The weekend gone saw a tough loss in the 1s, a horrible collapse in the 2s, but dominant victories in the 3s and 4s. The highlight for the Juniors was an outright victory in the 15s, whilst the 14s also secured the chocolates.
1st Grade: Melville amassed a daunting 6/304 on the back of centuries to Luke “Eiffel” Towers (111) and Matthew “E. Coyote” Wiley (103*). Our bowlers toiled with spin twins Kyle “Sandilands” Millar and Matt “Anthrax” Spoors combining for 2/44 and 2/66 respectively. Our Roo boys never really got the run chase off the ground, slumping to 5/86 before grinding to 153. Rob “Barry” Richards was our best performer with 34, with Kyle “Keith” Millar making 33 and Chris “Squelch” Quelch making a cameo 26.
2nd Grade: Josh “Kallis Trump” Quelch led the way with 4/44 as the Magoos dismissed Melville for 227. Q was supported well by Donnie “Love Boat” Fryer (2/24) and Mike “90s Goatee” Ardagh (2/42). In reply, our Roos started steadily but lost 7/9 and couldn’t recover to be bowled out for 163. Donnie “Don Juan” Fryer top scored with 40.
3rd Grade: Damon “Peter” Parker (42) got the Magees off to a decent start before a middle order stumble had the scoreboard looking bleak at 6/88. With all the swagger of Russell Crowe entering the Coliseum, skipper Graeme “Maximus” Atkinson strode to the centre of Tompkins Park 2 and owned it for the rest of the day. Gra carried his team to 216 on the back of his 111, well supported by our determined lower order. Melville looked to have the upper hand at lunch on the 2nd day, tucking into a Storm Burger or two with the score at 2/82. The next generation of Roo stars stepped up emphatically to take the next 8 wickets for just 54 runs and dismiss Melville for 143. Tyler “Tonga” Ong (3/29) was superb into the wind in his 3rd Grade debut, and genuine allrounder Matt “Field-setting Genius” Purcell broke the back of the middle order with 3/41. Jordan “Foam Party” Slattery took a crucial 2/20, and Bhargav “B-Train” Jayani took 1/18 and threw down the stumps for the win.
4th Grade: Batting first at Kingsway, 4th Grade debutant Joel “Ray” Charles peeled off a solid 55 before Jim “Mont” Di Carlo (70) and Leigh “Leeroy” Millar (39) steered the Al Gores to 223. Despite a batting lineup including a former Test cricketer, the Troops made short work of Melville, rolling them for 102. Saleem “The Human Cheese Grater” Ahmed (4/43) and Gagandeep “Gangnam-Style” Singh (4/14) put on a clinic to catapult our Troops into the top 4.
17s: Our Roos stuttered to 139 despite a gritty 65 from Deon “Billy Dee Williams” Billington. Melville chased down the runs with four wickets in hand, despite Caiden “The Slug” Eaton (3/32) trucking hard.
15s: It was a brilliant effort by our young Roos at Kingsway 2, with Melville being rolled for just 91 on the back of a superb 5/10 from Sharad “Insert Witty Nickname Later” Jessani. In response, Mitch “How is he old enough to be in the Foam Party?” Slattery dominated the Melville attack to make 74 not out, putting the team first at the expense of a potential ton as Melville was sent back into bat. The Roo boys then proceeded to Roll Melville for just 89, securing sweet, sweet outright victory! Harrison “Gudinski” Kepinski (4/12) and Taj “Michael” Schofield (3/11) were the pick of the bowlers this time around. Well done lads!
14s: Jack “Sprat” Maraldo scored a classy 92* as our 14s knocked off Joondalup by 49 runs at Iluka. Cody “Billy Cee Williams” (2/13), Jaymin “Dipak” Patel (2/14) and Xavier “X-Man” Lloyd (2/23) were the best with the ball.
13s: Our youngest Roos had a tough day with the bat, being dismissed for just 59 by Joondalup. Despite trucking hard, Joondalup chased down the wickets with all wickets in tact.
For full results, visit our Match Centre vs. Melville: www.wanneroodcc.com.au/match-centre-wdcc-vs-melville/