FOR the third game in a row, Sandhurst captain Craig Howard bagged five wickets in the Bendigo District Cricket Association on Saturday.
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Wily veteran Howard snared 5-65 off 26.2 overs against Bendigo at Provincial Home Loans Oval.
The Goers were bowled out in the 82nd over for 207.
Howard’s 5-65 follows figures of 5-57 against Bendigo United and 5-32 against Eaglehawk in his previous two games, and he now has 21 wickets for the season.
Since the turn of the century in 2000, Howard is the first BDCA player to take at least five wickets in three-consecutive matches.
Glenn Franzi (24), Mitch Blackman (7), Kieren Burns (14), Mark Ryan (21) and Michael Winzar (11) were the 40-year-old’s five victims on Saturday.
Of the Goers’ last six wickets to fall, Howard removed four of them.
Nathan Fitzpatrick’s fine season continued for the Goers, top-scoring with 55 off 119 (seven fours).
Fitzpatrick’s innings came to an end when he was run out by Lucas Hutchinson to leave the Goers 6-148 in the 60th over.
Earlier, captain Marcus McKern (41 off 76) and Franzi put on 54 for the second wicket in what was the best partnership of the innings.
Shane Robinson took three catches for the Dragons, including two off Howard.
• Eaglehawk recruit Shaun Knott picked up from where he left off with the ball last week against Golden Square.
On the first day of cricket at MyJet Oval for the season, Knott’s fine form continued with a haul of 5-26 off 16.2 overs as Golden Square was bowled out for 191.
Knott’s five-for follows his 4-22 off 17.5 overs against Huntly-North Epsom the previous week.
Golden Square was under pressure at 5-55 in the 32nd over.
However, veterans Scott Johnson (50, four fours) and Grant Connelly (66, seven fours, two sixes) stemmed the tide for Square with a 69-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
Connelly took the attack to the Hawks from early in his innings, with a pair of sixes among his first 29 runs.
Johnson’s 50 was his third half-century from six innings this season, while Connelly’s top score of 66 came after a lean start in which his highest score in his first five innings had been 14.
Apart from Johnson and Connelly, the only other players to score in double figures for Golden Square were opener Max Grant (21, three fours) and Jamie Bysouth (23, three fours), who again proved his value down the other.
Bysouth and Connelly added 60 for the seventh wicket.
Left-armer Knott removed Liam Smith (6), Jason Johnson (0), Connelly, Bysouth and Connor Miller (0) for his five wickets.
Cory Jacobs was also pivotal, bowling Grant, Jake Higgins (0) and Scott Johnson in his 3-42 off 18 overs.
Cameron McGlashan returned an economical 0-5 off seven overs, while Aaron Monro conceded just four runs off his first seven overs before finishing with 0-36 off 13.
• Strathdale-Maristians captain Linton Jacobs made a timely return to form with the bat for the Suns against White Hills at Glen Loddon Homes Oval.
Jacobs scored 80 in the Suns’ total of 244.
He faced 153 balls and struck nine boundaries in an innings that started in the 33rd over when he came in with the Suns 3-95.
Apart from Jacobs, the Suns had four other players - Cameron Taylor (43 off 72), Andrew Hosking (38 off 82), Sam Johnston (24 off 41) and Adrian Pappin (20 off 36) - get starts and chip in.
The Demons would have been pleased to see the back of Pappin for just 20 after he smashed 155 at the same ground against them last season.
Taylor looked in ominous touch early when he clubbed 24 of his first 30 runs in boundaries, but his innings ended when he was caught by Ryan Grundy off Rhys Irwin.
There was no wagging of the Suns’ tail this week as they lost their last three wickets, starting with Jacobs, for no runs to be all out in the 82nd over.
It was a team effort with the ball for the Demons, who shared the wickets between Mitch Winter-Irving (3-25), first-gamer William Schofield (2-33), captain Irwin (2-38), Sam Farmer (2-41) and Lincoln Jacobs (1-81).
Schofield claimed his first wicket in the first XI when he had Jack Neylon (1) caught by keeper Brayden Stepien - a dismissal that involved three teenagers.
The Demons had one over to face before stumps and it proved costly when the out-of-touch Ryan Grundy (0) was caught by Neylon off Jacob DeAraugo.
The Demons will resume their chase this Saturday at 1-2, with Jayden Sheean (0 n.o.) and Stepien (0 n.o.) at the crease.
• Strathfieldsaye hit back with two wickets in the shadows of stumps in its game against Kangaroo Flat at N8Health Oval.
After the Jets were bowled out for 202, they had Kangaroo Flat 2-21 at stumps.
The batsmen out for the Roos are Josh Newlan (2) and Lachlan Shelton (3), with Xavier Crone (1-7) and Chris Cullen (1-5) taking a wicket each for Strathfieldsaye.
Steve Newlan (10 n.o.) and Daniel Barber (3 n.o.) are the not out batsmen for the Roos.
Earlier, the Jets won the toss and batted on a new wicket, but were on the backfoot early.
Inside the first six overs, openers Luke Jones (0) and Nick Scullie (0) were both back in the pavilion without scoring.
Having been 2-6 early, the Jets were later 5-79 in the 33rd over before Andrew Stove and Cory Devanny teamed for the best partnership of the innings.
They batted for 27 overs together in putting on 84 for the sixth wicket before both were dismissed in the space of three overs by Jake Klemm.
Stove top-scored for the Jets with an entertaining 47 off 56 (nine fours), while Devanny added 37 off 62 (three fours).
After the shaky start early and later losing their last three wickets for 17 runs, in between the Jets had all of their batsmen from No.3 to No.9 score in double figures, but only Stove got past 40.
In his second game back for the Roos, Liam Jones took three of the last four wickets to fall on his way to figures of 4-38 off 14 overs.
Partnership-breaker Klemm finished with 2-25 off four, while captain Adam Burns moved to 397 career wickets for the Roos with his 2-51 off 21 overs.
As he has done so often for the Roos, Burns removed two of the opposition’s key batsmen in Nick Scullie and Jets captain Ben Devanny (17).
Burns also took the catch to dismiss another of the Jets’ dangermen in Greg Lyon (30 off 82) off the bowling of the promising Cameron Salmon (1-30).
• Huntly-North Epsom has given itself a chance of defending a meagre score of 151 against Bendigo United at Poyser Motors Oval.
The Redbacks endured a horror 17 overs before stumps, ending the day at 4-32.
Already out are Chris Howgate (5), Nick Crawford (1) - who at least got off the mark - Curtis Tuohey (11) and Wayne Fidler (1) - as for the second game in a row, the top order left plenty of work for those below them to do with the bat.
Captain Leigh McDermott (4 n.o.) and Ben Gunn (8 n.o.) will continue the chase of the 120 more runs needed to win next Saturday.
Power coach Adam Ward (2-17) has two of the wickets, while he also ran out Crawford.
Earlier, the Power’s batting struggles continued when they were bowled out in the 65th over.
The Power’s score of 151 was largely thanks to the work of captain Josh Collinson and Michael Hanson, who combined for 106 of their runs.
Collinson compiled 66 off 106 (six fours and two sixes), while Hanson scored 40 off 71 (four fours, one sixes).
Brett Elvey (17 off 45) and Dylan Gibson (10 off 26) were the only other players in double figures for the Power, who had five players dismissed for two or less.
Following his batting heroics last week, this time Josh Cruse made his mark with the ball for the Redbacks.
Cruse claimed 3-9 off eight overs, including the key scalp of Ward (0).
Miggy Podosky (3-21 off 14.1 overs) also picked up three wickets for the Redbacks.