THE final minor round game for the 2024/25 season was upon us on Saturday as North took on the Roos at the Alma Oval.
Thirty-nine-degree weather with strong winds greeted the players when they arrived at the ground, and when Tobias Hack won the toss he wasted no time in informing South skipper James Green that North would be having first use of the Alma wicket.
Veteran in Codie Howard opened the batting with Michael Maalste with the latter out for a golden duck.
Hack and Howard then worked their way through some tricky bowling early to take advantage of a few loose deliveries.
Hack cruised past yet another 50 for the season as the score began to move at lightning pace.
Howard looked aggressive with a number of classy drives & cuts through the offside but was caught on the square leg boundary for 43 from 39 balls.
Three consecutive boundaries from Hack saw him bring up his second hundred of the year but he was dismissed a short time later for a 108 from 97 balls.
Fourth drop Benjamin Jurd turned in 160 not out at the close of innings as North finished with a mammoth total of 4/348 from their 40 overs.
With the huge run chase on the board it was all about fielding to a high standard for the Dogs as they prepared for a Grand Final appearance in a fortnight’s time.
As the breeze picked up, the bowlers had the ball hooping around corners and Austin Wilson was the first to strike with a ripping yorker removing Binu Sebastian for 1.
Jaxon Cain picked up wickets in consecutive deliveries in the very next over and South were 3/2.
Resistance then came in the form of Aaron Williams (30) and Tristan Smith (21) who provided a counter-punch to the North bowlers.
Jurd who broke the partnership, bowling Williams for an entertaining 30.
Jordan Vella struck straight after, with Smith taking on the boundary one too many times to be caught well by Cain right on the rope leaving South 6 for 65.
McEvoy lit up the stumps on three separate occasions to finish with great figures of 3/12 from his 5.2 overs.
South eventually dismissed for 81, giving North a 267 run victory on the back of twin tons from usual suspects Hack and Jurd.
North 4/348 (Jurd 160*, Hack 108, Howard 43) defeated South 81 (Williams 30, McEvoy 3/12, Wilson 2/4, Cain 2/17, Vella 2/19) by 267 runs.
