Winning the toss and electing to bowl at Rushworth Public Park Reserve, BLU (9-208) pulled off an almighty victory against the Tigers (8-207) to catapult into second on the ladder behind Moama.
In the first innings, Rushworth had multiple contributors with the bat including Michael Enrico (36), Declan Baldwin (24) and led by an unbeaten 72 by Thomas Stevens.
Gideon Flett was BLU’s best with the ball, taking 3-26.
In the second innings, Josh Cairns (78) and Braydee Hutchins (38) got things rolling at the top of the order, with Brett Mundie (38 not out) hitting three off the final ball to secure a pulsating victory for the Lions.
Not to be understated, Rushworth’s Shannon Jarrett took an astounding 6-31 to bring his side to the cusp of victory.
Elmore (2-139) barely left second gear in round three, taking down Stanhope (136) at Stanhope Recreation Reserve.
Sending the Lions into bat, Elmore’s James Harney tore them to shreds with 5-8, Stanhope’s Bradd Stewart (46) and Craig Stewart (29) the only players to weather the storm.
In the second innings, Harney (31 not out) and Matthew Woolley (42 not out) got the Redbacks home comfortably after a strong start from Jack Morris (30).
Finishing the round, Cooma (5-119) got it done convincingly against Colbinabbin (9-116).
Winning the toss and electing to bat, Colbo’s openers Fletcher White (26) and Tyler McNamara (34) got the bulk of the runs for their side, with Hamish Hoopell (16) assisting later in the innings as Joel Stephens went ballistic with 6-21.
Cooma’s Liam Scopelliti (54 not out) carried his bat in the second innings, playing a strong hand with Blake Watts (42) to get the job done.
B-Grade Murray
Kyabram Fire Brigade White (4-187) is the only unbeaten team left in B-Murray after round two, affirming its top dog status over Leitchville-Gunbower (7-157).
Batting first, just about everyone who batted for the Flames made runs, headlined by Cohan Hooper (74 not out), Archer Backway (25) and Hunter Fawcett (28).
In the second innings, Casey McNaught tallied an unbeaten 81 at the top of the order but didn’t find a good running mate, with Darren McLellan (21) the next best as the side fell 30 runs short of victory.
Echuca South (6-182) got a dominant win over Tongala (88) to finish the round.
Shaun Haffenden’s unbeaten 81 led the charge for the Swans in the first innings, with Juan Jibi Sam the next best on 23 as Tonny’s Jesse Johnstone took 4-33.
Jesse Jackman (33) was the only batter to make a dent in the total, with Seth Chandler (13) the only other player to crack double digits as Shaun Haffenden (3-14) ran wild.
C-Grade
Stanhope (120) got a strong win over Cooma (92) in the opening round at Cooma Recreation Reserve.
Batting first, it was Kian Verrall who top scored for the Lions with 36 alongside Jayke Fisher (19) while Jake Moore took 5-22 with the ball.
Cooma looked good to start the second innings, with Russell Napier (32) scoring well, but he didn’t have anyone to go with him down the order.
Girgarre (9-101) opened its account in style over Rochester (100) at Girgarre Recreational Reserve.
Batting first, only Rochester’s Ryan Murphy (32) made a good account of himself, as a couple of other batters made starts.
In the second innings, Brodie Mulcahy (26) and Kyle McLeod (20) did enough to drag their side over the line.
D-grade
In the Peter Raglus D-grade Shield, Kyabram Fire Brigade (0-35) mopped the floor with Colbinabbin (32).
Logan West’s 10 was by far the highest score for Colbo as Sam Chapman (4-3) bowled the opposition out in under 20 overs.
Meanwhile, it took just three overs for Jedd Turpin (26 not out) and James Hargreaves (five not out) to chase down the meagre total.
After a huge first innings, Girgarre (7-196) put Rushworth (8-36) to the sword in the second.
Aled Denton (50) and Simon Tomasini (38) paved the way for the Roos in the first innings, before Jye Simm (3-12) and Blaine Guiney (3-5) got the job done with the ball.
Murchsion (3-71) got its season under way against Stanhope (69) at Murchison Recreation Reserve.
Batting first, the Lions couldn’t summon much as Daniel West and Matt Schubach top-scored with 14 apiece, while Murch’s Jacob Miller took 5-21.
Meanwhile, Daniel Aquilina (34 not out) led the successful run chase within 15 overs.
