Taking to the field for the first time since the Christmas break, the Bushrangers very nearly went the distance against the competition’s runaway leader on Saturday, bowled out just nine runs shy of victory in a tense affair.
Having lost the toss and asked to field, the Bushrangers set about their work with the ball, and despite conceding two boundaries with the first two balls, soon settled and began to probe the visiting batters’ defence.
A Conor Brodie (1-20) maiden in the seventh over heightened the pressure, which was immediately capitalised upon by Fletcher Paul (1-20), who found the opening wicket with a catch through to wicketkeeper Lucas Ham, as the visitors fell to 1-25.
But the Bushies were forced to wait for the second wicket to materialise, as the Rovers’ Ryan Collier and Reid McNamara began to pile on the runs.
Adding 59 together, the pair taunted the Benalla bowling attack, occupying the crease for 12 overs before Dale Stratton (1-30) found a way past McNamara’s bat, bowling the visitors’ number three for 30 as the Rovers fell two wickets down with 84 on the board.
Yet another solid partnership would come for the visitors, however, as Benalla struggled to find consistent wickets, this time Collier combining with Jacob Schonafinger for 47 runs, guiding the Rovers to 2-131 before Vaughan Kirk (1-42) had Schonafinger caught behind on 29.
It seemed that wickets were finally beginning to tumble at regular intervals for the Bushrangers from there, with the visitors going from 3-131 to 4-138 following the removal of half-centurion Collier by Mitchell Cooney (1-22), only for another partnership in excess of 50 runs to form for the fifth wicket.
The visitors would make their way to 190 before it would be broken off the bowling of James Ladd (1-38) with two overs remaining in the innings, with the Bushrangers finding another on the stroke of the innings break as Rovers posted a total of 6-201 from 45 overs, leaving Benalla a target of 202 for the win.
With an imposing total needed, the Bushrangers were in need of a solid start, which is exactly what they got as skipper Brayden Stepien and Jonty Priest combined for a 63-run opening stand.
Having contributed 42 of those runs from just 34 deliveries, including five fours and two sixes, Stepien became the first casualty, holing out to start the 11th over as the Bushrangers fell to 1-63.
Priest was joined at the crease by the normally destructive Vishal Sharma, however a subdued Sharma struggled early, needing seven balls to get off the mark, which he did with a boundary, before he was bowled the very next ball for four, as the Bushrangers slumped to 2-69.
James Carboon was the next batter in at number four, moved down from his usual spot as opener, and combined well with Priest, who had played a patient innings to that point, with the pair adding 25 to bring the 100-run mark into sight, however, fell just short of that milestone, with Priest dismissed for a well-made 36 to leave the Bushrangers three down for 94.
Kirk strode out to the middle to accompany Carboon as the pair pushed Benalla beyond 100, adding 30 in partnership before two quick wickets removed them both, reducing the Bushrangers to 4-124 and then 5-135 and stalling all of the positive momentum.
Dylan Barber and Lucas Ham fought hard to regain some of that momentum, chipping away at the total and moving beyond 150, and then 160, needing less than 40 runs with five wickets in hand, and 10 overs to do so, until disaster struck, with Barber dismissed for a gritty 24.
Ham followed in the next over as the Bushrangers began to falter at 7-171, although Fletcher Paul and Conor Brodie continued to accumulate runs, adding 17 before Paul fell, leaving Benalla at 8-188 with nine balls remaining in the innings.
14 runs off nine balls was the equation for the Bushrangers, still with two wickets in hand, before two quick singles to end the 44th over made it 12 needed off the final six.
The valiant effort would end still nine short of victory, though, as Brodie and Ladd fell in consecutive balls to bring the innings to a close after 44.4 overs, with Benalla agonisingly close to causing a brilliant upset.
The Bushrangers will regroup with the league-wide bye this weekend, before hosting Wangaratta Magpies at Benalla Gardens Oval on January 31, as they aim to secure win number two for the season.
