ON Saturday, the first of Gisborne and District Cricket Association’s (GDCA) two-day matches delivered an exciting preview of what’s to come.
Johnstone Shield
The Kilmore Firsts travelled to play Aintree at the Woodlea Reserve in Rockbank.
Aintree won the toss and elected to bat first. Unfortunately, their luck in winning the toss didn’t extend to the match, with their captain Vinay Kumar quickly called out for a LBW on just 12 runs.
Kilmore’s Elliot Frendo then went on to quickly dismiss Maninder Pannu and Pradeep Venkatesh. Across the match, he claimed three wickets, while Stuart Partridge bowled 20 overs and Ben Dawson bowled 18.
Aintree finished their innings 10 out for 175 after 71.5 overs. Kilmore will commence their batting innings next week.
In the Seconds fixture, Kilmore challenged Aintree on their home turf.
Captain Glenn Pollock won the toss and elected to bat first, with opening batters Harrison Purcell and Rohan Audehm playing on the pitch for a short time.
Unfortunately, Audehm was quickly run out and Purcell was caught before Darcy McNicholas partnered with Leon Zelvy to take over.
Despite having three quick dismissals, Pollack remained optimistic.
“We’ve played them before over there,” he said.
“It would have been handy if we hadn’t lost that wicket [before] coming into the drinks.
“It’s a matter of resetting now and taking our time.
“We’ve still got plenty of time to bat.”
Before being dismissed, Zelvy made 34 runs including one 6, and four mammoth 4s.
McNicholas carried on in his usual form and pace. He manoeuvred 12 4s through Aintree’s field before Gurtej Nahal bowled him out three balls short of the inning’s end.
In between, Rowan Pollock faced 24 fast balls and made 18 runs. Finding the boundary line easily, he also made three 4s before he was bowled out.
Aintree’s bowling was fast and furious. They took captain Pollock out on a duck to end the Kilmore innings after 59 overs. When Aintree strapped on their leg guards, Pollock selected Lachlan Peggie and Hayden Proctor to open the bowling.
Across six overs, the Aintree side evaded dismissals. Between Gurtej Nahal and Lucky Bhukya, the side easily added 34 runs onto the scoreboard, including two 4s.
Noah Fairweather threw his arm in, but still no wickets fell.
Looking to next week, Aintree will be chasing 147 big runs, with Kilmore finishing 10 out for 181, and Aintree 0 out for 34.
Wallan played Eastern Hill at Kings Park Reserve in Seymour where Eastern Hill won the toss, and selected Jake Wright and Dallas Bergowicz as opening batters.
Wallan’s Steven Bell and captain Bryan Vance delivered the opening bowls. In between, fielder Nathan Fowler quickly caught Bergowicz out on 41 runs after facing 129 balls.
Benjamin Bryant was another standout for Eastern Hill, making 44 runs, including three 4s, before Fowler also bowled him out.
In the fielding, Wallan’s standout bowler Steven Bell smashed out five wickets across the match. With only 9 out for 192, the second day of the two-day match promises to be an electric one.
Meanwhile, on the second oval, Eastern Hill won the toss and elected to bat first. Wallan’s captain Alex Potocnik selected Darby Bishop and Mitch Van De Duim as opening bowlers, and the team were rewarded when each restricted their opponents to under eight runs.
Eastern Hill remains on the pitch with 24 runs and only 2 out for 45 before play resumes next Saturday.
McIntyre Cup
The Broadford McIntyre Cup Firsts played Sunbury United at the Harley Hammond Reserve under clear skies.
In a stroke of luck, Broadford won the toss and elected to open the batting innings with Sikander Sharma, along with Aryan Sharma, facing the first six deliveries from Fabian Fernando, and soon after, Pulindu Kiriella.
However, it wasn’t the brothers’ day, and they were both quickly bowled out by the sixth over before Gareth Sharp manned the wickets and contributed 24 runs.
James Ingham put himself to work and racked up 26 big runs before both he and Sharp were bowled out by Senura Perera. Jake Zerella was the standout batter for Broadford and finished not out on 58 runs, including two 6s and six 4s.
With all the Broadford wickets down, Sunbury United strapped on their leg guards and sent Damien Edwards and Fernando onto the pitch.
S. Sharma’s last bowl of the seventh over saw Fernando out for an LBW dismissal. It was another five overs before another wicket fell, this time to Brayden Hickey.
At the game’s end, Sunbury’s Edwards remained on the pitch with 2 out for 73, while Broadford finished 10 out for 169. Day two will resume with Sunbury chasing 96 runs this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Seconds travelled to play Sunbury United at Langama Park.
Broadford fielded for only four overs before the game finished with Steve Grey still on the pitch with one run. The match will resume this weekend.
