1^st XI

Needing a win at home against the Basin we lost the toss and the Basin decided to bat. The Basin started well losing their first wicket at 33 and their second wicket at 165 (Best 108).

I don't know what was in the sandwiches but after tea Scotty and Shan got together to ripped through the Basin line up to have them all out for 232. Scotty finishing with 14 overs 4/44 and Shan 11 overs 4/28.

We had 8 overs to face overnight , losing myself and Shan early left us 2/30 needing 203 to win on day two.

On day two Butch fell to a very good catch early. With Nav and Scotty at the crease things started to look in control, unfortunately Nav fell but Jack came in and made a really good 24.

Falling to 8/134 the veterans Mulder and Wilba got together and took it to the Basin making 60 between them until Trav was caught just before drinks.

We ended up all out for 194 , Wilba stranded on 20* but the pick of the batters Scotty making a fantastic 63.

All in all we play Eildon Park this Saturday and it's a must win game.

See you all Saturday

Murph

2^nd XI – Sean Reid

The Second XI made the journey to Batterham Park for a Grand Final rematch with The Basin. Unfortunately this match was not going to have the same sweet, sweet outcome of 15^th March 2015. On a very warm day we lost the toss and bowled. Things got off to a great start with ‘The Hawk’ claiming one of their openers in his second over to have the score at 1/0. From that point on wickets would prove hard to come by, despite good bowling from Drewy Drewy Moi Moi, JC and Daintoine, as the Basin built partnerships. With the score at 1/104 Rhys, sensing that the game was slipping away went to his trump card; the wily veteran Reidy who delivered for his skipper with the 4^th ball he sent down, sending the middle stump of the batsman cartwheeling. The Basin continued their disciplined batting to be 2 down at tea. Rhys and Shane Turnin (Daine) bowled well after tea we finally got some reward for effort with Rhys taking a good catch off Daine and then Reidy held on to a tough chance to get rid of the dangerous Leigh Cook, also off Daine. The story of the day was the skipper from the Basin who made a ton and batted nearly all of the day. In the end the Basin scored an imposing 6/288.

Hawk 2/57 off 20

Daine 2/90 off 23

Overcast conditions greeted Rhys and Morro as they strode to the middle to begin our chase. We got off to a disastrous start losing Morro (0), Bombs (0) and Rhys (4) within the first 3.1 overs to see us reeling at 3/10. Mungy (13) and CJ (2) tried to steady the innings but they both fell with the score on 29. When Reidy (2) was caught behind the reigning premiers had slumped to 6/39. The task of rebuilding fell to the unlikely animal pairing of a Pig and a Hawk. The Pig (31) dug his trotters in and launched a counterattack that involved 2 Dorothy Dixes that both travelled into the houses that back on to Batterham Park. The best call of the day was when the Pig oinked a casual ‘No’ as he struck his first 6. The other story of the day was the majestic innings of the Hawk who was also supported by Daine (11) and JC (11). He batted brilliantly and can lay genuine claim to being an all-rounder after compiling a mature and valuable score of 63 on an otherwise very dismal day for the 2^nd XI which saw us all out for 176. After the game the Hawk said his only regret was leaving Drewsouf Youhana stranded on 10 not out at the end.  ‘Mohammed Drewsouf was hitting them extremely well and I feel really bad because I robbed him of a big score,’ lamented the Hawk.  Drew By 4 was unavailable for comment at the time this article was written.

3^rd XI

BYE

4^th XI – Greg Bakker

Round 5 and another game against the team placed 3^rd on the ladder, this time against Upper Ferntree Gully at Kings Park #2 where the 3s tied the last game on a lush and spongy (i.e. slow) outfield.  As is customary in the 4s, there were personnel changes from the previous round as we welcomed Spencer Stuckey back to the seniors, Dos back to the 4s from the 3s and Grega back from doing whatever he was doing with his other love (not Kirsty, the car!).

Losing the toss and being asked to bat first, we opened with our fourth different opening combination of the season in Pottsy and Dos.  Pottsy copped a rearing delivery that hit the shoulder of the bat and he was on his way without troubling the scorers. Brent joined Dos and between them they moved the score steadily along before Dos skied a leading edge, having made his regulation 18 in a 49 run partnership. Lachy (5) was unlucky to pick out the only fielder on the boundary and Ty received the ball of the century first up to put us in unfamiliar territory, being 4 down early in the first week.  Spencer, returning to seniors from a finger injury joined Brent for his first bat ever in seniors, getting off the mark to score his first senior runs in typically assured fashion.  We ended our first stint at the crease on 4/82 from our 35 overs with Brent (40no) and Spencer (3no) seeing us through without further incident.

Feeling like our 82 was more like 130 on that ground and having the confidence in our bowling and fielding abilities, we hit the ground full of energy and enthusiasm.  That energy and enthusiasm went to a whole new level after Grega, starting with his customary first ball wide, removed the opener with the 3^rd legal delivery of his first over.  With Juzzy bowling well at the other end, Grega put on a clinic as he worked over the top order on his way to 3/12 off 7 overs, including 9 runs from his fourth over (yep, that’s 3/3 from the other 6). When Grega is on, he’s very much on and it’s always a treat to watch the excitement bubbling over as he gets his due rewards. We were already walking tall when Devo came on and terrorised the batsmen with his pinpoint accuracy hitting the stumps 3 times for 2 wickets in his first 3 overs that reduced UFTG to 5/33 from 13 overs. All of a sudden, 4/82 was looking that much better than we first thought!  Unfortunately, the next 3 batsmen thought the best form of defence was attack as the captain in particular took to young Spencer.  Holding his nerve, Spencer continued to mix things up eventually removing the captain, caught by older brother Lachy on the boundary to take his first, albeit hard earned, senior wicket. Welcome back Spencer!!  In no time at all, 5/33 from 13 became 6/115 from 26 but, as usually happens, the belligerent resistance could not be sustained and we had them all out for 135 in the 33^rd over.

UFTG 135 all out - Grega 3/12; GB 3/20; Devo 2/15; Lach 1/30; Spencer 1/35

So, with a known target of 136 to win, we needed 54 to win off 35 overs with 6 wickets in hand.  Knowing their captain was as nervous as an expectant father, Brent and Spencer batted cautiously without taking risks but continued to pick up runs where they could with deft placement and the occasional boundary. Brent in particular was brutal on anything short with the boys getting us to the target with 12 overs to spare.  Continuing on in an effort to bring up his ton, Brent (85) fell agonisingly short of hitting a 6 when he was caught a couple of metres inside the boundary. With the possibility of having another go at the UFTG batsmen, we proceeded to look for quick runs with Chris joining Spencer in the middle for their first father/son partnership which, unfortunately didn’t last long. We ended at 8/197 with Spencer undefeated on 42 having been at the crease for 130 runs from 43 overs in a sign of things to come for this young son of a gun!

KGCC 8/197 - BB 85; Spencer 42no; Dos 18

Having the result by tea, it would have been easy to walk away but with a beautiful sunny afternoon available to us and a group of eager teenagers, we agreed with the UFTG captain for them to have a second innings.  Going with the same opening bowlers, it was Juzzy’s turn to reap the rewards aided by a couple of sensational catches from Brent, lunging across to his right at short cover for a brilliantly timed one hander and then Lachy who, while also fielding in short cover, had worn one in the chest a little earlier then copped a full-blown cover drive to the same area that he managed to hold onto.  A couple of brilliant fielders got us off to a great start removing the openers which Juzzy further capitalised on, bowling the number 3 to have them 3/38. Chris came on and enticed a snick to Ty with Sam, subbing for the injured Lachy also combining with Ty for a sharp run out that had UFTG at 5/64. Spencer came on and bowled a handful of quality overs of spin before we pulled the pin on an enjoyable days cricket.

UFTG 2^nd innings 5/118 - Juzzy 3/24; Chris 1/17

Another good solid win against a good team with the kids leading from the front and standing up under pressure. In a very good sign for the club’s future, we had a couple of 14 year olds, a couple of 15 year olds and a 17 year old in the top 6 batsmen. We have a big test next round with a 1 dayer (not our preferred format) against the second placed team although, we will be playing at home!  #oneclub