RATHBONES Old Victorians 2s secured the Brooks Macdonald Weekend League Division 1 title on Sunday with a thumping 148-run victory over RGA Walkovers 2s.
Leading from the front, OVs 2s skipper Jonny Heward, taking the reins this season from former skipper George Moore, starred with an excellent 96 with the bat, falling just short of a deserved season-concluding century.
Opting to bat first, Heward strode to the crease alongside opening partner Moore, but was shortly left alone again as Moore was removed early for a two-ball duck by Toby Marrett.
Beau Gurner fell shortly after for five, bringing in the impressive teenage star Freddie Harben, and the pair steadied the ship.
Harben departed for an excellent 35, but the incoming Mark Boarer was in no mood to hang around, blasting 48 from just 34 balls, including one monstrous six into the trees at Grainville.
Some handy lower-order runs from Jamie Clayton as well (21), along with skipper Heward’s 96, helped the Vic College alumni side post a massive 274-9 from their 40 overs.
Kudos to the Walkovers attack, who kept going in the heat, with Marrett (2 for 31) and Harry Walker (3 for 46) claiming impressive figures.
In reply, the Walkovers chase got off to just as bad a start as the first innings, with openers Mikey Pih and Theo Vautier both being dismissed early, bowled by Gurner and Clayton respectively.
Before long, the boys in blue found themselves reeling at 27-4, Joe Dias and Harry Walker following their openers back for low scores.
Clayton and Gurner had the ball on a string, sharing all of the first six wickets evenly between them.
The score could have looked a lot worse had there not been a defiant wagging of the Walkovers tail, courtesy of Aadi Singh (13), Tommy Greenwood (22), Joe De Pina (25) and an excellent unbeaten 33 from Marrett.
In the end, however, the OVs were too strong and, with this victory, claimed the 40-over title.
Brooks Macdonald Weekend League Division 1
RGA Walkovers 2s vs Rathbones Old Victorians 2s
OVs 2s won by 148 runs
Old Victorians 2s
J Heward, c J Dias b S Derrien 96
G Moore, c S Derrien b T Marrett 0
B Gurner, c M Pih b H Walker 5
F Harben, c H Walker b A Sambyal 35
M Boarer, c T Marrett b T Vautier 48
X Barette, c M Pih b A Sambyal 4
J Clayton, c J De Pina b H Walker 21
C Livesy, b H Walker 14
J Vowden, c J Dias b T Marrett 0
T Boarer, not out 10
A Brown, not out 2
Extras 39
Total (for 9 wickets, 40 overs) 274
Bowling: Toby Marrett 8-0-31-2; Harry Walker 8-0-46-3; Zac Thomasson 5-0-32-0; Aadi Sambyal 8-0-53-2; Theo Vautier 4-0-43-1; Tommy Greenwood 3-0-36-0; Sonny Derrien 4-0-28-1
Walkovers 2s
M Pih, b B Gurner 6
T Vautier, b J Clayton 0
J Dias, lbw b B Gurner 10
H Walker, b B Gurner 0
A George, c B Gurner b J Clayton 4
S Derrien, b J Clayton 2
A Singh, c A Brown b B Gurner 13
T Greenwood, b J Vowden 22
T Marrett, not out 33
Z Thomasson, st J Heward b A Brown 3
J De Pina, c J Clayton b A Brown 25
Extras 10
Total (all out, 23.4 overs) 126
Bowling: Jamie Clayton 8-0-31-3; Beau Gurner 8-0-35-4; Jack Vowden 4-0-21-1; Andy Brown 3.4-0-37-2
