Week 3 produced a mixed bag of results for our juniors, with 2 wins and 2 losses being registered by our U/12 and U/16 teams, and two good performances in the U/10s.
Thank you to our coaches and team managers for providing some more fantastic reports and pictures from the weekend’s action.
Under 16As
Setting out to defend our total of 117, our lads were always going to need some quick wickets in order to put some pressure on the Glen Iris batsmen.
Unfortunately this wasn’t the case, and in fact some pressure came back in the opposite direction early in the 2nd over, with one of the Glen Iris openers getting off the mark with a pull shot for 6.
There was some frustration for the boys in the 11th over, when Lachie Smit took a sharp catch at point off Julian Marshall, only to find that the umpire had called no-ball, with the ball having pitched just short of the half-way mark.
A run-out could then have been effected, but Lachie’s ping at the non-striker’s end missed and resulted in a single to the Glen Iris team.
Our lads weren’t able to make early headway, with Glen Iris running up an opening stand of 56, before both openers fell without further addition to the score. With two new batsmen at the crease, any fresh hope was gradually snuffed out, as the Glen Iris batsmen proved up to the task and preserved their wickets comfortably.
We were unable to make any further breakthroughs, despite one of the batsmen retiring on 32. Glen Iris passed our score in the 36th over, and then went on a scoring spree in the last couple of overs, to finish on 2/150.
A special mention should go to Quentin McLean for this bowling figures of 1/7 off 6 overs. A terrific spell of economical bowling. Quentin, while pretty hard to please, was annoyed that he went for a boundary in his last over, messing up what had previously been 1/3 off five. Great stuff Q!
A good effort by the lads, but it’s fair to say we were beaten by a better team on the day.
Under 12As
On a cool but lovely morning (compared to the washout of the previous Saturday), the U12As travelled to Highbury Park to play against Blackburn.
Mont Albert won the toss and Harry Simpson (captain for the match) decided we would bowl.
Jack Massey struck with an early wicket and Hamish Baddon would soon follow with Blackburn making 85 runs off 25 overs. Daniel Teele, Julian Spuria, Max Allen, Hamish Baddon and Lucas Saunders all had maiden overs.
We knew that we had bowled well, but with 35 sundries given away, we knew after morning tea that we needed to focus and bat as well as we could and make up the runs.
Harry Simpson and Sam Hawkins were the first to bat. Harry made a tremendous 40 runs not out off 27 balls with 7 boundaries while Sam Hawkins made 27 runs not out and 4 boundaries – a sterling partnership!
All boys went out focused and prepared, but of mention were Jack Massey who added to the run tally with 15 runs, Daniel Teele with 10 runs, Flynn Woolhouse with 7 runs, the partnership of Mitch Hedley and Lucas Saunders added 20 runs off 15 balls and Nathan Woods made 14 runs. Mitch Hedley was run out on the last ball but Mont Albert had had a successful day with a tally of 164 runs.
On to next week when we meet up with Richmond. Go Monts!
Under 10 Blues
Our 10 Blues played a very evenly matched Kew team, equally determined to have a win, where MACC batted first on a nice & dry little Elgar oval.
Runs were ticking over but a few more wickets (than usual) started to fall. Kew executed 3 run outs, mostly through excellent fielding.
Our batting was built on a strong performance from Ollie Groves who controlled the Kew bowlers all the way through his innings. Solid performances from all other players made for defendable total.
In the field & with the ball, our boys bowled straight & with good speed. Wickets started to come at a steady rate, including another excellent catch to Aidan Tribe, Alex Bertus (wk) took 2 good catches & almost snapped up a 3rd. A couple of run outs also made for a tight game & close result.
Kew got the points off the last ball, with a 5 being scored to edge 5 runs clear of our total.
A good game by our boys who will only be better for the experience of a close game.
Under 10 Golds
http://montalbertcc.com.au/2018/10/29/the-gold-standard/
Junior and Master Blasters
Our eighteen Junior Blasters were divided into younger and older age groups and guided through the four skills activities, focussing on bowling, catching, batting and running. Blast captains and parent helpers (Blast Crew) kept the activities interesting and everyone had a great time.
Our fifteen Master Blasters headed to Macleay Park and joined with a larger contingent of North Balwyn players for a 5.30 start. After some late arrivals showed up, there were eight teams formed and four matches played. The matches went well over time, wrapping up at around 7.30pm, but as more experience is gained we anticipate the finish time of 7pm will be achieved.
Over the next couple of weeks we anticipate bedding down numbers for each of the Junior and Master Blaster groups, and are looking forward to seeing the skills of the girls and boys improve as they enjoy their cricket. Thanks to all the parent helpers for getting our Blast season off to a great start!!
Don’t miss out on being a part of the action! You can register for our Juniors and Blasters programs HERE
For more information on our junior program, head to http://montalbertcc.com.au/juniors/.