THE junior competition wrapped up in the Wangaratta and District Cricket Association over the weekend, with Ovens Valley United, Benalla Bushrangers, and City Colts claiming glory. After winning their Under 12 Blue Division title last weekend, the Tigers took on the Gold Division premiers Benalla Bushrangers Blue to determine once and for all who ruled the age group. For the second time in as many weeks, the Tigers took home the silverware, defeating the Bushrangers by six wickets. After being handed the ball, the Tigers kept Benalla to 8/74 from 18.2 overs, with Hunter Harris (2/6 from two overs) and Dakar Hilton (2/13 off two) doing the damage with the ball. Rylan Harris (1/7 off 1.2), Koby Harris (1/11 off two), and Beau Sanderson (1/1 off two) also picked up wickets. With the target set, the chase was on. Owen Pethybridge (seven), Rylan Harris (two), and Hunter Harris (two) worked hard early, but when two wickets fell, the Tigers were on the back foot at 2/8. The middle order fired, with Dakar Hilton (eight), Beau Sanderson (10), and Cooper Carroll (nine not out) keeping the run rate ticking over without losing a wicket, with batters retiring after facing 15 deliveries. Judd Carroll was the power hitter, belting four boundaries on his way to 23 before retiring and getting his side over the line. It was a Benalla derby in the under 14 decider with the club’s Red and Blue sides facing off the for Len Hill Shield. Batting first, Bushrangers Red piled on 9/124 from their 40 overs before bowling their Blue clubmates out for 96 in 31 overs. Captain Harrison Skelton led from the front, belting an unbeaten half century from 96 balls to steer his side to a commanding total. Boden Hazell (16) and Showrik Das (11) were the only other batters to reach double figures, while Benalla Blue’s Alex Lambert finished with tidy figures of 2/20 from his five overs. In reply, Benalla Blue’s Angus Hayes was the only batter to fire, recording 34 from 75 at the top of the order. Hugh Ross managed 10, but no other Blue batter made more than seven, as Benalla Red cruised to a 28-run win. The under 16 grand final was dominated by the City Colts, who claimed their third Eugene Kneebone Shield in as many years from Benalla Bushrangers. Batting first, top order partnerships allowed the Colts to post 198 all out with two balls remaining in their innings, before they rolled the Bushies for 120. The Colts first three partnerships set the game up perfectly, with Mitch Feldtmann and Alasdair Brett (25 from 39) putting on 47 runs for the first wicket, with Feldtmann (38 from 63) adding another 41 with Hugh Spring. At 2/88, Spring found another level, picking the gaps and running hard for his 67 from 80 deliveries, and with Thanish Gadela (17 from 34), partnered for a 71-run stand. The lower order worked hard to get the total as high as they could, with Benalla’s Josh Hart impressive with his 2/16 from six overs. Benalla’s batters played well but no one stuck around to make an innings-defining stand. Lucas Ham (10 from 19), Mitch Cooney (20 from 34) and Josh Hart (39 from 69) started off well enough, but ducks to Bryce Cooney, Koby Ross, and Hunter Carter put Benalla on the back foot. City Colts’ Max Marek was impressive with his tight control of line and length, picking up three wickets for just six runs, at an economy of 1.20 an over. Shaan Pinto was likewise frugal, claiming 2/7 at 1.75 runs an over. Despite a late-game surge from Kai Dervish (23 from 45), Benalla didn’t have enough in the tank, bowled out in the final over with Colts winning by 78 runs.
