A loss to the old rivals

F I R S T X I

OLD SCOTCH 1XI 161 (37)

def. by OLD MELBOURNIANS 6/165 (36.3)

H. FRANCIS 45, T. KELLY 28, L. FRANCIS 3/27, S. SHEARER 2/30

The 1s travelled out to Port Melbourne to take on the old rivals Old Melbournians. In what was poised to be a danger game for the side, some late changes added to the nervous energy amongst the group. Playing on their main oval, we won the toss and batted first. With a couple early wickets we looked in trouble but Sam Shearer and Mike Sparks managed to fight back and get some momentum going our way before Sam was dismissed for 26. We continued to cruise along with Mike and Hamish Francis batting well together and at 3-95 we looked ready to set up a good total. That was until we had one of our worst collapses in recent times losing 4-5 and being 7-99 all of a sudden. We somehow fought back and got ourselves to a defendable total of 161. Credit goes to a gutsy 8th wicket partnership between Hamish Francis (45) and Tom Kelly (28) who put on 59 together.

This was going to be a tough ask to defend and it provided us with a good challenge leading into finals. We got off to a fast start with Lachie Francis striking early having OMs 2-15 and our tails were up. A good 3rd wicket partnership halted our momentum but we were able to strike twice in quick succession to have OMs 4-96 at drinks. At drinks, we thought we were a strong chance to fight back and knew we needed to field and bowl well after drinks to give ourselves the best chance. Unfortunately, we let ourselves down in the field after drinks and allowed OMs to crawl their way to our total 6 down with a couple overs to spare. Sam Goodwill bowled brilliantly and deserved much more reward than his 1 wicket, whilst Sam picked up 2 late wickets and Lachie ended with 3.

With 1 week to go, we now must win this weeks game to remain top of the table and set ourselves up for finals. We come up against reigning premiers, Melbourne High, and hopefully last weeks shock loss to OMs can re-focus the group for what will hopefully be a big next few weeks of cricket.

— Will Clark (1XI Captain)

S E C O N D X I

OLD SCOTCH 2XI

vs. MELBOURNE HIGH

MATCH ABANDONED

T H I R D X I

OLD SCOTCH 3XI 8/247 (40)

def. OLD CAREY 9/148 (40)

H. JAPP 92, J. COBB 59, B. MAKOWSKI 4/31, G. BENNETT 1/5

A big fixture was upon us in our second home game for the season against a 4th placed Carey. A win would secure us a spot in the finals however a loss would cause us to slide out of the top 4 given that 5th place Trinity won. Losing the toss Carey sent us into bat, and we were off to a shaky start with Palazzo falling for 4 and Griffiths being given out controversially after being caught on a bump ball dismissing him for 4 runs leaving us 2-8 after 1.2 overs. However, Howie Japp and an inform Josh Cobb were settled under pressure and formulated a valuable partnership punishing Carey for their numerous fielding blunders piling on a 104-run partnership before Cobb departed 59 on a questionable LBW decision. Makowski came and left cheaply tallying 5 yet Bennett and formulate another strong partnership totalling 89, with a highlight being Howie Japps’ 3 consecutive sixes! Before he was dismissed for an impress 92 with Nic Bennett soon following for 40. Fyfe (17*) and Gary Bennett (14) helped raise the total in the final overs leaving us 8-247 after our 40 overs.

With the Ball Fred Strong (1/23 off 6) got off to a terrific start bowling the league leader in runs scored for the 2nd time this season who was paired with Gary Bennett (1/5 off 7 with 5 maidens) who got us off to a valuable start with their tight bowling which proved tough to score off as after 12 overs Carey were 1-39 with a required run rate nearing 7.5 an over. Additionally, after Fyfe (0/34 from 7) and Nic Bennett (1/14 from 4) finished their sets as first change Carey were requiring 10 an over for the next 17 overs, with 3 wickets lost it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility especially as they are a strong batting side. However, Ben Makowski (4/31 from 6) nullified any threat as he caused numerous false strokes, almost claiming a hattrick. Lindholm (1/17 from 5) and Balot (1/6 from 3) helped clear the tail as they approached 40 overs 9-148.

A vital win for us as we showed great resilience with the bat and tight bowling with the ball. We look next week toward MCC as we fight to remain 3rd place on the ladder as we head into finals.

— Nic Bennett (3XI Captain)

#surroundyourself