Moorabbin’s Luke Ashen blasts 61 not out off 22 balls in T20

Moorabbin batsman Luke Ashen has gone on a spectacular six-hitting spree in his Subbies T20 opener. And he wasn’t the only one.

Issy Perera nabbed eight wickets for Noble Park.

Moorabbin’s batsmen have mostly been at sixes and sevens this season.

Last night, thanks to Luke Ashen, they were only at sixes.

The tall left-hander, a former baseballer, played a spectacular innings for the Binners against Elsternwick in the first round of the VSDCA Twenty20 competition.

The 20-year-old cracked 61 not out off 22 balls, with 7 sixes.

“I was seeing them like beach balls,’’ he said this morning.

Ashen and Damsara Menuwara blitzed an unbeaten partnership of 91 to lift Moorabbin to 6-167 off its 20 overs.

Menuwara was 30 not out off 21 deliveries, with 2 sixes and 3 fours.

Elsty were knocked over for 53 in 11.4 overs, with Moorabbin leggie Renaldi Dias grabbing 4-4.

Moorabbin stalwart Alan Marion said Ashen played an “extraordinary’’ innings.

“He hasn’t a hit run all year but last night he just teed off and the ball kept sailing over the fence,’’ he said.

“He wasn’t just clearing the cones, he was clearing the fence. It was so exciting to watch.

“He did a similar thing last season against St Bernard’s, whacked everything bowled to him.’’

Ashen, who is in his fourth season with Moorabbin, said his sixes were over “cow corner’’.

“Once I got hold of one I just kept going,’’ he said.

Moorabbin brought in English County batsman Ian Cockbain as its marquee player. He batted at No 3 and made 13 off 13 balls.

Marion said the performance was a lifter for the club given its tough start to the season.

Noble Park’s champion all-rounder Issy Perera snaffled seven Box Hill wickets at the City Oval.

Guest player Lee Stockdale, a Victorian Country XI representative player from Gippsland, cracked 60 off 57 balls to get the Parkers to 6-101.

Perera opened the innings and was ran out for a duck.

But he had a night out with the ball, capturing 7-13 off his four overs as Box Hill was restricted to 8-97.

The leg-spinner started with a double-wicket maiden and returned to bowl three of the last five overs.

He took one wicket in his second over, three in his third and one more in his fourth.

Good catching in the outfield supported Perera, who before Christmas made his ninth century for the club.

“He never ceases to amaze me, just with his ability to be a matchwinner,’’ Noble Park coach Matty Crozier said of Perera.

Guest player Jack Blain cracked 102 not out off 52 balls as Bayswater thrashed titleholder Endeavour Hills.

Blain, coming off a half-century for Ringwood against Fitzroy-Doncaster in Premier Cricket, packed 10 fours and 6 sixes into his century.

Baysy had rattled to 2-212 off only 17 overs when the umpires mistakenly called an end to the innings after 75 minutes. They awarded Bayswater 24 penalty runs. In fact, they should have awarded the hosts the 24 runs and allowed them to receive their full 20 overs.

As it was, they bowled out the Hills for 94.

“A really good knock,’’ Bayswater president Darryl Stranger said of Blain’s innings.

“He was dropped early but after that it was pretty faultless.’’

In another highlight of Round 1, brothers Matthew, Angus, Henry and Oscar Brown all played for Kew in its victory over Preston.

Henry made 26 and Matthew took 3-24.

RESULTS

Brighton 8/156 (R Salerni 76 J Blyth 3/18) def by Oakleigh 4/159 (M Wilson 46 B Pearson 39 R Pearson 36 M Nyary 2/22) at Brighton Beach Oval

Elsternwick 53 (R Dias 4/4 P Balachandar 2/2 D Menuwara 2/23) def by Moorabbin 6/167 (L Ashen 61* D Menuwara 30* J Kerr 2/24) at Elsternwick Park

Hoppers Crossing 4/103 (S Abeyruwan 55* J Freeman 2/20) def Werribee 97 (M Dean 70 J Pope 4/13 B Smith 3/15) at Hogans Road Reserve

St Bernard’s 8/121 (T Kassis 30 AJ Smillie 29* J Hutchinson 3/17 A Shellie 2/17d) ef by Coburg 7/141 (A Shellie 57 T Kassis 3/25) at St Bernards College

Melton 2/94 def Taylors Lakes 93 at MacPherson Park

Bayswater 2/212 (J Blain 108* T Sugumar 69* S Sadiq 2/12) def Endeavour Hills 94 (J Pollard 2/1 T Sugumar 2/9 QA Hodgkinson 2/36) at Bayswater Park

Caulfield 8/111 def Ormond 9/110 at Caulfield Park

Malvern 5/114 (T Rickarby 48 L Walker 28* H Dixon 2/17) def Balwyn 9/113 (L Fitzpatrick 34 G Parker 2/10 M Beer 2/11 B Slack 2/23) at TH King Oval

Croydon 9/120 (A MacGregor 2/10 A Robbins 2/11) def by Mt Waverley 7/138 (M Sheedy 49 K Benjamin 38 C Brown 2/28 TS McQuinn 2/29) at Croydon Park

Kew 9/134 (A Chalkley 39 H Brown 26 D Daddona 2/11 A Cheema 2/17 C Turner 2/33) def Preston 88 (T Jayasinghe 31 A Burge 3/9 M Brown 3/14 A Chalkley 2/4) at Victoria Park

Brunswick 3/130 (D Sullivan 60* K Mayne 31) def Yarraville 121 (L Cameron 3/17 A Choudhary 2/15 D McKay 2/17) at Gillon Oval

Altona 6/156 (B Davies 66 J Grubb 42* AJ Yates 31 J Flood-Bauce 2/27) de fWilliamstown 7/96 (B Hodges 34 J Flood-Bauce 25* AJ Yates 2/13) at JK Grant Reserve

Box Hill 8/97 (HJ Rayner 39 MA Perera 7/13) def by Noble Park 6/101 (L Stockdale 60 H Rayner 2/24) at Box Hill City Oval

Plenty Valley 3/106 (C Nankervis 59*) def Ivanhoe 9/105 (J Drohan 2/17 D Taylor 2/18 J Atkinson 2/22 C Nankervis 2/23) at Yarrambat War Memorial Park