The Warriors’ A grade team held on for a nail-biting two-run win when they took on Homers in their first Twenty20 match for the season.
After a three week break from cricket, these two teams met on the turf pitch on the Sunnyside ground and played out an enthralling game.
Warriors won the toss and batted first, posting 112 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their twenty overs, although only three batsmen made it into double figures.
Bradley Alexander scored nearly half of the team’s total with 49, and the next best was 14 by Trevor Polkinghorne, 12 by sundries, and 11 not out by Tom Driscoll at the end of the innings to take the score past the century.
Homers lost one of their openers in the third over of their run chase, but a second-wicket partnership of 48 had them well within reach of a win before two wickets fell with their score in the 50s that kept the Warriors in with a chance.
Neither team gained a clear advantage over the next seven overs, with the Warriors taking three more wickets but Homers kept the scoreboard ticking over just enough to keep the game in the balance right to the end.
The last over started with Homers needing to score twelve runs to win, and after a boundary off the first ball, and two off the second, this had been reduced to six runs off four balls.
There was no score off the third delivery of the over, and then a single off the fourth.
With two balls remaining Homers still needed five runs, and when they scored two off the penultimate delivery, all they needed was a boundary off the last ball for a victory.
A big swing of the bat failed to connect, and the ball sailed through to the wicketkeeper which prevented any score, leaving the Warriors victorious by two runs.
The bowling honours were shared by Austin Smith who took two wickets, and Nathan Alexander and Henry Smith both took one each.
Mitch Dahlenburg effected two run outs, including the one above to dismiss one of Homers’ highest scorers, Adam Atwood.
Next week’s opponent will be Noradjuha Toolondo Bullants in another Twenty20 match to be played on the Horsham City Oval on Friday evening commencing at 6.30 pm.
There were no games played in the C grade as this competition will not resume until January 30.
Horsham Cricket Association - A Grade - Round 8 - Twenty20 Match
West Wimmera Warriors won by 2 runs
West Wimmera Warriors
| N Alexander | ct. S Hopper | b. C Britten | 0
| | M Dahlemburg | ct. P Mills | b. C Britten | 7
| | A Smith | | b. C Britten | 3
| | B Alexander | | b. M Bandara | 49
| | T Polkinghorne | lbw | b. S Hopper | 14
| | L Preston | lbw | b. C Gamage | 8
| | H Smith | | b. C Gamage | 7
| | T Driscoll | not out | | 11
| | J Lees | not out | | 1
| | Sundries | | | 12
| | TOTAL | (20 overs) | 7 for 112
|
Homers Bowling
| | O | M | R | W
| | C Britten | 4 | 0 | 19 | 3
| | M Bandara | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1
| | S Shama | 2 | 0 | 36 | 0
| | C Gamage | 4 | 0 | 9 | 2
| | S Hopper | 4 | 0 | 21 | 1
| | A Atwood | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0
|
Homers
| A Atwood | run out | | 22
| | N Koenig | | b. N Alexander | 1
| | C Gamage | lbw | b. H Smith | 43
| | C Britten | ct. N Alexander | b. A Smith | 0
| | L Deutscher | | b. A Smith | 1
| | S Hopper | run out | | 21
| | J Combe | not out | | 14
| | Sundries | | | 8
| | TOTAL | (20 Overs) | 6 for 110
|
West Wimmera Warriors Bowling
| | O | M | R | W
| | N Alexander | 4 | 0 | 18 | 1
| | J Lees | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0
| | T Driscoll | 4 | 1 | 15 | 0
| | A Smith | 4 | 0 | 27 | 2
| | T Braendler | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0
| | H Smith | 2 | 0 | 18 | 1
|
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