Wallan falls short in two-day thriller
WALLAN fell four runs short in a thrilling chase against Bacchus Marsh as the first round of the Gisborne and District Cricket Association’s McIntyre Cup two-dayers concluded on Saturday.
The Magpies, playing at their Greenhill Reserve home, were given a daunting task by the visiting Bulls, who batted throughout the first day to make 8/266 from their 80 overs.
Wallan’s run chase got off to the worst possible start on Saturday when opener Todd Keenan and first wicket Hamish Mullavey-Clark each fell to the bowling of Bacchus Marsh’s Ian Spiteri without a run on the board.
But the Magpies dug their heels in, and new batsman Ryan Bonner teamed up with remaining opener Kieran Atkin to steady the side with a 58-run partnership.
Bonner eventually fell for 20 runs, but Atkin and captain Bryan Vance built what looked to be a match-turning stand of 76 for the fourth wicket.
Atkin’s innings of 89 included nine fours and three sixes, but he was undone by Brenton Payne short of a century.
Vance batted patiently and scored an unbeaten 83 off 161 balls but began to run out of partners as Spencer Whittingham (25), Matthew Clayton (13), Archie Moore (16) and Ben Mullavey, duck, came and went .
Vance tried to maintain the strike to protect tailender Campbell Fowler, but the team ran out of overs and finished 8/263.
The loss forced Wallan to eighth on the McIntyre Cup ladder, two places outside of the final.
Romsey remain in the final despite dropping their two-day game against unbeaten ladder leaders Gisborne.
The Redbacks defended a relatively paltry total of 134 after being bowled out on day one, but an early wicket just before the end of play gave the team hope.
But the loss of Wilhem Mackay was little more than a blip on the radar for Gisborne as opener Matthew Barake (62) and middle-order batsman Michael Allen (120) put on a batting masterclass.
Gisborne batted all day to finish 9/305, easily surpassing Romsey’s total.
Jake East, 4/71, and Chris Marienfeld, 3/75, were the only bright spots in a Romsey bowling attack that struggled to silence the Gisborne batsmen.
Wallan and Romsey will both play away in the next round of two-day fixtures starting this weekend, with the Magpies playing Sunbury United and the Redbacks taking on Bacchus Marsh.
Johnstone shield
Kilmore continued to strengthen his credentials as a premiership contender in his first season in the Johnstone Shield competition, holding off Sunbury United to wrap up his opening two-day game.
The Blues were bowled out for 211 in the first innings but defended the total well after a worrying start.
Sunbury United’s Adam Tanner fell for just one run, but fellow opener Aaron Wright (40) and David Falzon (69) put on 95 for the second wicket.
Kilmore veteran Brett Buttler’s breakthrough wicket of Wright proved to be a game-turner as he followed up with the wickets of Raees Alam, 5, Jarrod Bottomley, duck and Falzon to account for the entire Hornets top order.
Buttler struck again to remove Sunbury United captain Daniel Furnell (15), while his son Josh Buttler took the wickets of tail-enders Bradley Wilson (16), Phillip Allen (1) and Ben Falzon (11) to getting the Hornets all out for 173.
Brett Buttler finished with season’s best figures of 6/49 while Josh had 3/44, with Blake Munari-O’Dwyer picking up the last wicket.
Kilmore will return home to host Aintree in a two-day fixture starting on Saturday.
Women
Kilmore took less than five overs to seal a comprehensive victory against Aintree in the women’s competition on Saturday.
Aintree batted off its 20 overs to finish 4/62 after losing the toss and being sent in, but Taylah Logie, 26 not out, and Megan Farrell, 37 not out, guided Kilmore to a winning total without loss.
Logie also took 2/11 bowling to underline her importance to the team, which has a bye in the penultimate round of the season.
Lancefield Black defeated Macedon to retain their place at the top of the ladder and will face Darley at the weekend, while Lancefield Yellow will return from a bye to take on Aintree.
