WITH just a couple of rounds to go, the pressure continues to build in the Gisborne District Cricket Association.
McIntyre Cup Firsts
Broadford has kept its chances of survival in McIntyre Cup alive with a supreme bowling performance at Salesian College against Rupertswood.
Set 234 to win, Rupertswood started well and were 69 without loss before Braden Hickey bowled Broadford to victory, taking the first of five wickets.
Hickey would finish with 5/45, while Nathan Woods took 3/44 and Jeremy Bradshaw 2/33 as Broadford rolled Rupertswood for 146.
Broadford batted again and were 5/50 before the game was called.
The result takes Broadford to within five points of Wallan on the ladder, with the Magpies no match for Woodend at Gilbert Gordon Oval.
Starting 1/5, the Magpies could not withstand the bowling pressure from the ladder leaders, eventually bowled out for 104, with Matthew Clayton top-scoring with 38 and Hamish Mullavey-Clark scoring 24.
Woodend batted again and made 1/168 before the day’s play was completed.
Romsey’s chances of a home final took a blow with a 156-run loss to Gisborne.
Romsey was simply never in the game, falling 5/30 before one could even breathe.
Chris Burkett’s 31 and Aaron Paterson scored 22 to at least give Romsey some batting relief, but eventually, Romsey fell for 110.
Gisborne batted again and scored 6/96 before play was called.
Johnstone Shield Firsts
Eastern Hill are all-but guaranteed the minor premiership after recording a 348-run win at Harkness.
After a big day of batting last week, the Eagles were just as relentless with the ball, with Benjamin Bryant taking 4/10 off 9.4 overs, while Nathan Fowler and Daniel O’Sullivan took two wickets apiece in bowling Harkness out for 135.
Eastern Hill batted again, with Billy Cox scoring 42 and Oscar Newell 47 as the Eagles sought an outright victory but finished play at 6/158.
Kilmore are only just clinging on to a finals spot after losing to Eynesbury by 49 runs at Eynesbury Recreation Reserve.
Josh Squire’s 30 and Rhys Quinert’s 24 gave Kilmore a foundation early in the day, but there was not enough support to give the Blues a good shot at it, and although Jacob Walton added 25, Kilmore was bowled out for 128.
Lancefield was outplayed by East Sunbury, losing by three wickets at John McMahon Reserve.
The Thunder had too much in the middle order as Lancefield tried all 10 bowlers to get over the line, with Harvey Lehner leading the way with 2/51 off 21 overs as East Sunbury chased down Lancefield’s 196 in scoring 8/220.
Lower Grades
Wallan’s chase of 341 against Woodend at Greenhill Reserve was too much for the Magpies, losing by 185 runs.
Kavindu Ratnayake’s 63 and Troy Jeffs’ 30 gave Wallan some consistency in the middle order, but Woodend had too much bowling quality, bowling Wallan out for 155.
A similar result occurred at Harley Hammond Reserve, with Broadford losing to Rupertswood by 173 runs.
Cody Ball’s 54 and Mitchell Collier’s 48 provided good middle order ammunition for Broadford, but Rupertswood had too much quality in its bowling attack as Broadford was bowled out for 187 chasing 361.
A stunning counter-attack from Nathan Hoy helped Romsey win over Gisborne.
Hoy’s 93 was incredible given the low-scoring nature of the game, with his dismissal marking the end of the game after chasing down Gisborne’s 111 with six wickets to spare, before finishing on 6/156.
In Johnstone Shield, Kilmore lost to Eynesbury by four wickets but batted long enough to avoid an outright loss.
Eynesbury chased down Kilmore’s 135 comfortably and batted on to eventually finish on 8/224.
Rowan Pollock took 3/40 and Hayden Proctor 2/32 to be the Blues’ best performers.
Kilmore batted again, and it looked as though it would lose by an innings when sitting at 7/77.
But Lachlan Peggie’s 62 and Mathew Isles’ 29 helped rescue the Blues as they eventually made 188.
Lancefield was no match for East Sunbury, losing by 174 runs.
Chasing 260, the Tigers were never in the hunt, with Neil Johnson’s 18 their best as they were bowled out for 85.
Eastern Hill won over Harkness via forfeit.
In Jensen Shield, Wallan could not hold back Sunbury United, losing by five wickets at Langama Park.
Batting first, the Magpies had a number of starts, with Bhupraj Pangeni making 38 and Darien Blair 39 as they posted 7/166.
Despite the best efforts of Jasper George, who took 2/21, and Kerem Selek, who took 2/35, United were too strong, scoring 5/167 in response to win with five balls to spare.
Romsey lost to Riddell by 92 runs at Riddells Creek Recreation Reserve.
Riddell’s middle order had its good performers to post 8/207, with seven Romsey players taking wickets, led by Oscar Kruss Alexander with 2/19.
Romsey never recovered from losing the wicket of Cam Armstrong with the first ball, and despite Michael Palmer’s 21 and Aaron Wright’s 17, Romsey was bowled out for 115.
Kilmore had a tough loss in the Jensen Shield thirds, losing by 10 wickets to Melton South.
Bradley Crompton was the only Blue to score more than 10 runs, scoring 13 as they were bowled out for 62, and Melton South was too strong in getting the job done in just eight overs.
A strong all-round performance from Broadford earned it a 146-run win in Club Grade North over Wallan.
Batting first, Kyle Redenback scored 51 and Paul Withers 53 to help Broadford set the tone with 2/226.
Dave Curran was the only Magpie to take a wicket, finishing with 1/14.
Wallan started positively, but Aaron Culpin and Austin Withers left the Magpies in all-sorts by combining strongly.
Culpin took 5/13 off seven overs, while Austin took 4/33 off 6.2 as Wallan was bowled out for 80.
Eastern Hill won a thriller over Hanging Rock by nine runs.
The Eagles’ top order showed out, with Timothy Hanson scoring 50 and Chris Russell 47 as the Eagles made 6/201.
Hanging Rock put in a good effort but the Eagles did enough, with Max Fulton leading the way with the ball, taking 2/36 off seven overs as Hanging Rock scored 5/192.
Romsey got it done over Kilmore, winning by 49 runs.
Jay Alexander helped set up Romsey strongly with his unbeaten 50, while Tim McCarthy added 31 late to help Romsey score 8/147.
Hudson Burke took 2/8 for Kilmore, while Timothy Peggie took 2/27.
Mathew Arnott did his best for Kilmore by scoring a gritty 38, but the Blues couldn’t quite string it together and were bowled out for 98.
Chelsea McCarthy took 3/12 for Romsey, while Jake Rees took 2/4.
Lancefield was no match for Woodend, losing by 119 runs.
Woodend made 6/193 off its 35 overs, with Tom Azzopardi doing his bit to help limit the damage by taking 3/16 for the Tigers.
Despite Seamus Patrick Mahony’s 16 and Kieran McElhinney’s 18, the Tigers couldn’t compete and were rolled for 74.
