Goolwa are in a great position at stumps on day one of their round nine clash with Port Elliot in the Great Southern Cricket Association (GSCA), which began at Goolwa yesterday. Port Elliot batted first and struggled throughout their innings as they were dismissed for just 72 in the 42nd over. Harry Grenfell (18), Brayden Arbon (17) and Liam Harris (11) were the only Bloods batsmen to reach double figures on a disappointing day for the visitors. The Magpies only needed three bowlers with Andy Evans (4/14), Jayden Crees (4/22) and Josh Jones (2/27) sharing all 10 wickets. The Magpies had 28 overs to bat until stumps and finished on 1/48 with Fred Nissen (21 not out) and Jones (15 not out) set to resume on day two. Jesse Le Ray (2) was the batsman dismissed with Simon Donaldson the wicket taker for Port Elliot. 

Willunga had an excellent day with the bat at home against McLaren Districts as they finished their 70 overs with an imposing total of 7/266. Willunga skipper Luke Harding won the toss and was more than happy to bat first. The key partnership of the day came between Harding and Simon Roberts who added 106 runs for the third wicket. Harding made 80 (184 balls), his third half century of the season, while Roberts went on to top score with 84 from 119 balls (4 x 4’s, 2 x 6’s). Sean McIvor added some icing on top of the Willunga ‘Batting Cake’ with a hard-hitting 32 from 26 balls (4 x 4’s). Jacob Banks (2/67), Tom Daniels (1/23), Bodie Wilson (1/34) and Stephen Nairn (1/66) were the wicket takers for the Crushers while there were two run outs.

The game between Encounter Bay and Noarlunga at Encounter Bay is evenly poised after day one with the Bays 1/10 at stumps in pursuit of Noarlunga’s total of 166 all out. Shoes skipper Jason Scarff won the toss and decided to bat first but his side were in early trouble at 2/31. Cam Bullard was joined by Matthew Spaan (24) in an important 41-run stand for the third wicket before Bullard was dismissed for 56 (8 x 4’s). Anthony Burgess joined Spaan in another crucial stand worth 45 runs for the fourth wicket before Burgess was run out for 25. This wicket led to a middle order collapse of 3/5 to see the home side back on top. Jeff Colo (24 not out) added some lower order resistance but he ran out of partners as the Shoes were bowled out in the 60th over. Cam Lintern (2/12), Shane Hastings (2/22) and Blake Bailey (2/31) were the multiple wicket takers for Encounter Bay. The Bays had 10 overs to get through at the end of the day and lost David Marks (1) with the wicket taken by Jason Scarff (1/3).