Round 5 | Mt Eliza v Red Hill

Awaiting match report

Round 4 | Old Peninsula v Mt Eliza

Washed out

Round 3 | Heatherhill v Mt Eliza

Washed out.

Round 2 | Mt Eliza v Mornington

Having won the toss Mornington predictably opted to bat – however given the damp outfield was gradually drying up, we would likely benefit from a faster outfield… so not a bad toss to lose. We had the ideal start to kick off the 3rds 22/23 campaign as Axel Karlsson-Lacy snagged one of the openers caught behind in the second over.

Stand-in wicket-keeper Jack Newgreen nonchalantly gloved the catch, proving that he is indeed an all-round dynamo in the field (this is despite an extremely short pre-season). Mornington then dug in, offering plenty of resolve and ultimately denying Ax of any further wickets.

Up the other end Chooka Lacy bowled manfully – but without any luck at all. Time and time again the Mornington batters played and missed the ball, evidently Lace was simply doing too much. Notably Chooka bowled with high energy throughout all his 8 overs. (0/19 off 8 overs)

The fielders also enjoyed the (light hearted) commentary offered by Lace in his closing overs – particularly in relation to Turbo’s (one of Mornington’s stubborn batters) slow run rate. In the middle overs our spinners got the job done. Through tight bowling we started to gain the ascendancy as the run rate slowed to a trickle.

Harrison Watson bowled superbly with his left arm orthodox, demonstrating patience and guile beyond his years. Harry finished with a miserly 1/23 off his 8 overs.

It was however, the off-spin of Ayden Macpherson which broke Mornington hearts, as he collected 4 wickets during his 8 overs (4/39). Ayden’s off-spinners constantly threatened the Mornington batters, his deliveries spun and bounced sharply, with the kind of venom more often associated with wrist-spin bowling. Whilst slightly expensive at times – Ayden never wavered from the plan (which delighted his skipper). Great to see young Caleb Smith also chipping in with a wicket late. Caleb claimed 1/9 off his 3 overs.

Mornington compiled a total of 151 runs for the loss of 8 wickets from their 40 overs.

Noteworthy performances in the field were from Watson, Hicks and young Josh Ramm who was a late fill-in (thank you again Josh!). These boys tirelessly patrolled the boundary – indeed our ability to restrict the boundaries contributed greatly to the result. Special mention also must go to The Rat who fielded more like a Honeybadger than a rodent, demonstrating tremendous tenacity in the field at all times.

152 seemed a very gettable score (particularly on the Baker oval), and whilst Mornington bowled quite well at times, we passed their score in the 37^th over. As can be expected in the first game of the season some of our batters looked a bit scratchy.

Fortunately The Rat and Paul Goddard put on a fine partnership of around 80 or 90 runs, showing plenty of grit and determination along the way. The Rat ended up with 62 runs and Paul remained not-out with 41 runs. Congratulations to both of you.

Looking ahead, we play Heatherhill, again on the Baker oval – I expect they will be a more experienced side than Mornington. Accordingly I along with a few others will need to be more resolute with bat in hand to ensure another win.

In summary this was clearly a great start to the season, with meaningful contributions from nearly all. Great work guys! Once more a big thank you to Josh Ramm for filling in, Likewise to Ax and Chooka – your contributions on and off the field were greatly appreciated by all.