SURPRISE packet Bendigo’s impressive start to the BDCA season hit a snag on Saturday, with the Goers already having been beaten by Strathdale-Maristians.
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The Goers had gone into round five as the BDCA’s only unbeaten team, but the Suns produced a vintage performance at Atkins Street against a Bendigo line-up that offered little resistance with the bat.
The Goers were bundled out for just 76, before the Suns ended day one with a lead of 101, going to stumps at 7-177.
There were no signs of the Goers’ capitulation that would follow as openers Craig Pearce and Shane Koop safely negotiated the first eight overs.
Yet once Pearce (10) was trapped lbw by Sam Johnston in the ninth over with the score on 13, the carnage began.
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Pearce’s dismissal triggered a flurry of wickets as four fell in consecutive overs, with Koop (2), Mitchell Bench (1) and Will Collicoat (1) all following in quick successfion to leave the Goers 4-19.
By the time the innings was wrapped up in the 49th over at 3.40pm, six Goers’ batsmen had been dismissed for six or less, with Alex Pearson’s 22 the top score.
Suns’ leg-spinner Cameron Taylor ensured there was no let-up on the Goers, bagging 4-20 off 17 overs, which included 10 maidens.
At one stage Taylor had 1-1 off seven overs, while Johnston (3-17 off 15) and Jacob DeAraugo (2-15 off 10) were also measly with the ball for the Suns.
The Suns raced past their target for the loss of one wicket, with Jack Neylon picking up from where he left off for the Northern Rivers’ under-21 team last Sunday (91 off 63) as he crunched 71 off just 63 balls.
Of Neylon’s 71, 52 came in either fours (seven) or sixes (four).
While he missed out with the bat in making five, Goers’ all-rounder Kyle Humphrys made his mark with the ball, taking six Suns’ wickets with his off-spin, ending the day with 6-55 off 14 overs.
• Golden Square’s Scott Johnson finished just shy of notching a half-century in his 300th first XI game.
Johnson – who became the first Square player to 300 first XI games – finished unbeaten on 48 in his team’s tally of 9-256 against Bendigo United at Harry Trott Oval.
Fittingly, the bulk of Johnson’s innings in his milestone game was spent at the crease with fellow veteran Grant Connelly (44), who he has played the most cricket with at Golden Square.
The two stalwarts – with more than 500 first XI games between them for Square – put on 82 for the eighth wicket, with Connelly at one stage hitting Josh Thurston (1-36 off 18) for back-to-back sixes down the ground.
Earlier, Bendigo United 16-year-old Justin Slater (1-40) savoured a dream start to his first XI career.
With his first ball in first XI cricket Slater had Golden Square opener Jake Higgins (1) caught at gully by Mark Di Fede.
That brought Square captain Ben Gunn to the crease.
Last time Golden Square and Bendigo United met Gunn made a century for the Redbacks, but this time was in opposition colours.
Gunn again showed signs of getting back to his best with a quickfire 48 off 51 that included six boundaries before he was dismissed by his 2014 premiership team-mate Miggy Podosky.
Kyle Chant continues to prove a valuable aquisiton for Golden Square, with the opening batsman passing 50 for the third straight game.
Chant batted through to the 55th over in compiling 64 off 169, with his innings following on from knocks of 87 and 52 in his previous two games.
In what was an improved bowling performance by the Redbacks on the back of being smashed for 404 by Eaglehawk the previous week, Podosky was their leading wicket-taker with 4-60 off 20 overs.
At one stage spinner Chris Howgate had conceded just 14 runs off his first 13 overs, before finishing with 1-38 off 18.
• Kangaroo Flat’s Dylan Gibson became the fourth player in the first five rounds to have scored a pair of centuries.
Gibson’s 111 was the top score in Kangaroo Flat’s 9-271 against Eaglehawk at the QEO.
Gibson also made a ton against Sandhurst (102) in round two, while it was the fourth century of his career – three of which have been scored against Eaglehawk.
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Gibson struck 16 boundaries in his 151-ball stay at the crease, which started in the 13th over with the Roos 2-44.
The key parternship of the innings was the 119 Gibson and opener Daniel Barber (68) added for the third wicket.
Apart from Gibson and Barber, the only other player to make more than 20 for the Roos was captain Brent Hamblin (25 n.o.), who is now averaging 137.
The Hawks used eight bowlers, with four – Todd Brown (3-70 off 23), Nick Farley (2-36 off 10), Richard Tibbett (2-45 off 19) and Shaun Knott (2-52 off 15) – all multiple wicket-takers.
• Sandhurst’s batting depth was again a telling factor as the Dragons belted their third score of more than 300 for the season – 9-323 against Strathfieldsaye at Weeroona Oval.
Just like last week against Strathdale-Maristians the Dragons again had three players make half-centuries.
The impressive Sam de Silva (74) – who batted from the fourth over into the 56th - and Ash Gray (52) again raised their bats like last week, while Shane Robinson batted superbly to guide the Dragons from 7-209 to their 323 with an unbeaten 72.
The Dragons’ tally included an unbroken partnership of 73 for the last wicket between Robinson and Nick Gladman (14 n.o.).
In the past two weeks the Dragons have had unbroken 10th wicket stands of 73 and 47, proving they are a much tougher nut to crack this season.
Gray’s 52, while not as spetacular as his hard-hitting 65 last week, again proved entertaining with nine boundaries.
Left-armer Michael Curtis took the first three Strathfieldsaye wickets on the way to 4-93 off 23 overs, while veteran Kristian Rogers in his first game in the first XI for four seasons finished with 3-81 off 26 overs.
• Huntly-North Epsom regained form with the bat as it compiled 9-258 against White Hills at home.
The Power had three players who made more than what the team did the week before when bowled out for 52 by Kangaroo Flat – Brodie McRae (67), Josh Collinson (56) and Anthony Tanner (55).
McRae was involved in significant parternships with both Collinson and Tanner.
McRae and Tanner put on 84 for the second wicket. McRae and Collinson then teamed for an 89-run stand for the fourth wicket.
For the third game in a row Demons’ spinner Linc Jacobs bettered his previous career best with the ball, this time with his first five-wicket haul as he claimed 5-68 off 29 overs, taking his season tally to 15 wickets.