Katamatite and Deniliquin faced off at Katamatite Recreation Reserve in the opening round of MVCA action on Saturday, and it took until the final ball of the Rhinos’ innings for a winner to be determined.
In a stunning finale, it was Deniliquin that prevailed, with Lachlan Holloway the hero, claiming a two-wicket win to cruelly deny the Tigers a first-up win.
Having lost the toss, the Tigers were sent in to bat, and while opener Oliver Mynard was dismissed for just one run early on, number three batsman Ewan Wilson joined Lachlan Raggett at the crease, and the pair set about bashing the Deniliquin bowlers all over the park.
In a swashbuckling stand the duo put on 100 runs together, dragging Katamatite to 1-115 before Raggett was eventually dismissed for an action-packed 58 from 45 deliveries, which saw the ball find the rope on 11 occasions and clear it twice.
At 2-115 skipper Brandon Nicholls joined Wilson at the crease, and Wilson took up the mantle of scoring quickly, belting 10 fours and clearing the boundary completely four times before he was sent packing, but not before clubbing 77 from 51 balls.
After Wilson fell the Tigers sat at 3-148, and an even contest between bat and ball followed, with handy contributions from Nicholls (22 from 44) and number nine Desmond O’Kane (26 off 21) helping the Tigers to a total of 235 runs, however Rhinos bowlers Anthony Bradley (3-23), Holloway (2-48) and Rory Bartlett (2-57) did well to curtail the innings, bringing it to an end in the 44th over.
With a solid total to defend, the Katamatite bowling attack had room to work, and got off to a solid start with ball in hand, with Archie Daniel (1-31) removing Deniliquin skipper Griegan French for five, leaving the Rhinos down 1-17.
Nicholls (2-54) snared the next two scalps to keep Katamatite in the contest, however both Brad Todd (36) and Harry Hillier (34) had made solid contributions, meaning the game was well and truly in the balance with the Rhinos at 3-107.
Jude Keates (1-22) removed the dangerous Charlie Paton (49) to have the Rhinos 4-145, stopping some of the momentum the visitors had gained and swinging it in the Tigers’ favour, as they went on to claim the next four wickets for 46 runs, leaving Deniliquin in a precarious position at 8-191 in the 40th over after some fine bowling from Wilson (2-52) and Ben Lukies (2-32).
Katamatite was in the box seat, as Deniliquin still required 45 runs to win with 32 balls remaining as Holloway (38 not-out off 24 balls) made his way to the crease, and they didn’t have the luxury of wickets in hand either.
But in stunning scenes, Holloway and Rowan Frazer (6 not-out) combined over the next four overs to simplify the equation, belting 33 runs to leave the Rhinos needing 12 off the final six balls to win.
Wilson had the ball in hand for Katamatite, and was forced to watch as Holloway made two off the first ball, then sent one over the rope off the second, leaving the Rhinos needing four runs from the final four balls.
The Deniliquin pair scampered through for a single from a bye on the third delivery of the final over, leaving Frazer on strike, but Frazer duly turned the strike over again with a single off the fourth ball of the over, leaving the Rhinos needing two runs from two balls to win, and putting Holloway back on strike.
Wilson managed a dot ball with his fifth delivery, keeping Katamatite ahead with the final ball remaining, however it would be Holloway and the Rhinos that would emerge victorious, sneaking through for two off the final ball to reach the 236 required to win by two wickets in an extraordinary finish.
In other results, reigning premier Cobram tore through Katunga at Katunga Recreation Reserve, bowling the home side out for 75 before chasing down the 76 runs needed for the loss of three wickets, recording a seven-wicket win inside 20 overs.
Barooga proved far too strong for Tocumwal at Barooga Recreation Reserve, with skipper Riyaad Henry leading the way for the Hawks, belting the top score of 83 as the home side posted a huge total of 8-260, before snaring match-best figures of 4-20 to restrict Tocumwal to 8-167 from its 45 overs, securing a 93-run victory for the Hawks.
