ADCA 2024-25: Railways move into second with stirring defence, Royals secure two bonus points in Cobba’s Round

Railways and Royals were the big winners in Albany and Districts Cricket Association’s annual Cobba’s Round as the Tigers moved into the top two of the A-grade ladder while the Lions notched two bonus points. Both A-grade fixtures on Saturday were met with wild weather conditions in the first innings with unforeseen lightning and rain forcing all players from the field. The stoppage meant both matches were reduced to 46 overs a side and the Duckworth-Lewis System, which recalculates scores for rain-affected matches, was brought into contention. The Tigers successfully defended 10-169 by strangling the Park batters with smart bowling plans before rolling them for 122 in the 36th over to secure a crucial 47-run win. After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Tigers passed 100 three down in the 30th over before a torrid batting collapse, where they lost 7-65, marred their innings. Tigers opening pair Billy O’Meara and Devon Jefferis provided a decent start to their innings before Jaymon Spaanderman castled O’Meara for 22. Jefferis found a solid start with 37 from 47 balls but was trapped in front by Ben Grey before a mix-up gave O’Shea Durack the chance to run Joe Stanley (14) out. However, the Tigers still scored fairly freely before young Park leg-spinner Jed Schwarzbach imposed himself on the fixture. He produced a stunning nine-over spell taking 3-35 before partner Leroy van den Dool (2-12 from 2.4 overs) helped clean up the Tigers’ tail. Tigers’ No.8 Mohit Jaggi’s knock of 31 with the lower order proved crucial to helping the Tigers to a defendable total. In reply, Park’s entire top order failed to convert their starts into worthy totals as none of their top five made it past 25 runs. Durack top-scored with 25 at the top of the order before being trapped in front by Stanley who then dismissed Schwarzback for a duck two balls later. Mohit Jaggi snared Dylan Solomon caught behind for 21 with wicketkeeper Devon Jefferis finishing with four dismissals for the match. Lachlan Tindale helped skittle the Park tail with 3-4 from four overs as Park’s final seven wickets fell for just 41 runs. In the other match of the round, the Lions secured two bonus points with a crushing triple-figure win over a depleted Mt Barker to strengthen their grip on top spot. The Lions have yet to falter in their premiership defence, winning their first five matches of the season, including two big victories over last year’s decider opponents and arch-rivals the Bulls who were without star all-rounder and captain Jeremy Wood, experienced opening batter Alex Fergie, Jonte Eastough and veteran spinner Jarrad Gardner. After winning the toss and batting, the Lions plundered 270 runs from their 46 overs, courtesy of yet another half-century from in-form opener Ryley Valli. Valli smoked 65 runs from 75 balls behind three fours and two sixes before late hitting from Jack Hastie elevated his side above the 200-run mark. Hastie scored 41 from 42 balls with two maximums as the Lions finished their innings 8-270, which was elevated to 281 after DLS calculations. Veteran medium pacer Ryan Gearth was the pick of the Bulls’ bowling attack with 3-52 from nine overs while youngster Max Osborne finished with 2-56 from 10 overs. The Lions then continued their rich vein of form into their bowling innings seeing off both Bulls openers Neil Ferreira (six runs) and Max Osborne (five) inside the the powerplay. Despite the early stumble, the Bulls were resilient in their recovery but struggled to match the required run-rate as Jack Pope bunted out 86 balls for his 33. Gaerth showed some intent with a quickfire 31 before being run out by Angus Thompson. The Lions rotated through nine separate bowlers as the game sunk into a slow procession with a fifth victory inevitable. The reigning premiers snared the final five wickets for 14 runs and bowled out the Bulls for 129 in the 42nd over to secure the pair of bonus points and move 13 points clear at the top.