Sport
6 March, 2024
Drama at Murtoa
Lubeck Murtoa forfeited their match against West Wimmera despite being in a winning position in dramatic scenes on Saturday.
Lubeck Murtoa forfeited their match against West Wimmera despite being in a winning position in dramatic scenes on Saturday.
Lubeck Murtoa bowled West Wimmera out for 121 after resuming at 6/60. Mitchell Dahlenburg, 22, and Jeremy Weeks, with an unbeaten 11 tried hard, but an attack led by Blake Turner, 3/30 and Nic Ballagh, 5/39 was too good.
The controversy happened after the innings. The Mudlarks wanted to go to Rupanyup to cheer on the C Grade in their preliminary final against Natimuk. West Wimmera wanted to bowl as they thought they would win outright.
In the end, despite getting the initial points for winning the first innings, the Mudlarks decided supporting their C Graders was a top priority and forfeited the match and therefore all points with it.
Mudlarks captain Shannon Reddie said supporting the C Grade was important as a club and stood by the decision.
"In the end we decided to forfeit and they can have the points. We are a close-knit club and wanted to finish the match early and support the C Graders. The playing group was in agreement," he said.
"At the end of the day, we are happy with the season as a whole. We hit form later in the year and we have a lot to build off heading into next season.
"The younger players got some vital experience and as a club, we are in the hunt for the C Grade premiership so there are a lot of things we can take from this season as a positive. It has been a successful season."
Warriors captain Jeremy Weeks said he was disappointed but now they can focus on the finals.
"We wanted to go for the win and to also get more match practice in," he said.
The decision by the club has impeded the Homers as they were set to finish on top of the ladder and now won't, and are disadvantaged.
Despite that, Homers ended the regular season on a high following their one-day grand final loss, with a comfortable 151-run victory over the Saints. After posting 247 on day one, on Saturday they came out firing with Baxter Perry, 4/23 and Oliver Potter, 3/20 instrumental in bowling the Saints out for 96. Dezi Carter was the Saints' top batsman with an unbeaten 38.
Despite the forfeit, Homers captain Adam Atwood isn't trying to let it get to them, as their focus is now firmly set on finals.
At Horsham City Oval, the Tigers easily chased down the target of 195 set by the Bullants, declaring at 9/225. Prabath Bandara struck an impressive 93 whilst Matthew Combe was the pick of the Bullants bowlers with 2/28.
Blackheath Dimboola ended their season on a winning note defeating Laharum by 65 runs at Dimboola Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Sam Leith was his consistent self getting the Bulls off to a good start with 31 runs. When he was dismissed caught by Harrison Hoffmann off the bowling of Joel Pymer, Nathan Schorback led the way with an unbeaten 77. With help from Elliott Braithwaite, 26, they scored 9/194 off their 45 overs.
Jackson Hoffmann was the pick of the bowlers for Laharum with 3/36.
In reply, Archer Laverty and Jake McLean bowled tight for the Bulls which put pressure on
Laharum. Daniel Griffiths, 39 and Max Bunworth, 38 were the ones to show resistance, but the Bulls' bowling was too good led by McLean with 3/12. Edward Schorback was also brilliant taking 2/5.
Bulls captain Sam Leith said the signs are there. With Albert Schorback ending the year strong and 10-year-old Edward taking two wickets, the future is bright.
"Edward is going to be a star. He has a great bowling action already and can swing the ball. Albert has also got potential with the bat. In five years from now, having them both is exciting," Leith said.
"I am content with where we are. I knew availability was always going to be a problem at the start of the season, but when you have young kids coming through like the Schorbacks as well as Max Spokes and Archer Laverty to name a few, the future is bright."
NATIMUK THROUGH TO GRAND FINAL
As the saying goes, "Cricket is a funny game", and it was proven on Saturday when Natimuk defeated the unbeaten team Lubeck Murtoa at Rupanyup Recreation Reserve to book themselves a Grand Final berth.
The Mudlarks have been the best team all year and came into the game confident. They won the toss and elected to bat and despite losing Matthew Friedlieb early, they were sitting at 1/45 until two wickets fell quickly with Will Gellatly scoring 16 and Phillip Yew a duck.
Despite some resistance from Cameron Newell, 39, Alby Kingston, 14, and Drew Gellatly with an unbeaten 17, they were bowled out for 112 in the 38th over in an innings that consisted of five ducks.
Clinton Garwood was the star with the ball for Natimuk claiming 5/14 off seven overs which included three maidens.
In reply, Natimuk were 3/37 at one stage but Clinton Garwood, 25, and Jeremy Schmidt, 33, made sure they chased the total down and did so in the 32nd over, finishing at 8/113.
Alby Kingston was the pick of the Mudlark bowlers with figures of 4/9 off 7.1 overs with two maidens.
The Mudlarks now face the Colts in the preliminary final who secured a comfortable 38-run win over Laharum at Dudley Cornell Park.
Laharum won the toss and elected to bowl and it looked a wise decision early on as they had the Colts in trouble at 4/61. Dean Arnott, 50, led the resistance and they were able to score 178 with the loss of five wickets.
Matthew Whelan, 2/33 and Josh Hutchinson, 2/21 were the best bowlers for Laharum.
Austin Simpson claimed the wickets of Chase Whelan and Brodie Foster early, Drew Carmody bowled Matthew Whelan for a duck and when Maydon Roll got the key wicket of Josh Hutchinson, Laharum was 4/29.
Despite Daryl Scollary, 45, Daniel Mibus, 28 and Ashley Marra, 24 all getting starts, they couldn't recover and finished at 8/140.
COLTS ENTER FINALS ON TOP
The Colts have entered the Horsham Cricket Association B Grade finals on top of the ladder following a mauling of West Wimmera at Davis Park.
After bowling them out on day one for 79, the Colts piled on 280 with a consistent team performance with Kevin Purchase top-scoring with 49. Ashley Dickinson, 2/18 was the pick of the bowlers for the Warriors.
They enter the finals unbeaten in both formats and are favourites to land the double after claiming the one-day premiership. They will play Quantong who enter the finals on the back of a bye.
In the other final, Panthers and Homers face off again after having just played each other in the final round.
After posting 301 on the opening day, the Panthers restricted the Homers to 9/234 on day two. Hugh Dougherty led the way with 64 and Spencer Weir scored 39, but the Panthers bowling attack was too good.
Led by Hugh Weidemann with 3/42, the pressure was piled on through Gavin Young, 2/4, Wilson Mitchell, 1/25, Ryder Hudson, 1/20, Seth Talbot, 1/40 and Scott McCurdy 1/54. Clinton Midgley was also important with figures of 0/18 off eight overs.
With both teams having great batting attacks another high-scoring match is on the cards, so the key to winning will be with the ball.