Sport
1 February, 2024
Derby day for Maryborough and Colts
Make no mistake, Colts Phelans are well and truly kicking into gear at the right time of the season. But derby matches are always a different kind of vibe, and they’ll be wary of Maryborough desperately looking to bounce back when they return to...
Make no mistake, Colts Phelans are well and truly kicking into gear at the right time of the season. But derby matches are always a different kind of vibe, and they’ll be wary of Maryborough desperately looking to bounce back when they return to their home deck at Princes Park.
Colts’ recent form has seen them rocket up from fifth to third on the ladder, and in both of their two-day games, have looked every bit a threat to take outright victories in both.
While they were successful in their endeavours against Beaufort two weeks ago, they weren’t quite able to repeat the dose against Carisbrook, with a second-innings Dean Nalder century thwarting their plans.
Still, Colts looked super impressive in a multitude of ways.
With the bat, Rhys Wagstaff continued what’s been an out-standing season, scoring another 75 runs to take his tally to 332.
Luke Tatchell also played well, scoring 48 runs to move into the top 15 run-scorers in the competition, joining both Wagstaff and Dave Robinson as Colts players in that list.
It’s with the ball that you can argue Colts have transformed in the two-day format.
Nick Henderson has taken 12 of his 18 wickets for the season over his last two games, and has rocketed up to third on the bowling charts. After bowling at an average of 33.3 during the T20 and one-day campaigns, he is now bowling at an average of 9.1 in the two-day format.
Add in Robinson’s 13 wickets at an average of 20.7 and Dayne Baker’s 14 with an average of 17.7, and the trio will look to be a handful for the Owls.
However, while the Owls may have been rolled for 36 and 57 in both innings on Saturday, they will be welcoming back some much-needed star power, with captain Mitch McClure set to return.
McClure will provide some much-needed stability to the Owls’ young batting lineup, who struggled greatly against the Magpies.
Leading run-scorer Tom Hart could only muster two runs across both innings on Saturday, while Ben Hoban, who lies third in the Owls’ charts, could only manage eight.
Instead, it was Marc Cassidy and Steven Shovan who shouldered most of the load, with Cassidy’s second innings knock of 26 helping to save the Owls from a single-digit score in the second innings after they were 8/9, while Shovan scored 21 runs across both innings at the bottom of the order.
It was against Colts where Maryborough shined the most with the bat in round seven, scoring 263 runs, with Hart providing 115 and McClure 88, as they coasted to a 45-run victory, despite the best efforts of Tatchell, who scored 58, and Robinson, who provided 46.
With the ball, Maryborough will be turning to their younger brigade again, who have tried their utmost to deliver wickets.
Two weeks ago, it was Lachie Condie who did the job, taking five wickets in what was a breakout performance.
He joined Jasper Trickey in taking a five-wicket haul this season for the Owls, which came in Maryborough’s first meeting with Colts Phelans in the opening round, which resulted in a 39-run victory to Colts.