Game 1
Hutt River Dedication 5/102 def. Southern Binjarra 95
Hutt River started Willowfest 2014 with a bang, destroying Southern Binjarra in a night game at Red Cliffs' Quandong Park. Upon arriving at the ground, the Dedication squad were greeted with an extremely green pitch, differentiated from the rest of the outfield only by the white crease lines.
Southern Binjarra got off to a good start with the bat, with the runs flowing freely. Before long, however, opening bowlers Jake Sluiter and Joel McMahon both got breakthroughs, and the runs started to dry up. Bill Barber came on at first change, and appeared to be bowling well, until he had to leave the field to 'change socks'. Thankfully, Joel Thomas, bowling at the other end, appeared perfectly comfortable in just a single pair of socks, ripping through the middle order in his first game for Dedication in five years. Thomas' bowling was a fearsome sight to see, with the ball jumping all over the place and making the batsmen tremble in their boots. Perhaps an extra pair of socks would have made their boots more sturdy. Southern Binjarra ended up all out for just 95.
Hutt River's innings got off to a blistering start. Haydn Falconer was daring the fielding team to catch him, hitting repetitive boundaries over the heads of the 3 fieldsmen placed at cow corner. At the other end, Jarryd Mills was perfecting his defensive strokes. Eventually, Mills' defensive strokes failed him, however, bringing first gamer Jason Harris to the crease. Harris was in fine touch, racing to 20 and prompting Bill Barber, now wearing at least two pairs of socks, to guarantee a dedication win. Unfortunately, Harris was unlucky to be caught after the ball ricocheted off a close-in fieldsman, and Barber came to the crease determined to see his guaranteed victory realised.
Barber batted stoically for a while, but simply could not defend against a full toss on middle stump. This brought Dedication to five wickets down, with over 20 runs still to get. Memories of past collapses made the Hutt River fans start to get nervous, but the steady hands of Joel McMahon and Jake Sluiter guided Dedication to an easy 5 wicket victory.
Southern Binjarra got off to a good start with the bat, with the runs flowing freely. Before long, however, opening bowlers Jake Sluiter and Joel McMahon both got breakthroughs, and the runs started to dry up. Bill Barber came on at first change, and appeared to be bowling well, until he had to leave the field to 'change socks'. Thankfully, Joel Thomas, bowling at the other end, appeared perfectly comfortable in just a single pair of socks, ripping through the middle order in his first game for Dedication in five years. Thomas' bowling was a fearsome sight to see, with the ball jumping all over the place and making the batsmen tremble in their boots. Perhaps an extra pair of socks would have made their boots more sturdy. Southern Binjarra ended up all out for just 95.
Hutt River's innings got off to a blistering start. Haydn Falconer was daring the fielding team to catch him, hitting repetitive boundaries over the heads of the 3 fieldsmen placed at cow corner. At the other end, Jarryd Mills was perfecting his defensive strokes. Eventually, Mills' defensive strokes failed him, however, bringing first gamer Jason Harris to the crease. Harris was in fine touch, racing to 20 and prompting Bill Barber, now wearing at least two pairs of socks, to guarantee a dedication win. Unfortunately, Harris was unlucky to be caught after the ball ricocheted off a close-in fieldsman, and Barber came to the crease determined to see his guaranteed victory realised.
Barber batted stoically for a while, but simply could not defend against a full toss on middle stump. This brought Dedication to five wickets down, with over 20 runs still to get. Memories of past collapses made the Hutt River fans start to get nervous, but the steady hands of Joel McMahon and Jake Sluiter guided Dedication to an easy 5 wicket victory.