Sport
7 November, 2025
Revitalised Magpies to host high-flying Owls
After playing key roles in the MDCA’s utterly captivating double-header weekend, Clunes aim to maintain their rapid improvements against a Maryborough team looking to stake their claim in the competition’s upper echelon.
While only a fortnight has passed since Maryborough’s seven-wicket victory over Clunes in round three, things have drastically changed following Saturday and Sunday’s action.
Most of that drama came from the Magpies, who opened the weekend by dramatically snapping their 13-game losing streak with an astonishing tie against title holders Colts Phelans.
Mitch Coppick salvaged the result for Clunes, hitting a four on the final ball of the innings to finish on an unbeaten 57.
If the first MDCA A grade game to finish in a tie this decade isn’t enough excitement, the Magpies’ Sunday clash with Carisbrook also went down to the wire.
Clunes were in touching distance of Carisbrook’s 193 before three late wickets from Alex Sutton doomed the Magpies to fall four runs short.
Despite not earning a much-deserved victory, last weekend’s double header showcased that Clunes are back to being a dangerous threat in the MDCA.
After Coppick did the bulk of Clunes’ scoring in their first three games, Ahmed Rehman has given the Magpies another reliable middle-order bat, belting back-to-back 50s.
Outside of the dynamic duo of Coppick and Rehman, the Magpies’ batting depth is starting to emerge, with Brenton Jones, Mark Allen and Brendan Ingram all producing solid knocks last weekend.
Clunes’ already lethal bowling attack, spearheaded by A grade leading wicket-taker Noah Davies, was given a massive boost with the long-awaited debut of Ritik Yadav, who took 20 wickets in just five games for Carisbrook last season.
Yadav’s arrival gives the Magpies an elite frontline spinner to complement their vaunted pace attack of Brett Coon, Sam Williams, Noah and Dylan Davies.
Even with their high-scoring victory against Beaufort on Sunday, the Owls will be slightly disappointed with their weekend’s results after creating a golden opportunity to knock off powerhouses Laanecoorie Dunolly.
With three wicket hauls from Jason Hunt and Jasper Trickey, Laane were reduced to an achievable target of 139. However, the Owls lost their first five wickets in the space of six overs and 13 runs, an astounding collapse they couldn’t recover from.
Credit to Maryborough’s talented batting lineup, they emphatically bounced back the following day against the Bulls, with openers Ben Hoban and Oliver Bennett, as well as the returning Brad Rowe and Martin Dell, all surpassing 40, with Bennett and Dell reaching their half-centuries.
That allowed Maryborough to post a league-leading 245, which they defended thanks to Trickey dismissing Jarrod Blandford and Lachlan Oddie.
With a seven-wicket weekend, Trickey has moved into the top 10 league wicket-takers, someone the Magpies will be wary of alongside Oliver Cassidy and Elliot Ashburn, who took a combined seven wickets in their last meeting with Clunes.
