Alwis, Forde guide Tigers to glory

A brilliant 113-run partnership between Geeth Alwis (52* off 52) and Riley Forde (60* off 57) has steered Ovens Valley United’s A grade side to victory over Benalla Bushrangers on Saturday. Batting first, the Bushies posted 6/176 from their 45 overs, with last week’s centurion and opener Jonty Priest continuing his fine form with a handy 53 from 66, while middle order bat Vaughn Kirk made an unbeaten 56* from 58. While there were definite contributions from the other willow wielders, the Tigers did exceptionally well with ball in hand to contain their opponents. While opening bowler Joe Monk’s radar was a bit off, going for 33 runs from his five overs, the rest of the attack were keeping it tight. Geeth Alwis (2/25 from nine), James Neary (1/28 from eight) and Chris Egan (1/31 from nine) kept the pressure on, and the total to a chaseable target. OVUCC skipper Seamus Phillips said they stingy bowling helped heap pressure on the explosive Bushrangers bats. “Joe couldn’t hit his lines early, but credit to Jonty, he batted quite well,” he said. “It was pace off the ball like normal, just slowed the run rate down and built pressure, and they just couldn’t really score at a high enough rate to get that score closer to 200. “With all the spinners, they just have such good control – you can set a field and just frustrate batters. “I think Geeth and Chris to O’Donnell was a prime example, he got frustrated and tried to create something, and holed out to a fielder on the boundary. “If they’re not getting a boundary an over, they get frustrated, so if you can just get into an over and not give them anything, really prevent them from scoring boundaries, do that for a period of time over three, four, five overs, it starts creating chances.” Early wickets so often can spell disaster for a chase, and it seemed like it was the case again when Tigers opener Tom Chettleburgh was trapped in front with the score on 13. Ovens Valley were desperate for a solid partnership as they limped to 4/65, but when Riley Forde joined Alwis in the middle, the pair went big. Both batters would record unbeaten half centuries, forging a 113-run partnership to see them soar past the target in the 38th over. Tom O’Donnell (1/25 from nine) and Ross Cavill (1/9 from five) were the pick of the bowlers, but the rest of the attack was simply too expensive, going at more than five runs an over. “It was a good win, I thought we batted the best we have all year, to chase it down with seven or eight overs to spare was nice,” Phillips said. “We spoke about it after the game, I think it’s probably one of our better partnerships we’ve put together, especially chasing. “Last week it just felt like that first tick of the box, chase a score and we did it, and with the confidence, once Riley and Geeth got that partnership to 20 or 30, they never looked like going out and they chased it down with plenty of time left.” The Tigers head down to Mansfield’s Lords Reserve this weekend to take on Delatite, who are still looking to open their season account. “Looking at the result on the weekend, I think the seamers will actually get a bit out of it,” Phillips said. “Mac [McNamara Reserve] has been pretty much a road for two weeks now, and Joe and Skinny [Neary] have been getting a little bit frustrated so hopefully they can get a bit of reward in Mansfield if the pitch is a bit juicier. “They’re still an unknown side, they struggled on the weekend but in their first two games they posted decent scores, and there are still some good cricketers in that top order, so we’re not going to take it lightly. “We honestly just want to go out there and come home with the win.”

Alwis, Forde guide Tigers to glory

Myrtleford Show 2026 a triumph!

Students explore various vocations for work experience week

Myrtleford Times, Wednesday, 28 October, 2026

Communities urged to get fire ready ahead of summer

Most popular stories

Myrtleford Show 2026 a triumph!

Students explore various vocations for work experience week

Myrtleford Times, Wednesday, 28 October, 2026

Communities urged to get fire ready ahead of summer