Sport
26 October, 2023
Murphy takes control
POMBORNEIT’S division one men’s team kicked off its season with an eight-wicket win over Ecklin at the Pomborneit Recreation Reserve last weekend. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat; Pomborneit handing a division one debut to recently...
POMBORNEIT’S division one men’s team kicked off its season with an eight-wicket win over Ecklin at the Pomborneit Recreation Reserve last weekend.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat; Pomborneit handing a division one debut to recently appointed under 16 co-captain Ben Whytcross.
Finn Tolland took the first wicket and bowled an economical opening spell, conceding six runs in six overs.
Spinners Danussika Bandara and Tharaka Sendanayake proved hard to score off, both going at less than a run an over, with Sendanayake taking the next two wickets.
‘Senda’ bowled his 10 overs straight, finishing with 2-9.
Skipper Matt Bignell, playing his first match for Pomborneit since the 2017/18 season, took three wickets through the middle overs, while medium pacer Sam Darcy chimed in with two wickets as the Bulls got right on top.
Bandara returned to take two wickets to finish the innings, one to a spectacular slips catch by Sendanayake, to finish with 2-7 from 10 overs.
Ecklin finished all out for 92 in the 45th over.
In reply the Bulls lost a couple of early wickets before opener Dave Murphy took control, hitting seven fours and two sixes as Pomborneit passed Ecklin’s total in the 14th over.
Murphy finished on 61 not out from 37 balls and Sendanayake not out on 18 off 14 balls.
This week sees Pomborneit's division one team take on Heytesbury-Princetown at Timboon, while the division two and division three Bulls start their seasons with games against Heytesbury-Princetown at Timboon High School and Woorndoo at Pomborneit.
The senior women will commence their season on Sunday with a Pomborneit Gold v Pomborneit Maroon clash.
A historic night on Tuesday when Pomborneit’s under 17 boys played their first ever game, hosting Colac Oborne at Pomborneit in very windy and cold conditions.
The visitors batted first and got off to a flying start until Bradey Fratantaro, playing his first match for Pombo, took the first wicket.
Skipper Finn Tolland continued his good form from the division one game on Saturday and kept things tight early on.
Wickets through the middle overs to Levi Cootesmith, Josh Reynolds and Ollie Delaney pegged the scoring right back.
Finn Tolland claimed three wickets in four balls to finish the innings off; Colac Oborne all out for 118 in the 27th over.
Finn Tolland (4-9 from five overs), Levi Cootesmith (2-6 from three) and Bradey Fratantaro (2-26 from five) were the most successful of the bowlers.
In reply, Pomborneit looked in control after the top order got the team off to a great start.
Opener Ben Whytcross was the first to reach the 30 ball retirement mark, Bradey Fratantaro made 18 from his 30 balls and Gavin Reynolds made 12 from 18 balls.
A huge middle and late order collapse put the game back in Colac’s control.
Ben Whytcross returned to the crease and was well supported by Lily Van Es. The last wicket pair got the Bulls to within a run before the final wicket fell; a disappointing loss but a competitive start in a new competition against the reigning premier.
Pomborneit’s under 14 team started its Colac District CA season with a strong win over City United at Pomborneit on Friday night.
Archer Blomfield and Jake Van Es, both products of the Pomborneit under 13 teams, made their under 14 debuts.
The visitors batted first and faced an impressive opening spell from new ball bowlers Max Rees and Nate Castle, who conceded just three runs in the first six overs.
The junior Bulls put in a superb team bowling effort and were sharp in the field, taking regular wickets to restrict City United to 41.
Ollie West took two wickets, with one wicket each to Nate Castle, Marc Van Es, Jonty Raven, Josh Reynolds, George Sadler and Archer Blomfield.
Pomborneit passed City’s score in the 10th over and went on to make 7-136 from their 30 overs.
Josh Reynolds (22), Jonty Raven (27) and Ollie West (19) all retired after facing 24 balls; Raven in particular hitting the ball very cleanly with five boundaries in his knock, while Nate Castle (16) and Max Rees (10) also made it into double figures.
In this week’s junior CDCA games, the under 14s play Birregurra at Birregurra on Friday while the under 17s play Irrewarra at Colac's CSC Oval on Tuesday.
In the South West CA junior competitions this weekend, Pomborneit Gold play Pomborneit Maroon in the under 13s tonight (Friday) while the under 16 boys host Heytesbury-Princetown at
Pomborneit on Sunday after their game against Bookaar last weekend was washed out.