Yarrawonga Mulwala Lakers’ A Grade side took a significant step toward a home semi-final with a hard-fought victory over Ovens Valley United Cricket Club in a gripping contest at Victoria Park’s Hargreaves Oval on Saturday.
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After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Lakers endured a shaky start.
Fraser Smart was bowled early, setting the tone for a tense opening period.
Reid Clarke and Ben Welsh steadied the innings with a promising partnership, but wickets continued to tumble as Ovens Valley United applied relentless pressure.
The innings appeared in serious trouble when Willie Wheeler was dubiously judged caught behind, leaving the Lakers reeling at 5/45.
However, momentum swung dramatically thanks to a crucial 50-run partnership between Devlin Webb and Harry Wheeler.
Webb played an important hand of 39 before departing, but Wheeler remained composed and determined.
Batting superbly with the tail, Wheeler found valuable support from Matt McCabe as the pair dug in to grind the total to a competitive 163.
Wheeler’s classy 65 from 79 deliveries was the backbone of the innings, blending patience with precision at a time when it mattered most.
The Lakers’ bowling innings began in perfect fashion, with Angus Heslin striking immediately to put OVUCC on the back foot.
The pressure intensified shortly after when Harry Wheeler produced a brilliant run out, firing the ball beautifully over the bails to Clarke to remove a key batsman.
From there, wickets continued to fall. Spin twins Devlin Webb and Welsh applied the clamps through the middle overs, suffocating the run rate and forcing mistakes.
Welsh was superb, finishing with 3/24 from nine miserly overs.
At 8/100, the game looked all but wrapped up in the Lakers’ favour.
But Ovens Valley United refused to surrender, sticking to their task and dragging the contest right down to the wire.
With nine wickets down and 12 runs required for victory, the responsibility fell to Matt McCabe with the ball in hand.
In a dramatic finish, the OVUCC batsman skied a delivery toward deep long-on, where Webb charged forward and completed a sensational diving catch to seal the win.
A Reserve downs Delatite
A Reserve Lakers lost the toss and were sent into bat at Mulwala’s Lonsdale Reserve.
Hudson Gillies and Zach Moore looked tidy and prepared to toil early, with lots of patient front-foot defence and the occasional drive between third and gully contributing most of the early runs.
Moore cut one over the top of point for four, and the boys in the shed breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he was going to make it easy. The next ball, he decided to pull a ‘lowey’ off middle, and better luck next time.
The men from Mansfield continued to bowl tight lines and lengths, claiming the top five for around 50 runs. It was not looking good for the Lakers.
Ollie Cope chewed up the overs and saw off the new ball and opening bowlers. Enter Johnno Taylor, who may only have one shot in the arsenal but made it count, amassing 32 runs.
Hunter Frauenfelder contributed well with the bat, notching up a valuable 24. The Lakers were bowled out for a conservative but well-fought 144.
Hunter, by name and by nature, had the opposition looking like cats on a hot tin roof, delivering eight overs at 1.75 for three wickets.
Lach Philips at the other end was the yin to Hunter’s yang, taking four scalps for only slightly more runs.
Delatite, at 7/32, looked set to have an early knock, but they still showed some fight.
The next three wickets were hard-fought, going almost down to the wire, with the home side finally rolling the visitors for 116.
Roll on the long weekend and the ‘Last Man Standing’ function, be sure to buy a ticket and support your local cricket.
B Grade sneak home into the finals
With a makeup game from earlier in the season scheduled this weekend and four teams at home, it was over to Yarrawonga P-12 Oval.
Full-time educator, part-time landscaper Matt “Blocka” Wilson was left with the responsibility of bringing the oval up to league standards. He did a great job, but come game time forgot it was a hard wicket and had to do a dash to replace the spikes.
Kade Michael opened the bowling and had the ball hooping both ways, but it was the returning Josh Bozzola who claimed the first wicket, bowled through the gate.
Ever-reliable Ben Pickering bowled at a speed completely opposite to the way he drove home from junior cricket, but it worked a treat, claiming two wickets of his own.
Ash Thiseen bowled some absolute beauties, being rewarded with one of his own. Lucas Pickering was brought into the attack to finish the innings, claiming the same figures as his father, 2/11, as Wang Maggie’s were all out for 113.
Damien Leeburn and young gun Darcy Hargreaves strode to the middle, and things looked good until Leeburn departed with the score on 20.
A few wickets fell, Bozzola hit one onto Pinniger Street, bounced onto a nearby roof, and into a backyard, with the opposition having to do a door knock. Ash Thiseen kept the target within reach before a mix-up and a few more wickets fell.
Pickering senior played the best innings seen on the school oval in many years, finishing not out 32 off 29 with three towering sixes. Barring a mix-up with the league ladder, the G Graders hit the road to take on top-of-the-ladder Merton in the first final.
C Grade: Parker dominate with ball, Dhaminda the bat
The C Grade Lakers wrapped up the home-and-away season with a top-of-the-table “dead rubber” against the Moyhu Vikings.
In C Grade terms, that simply means everyone still wanted bragging rights at the bakery Monday morning.
With Captain Parker allegedly at the Mansfield Hunting & Fishing Show but reportedly too crook to hold a gun, stand-in skipper Dodd lost the toss (tradition upheld), and the Lakers were sent into bowl.
Veteran Browning and young gun Parker took the shiny red Kookaburra and had it hooping around as if it had a remote control. Browning produced classy outswingers, while Parker bent it back in like he’d paid extra for premium movement.
- Browning: 2/17 off 5
- Parker: 5/23 off 5.5
Meat Eater Knight kept the noose tight with 1/6 off 4, bowling well above his age and below the Vikings’ patience level. Tow Ball Head Reeves turned himself into a folk hero and comedian, delivering mid-delivery off his knees but still managing to release the Kookaburra.
In the field, Jack Browning decided gravity was optional. Running back with eyes glued to the ball, one-and-a-half pikes airborne, he plucked a screamer that will be spoken about in headquarters for years.
Unfortunately, his bowling later got treated like fresh chicken on a stainless-steel bench as the Vikings went to town.
The Lakers rolled Moyhu for 10/104 in 19.5 overs.
Buckets Dhaminda and Meat Eater Knight then got things rolling perfectly before Knight skied one at 31, a gentle reminder that confidence and elevation don’t always mix.
Enter Dodd, the form man of the last two months and Lakers’ leading run scorer.
What followed was less C Grade and more Boxing Day Test vibes. Dodd and Dhaminda unleashed glorious cover drives, towering sixes, and even the rare quick single.
Dhaminda brought up a classy maiden half-century, finishing 61, while the red-hot Dodd calmly closed it out on 37* as the Lakers cruised home in their final home-and-away clash.
Under 16
Report not submitted
Yarra/Mul Lakers 9/83 (20 overs) def Delatite 6/77 (20 overs)
Lords Reserve, Mansfield
Darcy Hargreaves 25, Alex Richardson 10, Declan Reeves 19
Xavier Chessels 2/7, Lucas Pickering 2/1
Under 14s Rams into prelim
Rams Under 14s are through to the preliminary final after Byron Dodd scored 82 not out. Yarra made 10/215, Beechworth 3/29. The rain-affected match was drawn.
Saturday morning at Victoria Park saw the keen Rams take full advantage of winning the toss on their home ground.
Openers Finn Mitchell and Benji Wollington kept a handy Beechworth bowling attack under control. Mitchell went over the top early but was out for 17. Wollington played his usual steady game before being trapped in front for 7.
Enter Byron Dodd, who took the game away in quick style, driving, pulling, and cutting with ease on his way to a quick 53 retired off 33 balls.
Along with his cousin Isaac McLarty, these two hit the ball hard through the Beechworth fielders, putting on an 88-run partnership before Isaac was trapped in front for 42.
Judd Haebich, with his new bat, spanked the ball before being caught. Kirsty Plevnik hit a boundary before falling, Bill Vagg went for 1 trying to up the run rate, and Parker Cowan stayed in for 20 balls, managing some nice shots.
Jacob ‘Richo Mansfield’ Richardson again proved a thorn in the opposition side, joining Ned O’Brien from the Under 12s to bat for the side before being out for one.
Dodd returned to join Rich, putting on a 35-run partnership for the last wicket. Dodd finished 82 not out off 46 balls, lifting the team total over 200 and making it very difficult for Beechworth to chase.
A mild Sunday morning greeted the players, with rain on the radar. Mitchell opened the bowling (0/5) along with Dodd (1/4 off 3 overs), taking the early wicket.
Kirsty Plevnik cleaned bowled the other opener (1/6), and Benji Wollington claimed their dangerous batter (1/10). Rain then ended the match.
The Rams went through, finishing higher and deservedly so after being in control of the match.
Under 12 Bulls home in semifinal thriller
A beautiful morning for an away trip to Benalla saw three of their teams in the top four. Captain Finn McDonald had no hesitation to bowl. Benalla Blue raced to 0/55 after six overs.
Myles Cowan, Ollie McDonald, and Jack O’Dwyer tightened the screws, and the runs dried up. Darcy O’Dwyer took a nice caught-and-bowled, and George Hill executed a run-out, leaving Benalla Blue 4/113.
A fantastic team batting display followed, with contributions all the way down.
Only one wicket was lost before passing the target, including Darcy 12*, Finn 3*, Bowie Isaac 12*, Hugo Bott 17*, Rory Buerkner 10*, Flynn Connell 8, Rosie Lidgerwood 10*, and Ollie 11*.
The team is into the grand final after the long weekend break, full of confidence and momentum.