Old Boys shoot to top PROVINCIAL By IT Gully PENINSULA Old Boys shot to the top of the MPCA Provincial ladder on Saturday after picking up an outright victory over Pines. The Old Boys already had the win on week one of the match after bowling out the visitors for 87 before declaring their innings on 7/104. Pines resumed on Saturday in a reasonable position of 2/52 with Nick Wilcox and Rhys Chalkley at the crease. Chalkley went quickly for one and Wilcox followed shortly after, making 49. The Pines’ middle order was resilient before POB eventually bowled them out for 189. Needing about 170 to pick up the outright victory, Peninsula Old Boys did it with eight batsmen still in the
sheds. Matt Hyden was superb for his side, leading the charge and making 86, while Wade Pelzer opened with 65. Mornington and Somerville played out an absolute cliff-hanger, with the home side hanging on by just five runs. After making 242 on the first day at Alexandra Park, Mornington started the second day in blistering fashion, rolling the first four Somerville batsmen for just 32 runs. Luke Popov removed both openers before Michael Heib and Matt Foon got amongst the wickets and had the Eagles on the back foot. But Somerville skipper Leigh Lowry dug in and helped himself to 68, while the likes of Jack Barbour (26) and Jack Kennedy (62*) gave the visitors a real sniff. At 6/200 and with the likes of Craig
Black and Matt Roach still to come, it appeared the Eagles were in the box seat. Black made 32 and Roach 17, however, ducks to Jarryd Parker and Blake Terlaak saw the Eagles lose their final three wickets for just three runs. Somerville was bowled out for 237. Heib finished with four wickets and Foon three. Further down the Peninsula at Sorrento, the home side and Baxter also played a nail biter. Defending 223, Baxter had Sorrento resuming at 1/14 on day two. Nick Jewell, Bobby Wilson and Anthony Blackwell all ended up back in the sheds with the total at 106. When Corey Harris (42) was snared by Chris Brittain without adding to the score, the Sorras seemed to have little chance. Enter Chris King,
Jayden Morgan and Jackson Casper. Morgan helped his side get to 130 before he went for 15, but Casper and King added another 93 runs to tie the game before King went out for 57. Number 11 Connor McMahon just needed to survive to allow Casper to regain the strike and hit the winning run. With six overs still left in the game, Casper just needed to pick up a single, which he did, to gift Sorrento the 12 points. Crib Point easily accounted for Langwarrin, maintaining its position in the top two. Defending 223, the Magpies had Langwarrin resuming at 1/4. After Nathan Volpe made 41 and Jake Prosser 29, the Kangas were rolled for just 113. Glenn Barclay snared 4/19 for the Pies and Jacob
Cook helped himself to 4/25. Moorooduc performed as expected to beat Rye outright. Rye made just 57 in its first innings while Moorooduc declared at 8/145 after resuming on day two at 4/98. The Ducs then bowled out Rye for a second time for 98 before picking up the necessary 16 runs to win outright. Adam Bayley finished with figures of 8/17, including a hat-trick on the first day. Long Island defeated Mt Eliza with relative ease. The Islanders began the day on 0/16, chasing the Mounties’ 121. The visitors got there with only four wickets down. Scott Phillips top scored with 64 after taking 4/26 with the ball on the first day. Mike Reynolds was also solid for the Islanders with 60.
Braves and Hillmen on top DISTRICT By IT Gully BADEN Powell and Red Hill remain clear at the top of the MPCA District ladder after recording easy victories on Saturday. The Braves and Hillmen are 12 points clear of their nearest rivals Pearcedale, who also recovered to win comfortably. Flinders and Heatherhill round out the top five. There are four teams all on 24 points, just one game outside of the top four. Red Hill was just 71 runs short of victory with 10 wickets in hand against Seaford Tigers when play resumed at Red Hill Reserve. Whilst the Tigers tried to make life difficult for the home side, it didn’t prevent them from recording an effortless 83-run victory. In reality, the game was all over early when the openers Riley Shaw (41) and Callum Rowe (38) put on a partnership of 81. Although Simon Dart went cheaply, Brent Martin strode to the crease and hit 46, ensuring his side got over the line. Corey Hand was outstanding for the Tigers with 6/54 from 23.4 overs. Baden Powell were never going to lose their match against Delacombe Park, however a greater fight from the visitors was expected. The Braves made a whopping 7/314 on the opening day of the match at Overport Rd. Other than Jon Gurthrie, who opened with 50 and Rowan Charles with 26, the rest of the Parkers failed to score more than eight runs. Andrew Christides’ total of eight was a consolation prize for the Parkers. Ryan Barnett was outstanding for the Braves, opening the bowling with 6/19 off 15 overs, giving him 18 wickets for the season. Rhys Elmi rounded out a great personal game with 2/8, along with his 61 runs. Carrum have slumped to secondlast on the District ladder after being smashed by Flinders. Defending 227, the Sharks had Carrum in all sorts of trouble as day two
began with the top four batsmen in the sheds, just 29 runs between them. Shaun Foster ended up with 27, adding nine runs to his overnight total, while Lachy Dobson flew the flag at the end with an unbeaten 38. The Lions were bowled out for 130. Matt Burns finished with 4/20 from 21.4 overs to be the pick of the Flinders bowlers. Pearcedale were in real strife at the beginning of the second day against Mt Martha. Chasing 143 for victory, the Panthers resumed on 4/39. That quickly became 5/62 when Shayne Gillings went out for seven. However, Chris Dew (75) was joined at the crease by the extremely talented Max Blackburn, who played his best innings in three seasons, dominating the Reds’ attack and finishing with 133. Pearcedale were eventually bowled out in the 68th over for 272, a victory of 130 runs. Heatherhill won a clincher with Seaford, claiming victory by just six runs. Resuming on 1/6 chasing Heatherhill’s 176, Seaford (170) had their chances but just couldn’t get over the line. Jake Theobald was the best of the Hills’ bowlers, with 4/47 from 17.5 overs. The Hills are now just outside the top four on percentage alone Main Ridge and Boneo played out a runfest, with the home side winning the day. Boneo set the Ridge 294 for victory after scoring 8/293 on the first day. The home side was wobbly early, before Travis Barker (65) and Gareth Wyatt (59) steadied the ship. Bailey McLellan (32), James Abbott (31) and Jason Albress (44) all got going in the middle order to steer the Ridge to 7/306. Leigh Janssen was the best of the Pandas’ bowlers with 3/70 rom 26 overs.
Stand-out performance: Lai Leaunoa picked up four wickets for Frankston YCW. Picture: Andrew Hurst Frankston Times 7 December 2015
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