Harvey-Benger women’s side cap off unbeaten second-grade season with 86-run grand final win over Eaton

Harvey-Benger won the Bunbury and Districts Cricket Association women’s second-grade premiership on Sunday, capping off an undefeated season with an 86-run win over Eaton in Harvey. On a beautiful morning in front of a big crowd, Eaton won the toss and elected to bowl. The visitors struck early, dismissing Taneeka De Ridder for four, who was bowled while trying to sweep the ball to the leg side. Sam Bozanich joined Fleur Parker in the middle and the pair shared a 64-run partnership off 57 balls before Bozanich was bowled by Ashli Stenhouse for 15. Brooke Vantwist and Parker then put the foot down with a match-defining 73-run partnership from 62 balls, with Vantwist eventually out for 30, caught off the bowling of Sienna Petersen, leaving Harvey-Benger at 3-153. Captain Megan Minton (9) came in and turned the strike over to allow Parker to dominate the bowling and bring up her century off 84 balls. Parker was dismissed shortly after for 102, falling leg-before-wicket off the bowling of Stenhouse. Harvey-Benger posted 5-187 from their 30 overs. In reply, Eaton started with caution, getting through the first six overs without losing a wicket. It was captain Minton who got the first wicket, bowling Petersen. Eaton recovered with a 27-run partnership until Trinity Brown came on for her second spell. Brown was able to take three wickets in one over, then another in the next. Cara Borthwick was the only Eaton player able to handle Harvey-Benger’s attack, ending the innings on 38 not out, as Eaton finished their 30 overs at 9-101. Brown finished the match with figures of 5-26 but was well supported by her pace partner Laura Cheney, who took 0-12 off six overs, while Minton (2-15 from six overs) and Bozanich (1-13 from four overs) also played their part. The umpires awarded Brown the player of the match award. Harvey-Benger’s fourth-grade side produced a stirring victory on Saturday, defeating Eaton by 18 runs at the Eaton Sports Ground. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat but runs were hard to come by in the early overs, with conditions conducive to swing. First-time opener Nicholas Blunt (14) did well to see through the opening bowlers, before father and son duo Darren Bozanich (70 not out) and Tyler Bozanich (22) shared in a 50-run partnership. In the late overs, Blain McCavanagh (14) combined well with the senior Bozanich in another valuable 47-run stand to see the score to 5-137 from the available 40 overs. In the fielding innings, Harvey-Benger started brightly, with talismanic opening bowler David Cooper (4-14) again leading the charge. Cooper took his wickets tally for the summer to 39, leading all players in the competition heading into the final round. The visitors were able to take regular wickets through the middle part of the innings before a late fightback from Phil Peterson (37 not out) made things tight. It was the Harvey-Benger junior duo of Tyler Bozanich (2-11) and Julian Frederiksen (3-14) who delivered, giving the batters nothing in their hitting arcs. Frederiksen finished the Eaton innings with a magnificent yorker to see the team to victory. Despite the win, the side find themselves in fifth place on the ladder, with a bye in the final round meaning they will be reliant on other results to make the finals. The club’s second-grade side defeated Burekup by 67 runs at Harvey Recreation Ground on Saturday. Batting first, the hosts were able to post a total of 172 thanks to contributions from Haydn Jones (47), Joseph Cambrea (37) and Aaron Jovanovic (23). A strong effort with the ball from Harvey-Benger saw Burekup bundled out for 105 in reply, with Jones (4-15 from four overs) playing a starring role with support from Brady Oxford (2-20 from six overs).