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MORE CRICKET - Hawks rout dreadful Demons for 34 to keep finals hopes alive
THE Emu Valley Cricket Association's top four teams all switched places in Saturday's 16th round, with two of the flag contenders winning and two losing.
With the four finalists all decided with two rounds to go - only their finishing order is to be settled - United dropped from first to third; Spring Gully moved from second to first; Mandurang slipped from third to fourth; and Emu Creek leapt from fourth to second.
It was also a round of individual highlights, with four players bagging five wickets and West Bendigo's Bodee Scullie cracking a century.
Spring Gully's thumping win over what had been an in-form Mandurang propelled the Crows back into pole position.
The Crows destroyed the Rangas by 174 runs at Pearce Reserve.
Batting first, the Crows smashed 262 led by 90 from star batsman Rhys Webb.
Webb - the competition's leading run-scorer with 632 - crunched nine boundaries and five sixes during his whirlwind 66-ball knock.
The Crows had been a shaky 3-36 before Webb and Alex Sutton (63) added a momentum-shifting 155 runs for the fourth wicket.
Opening bowler Justin Slater was the standout with the ball for the Rangas, snaring 5-30 off 7.5 overs.
Slater's was the first of two five-wicket hauls in the match, with Crows' spinner Beauden Rinaldi bagging 5-13 as Spring Gully skittled Mandurang for just 88, ending the Rangas' six-game winning streak.
Only Corey Dickins (26) made more than 20 for the Rangas, who having one stage been 3-67 capitulated and lost their last seven wickets for just 21 runs.
Byron Perrn's 2-26 included the two big scalps of Mandurang captain Matt Giri (4) and Zane Keighran (10).
* Bodee Scullie inspired West Bendigo to a major upset as it knocked over United by seven wickets at Ken Wust Oval.
Chasing the Tigers' 180, Scullie carried his bat, finishing 104 n.o. as the Redbacks answered with 3-185.
Scullie's 104 came off 109 balls and was laced with 12 boundaries and two sixes, with he and fellow opener Fraser Gentry (50) putting on 92 for the first wicket.
Gentry's 50 was his third half-century in his past five innings.
Earlier, the Tigers' 180 after they were sent in featured an 87-run partnership for the second wicket between Mac Whittle (55) and Alex Code (32) after Tarran Kilcullen (1-10) picked up the big wicket of United opener Broderick Williams for a golden duck.
Daniel Whiting (3-25) and Tom Floyd (3-29) both finished with three wickets apiece for the Redbacks, who claimed 6-20 late after the Tigers had been 4-160.
The Redbacks have now beaten two of the "big four" having also defeated Spring Gully in round 11.
* Emu Creek bounced back from back-to-back losses in commanding style, bowling Sedgwick out for a meagre 48.
With opening bowler Luke Bennett ripping through the top order, the Rams' innings lasted just 16 overs as they fell well short of the Emus' 8-160 at Club Court.
Bennett took four of the first five wickets to fall - including Dustin Elliott (0) and Steven Stroobants (0) before the Rams had scored - on his way to brilliant figures of 5-9 off eight overs.
Bennett was well-supported by Anthony Collins (3-24) as the Rams had five players dismissed for ducks, while Andrew Sheehan's 16 in his return to the side was Sedgwick's top score.
Earlier, Todd Brown (35), Alex Collins (34), captain Simon Marwood (33) and Torin Petrie (25 n.o.) were the chief run-scorers in the Emus' 8-160.
Greg Thomas' fine season with the ball continued for the Rams, with his 3-22 off eight overs taking him to 23 wickets, the equal most in the competition alongside United's Jarrod Starr and Mandurang's James Bailey.
* Marong beat California Gully by 93 runs as the Cobras again disappointed with the bat.
The Panthers' Jayden Laubsch took 5-14 as the Cobras were all out for 65 chasing Marong's 8-158.
The Cobras' cheap dismissal came a week after they had been bowled out for 76 by United.
Laubsch's 5-14 are the best figures by a Marong player this season.
The Cobras had four players make ducks, while Jordan Knight occupied the crease for the longest in making 19.
Earlier, Duane Anderson's 55 was the backbone of Marong posting 8-158 off its 40 overs, while veteran opener Scott Ross scored 32.
Aidan White was the pick of the bowlers for the Cobras, claiming 4-33 off eight overs, which included the big wicket of Marong captain David Blume (4), who was one of four catches for wicket-keeper Brodie McRae.
UPPER LODDON
ARNOLD will go into its Upper Loddon Cricket Association semi-final against Bridgewater next weekend fresh off a victory over the Bulls on Saturday.
Led by 92 and 4-23 from gun all-rounder Ryan Metelmann, Arnold (4-160) beat the Bulls (151) by nine runs at home, with the two sides to clash again in a semi-final next Saturday.
Reigning premier Kingower closed out its home and away season with a 62-run victory over Boort-Yando.
Nick Leach (64), who also took 3-6, Matthew Rowe (52) and captain Braydon Welsh (51) all made half-centuries as Kingower answered Boort-Yando's 8-125 with 6-187.
And Wedderburn consigned Newbridge to a winless season.
Wedderburn (8-101) beat Newbridge (55) by 46 runs. Wedderburn's Lachlan Peters took 5-9 off six overs.
FINAL LADDER - Kingower (72), Bridgewater (60), Arnold (54), Wedderburn (48), Boort-Yando (30), Newbridge (6).
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