Echuca returns to the peak of McMahon Shield

Echuca’s latest victim put up a valiant effort but was ultimately undone 50 runs shy of Echuca’s enormous total with four overs remaining in the second innings.

Playing at Northern Oval in Kyabram, the visiting side won the toss and elected to bat on a run-friendly pitch.

That proved to be a wise decision.

To say the game was already over before a wicket had fallen would be a reduction of the match, but the partnership of Echuca’s openers Brendan Moyle and Kobyn James practically iced the game through 32 overs.

Spanning 196 balls, the pair put on a staggering 175-run opening stand to put Echuca well and truly in the driver’s seat.

Moyle was the more explosive of the two, blasting 96 runs in the same number of balls, including 12 fours and two maximums, before being caught by Tim Nelson four runs shy of an illusive century.

Meanwhile, James was the side’s anchor, carving out 75 runs from 100 balls before following Moyle off the ground after being caught by Jackson Barnett just eight runs later.

With just 10 overs remaining and eight wickets in hand, Echuca’s batsmen knew that their job was to score as many runs as possible to add to their substantial total.

With an excellent platform already set, the men in green went after it, with mixed results.

James Grixti managed only 14 before finding Nelson’s safe pair of hands, while Aidan Young notched 13 before being bowled by Tom Owen two overs later.

Lachlan Hogan fared the worst out of the Echuca’s batsmen, being trapped lbw for just three runs by Owen as the bowler struck twice in quick succession.

Charlie Hinks looked promising, but his innings was cut short on nine after a mix-up between the wickets resulting in a run-out courtesy of Robert Salter.

Salter also claimed the final wickets of the innings, this time as a bowler beating Anthony Dennis, all ends up for 15.

Echuca ended its innings at 7-248, with the Flames needing to fire up with the bat to win the game.

It’s safe to say that Fire Brigade didn’t get off to the same emphatic start that Echuca did, with openers Brett Andison and Miller Griffiths only able to summon 33 before Griffith was dismissed lbw at the hands of in-form paceman Nathan Elliott.

Andison was sent packing the following over, being caught by Lachlan Hogan off captain Simon Maddox’s bowling for 18.

At 2-33, the Flames’ top-middle order had some work to do if it was to get anywhere close to Echuca’s total, and to be fair, the side gave it a good shot.

First-drop Bohden Learmonth mounted 19 before he was trapped in front by Hinks.

Shannon Fleming looked dangerous at number four, but a lapse in concentration meant he left the crease on 29 with Anthony Dennis bowling him through the gate on the stroke of the team 100.

Much like Fleming, Kaine Herbert seemed threatening, but he too couldn’t cash in on a solid start before Hinks trapped him in front as well, sending him off for 28.

A game-defining partnership isn’t always found at the top of the order. Sometimes it comes from a defiant attitude lower down, and the Flames found it in numbers six and seven, Cohan Hooper and captain Salter.

The pair added 70 runs to the total, getting the Flames to 190 before Aidan Young took a nice catch off his own bowling to dismiss Hooper for 24.

Salter followed Hooper just three balls later thanks to tidy work in the field by Brendan Moyle, leaving the crease and virtually ending Fire Brigade’s hopes on 47.

With the odds stacked against it, Fire Brigade fell 50 runs short in a valiant effort against Echuca, but it was simply outclassed by a side honing in on four shields in a row.