Terry’s haul guides Rovers’ shield win
NEITHER a wet wicket nor illness could stop Rovers batsman Ryan Terry from steering his team to an intense threewicket victory against Atherton in the Muoio-Ferguson Shield at Griffiths Park.
The visitors set an earnest target of 172 runs, owed largely to a brilliant 84-run partnership between skipper Paul Nasser and Fred Pittorino.
Nasser did the bulk of the work, crafting a patient 70 from 95 balls, which featured just the four boundaries, while Pittorino scored 30.
They were the only real resistance, as Josh Chadwick continued another impressive season with the ball for Rovers, taking 3-31 from his nine overs.
But it was opener Terry who led the way for Rovers, belting 66 runs from 111 balls as he carried his bat in the Green Machine’s victory.
“Ryan Terry’s innings was unbelievably great,” said Rovers skipper Brenton Edwards.
“He was actually crook during the week, but he’s come back good.”
Soaking up Atherton’s attack like a sponge, Terry’s effort helped pave the way for Edwrds’ 25 and a crucial lateorder 27 from Joel Sykes, to get the side over the line.
Nasser made his best efforts to temper Rovers, collecting 3-28 in another typically strong 10 overs.
“We did enough to get the win, we had a little mid order collapse,” Edwards said.
“Full credit to Atherton with the effort they put in but we did what we had to do to win.
“There was a 15 minute period where the rain came through … then the fallout ball played really sloppy.
“We were down a few players, we’re not going to read too much into the win.”
The Muoio-Ferguson Shield commemorates the fellowship shared between the two clubs, particularly between club stalwarts Anthony Muoio and Greg Ferguson.
“Greg Ferguson and Anthony mean a lot not only our clubs but the Cricket Far North family,” Edwards said.
“It’s great to play for them and a shield in their honour – hopefully for years to come it’ll get bigger and better.”
Meanwhile, Mulgrave have kept true to their preChristmas form, dominating Barron in brutal fashion at Crathern Park.
Will Robertson and skipper Justin Reid both scored 34 runs apiece in the comprehensive innings for Mulgrave.
Reid was not shy of the boundary, with five fours and two sixes making for almost all of his runs.
But it was Queensland’s number one batsman who did the damage, as Jake Roach started 2022 with 79 runs off 98 balls.
Roach made Barron pay with the ball as well, jagging 3-25 from 8.4 overs to seal victory for Mulgrave.
This was despite a solid effort from Barron’s Ben Shrimpton, who whacked nine fours to a total of 54 runs, combined with 45 runs from captain Andrew Phelps.
It was a much quicker affair in Innisfail, where the Cassowary Coast Cyclones were dismissed for a mere 47 runs by Norths.
Norths bowlers Dilan Jayawardana (2-3), Daniel Freebody (2-5) and Max Gadd (212) led the way for their team in the one-sided match.
All other grades will return to play from their breaks this weekend.