The morning started with the A grade Lakers turning out to Vic Park #2 to support the under 12s Bulls take on Benalla in the semi-final before the senior team resumed their wicket taking from the week before to retain their spot at the top of the WDCA ladder.
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The Bulls secured victory with a strong bagging performance and backed it up with their bowling in front of a good crowd to now make their way into the Grand Final.
As the morning progressed to afternoon, the A grade Lakers wondered back over to Stan Hargreaves Oval and began their warmup on a sunny day in Yarrawonga.
With Ovens Valley United (OVU) at 4/5 overnight and needing a further 148 runs, the Lakers focus was on their 6 required wickets for victory.
Angus Heslin took the first over for the Lakers and attacked the stumps early.
Jim Irvine who took 3 wickets in three overs last week opened the bowling from the other end for the Lakers.
Jim’s first ball was a hat-trick ball after his effort last week that produced 2 wickets from the final two balls of the day.
A big shout for LBW on the hat trick ball to no avail.
Eventually, Heslin got his first wicket for the day caught Knight at second slip. OVU 5/20.
OVU’s batsman dug in, ticked the scoreboard over and absorbed some short fiery bowling from Irvine who struck the batsman on more than one occasion.
OVU slowly ran up the score and attacked the wider deliveries to pass 50 runs.
Brothers Brock McCabe and Matt McCabe came on to bowl their leg soon and pace respectively.
Brock found bounce and turn from the wicket while Matt found both bounce and seam.
Matt bowled a straighter delivery that removed OVU’s captains middle stump - sending the Zing bails in to overdrive.
OVU’s number 8 and 9 batsmen played defensively before hitting boundaries on any width to run the score passed 100 with only 50 runs left to score.
Matt McCabe dug in and produced another wicket caught Knight - again at second slip.
This time Knight wrong footed himself and went to the right before he went back the other way and took a blinding catch to his left.
In Matt McCabe’s next over, he paired up again with the slips cordon to remove the next batsman caught Irvine.
Much to the delight of ‘Cat’ Welsh keeping a tally behind the stumps.
With 40 runs to defend and the Lakers requiring two wickets for victory - OVU’s earlier batsman who retired hurt returned to the crease and tried to hit boundaries.
Angus McMillan’s left arm seamers proved pivotal in the defining moments of the match as OVU required just 30 runs for victory.
Deep into his bowling spell, McMillan consistently nagged at a fourth stump line across the right-handed batsman.
McMillan got a delivery to slide across the batsman and took the outside edge - caught Knight at second slip yet again.
This was Knight’s fourth catch for the match and now the Lakers required just one wicket for victory.
With 20 runs needed for OVU, their batsman bit a long ball to the boundary.
Harry Wheeler chased it all the way and flicked it back to Gus McMillan just before it crossed the line.
McMillan saw the batsman’s hesitation, threw a long ball to the bowlers end with Irvine taking the stumps and whipping off the bails.
The umpire was in perfect position and raised the finger - out! Lakers win by 21 runs.
With time and overs remaining in the match the Lakers padded up to bat again.
Harry Wheeler and Brock McCabe opened the batting for the Lakers.
Short, pitched bowling was the strategy for OVU which was dispatched to the boundary regularly.
Wheeler and Brock McCabe were eventually out and ‘Cat’ Welsh and Ben McDonald took their turn to punish the loose deliveries.
McDonald was back in the sheds after a quick cameo and Welsh joined him soon after.
Angus McMillan and Kyle Archibald punished the loose deliveries too with boundaries of their own before the overs were bowled out.
Overall, it was another team performance by the Lakers. ‘Cat’ Welsh’s 69 in the first innings rescued the Lakers and posted a respectable total while Jim Irvine did the damage with the ball to leave OVU 4/5 overnight.
Matt McCabe and Heslin also took wickets to secure the victory.
The Lakers have one game to go before finals and sit on top of the Wangaratta & District A grade ladder.
Thank you Hicksy for scoring and Jordy Knight and Byron Dodd for running drinks all day.
Next week A Grade play Wangaratta Magpies in their last game of the home and away season at the Wangaratta Showgrounds at 1pm - in yet another top of the table clash.
Gillies proves B Grade’s backbone
Yarrawonga Mulwala 7/149 def Rovers United Bruck 9/126.
B Grade hosted last year’s grand final combatants at the lovely Lonsdale Reserve Mulwala in a mid-table clash.
Losing the toss and being asked to bowl, the Lakers went to work with young quicks Phillips and Kreek.
Both bowled with good pace and Kreek’s stump to stump line claimed the first 2 wickets lbw.
The bowlers rotated regularly searching for more wickets which eventually came when the spinners came on.
Hargreaves and Docking bowling with good flight drawing false shots from the batsman claiming 5 wickets between them to be the pick of the bowlers.
Rovers United Bruck finishing 9-126.
Last week’s century maker Hudson Gillies and H Hargreaves opened with H departing in the first over dreaming about his next two weeks in New Zealand chasing the Aussie test side.
Moose Montgomery and Gillies continued their rich form taking the score to 61 before Moose departed for 18.
Gillies was the backbone of the innings playing shots to all parts of the ground.
Luke Buerckner had a rare failure, Kreek fell cheaply bringing Phillips to the crease to join Gillies and take the Lakers over the line with some lusty blows clearing the fence making a quick fire 30.
Gillies eventually fell for a match winning 85 trying to get another ton in the last few overs.
Lakers finishing on 7-149 to cement a finals position.
C Grade come from bottom to finals
Beechworth Wanderers 10/156 def by Yarrawonga Mulwala 2/169.
Started from the bottom now they’re here. C grade come from the bottom of the ladder to lock in a finals spot.
The Beechworth Wanderers won the toss at Stanley and sent the Lakers out to bowl first.
‘Fingers’ Bozzola and ‘Chrome Dome’ Pickering were given the new ball of which the Wanderers opening pair really enjoyed.
This brought an early change to the bowling attack with ‘J Train’ Burns coming into the fold taking a wicket with his 3rd ball, immediately turning the game on its head with his blistering pace.
‘Alco’ Hawking was also brought into the attack to steady the ship.
‘Alco’ bowling pace in his first 3 overs then swapping to off spin very “funky Miller” like in the next 5 overs.
Jace ‘G Train’ Gove also bowled 2 overs capturing a wicket in his first over.
The highlight of the fielding innings was Veteran ‘Pickles’ Phibbs taking an absolute belter of a catch at short mid-on.
All 5 bowlers bowled well to have the Bushrangers all out for 156.
‘Fingers’ Bozzola 3/25, ‘Alco’ Hawking 3/ 52 and ‘J Train’ Burns 3/35 the pick of the bowlers.
The Lakers innings started rock solid with Young Peter Brear and ‘Fingers’ Bozzola getting the side away to 49 runs before ‘Fingers’ (29 runs) skyed one to mid-off.
In came ‘Sarg’ Lappin fresh off his Tay Tay concert last week hitting 28 valuable runs before being bowled.
Lappin was replaced by red ink specialist and also a red eyed Sullivan after dancing the night away at the Pink concert.
Brear was battling along with a foot complaint after falling from his penny-farthing bicycle at an “Old time Dance” at Savernake Hall during the week.
Brear with his injured foot soldiered on for as long as he could before retiring hurt 20 to rest his foot in the drinks esky (more about this later).
The very stylish ‘Alco’ Hawking waltzed out to the middle to join Sullivan to keep the runs ticking over before there was a halt in play with 4 overs to go.
A stench came across the ground forcing the Wanderers support staff to promptly pack up their platters and leave the ground.
This also meant the scoring table had to be moved before play could resume. The source of the stench is still unknown.
Both ‘red ink’ and ‘alco’ batted superbly to get the Lakers across the line in arguably their best win of the year.
‘Red Ink’ Sullivan finishing on 43 n/o and ‘Alco’ 27 n/o got the job done for the fast-finishing Lakers.
But the story of the day went to Sarg Lappin whom walked off the ground after square leg umpiring and grabbed a nice cold water out of the esky not knowing Brear had been icing his foot in it earlier in the day.
Lappin later showing signs of what’s believed to be a small case of foot and mouth.
This may leave the Lakers a few short next week when they take on top of the table Benalla at Lakers headquarters.
Lakers girls round up Bushrangers in thriller
The Benalla Bushrangers ventured down from their base at the foot of the Strathbogie Ranges to raid the Lakers HQ but were held up by the Lakers' girls in a thrilling two run victory to the home side.
Skipper Paige Bamford was on the wrong side of the bat flip and was sent in to bat by the Bushrangers.
Bamford opened the innings with Stella Hill getting the Lakers off to a fine start with 18 on the board without loss at the completion of their two overs.
The dose was repeated with the second pairing of Hannah Morris and Lily Lewis putting another 18 runs on the board, but at the cost of a wicket.
Lewis’ sparkling boundary was a highlight.
Kirsty Plevnik blasted four boundaries from her blade, with one going the full distance for a maximum, as she and partner Maya O'Brien broke the game wide open with a stand of 26.
The Lakers had the Bushrangers on the run as the score kept ticking over, with Bella Ward and Matilda Thackray putting on a game high 28 run partnership.
This included some power hitting combined with sharp running to put the Lakers into three figures.
This only left Kate Giblett and Heeranya Mahajan to bring it home and with another partnership of 18 - this put the cherry on the cake, giving the Bushrangers 120 as the score to beat.
The bowling and fielding effort continues to improve with each game.
Paige Bamford and Kate Giblett captured the Lakers only wickets, but only conceded single figures in the runs column from their over along with fellow bowlers, Stella Hill, Hannah Morris, Lily Lewis and Bella Ward.
This held up the visitors and the Lakers arrested the Bushrangers with two runs still in the bank.
Paige Bamford received the Coach's Award for a great all-round performance by the captain with bat and ball.
For the last game the Lakers girls hit the road to Beechworth to take on the Wanderers on Friday, March 8 and then will complete the season with a break up at ClubMulwala on Friday, March 15.
Bulls march into Grand Final
Yarrawonga Mulwala 4/156 def Benalla Bushrangers Blue 5/98.
The Yarrawonga/Mulwala Bulls have earned themselves a place in the grand final after a strong performance in the semi-final against Benalla Bushrangers Blue at Stan Hargreaves Oval last Saturday.
The team was met with conditions not often seen in junior cricket. The oval presented like carpet, freshly mowed and manicured, with value for runs on offer.
Benalla won the toss and sent the Bulls into bat.
Right from the word go, Hudson and Blair signalled their intentions and got the team off to a great start, blasting boundaries at will.
One of the highlights was a huge 6 from Blair straight down the ground.
Blair’s crisp strike was nearly overshadowed by the impressive crowd catch from Zach Gallagher!
Byron continued the aggressive play when he came to the crease striking six boundaries on his way to a classy captain’s knock of 31 from his 15 balls.
He dispatched the ball to all parts of the oval and there was little the Benalla bowlers could do.
Benji (11 retired), Isaac (10), Finn (11 retired), Kirsty (7 retired) all kept the scoreboard ticking over always keeping the pressure on the Benalla bowlers.
This quartet of players have really improved their batting over the course of the year and have all been very dependable through the middle order.
Murphy ‘the big show’ Doyle came in for a quick cameo of 7 including a boundary, which was a crisp cover drive straight from the textbook.
A couple of quick wickets fell, which then enabled Hudson and Blair to return to the crease for the last two overs.
The boys pushed the score to 4-156 with Blair finishing his best innings of the year with 33 not out off 24 balls and Hudson also producing one of his best knocks of the season with a run a ball 22.
The Bulls felt they had put a reasonable score on the board but as the old saying goes, anything can happen in finals.
The Benalla openers started productively but weren’t really given many loose balls from the Bulls bowers.
It took until the 5th over for the Bulls to strike with Finn O’Brien clean bowling Tyson Williams.
Benalla kept the scoreboard ticking over but probably not at the required run rate to chase down the Bulls total.
At the halfway mark of their overs, Benalla needed more than 10 runs an over.
Blair continued his day out after keeping for the first half of the innings, he then was able to strike in his first over taking the wicket of Lachlan Osborne leaving Benalla at 2 for 55.
Wickets then fell to Isaac and Benji and it is worth noting the sportsmanship displayed by these young gentleman. Benalla had a younger batter at the crease and both bowlers slowed down their usual pace to bowl spin, great job boys!
Byron also chipped in with a wicket backing up his fine batting performance.
Benalla finished their 20 overs on 5-98. Both teams should be congratulated for the way the conducted themselves throughout the day, both clubs should be really proud!
Overall, it was a real team effort from the Bulls and everyone played their role and did what was asked of them by the coaches. You can’t ask much more than that!
A big thanks to the majority of the A grade team as well as some of the other senior cricketers who made the effort to come down and support the under 12s.
You can’t underestimate the lift it gives the team to see you all down there, as well as helping them to feel like they are an important part of the club.
The Bulls are now off to the grand final which will be played at Stan Hargreaves Oval this Saturday starting at 9am against Benalla Bushrangers Green.
Please come down and show your support and cheer the team on!
Go Bulls!
Gus receives life membership
Gus Browning received his life membership award at the Victoria Park sports pavilion on Sunday in front of family, friends and members of the Yarrawonga Mulwala Cricket Club.
President Glenn ‘Wally’ Brear shared a few words including Gus’ achievements for the Yarrawonga Cricket Club - including 138 not out in a final, representative cricket - including a best on ground in a final, and his achievements for the Yarrawonga Mulwala Cricket Club established in 2008.
Wally then introduced former teammates Josh Vagg and Martin Casey who spoke of playing with Gus in the former Yarrawonga & District competition for the Yarrawonga Cricket Club.
Both Josh and Martin highlighted Gus’ competitive nature, cricketing ability and focus on developing youth within the junior ranks.
Bert’ Tait, who was instrumental in the development of Victoria Park and cricket in the community, awarded Gus with his life membership badge.
Congratulations Gus’, a great achievement and the YMCC all value your contribution to the game of cricket, the community and the great local club.
Last man standing on again
The highly popular YMCC Last Man Standing is on again in 2024. Join the club on Sunday, March 10 (Labour day long weekend) for one of the biggest events LakersHQ has to offer.
Tickets are $103.50 (incl. transaction fees) each which includes food (roast beef gravy rolls), drinks 12-6pm (beer, wine, cider, soft drinks and water) and of course entry into the major cash prize draw!
Tickets can be purchased via the ‘Teamapp’ Link coming soon.
For any questions, please contact Reid Clarke on Facebook or on 0400 376 705.
Yarrawonga Chronicle