Junior cricketers showcase talent
Abusy period of Country Week cricket action has come to an end for Wimmera juniors, with one Horsham team finishing runner-up in its age group.
Horsham’s under-17 team was narrowly defeated in its grand final against Warrnambool Blue on Friday, while Horsham under-15s missed the grand final despite finishing undefeated.
Wimmera-mallee also competed strongly in under-15 and under-17 categories, but was unable to notch up any wins.
Wimmera-mallee and Horsham teams both claimed wins in this week’s Portland under-13 Country Week, with their final games being played yesterday after The Weekly Advertiser went to press.
Horsham under-17s were able to overcome a heavy defeat against Warrnambool Gold on Tuesday to lay claim to a grand final spot.
The Horsham team quickly put the 63-run defeat behind it, winning both Wednesday matches in a revised 20over format.
Their first opponents of the day, Portland, were victim to an impressive display from Horsham’s bowlers and were all out for 27 runs.
Gibson Perry secured four wickets for Horsham, with Xavier Shevlin the
other multiple wicket taker. The afternoon game was against well-known rivals Wimmera-mallee and finished with a convincing win for Horsham.
Max Bunworth, 46, came in at number three in Horsham’s batting order and placed the foundations for his team to mount a defendable total of 6-113.
Opener James Officer, 23, had the second-highest score for Horsham, with Monty Wynne, Jude Borlase and Perry also reaching double figures.
Wimmera-mallee’s Elliot Fitzpatrick hit 20 runs, while Hugh Sait was
not-out for 16 as the team fell 28 runs short with 7-85.
Horsham under-17s gave themselves a strong chance in the grand final against Warrnambool Blue, making 9-173 to begin the 50-over game.
Perry took two early wickets as Warrnambool Blue went into bat, but the eventual winners began to put together some strong partnerships at the crease.
Brock Gannon’s 67 not-out from 106 balls provided Warrnambool with the constant it needed to surpass Horsham’s total on the brink of the final
over. Horsham started strongly as hosts of under-15 country week, tallying wins against Hamilton and South West in its first two games.
Wimmera-mallee under-15s came close to a win against Portland, having limited their opponents to 8-98 with the bat.
Chad Hartnett took three wickets for Wimmera-mallee, with two coming from Portland’s top order.
Runs were spread evenly throughout Wimmera-mallee’s batting line-up in the run chase, with Sebastian Zagame, Charles Barber and Leigh Van
Boven all reaching double figures. Van Boven was the last batter to be dismissed as Wimmera-mallee fell just short of Portland’s score.
Horsham scored as heavily as possible in its final round against Wimmera-mallee, as it looked to qualify for the under-15 grand final.
However, despite winning all three of its games, Horsham finished behind Warrnambool Gold and Mount Gambier on run rate.
As a result of final ladder positions, Horsham played a finals match against Hamilton Gold and Wimmera-mallee faced South West.
Horsham won its match against Hamilton Gold after making a strong total of 9-160.
Captain Jobe Dickinson starred for Horsham with the bat, hitting seven boundaries on his way to 60.
Phoenix Hopper took three wickets as Horsham took to the field, with economical bowling from most of the attack to see Hamilton finish all-out for 98.
Jam Pareja and Chase Campbell were among Wimmera-mallee batters to reach double figures in its finals loss against South West.
In under-13 Country Week competition, Wimmera-mallee started strong with a close win against Portland, and Horsham got the best of Mount Gambier on Monday.