AIC First XI cricket Players of the Week uncovered after round two action
AIC First XI cricket’s round two Team of the Week revealed here ahead of a weekend that could decide the premiership.
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He started playing First XI cricket at Marist College Ashgrove in Year Nine. Now in Year 12, Samuel Lewis is dominating at the bowling crease.
Lewis, a right arm off-spin bowler, took five wickets at the weekend in Ashgrove’s 146 run victory over Padua, getting one back after Padua took out the Cameron-Andrews Cup footy clash on the Friday evening in round two of the Aussie Rules football season.
AIC’S FIRST XI CRICKET’S SUPER 30 PLAYERS SINCE 2020
Lewis, who also claimed four wickets in round one, was inspired earlier in the decade by his old brother Darcy who played First XI cricket in 2021.
Darcy was a lightning fast pace bowler who had his schoolmates shaking in their boots when trials came around at the school.
But young Sam Lewis, a futures player for Valley, is the magic man of AIC cricket right now, spearheading Ashgrove in its pursuit of back-to-back AIC First XI premierships.
Lewis was the first selected in our Team of the Week, and not far behind him was highly touted Valley cricketer Will Nickelson who found form with a match defining knock of 84 against Padua.
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ROUND 1 CENTURY TOP OF THE POPS
AIC FIRST XI CRICKET PLAYERS TO WATCH
1. Liam Johns (Iona)
Iona College were spearheaded by opener Johns at the weekend. The youngster wasted no time chasing down St Edmund’s total of 90, Johns smashing 76 from just 30 balls to get the job done in a jiffy. T20 franchises take note - he exploded for 11 sixes.
2. Liam Bahemia (St Peters)
The right-handed opener for St Peters played a wonderful innings on Saturday.
With rain getting in the way, Bahemia stuck to his guns and did not overplay his card.
He was excellent between the wickets for his 53 and had a stellar partnership with James Nelson (33).
3. Roman Dunne (Villanova)
Dunne showed great mental fortitude to stick it out while wickets fell around him.
Dunne, who scored 53 from 83 balls, arrived at the crease after Villa lost their opening batter early.
He respected the good balls and dispatched of the bad, waiting for a partner in crime.
He found one in Lewis McMahon (44).
4. Will Nickelson (Ashgrove)
After getting a start in round one, Nickelson arrived at the party in round two’s bout against Padua.
Nickelson scored 83, hitting six fours and two sixes in an innings of patience and class.
Opposition bowlers will prize his wicket like no other after seeing last year’s batsman in action. He is also the team’s keeper.
5. Lewis McMahon (Villanova)
McMahon scored 44 from 58 deliveries when Villanova defeated big fish St Patrick’s on Saturday.
What was so good about his innings was that his team was in trouble before he came in and he was involved in two crucial partnerships.
The first was with Dunne (53) and the next was with Lachlan Colbert who deserves all the praise.
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6. Lachlan Colbert (Villanova)
Colbert’s unbeaten knock of 40 gave Villanova all the momentum heading into their bowling innings.
After a shaky start where Villanova lost five of their top order batsmen cheaply, Colbert took the baton from Dunne and joined McMahon in a gallant late innings fightback.
His batting efforts turned the game on its head. With the new ball he also bowled tightly (0-23, 10 overs).
7. Sam Lewis (Ashgrove)
As we mentioned earlier, Lewis was on fire with the ball.
He took five wickets and will be firing for Saturday’s match up against Iona – the biggest game of the season.
8. Henrik Frederiksen (Villanova)
The only bowler to have performed better that Lewis in round two was Villanova’s Frederiksen. We cannot sing his praises enough. After his batters stood up in a late-innings-fightback, Frederiksen brought his A-game to the bowling crease and rocked the St Patrick’s top order. Frederiksen, who finished with figures of 10-3-22-5, took two quick wickets and then sprinkled more of his magic dust in a second spell which delivered three key wickets for the home side Villanova. He ensured there was no wagging of the Paddies tail.
9. James Turner (Iona)
Turner took aim and pulled the trigger, ruffling the feathers of the St Edmund’s top order and then the middle order shortly after. He bowled 10 overs, took four wickets and leaked just 28 runs, ensuring no opponent of his could get into any sort of groove. This followed the youngster’s four wickets on debut just seven days earlier.
10. Clancy Muniandy (Iona College)
Muniandy was Turner’s right hand man, collecting wickets while going at virtually nothing.
He finished with captivating figures of 8.1-3-14-4 and added the finishing touches to have St Edmund’s erased for 90 runs.
11. Matthew Pereira (St Patrick’s)
Another round of AIC cricket, and more praise for Pereira who took four wickets on Saturday. Pereira applied pressure with his fast outswingers and was rewarded. A member of last year’s Team of the Season, he is a class bowler who puts it in the right areas.
12th. Louis Morris (Ashgrove)
He missed out with the bat this week, but still have rivals batsmen tied in a knot with his bowling. He was considered for our top 12 this week after another extraordinary return of 9-4-10-3, including the dismissal of the dangerous Will Tozer.
13. Evan Chamberlin (St Laurence’s)
Laurie’s build pressure with the ball and in the field, and leading the way was Chamberlin.
How bowled tightly, then later in the innings swung momentum emphatically in Laurie’s favour by dismissing St Peters two set batsmen – Liam Bahemia (53) and James Nelson (33). He bowled four maidens during his 2-16.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
Mitchell Francis (Villanova)
Villa were no sure things to defend 200 when St Patrick’s pair Nic Weedon (23) and Samuel Megaw (26) were backing their skills and scoring quickly. But Francis dismissed both, and then added No. 11 Adam Hogan to his list of victims to impact Villa’s push for victory.
Xavier Santos (St Laurence’s)
He is always in the game and last Saturday it was his bowling which pinned the opposition down. They just could not get his medium pace away and his return of 10-4-14-2 was simply stunning.
Austin Croll (St Peters)
In a rain-affected match, Croll produced a nice little burst of 4-0-7-2 which will give him more confidence entering round 3.
Sameer Prasad (Padua)
He struck early and then worked his way through the Ashgrove middle order and if it had not been for Ash batting ace William Nickelson, the result of the match could have been much closer because of Prasad’s 3-26.
Joey Laner (Ashgrove)
Another successful day out for this all-rounder who made a brisk 21 with the bat, before starting his team’s roll to victory in the field with the first two wickets of the Padua innings.
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