Finals frenzy for junior cricket

The weekend hosted the most important matches of junior cricket all year, with the Wangaratta and District Cricket Association junior grand finals showcasing the budding talent in the region. After winning their Blue Division title last week, the under 12 Ovens Valley United Orange side came up against Gold Division champions Benalla Bushrangers Red for the Bill Daniel Shield at North Wangaratta. The Tigers managed to bowl Benalla out for 57, chasing the total in 16.2 overs for the loss of five wickets. Beau Sanderson was the pick of the bowlers, taking two wickets, with four other wicket-takers and two run outs in a well-balanced team effort in the field. Sanderson led the way with the bat as well, knocking an unbeaten 21* from 38 balls to help steer his side to the ultimate prize in under 12s cricket. The under 14 Tigers also had a chance for glory in the Len Hill Shield grand final, taking on Greta at McNamara Reserve across the weekend. It was sheer dominance from Ovens Valley, who posted 265 runs from just over 39 overs, before bowling Greta out for 70, a 195-run win. Louis Sanderson was remarkable, batting for the entire innings and carving apart the Greta bowlers, and he achieved what most cricketers could only dream of: making a century in a grand final victory. Sanderson would post 103 from 53 balls and was the final wicket to fall after opening the innings in an 83-run stand with Charles Herbert (54 from 69) to set the game up. Mitch McMasters would also shine, bringing up a run-a-ball 52* to help the Tigers to a commanding position. For Greta, Kieran Hope was brilliant, taking 2/12 from just four overs to expose the tail. Coming back on the Sunday, it was again Sanderson who led the charge, taking 3/21 with the ball to decimate Greta’s top order. Herbert (2/7 off four) and Owen Sams (2/4 off two) were the other multiple wicket-takers, as Greta simply collapsed, with Tyson Brown (12) and Bodi Jackson (10) the only batters to reach double figures. Sanderson was obviously named player of the match for his performance with bat and ball. The under 16s combined Beechworth-Ovens Valley United team also made the decider, but they came up against a City Colts team who were simply too good. City Colts were bowled out for 74 runs with co-captains Jimi Pell (15) and Gus Marek (16) top scoring, but the combine fell for just 52. All 20 wickets fell across 46 overs of total gametime, but ultimately Hugh Spring’s spell of 5/17 from 4.3 overs would close the book on the match and junior cricket this season.

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