TOMORROW in the latest round of Northern District A grade cricket, Leitchville/Gunbower travels to play Cohuna United. Their batting revolves around the mood of Matt Spittal, the form of Kurt Brereton, Tyler Jones and Matt Pollock as well as plenty of support acts. United has Ian Mathers, Daniel Cooke and Chris Waterson in hot form. Joel Woolhouse is solid in the field and veterans Sam Jones and Cameron Edge do a bit with the ball. The tip is Leitchville/Gunbower by eight runs.
Barham/Koondrook hosts Nondies and this should be a great tussle as fourth spot is to be taken by the winner. Barham/Koondrook bat well with Wes O’Neill leading the way. Danny Lolicato, Steve Farrant, Sam Davis and Warren Lolicato can also all make scores in good time. Nondies have the Holmes cousins - Ryan and Clayton - in recent form. Aiden Thompson and Joel Dickson are bowling intelligently and Peter Doyle is keen. The tip is Barham/Koondrook by four.
Wandella hosts Murrabit and will be hoping to bounce back from its slight slump. Both Farley brothers are aggressive with bat and ball. Trav Mathieson is a top-liner as a bowler and Greg Dickson can bat and bowl with distinction. Murrabit has a good bowling attack when Josh Dwyer, Matt Micalef, Nathan Henry and Jon Murphy are all playing. The tip is Wandella by 16.
In B grade action, Pyramid Hill is at home to Wandella. They have not scored enough runs lately to win games. Gav James needs a week at batting camp, Wes Moon is good when needed and Daniel Bartels could be anything on his day. Wandella have ancient stars like Russell Bott and Neil Lehmann to mix with youngsters like Joel Roney and Matt Wilkinson. The pick is Wandella by 49.
Kerang is at home to Mincha. Trav Smith was great last week and should be a match-winner with bat and ball. Dan Higgs can only get better while Dan Marsh is capable of scratching out a score. Mincha have been disappointing because of player unavailability and a lack of consistent run-getters. Nick Tonkin has been their best player and Jake McIntosh and Michael Distefano are on the improve. Kerang should get its first win by 19.
Wakool hosts Cohuna United. This should be a good contest between first and second. Wakool has plenty of classy players and these include Lachie Gleeson, Glen Smith, Lachie Hulands, Danny Main and Scott Solar. United have managed to get plenty of runs out of Regan Williams, Daniel Coates and Sam Cooke. Jordan White has been a revelation with the ball and Coates keeps taking catches. The pick is Wakool by 23.
Leitchville/Gunbower play Nondies at Gunbower Oval. Steve Prout will hope to score big, Adam Pollock considers himself an all-rounder and Ro Pollock thinks about the game. Nondies have Gary Holmes in form, Jack Dehne bowling tightly and Andrew Rigg looking for his second large score. The tip is Nondies by seven.
The Leitchville Footballers’ XI play Barham/Koondrook at Leitchville. Andrew Brown is determined, Jack Lunghusen and Hugh McGillivray have potential and the Deciccos will keep improving. Barham/Koondrook are flying high on the bowling form of Eric Lake. Paul Robinson and Jayde Stewart are also handy bowlers who can bat and Dylan Robinson has been good. The educated guess is Barham/Koondrook by 41 runs.
The under 17 competition resumes on January 21 with Cohuna United playing Nondies, Barham/Koondrook hosting Wandella and Boort-Yando at home to Leitchville/Gunbower.
UMPIRE APPPOINTMENTS
JANUARY 14
A grade – Wandella v Murrabit (G. Miles), Cohuna v Leitchville/Gunbower (A. Farley), Barham/Koondrook v Nondies (N. Bradley)
B grade – Leitchville/Gunbower v Nondies (G. Fenton), Leitchville Footballers v Barham/Koondrook (L. McNaught)
JANUARY 21
A grade – Murrabit v Cohuna (G. Miles), Leitchville/Gunbower v Barham/Koondrook (N. Bradley), Nondies v Wandella (A. Farley)
B grade – Leitchville/Gunbower v Wakool (L. McNaught)
JANUARY 28
A grade – Cohuna v Wandella (G. Miles), Murrabit v Barham/Koondrook (A. Farley), Leitchville/Gunbower v Nondies (N. Bradley)
B grade – Cohuna v Leitchville/Gunbower (L. McNaught)
NOTE: The umpires’ co-ordinator is away on January 21 and January 28, so any umpires should contact John Arthur if they are unavailable.
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