Veteran turns back the clock

T20 ROUND

When Mil Lel posted 9/114 from its 20 overs in last week’s T20 clash with West Gambier it loomed as a tough ask for the bowlers to defend the modest total but in the end, it proved more than enough as West capitulated for 95.

Mil Lel skipper Jack Miller removed the dangerous Sam Willis, who smashed 21 off 12, and looked likely to lead the Roos to victory and, aside from a top of the order 29 from West captain Justin de Jong, no other West batter even made double figures.

Jarrod Sanders (31) and Miller (25) were best with the bat for Mil Lel.

East Gambier, likewise, with its 7/113, didn’t appear to have enough on the board in its clash with North Sportsman’s and this clash went down to the wire with North running out of balls to score the required runs, falling one run shy at 6/112.

Again it was a captain leading the way with Elliott Fisher (61) hitting six boundaries as well as three sixes, but he lacked support and the Tigers fell short.

Given East was 5/31, to even reach triple figures took some doing and it was the ever-reliable Dion Stratford, who finished unbeaten on 30, and youngster Riley Flamank (45) that steadied the ship and ensured the bowlers had some sort of total to defend and eventually secure the narrow win.

It was a vintage David Somerfield performance that saw South Gambier secure its T20 victory over Penola with five balls to spare.

The multi-Barber Shield winning captain produced a hard hitting 58, complemented by an impressive 29 from youngster Jed Sims, to chase down Penola’ s 7/131.

All five of the Eagles’ top batsmen got a start but they just couldn’t go on with it with Jack Mullan (26) and Mark Smith (24) leading the way.

Robbie Drenthen, Jakob Opie and Somerfield each ended up with two wickets apiece before Sims and Somerfield got the job done in the tense run chase.

Josh Doyle was the pick of the Eagles bowlers with 3/31.

BARBER SHIELD

Michael Johnston (pictured) turned back the clock at the weekend as the evergreen top order batsman clocked up an unbeaten 131 as North Sportsman’s powered to an imposing total of 4/314 after winning the toss.

Mil Lel had no answer to the veteran allrounder, who hit 15 fours, as well as displaying his trademark patience.

Nick McInerney was the other standout in North’s innings as he clocked 84 from 130 before Jack Miller trapped him in front to end the onslaught, leaving the green caps with a challenging run chase this weekend.

Johnston’s ton wasn’t the only one of the weekend with Justin de Jong also reaching triple figures as West moved the game along at pace to end up in a dominant position with South Gambier barely hanging on.

West dismissed South, after the Maroons elected to bat, for 114, with the only real resistance coming from captain Stephen Easterbrook (52).

de Jong then strode to the wicket to open and his 117 from 77 balls was as entertaining as it gets as he hit the South bowlers to all corners of Malseed Park, reaching the boundary 15 times and clearing it on three occasions.

Sam Willis, who had already taken three wickets on the day, hit a quickfire 49 before Jed Sims ended his potentially dangerous innings, while Jayden Prior contributed a useful 40.

West declared at 5/296 and South has already lost Eastbrook as it looks to chase down the Roos’ significant lead.

Allan Scott Park was definitely not a batting paradise at the weekend with eight ducks dotting the three scorecards thus far.

East opted to bowl on their home deck after winning the toss and Penola lasted merely 23.1 overs with no player making double figures and four players not troubling the scorers at all on their way to a miserable total of 31.

It was Alex Hentschke who did the majority of the damage, finishing with 5/8 from his 12 overs, with Liam Turley (3/9) and Ben Hentschke (2/2) chipping in to destroy the Eagles line-up.

East Gambier only lasted 10 more overs than Penola but did manage to find more avenues to score – bowled out for 92 – with only Dion Stratford (23) impressing as Michael Waters (4/26) and Finn McColl (4/20) ensured Penola could potentially recover from its disastrous first innings effort.

Unfortunately, the visitors slumped to 4/19, still 42 behind with Drew Clayfield, Jack Mullan, Waters and Nathan Fulton all back in the shed.

MOUNT GAMBIER & DISTRICT CRICKET ASSOCIATION RESULTS

T20 COMPETITION

• Mil Lel 9/114 (J. Sanders 31; J. Miller 25; J. DeJong 2/9; S. Willis 2/20; S. de Jong 2/13) d West Gambier 95 (J. de Jong 29; S. Willis 21; W. Rowland 3/15; M. Douglas 2/23; C. Hicks 2/17)
• East Gambier 7/113 (R. Flamank 45; D. Stratford 30no.; E. Marks 20; T. Young 3/12; I. Mulraney 2/20)) d North Sportsman’s 6/112 (E. Fisher 61; E. Marks 2/8; M. Roberts 2/15)
• South Gambier 6/133 (D. Somerfield 58; J. Sims 29; J. Doyle 3/31) d Penola 7/131 (J. Mullan 26; M. Smith 24; J. Alexander 22; R. Drenthen 2/20; J. Opie 2/22; D. Somerfield 2/28)

TWO DAY FIXTURES

• BARBER SHIELD
  • East Gambier v Penola
    • Penola 1st innings 31 (A. Hentschke 5/8; L. Turley 3/9; Ben Hentschke 2/2)
    • East Gambier 1st innings 92 (D. Stratford 23; M. Waters 4/26; F. MacColl 4/20; N. Skeer 2/18)
    • Penola 2nd innings 4/19 (in progress) (J. Schulz 12no.; M. Roberts 3/10)
  • Mil Lel v North Sportsman’s
    • North Sportsman’s 1st innings 4/314 (Michael Johnston 131no.; N. McInerney 84; E. Fisher 37; N. Brown 27no.; J. Miller 2/108)
  • West Gambier v South Gambier
    • South Gambier 1st innings 114 (S. Easterbrook 52; H. Jalota 25; B. Rothall 3/6; S. Willis 3/30; B. Stephenson 2/48)
    • West Gambier 1st innings 5dec/296 (J. DeJong 117; S. Willis 49; J. Prior 40; J. Blackwell 28no.; J. Sims 3/43)
    • South Gambier 2nd innings 1/28 (in progress) (J. Opie 17no.)
• CROUCH SHIELD
  • Gambier Centrals v Mil Lel
    • Gambier Centrals 1st innings 313 (J. Thompson 48; B. Collins 38; M. Fox 37; I. Czaban 34; B. Barker 32no.; T. Rowland 2/63)
    • Mil Lel 1st innings 1/20 (in reply)
  • North Sportsman’s v Kongorong
    • Kongorong 1st innings 283 (H. Evans 56; A. Maidment 39; M. Sullivan 37; M. Brill 35; T. Bellinger 34; S. Fisher 3/44; M Sneddon 2/18; Z. Clark 2/44)
  • NO OTHER MATCH DETAILS AVAILABLE
• COX BROS SHIELD
  • Glencoe v Yahl
    • Glencoe 1st innings 142 (B. Payne 30; S. Haase 27; T. Weaver 23; A. Mulraney 4/13; J. Moody 4/23)
    • Yahl 1st innings 0/63 (in reply) (T. Clarke 32no.; T. Ambrose-Pearce 26no.)
  • Tarpeena v Gambier Centrals
    • Gambier Centrals 1st innings 114 (no details available)
    • Tarpeena 1st innings 3/30 (in reply) (no details available)
• O’DONOGHUE SHIELD
  • Millicent v Mil Lel
    • Mil Lel1st innings 82 (A. Virtanen 24; T. Grigg 14no.; C. Bevan 3/8; S. Hunt 2/7)
  • Penola/Naracoorte v West Gambier
    • West Gambier 1st innings 9/173 (C. Tweddle 26no.; T. Rothall 26; K. Price 21; J. Bull 2/9)
  • NO OTHER MATCH DETAILS AVAILABLE
• HALL TROPHY
  • Gambier Centrals/West Gambier v Mil Lel
    • Mil Lel 1st innings 9/159 (T. Virtanen 73; B. Hudson 4/13; T. Richards 3/12)
    • Gambier Centrals/West Gambier 1st innings 2/8 (in reply)
  • South Gambier v Mount Burr
    • South Gambier 1st innings 8/250 (J. Geary 78; P. Sigley 28; A. Sims 19no.; N. Wright 4/15)
  • Penola/Naracoorte v Millicent
    • Millicent 1st innings 9/107 (R. Lindner 30; P. Duldig 26; W. Harris 2/8; F. Malone 2/11; B. Catlin 2/14)