Roebuck knock Mangrove off Broome Cricket top spot ahead of finals

A week out from this season’s semifinals, Mangrove have finally been knocked off their perch after a close match against now-top-team Roebuck. The teams played it out at Male Oval on Saturday with a ladder-defining game. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Mangrove had a slow but steady start. Thomas Campbell scored 15 runs off 14 balls before being caught by Roebuck’s Jamal Bin Sulaiman. Sulaiman continued his impressive fielding, catching Mangrove’s second batsman Thomas Chapman after his 14 off 11 balls. Will Hodge followed with six off 10, but it was Daniel Moore who really shone with 28 runs from 24 balls. Mangrove’s innings remained relatively consistent, keeping to well-below 10 runs per batter except for a brief moment of triumph with Kaden Murton scoring 16 runs to bring an end to the innings. Roebuck went in to bat needing 114 across 20 overs. And they did so with seemingly effortless efficiency. Riley Alexander started with fellow opener Patrick De Souza. De Souza was quickly bowled by Moore after a single run, replaced by Nick Allen. Together both Alexander and Allen were a winning combination, the former scoring an easy 58 runs and the latter scoring 45. The pair worked in tandem until the end of the innings, bringing the team’s final score to 1-116 in 18 overs and earning a long-awaited victory for Roebuck who automatically surpassed Mangrove as the number one team. The teams are set to go head-to-head once again in the semifinals next week to decide who will make it into the final. Across town, Dirty Dozen took on Broome Pearlers at Nipper Roe Oval. Dirty Dozen batted first, with Riley Forde, Scott Howieson and Mitchell Blackley leading the way. Forde made 17 runs, in tandem with Howison who scored an impressive 41, contributing to the team’s total of 4-149 after 20 overs. And while the batters of Broome Pearlers were swift and strong, they failed to reach the high scores of their opponents, finishing with 2-108. This left Dirty Dozen safe in number three spot on the ladder for one more week before both teams get the chance at a rematch in next week’s semifinals. In this week’s B-Grade matches, Dirty Dozen beat Broome Pearlers (9-129) defeated (5-117). Roebuck won their match against Mangrove 7-116 to 6-108.