THE TWELFTH MAN
HDCA – A Grade
PIGEON Ponds finished the job started by Simon Close’s triple-century last week – but the Blue Caps gave the run chase a red-hot go.
Tahara entered day two of its HDCA A Grade round 12 match with Pigeon Ponds with the task of hunting-down a mammoth 508 required for victory and its youngsters stood tall, registering the team’s highest score for the season.
The game was brought forward to start at 11am, due to the captains coming to an agreement to try and beat the heat that would plague the district on Saturday and the Pigeon bowlers soon had the top three Tahara batsmen back in the pavilion with only 37 on the board.
From there though, the Blue Caps’ middle-order played with freedom and put the visitors under pressure, by playing their natural games and scoring freely.
Marcus Rhook (57) raised his bat to acknowledge the applause of the supporters as he blasted 10 boundaries and a six in his 41-ball innings,
Taine Morris scored his 29 from only 24 balls as he joined Rhook in putting the ball into and over the fence, but it was again Liam Tonissen who played well above his 17 years with a follow-up knock of 43 after his 97 in the last round.
Tonissen and Hamish Myers should have been celebrating maiden A Grade centuries as Myers raced to 97 from only 88 balls, with 15 boundaries and two maximums, but with the magical three figures in sight he was bowled by Simon Close.
Ross Hopkins blasted 30-not-out at number 10 in the order, to enable Tahara to post 304 in reply to the Ponds target which is a score that would have won most games.
Hamish McCrae (3-68) grabbed the bowling honours, but he had great support from Jack Beaton and Close, who each grabbed a brace of poles apiece.
It’s been a good first season in the top grade for the Tahara team and the form of the side after Christmas was excellent and as a young team, they will only get better next summer.
Tahara is now finished for the season, as the side has the bye in the last round, but the A Grade players can cheer on the C and D Grade teams who will both play finals, while Pigeon Ponds has Tyrendarra visiting Pigeon Ponds Recreation Reserve where the hosts will be seeking to inflict the ladder leader’s first defeat of the summer.
Casterton district down to Colts
CASTERTON District failed to apply pressure on its host Portland Colts at Henty Park on Saturday, with the Maroons thrashed by 144 runs after failing to take advantage of not having to field in the heat of day two.
Colts declared at the overnight tally of 5-236, even though the hosts knew they had another six overs to bat if they close too.
The declaration gave Casterton District a full 75 overs to reach the target, but only Kane Forbes (24) and Logan Gibbs (41) managed to post double figures as the batting lineup struggled against the Colts’ opening bowlers, Luke Evans and Oscar Barbary, who were miserly with the ball in hand.
All out for only 93 meant that Colts would enforce the follow-on and Forbes took the long handle to the bowlers with an incredible 63 from only 31 balls, with eight maximums as he guided the visitors to 4-113 when stumps were drawn.
The result leaves Casterton District in seventh spot but the team is last when it comes to bonus points earned for runs and wickets and this needs to be remedied over winter.
The Maroons will host Grampians in the last round at Island Park Turf and will want to end the summer on a high, while Portland Colts travel to Clem Young Oval where they have to defeat St Andrews to be assured of a finals place.
