After a challenging inaugural season in the Horsham Cricket Association, both of the West Wimmera Warriors teams finished with victories, with the A grade enjoying their second win and the B grade breaking through for their first.
A Grade
All the good work by the A grade Warriors’ batsmen last Saturday was followed up with some inspiring bowling this weekend which led the team to only their second win for the season when they dismissed Jung Tigers for 229, 82 runs short of their target.
Having scored 311 runs on the first day of the match, the team had a sizable target to defend and some tight opening bowling reduced the pressure further.
Ashley Dickinson took three early wickets and Josh Lees two to reduce the Tigers to 5 for 23 after 12 overs, and by the afternoon tea break a further wicket to Brad Keller had them at 6 for 88 after 35 overs.
The Tigers’ middle order batsmen showed some fight, with a 60 run partnership for the seventh wicket and 61 for the eighth, but they did not recover from the slow scoring early in the innings, and despite these two significant partnerships they finished well short of the target.
The leading bowler were Dickinson who finished with 5 for 19 off nine overs and Lees with 2 for 54 off 16 overs. Keller, Jack Crowhurst and Luke Smith all took one each.
Above - Wicketkeeper Michael Preston takes a catch off the bowling of Josh Lees to dismiss Jung Tigers’ Sam Leith.
Despite this positive finish to their season, the Warriors still finished the season at the foot of the table, but by defeating a team that will line up in the semi finals next weekend, along with a number of close results throughout the season, the indications all suggests that the Warriors will be a team to take seriously next season.
Next weekend the A grade semi-finals will be contested over Saturday and Sunday, with Homers taking on Rupanyup-Minyip on the Horsham City Oval, and Horsham Saints meet Jung Tigers at the Dimboola Recreation Reserve.
Horsham Cricket Association - A Grade Final Ladder
| | Points | Percentage
| | 1 | Homers | 81 | 2.39
| | 2 | Horsham Saints | 60 | 1.30
| | 3 | Jung Tigers | 48 | 1.27
| | 4 | Rup/Minyip | 33 | 0.94
| | 5 | Laharum | 18 | 0.4815
| | 6 | West Wimmera Warriors | 12 | 0.54
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B Grade
The B grade Warriors broke through for their first victory of their inaugural season in the Horsham Cricket Association with a win over Jung Tigers on the Horsham College Dimboola Road oval.
Resuming on 2 for 128 in pursuit of the modest target of 178 set by the Tigers last weekend, the Warriors had to work hard and had lost all but one wicket when they passed an opponent’s score for the first time this season.
Mick Purchase only added two runs to his total from the previous Saturday, but his not out partner, Trevor James, anchored the innings as his team mates came and went at the other end.
Two wickets fell at 137, one at 143 and a further three at 149 and the ninth at 155. This left the team still 23 short of a victory.
It was then that Shanaye Alexander joined Trevor James for the final wicket and these two were able to shepherd their team through to a close victory.
It was fitting that James remained as the not out batsman as he has not only captained the team this season, but has been one of their most consistent players throughout its first season in the competition.
The semi-finals will see Colts play Lubeck-Murtoa at Sunnyside and Blackheath-Dimboola take on Bullants on the turf wicket at Dudley Cornell Park.
Horsham Cricket Association - B Grade Final Ladder
| | | Points | Percentage
| | 1 | Colts | 67.5 | 1.7574
| | 2 | Blackheath/Dimboola | 60.5 | 1.3212
| | 3 | Bullants | 58.5 | 1.8049
| | 4 | Lubeck/Murtoa | 52 | 1.4567
| | 5 | Quantong | 33 | 0.8277
| | 6 | Horsham Saints | 31.5 | 0.5859
| | 7 | Jung Tigers | 13.5 | 0.5988
| | 8 | West Wimmera Warriors | 7.5 | 0.5127
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Horsham Cricket Association - A Grade
West Wimmera Warriors 7 for 311
Jung Tigers Innings
| J Mock | lbw | b. A Dickinson | 2
| | T Neville | ct. ? | b. A Dickinson | 0
| | B Jensz | | b. J Lees | 6
| | A Adams | ct. M Preston | b. A Dickinson | 1
| | S Leith | ct. M Preston | b. J Lees | 5
| | T Puls | ct. A Dickinson | b. B Keller | 10
| | S Mock | | b. J Crowhurst | 42
| | D Puls | lbw | b. L Smith | 70
| | M Knight | not out | | 52
| | J Leith | | b. A Dickinson | 27
| | J Pymer | ct. & | b. A Dickinson | 0
| | Sundries | | | 14
| | TOTAL | | 229
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West Wimmera Warriors Bowling
| | O | M | R | W
| | J Lees | 16 | 4 | 54 | 2
| | A Dickinson | 9 | 6 | 19 | 5
| | B Keller | 11 | 5 | 18 | 1
| | T Braendler | 6 | 0 | 18 | 0
| | L Preston | 7 | 1 | 41 | 0
| | J Crowhurst | 7 | 1 | 23 | 1
| | L Sith | 8 | 2 | 31 | 1
| | J Gurry | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0
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Horsham Cricket Association - B Grade
Jung Tigers 178
West Wimmera Warriors Resumed at 2 for 128 (M Purchase 45*, T James 3*)
| M Purchase | ct. T Iredell-Burke | b. J Frost | 47
| | S Hermann | | b. J Pucek | 75
| | B Purchase | | b. J Pucek | 0
| | T James | not out | | 39
| | J Brown | lbw | b. S Smith | 0
| | R James | ct. C Bald | b. S Smith | 1
| | J Harding | | b. J Frost | 1
| | B Zimmermann | lbw | b. J Frost | 0
| | D Bullen | lbw | b. J Frost | 0
| | D Cross | lbw | b. J Frost | 5
| | S Alexander | | b. N Sonego | 6
| | Sundries | | | 17
| | TOTAL | | 194
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Jung Tigers Bowling
| | O | M | R | W
| | S Smith | 11 | 1 | 42 | 2
| | J Frost | 16 | 5 | 58 | 5
| | L Sonego | 5 | 0 | 24 | 0
| | C Maybery | 3 | 0 | 34 | 0
| | J Pucek | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2
| | D Garner | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0
| | A Leith | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0
| | C Eagle | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0
| | N Sonego | 1.5 | 0 | 2 | 1
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