Following an interrupted January which saw just one round played in three weeks after the Christmas break, the Bushrangers travelled to HP Barr Reserve in Wangaratta on Saturday to take on City Colts, claiming a one-wicket victory in heart stopping circumstances.
Losing the toss and being asked to bowl, Benalla made a solid start in the field as Fletcher Paul claimed the opening breakthrough in the fourth over of the contest, reducing City Colts to 1-16, and kept the pressure on over the following 10 overs, making life difficult for the Colts batters.
Runs dried up as the Bushrangers continued to turn the screws, before skipper Brayden Stepien snared two wickets in the space of three balls to have the home side three wickets down for 34 runs.
It would be Stepien again to break the next partnership the Colts formed, snaring his third as the home side slumped to 4-54, however a middle order fightback saw the momentum shift, with the Colts fighting back with the bat.
Partnerships of 43 and 46 runs, respectively, helped the home side beyond 100 and in sight of 150, before Dale Stratton (2-46) managed to stem the flow on both occasions, leaving the contest relatively even, as the Colts sat at 6-143 with 41 overs bowled.
Two wickets in two balls to start the 42nd over saw Conor Brodie on a hat-trick, as the Colts fell to 8-143, however, it would be the final scalp Benalla claimed, as the home side batted out the final few overs for no loss, posting a total of 8-165.
With a manageable total of 166 needed for the win, Benalla’s chase could hardly have got off to a more disastrous start, with Jonty Priest, Stepien and James Carboon falling inside five overs, leaving the visitors in real trouble at 3-12.
Vishal Sharma continued to play his shots despite the carnage, making his way to 17 from 9, including three boundaries, however, he too perished, as the Bushrangers slumped to 4-37, while Vaughan Kirk was at the crease as Benalla passed the 50-run mark, but not much longer, succumbing for 11 to leave the Bushies at 5-53 with 12 overs bowled.
Lucas Ham joined Dylan Barber at the crease, with the pair patiently ticking off the runs, adding 35 together to reach 88 before Ham made way, with the Bushrangers slumping to 6-88, still 78 runs from victory.
Paul joined Barber out in the middle and, while Barber had batted brilliantly up to that point as the sole batter to make it beyond 20, his innings came to a close on 45, as the Bushrangers’ only threatening player departed to leave them at 7-111, as what seemed to be a comprehensive defeat closed in.
A two-ball duck for Brodie only served to confirm that notion, with Benalla now eight down for 111 and despite youngster Xavier De Fazio making his way to four from five, he too was back in the sheds quickly, as the Bushrangers stared down a big loss at 9-119, 47 runs from victory.
Number 11 Stratton strode out to meet Paul in the middle in the 33rd over and they began chipping away at the runs required, with Paul throwing caution to the wind to smack 17 off the 35th over, hitting a four and two sixes off consecutive deliveries as he threatened to go down in a blaze of glory.
While it became more tame, the runs continued to flow, as over by over the pair came closer and closer to the magical 166-run mark, with Stratton doing his job of surviving at one end, while Paul continued to do the bulk of the scoring.
Soon it became single digits required to win and then in the 40th over, four leg byes tied the scores, leaving Benalla one run away from victory.
It came off the pads of Paul in the next set of six, with the pair steering Benalla to an unlikely one-wicket victory off the back of an astounding 47-run stand, with Paul finishing unbeaten on 44 from 45, while Stratton contributed nine from 34 in a solid innings under pressure.
The remarkable victory ensures sixth-placed Benalla distances itself from the Colts at the bottom of the ladder in seventh, and has the chance to make it two on the trot when it faces fifth-placed Beechworth at Benalla Gardens Oval this Saturday.
