A Grade
THE A Grade Wimmera-Mallee Cricket Association ladder is tightly bunched at the midway point of the season after a big round of Twenty20 fixtures on Saturday.
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St Arnaud leap-frogged Marnoo on the table by successfully chasing down a target of 107 set by the side.
Marnoo found it difficult to string partnerships together as wickets fell consistently throughout the side’s allotted overs.
Stewart McPherson’s 37 stood out in the middle of the order as St Arnaud’s attack kept things tight.
Jacob Patching, 37, and Harley Durward, 23, added 55 for the second wicket after a solid 33-run opening partnership in reply.
St Arnaud looked in control at 1-88 before a some quick wickets meant the side was 4 down by the time it reached its target.
Birchip also managed to jump above Marnoo on the ladder with a commanding win against St Mary’s.
St Mary’s batted first and found themselves at 3-17 early before Brenton Cheney chimed in with 41 valuable runs to allow his side to reach 7-83 within 20 overs.
Joseph Reid was the pick of Birchip’s bowlers with a miserly 3-5 off four overs.
Birchip’s run chase was far from easy going as wickets were taken at regular intervals.
Bailey Watts claimed 4-19 off his four overs but it was not enough as Birchip had enough contributors with the bat to see the side over the line with four wickets and two overs to spare in the encounter.
It was a better batting display in the game between Jeffcott and Donald.
Lachie Jones and Luke Sarre set Jeffcott up well early with a 47-run opening partnership before Sarre was dismissed for 29 by Dion Hawkes.
Hawkes picked up second quick wicket before Jones and Mark Giffiths continued to attack. Griffiths was eventually run-out for 49 while Jones finished on 53 as Jeffcott reached 4-153.
An unbeaten 45 by Cooper Anderson was not enough to see Donald over the line in reply.
The side’s top order set a solid foundation but ultimately left too much work too be done in the dying overs as it fell 20 runs short of victory.
B Grade
BIRCHIP, Donald, St Arnaud and Wycheproof-Narraport came away with round right B grade wins.
Birchip had to chase just 47 to win against St Mary’s and did it within 10 overs.
Donald managed to restrict Jeffcott to five runs less than it required.
St Arnaud chased down a target of 117 within 16 overs to inflict a first loss on Watchem, and it was another successful chase when Wycheproof-Narraport defeated Charlton.
