While he struggled with the willow at the 2024 SACA Country Cricket Championships, North Broken Hill all-rounder Ben Jurd played a key role in the Murray Districts-Barrier (MDB) round three-victory against finalists Yorke Peninsula in a second successive game at Reynella Oval.
After the MDB lower order found a way to 9/208 on Wednesday, January 31, with the final pair of Thomas Wurfel and Ben Green delivering a pivotal and unbroken 54-run 10th-wicket partnership, the MDB bowlers went to work.
In an unbroken 10-over spell Jurd ripped through the Yorke Peninsula middle order to have them on the ropes at 6/65 and while the lower order helped them scramble to 155 all out and to a Grand Final berth, it was a well-deserved win by the MDB lads.
Jurd took the wickets of number four bat Matt Drewer, 23 Cec Starr Medallist Nathan Allan and Yorkies’ captain Alastair Price in a frugal spell where he finished with the analysis of 3/21, with his 10 overs, which included a pair of maidens.
“That spell of Ben’s was pivotal to our victory,” MDB captain Shaun Mathews said.
“He has been our best bowler across the week. His line and length was immaculate, always asking questions of the batsmen.”
MacKenzie Attard took a very good catch from the bowling of Mildura’s Ben Green to dismiss YP opener Jack Davies as well.
MDB then played South East is the fifth verses sixth place cross-over match on Thursday, with all the four games on the final day, played in the Park 25 – Karen Rolton Oval precinct on the edge of Adelaide CBD.
Batting first, MDB again relied on Tobias Hack as the backbone of their innings, making 70 batting at number six, in a middling team total of 180, dismissed in the 48th over.
Hack wasn’t as aggressive as he’d been on the Tuesday, making 70 from 90 deliveries faced, and dispatching five boundaries. The next highest score for the MDB boys was Berri all-rounder Evan Gregoric with 22.
Despite another wicket by Jurd (1/28 from five overs), the South East bats chased down the total in just 25.1 overs for the loss of three wickets.
Across on Karen Rolton Oval, in their sixth trip down to the SACA country champions, the Alice Springs lads won their inaugural Harry Meyer Cup in emphatic style.
Making 8/252 with the bat, celebrations started early, when they bundled the Yorke Peninsula side out for just 81, collecting an emphatic 171-run Grand Final triumph.
At the post tournament presentations, Tobias Hack was selected in the 2024 Team of the Championships, finishing amongst the top four run scorers with 191 runs at an average of 47.75.
“Tobias is batting very well,” Coach Paul Attard said. His hundred on Tuesday was among the best innings I’d seen at this event, until old mate Dan Kerber came out and made his 160-odd
“It was an unbelievable day with over 600 runs scored. We weren’t too far off on both Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday we bowled and fielded as a team, and that was the difference.
“The catalyst to the win was Jurdy’s 10-over straight spell into the wind.
“He attacks the stumps and gets a little outswing as well.
“We picked a bit of a younger side, to hopefully build a bit of the team for the future. The carnival was a great learning experience for Paddric and MacKenzie. Mackenzie was excellent in the field for a keeper as well.”
This was the fiftieth year since the first Barrier side came down to their Harry Meyer Cup back in 1973-74.
Member of that first side, Geoff Delbridge was at Reynella Oval on Wednesday to watch the MDB win, and the first title winning captain in 1978, Rod Johnston, now in the Australian Country Cricket Championships Hall of Fame, presented all the trophies on the Thursday evening.
Daniel Kerber from the Northern Zone won the 2024 Cec Starr Player of the Tournament, along with the batting trophy with 288 runs at 96.00, including two centuries.
An accomplished keeper as well, Kerber added the Arch Grosvenor award for the best stumper as well.
The 2025 SACA country championship will be the one hundreth year of the competition.
