Sandhurst openers smash club records

Led by openers Nick Scullie and captain Mark Keck, the Dragons blasted 5-493 against the Goers.

Keck made 160, while Scullie batted all day, finishing unbeaten on 225.The pair shared in an opening stand of 304, which set a new partnership record for any wicket for the Dragons.

The total of 493 was the club's highest score, eclipsing the 8-459 the Dragons made against Harcourt in round eight, 1934.

And 21-year-old Scullie set a new record score for a Sandhurst player, surpassing the 202 made by Jim Ryan against Harcourt in round eight, 1934.

"Nick did a fantastic job batting the whole day, which is a fantastic effort in itself and 225 is a great score," Keck said.

"The QEO wicket is really flat and the ground has got quicker over the past few weeks, so there's not a lot in it for the bowlers, but Bendigo toiled hard." For Scullie, his 225 was his second century this season, having made 107 against Kangaroo Flat in round three, and he now has 418 runs at an average of 139.

His innings lasted 268 balls and included 14 boundaries, while Keck's 169-ball stay at the crease featured 14 boundaries and two sixes.

The partnership was finally broken at 4.41 pm when Keck was caught by wicket-keeper Dustin Elliott off the bowling of Paul Monro.

Saturday was the second time this season Bendigo has conceded more than 400 runs, with White Hills having made 7-430 against it in the first game of the summer.

Of the 85 overs bowled on Saturday, just four were maidens.

Coach Mark Ryan was clearly the pick of the Bendigo bowlers, claiming 3-71 off 15 overs, while Monro took two scalps, but conceded 172 runs off his 30 overs.

Bendigo has bowled four times this season and conceded a total of 1504 runs - an average of 376 per game.

Huntly-North Bendigo has put itself in a position to end a winless streak that has stretched to 26 games.

The Power made a competitive 307 against White Hills at Scott Street in what was just the third time the side has made a score above 200 in the past two seasons.

In-form opener Johann Kohler was the star with the bat for the Power, making 126.

The century was a fitting reward for Kohler, who was left stranded on 94 not out against Kangaroo Flat in the first game of the season.

Kohler now has 280 runs for the season - no other Power player has made more than 100.

Top-order batsman Matt Rule (36) provided good support for Kohler, with the pair sharing in a 111-run stand for the second wicket.

Teenager Nick Arthur also batted well.

Having opened for the Power during the first three games of the season, Arthur dropped down to number five and made an unbeaten 53.

Josh Collinson ripped through the Power's lower-order and finished with the figures of 5-53 off 11 overs for the Demons.

Eaglehawk restricted Bendigo United to 9-216 in the rematch of last season's grand finalists at Canterbury Park. The Redbacks struggled to build momentum through their innings, with only Nick Crawford (82) making more than 40.

Openers Matt Pinniger (21) and Ashley Brown (39) both made starts before being trapped lbw to Andrew Smith (2-37), while Wayne Fidler (25 n.o.) helped guide the Redbacks to a total above 200.

Veteran Richard Webb, who had only taken a total of four wickets in the first three rounds of the season, proved to be the destroyer with the ball for the Hawks.

Webb took 6-47 off 22 overs, including the key scalps of Redbacks' captain Heath Behrens (8), Chris Pinniger (3) and Crawford in the battle with his former club.

Kangaroo Flat reached 9-264 against Strathdale-Maristians at Dower Park in a game the Roos are desperate to win after losing their past two.

Andrew Hosking (74) top-scored for the Roos, who also had contributions from the hard-hitting Brad Orton (40), opener Tony Taig (29) and Shane Harling (29 not out).

Saturday was the first time in four innings this season Taig had failed to reach 50.

In his first innings back at Kangaroo Flat for more than a decade, recruit Chris Welsford, who batted at number eight, made 26 after overcoming a nervous start at the crease.

Speedster Ben DeAraugo (3-72) and off-spinner John Neylon (3-77) did the bulk of the bowling for the undefeated Suns, sending down 52 overs between them. Strathfieldsaye recovered from the loss of two early wickets to post 7-231 against Golden Square at Strathfieldsaye.

The Jets were 2-22 early, but a 103-run stand for the third wicket between Stephen Brown (69) and coach David Rosaia (65) guided the Jets out of strife.

It was Brown's third consecutive half-century and took his tally of runs for the season to 193.

Apart from Brown and Rosaia, Ben Cameron (37 not out) and teenager Tom Kuhne (34 not out) were the only other Jets batsmen to reach double figures.

The wickets were shared between Daniel Nalder (2-31), Quinton Bentley (2-61) and Scott Johnson (2-69).