A CLANCY Ellett 100 has steered Beechworth’s A grade side to an emphatic win over City Colts. The opening batsmen’s maiden top grade WDCA ton brought Baarmutha Park to their feet as he and fellow opener Jackson Cull cruised past the required 166 with all 10 wickets to spare. Captain Brenton Surrey, who enjoyed front seat viewing from the dugout all day, said it was just reward for both batsmen who did the hard work done throughout the innings. “It’s always good to see the young guys go well and it was a pretty mature innings by Clancy,” he said. “It’s no secret over a long period of time we’ve given a lot of kids a go, some of them have done well and gone on to bigger and better things in Melbourne. “It’s good he [Ellett] got a nice reward at the end of his innings… you certainly remember most of your hundreds.” Ellett and Cull rejoined the crease after surviving a testy period to close out day one on 0/16 after 14 overs. But the free flowing, natural game of Ellett rose to the fore from the first ball on day two. The slow outfield made runs hard-earned, but the young opener still managed six boundaries on his way to triple figures. Ellett’s innings would come to an end on 105 as a result of a run out, at 1/168. While Ellett took the limelight, Cull played more than a steady hand in the innings, making a tough 59 off 171 balls before being bowled shortly after Ellett’s run out. With the runs already made, the rest of the Beechworth batting order went to work quickly in securing runs, with Kayde Surrey (49 off 54 balls) and Austen Fendyk (26) adding further salt to the City Colt’s wound, putting on a 51-run partnership for the third wicket. Led by seasoned spinner Matt Lister, City Colts were able to take the next six wickets for 65 runs before finishing play at 9/285. Lister would finish with figures of 6/46. It’s Beechworth’s third straight win and they remain unbeaten in the 2025 leg of the season. A vital clash in the shape of the A grade standings now awaits the Wanderers as they head to Myrtleford this Saturday to take on Ovens Valley United. The Wanderers are 13 points clear of Ovens Valley in third and a win would all but secure a finals spot in the top four, while a loss would bring Beechworth back to the chasing pack. Tigers’ Sri Lankan import and coach Geeth Alwis will be the player to watch, leading the league in runs with a stunning average of 95.17 and is third among leading wicket takers. Surrey said he would be after consistency from his side as they look to deal a blow in Ovens Valley’s finals hopes. “They’re a side we’re battling with in the bottom end of the finals; they had a really good period just before Christmas and they’ve certainly got some dangerous players who can win a game at any time,” he said. “We’ve got to be on our game and get our own backyard in order to make sure we don’t let our good work from last week come undone.” In other grades, Beechworth’s B grade fell to Rutherglen United by five wickets at Mayday Hills. Henry Scalzo (24) and Lewis Richards (14) toiled away hard with the bat, but runs were hard to come by as the Wanderers were bowled out for 113. Brandon Fitzpatrick (3/23) and Rick Fitzpatrick (2/23) put the pressure on Rutherglen early to have them at 5/57, but a 57-run partnership would steer the visitors to victory within 25 overs. While in C grade, the Stanley based side continued their winning ways to win by 66 runs in Benalla. Wiremu Andrews (66), Chris Nuck (47) and Brendon Thompson (43) set the tone with the bat to have the Wanderers finish on 4/189 in their 36 overs. An impressive opening spell by Kane Niklaus (2/9) made batting difficult for the home side while Dean Chambeyron cleaned up the middle order, taking 4/44. B grade will head to Myrtleford with A grade to play Ovens Valley at Memorial Park on Saturday while C grade host Greta Blue at Stanley.
