Author: IT Gully

PROVINCIAL MT ELIZA headed into the MPCA Christmas break clear on top of the Provincial table after knocking over reigning premier Peninsula Old Boys on Saturday. On the final day of cricket in 2016, the Mounties ripped through the usual unstoppable POB top order to have them on the back foot from the outset. Defending 263, the home side got rid of Dylan O’Malley (0), Wade Pelzer (6) and Matt Hyden (7) early to have the visitors on the back foot. Justin Savio picked up the prized scalps of Pelzer and Hyden while Shaun Knott grabbed the wicket of O’Malley.…

DISTRICT RYE lost its fourth match in outright fashion in MPCA District cricket on Saturday, this time against Baden Powell. The Braves raced up the ladder to fifth place and is now just four points behind third placed Delacombe Park and fourth placed Flinders. The Demons have had a horror season. They lost three matches outright from rounds two to four before losing yet again in outright fashion on Saturday. In round five Rye avoided outright loss by just two wickets and find themselves on the bottom of the ladder and odds-on to be relegated next season. Baden Powell started…

SUB-DISTRICT HASTINGS finished 2016 on top of the MPCA Sub District ladder, despite going down to Frankston YCW on Saturday. Chasing 151 for victory and resuming at 3/18, the Blues had a lot of work to do with the bat on day two of the contest. The Stonecats were up to the challenge though, given their 2016/17 season was dependent on them winning the match. The Blues were rolled for just 103, YCW skipper Andrew Kitson doing the bulk of the damage with 4/31, while Craig Burch snared 3/22 from 14 overs. Sam Fulton also picked up 2/21. Mitch Floyd…

PROVINCIAL BAXTER’S Chris Brittain smashed his second big century in as many matches on Saturday as his side posted 7/363 against Crib Point. Brittain belted 10 sixes and nine fours in his massive knock of 181, backing up the 155 he hit against Mornington the match before. Both the Magpies and Doggies have some of the best bowlers running around in the MPCA. In addition to two massive tons, Brittain has also hit two half centuries against Langwarrin and Sorrento this season, giving him almost 500 runs for the year. Former Victorian wicket keeper and South Australian coach Darren ‘Chuck’…

DISTRICT MT MARTHA has continued its domination in District cricket, already picking up the 12 points against Main Ridge. Main Ridge have been a major disappointment this season with high expectations that they would be a real challenger in 2016-17. However, the Ridge’s form has been up and down and they find themselves mid-range on the ladder. On Saturday they batted first and were rolled for just 125. Michael Holmes opened with 27 and Billy Sakalis was the next best with 24. Shaun Foster was sent packing for a blob and skipper Gareth Wyatt was trapped in front for 17.…

SUB-DISTRICT TYABB has given itself very chance to beat Carrum and keep its season alive with an impressive performance with the bat on Saturday. Yabbies’ opener Nick Taranto hit 116 and number three Michael Edwards went agonising close to a century, scoring 96, to help the Yabbies to 4/270. Troy Hollingsworth was the best of the Lions’ bowlers with three of the four wickets, finishing his 30 overs with 3/92. Dromana is in some real strife as it tries to reign in Balnarring’s 206. The Hoppers did well with the ball to keep the Saints to a gettable total. Jye…

PROVINCIAL MT ELIZA has shot to the top of the MPCA Provincial ladder after recording its second outright victory for the season against Pines on Saturday. While the Mounties have moved to the top of the table, the top four have now given themselves a buffer of 24 points. Langwarrin, in fourth place, recording a convincing win against Moorooduc with leaders Jake Prosser and Travis Campbell starring with the bat. Baxter star Chris Brittain was at his sensational best with an amazing 155 to help his side record a 50 plus run win against Mornington. Peninsula Old Boys are in…

DISTRICT A LOG-JAM continues at the top of the ladder in MPCA District cricket after the conclusion of round five on Saturday. There are nine teams all within a game of the top four with Red Hill, Flinders and Mt Martha all providing themselves with a little buffer after recording wins on Saturday. Both Red Hill and Flinders failed in their attempt to record outright wins over Main Ridge and Rye respectively on Saturday after being in strong positions to do so, however, still recorded strong victories. Mt Martha didn’t have things all their own way against Seaford Tigers but…

SUB-DISTRICT HASTINGS sits alone at the top of the MPCA Sub District ladder after smashing Carrum Downs on Saturday. The Blues took 20 wickets for just 164 runs against the Cougars, giving them a 14 point break at the top of the ladder. It was one of Carrum Downs’ worst results in recent times while Hastings appears to be flexing its muscles after a couple of years in lean times. In other round five results, Dromana won a nail biter against Tootgarook, Carrum was too strong for Balnarring, Ballam Park upset Frankston YCW and Skye recorded a rare win against…

SUB-DISTRICT HASTINGS will be keen to pick up an outright win on the second day of its match against Carrum Downs in MPCA Sub District cricket. The Blues bowled out the Cougars for just 62 runs in 27.3 overs on Saturday. Luke Hewitt set Thomas Barclay Oval alight with 6/22 from 13.3 overs, including seven maidens. Mitch Floyd did the damage at the other end with 2/19 from eight overs. Jordy Watters was the highest run scorer for the Cougars with 19, while David Dervan with 13 was the only on player to reach double figures. In reply, the Blues…

DISTRICT RED Hill bounced back on the first day of its round five match against at Red Hill Reserve. The Hillmen were less than average against Mt Martha in the last round, giving up top spot on the ladder, however, the home side hit back against the Ridge on Saturday. Red Hill rolled the visitors for just 103, Lincoln Toy the destroyer with 4/12 from 10.3 overs, while Glenn Collett was at his best also with 2/31 from 20 overs. Simon Dart is always in the game and his 2/12 was important. In reply, the HIllmen are cruising at 1/64,…

PROVINCIAL LANGWARRIN is in the box seat to win its match against Moorooduc in round five of MPCA Provincial cricket after having yet another good day in the field. The Kangaroos fielding and bowling has been a key to them sitting in the top four and it was at the forefront of their performance again on Saturday. The Ducs were bowled out for 155, Shamith Kannangara the top scorer with 38 after he was dropped on 30. Brett Wilson opened with 33 and David Greensmith put together 20. The home side just couldn’t put together a partnership (highest was 24),…

PROVINCIAL LANGWARRIN sits in third position on the MPCA Provincial table after pulling off a remarkable victory against Long Island. The Kangaroos are far from the most talented list in the competition, however, they are playing a brand of cricket that is based on team spirit, pressure and taking pride in personal performance. Already this season the Kangas have beaten more fancied opponents Somerville, Crib Point and Long Island, all sides that played finals last season. On Saturday, Langwarrin had no right to beat the Islanders. Resuming at 9/101, the Kangas lasted another nine overs and added a further 27…

DISTRICT MAIN Ridge got its season back on track, picking up maximum points against Rye in MPCA District cricket. After losing the opening game of the season to Delacombe Park, the Ridge have had a draw against Rosebud and an unconvincing win against Boneo in round three. Rye resumed its first innings at 7/26 after the Ridge declared at 5/294. The Demons soldiered on early on the second day with Andrew Hitchener offering great resistance to score 76 and help his side get to 143. Hitchener scored another 25 in the second innings and Dean Collins top scored with 55,…

SUB-DISTRICT HASTINGS pulled off a thrilling three run win against neighbour Tyabb in the fourth round of MPCA Sub District on Saturday. After scoring 277 on the opening day of the clash with Luke Hewitt getting 71 and Nathan Hunt 59, the Blues’ bowlers needed to step up to the plate. The game was in the balance all afternoon with Tyabb’s middle order not able to capitalise on solid starts and the Blues’ bowlers picking up wickets at important times. However, with Tyabb opener Aidan Pateman scoring 106 at the top of the innings, the Yabbies were always in the…

PROVINCIAL MT ELIZA is in the box seat for victory after scoring 285 against Moorooduc on a difficult day to play cricket across the peninsula on Saturday. The Mounties scored at a quick rate in its 62 overs with skipper Justin Grant scoring 59, Tim Strickland 56 and keeping opener Tim Clarke getting 54. Ben Marsh was outstanding for the Ducs with 5/96 off 20 overs, giving him his biggest wicket haul for the season. Greg Pullen was also lively for the Ducs with 3/67 from 16 overs. In reply, Moorooduc is 1/32 after Brett Wilson was sent packing without…

SUB-DISTRICT MPCA star Matthew Whelan was at his very best again on Saturday, scoring 128 as Tootgarook racked up 7/307 against Carrum. The century takes Whelan to more than 200 runs for the season and maintains his status as the most dynamic and devastating player in MPCA Sub District cricket. The Frogs got away to a sensational start though, which allowed Whelan to attack the game. Travis French scored 57 and Corey DeBruyn 50 in an opening stand of 104 while Jake Millar hit 23 of the next 74 runs batting with Whelan. Cory Foster was the best of the…

DISTRICT MAIN Ridge is staring down the barrel of an outright victory against Rye after dominating the first day’s play. Rye was sent in to bat after Main Ridge scored 5/294 in the opening 60 overs of the match. In the final 20 overs of the day, Rye slumped to 7/26. There is no hope of the Demons avoiding yet another outright loss. Ed Aarons scored 84 and Gareth Wyatt 76 for the Ridge while Michael Holmes opened with a half century and Shaun Foster hit 36. Rye’s Tom Baron was the pick of the bowlers with 4/88 from 26…

PROVINCIAL SORRENTO sits in the bottom half of the MPCA Provincial ladder after being convincingly beaten by Baxter on Saturday. The Sharks resumed at 2/13, chasing Baxter’s first innings total of 7/298. Despite some resistance in the middle order from Liam O’Connor (50) and Bobby Wilson (53), the Sharks were unable to reel in the total. Brandon Rulach also worked hard in the middle order for the Sharks with 36 but it could only drag the total to 223 from 75.1 owners, handing Baxter a 65 run win. Chamika Sattambi finished with 3/35 from 15 overs after snaring 2/7 on…

SUB-DISTRICT TOOTGAROOK and Hastings stand alone at the top of the MPCA Sub District ladder after the opening three rounds of the season. Tootgarook recorded an easy victory of Skye on Saturday to shoot to the top of the table while Hastings won a tight match against Balnarring. There is then a log-jam of five teams a game behind on 18 points. Balnarring offered plenty of resistance in its game against the Hastings. The Blues scored 245 on the opening day of the match and had the Saints reeling at 3/26 overnight. However, the home side dug deep and got…

DISTRICT RED Hill has already opened up a gap on the ladder against the rest of the MPCA District teams after the conclusion of the third round. The Hillmen sit on 44 points, a game clear of Mt Martha (32), while Flinders (30) and Heatherhill (26) make up the top four. Red Hill were too good for Seaford Tigers on Saturday. Skipper Simon Dart hit an unbeaten 101 as the visitors took their time getting to 6/151 in 65 overs to get the 12 points. Resuming at 2/14, Red Hill needed to get themselves back into the game and while…

DISTRICT Rye’s pain continued in round three of MPCA District cricket after losing 14 wickets in 45 overs against Mt Martha on Saturday. After a disastrous 2015-16 season which saw the Demons relegated, they have started the new season picking-up where they left off – in trouble! In just two and a half games of cricket so far this season, the Demons have lost a staggering 42 wickets for just 312 runs. On Saturday against the Reds, the Demons batted first and were rolled for just 79 in 35 overs. Rhys Whitling snagged five wickets for Mt Martha while Matt…

SUB-DISTRICT YOUNG Frankston YCW top order batsman Jack Greenwood scored his maiden First XI century against Dromana in Sub District cricket on Saturday. Greenwood has always looked like being a run machine and he found his groove in a dominant performance batting at four on the weekend, scoring 102 of his side’s total of 232. With support coming from Jason Bedford (23) and Brett Hudgson (25), Greenwood was able to notch up his first ton. Jye Voelkl picked up 3/36 off 14 overs for the Hoppers while Jeff Bluhm helped himself to 3/34 off 12 overs. Having to face the…

PROVINCIAL PENINSULA Old Boys’ and Baxter stars Dylan O’Malley and Daniel Warwick continued their dominant starts to the season with a massive 154 and 141 respectively in Round 3 of Provincial cricket on Saturday. O’Malley has already chalked up over 200 runs in three hits this season with scores of 24, 46 and now 154 against Pines on the weekend. Fellow opening bat Wade Pelzer has also blasted his way into the new season with 130 run in three innings after scoring 94 against Pines. Peninsula Old Boys finished their 80 overs in excellent condition at 5/345. Matty Hyden scored…

RAIN was the only winner in MPCA cricket on Saturday. There was some cricket played throughout the competition and there were some results, however most games ended in draws. Provincial In Provincial cricket, all matches ended in draws despite a few overs being bowled throughout the afternoon. Langwarrin got out in the middle against Baxter, chasing down 256 for victory. Play was ended with the home side 4/93, Simon McEvoy top scoring for the Kangas with 42. Dale Irving picked up a couple of wickets for Baxter while Chris Brittain and Justin Bridgeman snagged one each. The only other play…

PROVINCIAL MORNINGTON are just seven wickets away from a comprehensive victory against Pines in MPCA Provincial cricket after 13 wickets fell on the first day. The Doggies had the Piners reeling at 3/8 at the close of play after the visitors had to face the final six overs of the afternoon. The only good news for the Piners is that of the three wickets that fell, only one was a recognised batsman (Jarred Coad). Rhys Chalkley remains at the crease with Harley Peace-Stirling while Craig Entwistle and Damien Lawrence are still to come. The visitors will be chasing down 193…

DISTRICT RYE were taken back to the horrors of last season when they came up against Red Hill in MPCA District cricket on Saturday. Despite coming down a grade after being humiliated last season, the Demons wound back the clock a full year when it lost 16 wickets in a day for just 64 runs. The Demons were sent in to bat on the opening day of their match at Red Hill Reserve, lasting just 21.4 overs as they were bowled out for 32. Jarrod Saw with 14 was the only Rye bat to score double figures. Glen Collett was…

SUB-DISTRICT HASTINGS is on the verge of losing its round two match against Tootgarook in MPCA Sub District cricket. The day started alright when the Blues won the toss and elected to bat in good conditions. However, when skipper Robbie Hearn was dismissed for just one by AJ King, things didn’t get a lot better. Jake Hewitt was superb again for the home side in the middle order with 48 while Ashley Coles hit a very timely 61 after scoring 84 in the Seconds the week before. The Blues were eventually rolled for 164 in the 51st over. Matt Whelan…

PROVINCIAL PEARCEDALE has started its 2016-17 Provincial cricket season in fine fashion after knocking over last year’s minor premier, Crib Point, in Saturday’s season opener. The Panthers have moved from Sub District to Provincial in the past two seasons after winning the past two premierships. There was no bigger test than coming up against Crib Point in Round 1 in a one-day match on Saturday. The Magpies won the toss and elected to bat on their home deck, scoring a defendable 5/162 against the new kids on the block. The Panthers started well with Brad Trotter (26) and Matt Cousland…

DISTRICT RED Hill started its 2016-17 District season in fine fashion, making light work of Boneo. The Hillmen batted first after winning the toss and scored 4/205, thanks largely to Matthew Merifield, who blasted the only ton of the round – 114. Recruit Carl Robinson scored 23 on debut, as did Simon Dart. Robinson also took 1/31 from seven overs. In reply, the Pandas could put together only 7/136 from its 40 overs. Dart was superb opening the bowling, claiming 3/14 from five overs, while Glenn Collett was superb also with 1/20 from 10 overs with the new pill. Flinders…