Moama comfortably accounted for Rochester, chasing down the target of 150 with more than two overs to spare to win by three wickets, courtesy of a Stuart Taylor half-century.
Tim Rasmussen was gallant in defeat for Rochester, posting 64 off 62 deliveries before falling to Kaj Huddle, who claimed 4-31 to give Moama a reasonable score to chase.
The win promoted Moama to second place ahead of BLU and Stanhope thanks to a superior percentage, with all three teams finishing the regular season on nine wins.
Stanhope put up a respectable fight against ladder-leader Echuca, although it wasn’t quite enough as Echuca claimed victory by 25 runs.
Danyon Stockdale was the pick of the Stanhope bowlers, claiming 3-32 from his eight overs. However, Nick Dolan and Rex Taylor were too strong with the bat, making 64 and 55 respectively to power Echuca to a score of 9-169.
Stanhope couldn’t chase that total down, being bowled out for 144 despite a solid 54 from Daryl Harrison. Kale Edwards was Echuca’s best bowler, taking 3-36.
BLU will rue the missed opportunity to claim second spot on the ladder after it was crushed by 100 runs against seventh-placed Rushworth.
Shannon Jarrett’s 49 was Rushworth’s top score as it set BLU a total of 9-182. But BLU didn’t get close, with David Baldwin’s 3-6 off just 1.5 overs highlighting great bowling from Rushworth to bowl out the visiting BLU for just 82, shattering its chances of a guaranteed preliminary final.
Darren Petersen (19) and Lucas Holgate (16) were the only BLU batsmen to make it to double figures.
David Geltch enjoyed figures of 5-12 as Echuca South cruised to a seven-wicket victory in a low-scoring affair against Tongala.
Asantha Singappuli contributed with bat and ball for the victor, claiming 2-16 before producing 41 not out in pursuit of Tongala’s 70. Lachlan Caldwell bowled well for Tongala, taking 2-20 off his eight overs.
Kyabram Fire Brigade proved far too strong for Northern United, earning a seven-wicket win.
Tristan Watson did the damage with the ball, taking 4-8, while Trevor Watts provided a steady 34 runs as they chased down Northern United’s total of 80.
Elmore defended a total of 8-115 against Leitchville-Gunbower, bowling out the visiting side for 51.
Tehumarie Callander (30) and Max Holmberg (20) were solid with the bat for Elmore, as Kaleb Quinn proved a handful taking 3-17 from his eight overs, which included three maidens.
Leitchville-Gunbower’s batsmen were no match for James Harney, who ran through the top order to end the match with figures of 4-17. Alex Keath provided some resistance with the bat, making 28, however he was a lone figure as none of his teammates made it into double digits.
Nondies-Cohuna was awarded victory by way of forfeit over Colbinabbin, which was unable to field a side.
Gus Underwood Shield (C-grade)
Some big scores from Nondies-Cohuna batsmen were the highlight in the Gus Underwood Shield C-grade competition this week.
Jordan Mathers made a superb 114 not out and Kansas Varker fell short of a century on 97 as the team posted a big score of 3-263, easily accounting for Echuca South, which could only manage 118 in reply.
Shannon Aynsley (3-1) and Manojkumarchowdary Boddu (2-6) were unforgiving with the ball for Stanhope as it dismantled Rochester for 58, which it eclipsed to win by eight wickets.
Moama romped to a nine-wicket win over BLU, as Adam Luckman (39) and Luke Agg (33) hit seven boundaries each for the Mowers as they chased down 81.
Girgarre continued its impressive form with a three-wicket win over Echuca that was set up by the bowlers, as M. McReady and Shaun Doolan took three wickets each to bowl Echuca out for 94, while Lee Kempinski top-scored in the chase with 29.
Cooma’s win over Tongala was highlighted by Cooper Fawcett’s 72 not out as it posted a total of 167, despite James Coulson’s best efforts with the ball, claiming 4-22 for Tongala. Jack Morris (5-27) put to bed any hopes of Tongala recording a victory, as it mustered just 113 in reply.
Peter Raglus Shield (D-grade)
Kyabram Fire Brigade claimed a five-wicket win over BLU, led by Sam Spedding’s 49 runs as the side chased down BLU’s total in just 22.2 overs.
Bailey Wilson top-scored for BLU with 38 off 27 deliveries.
Rushworth claimed a 28-run win over Echuca courtesy of Peter Francis’ 44 not out, while Jamie Scott provided strong resistance with 41 off 21 for the losing side.
Cooma defended its total of 95 to claim a 28-run victory against Girgarre, which was bowled out for 67 in reply.
