By Max Davies
Broadford’s second-ever Gisborne District Cricket Association, GDCA, match was a ‘pretty rough day’ despite going down to the wire to be decided on the last ball.
Playing at home against longtime rivals Kilmore, Broadford elected to bat first and left the Blues chasing 127 despite strong fielding and eight wickets from the visitors.
Kilmore proved up to the challenge, ending the match with 8/131 from 40 overs, and surpassing Broadford’s 10/127 from 33 overs.
Kilmore’s Robert Hanson led the way for the bowlers with 4/18, while Brett Buttler and Josh Squire took two wickets each.
Andrew Smith’s 40 runs and an unbeaten 37 from Marcus Davern steered the ship for the visitors at Harley Hammond Reserve.
Broadford captain and coach Gareth Sharp said while his team held their own against Kilmore’s batters, it was their batting innings that made the day difficult.
“It was a pretty rough day with the bat, no one was really able to dig in and make a sizeable contribution, except Braden Hickey who sort of carried our batting innings with a nice 44,” he said.
“We struggled to put our heads down and actually get ourselves out there, but Kilmore were bowling really well … they pretty much forced us to throw wickets.
“I think in terms of bowling we were very good with the ball, in fielding we struggled with a few dropped catches, which probably cost us the game in the end, losing on the last ball.”
Standouts among Broadford’s ranks were Hickey’s 44 runs, as well as Jeremy Bradshaw’s tight bowling with 1/10 off eight overs, and James Jones’ 2/15 off eight, which Sharp said kept them in the game early in their bowling innings.
“A few individuals really played well, but the team as a whole didn’t perform how I think, as a coach, we should be performing for the level of players we have,” he said.
“Credit to Kilmore for how they went about it, it was a really good, competitive game and it’s not often a 40-over game comes down to the last ball. No matter how the sides are, we always have close games with Kilmore.”
Broadford will this weekend travel to play Riddell, where Sharp expects an ‘interesting game’ if the team can put together a strong batting innings to complement their bowling.
Sharp however said Broadford’s match against Wallan in round five would be telling of where the club sat in the GDCA competition.
“We can’t really afford to drop many more games before Christmas,” he said.
“We’ve tried to push to the side and look forward. I think we’ll be very competitive this year, but I think Wallan will be the real test to see how competitive we’ll be for the year going forward.”
Elsewhere in Johnstone Shield Firsts’ action, Wallan defeated East Sunbury 4/146 to 8/143 after strong batting efforts from Kieran Atkin, 47, and Bryan Vance, 52 not out.
Wallan’s Steven Bell led his team’s bowling, taking four wickets for eight runs, to knock out multiple East Sunbury batters with less than 10 runs.
Wallan currently sits atop the division ladder and is the only team in the Johnstone Shield Firsts that is yet to be defeated.
The weekend’s Seconds competition largely mirrored its Johnstone Shield counterpart, as Kilmore and Wallan both secured victories against their respective opponents.
Wallan Firsts will now gear up to host Aintree this weekend, while Kilmore will be looking to build momentum after its victory over Broadford in a home match against Eynesbury.
McIntyre Cup
Romsey has continued its winning ways in the top flight of GDCA cricket, defeating Rupertswood at home 8/166 to 10/162.
Taylor Stevenson led the way for the home side’s batting, making 51 runs – supported by 27 from Matthew Milne and 26 each from Chris Burkett and captain Ben Way.
Rupertswood won the toss and elected to bat, however strong bowling in the form of three wickets each from Stevenson and Jamie Taylor, and two for Nathan Hoy, put the visitors on the back foot early in the game.
Romsey now sits alongside Gisborne at the top of the McIntyre Cup ladder – both sides undefeated with three victories apiece.
Romsey’s Seconds, however, did not share in the same fortune, defeating 8/238 to 6/242 at Rupertswood’s home ground.
Consistent batting from the hosts led to a total that proved to be too much for Romsey to chase down, despite a near-century in the form of 98 runs from Jack Thorsen that was cut short by Rupertswood’s Ryley Davis.
Romsey will this weekend face third-placed Sunbury United, its seconds to host at Romsey Park.