Red Ball cricket returned for our 1st XI and what a different game it is with a different coloured ball.

South Barwon were sitting on top, undefeated with 6 wins and probably feeling bullet proof. Enter the red ball, a hungry for runs Sam Hall, the finisher Lachy Hyde and Tom Mathieson’s death bowling that noone can get under. Batting first our guys got off to a rocketing starts thanks to Hally. He cleared mid off on 3 occasions early as the fielding restrictions were in place. The loss of Blake and Cossie didn’t stop him either as the in form Layton McCann came in and played a similar role. The pair were finding the boundary with ease and at 2/120 off 18 overs, a huge score loomed. The loss of both those guys and a few more middle order wickets meant that instead of being in front of the game and aiming for a big score, the boys were chasing their tails a bit. Lachy Hyde batting at 8 came in at 6/154 and just found easy singles everywhere. Normally the back of the innings is saved for the crash and bash, instead Hydey made it more about hard running, stealing singles when they weren’t there and turning 1s into 2s as he guided the guys to 9/241.

Needing almost 5 an over South needed to get off to a good start and with the field up they threw the bat at everything. Feel good stories are usually the best stories, Grant Armistead, playing his first 1st XI game since Feb 16th 2008. That’s 5089 days between games, and he didn’t take long to insert himself into the game, claiming both openers in quick succession. At 2/60 the game could have gone either way and when Tom Bagg picked up the big wicket of the previously un failed Pat Richards, the game was on our terms. Like we did so often last year, we squeezed and squeezed the bats through the middle overs. 70 required from the last 10 overs, then became 44 required from 4. South had wickets in hand but we had Tom Mathieson, Tom Bagg and Alistair McCann. South would lose their last 6 wickets for just 18 runs as the boys run out 35 run winners and sealed up a place inside the top 4.

Speaking of sealing up things, our all conquering 2nd XI have almost sealed up a top 2 spot as they currently sit 2 games clear on top. Batting first, in form opener Deccy Clark is pushing hard to get that spot back in the 1s. He cut his way to 65 in quick fashion to build the platform for the middle order. Ferg and Braden came together and made batting look fairly easy through the middle and later overs as the pair put on 80 runs without too much fuss. The late surge from the middle to lower order seen our guys reach 221, definitely more than reasonable score at North Geelong.

South’s run chase started disastrously as Will Hall claimed a big scalp early before Xav Norman ran out former Magpie Lachy Viv to see South 2/14. Tim Birch didn’t waste his opportunity back in the 2nds as he bowled a ripping spell and was rewarded with a wicket, but the game was turned on it’s head by the veteran Andrew Fergusson. Drewy, bowling that full straight line of his, was on fire as he picked up 6/9 off 8 overs to wrap the game up and skittle South for just 64 runs, the win and percentage boost will prove huge as the guys sit comfortably on top at this stage.

The side fighting the hardest for a finals berth at the moment is our 3s. Usually the most consistent finals appearing side has had a fair few ups and downs this year. The up and downs continued on Saturday as the guys got off to another rocketing start thanks to Col and Milso. Col raced to 24 before he was removed with a sharp catch. Tom Emery came in and continued the ascendancy as Milso pushed on towards 50. Tom fell and Gas came in and again played a similar role. Just as the guys looked like going large, both Gas and Milso fell, Milso finishing with 76 as we made our way to 8/190.

With the ball wickets were hard to come by early, but the bowlers didn’t let South get away. The game was on a knife edge, South continually needing 4 an over to win the game. Col and Az Beecroft were at their miserly best but once they’d bowled out it looked as though someone else had to step up and play the role of finisher with the ball. Unluckily for our guys South needing 5 from the last over, did it with 2 balls to spare and handed our guys another unwanted loss. Every game now becomes a huge game for the boys.

Another side thats on the fringe of finals is our 4ths. This week we took to the field with 7 kids under 18 as well as 4 pretty experienced seniors. Batting first the guys struggled to tick the scoring over against an experienced South side who would have had at least 8 senior heads amongst the side. The Pres has been scoring runs for fun this year, another 37 for him on Saturday as he shared in a tough 40 run stand with Fred Lucas. Fred couldn’t quite back up his last week’s efforts but his quick fire 29 ticked the scoreboard over. Skipper Jack Hall and Jeff also shared in a partnership however runs were tough to get and the boys finished with 137.

In reply South took to the long handle to our attack. Sam Wakefield wasn’t having any of it as he kept the batsman on their toes. The young bowlers backed up Sam early as the game sat evenly with South 3/60. With the game in the balance and up for grabs it was the South bats who proved to experienced as the chased down the runs in the 33rd over leaving our guys, clinging onto 4th spot.

The 5th XI had the bye this weekend giving the selectors a week off, the women selectors however can pat themselves on the back as our A Grade side looks primed and ready for a finals tilt. Batting first in their 30 over contest on Sunday, it was once again Sophie Walker leading the way. Her calmness and poise at the crease is incredible to watch for someone who is still only 17. She cut and pulled her way to 46 to backbone the innings. Skipper Helen Jones returned to the side with a run a ball 35 to get the girls to 9/159. In reply Highton weren’t ready for our all out attack. Jordyn picked up 2 wickets early and then the young girls took over. Lauren Kelly, Steph Murphy and Brodie Mitchell all did their job and picked up a wicket. After her efforts last week Norz also bowled a ripping over as Highton had no answers. Sophie Walker backed up her batting with a 6 over spell of bowling picking up 1/5 before Brodie came back on and picked up her 2nd wicket as Highton were all out for 75, handing our girls a huge win and keeping them sitting in 3rd spot.

Finals are now definitely out of the equation for our B Grade Girls. They headed out to Lara on Saturday Night to play under lights. The spectacle was great to see and our girls put in one of their better performances for the year. Bowling first, our girls looked on with Daisy Sheehy and Kirralee Lewis getting early wickets. Lara were 3/14 and in all sorts of trouble. The wickets then dried up and some loose bowling occurred. The girls had then lost their way as Lara finished 3/140. With the bat Haylea Fitzsimmons took a leaf out of her husband’s book and opened the batting, putting the pressure back on the bowlers. Her partnerships with Alyce Lockwood first and then Daisy Sheehy gave the girls a chance for victory. At 3/70 and with Haylea still in, the girls were right in the game. Unfortunately for us Haylea copped an lbw, that looked quite high but that’s cricket sometimes. Dani Mather and Char Quagliaro partnered together as the run chase started to get away from the girls. In the end we finished 7/113, on a positive note its the highest score total for the girls all year.

Another round goes by where we bank an important 7 points to our club championship, we have now gotten within arms reach of top of the table and with a big few weeks to come, every game is important. Next week we take on long time rivals Newtown, in what will be a huge game for all grades.