An inspired spell of hostile fast bowling from Old Scotch left arm tear away Will Hays ripped through a powerful Old Mentone line-up at Meares Oval on Sunday to help the Scotchies record an impressive 62 run win and get the season back on track.
Batting first, Old Scotch were rocked by the first "failure" of in-form batsman Tim Hosking who was dismissed for nine. Cam Melville and the mercurial Sam Shearer batted splendidly to bring the score up to 72 before Melville departed for a well constructed 25. Skipper Tom Murray chimed in with 20 and Shearer was eventually fourth man out for an excellent 52, which underlined his recent return to his imperious best.
The innings seemed to momentarily splutter as recent heroes Sam "Junior" Murray and Alisdair Reeve were both dismissed cheaply. Into the fray stepped star recruit Seb "Stretch" Armstrong who played an innings of such class and polish, it served as a timely reminder of the unbelievable all round talent that Old Scotch has been blessed with since his homecoming from Premier cricket. Expertly combining with Bate and then Rivett, Armstrong hoisted the Old Scotch total to a competitive 8/213. Seb Armstrong finished 52 not out and showed he will be a force to be reckoned with in the MCC XI competition this summer.
Old Mentone possess an impressively strong batting line up, but they were suffocated by some tight bowling from Seb Armstrong - now leading the way with the ball - who took 2 or 19 and dad Dave "Disco" Armstrong who was also miserly with 2/19. But the star was Will Hays who ripped through the Old Mentone line up with some super charged fast bowling and claimed remarkable figures of 6/23.
Man of the Match was a toss up between the all round brilliance of Seb Armstrong and Will Hayes who was dazzling with the ball...and it was hard to split them both. Ultimately, bowlers win matches, and Will Hays was at his match winning best to get Old Scotch's season back in the red after a shakey couple of weeks.
Next week sees the First XI take on arch rivals Old Xavier on Saturday at Barkers Road, whilst the Celebrities also take on Old Xavier on Saturday at Meares Oval in what is sure to be an epic encounter.
Come on down and support the boys at both games, as nothing gets Scotchy blood pumping like a contest against the "Auld Enemy".
In the meantime...
SURROUND YOURSELF IN THE EXCITEMENT!