Sam Shearer continued his excellent form with the bat compiling a stylish 39 following on from his last round 97, but it was not enough as the Scotchies stumbled to a 56 run defeat after allowing Old Melburnians to post 5 for 193.
The match started promising for the Old Scotch boys as they had the Old Melburnian batsmen under lock and key at the first drinks break. Veteran fast bowler Gary Bennett bowling his usual miserly lines was brilliant. However, in the back end of the innings, things unravelled badly as the Old Melburnian batsmen got away and piled on circa 140 runs to post a respectable 5 for 193 when it looked unlikely that they would get much more than 120.
The loss of Whitelaw for 9 and Dickinson for 11 were body blows, but with the in form duo of Sam Shearer and Tom Murray at the crease, Scotchie hopes were still high.
Those hopes were dashed, however, when the bellicose Murray was stumped after dancing down the pitch and having been beaten in flight. Things only got worse as Shearer skied a pull stroke to be caught for a hard hitting 39 and soon after Tummell, Bate and Dick followed.
The end came quickly after that as Old Scotch were routed for 137.
The Celebrities ran headlong into top team in Division 2, MCC Blue, at home on the Lower Oval.
After winning the toss and electing to bat on a greenish surface, the Celebrities were soon reeling to the accurate pace and seam bowling of the MCCers. When opening batsman Vic Nicholas was caught behind off the last ball before drinks for a typically dour 17, the Celebrities had slumped to a precarious 6 for 53.
David Armstrong breathed life into the innings with a string of sumptious boundaries in his knock of 42 as he was aided by young Nick Shearer who doggedly held up an end in an effort that helped the Celebrities post a far from impressive, but could have been far worse, 111.
Missing Cam MacFarlane to work commitments yet again as well as Alistair Reeves, the Celebrities bowlers tried hard, but were unable to supress the MCC onslaught as they cruised to the victory target in 14 overs for loss of one wicket.
More to come...
Old Scotch Cricket Club wish all supporters a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
In the mean time...
SURROUND YOURSELF IN THE EXCITEMENT!
