Stirling moved to the top of the Hills Cricket Association (HCA) ladder after a comfortable seven-wicket win against reigning premier Scott Creek Ironbank (SCIB) at Cherry Gardens yesterday. SCIB batted first as Stirling bowled very tightly to restrict the home side to 8/133 from their 45 overs. Adam Shearwood (25) and Darcy Campbell (23 not out) were the leading run scorers for SCIB. Veteran left-armer Pete Fryer snared 3/19 from nine economical overs, while fellow tweaker Jack Pick finished with 2/15 (9).The Eagles made relatively light work of the run chase as they knocked off the target in the 22nd over with Connor McFadyen top scoring with 46 from 27 balls (10 x 4’s). Sean McCullum (32 not out) and Harrison Webb (29 not out) put on an unbroken fourth-wicket stand worth 64 runs.

Aldgate won their second game of the season with a seven-wicket win at Kangarilla. ‘Kangies’ batted first and got off to a good start with Jake Turnbull (46) and Steve Featherstone (35) adding 80 for the first wicket. Aldgate kept the run rate down as the home side struggled to 5/132 from their 45 overs. James Anthony (2/17), Felix Farmer (2/25) and Matt Hansen (1/21) were the wicket takers for the Gaters. Mitch Thomas (19) and Anthony (36) added 39 for the first wicket but when Anthony was dismissed, the game was in the balance with Aldgate at 3/62. Enter Blake Lewis (40 not out) and Max Bilsborow (19 not out) to put on an unbroken fourth wicket partnership worth 72 runs to get Aldgate over the line in the 30th over. Ben Evans (2/18) was the pick of the Kangarilla bowlers.

A Ty Watson batting masterclass has pushed Bridgewater into the top-four after defeating Meadows by 87 runs at Bridgewater Oval yesterday. Watson dominated with a knock of 142 from 141 balls (17 x 4’s, 4 x 6’s) as the Raiders put up 6/264 from their 45 overs. Justin Summerill (56 from 70) joined Watson at 3/46 and added 133 for the fourth wicket. Will Bevan-Giles (3/46) and Callan Blackwell (2/58) were the multiple wicket takers for Meadows. Oscar Tydeman (58) and Rohan Reid (46) got the Bulldogs off to a flier with a 93-run stand inside 11 overs. However, once these two were dismissed, Bridgewater took over to bowl Meadows out for 177 in the 29th over, despite some late order resistance from veteran Chad Dawe (39 off 34). Ty Watson completed an excellent all-round game with 3/27 (6), while Ben Slater (3/34) and Jarrad Tait (2/31) were the other multiple wicket takers for the Raiders.

Mt Lofty consolidated their spot in the top-four with a low-scoring 56-run win over Mylor at Heathfield. The Redcaps batted first and were in all sorts of trouble early as they slipped to 3/5 with Dylan Quinn (3/29) and Joel Durnford (2/38) getting the early breakthroughs. It was left to the ever-reliable pair of Jordan Neis-Beer (40) and Adam Carthew (28) to resurrect the innings through a 72-run union for the fourth wicket. Will Healey added a very handy 24 (22 balls) at the end for Mt Lofty to lift them to a total of 161 before being bowled out in the 45th over. Tom Jensen (2/31) was the other multiple wicket taker for the Pipers. Mylor were never in the run chase as the Redcaps put up a miserly bowling performance to bowl the visitors out for 105 in the 38th over. Michael Warburton (22) and Durnford (20) were the only Mylor batsmen to reach 20. Six Mt Lofty bowlers took wickets including Peter Giannes (3/19), Max Hawke (2/13) and Connor Milde (2/19). 

Ladder (after round 4)

Stirling 18, Scott Creek Ironbank 18, Mt Lofty 18, Bridgewater 12, Mylor 12, Aldgate 12, Meadows 6, Kangarilla 0.

Round 5 (home team named first)

Stirling v Bridgewater

Mylor v Scott Creek Ironbank

Aldgate v Mt Lofty

Meadows v Kangarilla