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Broadford bats need to lift in GDCA action

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Max Davies
Max Davies
Max is a journalist for the North Central Review. He joined the paper as a cadet journalist in 2021 and graduated from La Trobe University in 2023. He takes a keen interest in motorsport and the automotive industry.

While the clash between Wallan and Kilmore was cut short by poor weather at Greenhill Reserve, Broadford endured a difficult full day’s play on the road against Aintree.

The match was set to be one of the most important for the Gisborne District Cricket Association, GDCA, newcomers so far this season, as Aintree was eager to take second place on the Johnstone Shield Firsts’ ladder, and Broadford keen to hold it for as long as possible.

Electing to bat first, Broadford struggled to settle into a groove with any batting partnership, as none of the side’s initial eight batsmen managed to make more than 20 runs before being dismissed.

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The innings began to stabilise as Kyle Hopkins and Joshua Nolan scored 17 and 18 runs respectively, however it was Taylor Shell, 22 not out, and Jack Connell, 20 not out, who showed the strongest form.

Coach Gareth Sharp said Broadford was unfortunate to not come away with the victory.

“It was just one of those games where everyone sort of got themselves in and faced their 15-20 balls, and then either threw away their wickets or got a good ball,” he said.

“We just really struggled to build any sort of momentum through our innings. It was just that our recognised batsmen couldn’t really get the job done on the weekend.”

Despite the shaky opening, Broadford’s bowlers were again performing well in an effort to keep the Aintree charge at bay.

Nathan Woods took four wickets and gave away 18 runs, while Jeremy Bradshaw chipped in for a solid 2/29 alongside strong efforts from Connell and James Jones.

By the end of the day, however, it was Aintree that took out bragging rights and second place on the ladder – the final scores 7/159 to 8/158.

“We bowled really well. We were probably 20 or 30 runs short of a par score for the ground at Ain-tree, so we were always on the back foot,” Sharp said.

“As a coach, it’s very frustrating because we have so much ability and so much talent through our side with the bat.

“We bat so deep, but we just haven’t had anyone make consistent scores and it makes it really hard for the side to have a consistent batting innings.

“It is something we’re working really hard on trying to fix, and I think when we get it and get it right, our batting will really become one of our strengths … our batting is definitely below par for what we know we can do at the moment.”

Two-day matches will return for round 11 this weekend, with Broadford set to host sixth-placed Eynesbury in what Sharp expected to be a solid return to form for his side.

“We’re really excited to get back into the two-day setup because I think the one-day side doesn’t really complement us and how we play our cricket,” he said.

“As soon as those one-days finished earlier in the season and we got into two-day cricket, we domi-nated. We beat East Sunbury by 160 and we bowled Aintree out last time in a two-day for 130.

“We’re able to give our more experienced bowlers 10 overs straight and they’ll do a really big job for us, and they have through the year so far.”

Kilmore’s Brent Proctor slices a ball away. He made a respectable 29 runs before being bowled out by Ryan Bonner.

Elsewhere, Wallan’s poor weather meant play was stopped against Kilmore at the end of the visitor’s innings.

Kilmore racked up 160 before all batsmen were dismissed.

Ryan Knight and Ben Dawson led the way for the Blues, making 40 and 33 runs, respectively, sup-ported by similarly strong performances from Brent Proctor and captain/coach Jacob Walton.

Ryan Bonner was the standout of Wallan’s bowlers, taking 4/40.

In the Johnstone Shield’s Seconds, it was a similar story with Aintree defeating Broadford, however the Kilmore-Wallan match was played out in full, with Wallan emerging victorious 9/156 to 8/161.

McIntyre Cup

The top-of-the-ladder clash between Romsey and Gisborne was called off for the second time this season at the weekend, as play was halted after the opening innings.

Gisborne elected to bat first and amassed 232 runs for three wickets, headed by a whopping 118 for captain Jarryd Vernon.

Romsey captain and coach Ben Way took 2/35, while Chris Marienfeld 2/37.

The Seconds clash for the pair was also abandoned after Romsey had scored 5/216.

Romsey will be at home against Woodend for round 11 as two-day matches return.

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