It’s a shorter list than normal this week with most of South Australia taking the weekend off to flock to the Adelaide Oval to watch the Aussies give it to the Poms.
Hume cricket also has booked an extended Christmas break with most of the action coming from Victoria over the weekend. That said, there was some cricket played in SA over the weekend, you just had to look hard to find it.
Let’s start with the most honourable of honourable mentions.
Shout out to the Streaky Bay cricket club for winning the Far West Cricket Association T20 carnival on Saturday at Ceduna. The Streaky boys, lead magnificently by skipper Tobyn Lennell (Sorry Paul), knocked off Smokey Bay in the early game before defeating the hosts by 5 wickets in the final.
The highlight of the day though was the transformation of local legend Luke Feltmann. Luke put his mullet where his mouth is and had his long locks chopped off for a very worthy cause. Luke went clipper length, and lost his trademark beard, to raise much need funds for the Black Dog Institute. So far Luke has raised over $2,000 and we are still counting. It’s not too late to donate!
Ok, let’s take a closer look at the action on the field with this weeks top FIVE Feats of the Week.
5. Keenes redeems average bowling effort
In Cricket Albury Wodonga’s Provincial second grade match Howlong’s Darren Keenes took some tap with the ball against New City. Keenes went for 55 from just 8 overs, not helped by 11 wides. He took his revenge with the bat, blasting an unbeaten 91 from just 77 balls to take his team to the target of 241 in just the 36th over.
4. Dynamic duo snuff out Nursery Ridge batting
In Red Cliffs Cricket’s B Grade competition, a 10-person Nursery Ridge team batted first against Fire Brigade. The Nursery Ridge batting lineup folded quicker than Joe Root’s box, all out for just 24.
Most of the Fire Brigade bowlers returned hand figures but two stood out. Luke Leerson bowled a magnificent seven-over spell that returned figures of 4 for 4 (including a hat trick), but they weren’t the best of the day. Opening bowler Conner Darby went one better, finishing with 4 for 3 of 5.4 overs. The twin destroyers combined to claim a spot on this week’s list.
3. Birchip opening bowler outs Brim batting
The Wimmera Mallee A-grade clash between Brim Kellalac Sheep Hills (BKSH) and Birchip turned in a thrilling finish. The home side from Brim managed to hold on and win a thriller by just 6 runs. But, it was a member of the losing side who collects a nomination from this match.
Birchip opening bowler J. Falvey’s second spell routed the BKSH middle order. He would finish with figures of 5 for 15 from 8 overs and give his team every chance of pinching a much-needed win.
2. Colac Skipper puts lost toss behind him
Colac took on Colac West in the local Division two derby with Colac West winning the toss and sending Darcy Spence’s team in to bat first.
As if offended by losing the toss, Spence strapped on the pads and set about punishing the 10-man Colac West bowling attack.
Spence blasted 17 fours and 6 sixes on his way to 127 from just 88 balls. Incredibly, he was the first wicket to fall in the innings with fellow opener Simpkin enjoying the show from the safety of the non-striker's end. Colac finished with 6 for 226 from their 40 overs and went on to win by 180 runs.
1. Wodonga chase leather for Howlong?
The simple answer is 40 overs, let me explain.
The Cricket Albury Wodonga C2 clash between Howlong and Wodonga saw skipper Rowan Hall thrilling the home crowd with a magnificent hundred. Hall isn’t satisfied with just captaining and keeping for the Howlong C2 crew so he decided to strap on the pads and open the batting as well. He carried his bat through the 40 over innings, blasting a brilliant 131 from just 109 balls.
The team total of 4 for 251 was never in any danger of being chased down by Wodonga who could only manage 9 for 170 with Hall taking a couple of nice catches behind the stumps. Well played skipper.
Congratulations to those getting a gig in this weeks shortened list of great country cricket feats. Anyone game enough to play a game of cricket just one week before Santa arrives deserves a medal in my book. Merry Christmas Country Cricket legends and look for me again in 2022.
Comments