MILDURA Settlers coach Braidyn Turner said his team stood up when it counted to scrap out a thrilling win over Mildura West on Saturday.
With West’s star Chris Williams still at the crease, Settlers held their nerve in the dying overs to restrict the home side to 9/152 and defend their modest total of 155 in one of the games of the season.
“It is the first time in a long time where we have found ourselves bowling in that situation,” Turner said.
“We have chased down some targets with the bat in tight games, but really haven’t had to bowl and defend our score like that when it goes down to the wire, and I thought we executed our bowling plans really well in those last 10 overs.”
Mildura Settlers batted first but struggled to find any fluency against the disciplined Mildura West attack.
Ahead of the game, West coach Davison Mbindi spoke of his bowling and fielding plans, and his young team carried them out to the letter.
“They bowled really well,” Turner said. “They went in with a plan to stack the off-side field and bowl outside off, and we found it hard to keep the score ticking.”
The typically free-scoring Turner was particularly subdued with 15 off 49 balls, Paddy Keogh had 12 off 22 balls and veteran all-rounder Richie Wyld finished with four from 19. But a fine hand from Luke Stanbrook, who continued his excellent season with 40 from 51 balls, and a late flurry of 33 from 32 balls from Jack Noonan lifted the total to 155 off the 40 overs.
Mildura West’s response got off to a slow start as opener Ben Hallam was shut down by the left-arm swing of Mark Kerr, crawling to five from 35 balls before falling to the bowling of Jason Morrison.
Williams held the innings together as Mbindi (21 off 31) and Ethan Hicks (27 off 38) got the scoring momentum going.
Turner said in the dying overs, Settlers set fields to try and get Williams off strike.
“But it is very hard with Willo, sort of like Richie (Wyld), he can lap sweep and reverse sweep and basically put it where he wants,” Turner said.
“But I thought we executed really well.”
Mildura Settlers remain in third place, while the loss has put a major dent in Mildura West’s finals hopes, after fourth-placed Coomealla-Wentworth won at the weekend.
Turner said his team had not played “anywhere near our best” this season, but he expected a more settled line-up heading into another finals series.
“We have struggled this year to put the same side on the park two weeks in a row,” he said.
“But we are hoping to get Seamus Keogh back (from Northcote) and string two or three weeks together with the side we want heading into the finals.”
Red-hot Lush puts Pointers to sword
REIGNING Sunraysia cricketer of the year Bryson Lush produced a batting master class as Irymple put a nail in the finals coffin of Nichols Point on Saturday.
The hard-hitting right-hander fell short of a much-deserved century, belting 96 off 100 balls, as the Swallows punished the home team’s attack to all parts of the small Nichols Point Oval.
Nick Giofre also cashed in with a fine support act of 60 from 80 balls, before a late dash of 29 from 19 balls from Wade Minter, which included three sixes, lifted Irymple’s score to an imposing 6/232 off 40 overs.
Any hopes Nichols Point may have had of chasing down the big total were dashed within the opening overs, as big-hitting Leigh Thomson-Mathews and the club’s most consistent run scorer Brad Thomas went for ducks.
Coach Shaun Mathews top scored for Nichols Point with 38 to go with his 2/47 with the ball, but it was a long afternoon at the office, and demonstrated the gulf that Nichols Point still needs to bridge to compete with the top teams on a consistent basis.
Freeman shines again
JUSTIN Freeman must be favourite for this season’s cricketer of the year award after another standout display for Coomealla-Wentworth.
The inspirational skipper again led from the front with the ball, taking 2/8 off eight overs, in a decisive spell that set up his team’s crucial win over Mildura East.
Freeman and Thomas Stokes split open East’s top order, leaving them 3/2, before veteran Tom Vadlja and Tom Dowling stopped the flow of wickets with a steady, but slow, partnership.
Dowling, in particular, was locked down completely by the relentless accuracy of Freeman, who has taken 26 wickets this season at an average of 10.8 and an economy rate of just over three.
Tellingly, too, his performances with both the ball and bat, where he is averaging 23 at a good clip in the middle order, have won his team matches and have them comfortably sitting inside the top four with three rounds remaining.
Vadlja finished with 22 off 50 balls and Dowling eight off 45, before East eventually crawled their way to 9/90 off 40 overs.
It was never going to be enough, and Coomealla-Wentworth made light work of the chase, with Mitchell Kemp (35 off 44) and Mathew Andrews (35 not out) steering their team home with 22 overs and eight wickets to spare.
Jensen leads from front
ALL-ROUNDER Nick Jensen enjoyed a promotion up the batting order to lead Workers Gol Gol to an easy win over Merbein South in a clash of the top and bottom teams.
The big left-hander helped himself to a fine 69 in the absence of No.3 batsman Wade Hancock, who is recovering from a finger injury, as Workers Gol Gol powered to a big total of 4/198 on the typically slow Alcheringa Oval.
Ben McPhee (34), Shac Thomas (16), skipper Adam Thomson (20), Jesse McGinty (22 not out) and Jeremy Barnes (17 not out) also chimed in at a good scoring rate.
The total proved well out of reach for Merbein South, although Brady Moore (35) and Illario Cavallo (20) headlined a decent batting performance that saw the Saints reach 135.
