For a record 8th time since 2013, we have walked away with full points against Murgheboluc, but we didn't have things all our own way.

One Day cricket is a funny game, last week shows a bad 5 overs with the bat can set you back and can help towards losing the match. Add in the white ball that doesn't give off the variations of the Red Ball and the game can become a stalemate. Saturday felt that way batting. The wicket was tough to get stuck in on and the Murghie bowlers were doing a great job. Cossie and Blake toughed out the tough stuff and just as they looked to get going both guys fell in the 30s. Alistair McCann is more known for his crash and bash innings played a mature knock to get us to a total we hoped we could defend. His 40 not out was the highest score in our 9/164.

With the ball Mitch Troy in his now usual opening bowling slot lead from the front. His 10 overs went for just 20 runs as he picked up 2 scalps along the way. At the other end he had skipper Tom Mathieson helping him out. Tom's first spell of bowling had a bit of everything. 6 overs, 1 wicket and just 2 runs which included a mis field and a wide. He literally was unplayable. As the overs ticked by Alistair was also at his best. Add in a runout from Bagga and the guys looked on top. When Lachy Hyde picked up his first wicket for the club, the momentum was on our side. With 5 overs to go Murghie needed 40 runs to win. Tom went Bang Bang and put the side on his shoulders as we run out winners by 10 runs. Tom finishing with 4/20 from his 10.

The 2s boys made it 2 from 2 with another neat bowling performance. Batting first, the guys looked in control for most of the innings. Deccy Clark opening the batting was the main stay for the guys. He shared partnerships with all the top order and middle order bats as he looked to cut his way through point on a number of occasions. With wickets falling around him and 4 points in place, Deccy toughed it out and batted the 50 overs to finish 59no as the guys made 8/163.

With the ball things started slowly as the Murghie openers looked to settle in. A few comical runouts and some steady Will Hall bowling and the guys were back in the contest. Will's 10 over spell went for just 24 runs as he picked up 2 wickets. He wasn't alone as Birchy's tidy spell of bowling went unrewarded on the scoresheet but did the team wonders. At 4/101 the game still could have swung any which way but Casey Meehan took the game away from Murghie with a ripping spell of bowling. His 4 wickets ended the game and handed our guys the points for the 2nd week running.

The reigning Premiers are on the board, but similar to the 1sts they didn't have it all their own way. Batting first our guys made their way to 201 thanks in large to Round 1 heroes Liam Biddiscombe and Daniel Davey. Opening the batting 14 year old Liam didn't look troubled by grown men for the 2nd week in a row. The cool calm head that he plays with is incredible to watch and hopefully we'll be talking about him for years to come. When he departed for 43 there was still plenty of work to be done and Daniel Davey was the man for it. He made the small boundaries of the Murghie Toy ground look even smaller as he whacked his way to 65no to get our guys past 200.

In reply Murghie had a wedding singer who was required for singing duties, well not quite but One of their opening batsmen couldn't hang around long so he threw his bat at everything. At 1/130 our guys batting efforts looked in vein as the wedding singer looked to have done his job. He 'retired hurt' with a mysterious shoulder injury which being brutally honest then cost his side the game because our guys found some fight and found a way through the Murghie middle order. As he got in his car and set off to wherever it was he needed to go to, Smidge, Rhodesy and Mitch Elliott all played their role and bowled the guys to victory as Murghie would go on to be all out for just 180.

The 4ths under new skipper Jack Hall got their first win on the board with a crushing 9 wicket victory. Bowling first, Sam Wakefield returned to cricket with his first game in almost a year. It's been a big 12 months for Sammy and it's good to see him back out on the park. He got a wicket early which set the guys up for a great day's cricket. With his cousin in charge as captain, Charlie Hall's return to cricket has been another thats kind of gone un noticed. Murghie certainly would have noticed him on Saturday as he was almost unplayable through his 9 overs but it was once again the younger guys in Fred Lucas and Benny Demasi that kept picking up wickets to set Murgheboluc back. In his first game of 4ths cricket, Harvey Marles behind the stumps was also impressive. Skipper Jack then chipped in with 3 and Sammy Wakefield came back with 2 late ones also as Murghie were all out for 138. In reply the run chase was almost as faultless as it could be, Jeff and Fred looked comfortable as a batting pair and were on track for a huge 10 wicket win, however a mix up seen the end of Fred for 38. Jeff would continue on with newcomer Pricey and the pair got the job done with relative ease. Jeff finishing 54no and Pricey 39no as the guys get win number 1 on the board.

After a huge win for the 5ths last week, this week in comparison couldn't be any further apart. Bowling first, the strong Thomson batting line up took it to our young guys who had no answers, except for Leggy Riley Ward who kept tossing them up and was rewarded with 3 wickets. Thomson would go on to make 9/268. A score that was well and truly too many for our guys as we were bowled out for just 55. 15 year old Gavan Foran top scoring with 14 runs late in the innings.

Yesterday our A Grade Girls made the trip out to East Belmont to take on the highly fancied side who were runners up last year. I'm the first 30 over contest of the season our girls bowled first with East setting us a massive 185 runs to get. Skipper Helen Jones lead the way with the ball picking up 3 wickets, she was well supported by youngster Lauren Kelly who also grabbed 3 wickets. In reply things didn't start well as we lost 4/23 to start the innings. Similar to Round 1, Helen Jones and Sophie Walker combined for the best partnership of the day. The pair put on 78 for the 5 wicket but their efforts weren't enough as we only managed to make 7/125. Sophie Walker once again top scoring with 39.

Things weren't great in the Bs either, batting first our girls only managed to make 9/65 from their 20 overs. Lucy Emery was the standout with 15. With the ball a few wickets early meant the girls had a sniff of victory. Wickets to Daisy and Chelsea, a long with a run out off the bowlers hand and East were 3/37. Sadly that was the last of the wickets as East chased down the runs in 15 overs.

With December on our door step and cricket finally being spoken about, it's great that the wins are starting to tick over as well. The efforts the young kids are putting in is also great and combined with winning, the future looks as bright as ever. Next week we tackle Grovedale in the men's, whilst the Women's have a split, with the As playing Ocean Grove and the Bs playing Collendina. Get along and support all of our teams as we continue on our way in 2021/22.