bendigoadvertiser.com.

au Monday November 20, 2017 BENDIGO ADVERTISER 29

BENDIGO DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION SPORT

Goers’ crash landing

BDCA ladder-leader Bendigo was
dished out a cricket lesson on Saturday
by Strathdale-Maristians, who have
already secured first innings points.

ROUND 5
ROUND 5
BY LUKE WEST
STATE OF PLAY

S
URPRISE packet
Bendigo’s impressive
start to the BDCA
season hit a snag on
Saturday, with the Goers
already having been beaten
by Strathdale-Maristians.
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.
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 Cam-
eron 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’
■ Bendigo 76 v Strathdale
7-177
■ Golden Square 9-256 v
Bendigo United
■ Kangaroo Flat 9-271 v
Eaglehawk
■ Sandhurst 9-323 v
Strathfieldsaye
■ Huntly-North Epsom
9-258 v White Hills
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 John-
son’s innings in his mile-
stone 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 cap-
tain 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
CUT SHOT: Kangaroo Flat opener Daniel Barber regained some form on Saturday with 68 in the Roos' tally of 9-271
against Eaglehawk at the QEO. The Roos also had Dylan Gibson make 111. Picture: GLENN DANIELS
PACE: Eaglehawk opening bowler Richard Tibbett
claimed 2-45 off 19 overs against Kangaroo Flat on
Saturday. Picture: GLENN DANIELS
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 has become 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.
Gibson struck 16 bounda-
ries 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 includ-
ed 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-hit-
ting 65 last week, again
proved entertaining with
nine boundaries.
Left-armer Michael Curtis
took the first three Strath-
fieldsaye 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 later
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.