ODCA season begins

Wanderers gave defending premiers Orange City a fright in the opening round of the Second Grade competition. Orange City made the most of the conditions at Bloomfield Oval after Wanderers’ decision to send them in. Brant Mann registered the first century of the season with his 118, while Michael Evans (29) and Jamie Stedman (24) made useful contributions to their teams’ total of 7-230. Wickets were shared among the Wanderers bowlers with Owen Caughlan, William Dobbs and Andrew Kelly picking up 2 wickets each.

With wickets falling regularly around him, Steve Nean kept his side in the match with his 113 off 88 balls. At 4/54 and in real trouble Nean combined firstly with William Dobbs (27) to add 44 for the 5^th wicket and then another 76 runs with Daniel Lang (25) for the 6^th wicket to have the target within reach. However, the regular flow of wickets resumed with the fall of Lang's wicket and Wanderers finished 20 runs short of their target. Nick Keirle (3/35), Brant Mann (3/44) and Nate Lee (2/41) took most of the wickets for Orange City.

Last season’s minor premiers, Orange CYMS started their 2025-26 campaign with a win on a tough pitch at Brabham 1. Kinross, who batted first after losing the toss, could only manage 94, with Will Younghusband (24) and Walter Prowse (21) the only two batters to reach double figures. Riley Krause inflicted most of the damage with his 4/19, while Samuel Wilson (2/8) and Thomas French (2/30) chipped in with a couple of wickets of their own.

CYMS reached the target inside 21 overs to claim the bonus point, with experienced campaigners, John Mulhall (40no) and Brett Wykes (18) doing most of the heavy lifting with the bat. Wickets were shared around the students’ bowlers.

Centrals made a bright start to their season with victory in their match against Cavaliers. Batting first, Centrals posted 9-212 from their allotted 40 overs, largely thanks to 7^th wicket partnership of 114 between Kurt Gander and Ben McAlpine. Gander finished unbeaten on 74, while McAlpine’s 79 came off only 44 balls and included 4 maximums. Luke Osborn was the best of the Cavaliers attack, taking 4/22 from his 8 overs.

In their reply, Cavaliers were bundled out for 100 in the 32^nd over, with George Honeysett the best with 26 runs. Riley Davis picked up 3/3 with the ball, while Rowan Dray (2/14) and Charlie Fossilo (2/11) grabbed a couple of wickets for themselves.