God it’s great to be back playing cricket. See below for all the results from the weekend just past.
First XI
We were finally given the green light to start the season after an uncertain pre-season with the goings on of Covid-19 and restrictions that were in place. It was an exciting time for the club, with the welcome addition of Mark Simpson as the new Club Coach and Sam Taylor, who both came with a vast amount of experience playing premier cricket.
It was an exciting proposition once the fixture was released to take on our arch rivals in Canterbury at Canterbury Sports Ground. There were 3 debutants in the 1st XI – Mark Simpson, Sam Taylor and youngster Lachy Smit. A wonderful achievement, especially for Lachy who has come through the juniors and played nothing higher than 3rd XI cricket in season 2019/20.
We lost the toss and were sent out to field. Padbury and Watkins bowled well early and were unlucky not to take early wickets. Big Roy boy struck straight away post our first hand/ball sanitising break with Canterbury putting on 48 for the opening stand. Smit then came on and bowled well first his first outing at the level and picked up Canterbury’s skipper and there was plenty of ruffling of his flowing curls in the post wicket celebration. Canterbury’s middle order gathered a bit of momentum, while not putting us to the sword with their run-rate. We then managed to take 7/27 to close the innings with some fantastic, disciplined bowling and terrific work in the field. Canterbury all bowled out in the last over for 146.
With Wrighty unavailable, McNally was given the opportunity to partner Woods at the top of the order and it proved to be a master stroke, as McNally batted superbly – taking on the bowlers from the outset and hitting balls to all parts of CSG. Woods also came out with an aggressive frame of mind, which enabled us to squash any hope that Canterbury might have had of an upset. The key partnership however was between McNally and Simpson (29) who put on 55 for the 4th wicket and put the game to bed. McNally finished unbeaten on 77no as we passed Canterbury in the 28th over – 3/148 off 28.3 overs.
A convincing win and a great way to kickstart the season. We look forward to the big test of East Doncaster next week away at Zerbes Reserve.
Go Mont!
Second XI
Arriving at MACC on a gorgeous day in November just felt good. Even peeling back the covers was a task worth savouring. Everyone was champing at the bit to get back out on the ground, and MA reserve looked stunning! The twos were up against Richmond Union. And based on last season – one win apiece – we were likely to be hard to separate.
We lost the toss and were asked to bowl first on a lush track. Thorny (4/10 off 8) and Jacki got us off to a good start, nipping the new ball around and creating plenty of chances (ask Jacki about it during the week). The pressure was immense, leading to an early Reg/Jacki run out and some critical errors from Richmond when trying to navigate the guile of Sha (2/18). Regular wickets made it hard for Richmond to gain any momentum, and we were able to hold them to 111 all out, including another run out, this time from Blairy on the boundary. Skipper KJ (2/40) was also critical through the middle overs, striking twice to remove the dangerous middle order before they were able to get moving. Crispy Chip and Jacko bowled well without luck, while Thorny was the pick of the bowlers across the whole day. Overall, it was an excellent start to the day and we felt pretty confident about chasing the runs and getting onto the deck for a cold one.
Our chase started slowly, with wickets tumbling throughout the first 10 overs. Lairdy showed glimpses of his swashbuckling best, but was caught on 15. We consolidated slightly through the middle, with the start of some partnerships, but each time we looked set to cruise away with an easy win, we lost a wicket and had to start building again. With 6 overs to go, we’d dug ourselves a deep trench being 9/91 with 21 needed from the final partnership. KJ and Sha were our last hope.
The final six overs were filled with drama. Two strong appeals – one of which was still being debated by the umpire and a few MACC stalwarts at 7pm – caused some serious clenching moments in the last three overs. And just when you thought they’d done enough, Sha played out a maiden for the 39th over with the score on 108. Fair to say that fingernails were shredded and face masks were sticky.
The final over saw a single to KJ and a double to Sha, which brought both scores to 111. After another dot, it was hard not to wonder if Sha was doing this on purpose, knowing full well the tension he was building in the dense crowd. Like the performer he is, a final single to Sha with two balls to spare sealed the win. We certainly made it hard, but two wise men have since indicated that it is often a close one early that galvanises a group and builds momentum for the season. We now turn our attention to Mazenod OC this week at home.
Go MACC!
Third XI
The 3rd XI hosted Hawthorn for their round 1 clash at Elgar park. In near perfect conditions for cricket Mont Albert won the toss and elected to bat first.
Galts (9) and Gules (28) got us off to a positive start with a 28 run opening stand before the fall of Galts bringing three quick wickets having us 3/37. Fraser Baddon (19) and Greeds (31) looked to steady the ship with a 36 run stand. But the loss of Fraser and a dubious LBW decision against Greeds from former 3rd XI batsman Joel Guley we looked in trouble at 5/90. Greg Cull (32*) played a superb innings in the later overs but with too much left to do for the lower order we were bowled out for 147 in the last over.
Although we hadn’t made as many runs as we would’ve liked, we had the confidence we could defend the total with a couple early wickets. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case as the Hawthorn openers put on 44 at a run a ball before a brilliant direct hit from Bobby C claiming our first wicket. After that we were able to take regular wickets and seemed right in the game at 6-96. Unfortunately we dropped 3-4 gettable catches throughout the innings which really stopped us from putting the pressure on Hawthorn’s batsmen as they eventually chased down the total with 3 wickets in hand.
The boys did really good job to fight back into the game and make it a really good contest. Hopefully we can bounce back next week against Boronia.
Go Monts!
Fourth XI
The 4s kick started another year with a trip up to Wattle Park to face Surrey Hills. We won the flick and decided to have a bat and get some runs on the board. Some good bowling from Surrey along with a softish wicket, meant that scoring was a bit slow. We managed to bat our 40 overs out and post 110. Our highlights with the bat included the youngster Rick Barker (39), Dave Laird (22) and Ash Tonn (21).
We came out to defend our total and were up and about in the field. Ty Wilkinson was bowling great areas and beating the bat, was very unlucky not to take a couple of wickets. As the innings wore on though, too many bad balls were bowled which released the pressure we were building and Surrey chased down the total 3 wickets down in 32 overs. Not a heap of highlights with the ball except for Rory O’Brien and Luke Pelchen, who both registered their first wickets for Mont Albert.
Not the result we were after but coming off 2 weeks of pre-season, it was a mighty effort!
Fifth XI
Mont Albert took on St Pauls CC in round one. St Pauls won the toss and batted first, making 5/163 at Surrey Park. Jimmy Wright was economical with 1/8 off 7 overs, whilst Ronak claimed 2/28 and Quentin took 1/39.
In reply, we made 8/104 off our 35 overs, never really getting set. Brendan Doidge looked solid for 24, while Jimmy Wright also got a start with 16 through the middle.
*the club is currently looking for someone in the fifths to