Country week underway
Wimmera juniors are being put through their paces as part of representative cricket tournaments, hosted both within the region and as far away as Warrnambool.
Horsham and Wimmera-mallee teams are on home turf for the under-15 competition, starting at Minyip and Murtoa yesterday after wash-outs on Monday.
Under-17 teams were also entered in Warrnambool, with Horsham claiming a win on the first day of play. Wimmera-mallee’s Monday fixture against Warrnambool Gold did not go ahead.
Horsham under-15s batted first at Minyip Recreation Reserve yesterday, totalling 224 before their last wicket fell on the brink of the 46th over.
Harrison Hoffman top-scored with 58 for Horsham, recording seven boundaries before he was caught off Hamilton Gold bowler Will Bourke.
Horsham openers Hugh Weidemann, 31, and Luke Millar, 29, scored strongly, with Jobe Dickinson also hitting 26 after coming in at number four.
Hugh Weidemann, Jarvis Mitchell and Phoenix Hopper were among wicket-takers for Horsham as they looked to defend their total.
At the time The Weekly Advertiser went to press, Hamilton Gold was 3-69 after 24 overs.
Wimmera-mallee under-15s bowled first against Portland, with Chad Hartnett taking three wickets, including opener Artie Harvey for eight runs.
Jackson Moore was another to get multiple wickets for Wimmera-mallee, helping to restrict Portland to 98 runs in their allotted 50 overs.
Sebastian Zagame, 15, was an early scorer for Wimmera-mallee as it looked to surpass Portland’s total.
Wimmera-mallee was 5-38 when Advertiser went to press.
Horsham under-17’s day-one win against Hamilton came in a shortened game during which each side batted 25 overs, after wet weather restricted play.
The Horsham team batted first, amassing an impressive 5-153 for Hamilton to chase.
The Weekly
Max Bunworth finished 55 not-out for Horsham, with Dezi Carter scoring 34.
Bunworth backed up his batting efforts with the ball, taking three wickets, while Baxta Hendy took two.
Hamilton finished with 6-87, handing Horsham a 47-run victory.
Yesterday, Wimmera-mallee under-17s were defeated at the hands of Portland, after being bowled out for 82 runs.
Wimmera-mallee tail-ender Colby Anderson led the runs column with 27 not-out, with George Gorrie and Kynan Torney also reaching double figures.
Despite boasting six individual wicket-takers, Wimmera-mallee was unable to prevent Portland from bettering its total.
Horsham under-17s played Warrnambool Gold yesterday, with Warrnambool setting a strong total of 7-243.
James Mcneil and Jackson Hoffman both took two wickets for Horsham.
At the time The Weekly Advertiser went to press, Horsham was 7-161 after 41 overs.
Monty Wynne and James Officer both reached the 30-run mark in Horsham’s run-chase, with several other batters reaching double figures.
Today, Horsham under-15s come up against South West Cricket Association, while Wimmera-mallee will play Warrnambool Blue.
Tomorrow, Horsham and Wimmera-mallee come up against each other at Coughlin Park, Horsham, from 9.30am before finals begin on Friday.
In under-17 competition today, Horsham will play games against Portland and Wimmeramallee.
Wimmera-mallee only plays one game for the day as it has a bye round.
Tomorrow, Wimmera-mallee will play South West Cricket Association and Horsham has the bye, before finals on Friday.
Horsham and Wimmera-mallee teams are also taking part in under-13 Country Week competition in Portland from Monday.