Upper Great Southern under-16B cricketers show class in T20 matches at junior country week

The Upper Great Southern under-16B cricket team got off to a great start at this year’s junior country week producing some stellar individual performances before weathering a tough series of one-day matches. Round one saw UGS land a nail-biter after Evan Clements (54) and Beau Vellios (59) guided Northam to set a chase of 141 off 20 overs at the cost of just two wickets. Xavier Ballard led the resistance (37) before being run out with Jax Moffatt (21) and Cameron Sutherland (21) contributing to a six-run UGS win. UGS faced Northam again in the second round and Chase Parsons would prove pivotal with the ball, bowling the dangerous Vellios out for 18, cleaning Harrison Lyne up for 3 and taking a catch off Riley Tee. Northam set 115 from 20 overs and Moffat (35) and Ballard (31) eagerly led the chase for UGS knocking five fours each to help secure a 19-run victory. Round three saw Eastern Goldfields score a massive 148-run win over UGS and Upper’s one-day woes continued with significant losses to Bunbury and Districts and Busselton-Margaret River. The final round on January 12 saw UGS again face Northam. After winning the toss for the first time all the week, UGS elected to bat and set Northam a target of 91 off 28.4 overs. After twice being on the receiving end, a fired-up Northam bettered UGS in the 20th over. Northam lost just four wickets on their way to making 94 off 20 overs to see Uppers finish in eighth place.