Lessons to learn against strong MH side

ROUND 14

Sunday February 15, 2026

FIRST XI

OLD SCOTCH 1XI 188 (36.1)

def. by MELBOURNE HIGH 3/222 (40)

J. Sparks 61, H. Boreham 37, W. Clark 2/29, C. Loveridge 1/38

On Sunday, the boys rolled into Melbourne High full of energy and plenty of stories to tell. With top spot secured, this provided a perfect opportunity to fine tune our game leading into finals. With us finally winning a toss and a softer green surface presenting, the answer was easy. So we bowled. However with a couple of our regular seam bowlers unavailable we were lacking some ball speed. With Clark and Goodwill to open we needed to strike early with High boasting a plethora of District 1s players in their top order. Clark was able to extract some movement out of the surface and bowled well without any significant reward before claiming the opening wicket in the 7th over. High would then begin to build a partnership with some poor catching denying us of any major breakthroughs. After 40 overs, High would finish at 3/222 with Clark the most effective 2/29 and Sparks bowing well at the death.

Our batting innings started positively, with Boreham and Dawborn getting us off to a positive start before Boreham fell for 37 with the score 1/72. This brought about a mini collapse as we would lose 6/40 with some quality spin bowling unraveling us, a mixture of poor shot selection and quality deliveries would cause this collapse and put us on the back foot at 6/117. Tom Loveridge and James Sparks would grit their teeth and fight back putting 40 runs together before Loveridge would eventually fall. Sparks would continue to bat through keeping us in the game however partners would continue to fall around him. Sparks would be our final man to fall on a well made 61 as we were bowled out for 188.

A disappointing day for the 1st Grade side however no better opportunity to get back into the swing of things then a game on the Main against a fellow finals contender, Maccabi, next week before a big finals campaign.

— Will Clark (1XI Captain)

SECOND XI

OLD SCOTCH 2XI 145 (38)

def. by OLD XAVERIANS 5/148 (29.1)

M. Sennitt 46, S. Dethridge 33, J. Stavris 3/27, T. Fish 1/20

For our round 13 clash we were back on the Melville for our first home game in 2 months. Expecting a flat deck as usual we were greeted by a pitch that largely resembled a day 5 pitch at Galle, which prompted a change in tactics winning the toss and batting first. How strange

Fish and Dethridge continued what has been a fruitful opening partnership for us in recent weeks, but unfortunately in the first over Fish caught a graze for a duck. Disappointed faces were seen around the ground but not for Fish who has “had an epiphany” and has decided there is “more to life than cricket”. Dethridge and Sennitt now paired and battled the tough conditions, with Detho calmly finding gaps and running hard and Sen playing a more aggressive role. At 1/70 we were in a really good spot, however the untimely wicket of Sen for 46 left us in a tricky spot. Xavs then brought the spinners on, which proved incredibly difficult on the deteriorating surface, and our middle order struggled greatly to score, Callaghan only getting 9, Murphy 7 and Detho dismissed for a well made 33. Ned Macmillan soon fell for a duck and we were in real strife. A couple of good cameos pushed the score, with Schilling moving sensibly to 15 before trying to add a dint to the back of the main oval scoreboard saw him bowled. Winneke and Stavris also batted well, getting to 15 and 14* respectively before we were all out for 145.

With a reasonable total to bowl at, we looked to get the game rolling in our favour. Unfortunately the opening bats for Xavs were able to get onto Truck and we started a touch poorly. Off spinner Ben McMahon opened the bowling from the other end and bowled beautifully, getting a wicket in his first over. Unfortunately the Xavs opener and number 3 got away from us and after 12 overs they were 1/80 and well in control of the game. John Stavris came on from the tennis court end and attempted to wrestle back momentum, bowling a disciplined line and length and keeping it tight from his end. McMahon finished his tidy 8 with 1/24, and Fish looked to apply similar pressure, taking another wicket and keeping it tight also from his end. Stav was bowling well and found his first wicket closely followed by a second bringing the bunny to the crease with Stav having sets up his sleeve and despite 2 boundaries, normal service resumed and we had him caught at mid wicket off Stavris, 2/8 over the series. Despite further tight bowling and good sets from Stav (3/27 off his 8) we were unable to make up for the poor sets at the start of the innings and were passed 5 down after 32 overs.

A tough day but a good opportunity next week in the Tom Murphy cup and then a solid run at finals have us all excited at the pointy end.

— Andrew Callaghan (2XI Captain)

THIRD XI

OLD SCOTCH 3XI 4/153 (31.4)

def. OLD HAILEYBURY 8/151 (40)

T. Edney 82*, E. Kunaratnam 33, O. Sparks 2/13, F. Strong 2/22

For consecutive weeks against Haileybury we lost the toss we were made to bowl. Bennett and Sparks opened the bowling and Sparksy was on fire finding the edge of an opener and number 3 which were caught by Bennett and Bodon. Bennett was unfortunate not to get a wicket after a faint edge caught by Bodon was given not out and then having a catch dropped. Strong managed to remove the other opening batsmen with a catch of the summer from Ollie Sparks reaching one handed high into the sky plucking it. Strong continued to use his craft which was him get his second for the day. At drinks Haileybury were 4-66 at drinks.

Post drinks, Hocking found the edge with a incredible catch from Edney at first slip. Baumgarten managed to get one and the innings was closed out well by Fyfe and Sparks who bowled very economically during the finals overs. Haileybury totaled 151 after their 40.

Griffiths and Edney opened with the bat. Griffiths used the pace of the delivery well early hitting 2 quick fours. However was dismissed the next over caught and was followed by Warner who crunched one straight to point for a golden duck. Kunaratnam and Edney steadied the innings putting on a sensational partnership of 86 which saw Edney bring up his 50 before Kunaratnam was bowled for 33 and we were well poised 3-99. Just after drinks Bodon was dismissed for 1 after a brief stint at the crease. Edney continued to lead the team with smart stroke play unlike his partner Bennett who was dropped twice. The total was chased after 31.4 overs with Bennett scoring 21 not out (somehow) and Edney who was the cream of the crop was unbeaten on 82 from 81 after carrying the bat.

We now sit second on the ladder playing equal 3rd Old Camberwell next week in a must win game to try and secure a home final.

— Nic Bennett (3XI Captain)

FOURTH XI

OLD SCOTCH 4XI 99 (25.3)

def. by OLD WESLEY 7/268 (40)

N. Bruce 21, G. Strong 20, H. Wild 2/25, D. Jhajj 2/30

It was bonus point or bust for us with two rounds to play - never an easy equation - and after once again starting the match with fewer than 11 on the field, the signs weren’t ideal heading into a clash at Wesley. Being sent in to bowl didn’t help matters.

Tom Lindholm (1/16) and George Strong (0/25) gave us a sharp start and had Old Wesley working hard early, but their top order began to settle. We turned to The Finisher, Will Bracegirdle, who has an uncanny knack of striking when we most need it, alongside our new off-spinner fresh from a weekend fishing Western Port Bay, Ned Lindholm, who helped steady things before drinks.

There was also a very tidy spell from Eddie Shearer (0/19 off 5) that had us back in the contest and eyeing off restricting them on what was a small, quick-scoring ground. Unfortunately, we lost momentum through the middle overs and Old Wesley accelerated rapidly, surging toward 180 before Deep Jhajj grabbed two quick wickets to make it 4/198 with many overs still in hand.

With the innings threatening to get away from us completely, it was over to The Wild Thing and Young Stavris (per Raph) to tidy things up. Hector Wild (2/25) and Sammy Marinakis (1/20) combined for three late wickets to close the innings at 7/268 - a big total and one that left us needing something special.

Chasing 269 and requiring a bonus point, we needed a miracle. Unfortunately, we had already used that miracle a few weeks earlier in The Great Escape against Old Carey. The innings never quite got going, with five players scoring one or less, and we were bowled out for 99, bringing our finals hopes to an end with one game still to play.

Credit where it’s due - Eddie Shearer (21) looked in great touch and took the game on, George Strong (20) ran hard when runs were at a premium, and Hector Wild (14) doing some great power hitting at the end of the match.

With one match remaining, the boys can hold their heads high. A late-season charge, four straight wins, and pushing the finals race right to the edge — plenty to be proud of from this 4XI group.

— Tom Lindholm (4XI Captain)

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