Lloyd Pope Dominates Day 1 With Sensational 8-Wicket Haul

Rd 11 Day 1 Review 

Despite another extreme bowling performance from Darwin leg spinner Lloyd Pope (8-105 from 34 overs), honours were even at stumps on day one of their Premier Grade cricket match against Southern Districts played at Kahlin Oval.

The Eagles didn’t have it all their own way early when Crocs were sent in to bat by Darwin skipper Matt Hammond and openers Corey Hunter (100) and Dylan Mullen (41) plundered 106 from the largely ineffective bowling attack before Blake Coburn enticed Mullen to run down and hit him high over the mid-wicket fence but it failed to make the distance and was well caught by Jacob Dickman.

Without the services of seamers Tom Menzies (in Brisbane at an Australian Under 19 selection trial) and Will Pilkington, Hammond rotated through his bowlers including himself opening with medium pace until finally Pope, and fellow spinners Coburn and Connor Hawkins, settled into their work and caused some concern for the batsmen although at tea, Districts were comfortable at 1-145. 

After bowling in excess of 20 overs, Tom Jackson (37) became Pope’s first wicket and when soon after he got rid of Hunter only Tim Garner (31) handled him with reasonable ease and his eight-wicket haul reflected his dominance over middle and late order batters. 

Districts declared at 9-247 from 76.1 overs and in reply, Darwin is 2-21 with Brodie Symons (2-9) taking both wickets.

While Districts struggled to enhance a solid batting platform, it was all runs at the other two matches:

Nightcliff declared at 8-362 after 67.5 overs and at stumps, PINT reached 0-16. It was the Tiger top-order batsmen that laid the foundation for the score with openers Douwtjie Hoogenboezem (180) and Isaac Higgins (60) setting the scene and then the inform James Doherty (80) added to the initial glut. It was left to captain Coby Edmondstone (7-73 from 19.5 overs) to control the onslaught with his off spinners.

At Gardens Oval, Waratah batted out its full quota of overs and at stumps the red caps were a healthy 4-397 against a hapless Tracy Village bowling attack. No Tracy bowler claimed multiple wickets while all of the Tah top order batters got away. Leading the way with the bat were opener Ryan Hackney (156 not out) who batted through the innings, number three Param Uppal (87) and master-blaster Jack Wood (77 not out from 34 balls including 1x4 and 10x6).

Round 11 Day 2 Preview

The close one is at Kahlin Oval between Darwin and Southern Districts where Districts declared at 9-247 and in reply the Eagles are 2-21 with Anthony Adlam not out nine and batting big guns Jacob Dickman, Dhruv Kant, Matt Calder and Daniel Kerber still to come.

But star of day one was clearly Lloyd Pope, and while it took more than twenty near consecutive overs for him to strike a blow, his final tally was an impressive 8-105 from 34 overs. 

However, while the cream of the Darwin batting remains unscathed, they will start the day having lost two wickets and a degree of early consolidation will be necessary against the quality rural attack that includes proven wicket takers in Brodie Symons, Reiley Mark, Josh Kann, Ashley Nagel and Dylan Mullen.

Nightcliff’s 8dec-362 may be a bridge too far for PINT to surpass but the greens have competency in batting with Coby Edmondstone, last round century maker Jett Liebke, Sanka Wijegunarathna and Mitch Doolan all capable of big runs but they face a daunting task against a bowling attack that has at its disposal Caelan Maladay, Hanno Jacobs, Jai Allman and Charlie Smith.

Similarly, Tracy Village is chasing a hugely competitive score and to surpass the Waratah 397 would be entering unchartered territory this season where 10-240 is the best Village achievement with the bat in winning the round seven match against PINT.

However, the Waratah limitation is taking early wickets and also finding the best combinations to hold and then breach opposition batting. So, the Village target should firstly be to value time at the crease and build a score that exceeds anything achieved so far this season.

Rd 11 Fixture Saturday 08 and 15 July
Nightcliff v PINT at Nightcliff Oval (12.30pm)
Waratah v Tracy Village at Gardens Oval (12.30pm)
Darwin v Southern Districts at Kahlin Oval (12.30pm)
Bye: Palmerston