The A’s drove up the road to Stocky knowing that they were 5 wickets away from securing second spot and would have delighted to see another two Light Pass wickets soon after the day’s play had started, leaving the home side in a spot of bother at 7 for 45. Light Pass put up a fight with each of the last 3 partnerships being good ones, with the final wicket falling at 115. Mitch Boschen picked up another wicket to complete another 5 wicket haul, with great support from fellow opener Luke Samain with 4 for 25. Dylan Abinett was the other successful bowler.
Batting practice was the order of the day as Tanunda reached 6 for 132, with Jon Justin making another half century with 71 (hopefully that conversion to 100 comes in the finals), Nathan Justin hitting 27 and Brett Grocke 23. St Hallett’s MVP goes to Mitch Boschen for another match winning effort with the ball.
It’s a replay in the semi final this week with Tanunda again tackling Light Pass, this time for a spot in the biggest game of the year.
The B’s headed to Faith West needing another 30 odd with 7 wickets in hand to chase down Freeling’s total of 104. The task become more of a challenge with 2 players being unable to get to the venue for one reason or another, and five players failing to damage the scoreboard at all. Luckily for all Phil Graetz’s lone hand of 75 was enough to see the side reach 8 for 120 before the skippers shook hands to end the season, with the win taking Tanunda off the bottom of the ladder just in time! Tundarri Sales and Service MVP and Mia Pizza senior player of the week goes to Phil for his lone hand. Oh, and for the record, Stuart Ratsch would like everyone to know that he definitely didn’t hit the ball he was given out on last week. That ends the year for the B’s.
The C’s were on the other side of Faith taking on Sandy Creek at Faith West, with a win needed for top 2 finish. Sandy Creek got off to a flyer and were 50 before long. Good bowling saw the visitors pegged back to 4 for 68, however steady partnerships and an excellent hand from the young Sandy Creek opener saw a total of 172 set. Darryl Hean was again the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets, with Chris Collins, Paul Healy and Jimmy Marshall all taking a wicket. The chase proved to be a challenge throughout, with conditions better for bowling than batting as the day went on, with Tanunda running out of overs at 9 for 152 at the end of the day. Dan Reu was the best with the bat with a solid “but rusty” 67, Mark Hoklas added 29, Clint Hean a fighting 17 and Craig Smith 16. The loss loses the top two finish, but has made little difference to the Semi Final this week with a replay of last year’s Grand Final, with third placed Tanunda taking on second placed Lyndoch. Barossa Valley Brewing MVP goes to Danny Reu for his efforts with the bat.
The D’s drove to Eudunda to take on Eudunda / Robertstown with a top 2 spot also up for grabs. At 2 for 57 it looked like Tanunda would be setting a strengthened Eudunda with a reasonable target. However it wasn’t to be with regular wickets and falling to see Tanunda all out for 105 with a few overs left in the bank. Clint Hart was best with the bat with 43, well supported by Mark Hartigan with 37. Lean pickings for the remainder of the scorecard with the next highest score being only 5! Good tight bowling early by Dan Eggleton had the home side in trouble at 3 for 15. Mark Hartigan rounded out an excellent all round game with 2 wickets that saw Eudunda 5 for 67, but that was as close as Tanunda would get to a win, with the Eudunda / Robertstown hitting the winning runs with 5 wickets in the bank. Special mentions to Louie “Hamstrings” Neldner who may have finished his season a couple of weeks early, and for the barefooted Anthony Roestenburg for sacrificing his support of the Cooper family to help out in the field after Louie limped off. The loss sees the D’s end the regular season in 4th spot, with the Semi Final opponent being the reigning premier Morgan. Tanunda Clubhouse MVP goes to Mark Hartigan for his efforts with both bat and ball.
The Under 16’s enjoyed their week off having won last week and securing 4th spot, resting up for their Semi Final against Gawler Centrals.
Both Under 14 sides ended their seasons on a high with both sides having a win. Tanunda Black headed to Riverton looking to chase down finals bound Gilbert Valley’s 135. An excellent 60 not out from Jonah Whitelum and solid 30 from Hugh Smart were the foundations of Tanunda Blacks total of 144. An excellent way to end the year – well done.
Tanunda Whites took to Faith East with a massive challenge in front of them, with Sandy Creek Gold posting 4 for 196 last week. A wonderful chase followed, with Tanunda passing the score only 2 wickets down. A few late wickets resulting in Tanunda Black ending at 6 for 210 at the end of their allotted overs. It was a great day for the Birchard boys, with Jayden top scoring with 52 and Dylan next best with 43. Nicholas Mills and Riley Westbrook also starred at the top of the order with 36 and 22 respectively. A terrific end to the season.
The Under 12’s finished off with a great game Saturday with special mentions go to Jordan Rosenzweig for a good all round game, excellent batting from Harry Leinert and a ripper catch for Harmon Vears. A great bowling effort from all bowlers, showing their continued improvement. A highlight was the sight of all the boys using correct bowling techniques, resulting in the ball to carrying through to the wicket keeper on a regular basis. Congratulations to all the Under 12 boys for a great season, even if it was a bit shorter than you had all hoped due to the weather (and a special thanks from the coaches to Karen for her organisation throughout the year and the parents for helping through the year).
The Under 10’s played Sandy Creek in their final game of the year, with the visitors winning the toss and having wanting Tanunda to have a bat first. All players showed just how much they have improved over the season, with excellent partnerships throughout, patient batting and excellent running between wickets. Ben Swan hit an excellent 4, and Walter Holmes hit a classic cover drive well beyond his years. Much like the batting, Tanunda’s bowling and fielding was excellent, with the wides tally ½ of what it was in the first game of the year. Ben Mernagh, Hudson Lindner and James Duff each took wickets, super-sub Sam Roestenburg took an excellent catch in the covers, and Patrick Brooks, Chloe Rosenzweig and Walter Holmes all playing key roles in run outs. As a sign of appreciation the players presented coaches Stuart Swan and Pete Mernagh with gifts in the form of water balloons, taking the time to place them with reasonable force to all parts of both coach’s bodies. Revenge will be sweet – sleep with your lights on kids!