Sport

Katamatite’s Kepler Lukies finds success for Northern Rivers in one-day final

By Marcus Beeck

Jan 29, 2024

Katamatite cricketer Kepler Lukies helpd Northern Rivers to victory in the under-18 VCCL final. Photo by Bransen Gibson

Katamatite cricketer Kepler Lukes has helped Northern Rivers cruise to victory in the final of the Victorian Country Cricket League under-18 competition on Sunday.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

After losing the toss and being sent into bat by Gippsland Pride, Northern Rivers set an imposing score of 8-295 thanks to Shepparton’s Sam O’Brien, who carved 101 off 128 balls including 10 fours and three sixes.

Lukies was unfortunate in his batting exploits when he made an entrance at nine, bowled first ball at the death.

But it was with the ball where Lukies made his greatest contribution.

He was the pick of the Northern Rivers’ lot with 2-10 from his 3.2 overs, helping restrict Gippsland to just 135 all out and steer his side towards a 160-run triumph.

The wider Goulburn Valley was well represented in the victory, with Numurkah’s Riley Dawson taking 1-12 from his four overs while Shepparton’s Oscar Lambourn also made an appearance in the under-18 final.

Meanwhile, in the under-21 competition decider, Shepparton player Keiran Hogeboom helped Northern Rivers get over the line against Barwon by 10 runs in a tight contest.

Hogeboom came into bat at number nine for Northern Rivers in the first innings, hitting nine runs off 15 balls, including one four.

But it was with the ball where the young player did his damage as he bowled a tight spell taking 1-28 from his seven overs in the one-day match to help his side win the final.

The VCCL runs the representative cricket league for country cricket in Victoria.