Sport
26 October, 2023
Crows and Owls play off in fascinating bird battle
An intriguing encounter pits last start winners Beaufort against winless Maryborough on Saturday. The Crows are still an outside chance to make it to the T20 grand final, however, they will need an enormous amount to go right — specifically...
An intriguing encounter pits last start winners Beaufort against winless Maryborough on Saturday.
The Crows are still an outside chance to make it to the T20 grand final, however, they will need an enormous amount to go right — specifically, defeating the Owls and Laanecoorie Dunolly, then relying on results to go against Carisbrook and Clunes.
More importantly, however, the Crows are just relishing returning to the winners list for the first time since February 2022.
Their T20 win against Colts Phelans on Sunday came after an all-time knock from Lachlan Oddie, who powered his way to an unbeaten 101 to make the first century in the competition’s shortest format.
Perhaps most importantly, the team had other top order batsmen step up to the plate when they needed it most — a problem that has plagued them early in the season.
Jack Smith was a handy foil for Oddie, scoring 30 before going out. Considering the Crows, in their two T20 matches beforehand, were 3/15 against Carisbrook and 6/17 against Clunes, it was a nice change of pace to finish 4/172.
The Owls have yet to score above 100 in the T20 competition this season, and had to forfeit their game last Sunday against Laane.
However, in their one-day game, there were some positive signs that a few batsmen may have found their groove.
Tom Hart was good value for his 63 off 44 deliveries, while Mitch McClure likewise started off well, making 26 off 17.
Admittedly, a lot hinges on their bats this season, given the team are going through a transition period.
Their concerns, however, lie with the ball at the moment.
After starting off well by restricting Colts to 9/99 in round one, their past two games have yielded just one wicket in their past 55 overs, and they’ll need to make an impact early to put the Crows under pressure.
In the teams’ last T20 meeting, held at Jubilee Oval, the Crows were restricted to just 4/74, with Blake Jantzen top-scoring with 31, before the Owls passed their total with five overs to spare.
Mitch McClure made 32, while Harry Lumsden took 2/11 for the victorious Owls.