Sport
6 March, 2026
Pomborneit in upset loss
THE final round of the Colac-South West premier cricket competition saw Pomborneit have an upset loss to Simpson at Port Campbell.
Simpson captain Jackson Rock won the toss and elected to bat, with the Tigers bowled out in 48.1 overs for 158.
Tharaka Sendanayake took the last four wickets to finish with 4/1 from 3.1 overs, Lahiru Ferando took 2/33 from nine overs with a wicket each to Matt Bignell and Roshane Fernando.
“I thought our bowling effort was really good, we had guys bowl really tightly without getting rewarded and we put good dot ball pressure on,” Pomborneit captain Grant Place said.
“Finn Tolland with the new ball was really tight, Tommy Darcy was hard to get away and Josh Reynolds did a decent job.”
Tolland conceded 16 runs in seven straight overs with the new ball, Darcy went for 27 from 10 with Reynolds bowling six overs for 24.
“Senda finished it off quickly when we needed him to; getting the wicket of Jackson Rock who was just starting to get going was important.”
The Bulls in reply lost constant wickets, at 7/93 the highest partnership of the innings came, with 36 for the eighth wicket between Sendanayake and Lahiru Fernando.
Sendanayake’s dismissal for a match high 47 from 70 balls put paid to the Bulls hopes, eventually all out for 137 in the 43rd over to give Simpson a 21 run win.
Lahiru Fernando, batting lower in the order due to a thumb injury, remained unbeaten on 24 from 39 balls.
“Unfortunately our top order just hasn’t fired since the Christmas break,” Place said.
“Senda nearly got the job done again for us but we just can’t be leaving it all up to him.”
The loss sees the Bulls finish the home and away season in seventh place.
Tomorrow’s elimination final against Heytesbury-Princetown will be at the unfamiliar venue of Warrion.
“We’re looking forward to playing at Warrion, it’s well renowned as the best turf venue in the district and somewhere the club has never played which makes it exciting.
“Finals are a different ball game, we feel we match up well against the Storm, I’m confident we’ll rise to the occasion and give it a real crack.”
The division two Bulls finished the home and away season with a thumping 183 run win over Ecklin at Pomborneit.
Bulls skipper Charlie Voutier won the toss and elected to bat, with his team making 8/290 from its 40 overs.
Teenage opener Fletcher Tolland top scored with 76s, hitting nine fours and two sixes, with Stephen Hill book ending the innings with an unbeaten 69 from 60 balls.
Other contributions came from Ben Whytcross with 46 and Luke Reynolds 41.
Pomborneit took three early wickets from opening bowlers Gavin Reynolds and Stephen Hill, before Ecklin put on 66 for the fourth wicket.
From that point Ecklin lost its last seven wickets for just 25 runs, all out in 31.3 overs.
Fletcher Tolland made it a great all round game with 2/7 from 6.3 overs, Hill took 2/20 with a wicket each to teenage trio Gavin Reynolds, Levi Cootesmith and Max Rees.
The division two Bulls finish the home and away season on top of the ladder with eight wins and a tie and will face Heytesbury-Princetown in tomorrow’s semi-final at the Pomborneit Recreation Reserve.
In the final round of division three matches, Pomborneit Gold had a 143 run win over Boorcan at Boorcan, while Pomborneit Maroon scored a nine wicket win over Woorndoo at South Purrumbete.
Gold opener Matt Richardson scored his third career ton, carrying his bat through the innings to finish on 117 not out from 109 balls, hitting seven fours and a six in his team’s total of 3/233 from 40 overs.
Stephen Walters was unbeaten on 53 while Garry Riches earlier made 31.
In reply Boorcan was all out in the 35th over for 90.
Junior player Sam Tolland led the bowling, taking 4/4 from 4.2 overs with his off-spinners, with Walters and Isaac Cootesmith taking two wickets each.
Woorndoo elected to bat first against Pomborneit Maroon and were all out in the 38th over for 122.
Son and father combination Jonty and Andy Raven took the new ball together and both bowled seven over spells, Jonty taking 2/19 with Andy conceding just 14 runs.
Patrick Spokes, Hugo Saarikallio and Bailey Fox took a wicket each, with under 13 player Crawford Dunn taking the last four wickets to finish with 4/3 from 3.4 overs.
Maroon knocked off the runs in 17.1 overs, with 13 year old Bailey Fox unbeaten on 78 with 11 boundaries, and Dani John scoring a season best 25 not out in the win.
Pomborneit Gold finished the season in second place with 11 wins, while Pomborneit Maroon finished third with nine wins.
The two Pomborneit teams will play each other for a grand final berth in tomorrow’s semi-final at the Camperdown number two oval.
Pomborneit’s under 14 boys’ team hosted Alvie in the division two semi-final at Pomborneit last Friday night.
Batting first, the junior Bulls posted 5/191 from their 30 overs.
Openers Bailey Fox, with 46 retired, and captain Noah Boyd with 41 retired, got the team off to a flying start.
Crawford Dunn was unbeaten on 18, Jamie Gardiner 13 retired and Wally Rees 10 not out.
Alvie were 2/10 from 4.1 overs when heavy rain hit, the match soon abandoned.
Due to finishing higher on the ladder, the under 14 Bulls are through to tonight’s division two grand final against City United Gold at Colac’s CMTP Oval.
Pomborneit’s under 13 boys’ team are finished for the season after a 21 loss to Bookaar in Monday night’s semi-final.
Batting first, the junior Bulls were bowled out for 80 in the 18th over.
Captain Bailey Fox top scored with 23 retired, with Hamish Bishop making 13 and Angus Murphy nine.
Bookaar replied with 6/101 from 24 overs, with Bailey Fox, Jack Hillman, Hamish Christensen, Lucas Place and Billy Hillman taking a wicket each.
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