The Hunter Valley's unbeaten start to under-14 and under-15 representative cricket carnivals ended on Tuesday with the under-15s going down to Central Coast.
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However, the under-14 team made it three wins from three games to top their pool going into the semi-finals of the Graeme Malcolm Shield in Newcastle on Wednesday.
Hunter Valley, which features players from the Maitland, Cessnock, Singleton and Upper Hunter cricket associations, started their campaign with a four wicket win against NWS Hurricanes restricting them to 126 from their 40 overs and making 6/130 off 37 overs in reply.
Skipper Tom Porter top scored with 37 not out and his Eastern Suburbs teammate James Green made 30. Cessnock’s Jayden O’Connor made 21.
Green backed up with the ball taking 2-9 off three overs, Muswellbrook’s Andrew Cooper took 2-37 off seven and Kurri Weston’s Emelia Kavanagh claimed 1-13 off six overs.
Kavanagh, the sole girl in the team, has picked up a wicket in all three games.
Cooper and Singleton’s Alex Stafa both have six wickets for the tournament with Stafa picking up 4-8 and Cooper 3-26 in Tuesday’s one-wicket win against Penrith.
It was a huge all-round game for Stafa who top-scored with 37 against Penrith as well.
Hunter Valley defeated Fairfield-Liverpool 9/133 to 109 in their other pool game.
Dungog’s Thomas Lovegrove is the leading scorer for the Hunter making 33 against Fairfield-Liverpool and 31 against Penrith after starting with a duck against NWS Hurricanes.
The competition has attracted 16 teams from across the state divided into four pools.
Hunter Valley will meet one of the three other pool winners in the semi-finals on Wednesday with the winners to progress to the major final on Thursday at Newcastle’s No.1 Sportsground.
Hunter Valley’s under-15 team goes into the final round of the Macquarie Generations HVJC Carnival with one win and a loss.
The carnival held across Maitland features Hunter Valley, Newcastle DCA, Newcastle Presidents, Central Coast, Mid-North Coast and Northern Inland.
Hunter Valley opened its campaign with a win against the Newcastle Presidents XI.
It was a never-say-die effort with Hunter Valley dismissed for 66 but remarkably fighting back to dismiss Newcastle for just 53.
Raymond Terrace all-rounder Lachlan Page made 32 and his Lions teammate wicket-keeper batsman Max Farmer 10 to be the only Hunter batsmen to reach double figures.
Northern Suburbs’ Denzel O'Brien was the hero with the ball taking an incredible 4-3 from four overs, with another Norths’ youngster Ben Parkinson picking up 2-13. Jed Collins, Page and Nicholas Bourke picked up the other wickets.
Hunter Valley recovered from a poor start to post what seemed a respectable 7/151 against Central Coast at Tenambit Oval yesterday.
Farmer came in with the score at 3/36 and turned Hunter’s fortunes compiling a top innings off 66 from 98 deliveries. Collins was the other star with the bat making 44 from just 62 balls.
Central Coast led by a magnificent 83 off just 81 balls by Sebastian Parry and 40 from skipper Lachlan Rainger were not troubled by the target making 4/155 in 31 overs.
City United’s Jay Boyd made the initial breakthrough for Hunter Valley dismissing the openers and finishing with 2-18. Josh Robertson who plays juniors with Kurri Weston and first grade with Cessnock club Mulbring took 2-19.