Cricket
12 January, 2026
HCA impress at Horsham Country Week
The Horsham Cricket Association’s under 15s representative team won an impressive three out of four games at the Horsham Country Week tournament, played between Monday January 5 and Thursday January 8.
In their opening game against South West at Sunnyside Recreation Reserve, HCA claimed a 26-run win in their 50-over match.
Archie Knight top scored with 53 not out and, with the support of Judd Oakley (35) and Joel Plazzer (33), helped HCA to 4/169.
The side then dismissed South West for 143, with Joel Plazzer (3/8) and Jazz Hopper (3/19) each taking three wickets, while Milton Ellis had an impressive 2/19 from 10 overs.
On Tuesday, against the Hamilton Hurricanes Green team, HCA elected to bat first and finished with 5/175.
Archie Knight continued his day-one form with another half-century (63 not out), with valuable contributions from Jazz Hopper (37) and Harry Noonan (30 not out).
HCA had the Hamilton side in early trouble at 6/22 before eventually dismissing them for 101 to win by 74 runs.
Joel Plazzer had another impressive bowling outing as he finished with 4/18, while Jazz Hopper (3/12) and Judd Oakley (2/15) also took multiple wickets.
At Dimboola Recreation Reserve on Wednesday, Wimmera Mallee elected to bat against HCA in their 20/20 game, where Oliver Holland (24) and Oakley Brennan (21) led Wimmera Mallee to 7/74.
Milton Ellis starred for HCA with the ball, claiming 3/10 and making a runout, while Jazz Hopper took 2/14.
In response, HCA scored 6/75, reaching the target with under two overs to spare.
Lenny Shurdington top scored with 29 and Joel Plazzer hit a crucial 19 not out to help secure the victory.
Oakley Brennan led Wimmera Mallee with the ball as he claimed 2/10 from four overs.
Thursday’s 20/20 clash against Warrnambool Blue at City Oval proved to be HCA’s only loss of the tournament.
The home team elected to bat, with Joel Plazzer (25) and Harry Noonan (19 not out) helping HCA reach 6/111.
Warrnambool proved too strong in response as they finished their 20 overs at 5/183.
Milton Ellis led HCA with 3/31 while Jazz Hopper had an economical 1/24.
HCA finished third on the ladder, with Mount Gambier finishing the tournament in top spot after going undefeated.
Over the course of the tournament, Archie Knight led HCA with 127 runs and a tournament-high leading average of 127, while Joel Plazzer averaged 32.67 with his 98 runs.
Jazz Hopper was the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with nine wickets at an average of 7.67, while Milton Ellis and Joel Plazzer were among the leading bowlers, finishing with eight and seven wickets, respectively.
In the field, Jack Dodds, Lewis Gellatly, Judd Oakley and Archie Knight each claimed three catches across the week.
Despite dealing with hot conditions all week, Horsham Country Week carnival co-ordinator Tony Caccaviello said it was a great tournament that demonstrated the young talent coming through.
"It was a very successful tournament and we did well against some challenging conditions," Caccaviello said.
"We had eight teams in total competing and the feedback from the players and parents was extremely positive.
"It was a great chance for kids to showcase their skills and talent and also play on some of the superb facilities that we have in the Wimmera."
Caccaviello added that the Horsham Cricket Association team had an exceptional tournament.
"The Horsham team itself, they had a superb week," Caccaviello said.
"We only had four kids in the top age bracket in the squad of 12 so for a very young team, they performed amazingly above expectations.
"It's a great reflection of the energy and effort that's happening in the junior cricket space in an awesome cricket association.
"The kids, they gelled together so well instantly and really made the association proud of, not just how they play but how they conducted themselves across the carnival."
