General News
7 February, 2025
Postle, Benaim make ’em sweat
By GARY WALSH IN STIFLING heat, Kingower was made to sweat for its win over Wedderburn Band in their two-day clash which confirmed the Gower will finish on top of the Upper Loddon senior ladder. Resuming at 2-54 chasing a modest 138 for victory...
By GARY WALSH
IN STIFLING heat, Kingower was made to sweat for its win over Wedderburn Band in their two-day clash which confirmed the Gower will finish on top of the Upper Loddon senior ladder.
Resuming at 2-54 chasing a modest 138 for victory, Kingower batted steadily to reach 3-105 off 44 overs, with only skipper Jayden Leach having fallen on the day.
It took a stunning catch from veteran Danny Benaim off Band captain Will Holt to dismiss the competition’s highest run scorer for a restrained 19 off 64 balls when the score was 67.
Kyle Simpson joined Ben Rose, who was unbeaten last week on nine, and the scoring tempo improved.
While Rose (14 off 78 balls) held up his end, big-hitting Simpson looked to have guaranteed a Kingower win before he was fifth out for 40 off 60 deliveries with the score on 111.
Simpson and Rose’s 38-run partnership put their side on the cusp of victory, but the quick departures of Blake Pickles for a seven-ball duck and Lachlan Dejong for five had Wedderburn well and truly back in the game.
A collapse of 4-13 saw Kingower reduced to 7-118, still needing 20 runs.
Junior star Ryley Murphy came to the crease to join David Rose, who was on two, and smacked a four from the first ball he faced.
But Benaim and Adam Postle, defying their ages, were bowling beautifully as Kingower crept towards the target.
At the end of the 57th over, the Gower was level but then followed a tension-filled finale.
Will Holt replaced Benaim, who had taken 3-31 with his loopy spinners, and two maidens kept Kingower stuck fast on 137.
Postle, who had bowled tirelessly through 24 overs on top of the endless running involved in fielding at fine leg, bowled two more dot balls before Murphy, who had batted resolutely for nine overs, edged a ball through the slips cordon to the boundary.
Murphy’s 13 included three fours, while David Rose’s experience showed in the nervous last minutes as he soaked up 39 balls in making 12 not out.
Postle’s 3-35, in a marathon effort that saw him bowl nine maidens, was a tremendous feat in a losing cause.
The win ensures Kingower will enter the finals on top of the ladder and face the fourth-placed team in its first final, certain to be Boort Yando.
With three teams – Kingower, Wedderburn and Arnold – largely unchallenged as the best sides in the competition, top spot gives the Gower an apparently clear advantage in the chase for the grand final.
However, as Arnold showed last year when it finished last in a four-team competition and then went on to win both finals and the premiership, nothing is guaranteed.
Kingower has the bye for the next two weekends, as two-day clashes pit Boort Yando against Wedderburn and Bridgewater Bulls against Arnold in the season’s penultimate round.
Bridgewater was forced to forfeit against Boort Yando for lack of players.
The two teams had agreed on a one-day match after the Bulls were unable to field a team on the first Saturday of the game, but Bridgewater again fell short on numbers.
The forfeit means the Bulls will finish last on the ladder, while Boort Yando will most likely face Kingower in the first week of the finals, although the Magpies may be able to sneak into third place if results fall their way.