First Grade
Melville 10/162 (O’Day 3/31, Eaton 3/32, Billington 2/13, Poulter 2/38) def. by Wanneroo 254 (Newnham 89, Eaton 54, O’Day 32, Spangenberg 28)
After I lost my first toss for the season we were sent in on a 35 degree day to our delight. The pitch may have had a little in it early but it was playing a bit like Kingsway has been. At 4/36 we were in strife and Spangers had a hat trick ball to get through. I was in the change room still unpadding but supposedly he did stock standard Spang and cover drove the hatty ball for four. A good little partnership between him and Jimmy Newnham got us to 79 when Spang got out.
A great 90 run partnership between Jim and Mooga O’Day with some serious running between the wickets got us going and after Moogs got out Eaton batted with good intent and scored 54. Jim decided to change his gloves on 89 and got out the very next ball. Deserved a ton. 254 on a very slow outfield, I felt we had enough and it was nearly worth 300 on that field.
A great all round and professional performance with the ball saw not one Melville batsman get to 30. Lachy Poulter got the key wicket of Reed with an absolute seed through the gate to take the top of middle. A great opening spell from the big Chook saw them in strife at 3/38 with Poulter getting two key wickets. A small time later Mooga the genuine all-rounder as he will tell you bowled in a great partnership with Island Boy Caiden Eaton. A long spell of disciplined bowing by the two lads saw them collect 3/30 each with Billington chipping in with 2fa at the end of the day. We bowled them out for 162 at the stroke of tea, with Slattery taking two seriously good catches.
Well done lads as it was a serious bowling performance. Sending a message out to the rest of the comp!
Second Grade
Wanneroo 222 (Ardagh 53, Slattery 33, Kelsey 29, Holly 27) def. by Melville 6/226 (Smith 3/50, Fryer 2/33)
The morning started off with captain smudge winning the toss and electing to get runs on the new scoreboard. The openers got off to a great start with Michael Ardagh scoring a quick fire 50 before getting out a short time later. Wanneroo were going along at a good clip with score at 3/151 before a mass collapse saw the Roos lose 4/2. Jordan “big bomb” Slattery batting out of his skin made a very handy 33 including a maximum over mid-wicket. But we all would have heard about it as he has only mentioned it since 275 times. The Roos stumbled their way to 222 and had no success in the 4 overs they bowled at the end of the day.
The second week started with a great pitch report by Michael Ardagh as Vinnie was rolling the square and not the pitch which created some confusion. That didn’t stop the pitch having characteristics of Kingsway Road with no grass at all. Great toiling by all the bowlers with no wickets at 0/80 just after lunch. With one of those batsmen being on 70 Wanneroo needed something special. What better moment then for it to fall to Michael “I don’t know what happened” Kelsey getting a sky ball at mid-off. Finally the Roos had a chance to break through, or so they thought. Kelso had found a way to volleyball set it 3 metres away and drop it (can watch this on frog box at exactly 1 hour, 56 minutes, 32 seconds). With a chance go begging that batsmen would go on and make a ton. The score 152 before Roos got their first wicket and was an uphill battle from there. Adam Smith and Donavinn Fryer took 3 and 2 wickets respectively and Melville made the score 6 down and in the 89th over.
Third Grade
Melville 72 (Fitzmaurice 4/16, J Quelch 3/20, Walter 2/15) and 7/144 (C Quelch 4/58) def. Wanneroo 64
Kealey Farrant took a wicket. Now let’s never mention it again.
The Wanneroo threes arrived at the picturesque and windy Tompkins Park to take on table leaders Melville. We were met by mutterings and whispers from those involved in the morning junior’s game that there was ‘something in the deck’. The pitch inspection led to some confusion as it was just green and soft except for the parts that weren’t. Given this we were quietly ok with the result of the toss when Melville chose to bat.
Kookaburra in hand, we entered the field of battle with the twin towers (aka the Quelch brothers, aka Q1 and Q2, aka Des and Troy, aka Shane and Brett Lee, aka the Dutch imports, aka The Hemsworths) ready to strike from either end.
Carnage.
Josh Quelch kept up his great form with the new ball taking three wickets early. Melville stalwart Drew Porter put up some resistance but was undone by a beautifully flighted full toss by Matt Carroll. John Walter took two with his new-look wobblers and Alex Fitzmaurice swept up the tail with three in one over to finish with 4-16. Melville were all-out for 72.
Obviously happy with that result, but unfortunately we had to bat in the same conditions for the remaining 40 overs of the day. Well, almost same conditions. Melville opted for the duke ball and had two very recently A-grade bowlers to wield it. In very trying conditions runs were hard to come by. This was compounded by poor decisions in the dismissal of two batters who actually managed to get themselves set. With the middle order / tail exposed, Drew Porter came back on late in the day and made a terrible mess of the roo line-up, claiming 5-6. But at least it wasn’t as good as Alex’s 4fa.
The Roos were left on 9-64 at days end, still nine runs short. Skipper Walter was still in but off-strike, Matt Carroll was set to face the first ball next week.
The biggest partnership of the day was 19.
Plans and practice were on the agenda during the week. How do we score the runs? Who scores them? Where? Do we go aggressive or patient?
All for naught in the end as Cam Green got a peach on the 2nd ball of day two, with a violent in-swinging delivery clipping the top of off.
The Threes battled hard for the elusive reverse outright for the remainder of the day, notably with Chris Quelch bowling well to take 4 wickets, but it was not-to-be as the Melville players shut up shop to protect their first innings win.
Unfortunately we couldn’t walk away with any points, but cousins were found and I think solid experience was gained against what is likely to be the best bowling attack we will come across in 3rd grade this year.
Fourth Grade
9/347 (Santich 56, Wiggers 55, Carroll 44, Pearce 43, Maraldo 39, Singh 35) and 2/54 def. Melville 10/139 (Carroll 5/37, Maunder 2/27, Brown 2/38)
What initially looked to be a pitch that did something out at Kingsway 2, it was always a ‘win the toss and bowl’ day. And that’s exactly what the opposition captain did, and yet, there was a loud roar from the Roo boys as we found out we were batting, because if there’s anything you don’t do at Kingsway 2, is win the toss and bowl.
And so, the long day in the heat began for Melville as both Sam Williams and Yusuf “fast field leaver” Zain got the 4th grade side off and running. As a wicket fell, it brought the likes of Ajaypal “drip_killer_23” Singh to the crease for his crafty 35 which created a good platform for Steven “debutant” Wiggers to notch a clean 55 on his fourth grade debut no less, what a wonderful career he has ahead of him. Nic “the baseballer” Santich did what he does best again, contributing once more with yet another half-century (55). The likes of Kane “look-a-like seen at bar 1” Pearce, Jack “has a misso” Maraldo, and Liam “time for a great game” Carroll also adding handsome scores of 43, 39, and 44 respectively to the total. Owen “Rakesh” Brown and Jared “one net-session” Maunder having small cameos at the end of the innings both at over a run-a-ball to bring the team total to 9/347.
It soon became day two at Kingsway Sporting Complex, with the Roo boys ready to bowl out Melville as soon as possible in order to get on the beers (or waters, age-dependent). Our Venezuelan import Owen Brown got us off to a raring start, handsomely complimented at the other end by the now bowling all-rounder Liam Carroll with a wicket each in their opening spells. Soon after, Jared Maunder was brought on for his first spell this season, which didn’t get off to the best start, but managed to take his first wicket in only his third over, magnificently caught at mid-off by the man who doesn’t drop catches, Kane Pearce. By lunch, only 5 more wickets were required as Steven Wiggers joined in as Jared Maunder and Liam Carroll took another each. Well fuelled and rested, the Roo boys came back out to bowl, with another tremendous Wanneroo tea in mind. Rakesh Brown and Liam Carroll were the main wicket takers in this session, as Liam Carroll managed his first grade five wicket haul in what he’ll call the greatest spell of his life. At tea, Melville had been rolled for just 139 when we were happy to call it there, happy with the win, but the Melville captain disgusted with the loss, wanted to “teach his boys a lesson” by making them bowl after tea. It was decided that we’d bat until the drinks break, supplying 5 batsmen, although it wasn’t all what it seemed. Only two wickets had been lost, as Jack Maraldo decided he was thirsty, and yet the opposition captain thought otherwise, wanting to bowl beyond the drinks break. It was only the alcoholic nature after a home game that resulted in a feeling of unhappiness with the opposition. At the end of the day, the youth of the fourth grade side was over-joyed with their win and is looking forward to Willetton, hoping to maintain their number one position at the top of the league.
B Grade Female T20
Wanneroo 5/96 (Evans 39) def. by Midland-Guildford 4/141
In the final T20 round of the season, the Roos were home to Midland-Guildford. Before the match, two debutants were welcomed to the team with some wise words by Shenae and Toby, with Ayla Meintjes and Eva Salisbury receiving their Baggy Reds.
Batting first, Midland got off to a strong start, reaching 74 runs before they lost their first wicket, with Meg collecting a neat catch from the bowling of Kristin (1/36). Despite the hard work from the home team, the score would move to 136 before the next wicket fell, as Emma (1/9) continued her good form with yet another delivery crashing into the stumps.
Two run outs showed the Roos were still alert and ready, with Bree and Meg combining for a dismissal, followed by Shenae and Ayla. The focus on fielding at training is clearly paying dividends across our Female teams. At the end of their innings, Midland had scored 4/141.
The Roos were keen to chase down the target, but lost Shenae early. Meg (20 off 23) settled in to another good knock, hitting the ball with power and defending against some good bowling when needed. Ella looked well composed at the crease, playing some classy shots, but she was unfortunately stumped after a good piece of work by the opposition keeper.
Meanwhile Sarah set about building a great innings, playing shots to all parts of the ground as she looked to accelerate the scoring. She was joined by Eva, rocking Tene’s bat, who settled quickly and also began to find the gaps, valuing her time at the crease. Sarah eventually fell for 39 (off just 35), with Eva (15*) and Emma (6*) remaining undefeated at close of the innings. The Roos ended on 5/96.
Hats off to the B Grade team. Finishing 3rd on the T20 table in the Club’s first season of senior women’s cricket is a very respectable result, and the team will only continue to improve from here with the positive energy they’ve created and the support that’s around them.
U17F T20
Wanneroo 1/86 (Allen 34, Crafford 31*) def. Melville 9/85 (Beckett 2/10, Stillitano 2/15)
Our Under 17 girls took on Melville at Kingsway in a battle for second spot on the ladder in the last match of the T20 season.
Winning the toss and batting, Melville were in trouble early, losing both openers before the score reached double figures. Josie had started with a quick stump to stump line which netted an LBW which was followed by Tene collecting another caught behind from the bowling of Chloe (1/17), who again demonstrated impressive pace and bounce from the southern end.
Our first change combination of Aymie and Mathilda got stuck right in to Melville’s middle order. It began with Talia taking a high overhead chance (looking into the sun) from the bowling of Aymie (1/26), complemented by a full stretch diving take by Shayna off Mathilda which would be the catch of the year to date. Mathilda (2/15) struck again shortly after with a ball crashing into the stumps. In this period the girls claimed 3 wickets for 10 runs.
The pressure on the batters continued with Erin (1/4) coming into the attack with immediate results, dislodging the bails with her pacey, attacking line, whilst Layla’s well flighted deliveries landed in great areas and proved difficult to score from without the batters risking it all!
The pressure told when Josie made something out of nothing with a powerful throw from the boundary to Layla at the bowlers, resulting in a run out as the batters tried to sneak a second. Soph backed this up with a neat throw from inside the ring to Chloe, who did the rest! Great work from the Roos in the field!
Another wicket from Josie (2/10) to complete her economical spell rounded out the visitors innings at 9/85.
As they’ve done so often this season, Talia and Tene got the Roos away to a perfect start – in fact, their partnership, worth 74, almost saw us home.
Talia fell for 34 off 39 after a very well made innings in which her timing and shot selection were both very pleasing to watch. This was complemented by Tene’s knock of 31*, with her running between the wickets and intent to score featuring strongly. Great job done by the openers!!
The Roos passed the Melville total one wicket down, finishing 1/86, to claim second spot.
U17M
Melville 139 (Jessani 3/19, Walker 3/26, O Brown 2/9) def. by Wanneroo 8/145 (Pearce 35, Billington 26, Carmignani 25)
Melville won the toss and put us in the field on a very warm morning. Owen Brown picked up an early crucial wicket in his first over to have Melville 1/3, with his second wicket having Melville 2/16.
A small partnership built before Rhys Walker picked up his first wicket with wickets then steadily falling every 15 to 20 runs. Some very tight bowling from Taz saw him pick up 3/19 off his 10 overs, Rhys finished with figures of 3/26 off 9 overs and Owen 2/9 off his 5 overs.
We faced one over before end of days play which saw Riley Gillespie and Ben Carmignani face an over of spin and receive some not so supporting words from their opposition.
Second week we made our way back down the freeway to Melville on a much cooler day than the week before. Chasing Melville’s total of 139, Riley was dismissed fairly early in the piece closely followed by Tyler Brown, who was out to a juggling catch in the gully. Ben chipped away to make a solid 25 when another couple of quick wickets fell swinging the momentum back to Melville. With Kane Pearce losing batting partners, Cody Billington came to the crease where he and Kane steadied the ship, getting us close to the total and setting us up for a good finish. Cody lost his wicket on 26 with Kane following him with 35 runs.
In came our captain Matt Carroll to team up with Rhys to get us over the line. Matt finished with 11no and Rhys, with a couple of big hits, finished on 18no to help get the win which keeps us on top of the ladder.
U15M
Wanneroo 9/133 (Cavanagh 29) def. by Melville 7/224 (Cavanagh 3/40, Davey 2/34)
U14M
Wanneroo Districts 9/115 (Gray 35) def. by Scarborough 6/236 (Sanders 3/46)
U13M
Wanneroo 111 def. by Scarborough 5/196