Up and about: Rochester recorded a brilliant win over Kyabram Fire Brigade at the weekend to enter the Christmas break in touch with the top four on the McMahon Shield ladder. Photos: Bruce Povey
Rochester will enter the McMahon Shield Christmas break on a high, having secured a terrific six-wicket win against the in-form Kyabram Fire Brigade at the weekend.
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Entering the clash at Windridge Oval on a six-match winning streak, with the majority of those victories built off the back of some outstanding hitting, it was no surprise the Flames opted to bat after winning the toss.
Superb knock: Rochester opener Brandon Byrne made an unbeaten 84 against Kyabram Fire Brigade at the weekend, steering his side to the win.
But Rochester made the quicker of starts, as Sean Williams claimed the wicket of opener Kaine Herbert for a five-ball duck to have the visitors sitting at 1-7 early in the piece.
In-form: Flames co-captain Paul Newman made 92 at the weekend, continuing what has been an outstanding month at the crease.
However, Rochy’s joy may have been cut short when Paul Newman strode to the crease, with the Flames co-captain undisputedly the most in-form player in the competition, averaging a staggering 199 across his previous three innings heading into the clash.
Despite the ominous presence of Newman, the home side did not falter, as captain Dylan Cuttriss (1-28) sent opener Miller Griffiths back to the pavilion for 13 to leave Ky two wickets down for 36 runs.
Sure enough, Newman picked up right where he left off, firing boundary after boundary as he and new batsman Bohden Learmonth set about compiling a decent total for their side.
Line and length: Sean Williams claimed 4-29 as the pick of Rochester’s bowlers.
A 109-run partnership was the result, with Newman firing 92 runs at a strike rate again of more than 100, before he fell victim to Angus Martin (1-49), although the match situation looked much more evenly poised with the Flames at 3-145.
That’s out: Brenton Sheppard is bowled by Sean Williams.
Learmonth bolstered the final portion of the visitors’ innings, adding a well-made 69 before he departed at the hands of Williams, who took the remaining wickets to finish with 4-29, as Fire Brigade found itself 6-229 after 45 overs.
Rochester’s chase began in similar circumstances to the Flames’ innings, finding itself down 1-12 after opener Williams (9) was dismissed cheaply by Robert Salter.
Going aerial: Angus Martin played a pivotal role in Rochester’s win, smacking 78 runs alongside Brandon Byrne.
Jake Wright was at the crease alongside Brandon Byrne and the two advanced the team total to 39 before Wright (18) also fell victim to Salter, while Matthew Harrington (16) was the next to go, caught off the bowling of Herbert (1-52) as Rochy slumped to 3-84.
Effort: Jackson Barnett bowls for Kyabram Fire Brigade.
Angus Martin joined Byrne in the middle and the match defining began, with the duo combining for a stand of 119 runs to defy the Flames’ bowling attack and steer Rochester to within touching distance of the win.
Crunched: Bohden Learmonth was in fine form with the bat, adding 69 as one of the Flames’ top contributors.
The partnership was broken a mere 27 runs from the required total, with Martin departing for a superb 78 off 65 deliveries, with Salter (3-43) the culprit yet again.
Jesse Cuttriss (17 not out) finished the job for Rochester alongside Byrne, who made an unbeaten 84 in a match-winning performance for the home side that keeps it in touch with the top four heading into the Christmas break.
Meanwhile, Anthony McMahon’s dazzling 79 not out carried Moama through to a two-wicket win over Nondies Cohuna to stay in pole position.
Moama restricted the visiting side to 9-135 and, despite losing opening pair Joel Murphy and Fraser Buchanan cheaply, was able to surpass the total in 20.2 overs thanks to McMahon and Matt Saunders (42 not out).
Elsewhere, Echuca South scored a comfortable five-wicket victory against Tongala, while Bamawm-Lockington United reaped a similarly quick win over Leitchville Gunbower.
Lastly, Curtis Townrow’s knock of 94 helped Echuca through to a monster 78-run win over Cooma.
