Here are the Brunswick Cricket Club Match Reports for the weekend of 20-21 January 2024.
First 5/239 v Spotswood 4/242
On losing the toss we were invited to bat. Again we got away to an excellent start before SoS fell for 32 with the score on 54. Marcus Stables joined Coops who was going along nicely putting on 65 for the second wicket before Marcus (22) was dismissed. Luke (8) fell shortly after as we tried to increase the run rate @ 3/145. As we continued to accelerate Coops fell @ 4/171 for another very valuable & aggressive knock of 93. B Moss (43) Lewy (26no) & D Bon (8no) pushed our total to a very competitive 5/239 off our 45 overs.
We started well with an early wicket to Tang 1/26. We were in a holding pattern as neither side was able to gain any real ascendancy, however a long partnership was established, with the score reaching 2/140. This became 3/176 with the game in the balance with Spotswood requiring just over 6 an over with 7 wickets in hand. We were unable to grab a couple of quick wickets to apply the pressure & we were passed with 2 overs to spare.
Doz 1/30, Tang 1/28, B Moss 1/32, D Bon 1/53 J Moss 0/29 & Louie 0/62
T 20 3/115 V Coburg 7/112
A Khabarwal 4 overs 1 maiden 2/13, O Price 4o 0m 1/19, B Moss 2o 0m 1/21
C Thewlis 11, B Rowles 31, M Horrocks 38, L Stutter 23no & B Moss 11no
Having now won both our T20 games we look to progress to the next stage.
Seconds 3/150 v Spotswood 149
M Horrocks 38, V Sandhu 49 & E Smith 42no
R Ratwatte 5/18, O Price 2/30 & H Travers 2/29
Thirds 5/261 v Plenty Valley 134
P Holly 46, S Ajgaonkar 86, S Mead 38
A Khabarwal 6/8
Fourths 3/103 v Plenty Valley 102
A Tanner 31no
B Loughnane 2/4, C Rowe 2/23
Saturday B 117 v Reds 1 175
A Read 38, M Legg 27
M Emu 4/28, A Guduri 2/32, G Senz 2/55
Saturday D 9/120 v Flemington 2 4/121
K Long 31, Y Sarang 21
C Pratt 2/26
Brunswick won the toss and elected to bat first against top of the table Flemington Gulls in Ascot Vale. Flemington's openers were tight and their fielders on point as the Wicks top order made starts but struggled to get going with the score 4/48 just before the drinks break. A 56 run partnership between Kiran Long (31) and Yogesh Sarang (21) got Brunswick into triple figures before a collapse of 5/16 saw them set Flemington a modest target of 121 for victory.
Despite some tidy bowling from the Wicks who gave away just 8 extras, the Gulls didn't break much of a sweat chasing down the runs, although Chris Pratt (2/26), Saamin Iqbal (1/10) and Bryce Sarah (1/18) did their best to limit the damage with some help from a Jack Nolte classic catch running towards the boundary. Flemington reached the total just 4 wickets down and with 19 overs to spare.
The loss sees Brunswick drop from 3rd to 5th in the tightly contested grade, just 1 point outside of the top 4 for finals qualification with 6 rounds to go.
Sunday B 203 v TTS 1 195
Z Welsh 74, B Allan 44
Z Welsh 3/38 C Rowe 3/47 B Allan 2/31
Sunday D 2/119 v Flemington 9/117
T Varley 47no O Bryant 61
R Rahman 2/11 M Varley 2/13 A Saunders 2/15
Romi took the reins of Sunday D, his first game as captain of a Brunswick team. He called incorrectly at the toss and we were invited to bowl first, but things largely improved from there. Romi snared two wickets in his opening spell with the new Duke, and after a 45-run third-wicket partnership, Flemington lost wickets consistently, finishing 9/117 after 45 overs.
Wickets were shared across many of the nine different bowlers, with Romi, Max and Al getting two each. Notably, Al came on at the end of the innings, and managed to bowl 42 dot balls in his 8 straight overs when Flemington were looking to score more quickly.
With a low total to defend, Flemington tried something different by opening with leg spin. It worked, with Mick chopping on a short wide one. But it only worked for so long, with Tom Varley and Osgar putting on 119 together to seal the win. Batting out the over, Osgar was dismissed for 61 and max fell just short of what would have been a well-deserved half century.
It was great to see the younger players contributing to such a large part of a big win.
J G Craig Shield QF
Brunswick 5/293 v Spotswood 74
N Martel 105, G Reinher 100*, R Powell 51
M Mahoney 3/9, R Desai 2/5, A Huddart 2/8
The Craig Shield team continues to play well. The quarter final versus Spotswood turned out to be rather one-sided. A second wicket partnership of 181 between Nico Martel and George Reinehr put the team in a dominant position before Ruben Powell put the icing on the cake with a 50 at around two runs per ball (7x4s and 2x6s). Two centuries and a fifty in the one game is very rare in Craig Shield matches.
A total of 293 was always going to be difficult for Spotswood to chase, and a steady flow of wickets saw them dismissed for 74 in the 31st over. Wickets were shared between 6 bowlers, with Max Mahoney, Rishi Desai and Archie Huddart getting two apiece.
The Semi Final is on Thursday 25 January @ Gillon Oval – get down & have a look at some of the sensational young talent on display representing the BCC.