While the A-graders struggled against a dominant Ovens Valley side, ultimately falling by seven wickets, it was more positive news among other grades with four sides getting victories.
Under-12 Green vs Under-12 Blue
The Benalla Bushrangers season opened with two of the club's three under-12 sides facing off against each other at Arundel St on a windy Friday night.
The under-12 Blue side batted first and immediately got the runs ticking over, with Tom Lambert making a quick 11 off 17 balls.
Toby Smith made 13 off 15, while Lachlan Osborne and Caleb Hein both finished not out with 16 and 13, respectively.
The running between the wickets was a highlight and something younger teams often struggle with initially.
Wickets to Ryan Lindsay, Matthew White, Izayah Williams and Oliver Ross, plus a run out by Finlay Parker, helped stem the flow of runs, and the Green team's target was set at 99.
It was a tough game for the Green team, with only 17 runs made off the bat.
The bowling from the Blue team was tight and relentless, with Luke Conway, Toby Smith and Lachie Osborne taking one each and Jack Crook finishing with two wickets.
Final score:
Benalla under-12 Green: 8/60
Benalla under-12 Blue: 5/99
Under-12 Red vs Yarrawonga Bulls
The under-12s were back at Arundel on Saturday morning, this time with the Reds playing against the Yarrawonga Bulls.
Benalla started with the bat first and got the game off to a great start with Hudson Pickering, Oli Ross and Jack McKenzie all retiring not out on seven, 17 and 12 runs, respectively.
Only losing two wickets was an outstanding achievement, and a target of 88 was commendable.
Archer Pickering had a night out in the field with a catch and two run outs, including the important wicket of a Bulls batsman who made 32.
The Bushrangers’ bowling was extremely tight, with only 17 extras bowled for the night.
Yarrawonga would take the points, but the Bushrangers left Arundel with plenty of positives to take next week.
Final score:
Benalla under-12 Red: 2/88
Yarrawonga Bulls: 8/97
Under-14 Red
The under-14 Red also took on Yarrawonga on the weekend, playing against the Bulls at Stan Hargreaves Oval.
With a lot of talent on both sides, this was expected to be a cracking Len Hill Shield match-up.
Benalla sent the Bulls into bat, and Yarrawongas' openers quickly got the runs moving.
After the openers retired, the Bushrangers’ bowling attack stepped up a notch and started to chip away at the rest of their order.
Harry Skelton, who took two wickets, and Tom Mount, who bowled three overs for four runs and took one wicket, were the highlights of the innings. Benalla was set a target of 75 to chase.
Harry Skelton, with 26, and Jack Hart, with 22, jumped out of the blocks to take Benalla’s score past 50 in the first seven overs.
Angus Leavold, 29 not out, and Oli Smith, with 11, combined for a handy middle-order partnership to secure the win.
Special mention goes to Noah Cooney's excellent juggling skills in taking a catch off Jack Dermott's bowling.
Final score:
Yarrawonga Bulls: 4/75
Benalla under-14 Red: 7/114
Under-14 Blue
Benalla Blue won the toss and chose to field for its first game against Beechworth.
The batting line-up was solid, but the Bushrangers could keep them to 110.
Henry Briggs and Jakobi Williams both snared wickets in their first games of under-14s.
Beechworth's bowling attack was tight, and runs were difficult to come by. Xavier De Fazio was the batter of the day, with 29 not out.
Runs were in high demand as the overs dwindled, and the Bushies came out aggressively after a quick drinks break.
However, the pressure to score was evident, and wickets started to fall, leading to Benalla's 31-run defeat.
There are some promising signs from the young talent in the squad, and an exciting season is ahead.
Final score:
Beechworth: 5/110
Benalla under-14 Blue: 6/79
Under-16s
The opening round for the 16s saw the Bushrangers take on Ovens Valley at the Benalla Gardens Oval.
Bushies won the toss and elected to bat, and openers Lucas Ham, with 27, and Mitchell Cooney, with 22, getting the team off to a great start.
Josh Hart came in at number three and steadied the team when wickets started to fall.
Hart would finish undefeated on 30 not out.
Hunter Carter, with 13 not out, and Kobi Ross, with 12 not out, helped to keep the scores ticking over and set Ovens Valley a respectable target of 117.
Ovens started to score runs early, but the bowling attack quickly shut it down to bowl out the Tigers for 87.
Angus Richardson was excellent up front and was well-supported by spinners Mitch Cooney, 2/2, Will Keen, 1/9, Riley McCarthy, 1/8, and medium pacer Ryder Levy, 1/2.
Final score:
Benalla under-16s: 9/117
Ovens Valley: 8/87
B-grade
The Bushrangers B-grade side met the City Colts at Arundel St and were sent out for a bowl after losing the toss.
Openers Steve Hart and Ian Costello worked hard and were unlucky in not picking up a few wickets during the opening overs.
Brendan Duncombe and debutante Kai Dervish then came into the attack and immediately made an impact.
Debutante Dervish picked up a wicket in his first over and should have had a second if not for some errant fielding.
Jack Fullager cleaned up the tailend, finishing with two wickets for four runs as Benalla were set a target of 194.
The target was a big test, but great knocks from Simon Holmes, 58, Jack Fullager, 49, and Craig Williams, 70, ended the game with six overs to spare.
Final score:
Benalla: 3/195
City Colts: 7/194
A-Reserve
The match against the City Colts started positively for the Bushrangers, with bowlers Dylan Barber and Brendan Anderson picking up quick wickets early in the innings.
In his 50th game, Blake Spokes ended the day with 2/16 with Anderson, the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/20.
Midway through the innings, Bushrangers had the Colts at 4/68, with an undefeated 63 from Colts number six Justin Solimo allowing them to set Benalla a target of 143.
Brad Milligan, with 24, and Daniel Brew, with 49, got Benalla off to the perfect start, but a collapse of wickets was too much to come back from as the Bushrangers were bowled out for 132, 11 runs short of their target.
Final score:
City Colts: 8/143
Benalla: 10/132
Over-60s
Benallas over-60s side took on the Border Vets on Sunday, winning the toss and electing to bat at Martin Park in Wodonga.
Greg Hoysted, 23, not out; Ian Dinsdale, 27, not out; Paul Ivery, 25, not out; Peter Neville, 22; and Allan Porker, 21, all contributed to setting the Border Vets a target of 171.
Even with some impressive bowling performances from Ken Grace and Paul Ivery, Benalla was unable to defend the target as Peter Jacobsen, with 40, and Ian Smith, with 31 runs, led the home side to victory.
Final score:
Border Vets: 8/178
Benalla: 5/171
