Aidan Young continues to consistently contribute with bat and ball for Echuca. Photos: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
The defending John McMahon Shield champions will be looking for redemption in week two after being topped by BLU, while Leitchville-Gunbower will want to get on the front foot in its first game of the season.
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On the face of it, a match-up between last season’s premiers and wooden spooners seems pretty cut and dry. Echuca, despite losing in round one, will be considered heavy favourites this weekend.
Even in defeat, Echuca looked posted for another strong season, with batsmen three through six all scoring over 20 against BLU in the first innings of that match.
The ever-reliable Aidan Young was a standout in the middle order, scoring 44 for his side.
In the second innings, strike bowler Nathan Elliott, who hails from the UK, produced three wickets on debut for Echuca, including big-ticket Regis Chakabva and will be a key part of their success moving forward.
Young’s contributions continued into the second innings, where he collected the wickets of lower-order batsmen Lucas Holgate and Alex Wagner for cheap.
Leitchville-Gunbower remains the last piece of the John McMahon Shield puzzle as it is yet to play in 2024-25, being granted the first bye of the season.
Simon Tatt will be crucial with the ball in hand for Leitchville-Gunbower. Photo: Aidan Briggs.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
This allowed the side an extra week to train, build team chemistry and prepare for a season in which it will look to win more than just a single game.
Last year’s captain Josh O’Shea was a standout batsman for the side and was a major reason it was competitive in the majority of its games.
Tyler Jones and Jye Keath were also solid contributors for L-G in the middle order and kept L-G afloat in their innings.
Thomas Dehne, Blake Gibson, Simon Tatt and James Keath will be spearheading the bowling attack for L-G.
Although it seems unlikely, if Leitchville-Gunbower were to get a win over Echuca on Saturday, that would be the best possible confidence boost for it while simultaneously sounding immediate alarm bells for the men in green’s title defence.
L-G will have the advantage of playing at home in its season opener at Gunbower Recreation Reserve. First ball is scheduled for noon on Saturday.
