Six of the eight sides have a win and a loss, with only Kyabram Fire Brigade sitting pretty with a perfect 2-0 record.
Rochester picked up a comfortable win over Moama on Thursday, getting home by seven wickets and with almost three overs remaining.
Moama batted first but couldn’t find a starring knock as Rochy earned regular wickets with good short-form bowling.
Matt Saunders (23) was the Mowers’ best as the McMahon Shield’s leading club posted 9-128.
Cyrus Shafi contributed in all aspects for Rochester, taking a team best 3-30 and executing two run-outs.
Adil Ali took two wickets, while Sean Williams and Myles Wade chipped in with one each.
Shafi then showed his prowess with the bat, opening with 41 from 34 to set a great platform for Rochy.
Henry Rathjen went with him and posted an unbeaten 52 from 41, while Dylan Cuttris (26) provided effective support late in the innings.
Rochester reached the target with 17.2 overs gone, providing what could be a useful boost to its quotient.
Anthony McMahon bowled an economical two overs, taking 1-8, while Rhys Drennan and Clay McGregor were the other wicket takers for Moama.
Rochy currently sits in fourth, set to take on Echuca, the only side without a win so far, at Windridge Oval in the final round on Thursday, December 4.
Kyabram Fire Brigade v Echuca
Kyabram Fire Brigade is the team to beat in Goulburn Murray Cricket’s annual short-form competition, taking down Echuca in round two to lead the way with one round remaining before finals.
Hosting the green machine at Northern Oval, the Flames escaped with a 13-run victory over Echuca to continue its claim of top-dog status in the 20-over format.
Winning the toss and electing to put runs on the board early on its home deck, Fire Brigade’s young gun Bohden Learmonth anchored the innings at number three, tallying 53 in a 43-ball knock that included four boundaries and two maximums.
Cooper Fawcett was valuable in support, scoring 31 lower down the order, before captain Rob Salter (11 not out) and Wil Harrison (15 not out) guided the team to 6-133 from its 20 overs.
In the second innings, it was Echuca’s opener Kyle Fitzgerald (34) and captain Charlie Hinks (33) at number five that brought the visitor close.
Echuca’s tail failed to wag as Jackson Barnett ran rampant with the ball, taking 3-17 and stifling the visitor, which managed 9-120 from its 20 overs with the bat.
Fire Brigade will turn its attention to the final match of the regular season against Moama at Northern Oval on Thursday, December 4.
BLU vs L-G
There were no issues with Bamawm-Lockington United’s run rate, but the Lions couldn’t keep their wickets intact long enough to post a competitive total.
Batting first against Leitchville-Gunbower at Gunbower Recreation Reserve, Kyle Humphrys (25 from 10), Woody Wilson (23 from 21) and Savith Weerasinghe (16 from 16) kept things moving, but wickets tumbled with consistency throughout the innings.
The Lions were on track for a score in the 140s, or higher if the late slog paid off, but simply ran out of bodies, bowled out 15 balls early for 124.
Liam Myott was expensive but made for it with wickets, taking 3-31, while Simon Tatt and Zachary Elliott earned two scalps each.
L-G was able to mimic BLU’s scoring rate, but managed to keep wickets intact more effectively.
Jack Rudd provided a good base for the chase, his run-a-ball 38 not blowing the Lions away but keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
After entering at four, Nicholas Horman took a different tack, launching four sixes and two fours in an innings of 49 not out from just 24 balls.
L-G found its way to the target in 16.5 overs with six wickets still in hand.
Prateer Mehta took two wickets for the Lions, but also bore the brunt of the L-G aggression, going for 40 runs.
BLU is currently last among the 1–1 teams, and will need to either win its final game by a big margin, or hope for results to fall its way.
The Lions will take on Nondies-Cohuna on Thursday, December 4.
Echuca South v Nondies-Cohuna
To finish the round, the Swans dealt with Nondies-Cohuna in comfortable fashion, leaving both sides on equal footing heading into the final regular season match.
Battling it out at Echuca South Recreation Reserve, the visitor won the toss and elected to put runs on the board early.
Unfortunately for Nondies, that didn’t go to plan, as number seven Rhys Bradley was the side’s top scorer with 19.
Opener Matt Oddie (13) and co-captain Jake Klemm (10) were the only other players to score in the double digits as Brendan Lewis spearheaded the Swans’ bowling attack, taking 3-12.
Nondies being bowled out inside 19 overs meant that Echuca South required 82 for victory.
Jayden Rosin (14) got things under way for the host as Tristan Watson (19) and Ben Walker (19 not out) did the majority of the heavy lifting through the middle overs.
It was a bowling effort by committee for Nondies, with all bowlers outside Kyeran Ellery snaring a wicket in the innings.
Despite that, the Swans managed to chase down the score at the start of the 17th over, losing six wickets en route to the win.
Echuca South will host L-G on Thursday, December 4 at Echuca South Recreation Reserve, while Nondies will battle BLU on home turf to decide who will feature in the finals.
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