Incredible Emery leads Warriors to outright
def. with the points, following some disciplined bowling from the Hawks attack.
Longwarry’s chase began poorly as Jedd Serong had his stumps disturbed by Luke Radford, but Tom Keily was able to steady the ship with a knock of 32 at number three.
Blake Kahan (22), Jake Serong (12) and Troy Lehman (13) all made starts, but only Austin Van Strijp was able to make the most of his chances, and his unbeaten 62 was the impetus for Longwarry’s chase for almost the entire day.
At 7-124 the match looked well and truly over, but a 41-run stand with Joey Sweeney helped to reignite the innings.
However, Van Strijp continued to combat the Drouin bowlers and his efforts carried Longwarry to within 28 runs of victory before their innings was cut short.
It was the constant build-up of pressure from the likes of Brad Glover (1-32 from 16) and Dale Weller (2-70 off 21.4) that ensured that Longwarry could never really settle in their pursuit – while Luke Radford chimed in with 223 in a hostile opening spell that highlighted his destructive ability with the ball.
Kangas too good
Hallora (277) def. Neerim District (145): Hallora have taken out a thumping 132-run win over Neerim District in their round 12 clash, with the Kangaroos middle order proving too good for the Stags’ bowlers.
Despite losing James Vela without scoring and Fraser Duncan for 12 early on in their innings, Hallora rebuilt on the back of a gritty 89 from Brett Williams, and a patient 44 to David McDermid.
The pair blunted the Neerim attack effectively in a 106-run third wicket stand – with every run and every over passing ensuring the Stags bowlers were forced to tire under the hot sun.
Following the removal of McDermid – lured into a loose shot by Marc Pinkerton – Ryan Williams then took the attack up to the Neerim bowlers and quickly carried his side to victory.
His 64-ball 54 was just his second half-century for the summer, and it helped Hallora through to 277 before they were dismissed late in the day.
Dane Fawcett was tireless in a 22 over spell that returned 4-44, but the remaining bowlers were simply unable to make the breakthroughs required to take them to victory.
Thrilling tie
Buln (9-204) tied with Ellinbank (204): In one of the rarest results seen in cricket, Buln Buln and Ellinbank have played out a thrilling tie in their division one clash, with Jackson Noonan and Matt Gooden just unable to guide their side over the line.
In pursuit of Ellinbank’s total of 204, the Lyrebirds chase began poorly – with Charlie Park (four) and Rhys Holdsworth (five) back in the pavilion early on.
Nicholas Fairbank was on fire with the new-ball but Jack Armour (a patient 33) and Brayden Fowler (an aggressive 37) were able to fightback and ignite the Buln chase.
Brent Eastwell (54) was the mainstay of the Lyrebirds chase and looked set to carry his side over the line but he had his stumps upset by Fairbank with still 12 runs required.
Noonan (27 not out) and Gooden (five not out) did their level best to snatch the upset win but come the end of the game the scores were level – with the two sides sharing the points.
The sharing of the six points looks set to see Ellinbank finish fourth on the table – but they would still be confident of claiming enough points to push their way up the ladder.