shady (Hargreaves) and Pistons (Wilson), who got off to a solid start before Pistons decided he’d rather test the laws of gravity, skying one for 6.
Enter number cruncher (Vagg), striding out like he was ready for battle—helmet grill so wide it could catch a beach ball or at least let in a light breeze to keep things cool.
Slim Shady followed Pistons back to the shed soon after, caught behind for a hard-earned 12. A solid start, if you’re into low expectations.
Then came Housework (Hawking), back from a week of chores—not “choirs,” unless he’s been secretly joining a barbershop quartet.
‘Housework’s’ main role? Rotate the strike like he was paid per single, letting Number Cruncher go full “hulk smash” mode, launching sixes with the kind of disrespect usually reserved for backyard cricket against your little cousin.
Dan and Paul Blick’s rose bushes took the brunt of the assault again. RIP to the flowers—you died doing what you loved: standing in the wrong place.
The dynamic duo put on a massive 131-run partnership, until young Jack Hart (a name to remember) got ‘Number Cruncher’ out for an epic 113.
‘Housework’ soon followed, bowled for a solid 39—impressive, considering he spent most of his innings being a professional strike rotator.
‘Chrome Dome’ (Pickering) wandered in, probably still distracted by his own reflection, and had to take an important phone call mid-innings. Spoiler: it didn’t help his batting. Out for 9.
The tail? Let’s just say it didn’t wag. The last few batters added a modest 11 runs, but the Lakers still posted a very competitive 197.
Bushrangers Blue batting: The Bushrangers’ innings was like a buffet—lots of people having a little bit but no one going back for seconds.
Six batters got past 16 runs, but none of them could stick around long enough to make it count and enjoy desert.
Fielding highlights? Chrome Dome took two screamers, making it look easy. Meanwhile, ‘Housework’ couldn’t catch a cold in Antarctica.
He even tried bribing the umpire to call a dropped catch a wide. Creative, but no dice. Young gun Hudson was the standout with the ball, picking up three crucial wickets, reminding everyone that age is just a number unless you’re playing against a kid who bowls like a young Mitchell Johnson.
The final few overs were played under the romantic glow of car headlights, giving it the ambiance of a dodgy parking lot meet-up.
The Bushrangers were all out for 157 in the 34th over, with the last wicket falling at exactly 7:03PM—just in time for dinner.
Final thoughts: A solid win for the Lakers, but the bowlers might want to spend the week actually aiming at the stumps.
The lads will be back on the track this week, hoping to fine-tune their skills and push for a finals berth.
Special thanks to late night writer Govey for getting the ground up after some heavy rain. Next up: The Lakers take on Bushrangers Red in Benalla. Bring your sunscreen and your A-game as we push for a finals birth.
Under 14 Bulls
Yarrawonga Mulwala Bulls 10/151 v Wangaratta Magpies White (YTB)
The Bulls returned after a two-week bye to a perfect Vic Park oval prepared by ‘Matches’ and ‘Govey’ after a few storms rolled through on Friday night.
Captain Darcy won the toss and elected to bat for the start of the two-day game.
Darcy Hargreaves got the side off to a great start opening the batting with partner Blair, who has been in some nice form with the bat copped a great first ball rattling the stumps.
Byron Dodd joined the skipper at the crease and put on a nice partnership before Darcy was caught for a well-made 32, crashing the ball into the fence on numerous occasions with his pull shots.
Byron got to 23 before falling to a straight one that also rattled his stumps. Jacko Smith chanced his luck and hit 19 before being caught.
Enter Taj Parker who played some classic cricket shots, showing timing and patience and got to 32 before guiding one to point.
Finn Wood who likes to hit the ball hard, did so at ease and got to 11 before running out of partners.
Bulls all out for 151, a good team batting performance, with some important partnerships, which they need to defend next week to keep their finals hopes alive.
Lakers girls on the up
Yarrawonga Mulwala Girls 105 def by City Colts Girls 112.
Captain Stella Hill lost the bat flip, but was given the option to bowl and the Lakers Girls were in the field for their home clash against City Colts at Victoria Park no 2 on a very pleasant Sunday morning.
Rosie Lidgerwood opened the attack with the ball and sent down five “peaches” that could not be scored off and saw the visitors squirt only two off the sixth ball.
Bella Ward took up the challenge and produced two wickets in the second over to whip up a frenzy in the pro-Laker crowd.
Bailey Richardson continued the fall of wickets with her first delivery and “the Lakers” were on fire.
Matilda Thackray, Lexi Richardson and Elise Lidgerwood followed up with miserly overs that keep a wet blanket on the scoring, when Skipper Hill took a sharp caught and bowled to maintain the rage.
Lilly Lewis was at her accurate best conceding only 3 from her two overs, while Kate Giblett traded in the keeper’s gloves for a go with the ball and bowled tight as a drum. Great enthusiasm, positive talk and with a skip in their steps, “the Lakers” were at their best in restricting the City Colts to 88 runs.
Rosie Lidgerwood (10) and Kate Giblett (11) opened the innings with the bat and steadily tick the runs over.
Giblett scored with a bean ball, not only proved the value of wearing a helmet and also her toughness by batting on to top score.
Bailey Richardson copped a ripper first up but recovered to contribute to the fightback. Matilda Thackray played with confidence and combined with Lexi Richardson with a handy partnership as the halfway point of the innings had it as anybody’s game.
Elsie Lidgerwood and Stella Hill faced four ferocious overs of bowling, managing not to lose wickets, but the run rate needed a spike.
Lilly Lewis and then Bella Ward got in and got things moving with some lustrous hitting and lightning running between the wickets only to fall seven runs short of the CCCC total.
Sundries, overthrows and awareness are the areas for improvement that “the Lakers” will be looking to improve to turn things around.
Certainly, our best team performance so far with all players contributing, being super positive and putting instruction into action.
Can’t wait for the next game against Benalla after the bye this Sunday.
Under 12 Lakers book a finals spot
Wangaratta Magpies 7/79 def by Yarrawonga Mulwala Lakers 5/99.
Saturday morning saw the young Lakers head to North Wangaratta oval to take on the Maggies white team.
After winning the toss and bowling first, it didn’t take long for Blake Miller to take his first scalp in the second over, sneaking one past the bat.
Kirsty Plevnik bowled a great spell with 2 wickets for 3 runs, then Finn McDonald and Rosie Lidgerwood each snared one to have the Maggie wobbling.
They then got a few shots away and finished with a respectable 7/79, a competitive total.
Blake ended up with 2 wickets and Billy Vagg got a late one as well.
The Lakers batting innings got off to a shaky start with Eamon Pickering, Blake and Ollie McDonald all falling in the first 4 overs, Kirsty and Isaac McLarty built up a solid partnership and pushed the team towards victory, but when Kirsty was run out and Isaac retired for a well-made 20, there was still a bit of work to be done.
Finn and Rosie ran well between the wickets and both retired, and then Rory Buerckner and Will Cruickshank pushed the lakers past the total.
Will batted fantastically for his 15 not out.
Darcy O’Dwyer came in to round the innings out with 2 not out, a great team performance with the bat, to finish on 5/99.
Next week we host one of the Benalla sides in another tough match.
Under 12s Rams salute at home
Yarrawonga Mulwala Rams 5/107 def Wangaratta Magpies 4/73.
The Yarrawonga Mulwala Rams have made it back-to-back victories, with a win at home against Wangaratta Magpies Black.
In conditions more conducive to cricket, the Rams won the toss and elected to field first.
With some moisture on the outfield from the passing showers overnight, the bowlers were having some difficulty in holding the ball.
George Kennedy got the first wicket with well executed delivery that sent the zing bails flying.
Tight bowling was the backbone of the Rams bowling effort, with Hugo Bott (1 for 7) and Lincoin Ridley (1 for 5) both claiming a wicket off their two overs.
The highlight of the innings was a superb one-handed catch by Murphy Doyle that had the spectators standing to applaud the fine effort.
The Wangaratta Magpies Black finished their innings with a score of 4 for 73.
A contribution from all batsmen was going to be required if the Rams were to come out on top in the match.
Hugo Bott (12 off 23) and Finn O’Brien (17 retired) opened proceedings and soon had the scoreboard ticking over.
Lachie Brown played a fine innings and found the boundary on three occasions to finish unbeaten on 21, he was well supported by Layken Saunders (8 retired).
Paddy Doyle occupied the crease to finish 8 not out at the end of the innings.
The Rams finished their innings with a total of 5 for 107.
They will be looking to consolidate their good form when they travel to Benalla to take on Benalla Bushrangers Red next Saturday.
Under 12 Bulls
Delatite Gold 8/55 def by Yarrawonga Mulwala Bulls 6/127.
Yarrawonga Chronicle