Sport
23 January, 2026
Owls fly back to Princes Park versus Beaufort
With both teams looking to rectify back-breaking losses in round 11, Maryborough hopes to celebrate a landmark moment for the club in style against Beaufort.
Barring a cancellation of play due to extreme heat, which is currently forecast for Saturday afternoon, the Owls will return to Princes Park for the first time this season following the completion of their four brand-new turf cricket pitches.
The $190,000 project couldn’t come at a better time for the Owls, who will hope a reestablished home-field advantage can change their fortunes following a convincing loss to local rivals Colts Phelans.
The return of reliable opener Ben Hoban and the batting prowess of Martin Dell, who top-scored with 34 runs from just 45 balls, were some of the few bright spots in an eight-wicket defeat that placed the Owls 21 points behind the top two.
Currently a bridge between the top and bottom half of the table, Maryborough can increase its gap on Beaufort in fourth to a gigantic 21 points, which would provide them flexibility to experiment in the last three rounds.
While Maryborough’s return to the field was disappointing, Beau-fort’s was deeply frustrating.
Losing to Clunes last weekend squandered a chance for the Bulls to cement their top-four place while simultaneously opening the door for Clunes to snatch that spot alongside the challenges of Carisbrook.
Despite the Magpies winning their first A grade game in 672 days at their expense, alarm bells aren’t needed to rattle the Bulls’ herd as of yet, with some solace to take from the shock loss.
Arguably the most encouraging surrounds Englishman Theo Trevelyan-Clark, whose bat looks to have clicked after smashing a new season watermark of 71 with eight fours and two sixes.
Already a key contributor in Beaufort’s bowling attack with 14 wickets this season, a continued batting emergence of Trevelyan-Clark would be a valuable addition to a talented lineup boasting Jarrod Blandford, Brandon Walsh and Lachlan Oddie.
The Bulls currently sit second last behind Maryborough in runs scored this season, but have batted an extra 56 overs for their 1488 runs compared to the Owls’ 1442 runs.
When Beaufort’s bats are firing, they can punish any bowling attack, as showcased in their round five matchup against Maryborough, where they scored 213 led by a stunning 74 from Oddie.
That mammoth effort wasn’t enough however, as the Owls scored a competition-high 245 runs in the first innings with Oliver Bennett and Dell bringing up half-centuries.