Another weekend, another wet day on a season heavily affected by them. Whilst last year’s 5 washouts to start the season wasn’t great, some were managed to be called on Friday nights or very early Saturday. These days of will we or won’t we play or especially in B’s, mid match abandonments are even more frustrating for all involved.
🏏 Premier A Grade – Moe vs Morwell
Questions will be asked of the council as a delayed start was turned into a guaranteed abandonment when the sprinklers inexplicably turned on during what should’ve been playing time on Saturday. It appears no other games got started in the division so the round should likely be one day matches next week.
🏏 Premier C Grade – Moe vs Mirboo North
Mirboo North faced 6 overs at the Racecourse before abandonment. Stuie Palmer got the only wicket, with the Tigers 1/12.
Ex Students got a result so take the outright lead on 44pts. Toongabbie sit 2nd on 42pts, also washed out. Moe 3rd on 40pts, ten clear of Mirboo North & Glengarry
🏏 B Grade – Latrobe v Moe
The game moved onto the hard deck with the turf unplayable and it worked in the home team’s favour early after Moe sent them in. Moe started with 10 fielders with one planned late arrival.
🦈 Latrobe Innings
The Moe bowlers didn’t have the answers early with Nic Brewer (6 fours & a six) blasting a half century, and along with the Hebbards (Glen 37, Ryan 45) pushed the total beyond 100 for just one wicket.
Runs slowed after 2/107, then rain delays occurred forcing the game to finish based on time if a result wasn’t achieved. Blake Duncan (12 off 13) & Kade Hebbard (10 off 8.)were the only other batters to make double figures, at 9 & 10 as Latrobe were all out for 197 on the final ball of the innings. Mark Whitney took 3 wickets whilst Daniel Farmer & Jarryd Atkinson each collected 2.
🦁 Moe Innings
It was a tale of starts in the batting for the Lions. Finn (13) fell to Hayes at 1/18 after making double figures. Pheeney (17) also got a start before he & Savige (2) were bowled by Riley Duncan in quick succession. Mark Whitney (17) opened and was the third to fall short of 20, run out at 4/74.
Michael Johnstone & Kye Micallef added 43 for the 5th wicket before the latter became the third batter to be dismissed for 17, the number proving very jinx like. Johnstone had earlier landed on 17 too after a single, but passed it successfully without being dismissed.
Johnstone picked up the pace with Atkinson as they pushed for a result before time expired but rain at 5.18pm ended the Lions chase for four points, having to be satisfied with just two again. 11 unbeaten but only 5 wins in their due to a tie, a full washout and 4 no results due to rain or time. Time to bring DLS into more than just A Grade? (We would have won 2 & lost 1 of the 3 abandonments during 2nd innings’, but that’s 3 games that would’ve at least had definitive results rather than no results).
Johnstone finished unbeaten on 53* off 45 (8 fours and a six) and Atkinson 8* (2 fours). Moe were 5/148 off 31.3 overs, requiring 50 off 81 to win. Riley Duncan took 2 wickets for the hosts, Kade Hebbard 1 & Hayes 1.
🏏 Moe (50pts) lose ground to Centrals (52pts) who won their match. Raiders (48pts) remain two points behind Moe after their match with 4th placed Imperials (46pts) was abandoned without play.
- The amount of rain affected games this year could suggest top two is as important as ever for B’s & C’s go get, for that home semi and advancing in the event of a draw.
