West Gambier vs East Gambier
The Summer 2023/24 Senior Competition started how last year finished, with a grand final rematch between West Gambier and reigning champions East Gambier at Malseed Park.

However, this time West Gambier was able to turn the tables on last year’s premiers, recording a strong victory over East Gambier.

East Gambier won the toss and chose to bat, and its innings got off to a shaky start as it lost opening batsman James Sullivan early in the innings.

The West Gambier bowlers, led by Justin Dejong and Kyal Chapman, put early pressure on the East Gambier batting lineup.

Aiden Creasey and Dion Stratford tried to stabilise the innings, but consistent wicket-taking by West Gambier hindered their progress.

Stratford’s wicket had the Bulldogs 3/46, before Ben Robinson was stumped to see East 4/49.

Creasey was the set batsmen and East needed him to build a partnership with someone, unfortunately West’s bowlers were relentless and Justin Dejong bowled Creasey on 19.

Captain Alex Hentschke was joined by Alex Hill and then the wickets continued to tumble, Hentschke top scoring before being bowled on 29.

Despite the efforts of Alex Hentschke, the East Gambier team found themselves struggling to build a defendable total.

The West bowlers kept the pressure on and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.

In the end, East Gambier was bowled out for a total of 100 runs in 36.4 overs.

Justin Dejong, Kyal Chapman and Sujith Nikethana each took two wickets, contributing to East Gambier’s downfall.

In reply to East Gambier’s modest target, West Gambier showcased a dominant batting performance.

An early wicket gave East Gambier some hope but Justin Dejong and Jayden Prior built an excellent partnership.

Justin Dejong was the star of the show, scoring an impressive 101 runs from 92 balls, including five fours and four sixes.

His aggressive approach put West Gambier in a commanding position from the outset.

Jayden Prior’s solid innings of 44 runs provided crucial support.

Despite the loss of a few wickets towards the end, West Gambier achieved the target comfortably with five wickets in hand and eight overs to spare.

The East Gambier bowlers struggled to make a breakthrough, with Marc Roberts being the most successful, claiming two wickets.

However, their efforts were not enough to halt West Gambier’s progress.

Justin Dejong’s century, scoring 101 runs, was the standout performance of the match.

The West Gambier bowling attack, led by Justin Dejong, Kyal Chapman and Sujith Nikethana, put immense pressure on East Gambier’s batting lineup.

East Gambier will be looking to bounce back next week against South Gambier if it is to turn around a bad start to a defending title.