A THRILLING grand final re-match has produced the first win of the season for East Warrnambool-YCW.
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In what was the only round three game played on Saturday, the Broncos held on for a one-run victory against Woodford at Bushfield in the Merri conference.
Batting first in the Twenty20, East Warrnambool-YCW made 4-136 with Luke Smith top scoring with 64.
Woodford made a good start in pursuit of the target and at one stage looked like winners at 3-85.
But the Bronco bowlers were able to get some wickets and put the brakes on. By the time the final ball was about to be bowled Woodford sat on 9-135 with Hank Schlaghecke on strike and Tom Moloney with the ball in his hands.
It was the bowler who had the final say with Moloney sneaking one past Schlaghecke’s bat to knock the bails off and give the Broncos the win.
East Warrnambool-YCW captain Mark Murphy said it was a great way for his team to open its account.
“We are very happy with the win, Woodford is the benchmark of the competition,” Murphy said.
“The first game of the season we just didn’t prepare well enough and last week we didn’t handle the pressure of a game we were expected to win.
“But against Woodford we stuck to our game plan and did all those little things well.
“We were happy with our score, we knew it would be tough to chase down and our bowlers did well to reel Woodford back in after they got away early on.”
Moloney was the key performer with the ball for the Broncos with 3-23 while Daniel Oakley chipped in with 2-25.
The loss by Woodford has Nestles as the only undefeated team in either the Merri or Hopkins conferences.
On Sunday Nestles won a close one at Wenborn Oval against Dennington.
The Dogs batted first and were all out for 102.
Nestles were made to work hard in the run chase, getting the runs required with just three balls to spare.
The loss leaves Dennington as the only team in the Merri conference without a win.
Young gun Brody Couch was the go-to man for Nirranda in its win over Russells Creek. Batting at number three, Couch was Nirranda’s leading contributor with a tidy 49. This effort helped Nirranda fight its way to a score of 5-110.
The target may not have been a huge one but it proved out of reach of Russells Creek who finished on 7-103 with Couch one of five Nirranda bowlers to take a wicket.
We are very happy with the win, Woodford is the benchmark of the competition.
- Mark Murphy
