Cricket
14 January, 2025
WMCA under-15s fight hard in Horsham
The Wimmera Mallee Cricket Association cricketers fought hard during the under-15s country week, held in Horsham from January 6 to January 10.
Their week started with a 20/20 against the Horsham Cricket Association.
After bowling first, they restricted Horsham to 6/144. Ethan Soulsby 1/38 (4), Lenny Weir 1/34 (4), Parker Hallam 1/16 (3), Finn Shannon 1/12 (3), Chad Hartnett 1/15 (3) and Mitchell Boyle 1/5 (1) were the wicket-takers.
They could only manage 6/71 in response, with Ethan Soulsby leading the way with 20. Max Roberts, 14, and Murphy Fitzpatrick, with an unbeaten 11, were the other players to score double figures.
On Tuesday, they lost a thriller to Hamilton Hurricanes by two wickets.
After batting first, they were bowled out for 126 in the 49th over. Mitchell Boyle top scored with 28. Chad Hartnett, 22, Oakley Brennan, 21 and Hugo Funcke, 13, also scored double figures.
In response, the Hurricanes chased the total down in the 49th over with the loss of eight wickets.
Chad Hartnett ripped through the top order and finished with impressive figures of 4/15 (10). Mitchell Boyle also bowled well, claiming 3/25 (10).
On Wednesday, they bowled first against Warrnambool Blue, who scored 9/239 from their 50 overs.
Ethan Soulsby took 3/41 (9), and Ryan Needs also took multiple wickets, finishing with 2/35 (7).
In reply, they were bowled out for 71, with Murphy Fitzpatrick leading the way with 19. Oakley Brennan also batted well, scoring 11.
It was a similar story on Thursday against Warrnambool Gold. After winning the toss and batting, they finished at 8/127 with Ethan Soulsby starring with the bat, scoring 48 runs.
Warrnambool Gold, in reply, scored 9/264. Parker Hallam 2/29 (5) and Max Roberts 2/37 (5) were the best bowlers for WMCA.
In their final match of the week on Friday, WMCA players South West in a 20/20, losing by 21 runs.
South West managed to put up 4/143. Parker Hallam 1/13 (2), Lenny Weir 1/8 (2), and Ryan Needs 1/14 (2) were the wicket-takers for WMCA.
In response, despite an unbeaten 71 to Ethan Soulsby, they ran out of overs, finishing at 6/122. Mitchell Boyle contributed well with 16.
Ethan Soulsby top-scored for the week with 150 runs at an average of 37.5. Mitchell Boyle scored 48, while Murphy Fitzpatrick and Oakley Brennan scored 44.
Chad Hartnett led the way with the ball, taking six wickets at an average of 11 despite tearing his hamstring on Wednesday. Ethan Soulsby took five, and Parker Hallam, Mitchell Boyle and Ryan Needs took four.
