West Gambier v South Gambier
South Gambier fell heartbreakingly short against West Gambier at Blue Lake Sports Park during round 3 of the Mount Gambier and District Cricket Association Barber Shield competition.
West Gambier won the toss and chose to bat first hoping to set a big total for South Gambier to chase.
Opening batsman Justin DeJong fell early with only four runs on the board, caught by James Miller off Elwood Geary’s bowling.
Nuwan Gunawardana steadied the innings with captain Bray Stephenson, before Gunawardana was bowled by Robert Drenthen on 20.
Stephenson remained composed before he lost another partner, with Sujith Nikethana adding 11 runs before being run out by Jaggar Geary.
South Gambier eventually got the breakthrough of Stephenson on 55, caught off the bowling of Adam Vause.
The middle order faced some setbacks as South Gambier continued to make consistent breakthroughs with Sam Willis, Jack Geddes and Kyal Chapman all being dismissed to leave West Gambier 7/178.
Samuel Coxon provided stability with 29 runs, but the tail-enders did their best against the solid Demons bowling attack.
West Gambier finished its innings at 183 for the loss of nine wickets in 40 overs.
South Gambier’s Elwood Geary took three wickets for 23 runs, an impressive performance from the young quick.
West Gambier set a good total which its bowling attack was confident it could defend, however South Gambier’s batters were determined to cause an upset.
South Gambier started strong with an excellent 114 run opening stand between captain Robert Drenthen and Stephen Easterbrook.
The partnership came to an end when Drenthen was dismissed on 53 off 40 balls, with Sam Willis securing the first breakthrough.
Willis then took another quick wicket, bowling Jed Sims for a duck to reduce South further to 2/116.
Things went from bad to worse for South, losing a further 4/11 as Jaggar and Elwood Geary, Easterbrook and James Miller all fell in quick succession, with Willis tearing through the top order to claim a five-fer.
At 6/131 South was in trouble and needed to build a partnership to stop the constant loss of wickets.
Bryce Whicker and Ryan Kuhl attempted to steady the ship, however their partnership was broken by Bailey Rothall, dismissing Whicker for 12.
Kuhl followed soon after on 15 and the batting collapse was complete, losing the final three wickets for four runs, falling just five runs short of West’s total with six overs remaining.
West Gambier’s Sam Willis was the pivotal figure in the bowling attack, securing an impressive five wickets for 42 runs in just eight overs.
West Gambier’s captain Stephenson also played a vital role with two wickets for 37 runs in eight overs.
South Gambier will no doubt be devastated with the result after an excellent start to the innings.
West Gambier will be pleased with its resilience with bat and ball and turn its focus to its rematch with East Gambier next week as the season’s two-day matches get under way, while South Gambier will face Mil Lel.
North Gambier v Mil Lel
It was shaping up to be the match of the round at Marist Park as an unbeaten North Gambier side took on the only other undefeated team in the competition Mil Lel for round three of the Barber Shield.
North Sportsman’s won the toss and opted to bowl, believing it could chase whatever total set by the visitors.
The Mil Lel innings faced an early setback as opener Jarrod Sanders departed without scoring, caught behind off Tim Young’s bowling.
William Rowland and Ty Dinnison provided resistance, building a strong partnership after the early wicket.
Nick McInerney eventually found the breakthrough of Rowland catching him LBW on 43.
Isaac Mulraney claimed two wickets, including Darcy Williamson and the captain Jack Miller, both dismissed without scoring.
After reaching 31 Ty Dinnison’s hard fought innings came to a close as he fell for Mulraney’s second wicket.
Archer Virtanen contributed 10 runs before falling to Declan Kenny and the middle order struggled against the disciplined North Sportsman’s bowling attack.
Mitchell Little and Toby Grigg saw out the 40 overs for Mil Lel finishing 1 and 7 not out respectively.
Mil Lel finished its innings 9/120 in 40 overs, setting North a total of 121.
The fall of wickets included key dismissals such as Jarrod Sanders, William Rowland and Jack Miller.
Nick McInerney was the most successful bowler for North Sportsman’s, taking three crucial wickets for 12 runs.
In North Sportsman’s innings it had little trouble passing the total to confirm its third win of the season.
Alex Hutton and Michael Johnston opened the batting and got their side off to a good start before Hutton was bowled by Jack Miller.
Elliot Fisher built a strong partnership with Johnston before they were dismissed within five runs of each other to have North in the still comfortable position of 3/94.
North required just 27 runs to win with seven wickets in hand, while Mil Lel required a miracle to find a way back into the match.
Nick McInerney put to bed any hopes that Mil Lel had as he played an aggressive innings, scoring 37 runs off 25 balls before being dismissed LBW by Thomas Smith.
Brad Robinson also scored handy runs, knocking 29 from 29 balls before being caught off the bowling of Darcy Williamson.
Matthew Robinson on 2 and Nicholas Copping on 1 remained not out at the conclusion of the 40 overs.
Mil Lel’s Jack Miller was the standout with the ball leading the way by taking three wickets for 26 runs in eight overs.
Thomas Smith and Darcy Williamson contributed with two wickets each, while Jarrod Sanders also claimed two.
North Sportsman’s innings finished 9/192 after the 40 overs, claiming a comfortable victory.
Despite the loss, Mil Lel will still be confident it can take it up to the top teams and will hope to bounce back next week against South Gambier.
North heads into the two-day matches unbeaten as it faces a winless Penola side.
Penola v East Gambier
East Gambier travelled to Penola and managed to keep the home side winless for the season with a comfortable win for the reigning premiers.
East Gambier won the toss and opted to bowl, leaving Penola to set a big total for the Doggies to chase.
East’s decision would soon be vindicated as the opening bowlers, especially Liam Turley, wreaked havoc on the Penola batting line up.
Captain Jack Mullan’s early departure for just one run set the tone, caught by Emerson Marks off Turley’s precise bowling.
Tom Clayfield’s wicket was closely followed by Eli Hunter who only survived two balls.
Michael Waters tried to steady the ship with a resilient 21, but wickets fell at regular intervals.
Connor Little’s dismissal of Mathew Honner was followed two balls later with Ben Hentschke bowling Ned Skeer for eight to reduce Penola to 7/51.
Turley, with figures of three wickets for 18 runs, led the East Gambier bowling attack alongside Connor Little, who also secured three crucial wickets.
Joshua Doyle and Jacob Robbie provided some resistance, but the team was ultimately bowled out with Marc Robert cleaning up the tail with two wickets.
Ben Hentschke and Alex Hentschke also made contributions of a wicket each, helping to restrict Penola to a total of 96 in 33 overs.
As the match entered the second innings, East Gambier had a challenging but achievable target ahead, setting the stage for an intriguing remainder of the game.
Aiden Creasey faced a challenging start before being dismissed for a duck off 11 balls, with Michael Waters catching him off his own bowling.
Opening batsman James Sullivan did not let the early wicket deter him, going on to score 59 runs off 84 balls.
Alex Hill dug deep hitting 19 runs off 44 balls and was then stumped by Matthew Honner off the bowling of Jack Mullan.
Emerson Marks was out not long after, however East still had a firm grip on the game at 3/63.
Together Sullivan and Ben Robinson took East Gambier over the line to claim its second straight win.
Sullivan was eventually dismissed, falling victim to a Jack Mullan delivery, caught by Michael Waters.
Liam Turley concluded the innings with an unbeaten one, while Ben Robinson found some form in the middle order as he remained unbeaten at 56 runs off 69 balls, providing stability to the team.
East Gambier finished 179 runs for the loss of seven wickets off its 40 overs.
East Gambier will now hope it can show improvement on the past two rounds as it takes on its round one opposition West Gambier.
Penola is still searching for that first win and will have to do it against North Sportsman’s who remain undefeated this season.
