Game 1 – SEDA College SA (7/246) defeated Marryatville HS (8/113) by 135 runs.
Our 2023 campaign kicked off at Marryatville High. Things didn’t start super-well with Aden dislocating a finger in the warm-up! We lost the toss and got sent into bat on a grassy pitch. We lost early wickets, but counter-attacked with Ryan hitting a quick-fire 25 at the top. MHS ripped through our middle order, losing 4/18 and slumping our way to 7/95 at 20 overs.
Will and Sam kept things steady after drinks, before it was time to up the scoring rate. With 131 runs from the last 15 overs, Sam brought up his maiden ton, hitting 103* (inc. 15 fours and a six), while Will smashed it to all parts, hitting 78* from just 66 balls (inc. 7 fours and 4 huge sixes). The pair finished with a huge 155-run partnership.
With the ball, Will continued his outstanding performances with a wicket in the first over. Some tight bowling from our openers kept them to 1/17 off 10 overs. Keaton made a breakthrough, which was followed by Jude’s elite spell of 3/14 from his 6 overs, including a sharp stumping from Mitch. Wickets were then shared between Michael, Harry J, and Lachy, and catches went to Ben, Will, and Michael, as we kept MHS to 8/113.
A great all-round performance! Record: 1-0
Game 2 – SEDA College SA (10/149) defeated Eastern Fleurieu School (10/103) by 46 runs.
In our second game, we set off to Strathalbyn to take on EFS. We batted first on a bouncy hard-wicket. We lost an early wicket, before Harry W hit a few to the fence before being dismissed for 25. We lost gradual wickets throughout the middle order, with many scores in the teens. Isaac stuck around for a well-made 20, with Harry J hitting 2 bombs, and Will hitting a ridiculous reverse-sweep towards the back end. We finished on a defendable 149.
We came out firing with the ball, Ben getting one of their openers with his second ball, while the other ran himself out (quite scared of Will’s rapid bouncers), a direct hit by Ben at mid-off. A small partnership was quickly broken again by Ben, knocking the stumps out the ground.
Keaton took 2 key wickets in the middle, while Michael chipped in with another to have them 6/60. Some firepower hitting from the EFS middle order brought the game back into balance, but Jude got the key wicket of their main run-scorer. Harry J and Ben cleaned up the tail, and Ben finished with 4/22. EFS finished all out for 103.
Shoutout to Amos, Taylor, and co. for finding our bus to Strath!
Now for the big dance! Record: 2-0
Written by Ben De Conno