WODONGA Raiders captain Daniel Dixon says Ben Stewart’s knock against North Albury was as good as he had seen this season.
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The right-handed batsman blasted 101 and held the Raiders’ innings together despite the team falling short of the Hoppers’ 360.
The century continued a recent string of high scores in the competition, with Hopper Rhys Jones (172), Wodonga youngster Sean Lappin (113) and Albury Titans captain Luke Restall (94) getting in on the act in the last round.
“Ben batted very well, he was very impressive,” said Dixon, who took over as captain recently.
“For a bloke who is feeling 40 at the moment — he was injured before Christmas and he hasn’t got himself right — he batted great.
“He came out and batted well from ball one, he is still one of the premier batsmen in the competition.”
The Raiders were rolled for 269 by the Hoppers with Greg Daniel and Rhys Jones doing the damage with the ball.
Dixon, though, remained upbeat despite the defeat.
“It was a bit disappointing, we spoke about how many runs they made during the week,” he said.
“We were happy to get anywhere from 250 to 300.
“You can’t ask much more from a wicket either, plenty of big scores.”
The Raiders now face an uphill battle to play finals with Lavington holding sixth position by two points.
They will need a big win in their final match over St Patrick’s and pray the Panthers fall over against the much improved Wodonga.
In other matches, Tallangatta fell 30 runs short of the Bulldogs’ monster total of 324 at Rowen Park.
A masterly 76 from Paul Eberle wasn’t enough for the Bushies with Lawrence Hodgkin (43no) running out of partners.
Belvoir’s finals chances appear dashed after being bundled out for 144 chasing St Patrick’s 188 at Kelly Park.
It will now need to stave off relegation fears with a win over Tallangatta in the closing round.
Lavington appears destined to play finals after its spirited showing against Mount Beauty sent the Panthers into the top six.
The Albury Titans couldn’t muster a win over ladder-leader East Albury.
