Sport
20 November, 2023
Germano brilliance leads St Marys to victory
St Marys have secured their first win of the Wimmera-Mallee Cricket Association season with a 94 run win over Wycheproof/Narraport at Wycheproof Recreation Reserve on Saturday. In previous weeks, St Marys were building towards a win and finally...
St Marys have secured their first win of the Wimmera-Mallee Cricket Association season with a 94 run win over Wycheproof/Narraport at Wycheproof Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
In previous weeks, St Marys were building towards a win and finally secured one in round five through some Nick Germano brilliance.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Germano hit a century, scoring 118 off just 108 balls with an innings that contained 16 fours and 1 six.
Sharing an opening partnership of 145 with Colby Schmidt, whom scored 48, St Marys made 5/196 off their 40 overs.
In the chase the home side got off to a steady start. They lost Will Noble to the bowling of Nick Toscano in the 7th over and were going well at 1/75.
Chad Hartnett then picked up the wickets of Thomas Trewin and William Allan in quick succession to have them 3/77.
Nick Germano saw to it that they couldn't rebuild, getting the next three wickets in the space of five overs with Wycheproof/Narraport innings ending on 102.
Germano finished with figures of 3/13 off 7 overs. Thomas Trewin was the high scorer for Wycheproof/Narraport with 37.
Aiden Keys, who was doing well in B-Grade was rewarded for his hard work by getting a call up and fortunately for them, they didn't need him with the bat.
Captain Colby Schmidt said that it was an impressive innings by Germano.
"I had a pretty good seat for a lot of it. I got out when he was on 98 and it was an exceptional batting performance. He didn't play loose shots. It was really impressive," he said.
"He had a field day. He bowled tight and well and didn't go for a lot of runs.
"It was good to be able to bat 40 overs and get a score on the board. We ended up defending it comfortably. Everyone in the field was up and about and everyone bowled well."
Schmidt was also impressed with Chad Hartnett with his 2 wickets, especially at a vital time of the match.
"He was very good with the ball. As a young kid he works really hard and he is a great cricketer and it is good to see him get some rewards," he said.
Brim-KSH showed they can win matches without Isaac McPherson with a comprehensive 8 wicket win over St Arnaud at the Brim Recreation Reserve.
After losing the toss and being sent in to field, Brim-KSH restricted them to 9/129. It was a well-round bowling performance with Kobe MacGregor, Lachlan McGinniss, Chris McPherson and Royce Bennett all picking up two wickets a-piece with MacGregor the best figures of 2/21 off eight overs.
Opening batsman, Colin Crooks, top scored for St Arnaud with 43 with Kynan Torney chipping in with 38.
In the chase, they were never on the back foot with Connor McGinniss and Matthew Crisp sharing in a 50 run opening stand. Crisp got out for 26 and Jeremy Preston came in to score 13 and when he fell, McGinniss and Chris McPherson guided them home, both unbeaten on 46 and 30 runs respectively.
Matthew Crisp said it was good to win without Isaac.
"A lot of guys from the B Grade came up and did well. It was good to win without Isaac and to be honest they were down a few stars so we probably got them at the right time," Crisp said.
"Connor McGinniss finally got on the board and got some runs and we had a 50 run opening partnership.
"From B Grade, Sandon Schultz and Jack Hadley fielded well and Harrison Williams did a few good things and Royce Bennett bowled well, so it was good to see them do a good job which is great for us moving forward."
In the other A-Grade match, Birchip got their second consecutive win with a 41 run win over Marnoo at the Birchip Recreation Reserve.
After losing the toss and being sent into bat, they were bowled out for 177 with Ty Colbert and Hudson McCredden scoring half centuries with 50 and 54 respectively. Jimmy Duxson and Benjamin Newton both picked up three wickets.
In reply Marnoo were bowled out for 136 with Nic Baird scoring 74. Lachy Randall was the pick of the bowlers with 5/38 off 8 overs.
In B-Grade, St Marys got their second win of the season with a four wicket win over the Southern Mallee Giants.
A good all-round bowling performance led by Brodie Dennes with 2/8, off 8 overs, saw the Giants restricted to 120.
Clinton Castleman was the best player for the Giants hitting 50 for the bat and taking 3/6 with the ball. Nathan Priest guided St Marys home in the 34th over with an unbeaten 58.
Colby Schmidt said it was good to see everyone at the club after the game.
"It has been a while since we had two sides in the competition, and has been a longer time since both sides won on the same day," he said.
"It was great to see them pick up a win. Everyone got to the club and enjoyed themselves afterwards.
"We all had a good time and it felt great to celebrate two wins. With the A-Grade having the bye next week we are all heading down to Anzac Park to cheer them on."
Donald Jeffcott remain on top of the ladder with a nine wicket win over Watchem. Brady Griffiths 4/18 and an unbeaten 54 and 55 from Jake Needs and Sam Postlewaite respectively were the best players for Donald Jeffcott.
At Charlton Park, Charlton put up their second consecutive 200 score, finishing with 4/279 after their 40 overs against Birchip. Billy Sexton scored 105 for Charlton. They restricted Birchip to 103 with Hugh Sait leading the way with 3/29.