Fighting performance with the bat helps reigning premiers Royals prevail over Mt Barker in tense finish

Mt Barker have suffered their first loss of the 2021-22 A-grade season, as a spirited batting performance from Royals guided the reigning premiers to a tense four-wicket win on Saturday afternoon. In the second terrific contest between last season’s grand final teams, the Lions recorded a third straight win in the Albany and Districts Cricket Association 50-over competition at Turf North. The game was in the balance when the Lions fell to 3-11 after star batter Mitch Green was trapped in front for a duck, but a defiant innings from Leighton Smith and contributions from Dylan Holt and Teague Valli steered the Lions home with 22 balls to spare. A five-wicket haul from strike bowler Matt France put the Lions in a strong position after the Bulls won the toss and elected to bat in the round nine fixture. The Bulls only posted 125 batting first but quickly put the Lions on the back foot, with all-round star Nathan Crudeli knocking over Ted Batchelor with the first ball of the innings and then Ryley Valli in his third over. When Jeremy Wood dismissed his counterpart Green for a duck in his first over, the game had swung in favour of the Bulls. Smith was hit on the helmet twice but dug deep to play a leading hand in the victory, sharing in an important 72-run stand with Holt. The pair were at the crease together for 23 overs and scored at more than three runs per over, with Smith ticking the run rate along nicely, while Holt played a strong support role. The Lions needed 43 for victory in the final 20 overs, but the game changed again as Paul Osborne struck twice. Smith came down the pitch and spooned a ball to mid-wicket, and then two balls later France’s foot slid outside the crease and he was stumped for a duck to leave the Lions at 5-83. Teague Valli joined Holt in the middle and they steadied the ship again with a 29-run stand to get their side within sight of victory. Holt’s fighting innings came to an end on 32 when he snicked off, and that left the final 16 runs to come from young pair Teague Valli and Angus Thompson. The pair slowly knocked the runs off, and Thompson sealed the win with a big pull shot over mid-wicket for six. Smith hit four boundaries in his knock of 40 from 85 balls, and Holt faced 107 balls in his patient innings of 32, while Teague Valli was vital at the death, steering his side home with an unbeaten 26. Crudeli finished with the impressive figures of 2-14 off 10 overs in a damaging spell, and Osborne snared 2-24, but the Bulls suffered their first loss of the season. Crudeli and Adam Ditchburn, in his first game for the Bulls, led the way with the bat earlier on. France removed Alex Fergie first ball of the match, and then when Jeremy Wood left one on the stumps, France had given the Lions the perfect start. Clayton Wood provided some resistance with 21 at the top of the order, but his side fell to 3-51 when he departed. Crudeli and Ditchburn added 57 to take their side into triple figures before Ditchburn’s impressive innings of 34 came to an end when he was stumped. The Bulls lost 7-17 in a horrible collapse as France and Thompson cleaned up the tail. Thompson claimed the major wicket of Crudeli, who holed out to Batchelor at long on for 50. France finished with superb figures of 5-12 from nine overs, and was well supported by Thompson (3-17) and Holt (2-29).