1^st XI

Round 2 vs Knoxfield was always going to be a tough clash. Winning the toss and batting first on what was a perfect day for cricket we lost our first wicket early. From there we worked in partnerships with eight guys scoring double figures. A very handy 37 from Butcher set us up before tea.

With wickets in hand after tea Nav made his first X1 half century ending on a fantastic 70 with contributions from scotty (26) and Zach a brilliant 32 not out. At the end of play we managed what we thought was a pretty good score of 8/260.

The following week Knoxfield came out all guns blazing, leaving nothing in the shed. They got away with it and unfortunately we couldn't find those crucial wickets. The day ended after the 55th over with Knoxfield 3/263. The great thing about cricket is there's always next week.

With T20 Tuesday and a big Thursday night I'm sure we will rebound to get back on track.

Stay focused

#oneclub

Murph

2^nd XI

The 2's headed to Carrington Park for round 2 to take on a Knoxfield side that on paper look like one of the teams to beat this season. We lost the toss and were asked to bowl first, early on this looked to be a good thing for us as Simon Grasser and the big giraffe Luke Paolini bowled great areas with great discipline. Early wickets and some terrific ground fielding had us on top but a big partnership allowed them to have wickets in hand at the end of the day to throw the bat. This coupled with a drop off in our fielding late in the day saw them post 9/240. Pick of the bowlers were Grasser 2/30 off 18 and Daine Vernon 3/67 off 20. Day 2 saw Marget Snr and Jnr open the innings and set about chasing down their total.  Despite some good bowling and well thought out plans Rhys and Jack were able to push the score to 69 in the 14tg oval before Snr was dismissed for 59. Unfortunately things went down hill from there and we were bowled out for a disappointing 122 on the stroke of tea, only Jack who battled hard for 22 overs and some lower order hitting from Hawkesy and Drew showed any real resistance. An early reality check for the boys and hopefully some lessons learned going forward. Good luck next week in our first T20 for points.

3^rd XI

No report provided

4^th XI

Having had a delayed start to the season with the 1^st round forfeit, we were extremely keen to get onto Seebeck Oval #2 ground for our first match of the season against a Rowville team who had enjoyed a win the previous week.  Ty and Nikhil were particularly keen to make their senior debuts and Anthony just as keen to resume his senior career.

Losing the toss and being asked to bat first, we were off to a solid start, despite having Grega open the batting!  Dos (18) was in control and looking to up the tempo when he played a rare loose shot to the 1^st change bowler to be caught behind in the 12^th over (1/34).  As he walked from the ground, it was clear he had seen this as an opportunity missed.  Brent joined Grega with a view to batting through the overs and being there at the end.  Grega was on a mission of his own as he terrorised the Rowville fielders……..at least those behind the wicket with several opportunities going begging, both for Rowville to take wickets and Grega to score runs!  The aim was to get to stumps with wickets in hand and a score between 80-120, ready to launch in week 2.  After 35 overs, we were 1/84 - Grega and Brent both on 29.

We hit the ground as ready as we’d ever be after the hard pre-season yards we’d put in so, looking for a solid session full of energy and chatter, we were soon rewarded with the wicket of the Rowville captain, caught by debutant keeper Ty off Cliff (1/5). As expected, Rowville dug in and built a solid partnership with around 60 of the next 68 runs scored on the leg side and with a degree of good fortune. Young Nikhil in his first ever over in senior cricket managed to get the break through with a nice catch in the slip area by Brent. Welcome to senior cricket Nikhil!!  After a solid fielding performance and sensational spells from Cliff, Devo and Nikhil, we held Rowville to 2/106 from their first 35 overs, a lead for them of 22 runs.

The aim in week 2 was to score at 4 per over and get a lead of 120.  Any more than that would be a bonus. By the time we lost Grega (33) in the 5^th over of the day, we’d effectively wiped out the deficit (2/103) and were on our way with Brent patiently waiting for the odd bad ball and putting it away. Chris (32) came in and, as always looked very scratchy in a partnership of 80 in quick time before he and Brent (81) departed within a couple of overs after drinks (4/184 off 55). Ty came in for his first senior hit and, once he got used to the bounce of the wicket, set about building a partnership with Anthony who was unfortunately caught on the boundary as he started to hit out. Lachy’s cameo was just what we needed as he peeled off 15 in quick time. We lost a couple more wickets before the finish with Ty being unfortunately run out near the end on 43.

KGCC 8/256cc - Brent 81; Ty 43; Grega 33; Chris 32; Dos 18; Lachy 15

Week 2 saw us score 172 runs off 35 overs (more than doubling last week’s effort!) to give us a lead of 150 against Rowville who had suffered a couple of injuries during the week and were going to be playing 2 batsmen short, including the not out opener from the previous week.

While we were in a stronger position due to Rowville’s injuries, we still had to work hard to get the result in the field so the focus was on making things happen.  Cliff and Juzzy opened with our cover (Lachy) and mid-wicket (Brent) fielders in nice and close to take advantage of pop-ups from a slow and bouncy (quite spongy) wicket.  Juzzy’s 2^nd ball was right on target and popped up to Lachy and we were on our way. Cliff bowled as Cliff does before making way for Anthony who bowled well in his 1^st spell for KGCC beating the bat regularly. His 1^st KGCC wicket will be fondly remembered as ‘delicious’ with a catch sharply taken by Chris in gully.  Wickets fell steadily with all bowlers used on day 2 taking wickets and Rowville being all out 155 having lost 6/49 off 24.1 overs (8 out = all out). Special mention to Ty for his keeping effort over both days.

Rowville 155 all out - Cliff 2/14 off 14; G Bakker 2/13; Anthony 1/8; Nikhil 1/13; Juzzy 1/23; Devo 1/30

A very satisfying result this week giving us a 2/0 start to the season.  It was a great team effort in the field and while Brent took the honours with the bat, it was an even contribution across the entire top/middle order with partnerships of 34, 68, 80 and 33 ultimately getting us to the winning score. 

We have a week off this week before heading to Monbulk on 7 & 14 November. Get down to watch the 1s and 2s this week in the T20!!