Local representatives made an impact in several Junior Country Week cricket fixtures last week.
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While none of the local junior teams ended the week with Country Week titles, the under-17s and under-15s sides made their respective grand finals, with the under-13 team narrowly missing out on a grand final spot by percentage and the size of their results.
Regardless, there were many positive performances for the local players to takeaway from the week.
In the under-17s, boys MVCA made the grand final, being the only team to go undefeated from their three pool matches.
The side beat Goulburn Murray by 15 runs, Bendigo by nine wickets and Seymour by eight wickets before losing to Shepparton in the T20 grand final by 30 runs.
In the side were Tocumwal representatives Tom White and Liam Sutton, who played well across the four matches.
In the opener against Goulburn Murray, White was the leading wicket taker with three wickets while Sutton was the top run scorer with 24.
In the second match against Bendigo, Sutton took a five wicket haul and White added one.
The Tocumwal players took a wicket in every match, including notably two wickets each in the final against Shepparton.
The under-16s won their first match, a nail-biter against Seymour by three runs, before losing to Goulburn Murray by 85 runs and Bendigo by 12 runs.
Tocumwal’s James White took a wicket in the first match and was the leading wicket taker in the third match, with four wickets against Bendigo.
The other grand final side, the under-15s, got through to the final, winning their first two matches.
Against Shepparton they won by five wickets, and by eight wickets against Seymour.
They then lost the T20 pool match against Goulburn Murray by 24 runs, and the T20 final by 52 runs to Bendigo.
Locals led the way for this side, including in the first match, where two raised the bat with half centuries.
James Winn top scored, making 56 opening the batting, and vice captain Jordan Swann made 53 coming in at number four.
Lucas Baron was the other high scorer in that match, making 22.
Jordan produced quality performances across the week, also taking a wicket and reaching double figures with the bat in every match.
In the other matches he finished 23 not out, 43 not out and 44 not out in the final.
The under-14s boys side weren’t as fortunate, but still had some of the closest results of the competition - including a tie.
The side lost to Goulburn Murray by 72 runs and Bendigo by nine wickets.
In the T20 against Shepparton, then each finished with 83 runs and with MVCA creating a run out in the field off the last ball of the match.
Finley’s Angus Urquhart top scored in the opening match, making 36.
He took catches in game one and in the last match.
Captain of the side, Daniel Burn - who lives in Blighty but plays for Tocumwal this season - performed well for his side.
He reached double figures with the bat in each match opening, including top-scoring with 18 against Bendigo and 35 against Shepparton.
He also took three wickets with his bowling and created a run out in the field.
The under-13s were unfortunate to not make the final based on percentage, proving themselves as one of the top three sides in the age-group for the week.
While losing their opening match to eventual final winners Bendigo by 113 runs, they won against Goulburn Murray by eight wickets and Seymour in the T20 by 25 runs.
Sam White and Oliver East, both from Tocumwal, made 39 and 25 not out respectively in the second match against Goulburn Murray.
Archie Matters was second top scorer in the last match of the week, with 31 not out.
While the under-12s weren’t able to win a match, there were still some good performances from the local juniors.
They lost by 59 runs to Goulburn Murray, by four wickets to Bendigo and by 71 runs against Shepparton.