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Goulburn Murray Cricket A grade sides took to various pitches on Thursday for the first Twenty20 round of the season.

The closest match of the round was played out between Echuca South and Moama.

Doubling as the home team’s sponsors night, a healthy crowd watched the game as Moama scored 5/140 from its 20 overs.

Led by captain Cameron Parker, who scored yet another half-century with 52, guest player Tyler Jones (37) and Jake Toll (18 not out) helped push the total along.

Stewart Moar bowled well early but a 22-run final over bumped his figures out to 2/39, while Mitch McMullan was the most economical with 1/18.

Other wicket-takers were Mark Peterson and Keith Chalmers.

In reply, South chased hard early with Neil Geltch (33), McMullan (17) and Matt Key (30) providing the runs, but the team ultimately fell 22 runs short.

Brandt Gladman finished with 2/31, while Daniel Van Tubbergh, James Scambler and Jack Harland took the other wickets.

■In the other group D game, Echuca controlled its match against Bunnaloo to win by nine wickets.

The only team to win after batting second, Echuca restricted the home side to 6/100, with Brendan Prendergast and Josh Preston each taking 2/18, while Taylor Beard claimed one wicket.

In reply, Max Beard was dismissed for 19, with Prendergast (37 not out) and Taylor Beard (39 not out) guiding the team to victory in the 18th over.

■The first group A game saw Cooma ease to a comfortable 74-run against Rushworth.

Winning the toss and batting, Cooma started brightly with Michael Hill (38) and Sam Spicer (43) getting among the runs, while Tim Kelly chipped in with a handy 37 lower down the order as the team finished on 7/168.

For Rushworth, Matt Cruz (3/24) and Mick Eveleigh (3/23) were the pick of the bowlers, while Kasey Duncan (1/27) was also good.

In reply, the away side struggled to get going with only Eveleigh (25) and Peter Francis (39) making an impact as the team finished on 5/94.

Zac Cerrone (3/19), Wil Jackson (1/15) and Liam Barrett (1/7) were the pick of the bowlers.

■Fire Brigade registered a 31-run against Girgarre in group B in a low-scoring affair.

Winning the toss and batting, Nick Breslin (40) and Trevor Watts (21) put on 60 runs for the first wicket, with Ryan Boswell (29) and Brendan White (17 not out) providing late runs, as they totalled 6/122.

Ash Hughes provided the highlight with the ball, taking 2/10 from his four overs, while Wayne Cowley (2/17), Brett Hughes (1/23) and Wade Summers (1/32) took the other wickets.

In reply, Ash Hughes (33) and Michael Coyne (26) were the only batsmen to reach double figures against a restrictive Fire Brigade line-up as it finished on 6/91.

Heath Barnett took 1/8 in his four overs, while Paul Newman (1/4 from three overs) and Breslin (1/10 from three overs) were just as effective.

Brett Andison was the other wicket-taker.

■Bamawm-Lockington United provided the upset of the round with a 15-run win against Rochester Tigers.

BLU scored 6/129 after batting first, with good knocks from Ben McPhee (38), Ben Docking (33) and Josh Cairns (24), before restricting the Tigers to 7/114.

Jacob Gardiner finished with 3/17, while Docking (2/20) and Shannon Bish (1/12) were the other wicket-takers.