Sport
20 February, 2024
Tough day on the pitch for Atherton
ATHERTON Cricket may lose their shot at the finals in the coming weeks after falling to Rovers at Loder Park on Saturday.
It was a must-win game to keep the Tableland team fourth on the ladder, but their batting skills let them down, allowing Rovers to claim the win with a final score of 9/211.
Electing to bowl first, Angus Vikionkorpi stood out as Atherton’s star, taking five wickets and getting Rover’s Ryan Terry out for a duck.
Atherton continued to take several wickets until Rovers Brenton Edwards and Marcus Berryman picked up the bat, with Edwards making 67 runs and Berryman 34.
“They got up to 220 on a tricky wicket, which was a tough total, but we were still in the game, just losing tricky wickets,” Atherton captain Tom Boorman said.
Chris Adams was Atherton’s best batsman of the game, making 39 runs, giving them a final score of 10/155.
Feeling disappointed, Boorman said their only hope of making it into the semi-finals is if Norths lose their next game against Mulgrave and Barron loses to Cassowary Coast.
“We have got the week off this week, so we have time to prepare for our last game against Mareeba, but hopefully, this week’s results will go our way,” he said.
“Unfortunately, if Norths and Barron win their next two games, then it is unlikely that we will be heading into the finals, and it’ll be the end of the season.”
Rovers also secured the Muoio-Ferguson Shield, an annual event that takes place when the two teams play each other, recognising their life supporters Anthony Muoio and Greg Ferguson.
The shield had been held by Atherton for the past 12 months and is now back in Cairns at the Rovers Club.
Atherton is now fifth on the ladder with 61 pts, with North taking their place in fourth place.
Mulgrave is sitting at number one, while Rovers sits in second place and Barron in third.
Atherton will go up against Mareeba in their final local derby of the season next weekend at Borzi Park.
