Echuca South has made an early statement in round one of the Goulburn Murray Cricket season.
The Swans kicked off the 2023-24 season with a win in Saturday’s one-day clash with Kyabram Fire Brigade, cruising to a six-wicket victory at Echuca South Recreation Reserve.
Batting first, the Flames made a fast start through openers Paul Newman (30 runs) and Miller Griffiths (12), but the Swans turned the game rapidly on its head to pull themselves back into the contest.
“They started really well,” Swans skipper Ben Eade said.
“Paul Newman and Miller Griffiths got to 50 pretty easily. We got Paul out, and I think we took 4-1.
“We just constantly took wickets to slow them down a bit. They had a couple of good partnerships towards the end, but all of our bowlers did well.”
On a day where all nine Fire Brigade wickets fell to spin, Eade was the leading man, claiming 5-34 from his nine overs, while Sandun Rathnatunga claimed 2-25 in his first game back in the Shield.
Rathika Rajakumara and Asantha Singappuli both chimed in with a wicket each, while a late 38-run cameo from Brenton Sheppard and 26 to Justin Elliot helped the Flames make their way to 9-163.
The Swans’ run chase suffered an early setback with the loss of Clayton Watson in the first over, but the second-wicket partnership of Tristan Watson and Ranathunga saw South recover quickly.
Watson scored 20, but Ranathunga’s 81 not-out was pivotal, and with contributions from Singappuli (37) and Rajakumara (18 not out) the Swans passed Kyabram just four wickets down with 25 deliveries to spare.
“Batting was great,” Eade said.
“We lost Clayton Watson in the first over, but then his brother Tristan, the first time he’s opened the batting, was solid as a rock.
“He worked well with Sunny (Sandun Rathnatunga) to get him back on strike.
“(Sandun) batted beautifully, timed it perfectly, looked like he didn’t get out of second gear all day.”
The Game
Echuca South 4-167 (Sandun Ranathunga 81 not-out, Asantha Singappuli 37) def Kyabram Fire Brigade 9-163 (Brenton Sheppard 38, Paul Newman 30, Ben Eade 5-34)