A strong crowd attended Chittick Park on Saturday, October 12, to see Tallarook take local honours in its opening-round Seymour District Cricket Association clash against Seymour.
A-grade: Tallarook 3-132 Seymour 7-100
Winning the toss, Seymour sent the reigning premiers in to bat.
The Rook showed no sign of a premiership hangover, with openers Josh Rudge and Mitch Itter finding the boundary at will.
The opening partnership, eventually broken by Christopher Kemp, was built upon by young batter Tom Archibald, who contributed strongly to finish the innings 28 not out.
The Maroons did well in restricting the visitors to just 3/132 from their 20 overs, with Kemp and the economic Hugh Smith standouts.
Tallarook’s disciplined bowling made it difficult for the Seymour batters, with Dan Bergowicz (20) and Brett Gordon (24 not out) the top scorers, as Seymour finished 7/100 after 20 overs.
Blake Munari-O'Dwyer, 3/13, Lachlan Watts, 2/4, and Matt Archibald, 2/26, were dominant for the Rook.
B-grade: Seymour 62 Tallarook 1-64
Winning the toss and electing to bat proved to be a decision Seymour would regret in B-grade.
Reeling at 3/3 after captain Benjamin Macpherson, Hayden Gawne and Kyle Withers were dismissed early on by Tarkyn Dundon and Matthew Archibald, Daniel Bergowicz attempted to resurrect the Maroons’ innings.
With a swashbuckling innings of 36, including a six that looked as though it might land at Tallarook Station, Bergowicz well and truly put his best foot forward.
His was a lone hand, however, as the Maroons were bowled out for 62, with Sam Manchester 4/10 and Tarkyn Dundon 2/9 the pick of the bowlers.
Despite the shock of a Blake Munari-O’Dwyer golden duck, the Rook calmed themselves to chase down the total in 14 overs.
Next up for Seymour are home clashes against Puckapunyal and Avenel in A and B-grade, respectively, while Tallarook hosts Pyalong at Tallarook Recreational Reserve.
Seymour Cricket Club would like to thank all the volunteers who made the start of the season enjoyable and a day of community sport.
The Maroons and Rook look forward to the junior grades commencing on Friday, October 18.