Wilson McShane, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Not many cricketers can say they have made an A grade century.

Even fewer can say they did it with one of their good mates at the non-striker’s end, who also reached those magical three digits.

So, when Yorketown’s Matthew Barlow and Cale Elefsen made Yorke Peninsula’s highest partnership since 2016, they fulfilled most cricketers’ dreams.

The pair put on an unbeaten 263- run stand (Barlow 153, Elefsen 110 — both not out) against Corny Point at their home deck at Yorketown on February 1.

“It was certainly a good feeling,” Barlow said about his innings.

“I felt pretty good and I was seeing them pretty well that day.”

He said their plan was to face out Corny Point’s opening bowlers Henry Collins (0/43 off 10 overs) and Damien Rowe (1/31 off 10), before playing more aggressively.

Barlow said his cricketing success this season has coincided with his rekindled love for the game.

“I haven’t played a full season of cricket in a long, long time.

“I came back this season after I fell out of love with the game and I’ve enjoyed it, so it’s good to top it off by making a few runs.

“I guess I’ve matured a bit. When I was younger playing, I’d managed to get a few hundreds and was scoring well and then I had about six or seven years off (sporadically filled in for Yorketown) and then come back and sort of struggled.

“So, I thought this year I’d just take all the pressure off and just play the game I used to love, and it paid off last week.”

This was also Barlow’s first time opening the batting for the season, helping him accrue a batting average of 41.89.

It was Elefsen’s maiden century and first time of the season not opening the batting (averaging 26 with the bat this season).

Elefsen came to the crease when his side was 1/26 and said batting with Barlow was helpful because of his (Barlow’s) fitness and temperament.

“He’s really good and he’s super fit which makes it real easy,” Elefsen said.

“There were times in the game where we were tied down a bit, so it took us a while to get going but then once we got through to drinks, then we were cruising from there.

“I was pretty cooked towards the end, but it was pretty relieving to finally get it done.”

The pair’s 263-run stand was the second highest in the Lower Yorke Peninsula Cricket Association since 2012-13 (as far back as electronic records date), falling narrowly behind James Moss (208*) and Adam Pitt’s (102*) more than 300 run partnership against Warooka in the 2015-16 season.

After the partnership’s heroics, Yorketown’s Kyran Hancock took 5/27, helping dismiss their opponents for 45.

While Elefsen and Barlow said it was a day out, they admitted it was a “bittersweet feeling” because Yorketown can no longer play finals.

“With the team we’ve got we probably should’ve been right up there this year but just had a few collapses,” Elfesen said.

Kadina’s Matt Chapman and Aaron Mengersen also made hundreds the same week (February 1) in their respective grades in the YP Cricket Association. 

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 11 February 2025.