Round 7 saw the first XI take on Ferntree Gully away in a one-day game. Coming off some good form in the red ball format we were hoping to transfer that across to the white ball format which in the past we have probably struggled at a bit.

Winning the toss, we elected to bat and with a new look batting lineup Josh Gregory and Niraj De-Silva opened up for us. We knew if we could limit the damage that Ferntree Gully paceman Bryce Galvin that we could look to score of the rest of the bowling line up and set a decent total to defend. Niraj and Josh put on a 37 run opening partnership which set us up beautifully. Niraj made a classy 38 runs and looked comfortable up the top of the order. At 2/59 Scott McInerney and Jarrod Butcher had a 32 run partnership followed by a 56 run partnership between Mitch Gregory and Jarrod Butcher helped the side to 6/178 with Mitch making 27 and Butch making 48. We knew that was certainly a score that we could defend but we would have to bowl well to ensure we took the points.

We couldn’t have started any better having FTG reeling at 2/1 in the 3rd over. A classy partnership from Ferntree Gully gun bat Jayden Bradbury and Jake Evans of 80 meant we still had a lot of work to do with the ball to swing the game back in our favour. Once we got the breakthrough of Evans the wickets tumbled and we ended up bowling Ferntree Gully out for 167. Scotty McInerney turned the game with the ball in the middle overs bowling 8 straight overs 1/23. Wilba again bowled brilliantly taking 3/31 off his 8, Nav Singh bowled 8 overs 0/26 and Zach Flintoff was the destroyer at the end with figures of 7.3 overs 3/39.

This was one of the better wins the 1st XI has had in recent times and places us extremely well going into the break. We sit 5th on percentage with 4 wins and 2 losses. We play all of the sides around us after the Xmas so if we can keep up our good form the sky is the limit with our young group.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Xmas and New Year. The whole club is in great shape at the halfway mark and is pumping with good vibes. Can’t wait to get back into in the New Year. Enjoy the break.

Butch

2nd XI vs Ferntree Gully @ Knox Gardens Reserve

Sitting just inside the top 4 and playing 3rd spot on the ladder we were keen to end the year on a real positive note and cement ourselves in the 4 before the break. As has been the norm this season there were a few changes to the team with Morrison senior coming up after his solid fifty in the 3's and the ever reliable and occasionally flamboyant Sean Reid joining us once again after getting the 1st's season back on track and Devo got a reprieve. 

After winning the toss i had no hesitation in bowling first after some great form with the ball in recent weeks and the chance to set a very achievable target. After Hawksey begged me to grab the new rock I remembered that I hadn't grabbed the ball from the storeroom yet so when I finally found a ball I put it straight in the hands of Jack Deveson who had come off an incredible 11 wicket game in the 3's..... and also Hawksey. After a fairly tame start we then started to get rewarded for some good bowling especially the old fox Trav Mulder who took time away from signing autographs for the opposition players to have 2/0 off his first 4 overs and have them 3/35 and in control of the game. Carlton O'Connor to his surprise bowled more than a one over spell and took a wicket after a thundering short ball ballooned off the gloves to the keeper. At drinks they were 4/50 and it was looking good for us and we held firm throughout the innings with all bowlers doing the job, even the self confessed cricket tragic Josh Curnow who bowled with real venom! We didn't end up bowling them out but 8/117 off 40 overs on our deck is well below par so we were very confident.

Rhys and Morro opened up in our run chase and after having to put up with their sons at the other end last match the fight was on between them for the better strike rate and least amount of singles run. Ferntree Gully were never in the game and the two plundered them around the park scoring a 79 run partnership in no time before Rhys got caught for 38. Powerhouse batsman Josh Wylde joined Brett at the crease and the two of them strolled across the line before drinks in a very emphatic win that really sets up our season with 4 wins and 2 losses sitting 1 game off top spot. 

Really impressed with the development of our younger guys who are really standing up well even if our middle order guys haven't had much to do lately and us old blokes have been consistent enough to hold our own.

Looking forward to next year and the second half of an exciting season so far.

Daine

3rd XI vs Knoxfield @ Wantirna

Round 6 had us playing the old enemy Knoxfield at home. Knoxfield are always a great challenge for us, especially with their hitting ability in one day games. We won the toss and I decided to send them in. They started quite well before one of the most bizarre pieces of play I have ever seen occurred. The ball was hit to Dos who appeared certain to run the striker out who was sent back. He threw the ball way over Ben’s head and Nikhil backed up and fumbled the ball. They then decided to take the run and he was run out at the non-strikers end. This didn’t bring us much joy in the first 20 overs however as they went to drinks at 2/95. The continued on their way for a while before Nixon had big hitting Pitt caught slogging for 60. This saw danger man Mark Stewart come to the crease and we never let him get comfortable. He was dismissed with the score on 167 in a period that then saw them lose 6/6 to end on what I believed to be a well below par 173 which include 4 run outs. Best of the bowlers were Ash Thompson 1/16 (7), Sam Bakker ¼ (3), Nixon Adcock 1/28 (6) and Matt Lambrick 0/18 (6).

 

Myself and Ben opened the innings and put on 31 before Ben was out trying to go over the top and found mid-off. Matt Lambrick came in at first drop and fell to Plumridge for 9 leaving us at 2/42. Gerard Jongen was next in and both of us looked a bit shaky for a few overs. There was lots of feeling in the game which usually brings the best out in both of us and we settled to look in control at 2/78 at drinks. Following that was all the Gerard Jongen show, as he overtook me comfortably to make his 50 and in the end go on to make a really well made 91 not out. He played himself in beautifully and reaped the rewards at the end. I ended up on 55 not out and hobbling around with Ben McLean doing the running duties for the last few overs for me.

 

All in all it was a pretty comprehensive win for us which has put us on top going into the Christmas break. It is important we come back switched on and ready to keep winning games with tough games against Lysterfield and The Basin straight after the break.

 

Pottsy

4th XI vs Eildon Park at Stud Park Reserve

With all teams strengthened by the return of several players this round, the 4's batting line up benefited through Jase, Spence and Ty coming down from the 3's to help cover the loss of Scotty for this round.  Winning the toss against Eildon Park, it was a fairly easy decision to bat first.

 

Deepak, although preferring to come in a little lower in the order started proceedings with Spence, returning to the opening bat position to replace Scotty. Together they started comfortably until Deepak (8) tried to push the scoring along and punched a ball straight to the fielder who held a smart catch (1/15).  Justin, having spent valuable time at the crease the previous game, returned to his customary position at 3 but couldn’t keep a very good leg stump yorker out with the ball squeezing through and onto the stumps to be out for 1 (2/19). Jase joined Spence and, together, they lifted the tempo with some very intelligent cricket, working the ball around for singles and punishing anything loose.  They put on a partnership of 85 runs with Jase bringing up his 50 in quick time before departing for 62 including 10 boundaries (3/104 off 23) and providing a great platform for the remaining batsmen to launch from.  With Dylan joining Spence, the crowd settled into their seats to enjoy the show.  Spence was unlucky to get out for 34 to a ball that popped up off the leading edge but he could be extremely pleased with his efforts providing the backbone to the innings (4/133 off 28).  Ty joined Dyl and together they piled on 66 runs in the remaining 7 overs including a bomb that Dyl launched onto and over the roof of the pavilion at Stud Park Reserve, a decent hit on a ground of that size!  Dyl tried to launch another bomb on the last ball but lost his stumps after an occasionally brutal but always entertaining innings of 65. Ty had been batting intelligently with well-placed singles to get Dyl on strike and ended on 16 not out in the score of 5/199, a decent total from 35 overs.

 

The message to the players as we went out to field was to treat it like the first innings of the match and forget that we had runs on the board.  Keep it tight, bowl a good line and length and wickets will come.  Varun and Raj opened the bowling with Tom replacing Raj after his very impressive 4 over spell with the new ball.  All bowlers followed the instructions perfectly, settling into good areas that gave the batsmen no freedom to play shots. Varun got the first breakthrough with a well-deserved wicket in the 13^th over (1/30) that then saw Tom (3/25 off 7) wreak havoc with Spencer at the other end chipping in with a wicket to reduce EP to 5/50 in the 19^th over.  Keeping Dyl in reserve to cover for any possible ‘game changing’ batsman down the order, it was a good opportunity to throw the ball to others who didn’t often get the chance to bowl.  With Ty behind the stumps, the ball was thrown to young Benny who took his first senior wicket with a juggling catch to Deepak at mid-on.  Deepak was another keen to show his wares with the ball and bowled a nice tidy spell of 4 overs that saw him rattle the stumps just before the end with EP finishing well short on 7/113. 

 

It was a complete game from the boys with an intelligent batting innings where all batsmen played a part and then a comprehensive bowling and fielding performance with 5 catches and sensational ground fielding on the back of good chatter and positive energy throughout the EP innings. 

 

KGCC 5/199 Dyl 65, Jase 62, Spence 34, Ty 16* def EPCC 7/113 Tom 3/25 (7), Deepak 1/11 (4), Varun 1/13 (7), Benny 1/19 (6), Spence 1/28 (7)

 

Another great weekend for KGCC with another 4 wins and Garden Party to end the first half of the season

 

Greg