Southern cricket - Round 9

AFTER Round 8 of the Southern Cricket Association was played in very hot conditions, Round 9 last weekend was the total opposite. Temperatures on Saturday were as low as 15C at Bothwell, and heavy rain affected or washed-out some matches.

First Grade
New Norfolk I, just off top spot on the ladder by percentage, had a good win over Derwent at Tynwald Park. The visitors made 7-172 off their 50 overs. Then, with rain interrupting play, the overs and target were reduced with the Red Caps winning with 3-115 off 26.5 overs. First drop Matthew Bowden made 48, which included two fours and four sixes in an entertaining knock. Seb Wishart made 29no with three fours while opener Harry Booth made 10 (one four). Doing the damage with the ball earlier, opener Jason Rigby sent down 10 overs, taking 3-34 . Jordan Banks-Smith was tight, taking 2-28 (10), as was Joe McCulloch who sent down 10 overs for the tidy figures of 1-14. His spell included four maidens. The other wicket went to Josh Rowlands with 1-45 (10).

Second Grade
Gretna I accounted for Sorell by 119 runs in a match interrupted by rain. Winning the toss and batting first, Gretna hit up the good score of 8-245 off its 50 overs. In reply, Sorell was dismissed for 126 in 38.3 overs. Gretna’s top-order batsmen all made half-centuries. Openers Ben Rainbird with 52 (one four, three sixes) and Glenn Blackwell with 56 (five fours, two sixes) put on a partnership of 96. Rhys Browning got a well-made 56 (three fours, one six) and put on 65 with Luke Crosswell (17). Down the order, Aaron Maddox made 12 (one four) and Zac Crosswell 12no (one six). With the ball for Gretna, Peter Jelkic had the best figures with 3-22 (9) while spinner Craig Cunningham 3-36 (10) and paceman Aaron Maddox 3-38 (10) were also very good. Jackson Ackerly chipped in with 1-10 off 2.3 overs.

The other Second Grade match between Molesworth I and St Annes at Cadbury Oval No. 1 was a washout. Molesworth did get to bat before the match was called off and was all out for 137 from 30.1 overs. Nick Piuselli made 38 (six fours), Brad Coppleman got 34 (six fours), and captain Brayden Hodge made 17 (two fours). Josh Ransley and Jeremy Nichols made 12 each and both hit two fours.

Third Grade
The match between New Norfolk II and Campania at Campania got under way, but was eventually washed out. After being sent in to bat, Campania was all out for 126 from 38.2 overs. Wicket takers for the Red Caps were Stewart Rice with 3-21 (10), Josh Walsh with 3-30 (9.2), Nathan Rice with 2-13 (4) and Aaron Drew with 1-28 (5).

Fourth Grade
In another rain-affected match at Bothwell, Gretna II defeated Bothwell I by five wickets. Winning the toss, Bothwell had first hit and was bowled out for 101 off 24 overs. In reply, and with a reduced target of 81 from 40 overs due to the rain interruptions, Gretna finished 5-81 from 27 overs. For Gretna the stand out was paceman Cameron Emery who captured 6-41 from his 10 overs in a very good spell of bowling. With the bat Emery remained 11no at the end to give his side victory. Others to do well were Sam Booth who bowled six overs and 3-25 (two maidens), Jake Campbell with 1-29 (6) and Todd Jarvis with 18 (one four). For Bothwell, Nathan Eyles made a good 32, hitting three fours and two sixes. Nathan White made 15 (one four, one six) and Joey Eyles 13 (two fours). Matthew Eyles took 2-15 off eight overs in a very good display of spin bowling. Josh Eyles got 1-10 (5) and Nathan Eyles 1-14 (5) also did his bit. Special mention must go to Gretna wicket-keeper Brian Smith, who ran and dived full stretched to take an excellent one-handed catch. Not a bad effort for a bloke in his 50s!

Seventh Grade 
New Norfolk III went down to Hobart at Risdon Vale two wickets. Batting first, the Red Caps were dismissed for just 93 off 23.4 overs. Brad Kemmler was the only batsman to get double figures, top scoring with 36. There were 29 extras. In reply, Hobart made hard work of it, finishing 8-94 off 38.4 overs. Wicket takers were opener Stuart Muir who bowled very well to keep his side in the game with 4-26 from 10 overs. Zaheer Hussain was very tight with 1-15 (10) including two maidens. The other bowlers were Brad Kemmler with 1-18 (9), David Mitchelmore with 1-15 (4.4) and Liam Kalbfell with 1-18 (5). In the other match at Cambridge Oval, Molesworth II went down to St Aidans by just 25 runs. The home side had first dig and were all out for 158 off 46.2 overs. In reply Molesworth gave it a good shot finishing all out for 133 from 45.4 overs. The batsmen got off to a great start, with opener Josh Nichols batting superbly, making 53 including five fours. But from here things didn’t go to plan. Jack Evans, with the next best score of 24 (one four, one six), tried to keep his team in it but it wasn’t to be. Hang in there boys, I’m sure a win is just around the corner.

Eighth Grade 
Bothwell II easily defeated MacKillop Beltas by 109 runs at home. Batting first, the Bucks made the big score of 9-245 off their 50 overs. Captain and opener Anthony White got his team off to a great start, making 40 in a knock that included five fours. Batting at No. 9, Jamie Devine made a very handy 35 that included five fours. Devine put on 52 with Brodie White who remained 31no, including four fours. Mark Pearce made a handy 28 (four fours) and Cody Eyles got 23 (one four, two sixes). In reply the visitors were bundled out for 136 off 36.4 overs. Opening bowlers Mark Pearce with 4-39 (9.4) and Cody Eyles with 3-25 (9), including two maidens, did the most of the damage with great bowling while Simon Eyles was also effective taking 2-11 from four overs. Peter Hansch took the other wicket 1-35 (7). A great win for the Bucks who are looking very good to figure in the top four come finals time.