Sport
18 January, 2024
Under 17s take two wins in Kirton Shield as they look for finals appearance
It was billed as one of the most talented Kirton Shield teams in the MDCA’s history, and this group is more than living up to its promise. Two wins from their opening two games have propelled Maryborough into a position where they can claim top...
It was billed as one of the most talented Kirton Shield teams in the MDCA’s history, and this group is more than living up to its promise.
Two wins from their opening two games have propelled Maryborough into a position where they can claim top spot in the Shield, with their final round robin game against Ballarat being played at the time of production.
But two terrific performances against Castlemaine and Gisborne respectively means it is a winning return to the Shield after returning last year.
In their first game against Castlemaine at Camp Reserve on Monday, a terrific performance from Beaufort’s Cooper Cahill guided Maryborough to a strong win, restricting Castlemaine to just 77 runs.
Batting first, Castlemaine put 18 runs on the board before Cahill struck twice in three balls, removing Mason Chamberlain and Sam Moran.
Vice-captain Harrison Kurzke then played his part, removing Jack Nuttall and Zac Hinck to leave Castlemaine at 4/33.
Cooper Mark then removed Castlemaine captain Charlie Warren for two, with Maryborough in the box seat, and that was only strengthened when Sam Thomson ran out Jack Archer for one, with Castlemaine reeling at 6/41.
With Patrick Leathem and Gabriel O’Sullivan combining, they were able to put on a 26-run stand to give Castlemaine a little bit of life, but Cahill wasn’t to be denied as he finished off a sensational spell, claiming the final four wickets as Castlemaine were bowled out for 77 in 48 overs.
Cahill was superb, finishing with 6/19 off nine overs, with Kurzke adding 2/9.
Maryborough needed a good start to ensure that they wouldn’t get trapped with a slow run-rate much like Castlemaine, but it was Joe Lovel and Kurzke who quickly got the score up to 14 before Kurzke was first out for nine.
There were some nerves when Mark, Lovel and Lachlan Bursill were all dismissed in quick succession to leave Maryborough at 4/30, but an important partnership from Thomson and Cahill quickly kept Maryborough on the right track.
Cahill, in particular, was having an outstanding day, scoring at over a run a ball.
They were able to breeze past Castlemaine’s total with a 50-run partnership, which ended with Cahill going out on 33.
Thomson and Lachie Condie continued the good form, with Thomson batting well to make 21.
Although they lost three wickets for just two runs, Jasper Trickey and Atticus Cullinan continued to give Maryborough some good headway, as did Hunter Kurzke.
Maryborough were eventually bowled out for 124 off 37.1 overs.
Maryborough’s second game was clearly their most significant, however, against a powerful Gisborne team that had put Ballarat to the sword on Monday.
Batting first this time at Kyneton, Lovel made a powerful statement of intent, as he and Harrison put on 52 for the first wicket.
Although Maryborough would endure a mini-collapse, losing four wickets for 20 runs, the damage saw Lovel top score with 37, giving them a good chance.
Bursill, Thomson and Cahill provided some good middle order hitting, with Bursill scoring 16, Thomson scoring 12 and Cahill again outstanding with 25 off 17 deliveries.
At 7/112, Maryborough still desperately needed runs to keep themselves in front, and there were some bottom order runs from Trickey, Elliot Cullinan and Atticus, as well as Hunter, with Maryborough eventually bowled out for 149 with the third-last ball of the innings.
Needing three runs an over, Gisborne were going to be aggressive, but it was Lovel who led from the front and got Maryborough off to the perfect start, claiming James McKibbin with the second ball.
Maryborough had to endure some hitting from Joshua Nolan, who scored a quickfire 38 off 39 before the Kurzke brothers had a nice moment, with Hunter catching Nolan out off Harrison’s bowling.
That triggered a constant stream of wickets. Atticus was next on the scene, getting the wickets of Lachlan Sheahan and Hamish Mullavey-Clark.
At 4/84, Gisborne still would have felt they were in a good spot, but Lovel quickly put an end to that theory, claiming the wicket of Jake Howell, before Mark ran out Oliver Watt.
Lovel struck again to remove Jack Mifsud, with Gisborne suddenly falling to 7/99.
Maryborough were now the favourites, and they duly delivered to finish off the tail, with Elliot running out Harry Johnson, Mark trapping Charlie Hynes and Harrison finishing off the game by claiming the wicket of Ned Budde to secure a 28-run victory, with Gisborne bowled out for 121.
