Dowling Shield: The top performers so far
Three centuries, one which included powerful hitting and another an unfortunate ending, plus a clutch bowling performance lit up the Dowling Shield semi-finals. Here’s how they played out.
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Richmond and Melbourne will contest the 2024 Dowling Shield final.
The Tigers roared into the decider with a thumping win over Camberwell Magpies on Tuesday with a pair of rising stars putting together brilliant innings.
Jack Czosnek (149 off 105) and Griffin Box (101 off 105) came together with their side in a spot of bother at 2-36 before putting on a mammoth 239-run partnership.
Their performances helped guide Richmond to 9-343 from its 50 overs as Oliver Schofield impressed with the ball taking 5-44 for the Magpies.
Czosnek in particular demonstrated powerful hitting with 13 boundaries and seven 6s in his innings.
Camberwell was unable to find any real momentum in the run chase, in terms of a quick run rate, with Jobe Fraser top scoring with 49 off 75 balls.
Czosnek was in the thick of the action again with a catch and run out while Box claimed the wicket of Camberwell captain Charlie Smith for 15.
The other semi-final was a much closer affair with Melbourne holding on for a four-run win over Carlton.
Led by James Rosham’s 82 off 111, Melbourne posted 7-233 from its 50 overs to set up a competitive chase for the Blues.
Despite an unbeaten century from skipper Aryan Sharma (113 off 105), Carlton fell narrowly short with one-wicket still in hand.
Archie McManamny, who took 1-37, showed terrific composure late conceding just three runs off the final over.
Rosham., Joe Curtain and Jack Hay all claimed two wickets each for Melbourne.
END OF POOL STAGE REVIEW
The Dowling Shield finals have been locked in for the 2024 season.
Melbourne will do battle with Carlton while Camberwell Magpies and Richmond face off in the other semi-final.
Carlton gained the last spot in the top four after being the best second placed team after the pool stage with four wins and one loss.
With the competition having reached the end of the pool stage, we’ve now broken down the top teams in the competition.
See the stats below.
ROUND 4 REVIEW
The competition is becoming tight as the race for the Dowling Shield comes down to the final round.
Across all three pools, the places for a spot in the finals is set to go down to the final day on Thursday.
It comes after a thrilling day of action on Tuesday, the fourth round of the competition.
Among the leading performers on the day was Greenvale Kangaroos vice-captain Anthony Grobler who scored a century in his side’s one-run loss to Carlton.
Ringwood captain Jackson Edwards continued his brilliant season with another 92-run performance.
Elsewhere, Harvey Redpath was in fine form for Melbourne University with 84 runs against Essendon.
See all the stat leaders from the tournament below.
ROUND 3 REVIEW
As the sunshine shone on Melbourne, several batsman in the Dowling Shield went to work with innings that are going to take some beating for individual performance of the tournament.
There was no better performance than Ringwood captain Jackson Edwards’ stunning 177 runs off 153 deliveries in his side’s win over Casey South Melbourne.
Edwards, who has played plenty of Fourth XI cricket this season and is a product of Templeton Cricket Club, hit nine boundaries and eight 6s in his stunning display.
Not to be outdone, his opening partner Charlie Moore also hit a century with 130 runs off 115 balls as the pair shared a massive 267-run partnership for the day.
The Rams eventually ran out 189-run winners with Aden Bates and Saad Malik taking three wickets apiece in the run chase.
Greenvale Kangaroos opener Harrison Scardamaglia enjoyed an impressive performance of his own after he hit 116 off 160 balls in his side’s win over Melbourne University.
Scardamaglia’s knock was one of precision as he finished with nine boundaries and one six.
His running between wickets, including a three to bring up the ton, was one of the highlights of his performance as he continued to pick gaps in the field.
Charlie Karaluwinne was the pick of the bowlers for his side with three wickets.
Elsewhere, Griffin Box enjoyed a standout performance for Richmond after scoring an unbeaten 103 off 114 in his side’s win over Dandenong.
Coming to the crease at 3-63, Box strongly rebuilt the innings for his side alongside Hugh Lynch (60 off 89) before Jack Czosnek led the way with the ball taking three wickets.
LEADING BATTERS
Edwards, Jackson (Ringwood) – 196
Gill, Simrth Singh (Essendon) – 152
Moore, Charlie (Ringwood) – 146
Box, Griffin (Richmond) – 140
Maredia, Aahil (Casey South Melbourne) – 130
Smith, Barnaby (St Kilda) – 130
Scardamaglia, Harrison (Greenvale Kangaroos) – 118
Remy, Cooper (Frankston Peninsula) – 106
D’souza, Aaron (Casey South Melbourne) – 101
Smith, Lucas (Camberwell Magpies) – 95
Kennedy, Gus St Kilda – 94
LEADING BOWLERS
Steenholdt, Leo (Frankston Peninsula) – 9 at 5.78
Stone, Matthew (Frankston Peninsula) – 7 at 6.43
Macgowan, Albert (St Kilda) – 7 at 8.86
McCann, Luke (Richmond) – 6 at 7
Bates, Aden (Ringwood) – 6 at 11.33
Sharma, Ansh (Greenvale Kangaroos) – 5 at 12
Rath, Parth (Prahran) – 5 at 18.6
Dossor, Joseph (Fitzroy Doncaster) – 4 at 5.25
Singh, Prabhsimran (Essendon) – 4 at 7
Merry, Tom (Dandenong) – 4 at 10.25
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