Sport
1 March, 2026
Weekend scare before sealing Year of the Undefeated
BOORT Yando junior cricketers have taken out their third Upper Loddon premiership on the trot, but not before a brave effort from the Bridgewater Bulls in the grand final.
The Magpies’ 96-run win completed an unbeaten season for the second year in a row.
However, the Bulls became the first side this season to dismiss Boort Yando, with Ned Wickham taking a remarkable 6-17 as the Magpies were all out for 142 off just 27.3 overs on the first day of the match at Wedderburn’s Market Square.
Only Jake O’Flaherty, with a sparkling 43 off 25 balls with eight fours, was able to convert a start against the resolute Bridgewater attack.
Next best was Samuel McClelland’s 24 not out from 29 deliveries as the Magpies’ vaunted batting lineup struggled to build strong partnerships.
The innings went along at a rollicking pace, but wickets fell steadily.
At 8-100, Boort Yando looked to be in big trouble until the last two wickets added 42 more runs.
Wickham’s brilliant career-best spell came off 9.3 overs, with three maidens and an economy rate of only 1.78 runs an over.
Other bowlers were expensive, with Xavier Power (2-44 off seven), Jenson Birthisel (1-29 off five) and Connor Alexander (1-31 off five) taking wickets but not stemming the run flow. Isaac Ferguson’s only over went for 17 as the Magpies hit out.
When it came their turn to bat, the Bulls needed a steady start, but disaster struck in the first over. Alexander, having earlier edged a ball through slips for four, took off for a single despite hitting the ball straight to a fielder and his opening partner Ferguson was run out by metres without facing a ball.
The young Bulls were clearly jittery and there was a lot of chirp from the Boort Yando fielders as their bowlers went to work. Alexander and Nate Harrison steadied the ship with a careful partnership, but wickets tumbled at an alarming rate.
Alexander’s patient 13 from 49 balls was his side’s top score, with Bridgewater only able to hit four boundaries in its innings.
The last six wickets fell for 15 runs as the Bulls struggled to 9-46 from 27.5 overs.
All of the Magpie bowlers were notably miserly, with player of the season O’Flaherty taking 1-6 from seven overs, four of them maidens.
Luke Boyd claimed 1-1 from two overs, Brodie McPherson 2-5 from five, Owen Byrne 2-4 from two, Anshel Sanil 1-2 off 0.5 overs and Finlay Arnold 1-14 from his seven overs.
Boort Yando’s continued junior dominance made them clear premiership favourites from round one, but Bridgewater, with an average age of only about 12, played impressively to make the final and showed great improvement throughout the season.
Boort Yando 10-142 d Bridgewater 9-46
Boort Yando
Owen Byrne lbw Ned Wickham 1
Jacob Malone b Xavier Power 18
Cooper Gooding b Ned Wickham 18
J O’Flaherty c V Harrison b C Alexander 43
Luke Boyd b Xavier Power 4
B McPherson c C Alexander b J Birthisel 1
Samuel McClelland not out 24
Finlay Arnold c ? b Ned Wickham 1
Sidney Caine lbw Ned Wickham 1
Archer Lee lbw Ned Wickham 16
Pranav Sharma b Ned Wickham 9
Extras 17 (9wd, 4nb, 4b)
Total 142 (27.3 overs)
Fall of wickets: Owen Byrne 1-1, Cooper Gooding 2-33, Jake O’Flaherty 3-92, Jacob Malone 4-92, Brodie McPherson 5-93, Luke Boyd 6-97, Finlay Arnold 7-100, Sidney Caine 8-100, Archer Lee 9-124, Pranav Sharma 10-142.
Bowling: Connor Alexander 5-0-31-1, Ned Wickham 9.3-3-17-6, Jenson Birthisel 5-2-29-1, Xavier Power 7-1-44-2, Isaac Ferguson 1-0-17-0.
Bridgewater
C Alexander c C Gooding b L Boyd 13
Isaac Ferguson run out Sidney Caine 0
Nate Harrison c O Byrne b J O’Flaherty 2
Jenson Birthisel b Finlay Arnold 5
Ned Wickham c and b B McPherson 7
Xavier Power b Brodie McPherson 2
Angus Ferguson c ? b Owen Byrne 1
Jed Harrison c J O’Flaherty b O Byrne 1
Van Harrison not out 0
Noah Power c Luke Boyd b Anshel Sanil 9
Extras 17 (11wd, 6b)
Total 46 (27.5 overs)
Fall of wickets: Isaac Ferguson 1-4, Nate Harrison 2-15, Jenson Birthisel 3-31, Ned Wickham 4-34, Xavier Power 5-39, Angus Ferguson 6-43, Jed Harrison 7-43, Connor Alexander 8-43, Noah Power 9-46.
Bowling: Finlay Arnold 7-2-14-1, Jake O’Flaherty 7-4-6-1, Brodie McPherson 5-3-6-2, Jacob Malone 4-2-7-0, Owen Byrne 2-1-4-2, Luke Boyd 2-1-1-1, Anshel Sanil 0.5-0-12-1.