RUB down 'Pies in rain–shortened clash

WITH rainfall over the weekend causing chaos for Wangaratta and District Cricket Association action, defending A grade premiers Rovers United Bruck held off a challenge from Wangaratta Magpies to take the win by 20 runs in a shortened 25–over per side clash. Persistent rainfall prevented the match from beginning at its scheduled 1pm start time, as umpires and captains waited for a break in the weather. As the rain let up, covers were pulled from the WJ Findlay Oval, with lost hours of game time leading to a shortened match – RUB won the toss and chose to bat first. It wasn't an ideal start for RUB, with opener Koot Pienaar run out for six runs in the first over thanks to a direct hit at the non–striker's end from Jarryd Wallace. After Luke Whitten was given out LBW for eight, Jacob Beattie and 'Lucky' Shantha got to work with the willow, their 58 run partnership helping to steady the ship. After Shantha was caught trying to find the boundary for 31, Beattie continued on, belting 58 runs from 75 deliveries. A 23–run knock from Jacob Schonafinger towards the end of the innings helped the defending champs post 5/134. Magpie Chris Clement's 2/23 figures were the best on offer, ably supported by Matt Gathercole (1/25) and Zac Guilfoyle (1/24). RUB skipper Paddy McNamara said the total was far above what they were expecting. "We were stoked with that score – we said from 25 overs, we'd be happy with 90–100, and to get 130+ was perfect, it gave our bowlers something to bowl to," he said. "We went with a bit of an attacking approach. "It was Jacob Beattie's first game back and we know how attacking he is, so we threw him straight up to number three to give him a chance and we put Lucky who has been batting at seven and scores really quickly, we gave him a chance at four. "The tactic worked well, Jacob batted unbelievably and so did Lucky, and 'Schona' (Jacob Schonafinger) came in at the end and played a brilliant innings." The Magpies' run chase was slow to get off the ground, with the first three wickets falling for just 16 runs. In trouble, Pranav Menon (46) and Nick Pell (17) fought their way back into the match, but both fell. In the end, the Magpies didn't have the batting depth to get over the line, finishing at 9/114. Koot Pienaar was the pick of the bowlers, ending with 2/10, while Brady Bartlett (2/21) and Jacob Schonafinger (1/15) struck when they needed to. "We bowled really well, Brady (Bartlett) at the start bowled well and got a run out, then Jeremy Wilson and 'Schona' through the middle just tied them down and bowled exceptionally well," McNamara said. "We just worked at trying to get Pranav (Menon) off strike because he was just too good, his batting was unbelievable. "We just tried to chip it around, tried to get him off strike and work the players around him and we did that really well. "It was almost 7pm (by the time the match finished), it was 25 overs each squeezed into about four hours, so it was getting a little bit dark. "We got told if we bowled any pace bowlers we would get called off so we just had Koot (Pienaar) and Will O'Keefe coming off a short run up and that ended up working out alright. "It was lucky it was a white ball game." The win sees RUB at the top of the A grade table – the Delatite–Benalla Bushrangers match was the only other A grade game to get underway, with Delatite taking the win, while all other matches were abandoned due to weather.

RUB down 'Pies in rain–shortened clash

WDCA triumphs in Murray Valley challenge

Knights undefeated

“Gutted”: Rovers United Bruck fall at the final hurdle

A Magpie miracle secures T20 grand final berth

Local cricket identity picked for national masters

Rufous Whistler – arrival of a summer songbird

Bombers go back-to-back in A grade

“No stone unturned” – Police committed to the long-haul in manhunt

Start your engines, Wilby Drags are back

Most popular stories