A CENTURY from teenager Lachie Wareham proved the difference for Mortlake as it defeated Bookaar by 17 runs at the Camperdown Showgrounds on Saturday.
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He made 130, guiding the Cats out of troubled waters as batting dominated the match between last summer’s grand-finalists.
With the Cats losing early wickets to sit at 3-45, acting captain Shane Slater (64) and Wareham (130) dragged the innings back onto Mortlake’s terms, putting on a 111-run partnership.
Mortlake finished on 6-269, but captain Todd Lamont – who did not play in the match – said the Cats knew they had a sizeable task in front of them to defend the score at the showgrounds venue.
“It was good to get that many (runs), but you're never safe at all,” he said.
“(A score of) 270 was probably around about what we minimum needed, so then they came out firing and just hit us around the first seven overs – I think they had 80 on the board.
“They were cruising, they were 2-190 off 33 overs and then the last session, we were able to get their third key batsmen out.”
Georgia Wareham (3-42) and Slater (2-35) got breakthrough wickets, but given the quality of Bookaar’s batting line-up, Lamont said it wasn’t until the home team was eight wickets down that they felt they had their noses in front.
The Cats eventually bowled the Pelicans out for 252 with two overs to spare, ensuring Mortlake kept its break on top of the ladder.
Jimmy Tarbolton had an impressive day behind the stumps, making five stumpings and taking a catch.
“He and Neil Kelly have shared (wicketkeeping duties) this season – Jimmy has sort of done it on-and-off,” Lamont said.
“We needed Neil to bowl (Saturday), so Jimmy had the gloves all day.”
Bookaar captain Rohan Symes said the sudden loss of wickets in the final session – at one stage they lost 5-9 – stymied the Pelicans’ chase after Simon Baker and Eddie Lucas’ blistering start.
“We were looking in a good spot to chase them down, but we just lost a clump of wickets in the middle order and that hurt us,” he said.
“Simon Baker came out all guns blazing at the start, he got 67 … and Eddie Lucas made 30 at the top in a good partnership with Simon.
“Henry Green and Fraser Lucas both made 46 … and Tosh Merrett came out and made 30 towards the end.”
With just three rounds remaining before finals, Symes said competition was tight for a spot in the top four, with six teams well in contention.
“It’s extremely tight – every loss makes it even harder the next week,” he said.
In other matches, Terang belted fellow finals fancy Pomborneit by 139, posting 7-226 before bowling the Bulls out for 87 in just under 25 overs, with captain Brett Hunger taking 3-20.
Cobden saw off Noorat, winning by 94 runs on its home turf.
Bayley Thompson snared 3-12 as Heytesbury Rebels bowled Camperdown out for 49, before the Rebels posted 8-219 in reply.
It was good to get that many (runs), but you're never safe at all.
- Todd Lamont