Sport
8 January, 2024
Clunes in position to take outright win
Clunes will be seeking an outright victory on the second day of their match against Carisbrook on Saturday after a dominant day one display. The Magpies were led superbly by Jaxon Smyth and Lachlan Morganti with the ball, while captain Mitch Coppick...
Clunes will be seeking an outright victory on the second day of their match against Carisbrook on Saturday after a dominant day one display.
The Magpies were led superbly by Jaxon Smyth and Lachlan Morganti with the ball, while captain Mitch Coppick and Jude McGuire did the job with the bat to ensure they would lead by 115 runs after the first day’s play.
Both teams were seeking a quick start, and it was Clunes who got the initial breakthrough, as Cole Harris nicked a Morganti ball straight to McGuire behind the stumps.
Soon, Smyth would get his first wicket of the day, with Jarryd Coghlan hitting a delivery straight to Josh Dunn for no score.
Morganti would have a second wicket when he bowled Martin Mark for three, and not long afterwards, he would have a third wicket when he trapped Brayden Wright in front for LBW.
With three quick wickets, Morganti was fired up, and it rubbed off on the rest of the team, with Smyth claiming his second wicket when he bowled Ritik Yadav for four.
Daniel Burnett, making his first A grade appearance of the season, would get in on the act too, claiming the wicket of Elliot Cullinan for no score after hitting one straight to Brendan Ingram.
Noah Davies would soon make his mark, firstly claiming the wicket of Nick Broad after bowling him, before later on getting the key wicket of Dean Nalder, who top-scored with 27, trapping him in front for LBW.
Smyth would collect the final two wickets in what was a wild 28 overs for the Magpies, bowling Cooper Mark for seven, before Atticus Cullinan hit a ball straight to Dunn for his second catch of the innings, as Carisbrook were all out for 62.
Smyth bowled well to finish with four wickets for 12 runs off 9.4 overs, which included five maidens.
From just five overs, Morganti made an impact, taking three wickets while conceding 12 runs, while Davies (2/11) and Burnett (1/12) also contributed.
Carisbrook desperately needed to make an instant impact if they were to keep themselves in the game.
But it wasn’t forthcoming, with Anthony Ellis and Brenton Jones getting the Magpies off to a solid start.
Jones was first to go, however, with James Adam luring him into a shot straight to Atticus for 10.
McGuire came out and played a trademark innings of controlled aggression, scoring at a quick run-rate.
The only blight during McGuire’s innings was the loss of Ellis for 23, before Morganti departed after just three balls, with Yadav making an impact to take both wickets on his debut for the Brookers.
Regardless, McGuire was tracking along well, scoring 10 fours and a six, and along with Coppick, the duo were able to make good headway as Clunes looked to establish a comfortable first-innings lead with the points secured.
McGuire’s innings finished on 57, with Elliot luring him into a shot straight to Martin.
Yadav would take his third wicket when Mark Allen hit a ball straight to Cooper.
But Coppick, as well as Brendan Ingram, would negotiate the rest of the day’s play, with Coppick finishing up with an unbeaten 61 — his top score of the season so far, while Ingram was unbeaten on eight.
Yadav was super impressive for Carisbrook, with his 14 overs yielding figures of 3/16, as well as seven maidens, while Adam (1/15) and Elliot (1/10) were the other key wicket-takers.
