Local cricket: Toorak-Prahran junior takes 8-0, including a hat-trick, in ISEC

A Toorak-Prahran junior is the talk of under-age cricket after a remarkable performance on Friday night.

Akshay Ramkumar after his star turn for Toorak-Prahran.

“I still can’t believe it,’’ Akshay Ramkumar was saying yesterday.

And it might take him another day or two to come to grips with his performance for Toorak-Prahran on Friday night.

Playing for its Under 15 team in the Inner South East competition, the 13-year-old leg-spinner grabbed 8-0 off 4.2 overs, with his last three balls producing a hat-trick.

His wickets came so quickly he could not remember how he took his three-in-three.

Seven of his eight were either bowled or LBW.

“Everything was just at the stumps,’’ he said. “It was amazing.’’

Toorak-Prahran’s opponent, Murrumbeena, collapsed to be all out for 49.

The teams play in the top Under 15 competition, the Pugliese Shield.

Akshay Ramkumar took 8-0 off 4.2 overs.

Akshay’s father, Ramkumar Ramagopalan, could not be at the match and was stunned when told about the bowling figures. He assumed there had been a mistake.

Akshay, from Cranbourne North and a student at St Francis Xavier College, is also playing in the Under 14s at Berwick.

His ability was recognised earlier this month when he represented the Dandenong District Cricket Association in the VMCU carnival.

He took eight wickets at 8.9.

DDCA coach Joffa Mark said Akshay bowled “front-of-the-hand leggies’’ and was “deadly accurate’’.

“He’s a good player. He’s different. He’s tall, he has a very economical run-up, bowls high, and mixes up leggies with offies,’’ Mark, a former District player with South Melbourne, said.

“He’s not your out-of-the-pack type of spinner.’’

Akshay started bowling medium pace but switched to spin at the encouragement of his father, who was impressed by his backyard-leggies.

“I felt like spin could get more wickets,'’ he said.

He’s also handy with the bat: yesterday he made his highest score, 54 retired, for Berwick.