SUB-DISTRICT TOOTGAROOK and Ballam Park are playing for their seasons in MPCA Sub-District cricket in Round eight. Both sides are just half a game outside of the top four. A loss in this match could end their seasons. The Knights have gone through some tough times of late, with Ryan O’Connor pulling the pin and heading home to Sorrento mid-season. However, some of the “old stagers” have again rallied around the club and are hoping to get them into the finals. After day one of the clash against the Frogs at Truemans Road Reserve, it appears the Knights are up…
Author: IT Gully
DISTRICT WITH finals well and truly on the line in MPCA District cricket, every game is important for every team as we head for the finish line for the season. Whilst Baden Powell and Red Hill are safe at the top of the table, the scramble for the final two places has been left between five clubs. Heatherhill is one of those clubs fighting for a spot in the four and after day one against bottom of the table Boneo, they are on target to collect maximum points (20) for an outright win. Knowing full well that an outright opportunity…
PROVINCIAL MORNINGTON is going all out in one last ditch effort to make the MPCA Provincial finals. Sitting in 10th place heading into their Round eight match against Rye, the Dogs found themselves 20 points behind second placed Long Island. There was no other result Mornington could afford than an outright win and the 20 points that came with it. After the completion of day one, the Dogs are on track to achieve their objective. Mornington won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Demons at RJ Rowley Reserve. The home side lasted 37.4 overs for a net…
SUB-DISTRICT A REAL race for a place in the finals has developed in MPCA Sub District cricket following the opening match of the New Year. While Dromana and Hastings are nestled nicely in the top two spots on the ladder, there are now six clubs who have claims on the final two positions. Balnarring is back in the race after knocking over Rosebud in a high scoring clash. The Buds won the toss and elected to bat at Balnarring Reserve and looked to do everything right on their way to 7/192. Billy Quigley was superb with 72 batting at three,…
DISTRICT FLINDERS has joined Pearcedale in the MPCA District top four after serving-up a very solid performance in the one day clash on Saturday. Playing on their home deck, the Sharks batted first after Dwayne Field won the toss and scored a competitive 8/144 in their 40 overs. Andrew Power opened the innings with 40 runs while Mitch Stansborough contributed 33 to the total. Chris Dew was the pick of the Pearcedale bowlers with 3/29 from 10 overs. In reply, the Panthers lost wickets consistently and were eventually dismissed in the 35th over for 98. Will Kennedy top scored with…
PROVINCIAL THE fight for a place in the 2015/16 MPCA Provincial finals is well and truly on following the first game of the New Year on Saturday. Whilst Peninsula Old Boys locked away top spot and a home final after smashing Rye, there are a further eight teams that have genuine claims of finishing in the top four. Just one match separates second-placed Long Island (56 points) from ninth-placed Langwarrin (44). The team to beat this season, Sorrento, lost again on Saturday at the hands of the Islanders. The Sorras are just eight points outside of the top four, however.…
SUB-DISTRICT IN MPCA Sub District cricket, there is just one game separating fourth-placed Tootgarook and second-last Ballam Park. Heading into the second half of the season, there are six teams in position to make a claim for fourth spot, while Tyabb is on the bottom of the ladder but just two games out of the four. One thing is for certain, the premiership is going to come from one of the top three teams. Dromana seems to be the best placed team at the midway mark, showing the most consistency of the top three teams. Hastings, currently in second place,…
DISTRICT THERE are six teams vying for just one spot on the MPCA District ladder as we head into the mid-season break. While Baden Powell and Red Hill sit at the top of the tree on 72 points and Pearcedale has locked down third place with 60, six teams all sit on three wins and 36 points. Mount Martha and Main Ridge, despite winning just two games to date (24 points), are just a game outside fourth place. There were some must-win games for clubs on Saturday, some of which achieved the desired outcome while others are now well and…
PROVINCIAL MOOROODUC has emerged as the wildcard of MPCA Provincial cricket as we head into the Christmas break, the halfway mark of the 2015-16 season. While glamour teams in Mornington, Mount Eliza, Somerville and Baxter sit outside the top four, Moorooduc is well entrenched in second place, equal on points (56) with third-placed Crib Point and clear of Sorrento (48). Peninsula Old Boys heads the table on 64 points. Then we find a logjam of teams all on 44 points (Long Island, Baxter, Somerville, Pines), all poised to strike should any of the top four falter after the break. It’s…
SUB-DISTRICT Hastings will be digging deep for the win when it begins day two against Tyabb this Saturday. As the visitors, the Yabbies didn’t fare so well outside the familiar surroundings of the pond. The visitors lasted just 34.3 overs in their first innings and were bowled out for 55. Michael Edwards top scored with 14. 16-year-old Ryan McNamara was sensational for the Blues in only his third First XI game. McNamara bowled seven overs and finished with the impressive figures of 5/21. Luke Hewitt snared 2/2 and Mitchell Floyd 2/11 from 12 overs. The Blues didn’t do much better…
DISTRICT The Red Hill steam train shows no signs of slowing down after scoring 9/301 against Mt Martha on Saturday at the Red Hill Showgrounds. The Hillmen rely on no individual to win games of cricket, with all hands on deck whether batting, bowling or out in the field. After scoring more than 300 runs on Saturday, you’d be forgiven for assuming the likes of Simon Dart and Matt Merifield were amongst the runs. Either that or the Shaws, at the top of the order, dominated. But you should never assume anything with the Hillmen. While Riley Shaw did score…
PROVINCIAL Baxter has placed itself in a strong position to win its final match of 2015 against Somerville. Currently in eighth place on the MPCA Provincial ladder, a loss here would really put them behind the eight ball in 2016, leaving them at least two games out. With the competition so tight, picking up 24 points is a tall order. Nonetheless, the home side is most certainly in this contest after winning the toss and electing to bat. A 154-run partnership between Chris Brittain (79) and Dale Irving (76) really set Baxter up to post a solid total. With Ben…
SUB-DISTRICT DROMANA and Hastings are locked together at the top of the MPCA Sub District ladder after round five wrapped up on Saturday. In a very even 2015-16 competition, a buffer at the top of the table and early wins before Christmas are just what the clubs are looking for. The Blues weren’t overly impressive in their match against Balnarring, however they still scraped together enough for the 12 points. Dromana proved just how tight the competition was, humiliated by Frankston YCW. The Stonecats are just outside of third place on percentage after picking up the very important win against…
DISTRICT BADEN Powell and Red Hill remain clear at the top of the MPCA District ladder after recording easy victories on Saturday. The Braves and Hillmen are 12 points clear of their nearest rivals Pearcedale, who also recovered to win comfortably. Flinders and Heatherhill round out the top five. There are four teams all on 24 points, just one game outside of the top four. Red Hill was just 71 runs short of victory with 10 wickets in hand against Seaford Tigers when play resumed at Red Hill Reserve. Whilst the Tigers tried to make life difficult for the home…
PROVINCIAL PENINSULA Old Boys shot to the top of the MPCA Provincial ladder on Saturday after picking up an outright victory over Pines. The Old Boys already had the win on week one of the match after bowling out the visitors for 87 before declaring their innings on 7/104. Pines resumed on Saturday in a reasonable position of 2/52 with Nick Wilcox and Rhys Chalkley at the crease. Chalkley went quickly for one and Wilcox followed shortly after, making 49. The Pines’ middle order was resilient before POB eventually bowled them out for 189. Needing about 170 to pick up…
SUB-DISTRICT TOOTGAROOK’S Matthew Whelan can do anything on a cricket field. He’s extremely talented and his best is as good as we’ve seen. On Saturday against Skye, Whelan strode to the crease with his side in a spot of bother at 2/37, but left the ground with the team score at 301. Whelan had 174 next to his name. Together with Travis French, who scored 80, Whelan dominated the Skye attack and set the side up for a solid victory after completing 80 overs on 9/327. Pat Clinch picked up three wickets for Skye. Frankston YCW made tough work of…
DISTRICT CARRUM is in a world of pain as it enters the second day of its match against Flinders. After bowling out Flinders for 227, Carrum slumped, scoring an ordinary 4/29 after facing the final 14 overs of the day. Boom recruit and skipper Andy Johnson again failed with the bat, caught by Simon Parrott off the bowling of Matt Burns for a blob. Johnson has just 54 runs in four hits for the season. Fellow recruit Jake D’Atri was also removed without troubling the scorers – his side was reeling when Shaun Foster – as usual – came to…
PROVINCIAL Mt Eliza’s season went from bad to worse on Saturday, being bowled out for 121 against Long Island. Languishing just above Rye at the bottom of the ladder, the Mounties’ top order were brittle as the team slumped to 6/35. Nick Baron (26), Matt Travena (26) and Jordan Fuhrmann (22) were the only batsmen to break 20, while skipper Justin Grant again failed with the bat, making just 12 runs. Long Island’s opening bowlers Scott Phillips and Andrew Tweddle were superb as usual. ‘Flippa’ bowled 21 overs and finished with sensational figures of 4/26, including 11 maidens. Tweddle was…
SUB-DISTRICT DROMANA sits alone at the top of the MPCA Sub District ladder after smashing Rosebud by more than 100 runs on Saturday. The Hoppers have been the whipping boys of the competition for the past decade, however, with Darren Kerr at the helm, along with Andrew West, they have been able to turn the fortunes of the club around. Kerr was sensational yet again on Saturday, scoring 103 after resuming the day on 24. West took his overnight score from 42 to 56 to help set up the win. Dromana finished the day on 239, a commanding 112 run…
DISTRICT PEARCEDALE has dropped a place on the MPCA District ladder but still remains entrenched in the top four after going down to Red Hill in a nail biter on Saturday. The Hillmen have now placed a 12 point buffer between themselves and the Panthers while Baden Powell holds top spot after its fourth straight victory. The Panthers went close to picking up the win against the Hillmen but fell 10 runs short. Chasing a modest 140 for victory, Pearcedale resumed at 5/86 with Chris Dew (33) and Kaine Smith (13) at the crease. Dew (57) and Smith (22) were…
PROVINCIAL MOOROODUC caused the upset of the of the season so far when it knocked over Peninsula Old Boys, in dramatic circumstances, by nine runs on Saturday. Resuming at 1/17 and chasing 171 for victory, Peninsula Old Boys just never got going and were bowled out with more than 20 overs left in the match. Leigh Lambert was sensational for the Ducs with 5/40 from 21.1 overs, while Sushant Gupta was equally as impressive with 5/36 from 16 overs. The Old Boys looked home at 5/155, just 17 runs from victory with five wickets in hand. However, visitors lost 5/7,…
SUB-DISTRICT ONE of the new glamour teams of MPCA Sub District cricket looked far from that on Saturday when Rosebud and Dromana went head to head at Dromana Reserve. With a number of big name recruits between them in the off season, the Hoppers and the Buds were expected to put on a real show on Saturday. However, Rosebud was a let down. Dromana dominated them with the ball and then put them to the sword with the bat later in the day. Rosebud won the toss and batted first but were rolled for just 127 in the 47th over.…
DISTRICT SEAFORD has a lot of work to do in the field on day two of its match against Baden Powell, the side dominating MPCA District cricket. Seaford won the toss and batted first on Saturday at Seaford Reserve and got away to a flying start, getting 50 on the board without loss. However, the home side lost four wickets inside 22 runs and were in some trouble at 4/77 with Ryan McQueen (29), Paul Hartle (23), Faisal Payenda and Damien Lawrence all back in the sheds. Nick Simpendorfer offered some resistance in the middle order with a hard fought…
PROVINCIAL SORRENTO looks to be staring down the barrel of a significant loss to Somerville in MPCA Provincial cricket. The Sorras seemed to give themselves every opportunity to pick up the four points after rolling the home side inside 50 overs. However, the Eagles scored at almost four runs an over and were able to set the visitors a more than reasonable target of 197 to chase down. Jack Barbour was the chief scorer for the Eagles with 44 while Brad Rossborough hit 26 and Craig Black 23. Rob Parslow was the pick of the Sorrento bowlers with 4/33 from…
DISTRICT PEARCEDALE remains in equal top spot on the MPCA District ladder after getting out of jail against Seaford Tigers. The Panthers were defending an ordinary total of 128, however, did have the Tigers on the back foot early, resuming at 1/7. The Tigers started extremely well with opener Jon Plakourakis scoring 25 and Aaron Mountney contributing 18. The visitors were cruising at 1/42. However, within a blink of an eye, that score line dropped to 8/66. The Tigers were bowled out for 81 in 43.5 overs. Kain Smith and Shayne Gillings were superb for the Panthers with 4/7 and…
SUB-DISTRICT DROMANA maintained its stranglehold on the MPCA Sub District competition with an effortless victory against Skye. After rain effected all matches in Sub District last weekend, all matches were limited overs games on Saturday. Skye batted first against the Hoppers on their home deck but could only manage 78 runs in 32 overs. Young gun Jack Fowler was at it again for Dromana, snaring 5/14 from just six overs. He then went out and made an unbeaten 51 to absolutely tear the game apart. Jye Voelkle was also very good for the Hoppers with 3/35 from eight overs and…
PROVINCIAL PENINSULA Old Boys sit on top of the MPCA Provincial ladder after knocking over Long Island comfortably on Saturday. Chasing 157 for victory, the Old Boys cruised past the total three wickets down and finished the day 6/212. The Old Boys’ top order all pretty much got going except for skipper Matt Hyden who was caught behind off Jake Middleton for 16 after banging a four and six. Dylan O’Malley scored 40 at the top of the batting line-up, Wade Pelzer opened with 33, Eivion Bowen hit 46 and Will Crowder continued his outstanding start to the season with…
DISTRICT SEAFORD Tigers has put itself in a strong position to pick up the 12 points after taming the Pearcedale Panthers in District cricket on Saturday. The newly promoted Panthers have started the 2015-16 season in sensational fashion, winning their first two matches, however they did stumble against the Tigers on Saturday. It was only a few seasons ago that these sides were playing against each other in Sub District. The Panthers batted first and were rolled for just 128. Shane Maggs (34) and Shayne Gillings (40) were the only batsmen to offer any resistance, while Brad Trotter did open…
PROVINCIAL IT was a tough day for batsmen in ordinary conditions on Saturday in MPCA Provincial cricket. The result was 16 wickets falling in the match between top teams Mt Eliza and Baxter. Mt Eliza won the toss and elected to bat in the round three match at Emil Madsden Reserve but things went pear–shaped after the openers in Tim Clarke (30) and Chris Whisbey (16) went out. Other than Brendan Jovic at 11, the Mt Eliza batsmen failed to get into double figures. The likes of Justin Grant (4), Tim Stickland (5) and Keith Briggs (4) all failed with…
DISTRICT RED HILL, Seaford, Pearcedale and Baden Powell hold the top four positions on the MPCA District ladder after just two rounds. Pearcedale could be considered the surprise packet of the quartet, given the Panthers are the new kids on the block in District ranks. However, when you pull-in a recruit such as Shane Maggs, who has been playing District cricket for more than 10 years, your fortunes are going to change considerably. On Saturday, Maggs snared 3/12 and 4/49 as Pearcedale destroyed Boneo. Defending a whopping 288, the Panthers then rolled the Pandas for 72 with Maggs taking three…