Sport
27 March, 2023
Atherton fall short of premiership
ATHERTON second grade’s season has come to an end after losing in the Cricket Far North grand-final against Mulgrave Punjabi at Walker Road on Sunday.
This was the second time Atherton has faced Mulgrave Punjabi in the finals however last year’s match-up was a sombre affair after the game was rained out and Mulgrave secured the win due to ladder placement.
On a perfect day for cricket with just a few clouds in the sky, Mulgrave used their knowledge of the notorious Walker Road deck to win the toss and put Atherton in to bat.
This proved to be the right decision as no Atherton batsman made over 20 runs, only two made it into double figures, three recorded ducks and at one stage the team was 7/47.
Atherton opener Alex Nasser struggled his way to 15 off 31 before he was caught and Atherton A-grader Mason Blaney was the only other batsman to make it past 10, making 17 off 32 before being bowled.
Mulgrave strike bowler Ranjodh Singh Yodha put on a masterclass against the Atherton line-up and tore through Atherton’s middle order, bowling four batsmen in a row on his way to a five-wicket haul.
Atherton crawled their way to 78 before being bowled out in the 29th over.
With a mighty defensive task in front of them, Atherton needed to strike quickly and get into Mulgrave’s middle to lower order quickly.
However, the home side never looked bothered or rushed on as they slowly chased down the total, perfectly happy to have five dots in a over then put one over the rope.
Mulgrave got off to a cruisy start and lost their first wicket nearly half way to Atherton total after Matthew Coleman snicked off danger man Vicki Lefty.
Captain Greg Meisner made his mark with the ball after rapping the next in batsman in front to have him dismissed for LBW.
Despite Atherton’s valiant attempt to defend their total Mulgrave finished the game off with a boundary and secured their second consecutive premiership.
