Beaten: Rochester players go up for a run-out shout, but Moama had the last laugh in the 45-run win. Photos: Steve Huntley
Photo by
Steve Huntley
Moama notched its second straight win to start the McMahon Shield season, earning a hard-fought victory over Rochester as a young paceman continues to make his mark in the early stages of his top-grade career.
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Moama posted a first-innings total of 5-228 on the back of Jordan McGregor’s 68 not-out and solid contributions from Fraser Buchanan (39) and skipper Anthony McMahon (31) in the clash at Moama Recreation Reserve.
Rochester then made a defiant start to the run chase with Blake Evans (57), Joel Bunce (32) and skipper Dylan Cuttriss (31) to see the visiting side navigate its way to a strong position of 3-139.
“We looked like we were in a bit of trouble at drinks, they were about 2-130 and cruising, but we were able to pull it back, which was nice,” McMahon said.
“Jordan McGregor and Matt Saunders came on and stemmed the run flow. Matt took the wicket of Evans which helped us, but then Dylan Cuttriss came out and started whacking a few.”
But a middle-order collapse of 5-5 led by Rhys Drennan (3-7) and Clay McGregor with best-match figures of 4-24 ended in Rochester being bundled out for 173, 45 runs short.
Drennan now has seven wickets for just 13 runs conceded after making his debut against Cooma in round one.
Whack: Moama skipper Anthony McMahon pulls away to the boundary in the one-day clash against Rochester.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
“Clay McGregor and Rhys Drennan were the ones to turn the game,” McMahon said.
“Clay ended up with four wickets and Rhys ended up with three. He was on a hat-trick at one point.
“Rhys is only 14 or 15 years old, he’s a left-arm medium-pacer but I think he’s going to end up bowling pretty quick.
“In his first game, he took 4-7 and then he came on and struck straight away in this game.”
McMahon said he was pleased with the even spread of contributors with the bat, with four top-order batters posting double figures.
“Everyone contributed from the top five bats,” he said.
“We all got starts but it was Jordy (McGregor) who went on and batted through to consolidate the innings.
“I think we could have ended up with 250, 260, but we had enough in the end, which was good.”
Moama now sits atop the ladder with a 2-0 record, but McMahon admits he’s expecting a different Rochester squad when the two sides next meet in the two-day clash starting Saturday, December 3.
Clipped: Moama’s Fraser Buchanan finesses a shot through the leg side.
Photo by
Steve Huntley
“You don’t want to get too ahead of yourself. We haven’t played the reigning premiers or the runners-up from last year,” he said.
“I’m sure Rochy will be a bigger test next time we face them, which is in a couple of weeks. I think they’ve got a few to come back.
“I’m confident with the side we have. We have a good mix of bowlers and a lot of all-rounders.
“If we can keep getting consistent contributors across the board, then I’m confident we can take it a long way, but we’re not getting too ahead of ourselves.”
Moama has a scheduled bye in round seven before facing Rochester in round eight.
