General News
24 March, 2022
Disappointment for Cats after dominant year
AFTER finishing atop the South West Cricket Association (SWCA) ladder at the end of the home and away season, Mortlake Cats were unable to complete their season with a premiership win when they lost by 32 runs to Heytesbury Rebels last Saturday.
AFTER finishing atop the South West Cricket Association (SWCA) ladder at the end of the home and away season, Mortlake Cats were unable to complete their season with a premiership win when they lost by 32 runs to Heytesbury Rebels last Saturday.
In a match where the advantage swung back and forth between the two sides, the Cats had their chances to win the club’s first flag since defeating the Rebels in 2018, but an exceptional bowling
performance from Heytesbury in the second innings stopped the Mortlake batsmen in their tracks.
Heytesbury captain Joel Moriarty won the toss and elected to bat on the firm, flat wicket of the S.A. Wright Oval, and despite a reasonable start Mortlake soon had the Rebels in strife at 5/76 after three early wickets from Lachlan Higginson.
With Heytesbury batting powerhouse Simon Harkness back in the shed alongside skipper Moriarty and the ever-dangerous Shaun Drayton, the Rebels were on their heels, but Sam Hickey joined
Chris Vogels at the crease to form a partnership that would prove to be a game-changer.
“We spoke about it at the start of the game, you’ve got to be mindful, there’s always someone unexpected that pops up,” said Mortlake skipper Todd Robertson.
“Sam Hickey was that man. At 5/76 we were in a good position to try to run through that lower order, but Chris Vogels anchored the other end while Sam went to work.
“Sam struggled to get going, but once he did he launched, and he was hard to stop after that.”
Hickey went on to make 54 in a 74-run partnership with Vogels (25 n.o.) before being bowled by Jack Lehmann (2/48), and the Rebels ultimately finished their innings at 7/181, a defendable but gettable target.
With a required run-rate of just over three and a half runs an over Mortlake started its innings positively, losing openers Todd Lamont (10) and Isaac Wareham (12) early but reaching 2/60 after 14 overs.
Things took a turn when Brody Mahoney dismissed Will Kain (30) and Corey Rounds (3) in the next over, and when Clinton Baker fell to Tom Hunt for one run it seemed Heytesbury had once again wrested the game from the Cats.
However, Jack Lehmann steadied the ship, forming a 19-run partnership with veteran Neil Kelly (6) and putting on 38 together with Jimmy Tarbolton (24 n.o.).
A concerted attack from Heytesbury saw Paul Vogels take 2/11 and Mahoney bowl out Josh Jewell (10) and Darcy Hobbs (1) to take his figures to 4/19 and dismiss Mortlake for 149 in the 45th over.
“We got ourselves into a winning position with the bat when Jimmy and Jack were out there batting together,” Robertson said.
“Our run-rate was terrific, we still had five wickets in hand, and the field was back.
“All we needed to do was chip away at the runs, but they were able to get those regular wickets and apply too much pressure on us in the end. A lot of credit’s got to go to Heytesbury.”
Robertson said he and his teammates were sorely disappointed they’d missed the chance to cap off their brilliant season with the premiership.
“We were shattered after the game, absolutely shattered,” he said.
“Not only this year, but last year as well we put in a lot of hard work, so it’s two seasons of hard work with no reward now.
“A lot of the younger blokes stood up and had great seasons, Will Kain in particular, and to fall at the last hurdle… credit to Heytesbury, they played a fantastic game and they’re thoroughly deserving winners.”
Robertson said the disappointment was tempered by the team’s performance throughout the season and the club’s positive outlook going into the next five years.
“I’m really proud of the boys to get us into a position to win a flag, that’s twice in two years, and credit goes to the young guys who have really taken that next step,” he said.
“We won the Twenty20 tournament and got into another Sungold, we got multiple junior premierships, we’ve got a $90,000 turf wicket going in, and $500,000 worth of lights, so we’re in a strong position as a club.
“The young guys have played enough cricket now to be our next generation of leaders, so hopefully we’re talking another 5-10 years of success on top of the past 10 years.
“There’s also a really good crop of kids coming through, and that’s the most important thing for local cricket, so hopefully with the turf wicket and the facilities here we can keep them coming through.”
