Here are the latest Brunswick Cricket Club match reports...
Firsts 8/215 V St Bernards 5/219
Losing Hilly to the selected side saw him replaced by Ollie Price who had been knocking on the door for selection all of last season. SoS stepped up to captain the team & duly won the toss & elected to bat. A quick fire start from Cob (Chris Thewlis 15 off 9) who was out @ 1/21, followed shortly thereafter by SoS (5), then Mossy (11) and Stutts (20). At 4/107 we consolidated well with Ollie (27) & Coops continuing his excellent form & batting with a runner took us to 5/158. After another excellent knock, Coops (77) unfortunately went @ 6/169. A couple of ??? shots selections saw us fall to 8/177, however Ameya (16no) & Dan (20no), put on a brisk partnership of 38 to take us to at least a competitive 8/215. Each time we looked to challenge & put St Bernards under pressure we lost the momentum with the loss of a wicket.
St Bernards got off to a flyer & took full toll of anything with width or length taking advantage of the quick outfield & short boundary. Faruk got the initial break through @ 1/87, followed by Lou clean bowling their no 3 for a duck & then the other opener in quick succession 3/101 keeping us in the game. The run rate saw us needing to take all 10 to get the points, however we again were unable to get another pole until Dan bowled Kett with the score 4/158 giving us a glimmer of hope. St Bernards were able to string another partnership of 42 together & with the score 5/200 & then pass our total with 29 balls to spare. Lou 2/37, Dan 1/51, Faruk 1/46, Ameya 0/30, Mossy 0/27 & Ollie 0/22.
A number of learnings form this game & with a 2/1 start we return to Gillon next week with an opportunity to get back on the winners list.
A big thanks to Zac Chamberlain for scoring, Gibbo & John Martyr for sub fielding for Coops - great examples of putting the club first.
Seconds 193 V St Bernards 8/206
In a game that had more twists than a Bollywood thriller, St Bernards eked out a 13-run win over a plucky Wicks team still looking for their first win of the season.
Evan won the toss and sent St Bernards in. STBOC got off to a brisk start, with danger man Kiker looking imposing coming off scores of 130* and 90 in his last two games, only to be caught by Hallsy off a Gibo long hop for 24. Bernards steadily lost some wickets to open the door for Brunny going from 0/50 to 4/88.
As the innings progressed, we watched on in semi amusement as the skipper of STBOC went about his business steadily, but always about half a second away from puking up his guts (unsure whether it was self-inflicted or not), steering his team toward a respectable 8/206 with an unbeaten 58* including a few big sixes. The tail swung lustily and put on 79 in the last ten. Fielding left a bit to be desired including an over to remember for Johnny Martyr who dropped two catches and taking one in between. As we came off the field, we felt that we’d let the “snow dogs” get away with 20 too many, which ended up being the difference. Bowling was shared; with Potter (2/43), Giblett (2/25) & Welsh (2/16) leading the way for the Wicks.
Brunswick’s chase began with a lot of promise with John Martyr hitting a couple of boundaries before giving first slip some catching practice. Evan and Mitch thought that we hadn’t given the blokes behind the stumps enough slips catching and followed in similar fashion leaving us 3/30 and a long way off 207. The middle order steadied and the better Bon, Dave showed his class making his way to 34 before wanting to join the 2nd XI way and burning himself at the keeper’s end.
Hallsy (with surprisingly his first 50 for the club) and Zaine (30) gave Brunswick a flicker of hope, batting in matching hats and absolutely swinging from the hip (with not a lot of quick singles). But live by the sword, die by the sword and with both out in quick succession it left Brunswick with a small mountain to climb needing 30 odd in 7 overs. Gibo and the man dubbed “noodle arms” by the opposition (Tom Baker) gave a glimmer of hope putting on 20 odd for the last wicket and getting Brunny within 13 before the final wicket fell.
St Bernards’ bowling was tighter than Ollie Price’s wallet, and their fielders somehow held onto their catches, which ended up being the difference.
And so, the tale ends with St Bernards as the victors, and Brunswick left to ponder a game where every run—and every dropped catch—counted. On to next week and Croydon in Croydon (yay!)
Thirds 9/157 V St Bernards 156
Brunswick 3rd XI pulled off a thrilling 1-wicket win over St Bernard’s OC in a match that showcased both grit and skill. Batting first, St Bernard’s managed 156, largely stifled by Gareth Cox-Martin’s exceptional 5-wicket haul, which he achieved for just 29 runs. Declan Smith supported well with 2 for 27, and Thomas Burn claimed a wicket while Brunswick’s keeper, Stephen Mead, contributed significantly with 7 sharp catches that curtailed St Bernard’s scoring opportunities.
Brunswick’s reply began shakily, losing early wickets and struggling to establish partnerships. When they looked in danger of falling short, Stephen Mead stepped in with a critical 51 off 64 balls, stabilizing the innings and setting the stage for a push to victory. Cox-Martin followed up his bowling heroics with a quick 36 off 30 balls, delivering crucial late-order runs. Declan Smith, with a steady unbeaten 9, then held his nerve to see Brunswick over the line in the 38th over, reaching the target of 157 for a dramatic 1-wicket win.
Fourths 8/279 V St Bernards 113
In a dominant performance, Brunswick Cricket Club defeated St Bernard’s by a comfortable margin. Brunswick posted a total of 279, with Parth Pandya leading the charge on 51 runs. Jimmy contributed a valuable 40, while Geoff Senz (29) and L. Anderson (27) provided quick-fire runs, including 40 in the last five overs. St Bernard’s struggled in their chase, with Brunswick’s opening bowlers providing a strong start. They restricted St Bernard’s early on, limiting their scoring opportunities. Geoff Senz led the bowling attack, taking 4 wickets, and L. Anderson followed up with 3 wickets in his 6 overs, ensuring St Bernard’s were bowled out for just 113. The match also allowed Brunswick to rotate 8 bowlers, giving them valuable game time ahead of future fixtures. With this well-rounded performance, Brunswick looked like their old self, combining solid batting and effective bowling to seal the victory.
Saturday C tied (?) with Youlden Parkville
On a sunny Saturday morning at McDonald Reserve, the Cs took on Youlden Parkville. We welcomed veterans Shane Hicks and Mike Rowlands for their first games for Brunswick. Winning the toss, we chose to bat, and made a strong start reaching 2/85 after 21 overs. Captain Andrew led with an impressive 48 and Sid contributed a steady 19. But after drinks, we lost regular wickets until Obi added a crucial 22 which, with support from Shaik and Gunny, helped lift the team to a defendable 166.
In the field, Gunny claimed two early wickets with Hector keeping it tight at the other end. Obi and Gareth maintained the pressure, taking a wicket each. A 48 run partnership tilted the balance in YP's favour, before Shaik rattled the captain's stumps and a double breakthrough to Waqas kept the Wicks in the hunt. Another flurry of boundaries lifted Youlden Parkville within eight runs of victory, but Gunny turned the tide with two wickets in two balls. When Hector hit the number 11 in front in the following over, umpire Damian raised his finger and the Wicks had prevailed by three runs. Or so it seemed...
Sid’s flawless performance behind the stumps allowing zero byes on a challenging low wicket was vital. Scott’s valiant effort running back from point and Hector’s boundary catch in the dying stages were standout moments. The entire fielding unit displayed strong teamwork and support throughout the innings, and we held our nerve well in the tense final overs.
Postscript
As we left the field ready to celebrate a hard-earned victory, the opposition captain announced that the scorebooks didn't add up. Further inspection revealed that, while the running total in both books was 163 (the total on the scoreboard), the batting and bowling in one book added up to 166 (a tie), and the other book gave the victory to Youlden Parkville! Photos of the scorebooks were sent to MCA maestro Alec Kahn for a forensic audit, which revealed that the match was indeed a tie. Unfortunately there is no penalty for bad scoring, even when that led us to have fielders on the boundary in the final over, unknowingly allowing the singles that enabled YP to tie the game.
Saturday D 8/344 V Sacred Heart 177
Brunswick lost the toss and were sent in to bat at Fawkner Park against Sacred Heart. After a steady start from Brunswick's openers, Archie Liddell was dismissed for 23 with the score at 1/55. George Riley (100 retired not out) and Tom Martin (94) built a massive 169 run partnership before George was forced to retire upon scoring his century. When Tom was eventually dismissed, Brunswick had amassed a sizeable score of 3/305 from 40 overs. Dean Anderson (60*) worked with the middle and lower order to bat out the overs with Brunswick setting Sacred Heart 345 runs to win from 45 overs.
In the field Brunswick kept the pressure on, taking early wickets thanks to opening bowlers Bryce Sarah (3/44 from 7.3 overs) and Archie Liddell (1/16 from 4 overs). Abhiram Dudda (2/35 from 5 overs) picked up his first wickets for Brunswick, dismissing 2 set batsmen by knocking their stumps out of the ground. Edith Crouch (1/17 from 5 overs) took a great catch off her own bowling to take her first senior wicket for Brunswick. A few runs later, Bianca Anderson dismissed the Sacred Heart captain for a duck with a direct hit runout in her first senior game. Sacred Heart's Troy Shoesmith (75*) built a few partnerships with the tail, but Brunswick kept their cool and pressured the tailenders into mistakes, Niraj Pandy (1/25 from 5 overs) and Bryce bowling out Sacred Heart for 177, leaving Brunswick victors by 167 runs.
Sunday B 247 v Melbourne City 4/251
Sunday D 9/65 v Flemington Colts 9/180