25/1/26
Double 7-wicket wins yesterday for the Lions. Two great results and on a warm day, B’s back from Toon around the same time A’s finished and in the air-conditioned rooms at 3.30pm. Not bad.
Premier A Grade – v Imperials
Club Highlights – https://youtu.be/gVQIqp2OMCw?si=2aOrdO9LRsCed70x
Imperials visited Burrage Reserve aiming to do the double over Moe in this 5th vs 3rd contest. An early 10.30am start, and the Lions sent the Demons in.
At 3/41, (Morley 3, Shuttleworth 0, Blake 7), Imperials had lost their 3 highest run scorers for the season. Chapman (32) & Thilakarathne (18) took the visitors to 70 before being reduced to 7/73 in the 28th after a 4/3 collapse with Callum Grant taking 2.
After 12 overs of resistance from Donoghue (
& Aitken (31), Grant had his 3rd & 4th in the space of 3 balls to make it 9/93 in the 40th over. Aitken & Dunstan (12*) put on 38 for the highest partnership of the innings to give the visitors 131 to defend. Grant took 4/16 for Moe with wickets shared around an economical innings – Royce Colgrave 2/41 off 9, Anubhav 1/10 off 7 against his old side, Matt Hibbs 1/25 off 10 and Benn Zomer 1/28 off 10, only 20 off the bat.
Moe’s chase was very comfortable. Grant (12) fell at 1/36 before Rob Phoenix (41 off 37, including 8 fours) did the bulk of the scoring for the 38 run second wicket with Andrew Philip. Zomer added 13 before Hibbs 13* finished the innings with Philip for the bonus point win. Philip finishing unbeaten on 45* from 75 balls, including 4 fours & a six.
With the result, Moe overtake Churchill into 4th.
Next Up, Churchill away in a two dayer.
Premier B Grade – v Toongabbie
Moe headed to the picturesque Toongabbie Recreation Reserve, a fantastic facility for playing & watching cricket, surrounded by the iconic white picket fence. And a few degrees cooler than Newborough.
The Rams batted first with some fine bowling from youngster Aiden Savige (4/9 off 9) running through the top order, then beautifully executing a bouncer/yorker combo with the last two balls of his spell chasing a 5fa that wasn’t to be this time, but plenty to come in the future. Savige is now 2nd in the league in wickets! He was supported by Daniel Farmer at the other end who bowled economically for 0/10 off 9, wicketless having forced an edged chance that went begging.
First change saw Rob Blunt (1/9 off 9) & Ritvik Mahajan (1/13 off 6) take the ball, bowling tidily again to keep the pressure on with both claiming one scalp. Top-scorer Whitechurch (19) tried to break the shackles but was well-held by the pair before overs of work created an inside edge chance off Blunt that went to ground.
Haydn Edwards claimed Whitechurch swinging for the fences shortly after before superbly rolling through the tail, finishing with 4/4 from 4.5 overs. Toongabbie all out for 54 from almost 40 overs.
Moe’s chase got off to a disastrous start with Ash Savige 
out first ball of the innings. Evan Sheekey (16) scored every run off the bat in the 2nd wicket partnership before Kye Micallef became Jai Hazelman’s second scalp (2/25 off 5).
He could’ve had a third but Whitechurch had put down Sheekey, returning the favour from when Sheekey had put down Whitechurch only an hour or so earlier – how often does that happen in the same game?
Sheekey was then lbw…….to Whitechurch ironically (1/8 off 5) with no score change since Micallef’s dismissal. Moe were now 3/18 and in a spot of bother. Michael Johnstone (19*) & the recently returned Joel Jacovou (20*) steadied the ship and steered the Lions home for a 7-wicket win. The teams face off again in just 4 weeks time and Moe can probably expect an opposing side more reflective of the Rd 2 contest.
A tight table in Premier B – Moe sit 6th, just 2pts behind 4th, with Morwell unbeaten since Christmas one win behind them in 7th, overtaking Toongabbie this week. Every match is crucial from here on out. Moe face the top two teams at home (Ex-Students & Glengarry) the next two weeks with 4 matches against the Top 3 in the last 6 rounds.
Both C Grade divisions had the bye for the long weekend to lighten the load on clubs fielding 3 sides.
