GCA 2-4 wrap: Mid-season recruit Shivam Gupta stuns with debut century, Lara and Thomson remain undefeated in nailbiters

A mid-season signing hit an incredible century in his first knock, while Lara and Thomson have maintained their undefeated records by the skin of their teeth. See the full wrap, results and more

Robert Sodomaco was the difference for Lara. Picture: Alan Barber

A debutant scored a stunning century, while undefeated sides won nailbiters across Geelong Cricket Association first grade as cricket returned following the Christmas break.

See the full wrap from GCA2-4 below.

GCA4: DEBUT SAINT IGNITES FLAG HOPES WITH CENTURY

They say first impressions are everything, and debut games don’t come much better than Shivam Gupta’s for Guild St Mary’s.

Coming in at No.4 mid-season recruit, Gupta posted a monster score of 148 in a one-day match against Newcomb & District at Frier Reserve on Saturday, leading his side to a 38-run victory.

The Indian batter cleared the fence six times and hit 16 boundaries in his stunning knock as the Saints made 6-307 from 44 overs.

Newcomb & District batters Bardley Jones and Darcey Webber both hit 70 to make things interesting but the gargantuan total was too much for the Dinos.

Gupta had trained with Guild St Mary’s a couple of times during the pre-season but chose to play for Camperdown Lakers instead – a two hour drive from where he lives in Tarneit.

After 187 runs in five innings at Camperdown, Gupta was persuaded to join Guild St Mary’s after the Christmas break it what looks to be a defining move.

The important win puts the Saints in fifth spot on the ladder and their bye next week will net them an extra six points.

Guild St Mary’s president Kevin O’Leary said Gupta has helped ignite their premiership push.

“It’s awesome, we just needed a bit of a lift mid-season to get us back into contention,” O’Leary said.

“We definitely don’t struggle in the bowling department. We have got a good bowling attack and they have been performing all year, but it has been the batting that has really let us down.

“To bring in someone like that is just what we need to contend for the flag.”

GCA2: Cats win final-over thriller with 10th wicket stand

Lara batter Robert Sodomaco led the Cats to a tense one-wicket win in a final-over thriller, keeping their undefeated season in tact by the skin of their teeth.

The Cats were in strife after losing three wickets for two runs at the death, slumping to 9-178 and requiring 15 runs from the last 16 deliveries at Spring Creek Reserve.

No. 11 batter Charlie Walsh blocked out the rest of the over and Sodomaco faced another two dots off Gurpreet Singh before taking seven off the penultimate over, leaving Lara with eight to get off the last.

Robert Sodomaco led Lara to the win.

Torquay bowler Tristan Kassis – who topscored in the first innings with 68 – started the final over well conceding consecutive singles which put Sodomaco back on strike.

Then Sodamaco went aerial, hitting two of the next three deliveries for four to get the Cats home with just one ball to spare.

Meanwhile, Leopold notched its third win for the season with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Geelong West.

GCA leading runscorer Tom Treble (57*) and Chad Butterworth (39*) chased down the target of 113 one down after Ben Horne (3-21) and Jake Le Maistre (3-15) skittled the visitors.

An all-round effort from Jason Grozdanovski saw Murgheboluc jump to third on the ladder, making 69 before snaring 3-42.

Bell Park’s Nikhil Deep Pottabathini made a blistering century, finishing with 125 from 97 deliveries as the Dragons won by 98 runs over Bell Post Hill.

GCA3: Tiger stars against former club in comeback win

Undefeated Thomson has clawed its way back to claim a tight 10-run win over Corio as a Tiger turned the tables against his former club.

Corio was cruising at 2-121 chasing 225 but lost their next seven wickets for 90 runs, setting up a nerve-racking finish.

The Devils needed 24 runs for the final wicket with eight overs to spare but could only manage another 13 before Xavier Dew took the final wicket.

But it was the intervention of Shane Bremner, who crossed to the Tigers from Corio during the off-season, that was perhaps the most crucial.

Bremner has been hampered by a shoulder injury this season but stepped up to the plate when it mattered most, claiming 4-23 as Blake Ritchie also took four scalps.

Thomson captain Zac Smith, who made a quick-fire 41 from 22 balls in the first innings, said Bremner was the difference in another close encounter for the Tigers.

Thomson bowler Blake Ritchie took four wickets. Picture: Mark Wilson

“We brought on Shane Bremner, it was his first crack at having a bowl for a bit. He had a bit of a shoulder injury when he come across to the club so he hasn’t bowled a great deal,” Smith said.

“If it wasn’t for his overs I think we would have been probably gone.

“We were pretty up against it for a lot of our bowling innings. Just somehow managed to stay fairly tight through the middle overs and we were able to claw it back.

“We’ve had a few of these type of games where it has gone down to the last sort of four wickets or few balls, so we probably had a bit of experience in the tight games which helped us.”

A 105-run stand between Seaver Cowley (65) and Josh Hartshorne (44) was also important for the Tigers, while Corio batter Ben Strachan (90) gave his side a fighting chance.

Thomson’s second grade side also won by 10 runs, leading to raucous celebrations back at the club for their past players and sponsors day.

But Smith wasn’t able to be a part of it.

“I actually didn’t get to hang out at the club, I had a wedding to get to which I was five hours late for,” Smith said.

Originally published as GCA 2-4 wrap: Mid-season recruit Shivam Gupta stuns with debut century, Lara and Thomson remain undefeated in nailbiters