The 1st XI went into the 2nd of three One Day Matches against Strathfieldsaye playing a home game at Weeroona Oval for the one and only time this season. With both teams looking to rebound from disappointing performances last week and gain a victory necessary to keep their finals hopes alive. Kecky lost the toss and Sandhurst was asked to field first. A change to the new ball partnership saw Tim Williams rewarded for some great performances to date and partner Geoff McLean with the new ball. Both did an excellent job as Geoff’s opening spell went for just 8 from 6 Overs and Tim Williams was extremely unlucky to only finish with 1 wicket as he finished with just 23 runs from his 10 Overs.
The pressure finally told on Strath’s top order as Tim Robertson bowling 1st change picked up 3 wickets to see the Jets 4 for 43 from 20 Overs. Strath coach Dave Rosaia then held the remainder of the innings together combining for several key partnerships as Strathfieldsaye finished 7/218 from their 50 overs. Tim Robertson finished with the impressive figures of 4 for 30 from 10 overs.
With another middle of the road run chase on their hands Mark Holland was pushed up the order to pinch hit and ensure Sandhurst got off to a quick start. After a 30 run opening stand Brock (30) & Nick combined for a 50 run partnership as some tight bowling from the Jets meant we were being bogged down in the middle stages of the innings, but with wickets in hand still well in control of the match. Nick Scullie was again the backbone of the innings and despite his dismissal for 78 and the manipulation of the rules by the Jets with 5 wickets in hand the middle and lower order who had been starved of opportunity of late were still expected to get us over the line.
Anthony West & Paul Robins under immense pressure delivered the crucial partnership adding 43 from just 31 balls leaving just 6 required from 7 balls. The result was all but secured when with the final ball of the 49th over Westy played a delicate late cut that raced away to the 3rd man boundary leaving just 2 required from the final over. Having mysteriously decided against bringing back their opening bowler Travis Crouch obviously didn’t feel the need for any sighters and smashed the 1st ball of the final over in the infield to a vacant Long On fence and secure a memorable victory.
Anthony West’s match winning 35 not out from just 24 balls earned him Man of The Match.
2nd XI @ Strathfieldsaye
In a key battle of 1st Vs 3rd at Strathfieldsaye Tipper called correctly and thus gave the boys the chance to get runs on the board first. Tipper wasted no time in taking to some wayward bowling early on from the Jets making a brisk 49 in 44 balls adding 83 for the 1st wicket with Ben Leed. Ben then combined for a 50 run 2nd wicket partnership with Joel Schneider. Joel then anchored the remainder of the innings combining with Pasky (41) for a 78 run 4th wicket partnership. From there the scoreboard continued to tick over and Joel bought up a game breaking century in the final over to finish 103 not out off just 127 balls with 11 boundaries. The side finishing with 8 for 279 from its 50 overs.
With another stellar batting performance the 2nds had again gained the ascendancy for the bowlers to come in and do their job to go out and look to take wickets knowing they had plenty of runs on the board to defend. The Strath side possess’ a strong batting line up, but two early wickets to Sticky Russell (2/35 off 10) and a run out to Jason O’Neill had the Jets on the back foot at 3/55 from 15 overs. From there, with the Jets requiring more than 6 an over Tipper again shared the bowling around using 7 bowlers who all helped build the pressure. The total looked safe a long way out as the Jets ran out of batsmen chasing the huge total being bowled out for 231 in the 47th over. Securing a 38 run win and cement a spot in the all-important top two. Darren Craig was the leading wicket taker with 3/49.
Joel Schneider was awarded Man of The Match for a superb 103 not out that had every one especially Pete a little excited.
3rd XI @ Weeroona Oval.
The 3rd XI met the always-strong Strathfieldsaye side at Weeroona Oval under bright blue skies at Weeroona Oval. On the back of 3 straight wins, the side entered the match with a degree of confidence after some solid performances either side of Christmas. Trewy won the toss and batted on a good-looking deck, but we were soon on the back foot with both openers back in the pavilion in just the 5th over. Tristan Bayliss then combined with Alex Trump making a rare appearance in the 3rds for the only meaningful partnership of the innings for 28 before Tristan was dismissed for 12. It sparked a horrendous collapse of 7 for 22 with Trumpy the only other batsman to reach double figures.
The batsmen just couldn’t handle Strath opening bowler Cameron Emond who picked up the first 6 wickets of the innings to finish with 6 for 31 from 9 overs. The miserly total of 64 was somewhat aided by the 16 wides and 2 no balls bowled by Strath’s bowlers who managed to dismiss our side in just the 18th over.
Looking to take something out of the game Sandhurst took to the field and save some percentage that could be important come the end of the season. Unfortunately this wasn’t to be, as the Jets opening batsmen took to our bowlers and knocked off the 65 runs required in under 10 overs. The result is a real jolt to the side who were missing a couple of key players and they now need to work hard to get back in final contention with a return 2 day match against Strathfieldsaye to come later in the season.
With such a poor team performance No man Of The Match was awarded.
Looking Ahead
The 1sts have now squared the ledger at 3 wins, 3 losses and a no result to remain a game outside the top 4. The 2nds remain on top and undefeated with 6 wins including an outright and a no result from 7 games. Whilst the 3rds drop back to 3 wins and 4 losses and have some work to do to make it into the finals.
Next week is 3rd & final scheduled One Day match of the season against Huntly North Bendigo at the scenic Strauch Reserve for the 1sts (Saturday & 3rds (Sunday) while the 2nds return to Weeroona Oval all needing to be on top of their game as none of the sides can afford a slip up and ensure we collect a clean sweep of senior results heading into the final 3rd of the season.
- The Giraffe