Carlos Maynard rescues PEGS, gives upset hope with brilliant century

In strife at 5-36, PEGS needed a hero and captain Carlos Maynard produced a brilliant century to give his club hope of upsetting the ladder-leader.

PEGS is eyeing off a major upset after a superb century from captain Carlos Maynard.

The Students were in massive strife at 5-36 before Maynard rescued his team with a brilliant 124 not out.

The Barbadian’s second century of the VTCA Division 1 campaign saw PEGS reach stumps at 7-285 and take command of the clash against ladder-leader Sydenham-Hillside at Hillside Reserve.

Sydenham-Hillside paceman Stefon King (4-89) had dismantled PEGS’s top order until Maynard and Rowan Mendis (46) combined for a 74-run sixth-wicket stand.

Connor Callanan (40) and Anoop Arjun (34) also made strong contributions to help their team to a healthy total.

Carlos Maynard celebrates his hundred for PEGS. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Carlos Maynard celebrates his hundred for PEGS. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Maynard said it was a fantastic accomplishment by his team to recover the way it did under immense pressure, praising his tail order teammates determined batting.

“Considering the position we were in at the start of the day, five wickets down, there was a fair bit of pressure,” he said.

“Sydenham had their tails up so it means a lot more knowing we were came from, the position we were in, to get to 280-odd was a pretty good achievement.

“It took a bit of patience but at the end of the day we still had to be positive.

“It wouldn’t have made sense to just bat 50 overs and not get any runs, so the key was to know which balls to score off, respect the good ones and absorb the pressure.

“It took a bit of time obviously because their tails were up but we started to capitalise on the bad balls and you could see the momentum shift when they’re heads started to drop after not getting that sixth wicket. I think that was the key.”

Mid-way through the round, Maynard ranks fifth for runs with 440 at an average of 36.67 for the season and jointly leads the competition with two tons.

Fellow PEGS bat Pishan Hewage sits third with 480 runs.

Connor Callanan in action for PEGS. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Sydenham-Hillside quick Stefan King. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Runs haven’t been an issue for PEGS this season – it ranks second with 2170 – with the club’s attack unable to defend totals.

The Students’ have conceded the most runs in the competition (2111) and taken the seventh fewest wickets (78).

If they can hold Sydenham-Hillside and Division 1 leading run-scorer Gayashan Weerasekara at bay next weekend, it would all but assure the club avoids relegation.

“To be fair we’ve been getting scores of 200 and above but haven’t been able to defend totals,” Maynard said.

“Consistency with the ball will be key on that wicket because it was a pretty decent batting wicket.

“Having said that if you can bowl the ball in the right channel you can definitely get wickets, just putting pressure on them with dot balls and if we can do that well then we’ll give ourselves a good chance to win the game.

“Our performances, our points, really don’t show how we’ll be playing.

“We’ve had quite a few close games that could have gone the other way and I think if you look at the start of the season, we’ve been improving.

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“Our score has put us in a good position and hopefully we can turn that into a win and look forward to next season.”

PEGS is nine points clear of Tullamarine in the relegation battle but still only six points behind Doutta Stars in sixth.

In other Division 1 scores, Michael Rosendale (97) came agonisingly close to a century for West Coburg (185) against Altona North (2-87), while last-placed Tullamarine (212) continued its strong form against Seddon.

St Francis de Sales (278) posted a big score against Sunshine and Doutta Stars (195) has the upper-hand on Airport West St Christopers (2-19) thanks to Lorenzo Ingram’s 83 and Mitch Hughes’ 2-9.