A cohesive bowling attack saw Bamawm Lockington United return to the winners’ list on Saturday.
BLU held A-grade rivals Nondies Cohuna to a paltry 99, a score then easily reeled in by their own top-order batters.
Playing at Bamawm, BLU pounced on the competition newbies early, sending opener Josh Novoselek back to the clubhouse for a duck.
Nondies Cohuna tried to get partnerships going, with Daniel Cooke (29 runs), Patrick Doyle (17) and skipper Rhys Bradley (12) the team’s top-scorers.
But once the fifth wicket fell for 71, Nondies Cohuna had nowhere to hide, losing its final wickets for 28 runs.
BLU co-captain Luke Thompson feasted on Nondies Cohuna batters, nabbing 5-5 from 8.2 overs, while Cody Thompson and Sandun Ranathunga helped proceedings by snaring two wickets apiece.
BLU co-captain Joe Holloway said it was the first time for the season the team executed its attack entirely to plan.
“We bowled to plan for the full 45 overs and ended up getting Nondies Cohuna for a pretty cheap score,” Holloway said.
“Luke, he opened the bowling and then came back through the middle.
“He probably bowled without a lot of luck in our first few games, but 5-5 from 8.2 overs is a pretty incredible game for him.
“But he was certainly helped by the other guys. All our six bowlers did a really job.”
Needing a similar bowling performance of their own, Nondies Cohuna got an early scalp in BLU opener Rathika Rajakumara.
But the game was then all but over, as teen Liam Hamilton (55 not out) and Sandun Ranathunga (40 not out) raced to triple digits in just under 27 overs.
After losing his family’s home to a fire on Friday night (see page 1), Hamilton hit the field in one of the best performances of the young season so far.
“It was a pretty incredible performance for Liam after what had happened, to still front up,” Holloway said.
“It showed a lot of character and grit, and he will be an extremely big asset for us for the rest of the season and moving forward.”
Ranathunga’s efforts also added to his strong start to the season with both bat and ball, after the all-rounder crossed from Huntly.
“It’s been great to get Sandun across at the start of the year and he’s had an unbelievable start to the season,” Holloway said.
“He provides us with a lot of leadership in the field, and when he gets out there to bat, he takes it upon himself to make sure he doesn’t leave too much out there for the rest of us to do.”
Looking ahead to round five, BLU and Nondies Cohuna will battle Echuca South and Moama respectively in the two-day format from Saturday.
Holloway said his team was excited about the return of two-day cricket.
“We’ve got a really good bunch of cricketers at the moment; Liam is a guy who will thrive in two-day, and Cody has been bowling extremely well,” Holloway said.
“Those young kids we’ve been bringing through in the last couple years will really go well in the longer format.”
