They say good sides don’t lose 2 games in a row, our 1st XI haven’t lost 2 games in a row in 3 years. Our 2nds havent lost 2 in a row all season. Our 3s have got that winning feeling back whilst our 4ths continue on in leaps and bounds. 1 game to go before finals and the boys are primed and ready.

It’s been said this year that’s Tom toss record has to be seen to be believed. 12 tosses, 11 wins, it doesn’t bode well for finals but for now he just continues to have the luck go his way. Winning the toss and sending Bell Post Hill in the boys were looking to grab the game on their terms. So often this year we’ve been caught out on the hop with teams racing off to a rocketing start against us. This week after 6 overs, Bell Post Hill were 0/3. Finally the boys had put the clamps on. Mitchell Troy was at his all time best, whilst the wicket column was empty, his dots were building plenty of pressure at the other end which lead to Grant Armistead ripping in and getting 3 wickets early. The entire innings just felt different, finally the guys had some maidens early and finally we had a side 3/17. From there things moved slowly as we kept things tight. Mitchell finished his 10 overs from just 22 runs whilst Tom and Grant rotated themselves at the other. Tom Bagg was introduced with almost immediate affect, however some of his early deliveries could have gone the distance. His first wicket was a beautiful caught and bowled and then his 2nd bought Hamish Lucas into the game with a nice outfield catch. When he took another caught and bowled the game looked headed in our direction. Alistair McCann chipped in with 2 quick ones to help rort the middle order as the innings was quickly heading for a finish. Bagga wrapped things up to get himself a 5fa and Bell Post Hill were all out for 85 in 38 overs.

In reply openers Casey and Sam didn’t muck around pouncing on anything loose. In the 2 short weeks they’ve paired together, their running between wickets has been a highlight, that was again on show however it was also their power hitting with Sam hitting 4 boundaries and then a huge Maximum into the wind, whilst Casey found the fence 3 times on the way to a huge 10 wicket win. The boys wrapping things up in 12 overs and the game wrapping up in the early afternoon. A win next week garauntees the boys a spot in the March 19 Semi Final, a loss could be interesting.

Coach Craig Biddiscombe has been harping on it all year. It’s apart of our culture, that if you are to get dropped, just go back down a grade and make runs or take wickets. Yesterday was a case of both for Lachy Hyde who found himself playing in our 2nds. Batting at 3 Hydey came to the crease at after an early wicket and owned the crease. The Cobram local looked at home in the middle with bat in hand as he steered the guys from early trouble to a winning score. He paired up with Cal Ferg and the two took the game away from Bell Post Hill. When Cal fell for a well made 59, skipper Tone didn’t add any runs to the tally but young Patty Vis came in and paired with Hyde to finish the innings off. Whilst Hydey couldn’t quite get to triple figures, his 89 went along way in getting us a decent score, add in Patty’s valuable 37 runs and the score of 4/218 looked a winner.

Openers Webby and Kingy both then backed up their bats with key early wickets. Both guys found the timber early and Bell Post Hill were on the back foot in the run chase. Webby grabbed his 2nd wicket before Cal Ferg chipped in with a wicket of his own. From there it became the Lachy Hyde show again as the young medium pacer rattled through the Bell Post Hill defence on his way to 3 wickets and to setup the huge win as Bell Post Hill were all out for 136, cementing our guys to the top of the ladder with 1 round to go.

Crowded House once sang Dont dream its over, well unfortunately for our 3s the dream of back to back is over even with the guys getting home in a nail biter. Bowling first the boys didn’t have anything go their way early, the Bell Post Hill bats were plundering boundaries in a dominant display of batting. At 0/111 Col had exercised most of his attack and found no answers. Enter Benny Demasi, the youngest of the siblings, bowling his leg spinners that he’s only been working on recently, Benny picked up 2 quick wickets before Tim Birch removed the dangerous big hitting batsman and all of a sudden the guys had found an in at 3/126. That soon became 6/155 when Benny struck for a 3rd time as well as Col and Az. Bell Post Hill managed to finish the innings off well and make 6/181.

Things didn’t start well with Xav not hanging around long, luckily for the guys Smithy was at the other end and in a mood. 3 fours and 3 sixes later Smithy was again dismissed for a fast 40, this time 48. His wicket fell at just 57 but what that did was bring Gas and Will Hall together. The pair looked good at the crease together as they put on 40 valuable runs. Will fell, bringing Alex Foxwell to the crease. With the game on fairly even terms Foxwell fell and then Gas brought up his 50 before falling as well. Col didn’t hang around much longer either and with the experience all back in the sheds it was up to the young tail to try and get us home. 33 runs to get, 3 wickets in hand, Benny Demasi stepped up first to try and lead the guys home. His 19 was valuable but leaving the game in the hands of Aaron Beecroft when he fell, the game was slipping. Birchy then got run out,  and Will Demasi. Needing 17 to win from 4 overs, the guys chipped away receiving cheers for every run. 12 off 3 overs, then 6 off 2. Then finally they required just 4 runs off the last over. Az Beecroft then became the hero as he brought up the winning runs with 2 balls to spare to seal up the Bell Post Hill white wash.

Finals were all but sealed last week for the 4ths however this week they put an exclamation mark on their spot with a huge victory. Batting first, the lethal combination of Jeff and Liam started things off but the real magic started when Liam fell. After having not played proper cricket in almost 12 years, Jacko Davis picked up a bat last year and made a nice 80. Saturday he almost doubled that with a whopping 159 not out, just to make it look even better. 20 boundaries and 8 maximums were featured in Jacko’s innings as he shared a 185 run partnership with the Prez Jeff. Jeff’s had a great season with the stick and that continued on Saturday with another 58 runs to his tally. When Jeff fell and 217 on the board you’d think that the middle order may get a bit restless, that wasn’t the case as Fred Lucas didn’t allow it. Fred and Jacko paired together for the remaining overs of the innings putting on a quick fire 69 runs with Fred dominating the partnership with 47 of them before falling on the final ball of the innings.

286 was always going to be enough as the Bell Post Hill bats looked fatigue from their fielding effort. Liam Biddiscombe started things off before Mitch Elliott played an important wicket taking role. From there the game was never in doubt and the ball was thrown around loosely. Charlie Farrell was a late call up and the skipper rewarded him with a bowl. He backed up the skippers reward with 2 wickets of his own before Pricey was used to finish Bell Post Hill off, all out for 134.

The only side not to come away with a win on Saturday was our 5ths. The boys have struggled all year and we identified that would be the case before the season started. As a club we may even request to play in a lower division next year because too often then not we’re coming up against other clubs 3rd or 4ths side and with so many young kids developing their game, it’s not what we like to see. Batting first our guys were in trouble early. Last week’s saviour Paul McKee did it again this week instead going 1 better and getting himself to 50. He retired 53 not out as he quickly ran out of partners to help him. Our score of 9/140 was never going to be enough as the strong Manifold side chased that down in just 22 overs. Aarav Jain and Jacob Tsopanis both picked up a wicket each but that was all the joy our guys could get. 1 game to go for the boys.

On Sunday the A Grade Girls booked their spot in the finals with a terrific win against fellow contenders St Joeys. Batting first our girls piled on the runs, openers Sophie Walker and Nat Murphy got the girls off to a good start before Norz continued that on. Sarah Kirby and Caitlin Wight added valuable runs at the end to get the score to 8/104. With the ball Jordyn was at her best as she removed the dangerous Joeys opener. Sophie Walker chipped in with another ripping spell and when Norz picked up 2 wickets, the game was heavily in our favour. Joeys would end up finishing 7/65 handing our girls the 4 points and securing themselves inside the top 4.

The B Grade Girls travelled down to Collendina for the 2nd time this season in another sign of the uneven fixture. Batting first our girls could only manage 73. Things could have been a lot worse, at 3/4 the girls were in all sorts, luckily Heidi Windt reached double figures otherwise the score could have been a lot less. In reply Collendina didn’t waste any time, chasing down the score in just 10 overs. Daisy Sheehy did her best to keep the girls in it with 3 wickets whilst Kirralee and Heidi also picked up a wicket each but there weren’t enough runs on the board as Collendina came away with an easy win. Next week for the girls last game they take on South Barwon for the 4th time this year.

So heading into the last week of the regular season, wins on the board keep the positivity levels high. The 3s, 5ths and B Grade Girls all wrap up their season next weekend whilst for the rest it’s onto the big Semi Final clash on March 19.