Kilmore and Broadford have reinstated the historic Freddie Baines Shield as both clubs have reunited since joining the Gisborne and District Cricket Association, GDCA, with Broadford taking home the honours on this occasion.
Over both weekends of the two-day clash at Kilmore, club stalwarts Brett Buttler and Chris ‘Doona’ Nolan spoke about the importance of preserving history and remembering those who paved the way for the two clubs.
Freddie Baines was a prominent figure in both communities, participating across both clubs and serving as Kilmore’s president until his death in 1991.
The most recent iteration of the shield named in his honour was a hard-fought contest in which Broadford came out on top 10/220 to 10/207.
Kevin Craddock was awarded player of the match thanks to his massive 96 runs, while Broadford’s Braden Hickey and Taylor Shell impressed with 60 runs and five wickets respectively.
Broadford coach Gareth Sharp also performed well to make 41 runs, while Elliot Frendo was Kilmore’s leading bowler with three wickets.
Craddock’s award and Broadford’s victory mean there is now a trophy in the hands of both clubs once again.
This weekend, Kilmore will travel to play Eynesbury while Broadford will host last-placed Riddell.
Elsewhere, Wallan is yet to overcome the shaky start to its 2024 Johnstone Shield challenge as it fell short in a home match against East Sunbury at the weekend.
The two-day match started with the Thunder batting, in which it racked up a score of 10/173 despite some touch-and-go moments that, at one point, had it on the back foot at around 7/60.
Wallan’s bowling on the day was headed by three wickets from Ryan Bonner and the chase of 173 seemed within reach when play got underway on Saturday.
The home side, however, was unable to make a sizeable impression with any batting partnerships and lost heavy hitters like captain Bryan Vance early on, leaving Wallan to fall short on 10/146.
Coach Steve Bell said the match had started well for Wallan but quickly swung the other way.
“The first day got off to a pretty good start bowling, where we got a few early wickets and had them in a bit of trouble … but credit to them, they fought back really well,” he said.
“To get 170 from the position they were in was a good effort, and then on Saturday they just bowled well all day and were very consistent, they definitely deserved the win out of the two teams.”
Top scorers for Wallan were Matt Clayton and Chris Vecchie on 34 apiece, however East Sunbury’s Lachlan Wilkins held back the charge with five wickets and 35 runs conceded.
Bell said Wallan’s batting needed to shift from relying on one or two players to make large run counts, especially as the side continued to slip down the ladder after strong results from other teams.
“There’s a few other players that probably need to step up and we can’t keep relying on [Vance] in particular,” he said.
“It’s now put us in a position where we could finish anywhere from top to fifth, we could even miss finals. The next two games are very big for us … we just need to work hard for the rest of the year.”
“One more win will guarantee us finals, but we could get two wins and hopefully finish top two to get a home final.”
Wallan will this weekend travel to play Aintree – two of the closest-matched sides on the Johnstone Shield ladder at the moment.
McIntyre Cup
Another dominant performance means Romsey has taken the top spot from Gisborne on the McIntyre Cup ladder.
The two sides are in a league of their own after round 12 of the competition, both sitting on 10 wins and no losses after multiple scheduled clashes were abandoned due to wet weather.
Nothing got in the way of Romsey at the weekend, however, as it sent seventh-placed Rupertswood packing after a comfortable victory.
With Romsey finishing the first day on 9/444 and making 5/114 on the second, Rupertswood had a mountain to climb for the victory but ultimately fell short on 10/191.
Romsey’s efforts were spearheaded by massive totals from Matthew Milne and captain Ben Way on 119 and 128 respectively, while Jamie Taylor and Aaron and Daniel Paterson each took two wickets on Saturday.
Romsey will host third-placed Sunbury United this weekend – the two sides separated by more than 20 points on the ladder.
