Elliott, Boehm鈥檚 opening stand leads Emus to big win

Openers Zachary Elliott (97) and Joshua Boehm (90) put on an incredible opening stand of 176 as they both fell agonisingly short of triple figures.

In what was a mature and patient innings by the Emus, they compiled a total of 3-236 from their 50 overs.

The Pioneers simply couldn’t get going during their run chase, losing wickets at consistent intervals.

The Emus’ bowlers refused to give any slack, as the Pioneers couldn’t build a partnership higher than 20 runs.

The Pioneers were eventually dismissed for 89 off 35.2 overs.

Zack Richardson was superb as he finished with figures of 3-7 (6) while Aditya Narayana (3-19 off 4.2) took the last three wickets of the match.

In other results, the Inner South East Scorpions successfully defended a vulnerable total against the Western Waves.

Alex Ross (76) and Thaveesh Attanayake (33) put on 101 runs for the second wicket before the Scorpions collapsed, ultimately dismissed for 169.

Tim Goodman (4-32) led the charge as the Waves suddenly took 9-47 to bring themselves back into the match.

The run chase fell short however, with five batsmen getting to 20 and not consolidating.

Hugh McCluggage and Angus Boyd both scored 27 for the Waves while the Scorpions spread the wickets, Dean Krelle the best with 2-25.

The Barwon Rockets held on by just seven runs in a tight contest with the North West Wizards.

Harry Purcell (45), Cooper Bingham (42) and Jack Driver (43*) all made forties after the Rockets were sent in to bat – the team finished with a good total of 6-225.

Wizards skipper Liam Molloy made the Rockets nervous before he was the second last batsman dismissed for a brilliant 75.

His side couldn’t get over the line without him, finishing its 50 overs on 9-218.

The Rockets move to two wins from two starts in the tournament.

The Gippsland Pride became another team with a perfect record after thrashing the North East Knights by 99 runs.

Despite a brilliant bowling performance from Knight Angus McMillan (5-29), the Pride was able to push the score to 186 behind Matthew Hibbs’ 67 and Devin Pollock’s 46.

Reid Clarke (21) and Jack Ryan (14) put on 40 for the first wicket and things were looking good for the Knights in their run chase.

However, the breaking of this partnership triggered a collapse of 3-0 in quick time and it all went down hill from there.

With the score 7-87, they again lost 3-0 to be bowled out in 34.1 overs.

A steady second-wicket partnership between Blake Thomson (80) and Jakob Tidyman (77) set up the win for the Central Highlands over the Outer East Eagles.

Thomson continued his strong form from throughout the summer, after making 87 in the first game of the tournament as well as a brilliant century for Victoria in the Under-17s National Championships in December.

Jackson Waters (65) played a lone hand in the Eagles’ run chase as his side was dismissed for 161 in the 47th over (Matthew North 4-25, Nicholas Strangio 3-40).

The Northern Falcons notched up their second win of the tournament as they handed the South East Sharks their second loss.

The Falcons posted a slow 9-144 in their 50 overs (B Dawson 24*, Quigley 3-13) but it would prove to be enough as the Sharks continued their poor form with the bat.

All out for 93 (Lachlan McLeod 2-8), it was the second time the Sharks have been dismissed for less than 100 in as many matches.

In the remaining games, Northern Rivers (9-254, Isaac Conway 60, Rhiley Lau 57, Layton McCann 52, Mitchell Cross 3-41) went 2-0 with a win over the Western Spirit (198, Jake Hobbs 44, Thomas Duxson 43, Brendan Moyle 3-25), while the Mallee Murray Bulls (97, Cameron Watts 4-31) fell to 0-2 with a loss to the South East Bayside Breakers (6-223, Will Pucovski 72, Christopher Diggle 45, Damon Morrish 2-24).