First XI
Tim Wright carrying his son Lachlan following his 87* in the 2017-18 Premiership.
After week 1 of a scheduled 2-day at home being called off due to water getting under the covers, we arrived on day 2 for a 1-day game verse Heathmont. We had a comprehensive victory against them late in 2019, so we were looking forward to continuing our form as we head into the business end of the season. It was also the rescheduled 300th start for club legend – Tim Wright. All Tim’s individual achievements have been well documented and we made a point as a group to win the game to ensure we celebrated his achievements properly!
We won the toss and chose to bat on what looked to be a reasonable wicket. Wright and Woods got us off to a great start, both unbeaten at drinks (20 overs) with the score on 74. Not long after drinks Wright was dismissed for a well made 47, which brought an end to the opening stand of 88 runs. Woods brought up his half century while Joslin came and went after a quick 22 runs. Woods then followed after a patient 57 runs. Stothard (20) and McNally (32no) then put the foot down towards the back end of the innings to push us close to the 200 mark, where we finished 4/197 off our 40 overs.
Howes and Watkins started off well with the ball, with Howes taking an early wicket to get us going. Heathmont then put on a good partnership of 59, with their number 1 batsman Morris looking dangerous and keeping their run rate under check in the chase. Stothard came on with his left arm tweakers and was able to entice Morris into a false shot to bring an end to their first wicket partnership and an end to their chase. Their run-rate slowed significantly and we were able to take regular wickets. The disappointing end to the innings was some poor fielding and a dropped catch, which would cost us against better opposition. Stand outs with the ball were Stothard (3/23 off his 8 overs), Howes (3/25 off his 7.1 overs) and Watkins (2/25 off 8 overs).
We now look forward to playing the top of the table East Doncaster in a double header!
Hail across MACC on Sunday looks like a light dusting of snow.
Round 11 v East Doncaster was interrupted by a severe hail storm on Sunday. A disappointing result for the ones who had held East Doncaster to 8/157 in their 40 overs. Wickets were shared with McNally taking 3/31 and the reliable Howes taking 2/24. We were 0/1 in our chase when the hail struck.
Go Monts!!!
Second XI
We won the toss and elected to bat vs Richmond Union at Olney Oval which is still the worst cricket ground in the southern hemisphere.
We got off to a good start with JBH (36) and DB (21) looking the goods before they both got out playing aggressive shots. That started a bit of a rot which saw us lose 4/11 pretty quickly.
A brilliant Partnership of 56 between Jacko (24) and Hotel Minateur (39) for the 8th wicket dug us out of a big hole, taking us to 10/169 cc.
We started well with the ball, Jacko (1/34) in particular keeping it tight and getting the early break through. Chip (2/23) and Fern (1/33) bowled particularly well in the middle overs, picking up some vital wickets.
Unfortunately, 169 wouldn’t be enough. RU chasing them down in the last over in what was a gut wrenching loss for us.
With heavy rain forecast at 1pm we weren’t sure if we’d get much cricket in on our second Sunday fixture in as many weeks.
Boronia won the toss and decided to bat, on what looked a good track on a pristine outfield. Jacko and Stoff started really well, keeping it tight and taking a couple of early wickets.
Chip (1/24), Orch (1/37) and Dog nuts (1/13) again bowled beautifully in the middle overs and we never let them get away. Jacko (3/31) and Stoff (1/29) returned at the death and did the business. Every bowler did their job and was backed up in the field in a terrific performace from everyone.
Boronia managed 7/150 in their 40, a score which we thought was 30-40 short. As Lozza and Reg strode out to the middle, the lighting started and the rain soon followed. And that, as they say, was that. We shook hands at 4:20. A frustrating result for us but a great performance with the ball which will hold us in good stead this week when we take on Boronia again.
Third XI
The 3s were playing Ashburton in round 10 at Elgar park. We lost the toss and were sent into bat on what was a green deck.
Noble and Udhav opened up but were both out quite quickly, and old man Rick soon followed. Fraser and bailey held out for a little while until Bailey was given out LBW.
Greedy came out and was looking to put the ball anywhere out of Elgar. He made a very quick 30 before being caught.
Then entered Sam who also put on some very quick runs before being caught on 34. Then as quickly as lairdy went out he was on his way back.
Bobby C was in next and was not looking to hang around long smashing a quick fire 31 and at the end of our batting we set Ashburton a small target of 187 with 14 overs to be bowled to Ashburton.
Noble and Lairdy opened up the bowing with Noble grabbing a wicket by the end of days play leaving Ashburton 1/19.
The next week we came back to the Gar and again Noble and Laird got us off to a good start. They bowled the first 7 overs for not many. After some odd comments from the Ashy guys directed at their own players: “get a move on”, former comrade Ducky went to hit the ball out of the park and he was skittled by Noble.
Wickets fell constantly after that with all bowlers bowling very well especially Noble taking 4/32.
There was an outstading catch from bailey that had to be seen to be believed!
All in all it was a fantastic win in the 3s and hopefully a few more to come!
Round 11 saw us playing top of the ladder Boronia at Elgar park.
We lost the toss and were sent into bowl with Noble and Bobby C opening. Noble making an early break through with an LBW. Then Bobby C took a superb caught and bowled to have Boronia on the ropes. Udhav was next to bowl and within a couple of overs made another break through with Simon Harris taking a catch at square leg. Udhav finishing the days bowling with figures of 3/39 off his 8 overs… well bowled!
Fraser Baddon was our pick for the spin bowlers with figures of 2/43 off his 8.
James Smith was the unlucky bowler of the day with 2 dropped catches – one from noble and the other one from J.Mitchell who says he has the safest hands at the club!
Boronia set us a target of 199!
With the weather turning very bad after tea the match was drawn!
Fourth XI
The 4s were away once again for a 2 dayer against Mulgrave at Mulgrave Reserve. We rocked up on Day 1 to be greeted by a giant wet patch at one end of the pitch, so we got back in our cars and said we’ll be back on Day 2 for a one day affair. We were greeted on Day 2 with a dry pitch, I lost the flick and Mulgrave decided to have a bat. We started off sluggishly as Mulgrave put on 115 for the 1st wicket in a short amount of time, with some lofty hitting from one of their openers doing the bulk of the damage. Unfortunately, they continued on at a good clip and finished with an imposing score of 233 from their 40 overs. The only person worth noting with the ball was young Rufus McLean who took his best figures in the 4s of 4/44 from 7, a great reward for his effort and definitely a glimpse of what is to come from him in the future.
Our chase consisted largely of small starts (6 batsmen made between 10 and 20), which meant we could never get a solid partnership together to have a real crack at the total. The only standout with the bat being Josh Williams, who made his 2nd consecutive 50 in the 4s, another great reward for Josh who is starting to find his feet after being out of the game for a while. Another loss for the 4s, but hopefully we can get back to Elgar next week and get the job done against East Malvern.