In the last weekend of cricket before the Christmas and New Year break MUCC managed 3 wins from the 6 grades. The individual highlight of the round was a maiden century to youngster Liam Alexander in the MCA XI. Winning 3 out the 4 premier grades meant that 5th position in the Club Championship was maintained.
At the Uni Main the 1s won the toss and inserted Northcote. It proved an ideal decision when Greg Kennedy collected the opening scalp in just the 2nd over. Early pressure from Nick Williams (1 for 28 off 10 including 4 maidens) and Kennedy (2 for 34) put the heat right on the Dragons. Scott Sanders then played a great cameo with the ball. Bowling just 11 balls before been struck down with a hip injury he managed to take 2 for 7 and affect a run out from his own bowling to have the Dragons 5 for 53. The only decent partnership for the innings ensured a score with some respectability. In the end coach Brett Harrop (2 for 27) cleaned up the tail with 2 in 2 balls to have Northcote all out for 153. Antony Keely and Nick Ellsmore also collected a wicket each.
In response there were some initial thoughts on achieving the bonus point before settling down to achieve the 4 points. Always ahead of the run rate the result was never really in doubt. All batsmen except Ellsmore reached double figures yet Brett Murphy with 30 was the top scorer. In the end Tim O’Brien (28 not out) and Williams saw the side home with 5 overs to spare.
A fantastic workmanlike team effort now sees the 1s just outside the 8 in 10th position. A win in the day nighter at Shepparton in the country round could see the side up into the 8.
The MUCC 2nd XI have a disastrous record against Northcote. So it is fair to say they were a slightly nervous bunch heading out to William Morris Lawry Oval.
Returning to the captain’s role Hugh van Cuylenburg won the toss and elected to bat on a wicket that was pretty much the opposite of Timmy Robertson's new hair cut. Flat, low and slow. Thanks largely to Eben Martin's (55) hard work against the new ball, we were able to build a nice platform from which Daniel 'Doc Party' Hibbert was able to launch. Hibbert was outstanding, with a commanding innings of 87. His mature decision making and fabulous stroke play saw MUCC reach a sound tally of 226 from the 50 overs. Fine contributions from Mark Simpson (23) and pinch hitter Brendan Goonan (11 runs all singles along the ground) were other highlights.
Northcote opened up their innings with some brave and cavalier stroke play, which saw them rocket to 55 without loss in 7 overs. Thanks to Michael Nalesnyik however, the students broke through and set about regaining momentum. Great spells from Steve Carlile, Nalesnyik and Hibbert saw the game slowly turn in our favour. Goonan was then brought back into the attack delivering a devastating blow in the form of 3 wickets in four balls - an achievement Anthony Barton claimed to be a spilt hat trick!
At 8 for 140 and then 9 for 160, we all started to prepare mentally for the fancy dress symposium. Large error. The Dragons took it to the last over and required only 10 to win. Thankfully, the Dragons number 4 bat, who was on 58 no. was still unable to hit them off the square and we managed to claim his scalp with 4 balls remaining. Uni take the chocolates. The fielding highlight was the great catch taken Mark Simpson. The win takes the side to 5th on the ladder.
The 3rd XI played a match that few want to remember. After winning the toss the side could only manage to score a paltry 69. Then even more embarrassingly the Northcote openers managed to knock the target off in just 13.2 overs. In a bitterly disappointing result the 3s have now slipped to 5th on the ladder. A one day finals spot will be on the line taking on Fitzroy-Doncaster after the break.
The 4s lost the toss and were sent into bat on what appeared to be a green top. The two openers Apurwa Sarve (22) and Matt Kiely (13) gave the team a good start with MUCC having put on 41 in 13 overs. A few quick wickets saw MUCC 3/68 in the 24th over before Jarryd Crisp anchored the innings scoring 35. On his call up to the 4th XI side Nick Snowdon injected some much needed momentum, scoring his maiden 50 which included 6 boundaries. Some good hitting at the end by Lincoln Loi including a straight six off the fiery Northcote left armer saw MUCC post a very competitive 8/193.
The opening bowlers provided the perfect start with each snaring an opposition opening batsman within the first powerplay. Northcote's no. 4 batsman showed some intent and began to lift the run rate before the brakes were put back on with the introduction of the MUCC spinners. Fielders worked hard all day producing 3 runouts including a direct hit from young Jesse Hristovski. Northcote's no.4 continued to ride his luck until he was dismissed on 90 with a courageous effort from Loi taking a match winning catch that reopened his split webbing. The bowlers Tim Wetherell (1/22), Sarve (1/17), Josh Van Cuylenburg (2/30) and captain Mark Bhattacharyya (3/13) took regular wickets to bowl the Dragons out for 155. The 4s are now 2nd on the ladder heading into the Christmas break and 3rd on the One Day Ladder.
MUCC 5ths disappointingly lost outright, although we were not embarrassed, going down fighting with just 10 players in week 2 after a disastrous first week. Scores MUCC 99 & 9/196 def by Indigos 8/255 dec & 5/42. The day belonged to 3 MUCCers with Laban Ditchburn (4/72) taking two morning wickets to narrowly miss out on a five for and Adam Pustola taking his 3rd for the innings. MUCC were then sent back in to bat on a good, though a little up and down Crawford wicket. The third and brightest star for the day was Liam Alexander, who was elevated up the order to bat at number 3 and relished the opportunity, scoring his maiden century and the first for the MUCC 5th eleven for the season, finishing on 105no. At the other end support came from the wicket taker Laban Ditchburn, who did his best to regain his spot in the 4ths scoring a confident 46.
Finally, having set the Indigos the narrow target of 41 for outright victory, Laban again starred with 3 more wickets (7 for the match), while Adam Pustola continued his terrific season with the ball taking two more (5 for the match). Only some hard hitting from one of the Indigos batsmen got them over the line with 27 of their runs coming from his as 5 of his team mates were dismissed at the other end. Overall a good fighting effort by MUCC who will aim to regain solid form and push for a finals spot after Christmas.
The VWCA XI lost the toss and after a disappointing time in the field, Edinburgh scored 4/195 from 39 overs in the allocated time. The opening four bowlers each took a wicket with Ellie Button (1/46) and Madeleine Mitchell’s (1/33) 20 overs from the southern end resulted in just 79 runs. Going into bat Uni needed 5 an over to equal Edinburgh. Ledene (14) and Katie (41) opened the batting and slowly turned the score over in comparison to Edinburgh. Where they timed and placed the ball well, we miss-hit to fielders. The outfield appeared slower for this innings and later we learned that this could be a result of the blades of grass following the afternoon sun (still not sure we should believe it!). Even with 9 wickets in hand at drinks it was not looking good with just 51 runs on the board. A run out and couple of poorly timed shots later, Uni found themselves at 4/91. With only a tiny chance of chasing down the score Rachel (30*) and Madeleine (20*) combined for a 63 run fourth wicket partnership to push the total to 4/154 after 39.
The players joined by family and friends following the uni oval game for a BBQ – thanks to everyone who helped out on the day.