East Gambier has continued its winning ways to start the 2021-22 Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association season perfectly after dispatching “bogey side” West Gambier with ease.
Playing on home turf at Scott Park, the Bulldogs ran down the Roos quickly restricting the visitors to an under par 102.
Despite runs proving tricky to score, East mowed down the total comfortably with seven wickets in hand and Dion Stratford playing a starring role.
But the most important moment happened off the pitch when both teams mixed in a fundraiser to celebrate the life of Heath Case and support his family.
East captain Alex Hentschke was the instigator of the special evening and said it was a lovely moment between the two teams.
“Once we heard the news I wanted to do something with West, so I reached out and they jumped on board,” he said.
“It was a nice chance to pay our respects to the family and give back to them for a guy who was great for community cricket.
“It was just a token from us to them.”
The captain known as “Sauce” was also in fine form on the pitch proving a spicy customer to give his team the ideal start to the one-day clash.
After two maidens to open proceedings, Hentschke broke the defenses of Jack Geddes before also snicking off Jake Blackwell for another duck.
Once Liam Turley, Nathan Gore and Travis Younghusband also made an impact, West was reeling at 6/48 from just 15 overs.
Connor Prior was the only member of the top order to put the pressure back on the bowlers with a swift 26, while Don Pubudu found life difficult on Barber Shield debut scrapping nine runs from 50 balls.
Eventually the lower order added some respectability to the scoreboard largely thanks to the free spirit of Kyal Chapman.
Chapman smashed Turley back over his head first ball before dining out even more against Gore.
However, his fun against his former team mates was short lived when he missed an Emerson Marks’ off-break.
Sam Coxen and his Virat Kohli style Madras Rubber Factory bat hung around to ensure the Roos skipped past triple figures.
Defending a meagre target of 104, West needed early wickets and Sam Willis delivered knocking over top dog Steven Cameron.
The young right-arm pacer also removed Marks cheaply and at 2/26 the Roos had reason to believe.
However, the early strikes brought Stratford to the crease and he was not going to let the win slip away.
All of the right hander’s class was on show presenting the full face of the bat and punishing any loose delivery.
The loss of remaining opener Connor Little for 17 failed to deter Stratford, while at the other end youngster Jimmy Sullivan rotated the strike with a gritty 22.
The duo silenced West with a hard-fought 72-run stand as Stratford remained unbeaten on 56 to see East home.
“It was a bit of a scrappy win at the end doing it tough,” Hentschke said.
“We just bowled our areas and came back after they hit 25 off four overs.
“West bowled well which made it hard, but Dion took control of the game.”
