Nairne has moved up to fifth spot on the Alexandra & Eastern Hills Cricket Association (AEHCA) ladder after an upset 59-run victory over the previously undefeated Strathalbyn Stallions at Nairne Oval on Saturday. The home side won the toss and elected to bat first and despite losing opener James Graves early to leave them at 1/17, the Razorbacks pushed on with good partnerships of 51 for the second wicket between Robert Crook (47 from 90 balls) and Richard Boscence (16 from 29 balls) and then 42 for the third wicket between Crook and his skipper Luke Timmins to see Nairne to 3/110. Timmins batted beautifully as he hit nine boundaries and two sixes on his way to an undefeated 83 from just 93 balls. An unbroken 58-run stand for the sixth wicket between Timmins and Sam Rowe (21 not out from 24 balls) lifted Nairne to a very competitive 5/198 after their 45 overs. Brayden Gaiter snared 2/41 for the Stallions. Strathalbyn’s reply never really got going with only skipper Mark Abbott (31) and Steven Schofield (20) putting up any real resistance as the Stallions were bowled out for 139 in the 42nd over. Jacob Sadler (3/28), Michael Harden (2/16) and Chad Harrop (2/32) were the multiple wicket takers for Nairne. 

Hahndorf continued their undefeated start to the season and took over top spot on the ladder with a comfortable five-wicket win over Bremer-Callington on the Callington turf wicket. The home side won the toss and decided to bat first but they were soon in trouble as Jarrad Tait ripped through the top order and reduced the Cobras to 8/70. Tait took 5/33 from his nine overs, his second five-wicket haul for the Magpies after a long and successful career at Nairne. Chris Schilling (36 from 30 balls) and Mitchell Crisp (10 from 34 balls) put some respectability back on the scoreboard with a 45-run union for the ninth wicket before Bremer-Callington were bowled out in just the 28th over for 115. In the run chase, Hahndorf opener Andrew Baker continued his excellent start to the season with a top scoring knock of 47. Baker now has 231 runs at an average of 46.20 for the season. Graydon Brand (21 not out) and Tait (18) also contributed as the runs were knocked off after just 24 overs. Crisp was the best of the bowlers for the Cobras with figures of 3/28 (9).

Lobethal notched their first win of the season as they upset their old Torrens Valley rival Woodside by six wickets at Lobethal Oval. Woodside won the toss and decided to bat first and were soon in all sorts of trouble as they slumped to a disastrous 8/30. Noah Bell (15 from 54 balls) and Chris Baschiera (32 from 60 balls) averted a complete disaster for the Warriors as they limped to a total of 99 before being dismissed in the 37th over. Mitchell Weeks with 3/6 (9) and Matt Martin who took 3/24 (9) were the main destroyers for the Tigers. Lobethal were made to work extremely hard to chase down the small target as they took 41 overs to knock off the runs, finishing at 6/101. Lachie Bates with 27 not out top scored while Weeks continued his good day with a patient 22 from 69 balls. Sam Luck (2/11) and Dale Robinson (2/20) were the major wicket takers for Woodside.

Mount Barker has won their second game for the season with a 46-run victory over local rival Wistow at Mount Barker. The young Wistow combination are still seeking their first win for the season. The home side won the toss and decided to bat first and they got useful contributions from a number of players including skipper Rhys Patterson (27), Deklan Porter (26) and Wayne Buckland (22) although the highest score for the Kookaburras was extras which numbered 31 as they posted a competitive total of 177. Five Wistow bowlers took two wickets each with Steven Nettle bowling an exceptional spell of 2/12 from his nine overs. The Echidnas got off to a reasonable start to reach 1/60 before a string of wickets saw them slip to 6/80 and seemingly out of the contest. Dave Kinlough was holding the innings together with a fine 61 from 76 balls (9 x 4’s) and he combined with Finley Walsh (14 from 21 balls) to add 33 for the eighth wicket to give their side a bit of a sniff before another collapse of 3/0 saw the innings wrapped up for 131 in the 35th over. Hayden Lane took 4/40 (8) for the Kookaburras and he was well supported by new recruit Simon Turk who finished with 3/24 (7.4). Turk has been an excellent addition for Mount Barker this season with 148 runs and six wickets from his three matches.

You can access the AEHCA premiership tables at this link…..http://aehca.sa.cricket.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/ladder.aspx?entityid=3140&id=RV_LAD&mode=0&

Round 6 (16/11/19) fixtures (home sides named first)…..

Woodside v Mount Barker

Strathalbyn v Wistow

Langhorne Creek v Bremer-Callington

Lobethal v Nairne

Hahndorf has the bye