Sam Shearer produced an unplayable spell of medium fast bowling to destroy Old Melbourne on their home turf to spearhead a crushing victory for the A-Team. While a fantastic all round performance from the talismanic Will Clarke saw the Celebrities bring up their third win on the trot, as they keep their hopes of playing finals alive.
Skipper Matt Grose won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on what looked a good batting deck. It was fully justified as Matty Mitchell and Seb Armstrong piled on the runs, with Armstrong making 43 and Mitchell 62 as the Scotchies looked to post a huge total. But, the wheels then fell off somewhat and the middle order struggled to get going. New boy, Lachlan "Lester" Bangs was the hero of the hour, as he whipped up a quick 27 not out as the Scotchies posted 6/182. A good score, but would it be enough?
It was, as the Old Scotch bowlers strangled the life out of the Old Melbournian line up with Sam Shearer taking a barely believable 5 for 8 off 7 overs with five maidens, as Old Melbournians collapsed for 51 to be crushed by 131 runs. The evergreen Gary Bennett chimed in with three wickets of his own in a complete bowling performance by the Scotchies.
The Celebrities took MCC1 over on the Melville Oval at Scotch. Winning the toss, the Scotchies put up 143, with Will Clarke top scoring with 46, whilst Fraser Sutherland made 30, Mark Griffiths contributed 20 and Nick "electric" Sparks 17. With the first appearance of the summer of warhorse Angus Harlock, who conceded a miserly 11 runs off his 8 overs, the Celebrities bowled exceedingly well to limit MCC1 to 130 and chalk up a win by 13 runs. Will Clarke captured 3/14 in a wonderful display, and John Stavris took 3/21 in able support.
This week, both Old Scotch sides take on perennial arch-rivals Old Xavier on Sunday in a blockbuster round of cricket. The A-Team are at home at Scotch, while the Celebrities venture over the Barkers Road HQ of Old Xavier to do battle there.
Make your way down to either game on Sunday, as both teams push for a further glory this season. Your support is always appreciated.
In the mean time...