Champions: The under-12 boys claimed a crushing victory over Cricket Shepparton Blue in the final to claim the overall honours. Photo: Goulburn Murray Cricket.
Goulburn Murray Cricket has been well represented at the Northern Rivers Junior Country Week carnival, with a number of teams yielding strong results.
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The GMC under-12 boys’ side was chief among those, claiming a sensational 98-run win over Cricket Shepparton Blue to clinch the title last Friday.
A comfortable nine-wicket win over Shepparton White and a seven-wicket triumph over Bendigo helped the GMC side qualify for the final, which presented an unknown for both sides after their round-robin clash was abandoned due to poor weather.
Losing the toss and being asked to bat first, GMC made a steady start with Heath Ogden (15) and Max Johns (13) contributing to the team’s half-century, before Cooper Rasmussen dug in to provide a crucial innings at number four.
Hitting a composed 45, Rasmussen combined with Finn Cullen (20) to help power GMC to a total of 8-147 from its 40 overs.
The Goulburn Murray side got off to a dream start with the ball, as Aidan Greiner (4-15) removed four of the top five batsmen for ducks, and Tom Arthurson (1-2) the other, to leave Shepparton in tatters at 5-0.
Hunter Corbo (12 not out) and Harrison Whitford (11) added late runs for Shepparton, but the damage had been done.
Shepparton was eventually bowled out for 49 to hand GMC a crushing win and with it, the title.
Rasmussen was awarded the player-of-the-final medal for his superb knock.
Great effort: The under-13 Goulburn Murray side finished as runners-up, falling just short in the final against Bendigo. Photo: Goulburn Murray Cricket.
The under-13 boys’ GMC side also qualified for the final in its division, following a thrilling win over Bendigo.
A win on Friday morning was vital if the side was to play off for the title that afternoon, which the boys did after snaring victory by one run over Bendigo in an enthralling finish.
The title match saw GMC and Bendigo face off once again, with Bendigo winning the toss and electing to bat.
Taj Maddox (2-20) bowled well to give GMC a strong start, removing both openers to have Bendigo down 2-17, while Judd Cuttriss (2-5) was also impressive, making life tough for the middle order and helping restrict Bendigo to 6-85.
The chase got off to a rough start for the GMC side, as the Bendigo bowlers tore through the top order, reducing the Goulburn Murray side to 4-7 within the first five overs.
Lachlan Jeffreys (14) and Cuttriss (21 not out) provided a good counterpunch in the middle order; however, once Jeffreys was removed, the Bendigo bowlers pounced again, bowling GMC out for 63.
While falling just short of being crowned champions, GMC did enjoy a magical moment in the round-robin stage, with Jonty Sefton claiming a hat-trick against Seymour, finishing with figures of 3-2 to help bowl the opposition out for 36.
Magic spell: Under-13 cricketer Jonty Sefton claimed a hat-trick against Seymour, finishing with figures of 3-2. Photo: Goulburn Murray Cricket.
The under-17 boys’ side played well throughout the tournament to find itself in contention for a finals spot on Friday morning; however, a four-run loss to Cricket Shepparton meant GMC finished third on the ladder, just missing the final.
It was another close call for the under-17 girls’ side, where the title was decided based on ladder position rather than in a final, finishing second behind a strong Gisborne outfit.
The under-14 boys’ and girls’ sides, as well as the under-15 and under-16 boys’ teams, all displayed brilliant cricket throughout the week but came up against powerful representative sides in their respective divisions.
