Check out all the weekend’s big performances from around the VSDCA North-East group
Marcus Murphy was Preston’s hero in a last-ball thriller as the likes of Tom Scriven, Rishi Patel, Harshan Yogendra and Simon Hill lit up Subbies cricket.
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It was all happening in the VSDCA North-East group on Saturday.
Preston and Noble Park played out a last-ball thriller.
New recruits made big impressions at Croydon and Mt Waverley.
Bayswater’s UK import scored a massive century, while a Strathmore spinner finished with the stunning figures of 4-8.
Check out all the highlights from the weekend’s action here.
WICKS STUN PREMIER
Brunswick captain Simon Hill showed class is permanent with a starring all-round performance on Saturday. Hill, one of only 11 men ever to score 10,000 Premier Cricket runs, blasted 85 from 89 balls before taking 1-14 to guide his team to a stunning 107-run win over reigning premier Kew at Victoria Park. Jackson Cooper got the party started for Brunswick, scoring 84 from 125 balls, before he and Hill combined for a 138-run third-wicket partnership. The visitors reached 5-213 after being sent in. The Wicks then skittled Kew for 106, the hosts losing their last four wickets for one run. Gun spinner Ameya Gharat claimed 4-21 from 7.2 overs, while Dan Houghton took 3-14. James Clark was Kew’s leading run-scorer with 25, while the two Jack Carrolls each took two wickets.
NEW COCKIE’S BIG IMPRESSION
It hasn’t taken UK import Tom Scriven long to find his feet at Subbies level. One match, in fact. The Leicestershire all-rounder put up 40 runs from 33 balls on debut in Croydon’s three-wicket chase-down of Box Hill on Saturday, top-scoring for the Cockies in the 7-151 total. The No.3 bat was ably-assisted by the ever-reliable Steve Wright and captain-coach Jack Conroy with 21 apiece in the low-scoring arm-wrestle. The 25-year-old Scriven, who featured for England in the Under-19 World Cup in 2018, finished with 1-29 off eight overs with the ball, claiming the scalp of top-order Mustang Cameron Clark while also sewing up two catches and a run-out to consign the hosts to 9-150.
YOGENGRA BREAKS LIONS
After being washed out the opening two weeks, Strathmore kicked its season off with a 27-run win over Coburg at Coburg City Oval on Saturday. It took until February for the Mores to claim their first win last season, so to get an early victory under the belt will be a massive relief. Matt West’s half-century (53 from 60 balls) and captain Luke Bassi’s 42 helped the visitors post 177 from 44.4 overs after electing to bat first. Coburg started strongly behind Sidney Thomson (27), Cameron Harding (37) and Kevin Noronha (25) but Harshan Yogendra then ripped through the Coburg batting order. He finishing with stunning figures of 4-8 from nine overs as the hosts were bowled out for 150. Jack Merzel and Darcy Cotter each picked up two wickets.
T-REX ON THE LOOSE
UK import Tommy Rex enjoyed a debut to remember in Mt Waverley’s 14-run win over Ivanhoe. The medium-pacer terrorised the Saints’ top-to-middle-order – removing from No.2 Alex Pannell and No.3 Rishabh Nagpal before claiming the fourth and fifth bats Mohammad Abbas and Stuart Conway for a duck and golden duck to finish with 4-19 off nine overs. The Warwickshire recruit also caught Ivanhoe opener Finn Cleary, and finished with an unbeaten 23 runs off 58 balls in the 9-146 to 132 victory.
BATS CRUISE
A quick-fire half-century from Chenutha Wickramasinghe guided Plenty Valley to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Donvale at War Memorial Park on Saturday. Donvale won the toss and decided to bat but were skittled for just 110 in 36 overs. Musaddiq Ali Hamza did the damage with the ball, taking 3-20 from eight overs, while Lahiru Opatha (2-11) and Nimesh Maddumage (2-27) each got a pair of scalps. The Bats then made light work of the chase, finishing the match in just 15.3 overs. Wickramasighe smashed 63 not out from 44 balls, hitting eight boundaries and three sixes. Sunil Dhamala (15 runs off 12 balls) and Karthik Singh (29 off 25) had given the home team a strong start. Steven Curley (32) led Donvale with the bat, while Gurdarshan Kaushik (1-20) was the best with the ball.
UK SLUGGER GOES LARGE
Heads spun when Bayswater unveiled Rishi Patel as a recruit late in the pre-season. And he certainly lived up to the hype on debut for the Waters on Saturday with a mammoth 169-run performance in his side’s 152-run win over Endeavour Hills. The first-class English batsman, who kits up for county club Leicestershire in the UK, smacked 22 fours and three sixes from 138 deliveries on the way to the Waters’ 4-304 total.
SNOWDOGS POWER HOME
St Bernard’s bowled Balwyn out for 119 and then chased it down in just 22 overs to record a comfortable eight-wicket win at Murphy Oval on Saturday. The visitors won the toss and decided to bat but quickly fell to 3-7. Skipper Adi Narayana (27) and Christian Toppi (34) tried to steady the ship but were out in quick succession at 5-80 and the last five wickets fell for 27 runs. Conor Browne was the chief destroyer with 3-11 from seven overs, while Nathan Johnson, Nish Perera and Tom Winchester all got two wickets. The Snowdogs then charged home, captain Daniel O’Connell (21 runs of 15 balls) and Josh Lawrenson (34 off 52) laying the platform for Chris Spinella (23 not out off 48) and Jevon Kett (37 not out off 16) to finish the job. Narayana was Balwyn’s leading bowler with 1-16.
PRESTON WINS LAST-BALL THRILLER
In the highest-scoring match of the round, it took until the final ball for Preston to claim a heart-stopping six-wicket win over Noble Park at Preston City Oval. The Bullants looked gone, needing almost 50 runs from the last three overs. However, Syed Shah (62 not out from 61 balls) and Marcus Murphy (39 not out off 16) conjured a miracle. The pair hit 14 runs off the 43rd over and 12 off the 44th. They still needed 16 runs off the last over and went 1 6 4 1 3 4. Murphy hit a boundary off the final ball to seal a remarkable victory. Opener Greg Maratos had earlier set the platform, scoring 88 from 117 balls. He and Shah put on a 106-run fourth-wicket partnership before Maratos fell at 4-204. Earlier, Noble Park posted 6-258 after being sent in thanks to reigning Holten Medallist Sahan Perera’s unbeaten 82. Nilochana Perera (46) and Rajapakse Rajapakse (45) also made handy contributions. However, it wasn’t enough.
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Reigning Holten Medallist Sahan Perera could take some beating for the honour again this season and the competition batting award. The Noble Park star was a standout on Saturday smashing an unbeaten 82, in his side’s six-wicket loss to Preston, with the haul following a 126 not-out effort in Round 1 against Donvale.
Tones and I’s husband blasts match-winning innings
The husband of Australian pop megastar Tones and I blasted Frankston YCW to victory in a last-over thriller after a knee injury threatened to sink the Stonecats. Meanwhile, there were big scores and bags of wickets throughout the MPCA grades.
‘He’s back’: Dandenong District gun makes eye-catching return
One of the Dandenong District’s most decorated players made a loud return to the top flight on Saturday with a characteristically six-filled innings. And his appearance won’t be a one-off, either.