General News
19 December, 2024
Sure and steady: Kingower's path to T20 victory
By GARY WALSH IN A FORMAT better known for being fast and furious, Kingower played slow and steady cricket to win the inaugural Upper Loddon T20 final on Sunday. Cool heads prevailed in hot weather, with Kingower taking until the second ball of the...
By GARY WALSH
IN A FORMAT better known for being fast and furious, Kingower played slow and steady cricket to win the inaugural Upper Loddon T20 final on Sunday.
Cool heads prevailed in hot weather, with Kingower taking until the second ball of the 20th over to pass Wedderburn Band’s desperately sub-par 65 all out and take home the Loddon Herald Cup.
In front of a big and enthusiastic crowd, the Band slumped to 2-5 in the third over before skipper Will ‘Buster’ Holt joined Isaac Holt in a 26-run partnership that looked likely to set Wedderburn up for a decent total.
However, after Isaac fell for 18 off 10 balls, including two fours and a six, the innings crumbled. Will Holt probably knew it wasn’t going to be his day when a delivery from Matt Rowe hit him in the stomach, with the ball rolling into his pad and then out again onto the stumps.
Holt’s dismissal for 16 from 14 deliveries left Wedderburn 4-44, but much worse was to come.
The final six wickets fell for only 21 runs, with Rowe (4-13 from 3.3 overs including a maiden) and Lachlan Dejong (3-13 from three overs) doing most of the damage.
The Band’s batting day was done in just the 14th over.
Anyone expecting fireworks from Kingower’s batsmen would have been disappointed, with the first five overs yielding just two scoring shots and four runs.
The bowling from veterans Adam Postle and Will Holt was tight and the fielding was excellent as Wedderburn tried to pile the pressure on Kingower’s chase.
But while the scoring was slow, the Band couldn’t make a breakthrough until the 11th over, with just 25 runs on the board.
Kingower skipper Jayden Leach was well caught by Matt Lockhart from the bowling of Isaac Holt after making 12 from 28 balls, with only three scoring shots – a two, a six and a four – illustrating how Wedderburn was strangling the batting side.
Again, taking wickets was the issue.
Kingower lost its second wicket on 39 in the 14th over when Isaac Holt struck again, but that was the Band’s last success.
Anchored by opener Rowe, comfortably the best player on the day, who added 27 not out from 66 balls to his four-wicket haul, Kingower passed Wedderburn’s total with a four hit by Rowe, with just four balls remaining in the innings.