CASTLEMAINE has it all to play for in today’s division one clash with the unbeaten Murray Valley at Bendigo Bank Country Cricket Week.Victory will keep Castlemaine well in contention for Friday’s grand final and a chance to win the Neil Pollock Memorial Shield, which Murray Valley has won the past three summers.Having tied their contest in the carnival opener, Castlemaine and Campapse both bounced back to win in the second round.In yesterday’s action, Castlemaine won a low-scoring clash on home turf against Shepparton.After deciding to bat, Castlemaine reached 140 off 45 overs.Clint Aldridge, 45, and Matt Kile, 41, batted well against a Shepparton attack led by Jeremy Mullane, 4-42.In the chase, Shepparton was 2-51, but then lost 6-21 as Simon Gearing, 6-26 off nine overs, and Aldridge, 3-19, seized control.Shepparton was dismissed for just 103.Batting a second time, Castlemaine was 5-37 by stumps.Campaspe won a high-scoring contest with Ferntree Gully at Strathdale’s Bell Oval.At 5-101, Campaspe needed some inspiration and it was provided by skipper Dylan Cuttriss.Batting at No. 7, Cuttriss scored a match-high 76 as Campaspe reached 8-254.Keys to Campaspe’s play were the 84-run stand between Matt Colwell and Cuttriss, while an unbeaten 31 by Kirk Teasdale pushed the target beyond 250.Best of the Gully’s attack was Usman Arif, 3-62.An exciting chase by Ferntree Gully was led by Aaron Walter, 45, Jayden Bradbury, 41, and Trent Schofield, 39, but Campapse was victorious by 33 runs.Brad Major ruled with the ball as he captured 4-54 off 12 overs.Second on the ladder, Campaspe takes on Portland today at Rochester’s Windridge Oval.Murray Valley thrashed Portland at Eaglehawk’s Canterbury Park.Batting first, Murray scored 7-257 as Luke Carter, 54, Luke Quinn, 48, and Imran Arif, 48, warmed to the task.Portland’s Troy Warburton took 4-64 off 16 overs.Just two Portland batsmen, Luke Evans, 23, and Scott Martin, 20, reached double figures as the team from the coast was dismissed for 97.Former White Hills all-rounder Tyrone Downie took 4-33 for Valley.Murray Valley increased its bonus points significantly by scoring 3-91 in the second innings. In division two, Benalla and Gisborne are undefeated as they vie to win the John Turner Memorial Shield.Gisborne scored a big win against Northern District at Huntly’s Strauch Reserve.A century by opening batsman Warren Else, 113, played a big part in Gisborne reaching 8-237.Brad Windridge took 4-55 for the Northern District line-up, but the batsman battled to be dismissed for 149.A well-rounded bowling effort by Gisborne was led by Todd Keenan, 3-19, and Scott Fuller, 3-20. Benalla beat Maryborough by 162 runs at Kangaroo Flat’s Dower Park.Josh Challis and Greg Hoysted reached half-centuries in Benalla’s score of 7-235.A premiership player with Bendigo United, Ben Milikin captured 4-6 off five overs as Maryborough was bowled out for 73.Benalla was 7-134 at stumps in its second dig.Emu Valley hit back from a first-round loss to beat Wimmera Mallee by 63 runs.Batting first, the Emus scored 9-172 as Ricahrd Murphy, 34, and Rob Brown, 30, played well.Leading wicket-taker for Wimmera-Mallee was Sam Dyke, 5-62 off 15 overs.Wimmera-Mallee was all out 109 in the chase as opening bowlers Seb Olle, 3-22, and Alex Collins, 2-16, turned up the heat.In division three, Swan Hill and Deniliquin chalked up consecutive victories.The Swans beat Red Cliffs by 104 runs, while Deniliquin won a close battle with Kyabram Colts.Northern United kept hopes of playing for the Bendigo Advertiser Shield alive as it beat Bendigo Blue by five wickets.The Blues scored 9-201 as Chris Guinane, 50, and Isaac Hogan, 44, batted well against a United attack led by Nic Cail, 3-36 off 10 overs.In the chase, Garner Smith and Lachlan Sirett teamed for an opening stand of 74 runs, while Sam Barnes, 58, and Scott Lawry, 50, were the leading run-scorers.Northern District Colts and Campaspe Colts are unbeaten in their run to contesting the division four grand final for the City of Greater Bendigo Shield.The young stars from Northern District beat Emu Valley Colts in yesterday’s clash at Harry Trott Oval in Kennington.Northern’s stars were Boddie Arthur, 62, and Joel Perry, 4-21, whie Tom Shatwell, 44, and Zac Turnbull, 40, batted well for Emu Valley Colts.Campaspe Colts beat Upper Loddon at North Bendigo.Luke Bish hit 60 in Campaspe’s score of 8-179.Grand final action is on today at Tannery Lane in Strathfieldsaye as the women’s team contest the WIN Television Country Cup matches.The unbeaten Essendon-Western Waves will start favourite to win the Melanie Jones Cup against Ringwood.Although it won just one match in the preliminary rounds, Ringwood beat Kangaroo Flat, in which Sarah Perry was the star on both days, in the semi-final.