Sport
1 November, 2024
Top two in early-season duel
REDPATH TYRE AND BATTERY SERVICE A GRADE BEAUFORT V LAANECOORIE DUNOLLY
An early season duel of important proportions awaits as the top two teams meet at Goldfields Reserve.
Beaufort have left an early-season impression that they look set to be one of the teams to beat, defeating Clunes and Carisbrook with ease, while scoring plenty of runs — 400 to be exact — in those two games.
However, they will have to show they are capable of doing it against a Laanecoorie Dunolly team who, after a slow start last week against Colts Phelans, roared back into the game once they brought their off-spinners on.
That yielded an all-time spell from new English recruit Alex Cook, who was relentless in his pursuit of wickets, and eventually finished with the figures of 6/7 in what was an outstanding day’s work on debut.
That left Colts reeling after a start which saw them make 50 without loss to eventually finish all out for 131.
The marker of Laane’s batting was such that Tom Hannett was able to comfortably bat throughout the innings, scoring 61, while Cook also impressed with the bat with 37 runs.
Beaufort have shown their hand with some weapons of their own with both bat and ball, but had to work to get the job done last week against Carisbrook.
Kriss Ellis has come into his own since he was named captain, and currently lies second on the run-scoring charts with 78 after two games, which included a solid 43 last week.
Indeed, Beaufort are currently one of two teams — Colts are the other — to have three batsmen in the top 10 for runs in the early stages, with Thomas Grant and Jayden Scotland, fresh off a terrific unbeaten 46 last week, also in the top 10.
Scotland’s efforts changed the facet of the game for Beaufort after they were 6/125 at one stage, having scored well and providing big seventh and eighth wicket partnerships, but he also took wickets with the ball, collecting 4/32.
Joel Pymer and Lachlan Oddie also got in on the act with the ball last week, with Pymer cleaning up Carisbrook’s top order on his way to 3/38, while Oddie continued to be at his economical best, taking 3/12 off six overs — those figures giving him an early season run-rate of just 1.6 an over, while leading the competition with six maidens.
Oddie will be one to watch, having taken 6/63 in the two clubs’ last home-and-away meeting in round 12 last season.