It was a weekend of mixed feelings at MACC as the Fourths and Fifths recorded strong wins to start their seasons, while the Firsts, Seconds and Thirds all fell short. At least there were some positives to draw on in those loses, including the strong debut performances from a number of new MACC recruits and a day two performance in the threes that saved them from the brink of a horrid start to the season. Read below for details on all of this, including how a young up and comer teamed up with a MACC legend to set up the fourths on day one.
First XI
We arrived at MACC excited to start the season against Marcellin. We welcomed 2 debutants to the team in Nathan McNally from Prahran and Harry Stothard from England. We won the toss and chose to bat on what looked a reasonable wicket considering the limited preparation. We started the innings reasonably well despite the loss of Wright early. At the half way mark of our innings we were 2/78, providing a good platform to launch at the back end. Unfortunately we lost our way a bit and were unable to turn starts into significant scores and build partnerships – losing 8/59 to finish all our for 144. Joslin (41) and McNally (31) top scored.
We thought if we bowled well and took a couple of wickets we’d give ourself a chance. That wasn’t to be, as Marcellin’s openers chanced their arm and took 30 off the first 3 overs, setting up their chase. We just couldn’t create chances as they continued to play expansively, cruising to victory 3 wickets down in the 36th over.
A disappointing day but some real positives to take moving forward.
Onward and upwards as we take on Canterbury next week away in another 1-dayer.
Go Monts!
Second XI
The opening round of the season was a cracking day for cricket and we were asked to have a bat at Mulgrave.
The wicket was two paced and kept low at times, but was better than we expected for a round one track.
We got off to a decent start, runs were coming at a good rate and we were 2/76 at the drinks break, giving us a good platform to build on. Lawrence (24) DB (24) and Pommy recruit Billy Topham (29) doing most of the damage.
After the solid start we lost 3/11 in the middle overs including two sickening run outs which put us on the back foot and we never really recovered from it, finishing with 147 from our 40, 35-40 short of where we needed to be.
All the bowlers toiled, Shah (2/33), Stoff (2/23) and Orch (1/20) the best of the bunch, but all the luck went Mulgrave’s way, with an array of aerial shots and none going to hand, as their captain notched up an unbeaten 83 to lead them to victory with 4 overs to spare.
Not losing wickets in clumps is key, and was the difference in the end. We will be better for the run. Onwards and upwards…
Third XI
The 3’s had the pleasure of being the only team in Victoria to have a pitch to play on, with the captain Greeds leading from the front losing the toss, being sent in, opening the batting and making a duck! Reg laid the foundation of the innings with a gritty 21 and Straga in his first game back made a solid 22. In what would be the toughest conditions we’d face as a batting deck for the year, unfortunately we lost wickets at regular intervals. The highlight of the day easily being Tim Noble’s swashbuckling 42 which I think may have doubled his career tally!! Clearly batting too low all this time. Tim’s heroics were supported nicely by David Laird which got us to a modest 126.
Our bowlers started well with Tim Noble and David Laird removing both openers early giving us a glimmer of hope. Canterbury mole James Smith showed he’ll be a great asset to the club bowling classic Mont Albert lines without much luck. Unfortunately Surrey having the best of the conditions consolidated on some good partnerships, passing our score and finishing the day on 4/one sixty something… I can’t remember exactly, not important.
Coming back the second week after already losing is always hard but the boys toiled hard and made a real contest and should be proud of their efforts. Tim Noble lead the way as per usual bowling 9 maidens in 16 overs, allowing Laird to snare Surrey’s damaging batsmen for 90… We took regular wickets throughout the first session with Smitty taking 3 and sitting on a hat trick next week, eventually having Surrey declare at 9/268.
Being set the uncomfortable task of saving an outright loss we were led by an incredible opening partnership by Reg (42*) and Udhav (43) with Surrey calling it at day with us 2/99.
No doubt we took the honors on day 2, hopefully we can take that momentum into next week, go Monts!
Fourth XI
The 4s started their season against Bulleen on a pretty soft deck at Wilsons Rd Reserve. We lost the toss and were sent in to bat. We lost 3 early wickets for only 39 runs and it looked like it might be a struggle to post a competitive score. Luckily for us, the experience of Michael Massey (93) and the young star Fraser Baddon (61) put on 159 runs for the 4th wicket. Veteran Paul Jackson also chipped in with a handy 28 at the end to help boost the score to an impressive 260.
Week 2 started with a bang as we ran out one of Bulleen’s openers for a diamond duck. From there, we bowled tight but were only able to add 1 more wicket up until tea with the score at 2-121 and the game delicately poised after 43 overs. After tea, some more tight bowling meant that Bulleen had no choice but to take more risks in order to chase the runs. This meant the wickets started to fall and we were able to bowl Bulleen out for 242 and collect an 18-run victory. The stars with the ball were Michael Massey (2-53 from 20 overs) and Mont Albert debutant Jack Anderson (3-59 from 14). A solid effort all round and great to get a win to kick-start the season!
Fifth XI
We won the toss and batted first. Tom Richards and Rufus McLean top scored with the bat with 25 each and they were well supported by Marcus Lucioni (22) and Sanjay (11 no) and James Nash (13 no). We managed to put on 147 which was below par but defendable.
James Nash took the new ball and in his first over for Mont Albert picked up two wickets. He ended the day with 5 for 18.
We managed to get Kew all out for 121. It got a little close as their last wicket put on about 70.
Overall it was a good start for the 5ths, where we had a comfortable win in the end.
Each round we will hear from the senior captains about how their sides went. Join us in a week to hear about round two and see if the ones, twos and threes can bounce back.
Go Monts!