Game 5 of 56
Competition newbies Master Batters took on reigning premiers Finbats on a perfect clear afternoon.
Finbats captain Tommo-Hawk won the toss and elected to bat first. Blacky and the Tractor – which sounds more like a kids book than an opening batting combination - didn't work and the Bats were on the back foot. The line up welcomed back Nobbsy who notched up 25 and retired, and if not for Nummy’s rapid fire 35no, they would have been in real trouble.
A total of 9 for 143 in the end; Nick McGovern, Evo and Geoff Foster the pick of the bowling for the Master Batters. Needing a tick over 7 runs an over for victory the Master Batters were slow off the mark and at 3/55 at the 10 over mark were well behind the run rate.
Nick Radice put them back on track with a well made 25 retired off 17 balls. Evo came to the crease late in the order and made a quick 18 but on his departure after 11 balls a victory went out the window and the Batters fell 8 runs short. Ron, Blacky and Macca were all tight with the bowling and the reason the Finbats got their first points.
Game 6 of 56
Two first round winners in Madness and Bashers met at the Western Oval.
Berry won the toss for Madness and batted first. Morro and big hitting Luke Godrich got things off to a flier with Godrich retiring on 27. Three would follow with retirements, Callum Johnson 27, Pauly B 30 and Timmy Fox 28 took the Mad-Men to another huge total just short of 200 with 6 wickets down for 197. Jacob Oakes bowled well for the Bashers taking 2 and an early contender for catch of the year on the boundary.
The Bashers would need almost 10 per over to win and without their two Sri Lankan brothers it was going to be a massive task.
With regular wickets falling around him, Old-Man Oakes was defiant by holding up one end before his legs would not be fast enough to beat a Pauly B throw from the boundary that smashed the stumps down.
Rowdy took over from where Oakesy left off and saw off 32 balls for his 9 runs in a defiant stance to see that his team was not rolled out. Nicko the only batsman to reach double figures with 15. Godrich 1/3, Humphries 1/4 and Pauly B 1/7 the Madness best bowlers.
Game 7 of 56
Big Show took on the Bush Choox in perfect weather. Baker won the toss for the Big Show and had no hesitation in going into bat first. The first three batsmen would all reach 25 and retire with Jude Shinnick and Brooksy only needing 15 balls each whilst Mr Stewart was more subdued, using 27 balls to get to the retirement target.
With none for 75 at the turn Big Show had a perfect platform to post a huge target. A few quick wickets would fall but Chrismus Gilmore (28) and Matt Goddard (16) at the end would help their total to reach 5 down for 176 runs. Scooter and Muzza would be tidy with the ball but the fielders chased a lot of leather. The Choox went to the crease needing 8.80 runs per over to pick up their first points for the season. Cummo set the scene with 18 runs coming from the first over and at 0 for 40 after 3 overs were set to post a record run chase.
The Big Show slowed everything down and took 7 in the next 10 overs to concede just 55 runs. The Choox needed 82 from the last 42 balls, C.J got some momentum going but with his departure for 22 it spelled disaster and they fell 31 runs short. Pizey's 1 of 7, Chrismus 1 for 8, Michael Brooko and Jude Shinnick’s both 1 for 10 were the reasons the Choox are winless.
Game 8 of 56
Holmsey won the toss for the Sons of Pitches and chose to bat first against the Willow Warriors. Things started slowly with just 18 runs from the first 4 overs, but then came Holmsey with a bat that looked like it would dig a hole faster than it would make runs.
The big man swung to hit a couple of mighty sixes. Paul Farmer also belted the ball, scoring 30 from just 20. With the help of some teen scores from Balls and Marty, the Pitches would post 7/145. Big Hazza would snag a couple of wickets and duo Zac Fagan and Ozzie would both bowl tidily to help keep the total from blowing out.
Garsty belted two towering 6s in the first over for Warriors and he would retire after just 11 balls. After 4 overs 46 was on the board and all but one batsman reached double figures. The bowling and the fielding improved and in the end the Warriors won with 7 balls left in the match
Round Three: Tuesday – Bush Choox v Willow Warriors. Wednesday – Sons of Pitches v Finbats. Thursday – Master Batters v Madness. Friday – Big Show v Bashers.