The Under 15s and Under 17s Country Week cricket competitions began on Monday in Horsham and Warrnambool

In the Under 15s competition hosted by Horsham, the home side came unstuck by Warrnambool Gold at Dudley Cornell Park.

Batting first Horsham notched a slightly modest total of 10/74 off 32 overs.

READ MORE:

Jackson Hoffman was the side's best batter, hitting a classy 21 at number four, while Archer Laverty chipped in with a handy 13.

In response, Warrnambool chased down the total inside 26 overs, but not without some scares along the way.

The side finished six down and after sitting 2/52, lost their next four wickets for 22.

Wickets were shared around for the local side, with five bowlers snagging a dismissal each.

Over at Dimboola, Warrnambool Blue proved too strong for Wimmera-Mallee.

Batting first Wimmera-Mallee constructed an imposing total of 7-144 off their 50 overs.

Opener William Noble was the standout, falling just two runs short of a well-deserved half-century.

Colby Anderson (27) and Cooper Boyle (20*) both contributed to getting the side to a decent total.

In reply, Warrnambool showed their class to reach the target just two wickets down from 31 overs.

Matthew Gome (55) and Sam Allan (75*) starred with bat in hand to guide their team home.

In the Under 17s Warrnambool Country week, the Wimmera's sides fared better with both teams emerging victorious in round one.

At Uebergang Oval Horsham piled on the runs in the first innings to reach a monstrous 242 all out, from just 39.2 overs.

Fresh from their Western Waves exploits, Connor Weidemann (56) and Logan Millar (41) hit the ball to all parts of the ground, while Jett Hopper also batted superbly with a swift 43 off 32 balls, that included five fours and two sixes.

Lochlyn Hahne had no trouble finding the rope either, as he finished on 39 not out with five fours to his name.

During the chase, the Colac batsman toiled, but could only muster 8-137 from their allotted overs, thanks to some tight bowling from Horsham.

MORE NEWS:

Joey Nagorcka, Millar and John Officer all took two wickets apiece.

Batting first in their match against Hamilton, Wimmera-Mallee reached an imposing 8-176, thanks to the work of Noah Berry (43), Ty Colbert (37) and Connor Lee (29).

In reply, Hamilton was all out for 109, thanks in no small part to the bowling of Lee.

After a good showing with the bat, he picked up 5/11 off 7.4 overs to leave Hamilton with little chance of scoring the required runs.

Hunter Connolly and Patrick Sheahan also bowled well, finishing with two wickets each.

In rounds two and three of the Under 15s, Horsham faces South West and the Western Barbarians, while Wimmera-Mallee does battle with Portland, followed by Hamilton.

In rounds two and three of the Under 17s Horsham clash with Portland and then Hamilton, while Wimmera-Mallee plays South West, followed by Colac.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: