Melbourne medium pacer Zac Mevissen runs through Ringwood with five wickets

Melbourne medium pacer Zac Mevissen claimed 5-15 to destroy Ringwood’s innings at Jubilee Park.

IT was Zac Mevissen’s morning at Jubilee Park. And, after a shaky start to its innings, it was Melbourne’s day.

Medium pacer Mevissen’s spectacular burst with the new ball did for the best of Ringwood’s batting and set up the Demons for an important victory over the Rams in the Round 11 match on Saturday.

The 19-year-old right-armer jagged 5-6 off his first seven overs and finished with 5-15 off 10.

Mevissen bowled his first four victims — Rams champion David King (1), Josh Hartill (0), Nathan Walsh (4) and Englishman Joe Weatherley (4) — and completed his first five-wicket haul in Premier Cricket by having Corey Dineen (0) caught by keeper Jack Harper.

Ringwood batsman Joe Weatherley has to go after being bowled by Zac Mevissen.

Dineen’s dismissal left the hosts 5-14, prompting a veteran Ringwood supporter to suggest Mevissen was bowling “hand grenades’’.

He wasn’t making the ball explode, but he was making it dart around and occasionally lift on a green-tinged wicket dispensing all its favours to the bowlers.

At the other end Jackson Coleman was every bit as threatening, regularly defeating the bat, but gaining no rewards.

With their top five gone inside the first hour the Rams looked unlikely to raise 60 or 70 but they wound up batting for 45 overs to reach 94.

Left-hander Jackson Freeman top scored with 28. If he batted with no great fluency or assurance he at least showed a desire to hang in there. There were some punchy strokes from him too, including a cover drive to the boundary.

He and Patrick Ashton (15) put on 37 for the seventh wicket, and tailenders Brendan Walsh (15) and Matt Fotia (13no) added handy runs.

Demon Jackson Coleman goes at Ringwood.

Coleman (2-9) slipped in for two wickets in his second spell and offie Brad Melville claimed 2-14 off six overs. But on the Coach and Horses scoreboard, the home team was saddled with a modest tally.

It could have done with its star Ian Holland, who was watching on after suffering a punctured lung during a visit to a massage therapist last Tuesday. He spent a night in hospital recovering.

“Went in for a regulation freshen-up and getting the body feeling good, and ended up in hospital a couple of days later,’’ he said. “Bit of a shock.’’

Watching from the boundary fence, Holland noted the wicket was “doing a bit’’ and suiting Mevissen. “He’s bowling medium pace and standing the seam up and reaping the rewards,’’ he said.

Ringwood leftie Jackson Freeman.

Melbourne’s reply began with a clatter of wickets, ducks for openers Meyrick Buchanan (in his 100th First XI match) and Peter Petricola and one for Blake Thomson (in his 50th First XI match) as Rams fast bowlers Fotia and Michael Topp charged.

But from 3-2 captain Matthew Brown and Harper gave the Demons their breath back with a 64-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Harper was out for 30. Brown (38no) and Jackson Koop (12no) had the Demons home in the 32nd over, four wickets down.

Koop also took 1-21 off eight overs in what was an encouraging return from a knee injury.

Brown was pleased for Mevissen.

“He’s a guy who has been in and out of the team in the last 12 months,’’ he said.

“But he’s worked hard to get his form back. He’s a pivotal part of our attack and aspirations this year.’’

Melbourne Star Michael Beer took a hat-trick for St Kilda.

Meanwhile, St Kilda captain Michael Beer grabbed the second hat-trick of his career as the Saints eased past Greenvale Kangaroos at the Junction Oval.

Melbourne Star Beer had Zaheer Hussain and Bernard Kelly LBW and made it three in three when he bowled Humza Ali.

The left-arm spinner’s first hat-trick came when he made his debut for Victoria in the Matador Cup in 2016-17.

Beer said it was a thrill but he preferred to talk about the performances of paceman Shae Gribbin (2-31) and batsmen Josh Manning and Ben Davies.

Manning hit 94 not out off 121 balls and Davies 70 not out off 103 balls as St Kilda cracked 1-212 in reply to the Kangas’ 9-211.

The left-handers put on an unbroken 133 after the run out of Michael De Iacovo for 45.

Manning is now up to 497 runs for the season, at 55.2. Davies has 450 at 56.3.

Beer said Greenvale opener Jack James (72) and No 3 Andrew Umeed (75) batted well “but we hung in there and kept the run rate as low as we could’’.

“They had to force the issue to get a good score and when they did, when they went to hit the button, we got some reward for our patience,’’ he said.

“That was probably the difference in the game.

“The conditions were pretty good and when our two blokes (Manning and Davies) got themselves in they had to finish it, which they did.’’

As for hat-trick, Beer said: “I just tried to hit the stumps three balls in a row and it worked.’’