Moe v Willow Grove
The Wolves are the most likely in the division outside of the 4 to push for a finals berth and they fielded their strongest side of the season as they enter a 3 week stretch against top 4 opposition. Moe entered close to their strongest side of the season, though skipper Blunt was a late out to A’s with Josh Pickering coming back into the side in his place.
A good bowling performance by the Lions was overshadowed by another disappointing batting performance for the most part, the cracks covered slightly by salvaging 2pts from the jaws of defeat in a thrilling tie with Willow Grove, thanks to some never say die attitude hitting from Aaron Johnstone with fellow tail support from Hayden Edwards & Ben McCartney.
Willow Grove Innings–
Wilkes (9) looked on early, blasting Johnstone through covers and Edwards over the leg side for four. Wilkes was bowled the next ball which looked to be chopped on to the back of his own foot then rolled onto the stumps. Binstead (0) was bowled by Johnstone at the other end to have the Wolves in trouble at 2/9.
Darcy (12) & son of a Moe gun Hamish Phoenix (32, including 3 fours and a big six) pushed the visitors to 56 off 13 overs.
Pickering dismissed them in consecutive overs by him, with Atkinson having Wheildon (0) lbw in the over in between, a collapse of 3/3 to turn the tide. Josh Coombs (25 off 59) and Jacob Grima (5 off 49) frustrated the Moe bowlers, but couldn’t score heavily, slowly pushing the total to 92 after 33 overs, just 36 runs from the last 20.
Ben McCartney got the breakthrough of both at 6/93 & 7/95 on his way to 2/20 from 5 overs. Peter Grima (15*) offered slight resistance at one end before Aaron Johnstone took the tail out with 3 wickets in the space of 4 runs.
Willow Grove all out for 115. Johnstone finished with 4/13 from 6.4, Pickering 2/17 from 7, McCartney 2/20, and singles to Atkinson & Edwards. Mark Whitney bowled tight, conceding just 20 runs from 9 overs.
MILESTONE – Josh Pickering, 50 senior wickets.
Moe Innings–
Moe’s batting started off slow, with 12 runs from the first 8 overs. Braden Finn (6 off 26) hit a boundary to start the 9th then was trapped lbw two balls later. Fellow opener Mark Whitney was lbw on the full for 6 off 34 before Kye Micallef (0) was caught the following over, 3/23 and Moe in trouble.
After 24 overs, Savige & Atkinson had slowly pushed the total to 52, with 64 required from 21 overs. Atkinson (11 off 32, two fours) & Murphy (0) both were caught off Wheildon, 5/53 in the 27th.
️MILESTONE – Ash Savige ticked over 3000 senior club runs before being bowled by Coombs to end the 32nd over, out for 24 off 73 balls (three fours). 6/64, needing 52 off 13 overs.
Mustafa Glibanovic was next to go, bowled by Coombs for 2, 7/68 after 34 overs. 48 required from 66 balls. 15 more added by Johnstone & Oakley before Oakley was caught and bowled by Grima, for 12 off 40, also unable to get the strike rate going like most of his teammates before him.
8/83, 33 required off 28 and it looked over. Johnstone & Edwards added 17 off 16 balls, the latter caught for 7 off 9, 16 required off 12.
It became more apparent as the innings went on, that Grima & Coombs were bowling at the wrong ends, meaning Coombs bowled his 8th over in the 44th (4 off, finished with 2/19), unable to bowl out and the other four regular bowlers all finished their full allotments (Wilkes 2/16, Weatherhead 1/11, Wheildon 2/23 & Grima 2/34).
The ball was handed to youngster Hamish Phoenix for the final over, 12 required by Moe, one wicket in hand.
44.1 – Ben McCartney, 1 run. (11 off 5)
44.2 – Johnstone, FOUR (7 off 4)
44.3 – Johnstone, 1 run (6 off 3)
44.4 – McCarney, 1 run (5 off 2)
44.5 – Johnstone, 2 runs (3 off 1)
44.6 – Johnstone – 2 runs (Match Tied)
Willow Grove will rue what could’ve been but still take two points that could prove vital positively at season: end just as much as the dropped two points could negatively affect them subject to what they can achieve in the rest of the campaign.
On Moe’s end, it’s a snatch and grab for 2 points. The Lions can take positives out of the bowling and never giving up from a losing position. But a lot of work to be done with bat in hand. The 2nd XI hasn’t had a settled batting order with constant personnel changes due to unavailability or requirement in A Grade’s XI. It will need to be a more settled lineup in the back end of the year to have any chance of finding form going into finals. Now sit 3rd, two points behind Centrals and four behind Raiders.
Premier A & C Double Header vs Ex Students
Ex Students hosted C & A Grades in a double header, C’s starting at 9:30am before A Grade played a day/nighter for the first time. Unfortunately the trial novelty didn’t get very far, the lights not required to take effect when the game was already over. It added insult to injury after C Grade had fell short earlier in the day.
PREMIER A GRADE – vs Ex-Students (D/N)
Moe Innings
Starting at 3pm, Moe won the toss and batted in the first day/night match for the Lions. Unfortunately the summer sun wasn’t even close to setting when at 5.10pm, the Lions were preparing to bowl
Rob Phoenix fell second for 16 at 2/24, as one of only two Moe bats to reach double figures. The 2nd wicket partnership of 15 with Andrew Philip (21) was the highest of the inning. The top order lost 2 wickets for 1 run twice (1/24 to 3/25 and 3/38 to 5/39) with a late loss of 3 wickets for 3 runs (6/60 to 9/63). Blandford 8 & Blunt 6* added 12 for the last wicket to see Moe all out for a measly 75 from 37.3 overs at a run rate of exactly 2.00.
Lee Stockdale returned figures of 3/15 from his maximum 10 overs with Adam Brady also bowling out for 2/17. Jimmy Pryde finished with 2/14 from 8.3, also combining with Brady for a run out. Harris & Matthews took one scalp each.
Ex Students Innings
With 40 minutes to bat before tea, the hosts held back their more recognised names and sent a few of their batters with less accolades out. The Lions pounced to have the Sharks 3/18 at the end of the session. Clint Taylor took 2 wickets (2/11 off 7) & Keenan Hughes had 1 before the break. Hughes (2/18 off 7) quickly had his second following the resumption to make it 4/18.
Harris (11) was caught and bowled by Jordan Shields (1/18 off 5) to see the hosts 5 down at the halfway mark of the target (5/38 in the 16th). Shortly after, Shields nearly had a second but a chance from Battista went through Sheekey’s hands at square leg.
Laytten Smith (0/24 off 6) & Shields bowled through to the completion, going close to the 6th wicket at times but unable to get another breakthrough. Students completed the chase on the final ball of the 25th over, Battista unbeaten on 29* off 33 and Stockdale 12* off 29.
A Grade’s chances are fading fast. Although they sit just 2 points behind 4th, there’s now a 12pt gap to 3rd so unless Morwell can be reined into the scrap, there’s 4 teams fighting for one spot with just a first innings two dayer result between 4th & 7th. Next up is the final one day match as Moe take on league leaders Glengarry who are unbeaten this campaign. Following that match, Moe have 2 day matches against CATS (7th), Morwell (3rd) & Ex-Students (2nd) to close the campaign.
PREMIER C GRADE – v Ex-Students 9.30am
Ex Students Innings
League Leaders Ex-Students batted first and started strongly, taking 35 off the first 7 overs without loss. A wicket maiden from Daniel Farmer (1/22 off 8.) in the 9th was welcomed, as the runs started to dry up, just 7 from the next 6 overs (1/42 off 13) before Thomson started to get back in the groove of scoring. He was skittled by Stuie Palmer for 35 (66) in the 17th.
Cropley (20) & Hennessy (41) pushed the total beyond 100 with heaps of time left in the innings. Palmer (2/35 off 6) got the breakthrough also bowling Cropley.
Wickets fell in a late flurry with Biggins taking 3/31 off 6 as Students put the foot down, closing at 7/165 from their 40 overs. Nic Reed also got a wicket (1/13) whilst Garry Edwards was supremely economical with 0/6 off 5. Ron Whitney 0/23 off 8 tightened the screws, economical despite going wicketless for a rare sight on the card.
Moe Innings
David Biggins (46 off just 31 balls, including 9 fours and a six) & Matt Burridge (18 off 34) set the chase off to a blistering pace, putting on 51 for the first wicket. Biggins blasted back to back to back fours off Robertson before getting bowled the next ball. 2 byes on Reed’s first ball faced had Moe 2/70 after just 72 deliveries – 12 overs. At this point, the visitors needed 96 runs off 168 balls.
Then wickets fell and the runs dried up. 5 wickets and 45 runs off the next 20 overs had Moe 7/115, needing 51 off the final 8 overs (48 balls). There was still a glimmer of hope with skipper Garry Edwards at the crease but at 15* off 43, he’d need to get the strike rate moving and fast.
24 were added before Brady Cake (7 off 24) was next out, caught behind trying to go big in the 37th over, now requiring 27 off 22. Seven more to close the over made it 20 needed off the last 3 overs.
Edwards was caught in the deep for 39 (59), 24 off his last 16 balls faced at 9/147 in the following over. Farmer (1 off 5) was last out in the penultimate over, Moe dismissed for 150, going down by 15 runs. Robertson took 5/21 from 8 as Students most prolific bowler with Ferguson taking 2/25 late.
C Grade could’ve gone top with a win, but remain 3rd, now 6pts behind Students and just half a game behind Toongabbie. The Lions have a two & a half game gap to 5th. C Grade have a league wide bye for Australia Day weekend before the B/C double header return at Centrals on the 1st Feb.
Ex-Students & Churchill will face off on Friday night for the inaugural CLV Italian Australian Club T20 title after beating Moe & Morwell respectively.
At Keegan St, Churchill dismantled Morwell for 78, passing the total just 2 wickets down just one ball past halfway of the allotted overs.
At Terry Hunter Reserve between Ex-Students & Moe, the innings were relatively similiar, with the small differences proving decisive.
3 batsmen got starts in each, Students having two of them with strike rates above 117 (Pryde 27 off 19 & Trease 27* off 23) and the other one close to 100 (Dyke 30 off 32). For Moe’s 3 starts, 100 was the best strike rate (Kane 32 off 32, Hughes 24 off 31, Pheeney 22 off 24)
In the field, Students put down a few chances whilst Moe held theirs, with a few good catches taken. But in terms of ground fielding, the hosts were well and truly the stronger in restricting 1’s to dots and not allowing 2’s.
Pryde 3/16 (4) & Brady 2/16 (4) were excellent with the ball for the Sharks. Moe shared the wickets around with 5 of the 6 used nabbing one scalp each, Hughes 1/15 (4) & Johnstone 1/20 (4) the best of the bunch.
With all of that being said, credit to our team for making it to the semi final stage, with some matches featuring just 5 or so of our best 1st XI against opponents with either their full or just about their full best 1st XI. Great experience for some of those working their way up the grades.
Thanks to those who made themselves available Tuesdays to represent the club in this comp.
Now the focus returns to Saturday cricket for the run home towards finals and hopefully more.
Premier A Grade – Centrals v Moe
A warm start to cricket in 2025 with a storm abandoning at least 11 games mid match across the league (possibly more with some scores not entered). In the divisions our 1st & 2nd XI’s play in, 3 of 4 games in each didn’t get results.
Moe sent Centrals in and got off to a flyer. Williamson 1 out to Aaron Johnstone, Gray (0) & Hourigan (0) both bowled by Keenan Hughes to have the hosts rattled at 3/4. Littleton (23) was next to go, dismissed by Laytten Smith at 4/31, quickly followed up by Ritvik having Pollard (1) caught behind.
Lachlan Speairs made a steady 59 off 149 balls, increased in the latter part of his innings, pushing Centrals to 128 with three balls in the 50 overs remaining. Gamage 15 was the only other Centrals batter to reach double figures. Hughes finished with 4/28, Smith 2/29 with single wickets to Johnstone, Ritvik, Jordan Shields (1/21) & Jarryd Atkinson (1/17).
With the storm looming, if 20 overs were reached for a result to be achieved, the DLS target would’ve been just 32 with 0 wickets down. If Moe happened to lose a few wickets which they did, the par score at 3 down at 20 overs would’ve been 50. Evan Sheekey (11), Shields (2) & Andrew Philip (8.) all fell before the match was abandoned at the 12 over mark, Moe sitting 3/22.
A crucial match but no change on the ladder as a result of the draw. Centrals remain 4th & 2pts ahead of Moe (5th). The distance behind 3rd grew with Morwell getting the win over Raiders completed. CATS sit 6th, 2pts behind Moe after the game with Students ended abandoned also.
Next Up
vs Ex Students at Tgon Rec
Premier A Grade vs Toongabbie
Moe resuming at 1/44 chasing Toongabbie’s 204
Rob Phoenix (30*) & Andrew Philip (6*) continued at the crease, adding 24 off the first 11 overs of the day without loss. Things opened up first change at the Main St end, the pair taking 29 off Barry’s first four spell, Phoenix hitting 22 of them. Veneman tried his luck at that end without success conceding 23 off the first seven deliveries.
It wasn’t at Athulathmudali’s pace (72 off 42 the week before) but Phoenix & Philip laid out a strong pairing putting on 156 for the second wicket, with 134 on day 2 in just 30.5 overs.
Phoenix ticked over 5000 1st XI runs for Moe on his way to 98 off 142 balls (14 fours), caught behind at 2/178 on his leg side on the 9th ball faced since moving within two of his century.
Moe wrapped up first innings points in the 38th over of the day and played through to tea as mandatory. Philip (84 off 150, 9 fours) was dismissed chasing a ton before tea, still needing 16 in two overs before the break. Evan Sheekey’s (1) dismissal brought the interval forward two balls. 4/234, lead of 30. With no bonus points up for grabs, the spoils only increased in the event of a full outright, it was deemed unnecessary to continue, Moe take the 6 points for first innings and players could pile into the lunch offering without physical exertion required following it. Some of the Moe team then headed to Traralgon to see the run chase in B Grade (more to come below).
Moe move within 2pts of 4th at the Xmas Break and face 4th placed Centrals away in a one dayer next up, on 11th Jan. The Lions play top four opponents in all but one game (CATS two dayer) after Christmas so finals destiny will be in their own hands. Although the table isn’t as tight across the board as last season due to Glen & Students holding quite a buffer, Moe – sitting 5th – are within a first innings win of third, but less than an outright result off the bottom.
B Grade – Rovers v Moe
Rovers Innings–
Rovers batted first and it was one of those innings where neither team was necessarily on top for long periods. Batters got starts with the top 5 all making double figures, but the bowlers took wickets often enough with no partnership greater than 25.
The run rate was under two at the 24 over mark before Dodd took Edwards for 18 off an over (2x 6+nb & a four). Dodd was ran out for 17 off 14 the following over. Shaun Boyes batted through from 1/22 until he was run out on the final ball of the innings for 49 off 92. Van Zuyden 17, Dodd & J.Carney 16 all got starts.
For Moe, it was pretty good reading on the bowling card, a strong opening pairing from Aaron Johnstone (1/10 off 9) & Josh Pickering (1/17 off 7). Daniel Farmer was also economical with 0/17 off 9. Haydn Edwards’ figures were only tainted by the one over, 15 off the other five for 1/33 from 6. Jarryd Atkinson 2/30 off 9 put on a solid performance as usual whilst Ben McCartney had 0/20 off 5, not bad figures either on a small ground for a spinner. By all reports told, the Lions could’ve been chasing less but a few chances went begging in the field.
Moe Innings–
After Straughair (16) & Semmens(0) departed in the 5th over, Mark Whitney & Troy Oakley steadied the ship, adding 49 from the next 20 overs. Oakley was caught for 25 off 61 in the 25th over. Whitney’s cautious 30 off 80 was ended in the 28th & the collapse became 3/4 in four overs when Atkinson (11) quickly joined him back in the pavilion. 53 required off 16 overs.
Johnstone & Kye Micallef added 33 off the next 8 overs to get the run rate under control. Micallef (16 off 29) just needed to continue to rotate the strike to Johnstone but found himself caught trying to force the issue, something the promising youngster will learn from. Johnstone (32* off 38, 4x fours) & Shannon Murphy (4* off 7) saw the Lions through to victory in the 41st over. Carney was Rovers best with 2/22 off 9 with Brown 2/17 off 4 taking the early wickets.
Moe move level on points with Centrals (34), just half a game behind Raiders (36) who sit top and are Moe’s first opponent back after the break, despite just playing them last week. Imps sit just one game behind Moe in a clear top 4. Willow Grove sit 5th, 3 & a 1/2 games outside the top 4 but did beat Centrals.
B Grade – Moe v Raiders
Moe Innings
B Grade were sent in by Raiders, and the visitors plans came to fruition mostly, with a narrative of two collapses throughout the innings. After losing Kye Micallef (2) early, Mark Whitney & Shannon Murphy progressed Moe to 1/43 (15) at the first drinks break.
The second period of the innings overs 16-30 were not good for the hosts, losing 3/7 as part of just 16 runs in the middle 15 overs.
Ben McCartney fell for 7 and A Grade skipper Noah Kane arriving late was bowled for 1, 6/77 before another clump of 4/13 saw Moe all out for 103. Extras ended up top scoring with 23, whilst Whitney (12) & Glibanovic (16) also made double figures. Hill & Sidhu both took 3 wickets for Raiders with Pooni & Quinsey-Munro collecting 2 scalps each.
Raiders Innings
Hecker (6), Hill (4) & Daddo (1) all fell to Robert Blunt at one end, but Singh Rai kept the score ticking over, Daddo out at 3/46.
Singh Rai & Arora put Raiders in reach with the score climbing to 94 as the storm was threatening. Singh Rai 53, was bowled by Ben McCartney shortly after making a half century. Arora 19 was caught off Whitney & Sidhu 
off McCartney to make it a collapse of 3/2 in the space of 5 overs, Raiders now sitting precariously at 6 down, but only 7 runs to get.
Following Sidhu’s dismissal, the lightning had moved within very close proximity to the venue, so players had to leave the field with the rain arriving whilst the covers were being put on. Due to time, and wet/unsafe pitch and ground, the game was abandoned. Due to no DLS outside of the A Grade divisions, it meant no result. Raiders were ahead on DLS had it been in play, like Moe were ahead in December vs Centrals in a game also abandoned mid match. Swings and roundabouts in a season.
With all of the top 4 seeing their games abandoned, Raiders remain top, Centrals & Moe 2pts behind them. Imperials sit a win back in 4th. Willow Grove got a result to sit 2 wins behind Imps.
Next Up – Willow Grove at Ted Summerton 18/1
Premier C Grade – Mirboo North v Moe
Moe were sent in and proceeded to put on a very strong total. Nic Reed top scored with 44 off 56, including 7 fours. Craig Veenman hit 5 fours in his 33 off just 26 deliveries and Garry Edwards cracked 7 boundaries in 32* off 27 balls. Matt Burridge scored 21 opening, his highest score since joining the Lions. Aaron Scicluna took 4/25 off 8 for the Tigers with singles to Salas, Hutton, Degennaro & Calder.
King (6) & Scicluna (28) added 28 for the first wicket before Tyler Duff (2/10) dismissed King & Robinson (0). Biggins (1/26) made the collapse 3/4 shortly after.
Only Calder 21* & Banks 16 made double figures as Mirboo were bowled out for 98. Ronnie Whitney took another five wickets, finish in with stellar figures of 5/10 off 8. Duff took 2 wickets with singles to Schultz, Edwards & Biggins.
Moe increase the gap between them (3rd) and Mirboo (4th) with the win to 10pts. Level on points with top 2 Ex Students & Toongabbie for now, their results yet to be entered.
Next Up
– vs Ex-Students away at T’gon Rec 9.30am, playing prior to A Grade’s day/night match.
Centrals vs Moe T20 Quarter Final
Centrals Innings
Moe bowled first after losing the toss and the first 10 overs from the Gilmour St end were very tight, conceding just 40 runs (Hughes 0/2 off 2, Johnstone 1/16 off 3, Blunt 0/12 off 3, Shields 0/6 off 1 & Ritvik 0/4 off 1). Centrals only lost one wicket in that half, Williamson 2, with Jordan Matthews & Tye Hourigan at the crease.
43 runs off the first four overs at the Johnson Crescent end (12, 1/5, 13, 13) pushed the total to almost a run a ball after 14 overs, Hourigan out for 21 to Ritvik. Matthews reached his half century in the 16th over at 2/92. The 18th brought double success for Moe as Hughes dismissed Pollard (27) & Murdoch (0). Matthews scored 21 of the 26 runs scored in the next two overs, to finish with 80* (10 fours) from 59 balls. Centrals closed with 4/137 from 20 overs.
Hughes finished as Moe’s best with 2/14 from 4. Ritvik took 1/22 from 3. Blunt & Johnstone each conceded the same amount off their 4th over as the first 3 combined, finishing with figures of 0/24 (4) & 1/32 (4) respectively. Shields 0/24 (3), Zomer 0/8 (1) & Edwards 0/13 (1) also bowled. Decent figures economically all down the card for the Moe Lions as they conceded collectively under 7 an over, despite an overall fielding performance that skipper Zomer admittedly said could’ve been much better at the innings break.
Moe Innings
Moe needed 7 an over and Jesse Pheeney & Rob Phoenix started off with just that, taking 7 off the first over. They maintained the pace through the first half century of the chase, 0/51 (7). Pheeney was bowled by Pollard for 21 off 20 the following over.
To end the 11th over, Phoenix notched up his half century. 1/82, 56 required off 54. Another 11 runs from Phoenix & Zomer off the 12th reduced it to under a run a ball required for the first time, at 45 off 48. Hourigan & Shankland conceded just 7 off the next two overs, as Moe cracked 100, 38 off 36.
10 off Hourigan’s next over, 12 off Whitehead’s over and 13 off two Shankland overs accelerated the visitors to 135 off 18 overs, needing just 3 off 12. Zomer finished the chase in emphatic style with a big six to book Moe’s place in the semi finals by 9 wickets, with 9 balls to spare. Like Matthews earlier & with an almost identical score, Phoenix carried his bat for 79* off 60 balls (9 fours) with Zomer finishing 35* off 31, three fours & a six, in a strong batting performance by Moe. Pollard 1/23 (3) took the only wicket whilst Hourigan (0/21 off 4) was the best of the non-wicket takers.
Around the Grounds:
Ex-Students 5/165 def Willow Grove 7/125
Churchill 3/237 def Imperials 6/124
Morwell 8/154 def Gormandale 8/93
Semi Finals-
Tuesday 14th January
Ex-Students v Moe at Traralgon Rec
Morwell v. Churchill at Keegan St
Congratulations to Braden Finn on making his 1st XI debut yesterday. The team bowled so it was a day of fielding to start followed by not batting as Benn Zomer subs in for Day 2 (that’s cricket). He’ll continue to get opportunities based on his B Grade form earning the chance – leading 2nd XI run scorer with 240 @ 40.
Congratulations Braden!
B Grade – Moe v Raiders
Moe Innings-
Moe’s batting got off to the worst possible start with Nic Reed (0) bowled first ball of the day by former Lion Jagbir Singh playing his first game in opposition colours. Semmens (5) became Jag’s second victim at 2/7. Mark Whitney (4 off 42, 1 four) & Kye Micallef (7 off 35) did what was asked of them and saw off Barney Webber’s & Jag’s opening spells, regardless of scoring volume. Whitney & Atkinson (6) fell to Sidhu before Micallef’s dismissal to Berryman-Lambert reduced Moe to 5/41.
Shannon Murphy (15) & Aaron Johnstone (28 off 28) capitalised on Raiders’ middle order bowlers before Johnstone was caught sharply in the deep off Zoe Quinsey-Munro. Murphy became her second victim, caught in gully at 7/101 to start the 29th over. Heaps of time left and the tail order to come. Ben McCartney (18 off 20, 3 fours) put on 30 with Edwards in short order, dismissed in the 34th over to promising young leg spinner Patrick Mills. Edwards (19 off 34, 3 fours) missed a full toss of Mills, bowled at 9/143. Blunt survived Webber’s final two overs, and being bowled on a no ball, on his way to 13* off 30, adding 18 for the last wicket with Ron Whitney (3 off 14). Whitney became Jag’s 3rd scalp to end the innings in the 43rd over. Jag finished with 3/24, Mills & Quinsey-Munro 2 wickets each and Berryman-Lambert 1.
Like last week, a finals style strictness was put in place on wides between two top four sides, in preparation for what they can expect in the post-season. Extras top scored with 43, including 30 wides although most would’ve been wide with lenient interpretation. Moe bowled 16 wides later in the day too, including 2 lots of 5wds. Moe’s batting card featured 5 single digit scores at the top followed by 5 starts between 13 & 28.
Raiders Innings–
Raiders got off to a fast start, before fortunate circumstance saw Edwards get a touch on a straight drive into the non-strikers stumps to see Hecker (22 off 20) out of his ground. Edwards conceded 20 off his first two overs, before reining it back in well, finishing with 1/32 off 7. He had Daddo (4) caught by Semmens before his spell was done.
Webber (48 off 65) & Joshy (29 off 62) threatened to take the game away from Moe, adding 81 to make it 2/122 off 28 overs, 40 required off 102 balls with 8 wickets in hand. Atkinson got the eventual breakthrough, bowling Webber in the 29th. Johnstone returned to the bowling crease at the other end, and after conceding a 5wd, bowled Joshy, 4/127 with two fresh batters at the crease. It was 3 wickets in 3 overs when Daddo (0) became Atkinson’s second scalp and the game was well and truly back on. Atkinson’s next over saw him send Berryman-Lambert back lbw, 6/128. A few tight overs before Johnstone had his second, Sidhu (3), 7/134.
The next over by Atkinson saw Quinsey-Munro survive two dropped catches, one by McCartney, who made no mistake second time around two overs later for Atkinson’s fourth wicket (Quinsey-Munro 6 off 16, 8/143). During this time, balls remaining had crept into the picture, although runs or wickets still seemed the more likely – now 19 required off 36. This brought Jagbir out for potential heroics against Moe, surprisingly batting at 10. Ron Whitney dismissed Raiders skipper Arora (7 off 28) two balls later in his final over of his allotment to bring 14yo Mills to the crease at 9/143, a collapse of 7/21. With Jag, the last wicket with Mills added 13 off 3.3 overs in a grandstand finish, now 6 required off 2 overs. The second ball of the 44th proved decisive, Blunt bowled Mills for Moe to secure victory, Moe winning by 5 runs. Atkinson 4/23 off 9, Johnstone 2/25 off 9 and Whitney 1/20 off 9 were superb. McCartney 0/32 off 5 bowled better than the figures suggest, very unlucky to not get a couple of scalps. Edwards 1/32 off 7 & Blunt 1/15 off 4.2 each got one wicket.
Next Up – Rovers @ Duncan Cameron Traralgon.
Premier C Grade – T20–
Four games of T20 occurred at the Racecourse with Moe (turf) & Mirboo North (synthetic) each facing Ex-Students & Imperials.
Game 1 – Moe v Ex Students
Ex Students Innings-
Paul Richards (55) & Darian Millington (26) led Students to 6/114 from 20 overs. Fill-in Bryan Cake took 2/2 in the final over, Edwards, Burridge, Savige & Biggins each took a wicket.
Garry Edwards was the only batsman to make double figures in reply, making 12 as Moe were bundled out for 47. Edwards moved past 1500 Moe club runs in the process. Congrats Gaz! Isles took 4 wickets for the visitors, with Kee & Bastin also taking two each.
On the synthetic, Mirboo North scored 11 runs off the final over, 2 off the final ball (5/91 off 20) to pass Imperials 5/90 (20)
Game 2 – Moe v Imperials
Marcus Twomey (53*rt) led Imperials to 6/102 off their 20 over allotment. Jones 18 & Smith 12 also reached double figures. Matt Burridge took 2/16 with single wickets to Edwards, Biggins, Savige & Brady Cake. Randy Straughair took senior catch 100 in the Imps inning. Congrats Randy.
Veenman (5) & Straughair (16) got Moe to 20 without loss before losing 4/4. That became 6/14 shortly after. From 7/47, Frank Manduci (27* off 29) & Wyatt Addison (13 off 24) put on 30 to gain some respectability on the scoreboard. Savige (5) was dismissed on the final ball, Moe closing at 9/85, going down by 17 runs. Martin took 4/15 for Imps, with Sykes & Jones also taking two each.
On the synthetic the match was done in half of a full game overs allotment. Mirboo bowled out for 36 in 12 overs, Students winning 2 down in 8.
Premier C now break for Christmas though players should still train to put their hand up for B’s as there’ll be some unavailability the final Saturday so close to Christmas.
Premier A Grade – Toongabbie v Moe – Day 1
The Rams electing to bat didn’t pay off early as Jayasinghe (0) was bowled by Laytten Smith & Wheildon 1, was ran out by Keenan Hughes to reduce the hosts to 2/17. Amal Athulathmudali broke the game open in emphatic style, blasting 72 off just 42 balls, including taking Smith for 22 off an over. He was dismissed with the score on 101, just 29 not off his bat, caught behind to Hughes. Both Dunn’s fell to Phoenix either side of Athulathmudali’s dismissal. The last meaningful pairing came from Munasinghe (26) & Shippen (33), adding 44 for the 6th stand. The 6th wicket triggered a 5/40 collapse for the Rams to be dismissed for 204 in 66.3 overs. Hughes, on his first trip back to Toongabbie took 4/64 off 26.3 and got two run outs. Phoenix 2/21 off 9 & Smith 2/76 off 20 also picked up wickets. Jordan Shields 0/27 off 7 & Ritvik 0/4 off 4 were the other bowlers used.
The Lions had to bat 18 overs till stumps. Jesse Pheeney (2 off 26) was the only victim before the end of day’s play. His dismissal meant Rob Blunt (playing Day 2), a typical number 11, wouldn’t start next week’s play at the crease, which could’ve been comical. Rob Phoenix is 30* with Andrew Philip 6* are unbeaten as Moe sit 1/44, needing 161 runs this Saturday.
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