Sport
20 January, 2026
Colts defeat Owls in the battle of Maryborough
Maryborough continues to be Colts country in the world of cricket, with the reigning premiers defeating the Owls for the third time this season.
Another outstanding team bowling performance led by A grade newcomer Liam Stubbings and star recruit Asim Akhtar set the stage for the Colts to bowl Maryborough out for 109, a target Josh Collinson and Ben Evans chased down comfortably.
The Colts elected to bowl first at Hedges Oval after winning the toss, placing the reunited Ben Hoban and Oliver Bennett in to bat, who opened together for the first time since round seven.
Even with Nick Henderson and Dayne Baker allowing finite chances to score early, the talented openers seemed relaxed at the crease.
That all changed when Baker claimed the first wicket of the match when Bennett feathered a ball to wicketkeeper Luke Tatchell, forced to walk back to the changerooms after making nine.
Three balls later, Henderson joined in the fun, removing the dangerous Liam Radlof for naught with the same form of dismissal as the opening breakthrough, a neat catch into the gloves of Tatchell.
With the Owls suddenly 2/14, Martin Dell was quickly thrust into the innings alongside Hoban after scoring an unbeaten 81 in his last knock.
The hard-hitting left-hander didn’t take long to settle in, hitting a six off Henderson with just his sixth ball faced as Maryborough looked to regroup.
Liam Stubbings put the kibosh on those ambitions with just his fifth ball in his A grade season debut, as Hoban was gone for nine after picking out Baker on the leg side.
The new partnership of Alex Burrow and Dell was stubborn in their attempt to stem the bleeding, doubling the Owls’ total before Burrow was bowled by Akhtar for six on the eve of the drinks break.
Maryborough’s 4/60 mark was immediately worsened in the first over after the stoppage, with Liam Stubbings removing Lachlan Bursill for two thanks to a catch by Tarkyn Balzan.
Wickets continued to tumble for the Owls, who were delivered a devastating blow in the 25th over when Dell was gone for 34, caught by Rhys Egan off a Liam Stubbings delivery.
Wayne Stubbings joined Liam amongst the wickets shortly thereafter, claiming his first victim when Elliot Ashburn was caught by Egan for 11 before trapping Bradley Reeves with an LBW dismissal in his next over after he added two.
Youngsters Oliver Cassidy and Jasper Trickey produced an entertaining ninth-wicket stand that generated 17 runs, but that didn’t give much solace for Maryborough as Akhtar steamrolled his way to the last two wickets.
After bowling Cassidy for nine to open the 36th over, Akhtar ended the first innings four balls later when Trickey was caught by Evans for 14.
Akhtar and Liam Stubbings were instrumental in the Colts bowling Maryborough out for 109, finishing with figures of 3/19 from 5.5 overs and 3/22 from eight overs respectively.
With captain Rhys Wagstaff unavailable, Evans was promoted to open the Colts runchase alongside Balzan for the first time since round three.
The new pairing got the hosts rolling with 35 runs in the opening seven overs, but Balzan’s knock suddenly hit a massive Hoban roadblock when the Maryborough seamer dismissed the Colts opener for 16 thanks to a catch from Sam Thomson.
An architect of numerous Colts run chases this season, Josh Collinson wasted no time asserting his control when he joined Evans at the crease, hitting two fours in his first six balls.
The Owls threw every element of their available arsenal at the new partnership, even electing to have Bennett bowl his first overs of the season, but nothing was stopping Collinson and Evans from virtually sealing the result at the drinks break with the Colts at 1/96.
As Collinson looked to complete his second half-century of the season, he found himself caught in a Trickey trap on 49, with the young spinner earning his wicket with a catch from Burrow.
Clearly not incentivised to wait around, Akhtar scored a two and a mammoth six off Trickey with his first two balls to complete the run chase in the 23rd over, placing a bow on the Colts eight-wicket victory.
Evans did a wonderful job deputising for Wagstaff at the top of the order, ending his disciplined innings not out on 34.
Hoban (1/15 off four overs) and Trickey (1/19 off 3.4 overs) were rewarded for their efforts with the ball for Maryborough with a wicket each.