It was a mixed bag of results for us on the weekend of 11 and 12 November. Let's see how things panned out.
Womens T20 2/124 V Gellibrand 2/169
The Brunswick Women's Team came up against newly promoted Gellibrand at Allard Park on Sunday. Rosie Rodger won the toss and elected to bowl.
The visitors got off to a great start, finding the boundary regularly on their way to a total of 2/169. Despite a handful of misfields early in the game, the fielding picked up as the match wore on. Rhiannon Jones took her first ever wicket - stumped, Rosie Rodger; and Emily White took Brunswick's second wicket - caught, Isabella Edwards.
Brunswick got off to a flying start with the bat and were exceeding the pace of the visitors until the 8th over. At this point the run rate dropped away and Brunswick finished 45 runs short of Gellibrand on 2/124. Isabella Edwards smashed her way to a total of 32 off 23 balls, not out, and Poppy Dohrman retired not out for 20 off 14, hitting the only six of the match.
Firsts 6/179 V Taylors Lakes 143
Winning the toss & batting on a deck which we expected to be a little up & down as the day progressed, we got away to a good start 1/42 before Hilly (20) got a good one & was cleaned up. SOS (26) fell @ 2/60 & Lewy (10) 3/79. Marcus (21) & Rowdy joined forces to take us to drinks & when Marcus fell @ 4/113 we were scrambling to post a competitive total. B Mossy (22 off 18) joined Rowdy & lifted the tempo. D Bon (2) & out for the game with a torn hammy & then Doz (6no) got us to 6/179, with Rowdy a patient & controlled 48no. 5 of our top 6 got to 20, without pressing on.
One bowler down, a few short of our target was going to be a challenge. Our start was not aided as we grassed a couple of chances early. Dan broke through & then Doz skittled the no 3. 2/28 quickly became 3/39 when J Moss & Lewy combined for a run out. They steadied & at drinks were 3/90, with the game slightly in their favour. A couple of quick wickets were required. An inspired captaincy decision straight after drinks saw Marcus introduced to the attack with immediate success. Catch at deep mid wicket, then a brilliant catch at short mid wicket by SOS 5/92 & we had kicked the door open. 6/117 as Marcus had another one caught in the deep. Dan & Doz were both reintroduced to the attack “with blood in the water” & went about the kill. On a deck that required back of length stump to stump bowling that is exactly what they delivered 6/137 all out 143.
One bowler down & whilst J Moss, B Moss & Josh Mac did not take a wicket, there tightness in going at just over 3 an over collectively during the middle overs was crucial in building the pressure & played a big part in getting wickets at the other end.
Doz 4/20, Dan 2/25, J Moss 0/24, Josh Mac 0/19, B Moss 0/22 & “The King of NO Spin” Marcus 3/24
Great way to win & bounce back after last weeks disappointment. It’s always a positive to know we can still get better, when we are winning. Difference to last week is we won the key moments in the game. Challenge is to take this forward & maintain the momentum into next week as we visit Werribee.
Seconds 5/283 V Taylors Lakes 107
The Friends XI had their second road-trip for the season, venturing out to the serene streets of Taylors Lakes for an afternoon of cricket at Lionheart Reserve. Budding social demographer Ben Bonovia repeatedly informed us that the area is entirely populated by ‘retail workers and tradies’. This completely irrelevant and uninteresting tidbit aside, the Taylors Lakes boys played with good spirit, despite the lopsided result.
Sent into bat first on a tired looking wicket, openers Paul Walters and Jackson Cooper set about their work with great industry, before Paul fell on 10, bringing his stellar start to the season to an end. Jackson continued to build his innings with aggressive intent, which allowed our fearless leader Evan Smith to take his sweet time in getting settled.
Blades flashed in the clearing sun, and runs flowed with increasing volume, with the pair forming a 145 run partnership for the second wicket – before Jackson threw it away on 87. Marcus Jackman then engaged in an ultimate act of team spirit, allowing himself to be castled on his second rock to get our criminally underutilised lower order into the game. Enter Ollie Price. While his summer in England seems to have had an adverse effect on his cognitive functions, it appears to have benefited his cricket, as he continued his rich vein of form, finishing on 50*(52).
Evan moved into the 90s with great panache, before deciding to attempt milestone avoidance by shelling an absolute muffin to Long On. Thankfully, this catch went down and Evan later brought up a sublime century – departing on an even 100 (99). Ben Bonovia strode out with 10 balls remaining in the innings, departing two balls later. Ben claims this ball swung. No-one believes him. Vanshjot closed the innings with a sublime lofted cover drive for 6, bringing Brunswick’s score to an imposing 5-283.
With plenty of runs on the board, the openers got stuck into their work early – with both John Martyr and Alex Halls taking two early poles, leaving Taylors Lakes at a precarious 4-8. Alex brought his average to a respectable 62.5 for the season, and John graced FrogBox with some trademark celebrations. The middle order offered some resistance, with our first change bowlers copping a bit of tap. If they keep working hard, they might get the new ball one day. This brought Luke Giblett into the game, desperate to extend his one-week residency. He set about his work early, snaring two quick poles. In an act of defiant self-interest, Gibo then decided to drop a catch, before coming back the next over and cleaning up the tail, finishing with a tidy 4-10 – Taylors Lakes all out for 107.While the scoreline suggests an imposing victory, there is still significant work to undertake to attain the standard we want to set. Evan and the boys will keep grinding away, taking this momentum into a marquee showdown with Werribee this week.
Gibo for the 1s next week?
Key Performances:
Jackson Cooper 87 (101)Evan Smith 100 (99)Oliver Price 50 (52)Luke Giblett 4-10John Martyr 2-12Alex Halls 2-20
Thirds 9/205 V St Bernard’s 9/197
Returning skipper Eric Pritchard kicked off the Three’s pursuit of back-to-back wins against cross-town rivals, St. Bernard’s by winning the toss and electing to bat at Hillbert Oval on beautiful pitch with a lightning quick outfield.
Freshly deposed from the captaincy, opening batsman Randy took out his frustration immediately and kicked off proceedings with a boundary from the first ball of the innings with a classical off-drive. From there, combining with the diminutive Akshay, the pair started watchfully, putting on 29 for the first wicket before a slower ball full-toss from the Bernard’s opener had Randy (15) swinging for the hills and his defence broken through.
From there, skipper Eric and Akshay combined brilliantly with an array of strokes, putting on almost 50 before Eric (21 off 23) decided he’d had enough, miscuing a pull-shot to mid-wicket, tucking his bat under his arm and briskly walking off to the pavilion. As Giri and Akshay began to build another partnership, perhaps the most important discussion of the day took place in the dugout as the team strongly debated Andrew Potter’s stance on Cheese being the best flavour of Shapes.
Discussions were rudely interrupted as Giri decided to take on a spicy run and found himself run-out from a direct hit and the innings slowed a little in the middle overs. Akshay continued to chip away with a host of cuts and flays through the offside before he was dismissed for a well-made 64. Luke (36 off 26) then began finding the gaps with precision in a bright stand with Meady. Unfortunately, a clump of wickets fell following Luke’s dismissal. Farzad and Meady set about steadying the ship with a brilliant 33 run partnership for the 9th wicket as the duo unleashed a flurry of strokes with Meady in particularly showing flexibility not seen for many years through his numerous swipes across the line. The acceleration allowed the Threes to post a competitive 9/205 – on a ground like this, it was game on!
Things looked ominous as the opposition worked their way to 0/93, but ice-man Declan Smith (3/43) cemented his position as the middle overs specialist by combining with Meady for a triple blow of caught behinds, the game suddenly evenly poised at 3/113. Meanwhile, with numerous LBW appeals (in increasing ferocity and duration) turned down, Elliot’s rage began to rise. With a mini-recovery underway and the score at 147, the St. Bernard’s skipper took on the wrong man with a brilliant pick up and throw filled with fury from Elliot on the square leg boundary resulting in a runout.
From there, ‘pace-off’ was the order from the skipper as Giri (1/23) and Farzad did just that, combining for 9 overs of economical bowling. With the asking rate climbing towards a run a ball, Elliot (2/29 and with two wickets in two balls to finish his spell) and the Welsh Fire of Ed (2/37) put the clamps on. With 14 to defend from the final over, Ed kept his cool and the opposition finished on 9/197 and leaving the Threes as eight run victors. A brilliant team performance with special mentions to Akshay for anchoring the innings at the top with the bat, Luke for a boundary-laden cameo, Meady for his hand in six dismissals with the gloves and all of the bowlers for keeping their cool all game.
Fourths 5/113 V St Bernard’s 10/111
Having been sent into the field, Tom began proceedings with an inspiring opening spell. Once again, proving he is the fastest bowler in the league, Tom snagged two early wickets that included a fine grab from ‘specialist fielder’ Pandya who was later sent to field for the 1’s, rocking up in his full whites. At the other end, Senz found significant lateral movement and despite exchanging a few words with a 13-year-old batsmen for taking 0.3 seconds too long between balls, Senz picked up 2 wickets to leave St Bernards OC 5-64. Ben Loughnane bowled an attritional spell, grinding the run rate to a near halt and finished with the economical figures of 0-10 off 8 overs. Sammy provided his usual rousing Scottish war cries from fine leg and continued from where he left off last week, bowling another impressive spell. St Bernards OC’s number 6, ‘The President’ offered some resistance scoring a tidy 43 but was eventually dismissed by the crafty 2 step speed bowling of Haider Butt (3-23 of 8 overs) to leave them 6-92. The unnerving sight of Tom Burn’s reintroduction into the bowling attack left the mothers of St Bernards OC’s number 10 and 11 13-year-old batsmen in a state of worry. But Tom directed his heat to the stumps and edges rather than the body, ending up the pick of the bowlers finishing with the figures of 4-31 off 8 overs. St Bernards OC’s had been bowled out inside 40 overs and reached a small total of 111.
In pursuit of the target 111, the Fours made unnecessary hard work of it, losing 5 wickets. Up top, AB and Lanco looked to bat positively, playing some free-flowing shots whilst providing their weekly runout scares. However, a flurry of quick wickets left the Fours 3-44. Henry ‘Winston’ Wilson (26) and Adrian Tanner (21*) sought to build a solid partnership that catapulted the Four’s closer to the target. Haider Butt chipped in with some useful hitting whilst Tanner saw the Fours over the line by nurdling the ball into the gaps for singles and running hard between the wickets. The Fours reached the target within 25 overs and continued their unbeaten run as they continue to make Holbrook Reserve a fortress.'
Saturday B 8/288 V Flemington Colts 2 112
R Rahman 3/9, Z Welsh 5/17 S Kumar 53, D Booth 42, G Martin Cox 69
Saturday D – Won on a Forfeit
Sunday B 132 V Footscray United 170
No Report
R Anderson 4/14, A Ghuman 4/21 B Gill 25, S Singh 49
Sunday D 50 V Parkville District 5/53
What a beautiful day it was for cricket on Sunday, at Bren’s Oval in Parkville. Parkville District won the toss and chose to bowl.
Runs were very hard to come by, however, on what proved to be a very difficult batting strip for both teams, with very irregular bounce and turn.
We were bundled out for a paltry 50 runs, with Hector Harley making a hard fought 22 and our only batter to make double figures.
We battled hard in the field though, defending our low score, with some terrific bowling from Hector 2/12 (6) and Osgar Bryant 2/12 (5), great keeping from Krishna Shrestha (in his first game for the Sunday Ds) and a superb catch by Matteo Pintore-Deveny at mid-off, but it wasn’t enough, and Parkville District were able to take the points at 5/53.
We’ll regroup during the week and get back in the winner’s circle against the Thornbury Turf Strokers this coming Sunday - C'arn the Wicks!
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