Williams first to raise the bat as Rochester tastes first-round victory

Tongala started well with the ball in hand, having Rochester 6-68 thanks to sharp bowling from Lachlan Caldwell and skipper Alex Williams.

But the innings belonged to the Rochy opener, belting 112 runs off 105 deliveries, blasting 15 boundaries en route to a first-innings score of 9-221 for his team.

“He’s a superstar. I think he’s going to be huge for us all year,” Rochester coach Jake Wright said.

“I think he made more runs on Saturday than he did all last year, which is good.”

Jesse Cuttriss (32) and Nate Rasmussen (25 not out) made valuable contributions, while Caldwell and Alex Williams snared three wickets for Tongala.

“It was a competitive effort from us, I thought,” Williams said.

“We bowled a really good 25-30 overs. It was looking really good. I couldn’t be happier with how that went.

“Later in the innings, unfortunately, they got away from us with a few partnerships. Sean Williams batted an incredible innings.

“To be honest, he didn’t give us many chances. All credit to him.”

In the run chase, Keagan Miller and Hudson Kellett made most of Tongala’s 138 runs with 39 and 35, respectively. However, three wickets to Angus Martin and tight bowling throughout the innings saw the Blues fall short, finishing at 7-138.

Wright was pleased with a first-up win and the performance of Williams and several of the team’s younger players, but said eliminating extras would be crucial heading into this week’s clash against Echuca.

“There’s a bit of improvement to be done in the bowling. I think we bowled 18 wides and probably five or six no balls,” he said.

“Nate Rasmussen made 25 not-out at the end and young Ollie Williams had three or four catches for the day. They’re both under-17 players, which are handy to have.”

Despite the loss, opposing captain Williams was pleased with his team’s performance.

“We gave it a red-hot go. I was thinking at the start of the day if we batted our overs and got to the 150, I was happy with that,” he said.

“A couple of boys in the middle order, Keagan Miller and Hudson Kellett, had a really good innings, and Lachy Caldwell bowled well.

“I think we can learn a bit from where we were, having a good side 6-65, and finishing that innings out is important.”

Tongala faces Cooma in round two, while Rochester will battle reigning premier Echuca.

Rochy will head into the clash with Wright hopeful of regaining the services of key players Adam Ward and Joel Bunce.