Scotch Triple Header

ROUND 07/08

Sunday December 14, 2025

FIRST XI

OLD SCOTCH 1XI 7/232 (40)

def. OLD HAILEYBURY 9/224 (40)

S. Dawborn 52, L. Adams 37*, W. Bonwick 4/32, S. Shearer 3/41

[match report coming soon]

SECOND XI

OLD SCOTCH 2XI 5/332 (40)

def. CAULFIELD NCG 146 (35)

M. Sennitt 100, A. Callaghan 89 & 4/10, L. Gance 3/19, J. Bennett 1/20

With the first triple header in the clubs history, and the 4s getting their first win the day before, much anticipation filled the air for the seconds on the Melville. Old Caulfields captain clearly understood the magnitude of the fixture, forgetting his whites, a cricket ball and the scorebook, but his biggest mistake was winning the toss and bowling first. They just never learn.

Opening up we stuck with Schilling and Dethridge, with Schilling struggling early, but it was not without intent. Not so for Dethridge who timed the ball well and found the boundary regularly. Schilling fell for 18, a good effort considering “its tough in the first 10”. Dethridge was joined by Sennitt, who returned to the side and added some real class to the top order, cleverly manipulating the express bowling and raging turn on display. Dethridge brought up a brutal 50 striking 10 4s on his way to the milestone but fell soon after bringing Callaghan to the crease. He and Sennitt looked to really progress the score, and put on 160 in a strong partnership. Sennitt looked in control for just about the whole innings, brutally putting the bowlers to all parts. Callaghan fell for 89, but it didn’t stop Sennitt, who plundered his way to a fantastic ton, looking in control the entire time. And in timeless fashion, he was dismissed the very next ball, attempting to put one up on the main to remind the brains trust up there that he was hitting them well. With the score looking healthy, the last couple of overs were a chance to really get aggressive. Tom Loveridge and Tom Fish both made 9 but it was James Sparks who took on the feedback from last week and finished with 41* off just 19 balls including 22 off the last over. It seemed the opposition skipper was comfortable with his decision to send us in and watch 332 runs go past him, after all they were apparently a bowling side.

With a bonus point in our sights, Joel Bennett got us going immediately, with a breakthrough off the first ball, a tough day for the OC opener. Catcher Tom Fish looked comfortable under the ball, however the other fielders and supporters alike didn’t feel as safe, owing to his efforts just a few weeks earlier. Tom Loveridge kept it tight from the other end as we really looked to take some wickets, the number 3 being out talked and spooning one to cover off Loveridge T. Brother Charlie into the side excited us all, and some aggressive moonballs finally payed off, the batsman going 6,4,4 and out. “Good batsman go 4 times” exclaimed Dethridge. With one OC batsman going hard, the other was clearly batting for the draw. Shouts of “I’m Bored”, “Why do I bother”, and “Waste of my Sunday” from Fish weren’t enough to see any noticeable acceleration, Fish resorting to bowling seam up to “keep it interesting”. From the other end there was some signs of aggression, with the batsman reaching 50, before Gance came into the attack and saw the end of him. A leave in the 30th over with 200 to get had us all scratching our heads, but Gance dealt with the tail with Callaghan, who has been watching too much of the first grade captain bringing himself on for some disgraceful junk timers, also picking up some wickets. The boys bowling OC out for 146.

A great day for the team with a bonus point and a fantastic ton to Mitch Sennitt, but an even better club day with 17 points (!) and great fun had by all. We look forward to getting to the pointy end next year.

— Andrew Callaghan (2XI Captain)

THIRD XI

OLD SCOTCH 3XI 5/238 (37)

def. WHITEFRIARS 6/237 (40)

N. Macmillan 73, M. Bodon 53*, F. Strong 2/23, N. Bennett 2/34,

Losing the toss we were sent into bowl on what looked like a superb batting track, Fred Strong got us off to a cracking start getting two early wickets in the 1st and 3rd over of the game, utilising his craft early causing a player to leave a straight one which clipped the top of off. He had another chance in his 3rd over with a low ball being blasted back his way which he couldn’t react to in time. However, from here Whitefriars got settled and tucked in, with our side light on bowlers and not helped by the late omission of Charlie Smith who notified the captain that he was hours away from Scotch at a farm party and would be unable to drive for numerous hours as he blew 0.157 into his personal breathalyser at 6am in the morning with an Aperol in hand. At drinks Friars had piled on the runs sitting at 2-124, Bennett kept throwing the ball around to different bowlers to try and manufacture a wicket and finally, we had a breakthrough ending a 151 run partnership thanks to Charlie Hocking hitting him on the pads. Bennett managed to remove the other set batsmen a few overs later courtesy of Tom Edney who awkwardly caught a ball after forgetting to drop back from Mid on to Long off. 2 balls later Bennett dismissed another batsmen with a disgusting half tracker that nearly bounced twice - Yuck! Ned Macmillan kept toiling away with the ball bowling with some fantastic leg spin. After getting hit for two gigantic sixes he responded with a great take off his own bowling to dismiss a big hitter who looked to blow out Whitefriars total even further. Whitefriars then began picking of ones and twos to our sweepers out deep and finished 5/238.

After some snags during the inning break, we opened with Griffiths and Macmillan. Both looked strong, accessing the boundary on multiple occasions. Griffiths was dismissed for 16 after an LBW decision he seemed rather unhappy about. Edney entered and Whitefriars continued with their openers hinting that they might bowl them out, prompting Ned and Tom to play solid defensive shots looking to pounce on potentially worse bowling later in the innings. Yet, Edney fell narrowly shy of facing the first change bowlers being dismissed in the 12 over for 10. Kunaratnam came and went for 1 after batting with hand injury after some awesome fielding a short covert. Hasker entered and he and Macmillan began to get to work moving the score from 3-58 to 3-97 in the four overs leading to drinks with both batsmen smashing the bowlers around the park. Requiring 7 an over to win the game Ned and Hugh continued developing an 86 run partnership before both were dismissed by some interesting spin bowling with Hugh scoring 43 from 29 and Ned 73 from 74. Requiring 87 from 78 with 5 wickets remaining, Scotch had a big opportunity to clinch a win. Bodon and Bennett were occupying the crease and developed a quick synergy with strong running between the wickets although often suicidal by Bennett. Heads quickly began to drop in the field for Whitefriars as news spread of the exciting run chase as the 2s and 4s came over to offer their support. Max Bodon played an inspired innings, digesting a few dot balls to then punish a bad ball for a boundary whilst Nic Bennett looked to rotate the strike back to Max often diving for safety into the crease. We had managed to chase their total with 12 balls remaining with Max and Nic undefeated on 53* and 32* respectively.

An unreal way to go into the Christmas break with Ned Macmillan’s innings being the highlight of the day as we currently sit 4th on the ladder with an extra game in hand.

— Nic Bennett (3XI Captain)

FOURTH XI

OLD SCOTCH 4XI 7/210 (38.1)

def. MCC 4/206 (40)

N. Bennett 88*, S. Norman 40, B. Balot 1/20, N Humphreys 1/7

Our first Saturday fixture of the year saw us travel down to Beaumaris, expecting to play on the outstanding Beaumaris Secondary College oval complete with boundary rope and white picket fence. In true 4s fashion, however, we were instead allocated the smaller oval behind it - still very much a work in progress.

After winning the toss (despite only four players being at the ground five minutes before start time), we made the bold call to bowl first. Tom Lindholm and Jack Ross opened the bowling but found it tough early, unable to find a breakthrough. First change saw new recruit Alex Ross come on alongside Bailey Balot, and this combination brought immediate reward. A mix-up between the MCC batters resulted in a great run-out thanks to Jesse Castan, followed soon after by a sensational boundary-saving catch from Alex off Bailey’s bowling. At that point, MCC were 2/85. The new batters took a more cautious approach as Sammy Marinakis and James Fish bowled tightly to restrict scoring opportunities. Our next wicket came via a cracking direct-hit run-out from Nick Humphreys, pushing MCC to 3/135. With the final 10 overs to go, we threw the ball to our “top-order batsmen and classy bowlers” - Nic Bennett, Eddie Shearer, Nick Bruce, and Nick Humphreys - in an attempt to clean up the tail. Despite plenty of effort (and Nick Humphreys shattering a bail), we could only manage one more wicket, with MCC finishing on 4/206.

Chasing 207 - comfortably our biggest task of the season given our previous high score of 138 - felt daunting…unless you happened to be opening with two 6’6”, long-levered units. Jesse Castan launched us forward with a brisk 13 off 12, while Nick Bruce followed up with a composed 33 off 37 to give us the start we badly needed, especially after the prior week’s collapse. Eddie Shearer looked fluent for his 5 before mistiming one to mid-off, leaving us 3/54 and still with plenty to do.

What followed was the innings of the season. A new partnership for the 4s saw Sam Norman (40) and Nic Bennett (88* off 76) put in an enormous shift. Incredibly hard running turned dots into singles and singles into twos, showcasing outstanding communication and chemistry between the pair. Normy’s dismissal at 4/154 brought the tail into play, but the belief was well and truly there.

A run-out saw Nick Humphreys depart for 2, leaving James Fish to potentially be at the crease for the winning runs. Building on last week’s effort, Fish made a valuable 8, including another trademark cover drive for four - prompting several teammates to start shopping for new bats. Bailey Balot fell for 0, bowled by J Mac (who was reportedly meant to be racing at Sha Tin), leaving Sammy Marinakis to partner Sog and finish the job. A calm knock from Mara (8) and more sharp running saw us home at 7/210 with two overs to spare, sealing a famous first win for the season.

A massive congratulations to Nic Bennett for bringing up the inaugural half-century for the OSCC 4s, and to all the boys for grinding out a well-earned victory. With two wins separating us from finals and a run of favourable fixtures coming up, the 4s are starting to look like genuine contenders. I hope you all have a happy holiday period and some well deserved rest. See you in the new year.

— Tom Lindholm (4XI Captain)

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