Bill West
There were two astonishing highlights from Saturday’s round of McIntyre Cup cricket, one being Gisborne skipper Jarryd Vernon’s master class 178 (10 sixes, 18 fours) against Woodend.
The other was Romsey’s remarkable back from the brink rescue mission from a shaky 5/22 against Wallan, with skipper Ben Way making an unbeaten 134 and Adam Frost 92 to save the Redbacks.
The temperature heated up for the round of one-day matches and Vernon’s innings of 178 from just 106 balls at Gardiner Reserve must rank very highly in McIntyre Cup history.
Runs were plundered from the Woodend bowlers as the Dragons reached 9/279, with the last five wickets to fall – including Vernon – tumbling for the addition of just six runs. Greg Matthews claimed three wickets for the Woodsmen.
Woodend’s run chase never looked likely to succeed, and it was only Warren Else’s unbeaten 74 that carried the score beyond the 200 mark, leaving Gisborne as the only unbeaten team this season.
Romsey’s early batters failed dismally, edging new ball deliveries as Wallan veteran Steve Bell captured three of the first five wickets to tumble at the Romsey number 2 oval.
Way, so often the Redbacks’ saviour with the bat, found a determined partner in Frost and they added 159 runs for the sixth wicket before Frost was bowled for 92 (13 fours, one six), his top score in McIntyre Cup.
In the last few overs, Way blasted the hapless bowlers to include six sixes and nine fours in his innings.
Wallan reached 0/84 but once free scoring Keiran Atkin departed for 56 momentum slowed and Taylor Stevenson and Aaron Paterson collected five wickets between them as Romsey won by 64 runs.
This Saturday, Romsey plays Gisborne in a two-day fixture, with spectators surely interested if Vernon and Way can continue their superlative form.
Bacchus Marsh routed a disappointing Rupertswood, and finals contenders Sunbury United and Diggers Rest/Bulla had easy wins.
TWO THRILLERS
In Johnstone Shield, there were two absolute thrillers – Riddell and Gisborne playing out a tie with 436 runs being scored!
The low-scoring thriller was at Kilmore, where Romsey scraped home by one run by capturing the last three Kilmore wickets for just two runs.
The star with the ball was Macedon’s Nathan Aikman. He claimed 6-25 from 7.4 overs to ensure the Cats scored a much-needed win against Aintree.
In Jensen Shield, Hanging Rock opener Brandon Nicholls hit 10 sixes as he scored 108 at home to a Malmsbury side that failed with the bat.
A prolific fourth-wicket unbeaten stand between Justin Murphy 91 and Paul de Podolinsky 62 carried Malmsbury to victory against Sunbury in division 2.
MATCH SCORES
McIntyre Cup: Gisborne 9/279 c.c. (J. Vernon 178, W. Mackay 41 – G. Matthews 3-78) d Woodend 202 (W. Else 74 n.o. – R. Vernon 3/47); Romsey 6/268 c.c. (B. Way 134 n.o., A. Frost 92 – S. Bell 3-49) d Wallan 9/204 (K. Atkin 56, S. Whittingham 42, B. Vance 35 – T. Stevenson 3-44); Sunbury United 129 (C. Wooley 42 n.o.) lost to Sunbury United 4/131 (U. Fernando 41 n.o.); Diggers Rest/Bulla 8/229 (M. Lakshan 53, R. Batepola 45) d East Sunbury 166 (N. Dent 41); Rupertswood 98 lost to Bacchus Marsh 1/99 (J. Lidgett 41 n.o., B. Payne 40 n.o.)
Johnstone Shield: Macedon 8/201 c.c. (C. Ingleton 37, D. Trotta 31) d Aintree 158 (G. Sohal 73 – N. Aikman 6-25); Riddell 8/218 (H. Fisher 76, L. McNair 39 C. Jackson 3-47) tied with Gisborne 218; Romsey 139 (M. Richardson 49 – J. Buttler 3-24) d Kilmore 132 (K. Craddock 42 – D. Wright 3-24, J. East 3-29); Eynesbury 104 lost to Bacchus Marsh 6/105; Sunbury United 9/244 c.c. (B. Wilson 68 – H. Ingleton 4-48) d Kyneton 7/167 (K. Cordy 57, A. Idiens 51 n.o. –D. Falzon 4-24).
Jensen Shield: Hanging Rock 5/204 c.c. (B. Nicholls 108, O. Watt 51, M. Shanahan 49) d Malmsbuy 110 (J. Braszell 34, P. Moulday 30 – M. Ambler 3-16, G. Sandow 3-32); Sunbury Kangaroos 107 (A. Sinclair 3-9) lost to Lancefield 3/110 (R. Millar 40, D. Milligan 39); Rupertswood 7/239 (H. Lyle 4-29) d Blackwood 68; St Antony 140 lost to Diggers Rest/Bulla 3/144.
Division 1: Woodend 7/206 (A. Grey 52, A. Cavric 44 n.o.) lost to Macedon 3/207 (C. Pinder 57, H. Pinder 50, H. Waddington 47 n.o.); Bacchus Marsh 7/234 c.c. (K. Dua 80 – J. Watson 3-38) d Gisborne 99; Kilmore 7/186 (R. McKeown 72) d Melton South 169; Aintree 3/337 (M. Pannu 117 n.o.) d Trentham 115 (D. Giouzelis 45).
Division 2: Bacchus Marsh 5/262 (Peter Lalor 103) d Macedon 210 (S. Grey 46, J. Storie 45); Sunbury 5/213 (D. Singh 90) lost to Malmsbury 3/226; Rupertswood 86 (A. Ryan 4-4) lost to Romsey 2/105 (J. Thorsen 56 n.o.); Diggers Rest/Bulla 7/146 lost to Kyneton 7/152; Sunbury United 5/255 c.c. (G. Smith-Hayes 120, G. Yeo 57) d Riddell 9/130.
