IT was a round full of upsets in Murray Towns A grade cricket on Saturday, with the underdogs prevailing over their more-fancied rivals in several matches.
The two biggest surprises were Mannum handing out a pasting to the previously undefeated Mypolonga and at LeMessurier Oval, Imperials were able to prevail over second-placed Monarto without their best player Luke Harrowfield.
At Karoonda, the home side went down to Tailem Bend in the inaugural Max Martin tribute match.
The Magpies had disastrous batting collapse which allowed the Eagles to take home the trophy.
Mannum v Mypolonga
A cracking century from Noel Hartman led Mannum to a famous victory over the previously undefeated Mypolonga side.
Hartman slapped the bowlers to all areas of the park on his way to a dashing 114, helping the Kookas to a massive score of 8/271.
Michael Trotter and Dwayne Krollig contributed at the top of the order with 37 runs each opening the batting.
Hartman put on 119 runs with Krollig for the second wicket, followed by a 40-run stand with Travis Gladigau (20).
Most of Mypolonga’s bowlers were expensive, with Gene Robinson (3/35 off 10 overs) the best of them.
In reply Mypolonga got off to the worst possible start losing their two best batsman (Mark Oborn and Aaron Zrim) with just three runs on the board.
The rest was a mere formality as the Tigers stumbled to 127 before they were bowled out, with only Jarad Marsten (35) and Jack Freestone (29) showing any real resistance.
Scott McCulloch did the majority of the damage with 4/25 for Mannum while Danny Walker (2/21) and Brad Schellen (2/13) was also impressive.
Monarto v Imperials
A century to Monarto captain Ty Pfeiffer, the first for the club in A grade for 10 years, was all in vain as Monarto suffered a shock loss to Imperials.
The Blues fielded a side of ring-ins and were without their best player Luke Harrowfield, but that didn’t stop them from posting a monster score of 7/251.
Julian Wait (68 not out) led the charge while Xavier Watson (51), Casey Carr (49) and Tyson Wait (28) also made healthy contributions.
All of Monarto’s bowlers were expensive, with only Dale Leech and Kynan Mann taking multiple wickets.
The Black Caps were left with a huge chase and task was made even harder when they lost Kym Edwards, Sean Samblich and Harry Webb cheaply to be 3/23.
Ty Pfeiffer (105) and Jacob Rance (38) restored things with a 112-run union.
After Rance departed Pfeiffer carried on to his maiden ton in a brilliant knock but he received little assistance from his team-mates as Monarto were eventually reached 9/202 off their allotted overs.
Tyson Wait was Imperials’ best bowler with 3/15 off 10 overs in an economical spell.
Wanderers v Meningie
The star of Simon Williams continues to blaze for Wanderers but it’s not just with the bat that big “Simo” is making a name for himself.
Williams has been a unlikely revelation with the ball for Wanderers this season, and his continued his sublime form on Saturday by completely destroying Meningie.
Williams took 6/25 in a dazzling spell of bowling as Meningie were bowled out for just 50.
Only Stewart Williss (18) reached double figures for the Lakesiders as Williams and Darryl Robinson (2/20) recked havoc with the ball.
Chasing down such a small target was always going to be a mere formality for Wanderers.
They lost two early wickets but Williams (21 not out) and Dion Rehn (16 not out) easily guided them home.
Karoonda v Tailem Bend
Summary sheet not received at time of print.
Karoonda played host to Tailem Bend in the first ever Max Martin tribute match in what will become an annual event.
Tailem Bend struggled in their innings, limping to a score of only 132.
Sam Baum (45) and Guy Hewitt (30) weree the stand out performers for the visitors.
In reply, Karoonda only managed 91 runs with Tailem Bend’s Dennis Baxter (4/11) and Tim Berling (3/35) playing against his former side, doing the damage with the ball.
Tailem Bend captain Brad Klening also proved affective taking two wickets for only eight runs.
Email a friend