‘Pies too good for Tigers

WANGARATTA Magpies confirmed they’ll be a fearsome team in the finals series after a massive victory over Ovens Valley United in their last home and away match of the WDCA A grade season on Saturday. Resuming at 0/4 at the Wangaratta Showgrounds, the Magpies breezed past the asking total of 111, piling on the pain to finish the match at 7/293. Jarryd Wallace was content to dig in, but edged one off Bailey Wyatt for only one, with the Magpies immediately on the back foot at 1/5. Dean Simmons would continue on, combining with skipper Cooper Matheson for a match-winning partnership of 137 runs. Simmons seized on any loose delivery, keeping a resolute defence for his 43 from 120, while the power hitting came from the other end. Matheson was imperious, clobbering 92 runs from just 101 deliveries to help lift his side over the line. After Matheson was dismissed, edging Wyatt to first slip, Jack Davies would continue the damage. Combining with Oliver Andrew (28 off 64), Davies would carve out a handy half century to boost the total past 200. Plenty of players enjoyed time in the middle, with Jimmy Thewlis (12 off 21), Callum Honey (29 off 27), Zac Guilfoyle (11* from 25) and Rhys Grant (11* from 13) chipping in late in the day. Matheson said it was a brilliant time for the squad to find some form. “We finished the game off very strongly, with our batting backing up our bowling from the week before,” he said. “’Deano’ [Simmons] got 40-odd, ‘Jacko’ [Davies] got 50, and even Ollie [Andrew] found a bit of form with his 30. “Simmo was more of an anchor when we were batting together, and I was more aggressive, trying to score. “Me and Simmo set the game up and won the game for us, so the other boys didn’t have pressure on them so they could go out and get a bit more out of it without the pressure on. “We got what we wanted, everyone to have a bat out in the middle and get something out of it.” The Magpies finish the home and away season second on the ladder, qualifying for a home final against Beechworth Wanderers this weekend. “We’re peaking at the right time,” Matheson said. “We’ve had an up and down year, a few games we’ve struggled for numbers, but now we’re beginning to play really solid cricket going into finals. “We’ve got our main team together of about 13 players, so hopefully we can keep our form going through the finals and make a big push.”

‘Pies too good for Tigers

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