A BLEND of both of Mansfield’s U12 teams set out for Benalla last Saturday to play one last game before the Christmas break, facing Yarrawonga Mulwala Bulls.

Captain Billy Briggs won the toss for Delatite and chose to send the opposition in.

Both Bulls openers were in good form and scored strongly from the start, headed by captain Benji Wollington who made 32 from 14 balls before being bowled by Max Strong.

A mini collapse then followed, with wickets to Spencer Yencken, Ethan Jones and Alex Craddock slowing the Bulls down from 0/42 to 4/60.

The Bulls’ lower order started hitting out after drinks, quickly reaching 113 for no further loss.

Retirements brought the last of the Bulls’ batters to the crease, who were both dealt with by Craddock in his second over – one bowled and one a direct-hit runout from Craddock fielding his own bowling.

The return of retired batters again saw runs pile on, and when Strong and Briggs took the last two wickets the damage had been done, the Bulls finishing on 136.

Delatite’s bowling and fielding efforts were the highlight of their season so far, with four catches taken (and none dropped), a run-out and the lowest number of extras given up all year.

Despite the daunting target, Delatite openers Strong and Briggs made an excellent start, and even after Strong was caught the rest of the top and middle order kept runs flowing.

Five retirements showed that the team’s efforts at training have been paying off, and the team made it to 68 before the second wicket fell.

Ethan Jones, pushing the pace as is now the norm, was run out when his reluctant partner refused to heed his ‘Yes’ call.

Nine of the ten Delatite batters made a score, with six of them hitting at least one boundary.

While the final score of 78 was well short of the mark, this was the most all-round batting effort seen by a Delatite team this season.

We wish all our players a fantastic Christmas and New Year, and we’re looking forward to seeing our teams back on the park, decked out in all their new Christmas-present kit, when they return in mid-January.