Collingwood Park widen gap between third and second with crucial win over Manypeaks in ADCA A-grade comp

Collingwood Park widened their gap between second and third place on the Albany and Districts Cricket Association A-grade ladder with a gritty three-wicket victory over Manypeaks in round 11 on Saturday. Peaks defeated Park in round six in January but couldn’t replicate that as Park chased down their total on Turf North to notch their fifth win of the 50-over competition. The three-wicket triumph opened up a 14-point gap between themselves and the third-placed Mt Barker with four rounds left in the regular season. Jed Schwarzbach and Ryan Davies were instrumental with the bat in the run chase while Josh Dallimore and Buddy Robinson did the damage with the ball earlier on. Peaks posted 7-170 batting first to give themselves a healthy chance of victory but Schwarzbach and his supporting cast guided their side to victory with nine balls to spare. Park’s Oliver Davidson (4) and John Miell (4) both fell cheaply to Peaks seamer Kane Pinney but Schwarzbach and Davies played positively to put on a 60-run partnership together and put Park in the box seat. That duo scored at just over four runs an over as they worked the ball around and hit big shots to steady the ship. Peaks bowler Regan Christensen broke the stand as he crashed into Davies’ middle stump and he departed on 32 off 59 balls, an innings that included three fours and one six. Schwarzbach followed him to the pavilion shortly after, hitting a ball to mid-wicket to the grateful hands of Seb Stanton off the bowling of Jeremy Stewart. Devon Jefferis (1) and Rory Luscombe (0) were the next to go for Park, both removed in the same over to leave scores at 6-112 in the 30th over. However, terrific back-end knocks from Alex Garlick (24 off 73 balls) and Mitch Woods (25 off 56) helped them regain control. Woods was caught off Donaldson in the 48th over but Park secured victory, passing the total in the 49th over. Schwarzbach top-scored with 47 off 69 balls, hitting five boundaries in his innings. Stewart was impressive for Park, taking 3-24 including the wickets of Schwarzbach, Jefferis and Luscombe, while Pinney snared 2-23. Earlier in the match, Peaks pair Stanton and Ethan Drew shined with the bat while Regan Poett also chipped in to guide Peaks to 7-170. Stanton made 45 off 78 to go with contributions from Drew (42no off 48) and Poett (25). Dallimore was the only multiple wicket taker for Park with 2-27 and three maiden overs in a clinical bowling display while Robinson had 1-21. Park’s bid to finish on top of the standings and directly qualify for the decider will hinge on their round 12 showdown with top side Royals next week.