HEROIC hundreds and several great performances heralded the first week of February in the Gisborne District Cricket Association.
McIntyre Cup Firsts
Joshua Nolan’s 103 helped Broadford give itself a chance of getting a key result in the race to avoid relegation, helping the bottom team post 233 at Rupertswood.
After a struggle early on with wickets to Riley Nolan and Jake Zerella, Ashley Wood (56) and Joshua settled things for Broadford, and eventually, Joshua would eventually bring about his century before falling to the last ball of the day.
Wallan had a major struggle at Gilbert Gordon Oval, with Woodend posting 319, before taking a late wicket.
The Magpies had no answer to Jacques Du Toit and Oliver Price, both of whom scored above 70 runs.
Hamish Mullavey-Clark persisted and was rewarded with a five-wicket haul, taking 5/104 from 26 overs.
Zac Bell wasn’t able to survive until stumps after Woodend declared, losing his wicket for a duck. Matthew Clayton (four) and Campbell Fowler (zero) will look to give the Magpies a good start next week.
Romsey reeled Gisborne back in and will give itself a chance of chasing 267 runs next week.
The Gisborne top and middle order performed well, getting multiple starts, but with Taylor Stevenson taking 3/51 off 26.2, and Daniel Paterson, Corey Day and Louis Moor taking two wickets apiece, Romsey was able to regain some ground.
Elsewhere, Macedon hold a slender 100-run lead over Sunbury United, looking to defend 140.
Johnstone Shield Firsts
Nathan Fowler was the star of Johnstone Shield action as his 182 helped Eastern Hill set an imposing 9/483 against Harkness.
Fowler was simply unstoppable as his 135-ball innings included 11 4s and 12 6s, but he also had plenty of mates, with Michael Brown scoring 64, Benjamin Bryant 58 and Oscar Newell 52.
The Eagles ended up scoring at six an over, with Harkness needing a miracle next week.
In comparison, Kilmore’s bowling was on point as it restricted Eynesbury to 177 from 78 overs.
Noah Fairweather and Stuart Partridge did most of the damage for the Blues, with Fairweather taking 4/33 off 14 overs and Partridge 3/30 off 19 overs as they look to respond from their loss to Eastern Hill last week.
Lancefield’s tail wagged as it looks to defend 196 runs next week against East Sunbury.
After sitting at 5/57, Lachlan Mitchell (36), Harrison Lehner (36) and Alan Sinclair’s fighting 65 helped the Tigers recover well.
Elsewhere, Diggers Rest Bulla Village set Sunbury 227 to win, with the Kangaroos 0/7 at stumps.
Women’s
Wallan took a headline win in A grade as it defeated previous ladder leader Bacchus Marsh by seven wickets at Greenhill Reserve.
The Magpies kept Bacchus Marsh in check by restricting it to 4/137, before Megan Farrell set the tone with 50 off 32 balls.
Kia Montgomery (31) and Terrie Haydon (32) helped get the Magpies home with five overs to spare.
Four wickets to Luzanne de Kock helped Lancefield Black record a comfortable nine-wicket win over Macedon.
The Tigers bowled Macedon out for 42, with de Kock taking 4/10 off four overs.
Nat Jeffery (31) and Ebony Penny (10) then got the Tigers home off just 7.4 overs.
Kilmore was unable to play, forfeiting against Gisborne.
In B grade, Broadford took its second win of the season, winning by 15 runs against East Sunbury.
Brooke Jeffery set the tone at the top of the order with 44 runs, while Maddison Benham added 22 and Melodie Bassett 21 as Broadford made 4/117.
Lana Wood helped bowl Broadford to victory, taking 3/23 off four overs to restrict East Sunbury to 5/102.
Lancefield Yellow fell just short, losing to Melton Centrals by five runs.
Alexis Taylor helped give the Tigers a good platform with 2/18 off four overs as Melton Centrals scored 6/85.
Molly Consiglio fought hard to score 51, but Lancefield fell short, scoring 4/80.
Lower Grades
In McIntyre Cup seconds, Wallan will need a big effort to chase down 341 runs after Woodend took control at Greenhill Reserve.
Ben Funnell was excellent as he took 7/63 off 17 overs, but Woodend had plenty of batting power to score 8/340.
Broadford similarly struggled at home against Rupertswood, with the ladder leaders piling on 9/360.
Cody Ball fought hard throughout the afternoon, taking 5/100 off 21.5 overs, while Blake Benham took 2/66 off 14 overs.
Romsey’s match with Gisborne is in the balance, with 53 runs separating the two teams.
Gisborne was bowled out for 111, with Darin Jewell bowling strongly to take 3/19 off 10 overs, while Zade Mezzatesta took 2/33.
In response, Romsey will need to build around Nathan Hoy to take first innings points, who is currently unbeaten on 26.
In Johnstone Shield seconds, Hayden Szczykulski made a majestic 105, and Brayden Speechley 93, as Eastern Hill made 7/305 against Harkness.
Harkness will need plenty of work to do, and sit 0/17 at stumps.
Lancefield requires 260 runs against East Sunbury.
Samuel Taylor led the way for the Tigers with 3/51, while Glenn Hogan (2/7) and Flynn O’Meara (2/34) also took multiple wickets.
Kilmore was in desperate trouble against Eynesbury at home.
The Blues made 135, with Rowan Pollock leading the way with 38 and Hamish Peggie 22, but a spirited Eynesbury made 3/98 off just 15 overs before the close of play, with Pollock backing up his efforts with the bat with ball in hand, taking 2/23.
Wallan was simply dominant in Jensen Shield, recording a 221-run win over Macedon.
Kaven McKechnie was one of the stars, scoring 58 to help the Magpies score 281, while Ekampreet Singh was exceptional with the ball, taking 6/12 off 7.4 overs to hold Macedon to 60.
Romsey was too strong for Sunbury United, winning by 39 runs.
Paul Brady set up Romsey’s efforts to score 7/191 with his 71, before Aaron Ryan (3/29) and Michael Palmer (3/26) did all the damage with the ball to bowl United out for 152.
In the thirds competition, Kilmore lost by 29 runs to Diggers Rest Bulla Village.
Glen Fairweather’s 2/28 and Samuel Smith’s 2/22 gave Kilmore hope when it restricted Diggers to 8/136, but the Blues couldn’t get it done, despite Chris Muston’s 24.
In club grade north, Kilmore couldn’t keep up with Malmsbury Gold, losing by 37 runs.
Raymond Toussaint scored 37 and Glenn Pollock 29 as they did what they could to keep Kilmore in the contest, but the Blues’ 7/129 was not enough against Malmsbury’s 3/166.
Broadford were 41-run winners against Romsey.
A strong middle order helped Broadford score 7/175, with Jason Walsh scoring 50 and Darren Saunders 35.
Bevan Reid took 3/32 for Romsey, who started well with Jay Alexander top-scoring with 38.
However, Walsh, who took 3/17, and Aaron Culpin, who contributed with 3/30, helped restrict Romsey to 134.
Timothy Hanson’s 92 was the difference as Eastern Hill scored a 22-run win over Wallan.
The Eagles posted 193, with Hanson at the forefront with 12 4s and three 6s, while Arham Batra took 4/24 and Andrew Dodd 3/31 for the Magpies.
Jason Dodd (50) and Bryan Bingham (35) started well for the Magpies, but Chris Russell’s 4/24 helped slow down the Magpies.
Lancefield lost by 10 wickets to Hanging Rock.
There was some good top order runs from Seamus Patrick Mahony (44), Patrick Collins (32) and Cameron Stein (31) as the Tigers made 4/164, but Hanging Rock chased down the target in 19 overs of madness.
