Chasing North Albury’s 202, Corowa could only muster 126 with just two players making double figures – Matt Grantham with 48 and Ben Mitchell with 34 – at home last Saturday.
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But the Roos, who have gone from third to fourth on the CAW ladder, will be strengthened with the return of dynamic captain Jarryd Hatton for next Saturday’s away clash against fifth-placed Wodonga Raiders.
With the Corowa skipper collecting frequent flyer points around the Oceania area, the day started on a positive note, with stand-in skipper Ben Mitchell once again winning the toss.
Sending North Albury into bat first, skipper Ben Mitchell was quickly regretting his decision as ex ACT Comet Matt Condon started hitting cover drives on the up like West Indian champion Brian Lara.
Sticking to his plan though, Nick Grant struck, removing Condon for a classy 33 off only 21 deliveries.
That brought North Albury veteran Tim Hartshorn to the crease, and he continued to play with fluency, taking the attack to the Corowa bowling unit.
The introduction of leg spinner Jack Eales was exactly what Corowa needed, and the young leggie went about his business to tie down the North Albury batsmen, in particular Ash Borella, who he removed soon after with the score at 2/98.
Shortly after Ben Mitchell removed Hartshorn and Corowa were back in the fight, restricting the visitors and dragging the run rate right back to 4 an over.
Mark Athanitis relished his role at the death, executing with skill and precision to claim 5/25; this spell was the catalyst to restricting North Albury to 202.
Corowa’s other wicket-takers included Ben Mitchell (2/24), Jack Eales (2/28) Nick Grant (1/51).
After a lovely afternoon tea spread the Corowa boys commenced their pursuit for the competitive 202 total in front of an ever-increasing local Corowa crowd.
The chase didn’t get off to the start they were hoping for with Paddy Lavis getting a good one early trying to defend it into the leg side. That brought Matt Grantham to the crease to join Ben Mitchell.
Ben Mitchell got the local crowd up and about for the next few overs, smashing his way to 34 off 19 deliveries including four boundaries and two sixes. His innings ended controversially after being caught at short mid-wicket, with both umpires deliberating before finally giving Mitchell out, almost causing a riot.
Grantham continued to ball well but, unfortunately, was unable to find any support from the middle and lower order, finishing with a very well-made 48. Corowa bowled out in the 37th over for 126.
The A-grade boys who have already secured a spot in the semifinals will now turn their attention to Wodonga Raiders in the last round of the competition before a semifinal showdown with either North Albury or Lavington looking very likely.
Thank you to all of the locals who turned out on Saturday. The boys love playing in front of loyal supporters, and they can’t wait to see you during the finals.
B Grade
B Grade travelled to North Albury in what would shape up as a must-win game to stay in contention for finals.
Winning the toss and batting, Lane and Keenes opened up the innings.
The first wicket fell on 24, with wickets falling at regular intervals, with no-one able to get going with Keenes who batted beautifully for his 38 and Angus Williams, who saved the side from being bowled out cheaply with a brilliant 41 got the Roos to a defendable total of 9-151.
The key was early wickets, with Phibbs and Fuge opening the bowling with Fuge obliging, continuing his great form with 2; Phibbs also captured one to have North in trouble at 3-33.
A mini partnership took the score to 80 before Williams got the important scalp of Farrrell. Wickets to Abley and Athanitis kept the Roos in the game, but with North’s Morey looking good at the crease, the game then looked out of reach until a brilliant run out from Fuge, showing composure in a tense situation, got the Roos back in the game. But once again, the catching proved the difference, grassing a crucial chance, with North needing under 10, making the difference as North passing the total eight wickets down.
C Grade
Corowa C Grade will play in Wodonga in the first round of finals, after finishing the year in fourth.
Corowa, which had a bye on the weekend, will take on third-placed Wodonga Raiders with the lowest two losers in the six-team finals series eliminated (one plays six while two play five).
The final round’s action saw Corowa’s Caleb Kuschert unmoved at the top of the division bowling averages, the speedster taking the league award (minimum 20 wickets) with 27 scalps at 9.85.
Opening partner Danny Osborne was not far behind with 20 wickets at 10.4 while Matt Shipard placed near the top in the batting averages (minimum 200 runs) with 339 at 30.93.
Kuschert was Corowa’s next best with 222 at 22.2.
Under 16s
Friday night, the under-16s took on Baranduda. Winning the toss and batting first on a nice wicket, Brodie Eyers and Jack Torney opened the batting. Brodie was the first to depart, being bowled for 7. Archie Bedford joined Jack. Archie looked at the goods early before cutting one to point and being caught for 5. Austin Ross-Anderson and Jack Torney both worked together and built up a great partnership. Jack was dismissed for a well-made 47.
Austin continued running hard between the wickets. Eli Lavis was bowled for 8, bringing Joe Lavis to the centre with the score at 4/103 at 25 overs. Joe hit the attack to all ends, piling the runs on quickly. Austin, still playing under 14s, fell just short of his half-century, making 46.
Jayden Forge and Benji Hanrahan were dismissed not far after each other, both making 4, playing the team role at the end of the innings. Leroy Chester and Joe Lavis both finished off a great innings as the boys finished on 7/206 off their 40 overs. Joe Lavis finished on 60 not out from 48 balls, continuing his good form.
Next week, they’ll bowl to defend their total leading into finals.
Under 14s Div 1
Corowa travelled to Sumsion Gardens to play Wodonga, Riley won the toss and asked Wodonga to bat.
Eli started well with a wicket in the first over. A direct hit at the bowler’s end from Will Massey had Wodonga on the back foot at 2-7. Wodonga started to get on top through the middle period with some good batting and some disappointing fielding from the Corowa boys.
A spray from the coach at the final drinks break saw Corowa regain control and restrict Wodonga to 8-127 off their 40 overs. The best bowler was Will Massey, 2-9 of his six overs.
Under 14s Div 2
Day 1. After qualifying for the finals last match, the Roos’ last match focus was to win by enough to get them into 3rd position.
Heading to Tallangatta, who beat the boys last time, Josh Kremmer was captaining the side, with Tallangatta winning the toss and sending the Roos into bat.
Callan and Dougy opened for the side and set about taking the shine off the ball. They both played patiently and had the side 36 after nine overs when drinks were taken due to a player injury.
Upon return, Dougy set about opening up; however, it was to be his undoing on 15, bringing Jake to the crease. Jake batted well last week for 25, but his stay was short before being caught.
That brought Archie to the crease. He showed the right attitude from the first ball, running a solid 2 to set the tone for his innings. Archie and Callan added 42 runs for the 3rd wicket, with Archie hitting 30 of those runs, including two boundaries and a six, before he was caught at deep square leg.
Callan was doing his job perfectly as the glue for the top and middle order before he was run out on a tight 2nd run seeing Jagger join Charlie at the crease.
The dismissal of Callan triggered a mini collapse with Charlie, then Abe followed by Nate falling cheaply to have the Roos 7/119 in the 29th over.
Captain Kremmer came to the crease and immediately set about helping Jagger rebuild the momentum. Jagger and Josh put on 16 for the 8th wicket, which brought Ollie to the crease; however, he was unable to add to the tally.
Out came Aido Ractliffe for the last wicket partnership with a score of 137. Aido and Jagger combined well, with Aido managing to keep the ball out and Jagger managing the strike so he could wield the bat for most of the remaining overs and keep Aido protected as much as possible.
Aido did well as Jagger, and Aido saw out the remaining overs to see the final score 9/150.
Under 12s White
The boys faced Howlong at Howlong. After losing the toss, Howlong chose to bat. Needing a good performance to make a finals chance possible White was up for the challenge in the field.
With bowling and fielding at a premium, Cal Corcoran was clunking anything in his vicinity with four catches in an amazing effort. There were also some other great efforts with the ball Kasey Rhodes 3/0, Jake Rhodes 2/0, George Smith 2/3, Fin Douglas 1/1 and Jacko Collins 1/4 which kept Howlong to minimum all out for 30.
The confidence was up as White went out for the bat, but the top order showed a lot of respect to the Spiders’ bowlers.
So, the total took some time to reel in, but the job got done. Top bat performances Finley Douglas, for the third consecutive week, retired on 21, George Smith came in late, smacking 17 no, and Jake Rhodes hit a PB of 12 to finish off a great performance for himself. Innings finished at 3 for 88.
Great effort all around as the young Roos hope to bring it into the next against Baranduda to get the boys a finals berth.
Under 12s Blue
The Corowa Blue 12s chalked up a win against St Pat’s White Friday night. Both sides got to know each other well as this was the fourth time, they played them for the season. The match was played in great spirit.
The dual skippers won the bat flip and sent the Patties in.
The bowling and fielding were, again, tight and disciplined. The boys restricted their opponent to two for 60 after their 20 overs. Jagger and Leo got a wicket each, with several of their bats retiring.
With the run chase, rather than retiring after the usual 25 deliveries, the boys wound that back to 15.
Openers Ollie (25 not out) and Leo (21 not) retired and came back in at the end. Jacko (15 not) and Jagger (16- run out) also came back in after wickets fell. Lucas retired and Nathias retired hurt after getting a sandshoe crusher smashing his toe.
One match to go and then the finals start. There is plenty to work on at training and they boys look forward to St Pat's Green this Friday. Massive thanks again to Phil who sets the ground up and scores each home game. Thanks also to Gareth and Samm for providing a barbie after the match.
Under 12s Div 2
The boys came out full of energy this week and that translated well into the way the fielded and bowled.
In the best all round performance of the year Max Tull and Kobe Raggett the pick of the bowlers taking 2 for 6 and 2 for 9 respectively, Jack Timms Charlie Tull with his first wicket for the year and debutant Kobe Ollington all picking up one each. A great performance in the field holding Howlong to a total of 72.
Keeping the same energy from the field the boys come out ready to bat. Everyone doing their bit. Jack Timms and Benji Casey top scoring with 16 each Max Tull with 13 and Tommy Bonnitcha with 11. Chased the score down ending up on 111 again our best performance of the year. The boys very excited with the win.
The club would like to acknowledge our sponsors for this season, Corowa Curtains and Décor, A & A Auto, Davidson White Accountants, John Rhodes Bricklaying, Waldrons Fresh on River, Kilara Group, Rivalea, Pharmasave Corowa, O’Connors, Balldale Hotel, Federation Steel, Collins Transport, BJ Hanrahan Family Trust, Moloney Real Estate, Corowa Furnishing and Floors and Club Corowa.
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