Sport
24 October, 2025
Dellavedova’s 150 headlines A reserve opening
The MDCA’s A reserve competition wasted no time roaring into action, with the opening round showcasing some spectacular individual performances.
Laanecoorie Dunolly 5/274 def Beaufort Blue 145
Steven Dellavedova has set a lofty early benchmark for batting excellence, opening his account with an awe-inspiring knock finishing at 150 not out in Laanecoorie Dunolly’s victory over Beaufort Blue.
Dellavedova became only the sixth player in Laane’s history to reach 150 in A reserve, with Nathan Leist the last person to do so against Beaufort during the 2021/22 season.
The match was in the balance when Dellavedova joined Paul Waddington at the crease after some early breakthroughs from Beaufort Blue’s Dan Quixley and Ben Woolidge had the hosts at 2/34.
From there, Dellavedova took over, smashing 16 fours and six sixes before reaching his 150 with the last ball of the innings.
Dellavedova’s astounding ac-complishment, coupled with a Ben Smith half-century, steered Laane to finish 5/274, the highest total seen in A reserve since Maryborough’s 5/281 against Carisbrook in round 10 of the 2023/24 season.
Beaufort Blue batted well in their run chase, with Woolidge, David Kiely, Nick Stabbins and Malcolm Woolley all making noticeable totals.
However, youngster Thang Nguyen and the experienced Jarred Russell made their improbable task impossible, with Nguyen taking 4/21 and Russell an economical 3/5 from five overs ensuring Laane’s victory by 129 runs.
Maryborough 7/142 def Colts Phelans 141
After earning their first win last season at the Colts expense, Maryborough delivered a dose of deja vu by successfully chasing down 141 with 31 balls to spare.
The Owls did a brilliant job nullifying the Colts high-powered top order, putting their opponents in serious trouble at 3/12.
Even with Maryborough recruit Anthony Sequeira taking 3/13 from his allotted eight overs, the Colts were able to recover to a defendable total of 141.
Luke Patterson led the way with 29 from just 34 balls while Mathew Henderson, Ethan Chaplin and Tate Williams added valuable runs in the tail.
Two early wickets from Grant Rogers put Maryborough in a spot of bother, but the Owls’ Sam Thomson and Lachlan Bursill helped steady the innings, making 33 and 21 respectively.
That allowed Ben Robertson to cash in late, belting 40 runs off just 42 balls to guide the Owls past the target.
MKM 2/101 def Carisbrook 67
A dominant team bowling performance allowed MKM to get off the mark with an eight wicket victory over Carisbrook.
A total of six MKM bowlers got in the wickets, with Muhammad Haseeb Khan taking 2/10 after a stellar campaign last season, while Tyson Knight finished with 2/17 and Jarrod Nedelkovski cleaned up the tail with two wickets in four balls.
Brandyn Eagle, who top-scored for Carisbrook with a well-made 21, gave the visitors some hope of defending their total when he got rid of Khan with a caught and bowled dismissal for one.
However, a commanding partnership from Sebastian Borg and Jithin Aby Thomas got MKM comfortably over the line, with Borg reaching his 50 before play was dismissed.
Round Two
After a split round to open the season, round two has four games on tap as teams attempt to cement themselves early.
With both teams earning victories in their season opener by dominating in different aspects, it will be intriguing to see who comes out on top of MKM’s trip to Laanecoorie Dunolly.
Following their round one bye, reigning premiers Clunes will fly into a new season against the team they defeated in last season’s semi-final, Maryborough.
Maryborough’s round one opponents, Colts Phelans, will look to improve against a Carisbrook side also gunning for a better performance following a defeat last weekend.
In a milestone moment for the club, round two will see the battle of the Bulls as Beaufort Red play Beaufort Blue for interclub bragging rights.
Even with their round one clash with Beaufort Red now pushed forward to Sunday, November 2, Avoca will have to wait a little longer for their return to senior cricket with a round two bye.