Sport
11 March, 2025
Mareeba holds on in nail-biting finish
THE Mareeba Bandits valiantly held on in their game on the weekend to claim a nail-biting win over the Cyclones who had just two runs to chase in the final few overs.
Mareeba went out to bat first at Borzi Park and got off to a slow start with their opening batsmen totalling just eight runs.
But things picked up after captain Brendan Falvo notched up 16 and vice-captain Ben Jones got a quick 30 from 34. Further efforts from Brendan Payne (54 from 49) and Simon Leeds (36-not-out from 43) helped to boost their score significantly.
Mareeba finished their innings with a defendable score of 7/168.
The Cyclones lost an opening batsman to a duck early in their innings thanks to a bowl from Brendan Payne and a catch from Ryan Jaszczyszyn.
However, efforts from Nicholas Rayner (34 from 56) and Luke McAvoy (53 from 62) got the Cyclones back on track to sit in a position well within contention of a win.
But an LBW from Mareeba’s Tristan Curmi and a stumping from Ross Ferguson halted them in their tracks at 7/167, just two runs shy of a win.
Ferguson then claimed another wicket shortly after, getting a Cyclone batsman out for a duck.
With the over count dwindling, the Cyclones knew they were on the cusp of taking down Mareeba, but a desperate run attempt led to a run-out from Mareeba’s Ruku Chilia and they were still on 167 runs.
The game then came down to whether the final two batsmen could produce the last effort.
After facing 11 balls between them and scoring no runs, the final blow was given by Payne for his third wicket of the day, ending the game with two balls left to play.
The Cyclones couldn’t get the job done and finished 10/167 in a nail-biting finish.
Next week will mark the last game of the cricket season before the final rounds begin.
This Saturday, Mareeba will take on Norths at 3pm at Griffith Park, Cairns, and Atherton will take on first-place Mulgrave at Loder Park, Atherton, at 12.30pm.
