Happy New Year country cricket lovers! It was great to see some competitions resume on the weekend with others enjoying an extra week off due to a certain virus.
Given that roughly half of our regular competitions had an extra week off I'll keep the honourable mentions down to just one before getting into the list.
Honourable Mentions
I normally keep this list to country cricket only but stuff it..... It's my list and I'll do what I want. Today's honourable mention goes to the most underrated Test batter of all time. Kiwi legend Ross Taylor.
He finished his Test career against village cricket side Bangladesh today by taking the final wicket of their innings win. For the record, Ross finished with a Test average of just a tick under 45, with 19 hundreds and the highest score of 290.
Ross is a champion player and champion bloke. Let's hope we get to see him in Australia for future Big Bash competitions. Well played sir.
Righto, let's get to the list proper.
10. Belalie Manninarie wins with an unbeaten opening stand
In Northern Areas cricket Belalie Manninarie was in desperate need of a win at Pekina Oval on Saturday. The home side batted first and posted a competitive total of 7 for 160 from their 40 overs. Shannon Jaeschke rolled down 8 overs and finished with the solid figures of 2 for 17. But it was with the bat he took the game away.
Jaeschke and Simpson opened the batting in the run chase and no one else was required. Simpson finished unbeaten on 51 with Jaeschke at his belligerent best, smashing his way to 93 not out and getting his team home with 11 overs to spare.
9. Klau collects 5 for Maitland in win over Yorketown
In just his second match of the season, Matthew Klau starred for Maitland with bat and ball. Maitland batted first and racked up a good total of 8 for 186. Klau came in at number 7 and cracked 17 from 15 balls to help put on some quick runs at the end of the innings.
He then took the new ball for Maitland and claimed the first three Yorketown wickets to have them reeling at 3 for 26. In his second spell, Klau cleaned up the tail to finish with figures of 5 for 27 from 9.4 overs. A match-winning performance.
8. Cardinal simply divine in Colac Cricket
City United sit on top of the table in Colac Cricket's first-grade competition and were too powerful with bat and ball against Alvie at Eastern reserve on Saturday. Batting first, City United openers Sam Cardinal and Rani Jamieson put on 113 for the first wicket to set up the innings.
United finished their 50 overs at 3 for 242 with Cardinal's divine knock coming to an end late in the innings at 104. He batted for just a tick under 3 hours, face 152 balls and cracked 13 boundaries. His team went on to bowl out Alvie for just 69 and retain their spot on the top of the Division one ladder.
7. Pointon breaks Corny Point hearts with brilliant 5fer
In Lower Yorke Peninsula cricket my favourite cray fishermen from Corny Point took on Eastern District and had them dead to rights. Eastern Districts batted first and were rolled for just 142.
With Corny Point cruising at 1 for 107 William Pointon was tossed the ball, the 7th bowler to be used in the innings. He claimed the important wicket of Tilbrook for 44 which triggered an incredible collapse.
The Pointers lost 9 for 24 with Pointon ripping through the middle and lower order to finish with figures of 5 for 21 in a match-winning spell.
6. Thiel rips through Lyndoch batters to set up victory
In the Barossa and Light A1 clash against Lyndoch, Greenock skipper Ben Thiel was a one-man wrecking crew. Bowling first on their home deck, the Greenock boys skittled Lyndoch for just 71. Thiel took the new ball and finished with figures of 6 for 19 from 10.4 overs.
Greenock lost 8 wickets in chasing down the target and decided to declare in the hope of an outright win. Next Saturday will see a conclusion to the game with Greenock boys already banking some important premiership points by stumps on day 1.
5. McNicol routs Perponda batting to claim six
In Murray Towns Cricket it was top versus bottom on Saturday at the Perponderosa with the hosts welcoming the rampaging Meningie to town. The visitors won the toss and batted first. Despite some early jitters, the Meningie middle-order recovered to post a challenging total of 177.
From that point on it was the Zeke McNicol show. Taking the new ball, Zeke was keen to get things done as quickly as possible and ripped through the Perponda batting lineup. He would finish with 6 for 9 from 7.1 overs as Meningie rolled the hosts for just 41.
4. Stumps fly as Nursery Ridge thrash Millewa
Top team Nursery Ridge hosted 4th ranked Millewa at the Onion Patch on Saturday in Red Cliff's cricket. The visitors batted first and struggled to get their innings going, losing wickets at regular intervals. Millewa was bowled out for just 92, eventually losing by 8 wickets.
The destroyer for Nursery Ridge was first change bowler Jason Finch who finished with impressive figures of 6 for 8 from 7.5 overs. Even more impressively, Finch knocked over the stumps of 4 different Millewa batters.
3. Lameroo get Shermanated
In Pinnaroo and Border Cricket, Parrakie struck some early trouble against Lameroo before unleashing their secret weapon. A sophisticated batting machine sent back through time to change the game....... the Shermanator.
Sherman strode to the wicket and asked the Lameroo bowlers for their clothes, their boots and their motorcycle. He would blast 101 from just 98 balls and help Parrakie to 5 for 242 from their 40 overs. Lameroo was clearly targeted for Shermination.
2. Monarto beat Jervois in 63 balls
It's fair to say the Jervois B grade was a little undermanned on Saturday. Regardless, Monarto was determined to not spend one minute more in the warmish conditions than absolutely necessary.
Thankfully, Jervois batted first. 52 balls later they were bowled out for 8. A shoutout to 16-year-old Riley Franke from Monarto who claimed a hattrick in just his second senior game. He finished with figures of 3 for 0 from just 4 balls!
Monarto took their time to knock off the runs reaching 0 for 9 after 1.5 overs. The entire match lasted 63 deliveries with everyone home in time for lunch.
1. Weckert takes a bag as Redhill finally win a game
The return of Rocky River cricket on Saturday saw bottom side Redhill looking for their first win of the season against Gladstone. Ben Weckert took the new ball for Redhill in his first outing of the year and ran through the Gladstone batting lineup in short order.
Making up for lost time, Weckert bowled 11 straight overs and demolished the visitors. He would finish with Scott Bolandesque figures of 7 for 7. As a result, Redhill bowled out Gladstone for just 38 and claimed their maiden victory of the year.
Congratulations Ben for winning this week's country cricket Feat of the Week. Did we get it wrong? Feel free to give me a serve on social media or send me an email to news@flowfm.com.au
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