Returning to Benalla Gardens Oval for their round two clash against Delatite Devils, the Bushrangers were dominant with willow in hand largely thanks to an unbeaten century from Jonty Priest, with the opener carrying his bat as the home side posted a massive 5-245 from 45 overs at the weekend.
It initially didn’t look like Benalla was destined for a big score, however, as Priest’s fellow opener James Carboon was sent packing for a duck off the final ball of the first over, leaving the Bushies down 1-11 early.
But new batter Ross Cavill helped to steady the ship alongside Priest, with the pair combining for a 44-run stand to bring up the 50-run milestone for the team before disaster struck, with Cavill (10) and skipper Tom O’Donnell (1) departing within six balls of each other, as Benalla slumped from 1-55 to 3-56 in the blink of an eye.
Priest continued to score at a rapid rate, however, and found himself a solid supporting cast, with Vaughan Kirk rotating the strike brilliantly at one end to combine for a 70-run stand across the next 15 overs, dragging the Bushies to 5-126 by the time he departed for 30.
Craig Williams assumed the role after Kirk’s dismissal and Priest lifted his rate of scoring, too, as the pair added 90 runs in a partnership that lasted 70 overs, with Priest bringing up the magical triple figures just prior to Williams’ dismissal, having made 36 in a vital stand that saw the Bushies to a comfortable position of 5-216 with three overs still remaining.
At better than a run a ball, Fletcher Paul added an unbeaten 18 runs in those final few overs alongside Priest, who ultimately finished not out on 113 from 123 deliveries in a stunning knock, having whacked 12 fours to help the Bushrangers post a mammoth 5-245.
Such was the dominance with the bat, the Bushrangers have now recorded the biggest score in each of the first two rounds of the A-grade competition, while 245 eclipses the highest A-grade score recorded by the Bushies in each of the past three seasons, which includes two-day contests.
With a massive total to defend, the Bushies showed plenty of confidence with the ball, as Tom Osborne (2-28) and O’Donnell (1-21) dismantled the Devils’ top order to have the visitors in trouble early at 3-34.
A brief Delatite fightback saw the visitors reach 3-91, however, Xavier De Fazio (1-24) and Cavill regained the momentum for the home side, the latter snaring a team-best 3-17 including the scalp of Devils opener Earl Ree-Goodings (70) as the Bushrangers reduced the visitors to 7-139.
The Bushrangers never looked in trouble at any stage and cruised to a huge 47-run victory from there, with Brendan Hoornweg (1-23) and Thomas Snell (1-18) picking up late wickets as the Bushies restricted Delatite to 9-198.
With two wins from as many games, the Bushrangers sit comfortably second on the ladder, only behind reigning premier Yarrawonga Mulwala on net run rate, and will look to continue their unbeaten start this weekend when they face Ovens Valley United at RC McNamara Reserve at Myrtleford on Saturday.
