Premier Cricket 2020-21: Magpies captain Andrew Fekete stars in tight win

They began 0-5, but the Magpies have won their past two, highlighted by some memorable individual performances. Coach Ian Stanger weighs in on how his side has turned itself around.

Andrew Fekete was in blistering form on Saturday. Picture: Andy Brownbill

A five-wicket haul from Camberwell Magpies skipper Andrew Fekete propelled his side to its second consecutive victory on Saturday, following a tough start to the 2020-21 Premier season.

The Magpies (177) held on to edge Richmond by five runs as Fekete took 5/37 off 10 overs, and while coach Ian Stanger praised his captain for a standout performance, he downplayed his side’s overall display.

Simon Hill topped the batting for his side with 37, while James Wiseman (28) and Hamish Burrill (25) were also among the top scorers for the Magpies.

Simon Hill in action for Camberwell. Picture: Hamish Blair

“Last Saturday, we got out of jail – we didn’t have a great performance to be honest,” Stanger said.

“It took one of the senior players (Fekete) to do what we’ve been waiting seven rounds for which was put in a big performance – that won us a game we should have lost.

“The position we’re in, we’ll take every win that comes our way.

“Credit to the boys, when they sniffed a bit of bait, they circled around – they saw what was happening with Richmond playing a bit too conservatively so that was a credit to them.”

The Magpies broke their five-round losing streak a fortnight ago, defeating a struggling Greenvale outfit, and Stanger praised the debut of Hamish Burrill who made 99 not-out, and the bowling performance of Tom Russ.

“That (momentum) was what we needed – it was a good performance (against Greenvale) and we gave a new first-grade cap to Hamish Burrill and he responded with a really gutsy innings and unfortunately he just got stranded on 99,” Stanger said.

“We also had a great performance from Tommy Russ who took three wickets and a run-out.

“We’re starting to get our big players starting to register an influence on games so that was probably the most pleasing thing in the last couple of weeks.”

Stanger said while Magpies have been ravaged with injury this season with several key names missing, February looked a likely window for a number of players to return.

Among the returning names is opening batsman Rishab Guddadamane, who played in the Second XI last Saturday and made 59 off 94 deliveries.

“February is the month of reckoning when we get a few more boys back,” Stanger said.

“We’re starting to get into winning positions and we’re looking forward to having a few back in February as we lose a few school lads.”

The 16th placed Camberwell Magpies are scheduled to play Dandenong (seventh) on Australia Day at the Camberwell Sports Ground.