Melbourne Country Week Cricket: MPCA loses to Ferntree Gully by three wickets
The Mornington Peninsula Cricket Association has dropped its opening game of the annual Melbourne Country Week cricket carnival for the third year in a row.
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Oh no, it’s happened again.
For the third year in a row the MPCA Country Week side has lost its opening game of the annual Melbourne carnival.
The “Purple Heads’’, with four debutants, were handed a three-wicket defeat by Ferntree Gully Cricket Association at AH Butler Oval, Frankston today.
Batting first, the MPCA made 9-232 off its 50 overs before Ferntree Gully — fuelled by a 150-run third wicket partnership between Nathan Walsh (76 off 79 balls) and Aaron Brunner (65 off 80) — achieved victory in the 40th over, making 7-234.
It means the MPCA has to win its next two games to qualify for the finals later in the week.
But Bobby Wilson’s side knows how to climb off the canvas.
It lost the opening game in 2018 but fought back to win the title and last year it dropped the first game but recovered to play off in the final.
MPCA team manager Bart Hudgson declared his men were “still in it’’.
He said a slow start cost the MPCA today.
“We probably didn’t bat well enough early on, we were probably 20 runs short,’’ Hudgson said.
“Being 5-70 and to get 232, that was the difference there.’’
The MPCA won the toss and batted first — and opener Dylan O’Malley made his intentions clear by clubbing the second ball of the game for six over backward square.
He was out for 20 off 14 balls.
Langwarrin’s Matt Prosser led an MPCA rebuild with 55 off 49 balls from No. 8, impressing with his clever glances, paddles and ramps.
Pines skipper Harley Peace-Stirling also did well making 46 and Justin Grant made 27 off 36.
With the ball, Grant was a stand-out for the MPCA, taking 5-43 off 10 overs. But the Purple Heads would have been disappointed to send down 15 wides.
The MPCA’s four debutants were Jackson Mockett, Prosser, Levi McLoughlin-Dore and Rhys Whitling.
The MPCA plays Bendigo at Kew on Tuesday before facing Traralgon at Caulfield on Wednesday.
In other opening day results, Ballarat opener Leigh Lorenzen blasted 174 off 138 balls to steer his association to 6-321 and victory over Geelong (224).
Sale-Maffra (164 off 46.2 overs) defeated West Gippsland (146 off 44.3 overs).
Bendigo (7-194, with Ryan Hartley making 91) thrashed Traralgon (94).