THE TWELFTH MAN
HDCA – B Grade
CASTERTON District failed to handle the heat on Saturday as the team was defeated by Grampians at Mitchell Park, in round 16 of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association B Grade competition.
Grampians claimed a bonus point for its 65-run demolition of the Maroons, as the visitors failed to support Justin Carlin who played a lone hand with the bat in posting 89 from 86 balls with nine boundaries and a further four maximums to continue his great summer with the willow.
Casterton won the toss and elected to bowl first searching for early wickets to put pressure on the Pumas and the tactic worked with the score at 3-48 in the 10th over, but Daniel Jones (50) and Alec McIntyre (70) reversed the momentum of the game and Grampians finished with 9-205 when the final over was delivered.
Carlin opened the batting and once again took control of the innings just as he has done all summer long and now has 678 runs to his credit, to be the leading run getter in the competition, but none of the rest of the batsmen stayed with him as Casterton District capitulated for only 140.
The loss leaves the Maroons in third place, seven points behind Hamilton who will make the road trip to Wando Vale Recreation Reserve next round, where the team that wins should claim second place and a home semi-final.
Hamilton was similarly thrashed by ladder leaders College at Dahl Turf, with 68 being the margin as Hamilton failed to utilise its home ground advantage.
