Group D, Match Day 1
Moe Lions vs Morwell Tigers
The opening matches of the revamped T20 competition saw the two Premier A Grade teams in group D face off (Moe v Morwell) and the two A Grade teams in the group oppose each other (Latrobe v Rovers).
Morwell fielded their full strength first XI, in line with their one day meeting in October. Moe featured just four from that match with a number of players from the lower grade, mostly B Grade, getting a taste of the higher level.
Morwell Innings-
After electing to bat, Morwell found themselves in trouble early courtesy of Robert Blunt (2/16 off 4), dismissing Homyoon (0) caught behind & Seymour (4) bowled without offering a short then followed it up with a fortunate run out at the bowlers end to get rid of Clymo (14). Ritvik (1/28) deepened the Tigers’ wounds having Cukier (0) out first ball to see them precariously sitting at 4/32.
Tim Ford (63 off 35) joined Jordan Campbell (67 off 43) to dig the Tigers out of trouble initially, before putting their side in a commanding position. The pair added 119 before they were both dismissed in consecutive overs at the hands of Blunt again, Ford a direct hit run out, then a catch off the bowling of Zomer (1/29) to end Campbell’s knock. Blake Mills (3) fell victim to another direct hit run out, this time by Keenan Hughes. Brincat 9* & Day 1* were at the crease at the closure, Morwell posting 7/164 from their 20 overs.
Moe Innings-
T20 Skipper Benn Zomer tried to set the tone right away, blasting the first ball of the innings to the fence. It was the only boundary he could muster though, caught off Brincat (2/16) for 7. Randy Straughair (5) became Brincat’s second victim and Jesse Pheeney (4) fell to Ford, Moe reduced to 3/18 early. That became 4/36 after 7 overs following Shields’ (7) dismissal, very similar to Morwell’s 4/32 at the same stage.
Like Ford & Campbell earlier, Keenan Hughes (51 off 41) & Noah Kane (39* off 40) put on a significant partnership (73) but not quite at the same rate. Hughes fell at 5/108 in the 17th over and he was quickly joined back in the pavilion by Finn (0). Kane & Edwards (8*) saw Moe close at 6/132 from 20 overs. They may have gone down by 32 runs, but didn’t lose any admirers – competing strongly despite the lineup discrepancy on paper.
Group D Update-
Elsewhere, Rovers 9/116 (20) def Latrobe 6/100 (20) to start their campaign with a win. Moe need to win both matches against Rovers & Latrobe to secure advancing without relying on other results.
Full Highlights – https://youtu.be/FtjOrPcl1bY?feature=shared
Group D – Match Day 2 (26/11)
Rovers v Moe & Latrobe v Morwell
