Scully, Bain guide Iona home
A new decade of cricket kicked off at the weekend with the first of the three remaining one-day matches contested.
Warragul remain the hot favourites and should be well rested after Ellinbank were unable to field a side, while Hallora sit in 2nd place just three points behind the Gulls despite a narrow loss to Iona. Longwarry remain in the mix after a dominant win over Garfield-Tynong, while Jindivick proved too strong for Western Park.
A strong finish from Iona saw them take the points in tightly contested match against Hallora.
Chasing a reasonable target, the home side were in trouble early at 3/24 before a rallying 23 from Lachlan Morris stemmed the flow of wickets. The Kangas struck back through the middle overs before Jarryd Bain (44) and Michael Scully (27*) combined for a 78-run seventh wicket partnership that got their side across the line.
Darren Humphrey worked hard with the new ball to snare 2/34, while Christopher Polo 2/18 and Ross Donoghue 2/31 took important wickets.
It was a similar story earlier in the day as the visitors struggled to get going. Daniel Sell top scored with 39, but with only minor contributions from Barry Coster (24*) and Brian McDonald (20), the Kangas were probably 20 or 30 runs short of where they needed to be.
Scully (3/26) and Bain (2/15) also led the charge with ball in hand, while Andrew Vaughan chimed in with 3/28. two early wickets before Joe Pullen (28) and Scott Kelly (40) steadied with a 60-run partnership. Kelly’s dismissal provided little respite however as Jesse Lafrantz strode to the wicket. The talented all-rounder soon had the scoreboard ticking over, notching a welcome half-century before falling for 65 late in the innings.
Josh Evans was the pick of the bowlers with 3/32.
In reply, the Titans were never in the hunt as Liam Quarrell launched a devasting attack with the new ball. He finished with incredible figures of 4/4 off eight overs, which include five maidens.
Will Pickering (28*) dug in for his side as they somehow managed to survive the 40 overs.
Western Park was no match for its more experienced opponents as Jindivick secured a comfortable victory.
Chasing a modest target, the home side built a firm foundation as Aaron Larkman (43) and Brayden Rintoule (31) put on 64 for the opening partnership.
From there, Steven Fricke played a lone hand in getting the Jumping Jacks home, grinding away to finish with 41 not out. Jack Walsh was the pick of the bowlers with a tidy 2/17 coming from his six overs.
Earlier in the day, seasoned Warrior and skipper Paul McCluskey provided his young charges with a masterclass in concentration and patience, batting through most of the innings for his 71.
Lane Ward (30) gave ample support as the pair piled on 83 for the first wicket, but things went rapidly downhill for the visitors following his departure.
Ash Zinnow (3/29) was the catalyst for the stunning collapse, with Dean Swinburne (2/36) and Sam Christie (2/29) chiming in with late wickets.