Last week, the Northern Rivers Junior Country Week came to a crescendo as grand finals were hosted on Thursday during a scorching heat wave - and there to salute in a blaze of glory were a throng of the region’s best up and comers.
Cricket Shepparton took on Murray Valley Cricket Association in the under-17 decider at Moama Recreation Reserve, where the former took the spoils by 30 runs.
Changed to a T20 format due to conditions, the boys in blue batted first but soon lost opener Archy Harrison (Nagambie) for two before Cooper Sleeth (Mooroopna) and Kyren Dawson (Numurkah) began knuckling down.
Dawson was eventually stumped on 28 while Sleeth was caught out on 32 two overs later, but unfortunately for MVCA, Euroa’s Ethan Saxon was in the mood as he clubbed 31 not out off 22 balls to push Cricket Shepparton toward a handy score.
Tyson Webb (Tatura) was the only other casualty, out for a run a ball 13, as the locals posted 4-124 from its allotted overs.
Cricket Shepparton got off to a dream start as Murphy Stephens was run out for a golden duck in the first over, and things went from bad to worse for MVCA when former Old Students and Northerners talent Bayden Hutchins was removed for three not long after.
MVCA continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as scoreboard pressure mounted, and it came to a head in the 18th over as Nathaniel Timson (Northerners) took the last two poles in successive balls to end the match.
The north east association finished all out on 94, landing Cricket Shepparton a righteous victory as many of its stars were radiant throughout the tournament.
Old Students gun Ben O’Brien headed a local-flavoured podium of batting leaders, making 100 runs from three knocks, while Dawson and Harrison rounded out on 93 and 92 respectively.
Central Park-St Brendan’s bowler Thomas Mellington dazzled with the rock, sharing the bowling spotlight with MVCA’s Liam Sutton on 10 wickets.
The under-17 side wasn’t Cricket Shepparton’s only horse in the grand final race, but for the under-13s, the outcome unfortunately wasn’t mirrored with all the marbles on the table.
Taking on Bendigo District Cricket Association on the road, the hosts made strong inroads early and raced to a competitive score of 5-142.
Tatura’s Blake Bunfield was the pick of Cricket Shepparton’s bowlers in the first innings, taking 2-18.
The locals simply ran out of steam in the chase, falling 79 runs shy of the target with four wickets remaining as Bunfield (16 runs) and Northerners’ Braxton Brett (15) were the only boys in blue to break double figures.
A special mention goes to Bunfield, who finished runner-up in the division’s champion player standings after posting 106 runs and nine wickets.
Attention for all juniors now turns back to club land, with the second half of the season set to begin this coming Saturday following cancellations due to heat at the weekend.
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