To kick off proceedings for another double header at Kitchener Oval, the Kookaburras won the toss and chose to bat in their match-up against Mornington.
After a difficult start, which left the side struggling at 3-8 early on, Himasekhar Jingilipalem and Cameron Waugh steadied the ship, each scoring 33 and 39 runs respectively.
Jingilipalem’s 33 runs were off 23 balls faced and he recorded three fours and two sixes. Waugh joined the party with two fours and two sixes on his way to the team’s top score of
39.
Another batting collapse threatened the Kookaburras as they aimed to set a considerable score for Mornington to chase down and it was Luke Ellis who took matters into his own hands and finished the innings with 24 runs not out.
The Kookaburras set a target of 114 for Mornington to chase down as they closed out the 20 overs 9-113.
Aidan King was the pick of Mornington’s bowlers, one wicket shy of a five-wicket haul. King’s figures after bowling a maximum of four overs were 4-18 with one maiden. Rhyce Kliendienst followed with figures of 3-10 in his four overs.
With 114 runs required, Justin Carter and Joshua Langdon opened the batting for Mornington, although two quick wickets saw the side 2-10.
Carter was impressive with the bat and was ultimately the side’s saving grace, scoring 51 runs in 57 balls with five fours in his 68 minutes out on the crease.
“It was tough out there,” Carter said.
“They were a good bowling team but it was good to have batted most of the innings. Anytime you get over 100 or 110 it’s always a decent score so we needed to bat well to get the victory.
“After I got out, we still needed a job done and the skipper, Rhyce was able to hit the winning runs off the last ball.”
Carter was caught with the team needing 17 runs to win, Chris De Groot and Kliendienst held on until the very last ball to give Mornington a chance at winning the game.
De Groot contributed 10 runs along with Kliendienst adding 13 with two runs picked up right at the very end of the game.
Although reaching the total after Kliendienst hit the ball over the infield, there was some confusion between the batting pair as they ran for a third time with the Kookaburras scrambling for a run-out.
While the Kookaburras were successful, the game was already won by Mornington. Post-game, Kliendienst spoke about the incident.
“We just needed to get the ball down the field to make sure we won the game,” Kliendienst said.
“The third run was just a brain explosion but it’s always good to beat the Kookaburras.”
Following the last-ball triumph by Mornington, it leaves the side with two wins from three matches in second place, behind Albion which remains undefeated.
As for the Kookaburras, they sit in third place, one ahead of Court House, which were grand finalists in the 2020-21 season.
The final round before the Christmas break will be held this Saturday, however, there is no confirmation over whether Wolseley Oval is playable or if Kitchener Oval will host another double header.
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