GAWLER Central is now tied top of the Barossa & Light Cricket Association A1-reserves ladder after safely handling Freeling at the Dog Track, winning by seven wickets.
The Tigers won the toss and decided to have a bowl, and it turned out to be the right call as the home bowling attack, led by Matt Perry (3/15 with three maidens from seven overs) toppled the Water Hens for 105.
Gawler Central opener Jake Billing (47 from 57 deliveries) performed most of the heavy lifting early as his side started the innings 0/60, with Perry (15 not-out) able to score the winning runs with 16 overs remaining.
Lyndoch re-joined the field after spending a couple of weeks alone in first place, with Light Pass helping to send the Dockers crashing back to earth.
Lyndoch won the toss and opted to bowl, and the early returns were solid as both openers fell and the number three was run out, leaving the score at 3/21.
Craig Todd steadied the ship with 31 from 62 deliveries, while Alex Crossley (37 not-out from 26 deliveries) and Wade Gripton (19 not-out) put together a tail-end stand to finish the 40 overs at 7/137.
That partnership proved to be a match-winner, as Lyndoch ended up falling 18 runs short thanks to a dominant spell from Gripton (4/11 with two maidens from eight
overs).
Truro received a reality check after winning the toss at Willaston and putting up a more than respectable total of 4/174, only to get smacked off the park in 18 overs.
Four Truro batsmen scored more than 23 runs, led by captain Sam Donovan’s 52 not-out, but any hope of a win was dashed quickly by Willaston opener Trent Payne.
Payne came out red hot, smacking 17 boundaries from the 50 balls he faced on the way to a score of 90, leaving a simple task for his teammates who hit the target with 22 overs of play remaining.
Truro bowler Jordan Bevan took one of the three wickets, but finished with figures of 1/58 with eight wides and two no-balls in five overs.
The division’s best team total for the round came from Eudunda-Robertstown, with Samuel Nitschke (57 from 82 deliveries), Brad Wilksch (40) and Cameron Hawke (35) carrying the hosts to 5/195 against Angaston.
It proved to be more than enough as Blake Launer (4/34) made things difficult for the Blues, with the visitors running out of time while 50 runs short.
In A2, Gawler Central fell short in its chase of Sandy Creek’s 138 total, with Tiger Adam Hutching taking 4/26 to keep the Cockatoos from piling up a massive score.
Blayke Lane (43) and Alan Hunt (34) both batted well for Gawler Central, but the last seven batsmen to the crease combined for 15 runs in a horrific collapse to lose by 10 runs as Sam Bambery took 5/30.
South Gawler’s bowlers had no answer for Greenock, with the Schlungers piling on 4/249 in 40 overs away from home.
David Murray (88 from 105 deliveries) was one of three Schlungers to score at least 50 runs, with David Goern (59) and Rhys Jenke (50) also playing well.
Lion Brock Judd-Smith pulled his weight with 42 from 41 deliveries after his opening partner lost his wicket for a golden duck, while number eight James Korber (60 not-out) was terrific in a losing effort as South Gawler fell 63 runs short at the end of
40 overs.
In A3, Nuriootpa opener Garry Swyghuizen played a tremendous innings, scoring 95 from 89 deliveries for more than half of his team’s 171 total, but Tanunda was able to chase it down with two overs to spare.
In A4, Freeling’s Tom Shepley took 6/18 from 7.4 overs to deny Willaston a win as the Donnybrooks only needed two more runs in the last eight overs, before Shepley took back-to-back wickets to end the game and finish on a hat-trick.