Sport
10 January, 2025
Beaufort hopeful of victory over home team Carisbrook
Carisbrook will return from the mid-season break hoping to reduce the gap to third-placed Beaufort when they welcome the Crows to Carisbrook Recreation Reserve.
The hosts will be looking to build on one of their strongest performances of the season against Colts Phelans, making 211 in the first innings anchored by a hard-hitting 55 by Liam Hurse and a controlled 46 from Jordan Hooper.
Carisbrook also showed promise in their bowling innings and only started to lose control of the tie due to a brilliant 143-run partnership from Charlie Scorer and Max Jackson.
As for Beaufort, they will hope the holiday break will help rejuvenate themselves following two straight losses against the teams above them in the ladder.
Falling just short in a one-day classic against Colts Phelans that denied them back-to-back one-day finals appearances, it was followed by a loss to Laanecoorie Dunolly by 223 runs.
While not the ideal start to their red-ball season, the Crows will be confident of repeating their round three performance where they bested Carisbrook by 81 runs.
Jayden Scotland’s 46 and exceptional bowling from Thomas Alexander and Lachlan Oddie were key to that victory, and they will be looking to replicate that production.
The triad is leading the way in the club’s wicket-taking charts, with Alexander’s 14 wickets good enough for second in the competition behind Laanecoorie Dunolly’s Alex Cook.
Alongside their bowling prowess, Oddie and Alexander have impressed with the bat in their hand, already surpassing 100 runs this season alongside teammates Kriss Ellis (130 runs) and Thomas Grant (116).
Carisbrook pair Dean Nalder and Hurse are also among the 17 players who have broken the 100-run barrier, making them a key fixture in Carisbrook’s lineup.
Their combined 325 runs have contributed 43 percent of their team’s overall runs this season, providing a consistent flow of runs with each averaging around 40.
That doesn’t mean they haven’t been well supported in their efforts, as Martin Mark, William Coutts and Christopher Lee played a huge role with the bat in their sole victory against Clunes in round four.
Nalder and Hurse will also look to damage the Crows’ batting lineup with the ball and will be joined by Cole Harris and Atticus Cullinan as other key players in their efforts.
Nalder and Harris currently share top spot in wickets taken with six, while Cullinan and Hurse are close behind with five each.
With both teams only having two games left on their regular season calendar after this, a win for the Crows would put them in a very strong position to finish no lower than third.
Carisbrook can put themselves level on points with Beaufort if they get a victory, while also widening the gap between themselves and Clunes for the last finals spot if the Magpies are unable to defeat Colts Phelans.