All season long, the plan has been to get as many teams playing on the March 19th weekend as we can, well with March 19 only 12 days away, we’ve got 3 out of the 5 men’s sides, and 1 of our women’s sides.

Friday Night and early Saturday morning rain ruined any chance of a huge cricket weekend. The 2 North Geelong ovals were saturated with water. The Turf wicket was fine, however the surrounds and run ups took a belting as the 2s and 4s were washed away. At Highton the 1st XI game looked like getting a start however when rain came again at 11am, the damage was done and we happily took the 3 points which confirmed our spot in the March 19 Semi Final.

The 11am rain wasn’t enough to end the game for the 3rds. With nothing to play for skipper Col took it upon himself to get the game going and a 41 over per side match was on. Winning the toss and bowling first, our bowlers all backed up Col’s decision and in no time Highton were in strife at 6/52. Birch, Beecroft and Rhodes all had 2 wickets a piece. From there North didn’t take their foot off Highton’s throat and kept attacking. Col picked up the 7th before Benny Demasi and his Leggies got the 8th. A mix up between the bats then gave North the 9th wicket before Tom Emery was rewarded with the 10th. Highton all out for 86. In reply the run chase wasn’t easy, proving that the wet conditions made for a hard slog. Xavier Norman held up his end, whilst carnage occurred at the other end as Xavier could only watch on. At 4/36 off 22 overs, Highton would have thought they were right in the game. However with Xav being a rock at one end, we had Smithy walking in at 6 to save the day. Smithy didn’t play 1 false shot and instead waited for the bad ball which he crunched to the fence, more importantly over it. Xav continued to play the key role and finished 33 not out as Smithy brought up the winning runs with his 5th Maximum on his way to 39 not out to see the guys end the season on a high and finish in 6th spot, just 1 game and percentage from the top 4.

The other game that eventually got going on Saturday was our 5th XI. With finals well out of contention, the guys turned up to a soggy Lethbridge thinking there was no chance of a game. The boys even found a yabby in the carpark it was that soggy, however Lethbridge needed the 6 points and did everything they could to get a game going. Get a game going they did with a 3pm start. Batting first our guys made a mess of the 20 over game, in next to no time we were 3/19 and in big strife. Chanda and Hillsy came together and the pair got the boys out of the deep hole with a 40 run stand. When Chanda fell Hillsy ran out of partners and ended up giving up his wicket for 33 as the guys were all out for 77 in 17 overs. In reply Lethbridge really wanted the win and got there in a hurry. It took the Rosella’s only 12 overs to get there and in that time only lost the 1 wicket, Will Sav being the bowler. That ends the year for the 5ths, it’s been a long hard slog for Browny, Carree and the boys. Not only have they been playing against opposition 3rd XIs but they’ve also this year had to deal with Covid unavailability in what has certainly been a different season. Well Done Guys!

Sunday, with the A Grade already pencilled in for the March 20 Semi final, the girls went on the road down to Portarlington, the home of Damian Vassiliou. And whilst the sun wasn’t quite shining, the girls got in a full games cricket. Bowling first, Jordyn and Helen kept things tight early as Jordyn picked up a scalp before Sarah Kirby found the batter short of her ground, 2/12 and the girls were on. Our next change bowlers didn’t let up either as Norz and Steph Murphy both chipped in for wickets. Lucy Emery got the 5th and the girls were still in control. The latter overs seen the game slightly slip away from the girls however a late run out and another tight Jordyn Stewart over and Port had finished 6/102. In reply our girls looked in control from the start. Openers Sophie Walker and Nat Murphy didn’t look troubled out there as they got there way to the 10th over without a loss of wicket and the run chase was on track. 16 overs down and still no loss of wickets and 22 runs required from the last 4 overs. Both openers kept ticking it over. The game was getting tighter as Port dotted things up. 19 overs gone, 0/93.. North required 10 runs from 6 balls with 10 wickets in hand. Things just weren’t meant to be as Sophie fell 2nd ball in the over, ending her home and away season at 466 runs, 107 runs more then any other player in the competition. 4 balls remaining and Nat found a boundary, however when 4 runs were required from the last ball, Nat could only manage a 2 and the girls had lost by a run. Shattering for the girls, however their season hasn’t ended as a semi final looms in 2 weeks time.

The B Grade Girls have finished their year with a game they won’t want to remember in years to come. Bowling first against the powerhouse that is South Barwon, Daisy Sheehy capped off her 1st year of cricket with 2 big scalps to end her season tally at 20 wickets, the most in the entire Women’s competition. Well done Daisy! Melrod was everywhere, getting run outs and taking a wicket as the girls restricted South to 7/118. In reply our girls were in a hurry for the season to end and could only manage 53. 30 of those came from extras however a top score of 12 from Erin King stands out over the hard to read scorecard. This ends what’s been a tough year for the girls, similar to our 5ths, our 2nd XI girls are coming up against most sides 1st XIs and a slide back down the grades should help these girls get a few more wins on the board because socially they’ve been great supporters around the club.

Speaking of great supporters, the club turn out in numbers yesterday at both Junior finals. Our U19 girls played off in the Grand Final against St Joeys and it was heartbreak for the girls as they went down by 2 runs. Most of these girls then turned around and played seniors in the afternoon which is a great effort to see. Also our U/15 boys are into a Grand Final next week after taking care of St Joeys. The boys looked in trouble at 2/40 and still requiring 80 runs at a run a ball. Enter Fred Lucas, David Murphy and the finisher Benny Demasi, the boys cruised home and are off to the big dance next weekend. Unfortunately for our Under 13 side, the rain ruined any chance of them getting on and now look to have missed out on a Grand Final spot.

With March 19 locked in and 4 senior sides still playing, that weekend looks to be a huge day for the club. Each of these sides are only 2 wins away from Glory, the matches look to be as followed…
1st XI Vs South Barwon @ South Barwon
2nd XI vs Grovedale @ North Geelong
4th XI vs Newtown @ Newtown
A Grade Women’s Vs East Belmost @ most likely East Belmont (Nothing confirmed there)