Cale James was key in the bowling attack for Rochester in week one. Photo: Bruce Povey
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BrucePoveyPhotos.com 2022
Both Rochester and Echuca South looked in good form in their first outings, collecting wins in the process, but only one can emerge from round two unbeaten.
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Even though each new season is a clean slate, Echuca South would’ve entered its opening match against Moama as slight underdogs due to its opponent being 12 runs from a flag in 2023-24.
Yet, the Swans looked solid at home and toiled away at Moama’s top and middle order in the first innings with consistent bowling in the right areas.
The tandem of spinner Asantha Singappuli and paceman A.K. Gunathilaka dissected Moama’s middle order after a Tristan Watson lbw and bad luck eliminated the openers.
Gunathilaka trapped both danger men Anthony McMahon and Matt Saunders in front to dismiss them for lbw.
Singappuli was next, bowling Michael Hill through the gate for a single run before a tidy bit of work from him in the field ran out Moama’s prized scalp, Fraser Buchanan for 30.
Ben Eade was there to clean up the tail, collecting the wickets of Archie Teasdale and Mitchell Stephens while running out Kaj Huddle before any of them could get going.
The Swans’ bowling efforts meant they only had to chase 130 for victory.
There was by no means a standout contribution from any of the batsmen as Moama’s bowling kept anyone from building on a start but it was a win by committee nonetheless.
Contributions by Clayton Watson (28) and Rathika Rajakumara (38) were the main driving forces behind the run chase with every other batsman excluding captain Jayden Rosin (5) scoring 14 or over.
In round one, A.K. Gunathilaka collected two crucial wickets for Echuca South against Moama. Photo: Oliver Shedden
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Oliver Shedden
Meanwhile, despite Nondies-Cohuna batting through its innings and losing only six wickets, its total could have been larger, leaving the door open for Rochester to take the win.
Cale James and Jesse Cuttriss snagged two wickets each against Nondies-Cohuna with James removing Geoff Williams for 38 who looked strong at the crease while also picking up captain Will O’Shea for 11.
Cuttriss collected the last two wickets of Jacob Hetherington for 23 and Will Ringin for 18 before they could get going.
Nondies-Cohuna tallied 160 for Rochester to chase down, which became pretty light work for a strong batting side.
Brandon Byrne’s whirlwind 61 anchored the innings, and his 90-run first-wicket stand with fellow opener Jake Wright (38) practically secured the game off the bat.
Matthew Harrington (15), Adam Ward (11), Oliver Williams (13 not out) and captain Angus Martin (11) provided enough consistent runs for Rochester powered them to victory in the 27th over.
Echuca South and Rochester both look like competitive sides this season, with Rochester unlucky to miss out on a semi-final berth in 2023-24.
One is destined to lose in week two, but if both sides consistently show up like they did in their first matches, flag favourites Moama and Echuca want to watch their backs this time around.
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