A second six-wicket haul in as many matches for Coro's Dean Bennett has helped see the Cougars pick up a crucial win over Exies on Saturday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was a tough start for Exies who won the toss and elected to bat with Travers Pickmere (1) run out in the third over while Andrew Arnold (8) fell to the bowling of Fergus Cattanach (1/30) to have the Exies side sitting on 2/20 after 9.1 overs.
The experienced pairing of captain Phil Burge (30) and Tom Spry went about rebuilding their innings and got their side past the fifty-mark with a 39-run partnership before Spry (24) fell to Jack Cattanach while Dean Bennett struck two balls later to remove Jamie Winkler (0).
The lower order for the Exies side managed to get a start, but no one was able to push on and get a big score. Marc Tucker (12), Aditha Jayasuriya (17), Joel Mulder (13), Connor Bock (24) and Ryan Bock (11) all managed to break into double digits before they all fell to the bowling of Bennett who finished with figures of 6/64 off 20 overs.
When the final Exies wicket fell, they had reached 164 off fifty overs which left Coro with 35 overs to try and chase down 164 if they wanted to pick up the outright win or reach 115 to take the winning draw.
Rob Rand and Bennett got their side to 18 before Arnold picked up the wicket of Rand (12) before Tim Rand joined Bennett and the pair pushed their side towards 50. After a 25-run stand Bennett (6) was dismissed by Connor Bock (2/18) while the young bowler followed it up 21 runs later to pick up the wicket of Tim Rand (27).
Jamie Bennett and Jack Cattanach were able to get their side past the 100-mark with a 39-partnership as both batsmen showing composure before Spry struck to remove Bennett (27) and Mitchell Williams-Hedges (2) within four balls.
Damien Walker joined Cattanach, and the pair were able to get their side past the winning draw mark and looking to chase down the outright win with 10.3 overs remaining.
With the score sitting on 156, Cattanach (35) fell to the bowling of Arnold (2/43) while Walker (33) followed closely behind when he was caught by Burge off the bowling of Spry (3/42). Coro needed to score eight runs in two overs and Lucas Conlan (5*) and Tom McGuffike (3*) were able to guide their side to a three-wicket win.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.