With the last round before the Christmas break, the CAW ladder reads: North Albury 63, Albury 51, Wodonga 39, Lavington 36, Corowa 33 and East Albury 33 and pressuring the top six are St Patrick’s 27, Wodonga Raiders 24, Belvoir 24, Tallangatta 18 and New City 12.
In last Saturday’s first of the 50 over fixtures this season, Wodonga Raiders won the toss and sensing some moisture in the wicket sent Corowa into bat.
With regular opener Matt Wilson enjoying an all-expense paid for vacation to the coast, Jesse Moloney's good middle order form granted him an opportunity at the top of the order. With the ball holding in the pitch, scoring was tough early on and Moloney was caught trying to break the shackles of spin bowling opener Roberts, bringing Ryan Beveridge to the crease.
For the second week in a row, Matt Grantham was left stranded short of his ground, run out for 5; most disappointing in that it’s the only way he looks like being dismissed at the moment. Ryan Beveridge dug in but became Roberts’ second victim when he was out trying to work a holding delivery. Jarred Lane joined Kaelen Bradtke at the crease needing a partnership but not being able to provide with Bradtke bowled by the crafty Ranawerra for 8 leaving the A grade 4 for 18 and in early trouble again.
Kodee Lowe's B grade form saw him promoted to A grade and he joined Lane at the crease looking to dig the hosts out of trouble. The pair were able to slowly build the score to 46 before Lowe was caught behind for 8, Will Seymour soon followed and Corowa was once again on the back foot at 6 for 58 when coach Jarryd Hatton joined captain Lane at the crease needing to lead the side out of trouble.
The duo showed their experience taking the conservative route in slowly building towards a competitive total hitting into the gaps and taking the singles on offer moving the score to 128 when Hatton was caught for 33. Jarred Lane reached 50 however had brain explosion next ball to be bowled with the score at 8 for 144. Alex Lavis made a handy 9 in his first A grade innings with debutant Jay Lavis and Nick Grant taking the score to 154 before Lavis was caught for 2 to end Corowa's innings.
With runs on the board, the boys were in the game but would need to be at their best in the field with the wicket drying out and speeding up. Raiders showed their intent early with opening bat Griffiths making the most of the fielding restrictions blasting a quickfire 22 before Jarryd Hatton came on and rattled his stumps with the score on 34. Wickets were proving hard to come by with the Raiders batsmen Scott and Burge rotating the strike and Corowa unable to capitalize on the few half chances offered until Jesse Moloney was able to deceive Burge, bowling him for 13. Kaelen Bradtke returned for an improved second spell and removed Stewart and Ranawerra to give Corowa a sniff at 4 for 101. With the game evenly poised, the Raiders crept along to 115 before Scott was bowled for a well-made 53. Coach Hatton then grabbed his third wicket bowling Gray for 4. With the score at 6 for 122 the team felt a chance however a partnership of 33 between Roberts and Kelly saw the visitors home.
Congratulations to Jay Lavis on playing his first A grade game. He looked right at home and is sure to have a big future ahead of him, while credit must go to the Raiders, Corowa were a bit off their best.
Moving to the one day format, B Grade crashed to a 6 wicket defeat to Wodonga Raiders at Birralee Park.
Winning the toss captain Aaron Phibbs elected to bat first but lost Patrick Mitchell early. Jordan Eyers (28) and Bailey Minogue (30) settled in and added 56 runs to move Corowa along to 1 for 58 in the 18th over before Eyers went. This started a collapse as Corowa lost another 4 quick wickets to fall to 6 for 71. Only Kyle Docherty (25) and Greg Burgess (20) made it past 100 as Corowa was bowled out in the 36th over for 119.
A run out to Jordan Eyers early had the Raiders 1 for 13. But after that Corowa struggled for breakthroughs even though the bowling was tight. Jack Eales continued his good form taking 1 for 27 off 7 overs of leg spin, while veteran Greg Burgess took 1 for 14 off 7 overs. The Raiders were able to pass the score in the 38th over only 4 wickets down.
The side takes on Tallangatta at Tallangatta in the final game before Christmas break.
A brutal Danny Osborne-Billy Raggett one-two punch put paid to Howlong in C-Grade Division 1 cricket on Saturday.
For the first time this season, Osborne took the new ball and the Corowa captain gave third-placed Howlong side no chance, finishing with 5/10 off eight overs. After seeing some catches go down a week earlier, the Corowa skipper targeted the stumps claiming three bowled, one lbw and a catch to Jack Downing. He received good support from his opening pace partner, left-armer Taj Smith who claimed 4/14 off his six. Smith bowled full and accurately, taking advantage of good swing conditions in Howlong. Howlong were bundled out for 87.
In response with the bat, it was a repeat of the last two weeks with Raggett leading the charge. Raggett was promoted to open and notched 61 not out, his third half-century in a row. This week’s exhibition featured nine boundaries, including four majors. A second-wicket partnership with younger brother Lachie Raggett (16) put the side within sight of victory, with Raggett snr and Riley Allan then cruising to the total in the 13th over.
C Grade Div 2 won on forfeit against Wodonga Raiders when they couldn't get a side.
The side takes on Yackandandah at Yackandandah in their last game before the Christmas break.
Blue Under 16s - Corowa Blue were back at home this week facing St Pats. Corowa won the toss and elected to bat. At the crease was Raggett and Keenes who looked to settle in at Ball Park until Raggett was dismissed for 3 which brought Hanrahan to the crease. Keenes looked solid early only to be jammed up by a beautiful yorker. With the score at 2-13 Hanrahan and Lewis needed to dig in and they did just that with strong running between wickets and big boundary hitting. 78 was the score before the prized wicket of Hanrahan fell for 32. Eales and Lewis looked to continue the steady run rate and keep the pressure on the fielding side until a miss-timed stroke saw Lewis dismissed for 36. Eales and Smith moved the score along to 122 for the 5th after destructive hitting from Eales gave the home side momentum. Wickets fell quickly until Glare made a quick fire 18 hitting them to all parts of Ball Park and bringing the total to 152 until the side was dismissed. St Patricks chase the score this Friday night.
Due to COVID issues, Under 14's White and the two Under 12's sides didn't get a start.
The Club would like to acknowledge our sponsors for this season, A & A Auto, Davidson White Accountants, John Rhodes Bricklaying, Waldrons Fresh on River, Dunn’s Twin City Cranes, Kilara Group, Nutrimax, Rivalea, David Lane Builder, on Track Physiotherapy, Amber Rose, Collins Transport, Hotel Australia, Docs Corowa, Federation Council & Corowa RSL Club.
17°C