Scores from South Road – Round 13

All 4 VSDCA XI’s went into the final round of action with mathematical chances of playing finals.

 

The 1^st XI made the longest journey in Subbies Cricket, out to Macpherson Park to face Melton. Winning the toss and bowling, we struggled to make inroads as both Melton openers got off to a flying start. Michael Nyary and Luke Shimmin were the pick of the bowlers, but on a fast outfield the hosts posted a very competitive 4/268 off their allotted overs. In reply our innings unfortunately never got going, losing wickets at regular intervals to be all out for 101 in the 28^th over. This brings our 1^st XI season to a close with 5 wins, 1 draw and 7 losses.
The 2^nd XI hosted Melton at BBO, with the visitors getting off to a flying start, 1/94 off the first 15 overs. From here, disciplined bowling from Darcy Kennelly, James Perkins-Stafford and Sean Wilson started a steady flow of wickets that eventually saw Melton all out for just 154 in the 36^th over. Stu Fairley and James Perkins-Stafford ensured that the chase was no problem, each posting unbeaten half centuries which saw the target chased down with 13 overs remaining for the loss of just 3 wickets. The 2nds finished 5^th and will face Malvern at Malvern City Oval this weekend.

 

The 3rds ventured to Croydon on Sunday, again knowing that a win would secure finals cricket. Despite a shaky start to our batting innings, solid performances from Jack Rutter and Mike Lees, before late order contributions from Hamish Swaffield and Nathan Steele saw us post a very competitive 9/184. In reply, Croydon lost wickets at fairly regular intervals. Tight bowling from Hugh Hamilton and Matt Dutton saw the hosts fall behind the required run-rate and they could never recover, ultimately falling some 35 runs short of the target. The 3rds finished 4^th and will also face Malvern, at TH King Reserve in Glen Iris.

 

The 4ths scenario was extremely precarious just 3 weeks ago, but 16 points from the final 3 games has enabled us to once again see March action. Saturday’s victory over Croydon was set up by John Damiano and Simon Fanning’s huge performances with the bat.  We weren’t able to take many wickets with the ball, but tight bowling from Anuj Mehra and Harry Gower saw the visitors immediately slip below the required run-rate, which they would never really recover from. The 4ths finished 5^th but will host Bayswater at Brighton Beach Oval this weekend.