U12s battle hard against strong opposition

MANSFIELD'S U12s travelled side-by-side to Benalla on Saturday morning to face teams well above them on the ladder. The results did mirror the teams’ respective standings for the season, but Mansfield’s most junior cricketers remain undimmed and eager to improve. Gold took on Yarrawonga Mulwala Bulls, and after winning the toss, they sent the Bulls in. All Bulls batters got off to good starts, but none came close to captain Benji Wollington, who clubbed 29 from 23 balls. The traffic was not all one-way, with six wickets being taken throughout the innings, spread amongst five bowlers. Alex Craddock took a well-deserved caught-and-bowled wicket, while Cecily Smith snagged her first catch for the season off the bowling of Jay Kancherla. Leo Hoffrichter also chipped in, bowling a red-hot Zane Rickhuss (22 from 16) to take his first wicket in only his second game for the club. Jack Middleton proved to be the pick of the bowlers, taking 2/11. Another healthy service of extras by Gold helped the Bulls reach the lofty total of 6/127 from their twenty overs. Captain Noah Heaysman again experimented with the Gold batting lineup by placing himself and brother Xavier down the list, and it somewhat paid off. Both Heaysmans scored the most runs for the team, but of the rest of the top and middle order, only opener Ethan Jones made more than five runs. Opening bowler Bobby Best did the most damage, taking an impressive 3/1 off his three overs. Delatite finished all out for 55. Blue faced Benalla Bushrangers Green on the adjacent oval at Arundel Street, batting first. Max Strong was unable to build on recent good form with the bat, falling early, whereas fellow opener Billy Briggs kept his wicket and scored freely as his innings went on, claiming a team-high of 18 runs. Unfortunately, he could do nothing but watch on as partners at the other end came and went, with four out of the next six batters failing to trouble the scorers. A generous number of extras helped Blue reach a more respectable total, but 45 was never going to be enough. A small target to defend never dims club speedster Jack Pollard, who has a Scott Boland-like ability to claim early wickets. This weekend, he did so in style with his first delivery, nicking off opener Finlay Parker, leaving Green at 1/0 after a nice catch from keeper Pax Smith. Alex Manning claimed a wicket in his first and the team’s fourth over, but it wasn’t until Pollard returned in the tenth over that another wicket fell, thanks to a runout from Briggs. Green kept the scoreboard ticking over freely and quickly passed the victory target, batting out their twenty overs to reach 5/104. For the second-last round of the season, Blue will host Benalla Bushrangers’ Blue team, while Gold will face fellow struggling team Wangaratta Magpies White with the hope of snagging their first victory of the season.

U12s battle hard against strong opposition

Cricket burnt out

C-grade surge continues

Merton dominates Beechworth/Stanley on home turf

Delatite U16s put in great effort

Delatite B Grade still hopeful

Rufous Whistler – arrival of a summer songbird

Bombers go back-to-back in A grade

“No stone unturned” – Police committed to the long-haul in manhunt

Start your engines, Wilby Drags are back

Most popular stories