Sport
20 January, 2026
Clunes snap 20-game winless voodoo with three-wicket victory at Beaufort
After a gruelling 672 days since their last sip, Clunes finally enjoyed the tastes of A grade victory, resuscitating their finals chances with a complete team performance that overpowered Beaufort by three wickets.
Despite import Theo Trevelyan-Clark producing his best inning on Australian soil with an entertaining 71 that ensured the Bulls set a challenging target of 173, the Magpies showed a level of batting depth that’s been lacking this season, with seven players scoring double digits.
Beaufort maintains the coveted fourth spot, but is now under imminent threat from the Magpies and Carisbrook, as only 12 points separate the three teams.
Beaufort won the toss and elected to bat first, keen to score some early runs against a perceived under-manned Clunes attack that was without frontline spinner Ritik Yadav and seamer Dylan Davies.
Teenager Brett Coon stepped up to open the bowling alongside Noah Davies and delivered a wicket with his fifth ball, removing Kriss Ellis when he was caught by Anthony Ellis for three.
Clunes’ quicks continued to pile on pressure after their early breakthrough, with Noah Davies, Brett Coon and fellow teenager Charlie Erickson allowing just 10 runs in the first eight overs.
Trevelyan-Clark got the hosts firing with a six off an Erickson no-ball. From there, the partnership quickly blossomed before Paul Coon struck in the 15th over, bowling Dyer for 19.
That brought Lachlan Oddie to the middle alongside Trevelyan-Clark, with the pair navigating tidy spells from Paul Coon and Ahmed Rehman to enter the drinks break at 2/72.
Following the interval, the talented duo looked poised to place Beaufort in a dominant position, scoring 35 runs in the next five overs as Trevelyan-Clark accelerated towards his first half-century in Bulls colours.
A double bowling change did the trick for Clunes, as Brett Coon stuck with his second over back into the attack thanks to a sharp caught and bowled that snagged the big wicket of Trevelyan-Clark.
While disappointed not to cash in with a maiden hundred, Trevelyan-Clark’s 71 with eight fours and two sixes placed the Bulls in a commanding position as their leading run-scorer, Jarrod Blandford, came to the crease.
His stay was short-lived however, as Mark Allen knocked the castle of Blandford for seven as the left-hander missed a slog sweep.
That breakthrough turned the tide for the visitors, as an untimely miscommunication between Oddie and Lyle Aichroth two overs later led to Brett Coon and Jude McGuire running out Oddie, ending his promising innings at 28.
Aichroth joined Oddie back in the sheds three balls later, castled for one by Noah Davies as Beaufort quickly found itself 6/138.
With 39 balls remaining, Bulls captain Brandon Walsh and Adam Miller added a further 20 runs before Miller was bowled by Allen for five in the penultimate over.
Walsh added valuable insurance runs alongside Jayden Scotland at the death, with his unbeaten 22 from 18 balls bringing Beaufort to 7/172.
While Brett Coon (2/20) and Allen (2/39) were the leading wicket-takers, Noah Davies and Rehman were just as important for Clunes with their impressive consistency.
With a difficult yet achievable objective set, openers Anthony Ellis and Noah Davies looked to get the Magpies running against Trevelyan-Clark and the season-debuting Scotland.
After a reasonable start, Trevelyan-Clark scored the opening breakthrough in the ninth over, hitting the stump of Anthony Ellis for 13.
Rehman and Noah Davies navigated past the Bulls’ starting seamers, leading to the introduction of Beaufort spin duo Walsh and Oddie.
It didn’t take long for Walsh to claim his 21st victim of the season, ending an entertaining innings from Noah Davies at 20 after he was caught by Aichroth.
With the Magpies now at 2/52, the new partnership of Rehman and Allen attempted to bring their team into the drinks break unscathed.
As the new pairing reached the precipice of the interval, Oddie nailed a counter punch for the Bulls when Rehman hit his delivery to Trevelyan-Clark, caught for 16.
Following Rehman’s dismissal, the Magpies reached the halfway mark of their innings in a near identical position to Beaufort at 3/77.
With Oddie and Blandford bowling well after the break, Mitch Coppick and Allen were forced to wait for their scoring opportunities, punishing the rare loose ball to the boundary.
Runs were beginning to flow for the Clunes veterans before the partnership suddenly ended when Coppick was caught by Harrison Grant for 21 off the bowling of Blandford.
Blandford had his second wicket in his next over, removing the new man in Nicholas Hind for four with the help of a catch from Oddie.
Shortly thereafter, Walsh delivered a destructive blow by getting Allen to hold out to Scotland, ending his knock on 35.
With three wickets in the space of six overs, Beaufort looked in prime position to add another heartbreakingly narrow defeat to Clunes’ winless streak catalogue, with the Magpies still needing 44 runs from 46 balls.
Luckily for Clunes, their bats were in the hands of McGuire and Brenton Jones.
Reminiscent of their innings-saving stand against the Bulls back in round seven, the duo raced towards the finish line with smart running and a Jones boundary flourish.
Despite Jones being bowled by Blandford for 18 in the 37th over, the 37-run quickfire partnership decided the match, with Brett Coon smashing the game-winning boundary in the next over.
McGuire was vital to Clunes snapping their winless run, finishing unbeaten on 18 from just 24 balls while Blandford led Beaufort’s bowling with figures of 3/30.