By Les Hutchings
Kilsyth First XI played a one-day match against Ainslie Park in Round 7 of the Trollope Shield competition, after the first day was washed out the previous Saturday. Kilsyth won the toss and elected to bowl at Ainslie Park. The first over was a maiden and in the second over with the score on one, Ainslie lost their first wicket to a skied catch to midwicket, where Hayden Pleming took a good catch off the bowling of Scott Nicholson. It was 2/13 in the fifth over when Karmal Kuruppu had Tige Ridley caught behind by Kilsyth Captain Marcus Adams for 10 off 14 balls (2 fours). After 8 overs, Andy Solomons was brought into the attack and claimed a wicket on the last ball of his first over, well caught by Uvindu Wimaladharma at mid-off. Ainslie were now 3/28 and it soon became 4/32 when Solomons struck again in his second over, following another catch by keeper Marcus Adams. Coby Arbuckle and Max Moss then consolidated the situation with a 37-run partnership for the fifth wicket. However, with the score on 69, Arbuckle was trapped lbw by left arm spinner Mackenzie Scott-Thomas for 13 off 53 balls. Then, with the score on 77, Moss was bowled by Uvindu Wimaladharma for 22 off 50 balls in the 28th over. Andy Solomons, who had bowled 5 overs in his first spell, came back on and picked up the seventh wicket to see Ainslie 7/86 after 32 overs. In his seventh and eighth overs Solomons bowled consecutive wicket maidens which saw Ainslie Park slump further to 9/98 after 36 overs. The ninth wicket to fall was that of James Johnstone, who was well caught by Hayden Pleming at wide mid-on after making 18 off 36 balls. Ainslie progressed to 9/103 after 38 overs with Oscar Seegels and Ethan Stone at the crease. With two overs to go, both batsmen decided to chance their luck and throw caution to the wind. Consequently, they smashed 27 off the last two overs to see Ainslie finish on 9/130cc after their 40 allotted overs. Oscar Seegels made 15 not out off 15 balls, and Ethan Stone 16 not out off 15 balls. For Kilsyth, Andy Solomons was the standout bowler, capturing 5/26 off 8 overs (2 maidens). Medium pacer Scott Nicholson bowled with great economy to take 1/17 off 8 overs (2 maidens). Good support came from Uvindu Wimaladharma, 1/25 off 8 overs (2 maidens), Mackenzie Scott-Thomas 1/28 off 8 overs (1 maiden), and Kamal Kuruppu, 1/31 off 8 overs (2 maidens).
Kilsyth lost a wicket off the first ball in the run chase when Coby Arbuckle took a good catch in the covers off Jake Tucker. Jack Childs and Andy Solomons took the score to 64 for the second wicket when Solomons was caught by Max Moss off the bowling of Ethan Stone for a scintillating 52 off 48 balls (5 fours and 3 sixes) in the 12th over. It was Solomons’ sixth consecutive half century for the Redbacks. Interestingly, of the first 45 runs scored, Solomons was the only Kilsyth batsman to have scored and at that stage he was on 39 not out. Mackenzie Scott-Thomas made a quick-fire 18 off 13 balls before being caught by Brendan McGuinness off Ethan Stone with the score now 3/95 in the 16th over. Jack Childs, 23 not out off 52 balls, and Marcus Adams, 26 not out (5 fours), then steered Kilsyth to a good win with the final score being 3/133 off 22.4 overs. Wicket takers for Ainslie Park were Ethan Stone 2/38 off 8 overs straight, and Jake Tucker 1/15 off 4 overs.
The Second XI had a narrow loss to Ainslie Park on Alan Smith Oval at Pinks Reserve. Kilsyth won the toss and elected to bowl. However, Ainslie Park got going and posted 5/243cc off their 40 overs. Opener Joshua White made a whirlwind 80 off 53 balls (6 fours and 6 sixes), to get Ainslie away to a flying start. Other significant contributions came from Lachlan Francis, 56 off 50 balls (4 fours and 3 sixes), Rowan Peters 35 off 52 balls (5 fours), and Will Killen, 35 not out off 22 balls. Wicket takers for the Redbacks were Daniel Stapelfeldt 2/45 off 8 overs, leg spinner Kyan Harper 1/20 off 5 overs, Mark Unternahrer 1/32 off 7 overs, and Captain Matthew Coghlan 1/31. Sanjeev Rana took two good catches in the field.
After the tea break, a magnificent opening partnership of 159 between Rhys McKean and Anthony Cook gave Kilsyth a chance. Cook made his first ever century for Kilsyth, smashing 110 off 87 balls, including 15 fours and 2 sixes. Their partnership was only 8 runs short of the highest ever opening partnership for Kilsyth’s Second XI. McKean went on to score 60 off 95 balls (5 fours). With one over to go, Kilsyth needed 14 to win but it wasn’t to be, finishing on 5/232. Nevertheless, it was a good batting performance by the team with Mark Unternahrer, 23 not out off 24 balls, and Daniel Caton 18 off 19 balls, also doing well. The best of Ainslie’s bowlers were Lachlan Francis, 3/37 off 8 overs, Lewis Davison 1/27 off 8 overs, and Joshua Connor 1/36 off 6 overs.
The Third XI played Healesville Second XI on Ron Baldwin Oval, Pinks Reserve. Kilsyth won the toss and elected to bat. Openers Dylan Smith and Ben Nicoll put on 32 for the first wicket before Smith was caught off the bowling of Samuel Keath for 14 off 24 balls, in the 7th over. Kasun Ekanayake and Ben Nicoll then took the score to 92 in a good partnership of 60 for the second wicket, when Nicoll was bowled by Ben Wallace for 31 off 46 balls (5 fours), in the 17th over. The third wicket fell on 141 when Justin Smith was out for a blistering 22 of 12 balls, caught by Harrison Baxter from the bowling of Riley Cameron, after hitting the previous two balls for consecutive sixes. Kasun Ekanayake, the top scorer for Kilsyth, was caught by Ryan Webster, bowled Max Wallace for a classy 61 off 53 balls (10 fours and 1 six), to see Kilsyth now 4/152 off after 23 overs. The fifth wicket fell on 154 in the next over but then Captain Robert Hutchings and Ryan Tooth consolidated, adding 65 for the sixth wicket. They kept the scoreboard ticking over before Hutchings was caught for a well-made 45 off 43 balls (5 fours and 1 six). At that stage, Kilsyth were 6/219 and then 7/219 after 36 overs, with Dylan Edwards picking up two wickets in consecutive balls. In the end, Kilsyth were dismissed for 233 after 37.5 overs with Ryan Tooth batting well to score 28 off 38 balls (3 fours and 1 six).
Healesville lost regular early wickets in the run chase and were 6/76, before 45 runs were added by Grant Braden and Ben Wallace for the seventh wicket. Braden was eventually caught by Ryan Tooth off the bowling of Kasun Ekanayake for a brisk 60 off 49 balls (7 fours and 2 sixes). Then Matthew Burgess took another wicket (lbw), and Healesville were now 8/122. However, the Bloods didn’t give up with a fighting ninth wicket partnership of 67 between Ben Wallace, 50 not out off 65 balls (4 fours and 3 sixes), and Samuel Keath, 31 off 27 balls (3 fours and 2 sixes). Kilsyth’s Justin Smith captured the last two wickets to take the bowling honours with 4/24 off 6.4 overs, and Healesville were all out for 189 off 35.4 overs.
The Fourth XI’s match against Warrandyte saw another high scoring match with the game going down to the last over at Warrandyte High School. Warrandyte won the toss and elected to bowl first. However, Kilsyth posted a mammoth 5/251cc after their allotted 36 overs and there were some excellent batting performances. Ravin Mehra produced an outstanding innings of 75 not out off 35 balls, including 8 fours and 4 sixes. Captain Anthony Sequeira was not far behind with 64 off 51 balls (8 fours and 2 sixes), whilst openers Rhys Kearney 40 off 65 balls (6 fours), and Andrew Smith 25 off 48 balls (3 fours and 1 six), were also amongst the runs. The highest partnership was 123 for the fifth wicket between Anthony Sequeira and Ravin Mehra.
In reply, Warrandyte had two century partnerships and were on track to overtake Kilsyth’s big score. Firstly, an opening partnership of 103 between Peter Hanson and Greg Warren was dominated by Warren, who smashed 80 off 71 balls (13 fours and 1 six). With the score still on 103, Hanson retired for 19 off 38 balls. Then a 140-run third wicket partnership between Frazer Cummings and Nathan Croft threatened to win the game for Warrandyte. With one over to bowl Warrandyte needed an unlikely 20 to win off the last over. However, when Croft hit the first two balls for six, the equation became a gettable 8 runs off 4 balls and the tension mounted. It was then that Ravin Mehra saved the day for Kilsyth by running out Nathan Croft on the third ball of the over for a brilliant 91 off 64 balls (10 fours and 3 sixes). The last over was completed with two dots and a single to see Kilsyth run out winners by 7 runs and Warrandyte’s innings close on 3/244. Frazer Cummings remained 38 not out off 43 balls. It was a great finish to a great game of cricket, which was well played by both sides. The sole wicket taker for Kilsyth was Under 14 player Tait Harper, who took 1/36 off 5 overs.
The Fifth XI restricted Templeton to 8/125cc off their allotted 36 overs at Milpera Reserve. The best of the bowlers were: John Wilson, who captured 4/18 off 7 overs, Greg Gommers 1/13 off 5 overs, Stewart Gibb 1/11 off 6 overs, Shaun Goodwin 1/18 off 6 overs, and Hayden Monds 1/24 off 4 overs. Top scorers for Templeton were Arun Nair, 30 off 39 balls (6 fours), Jack Taylor 28 off 37 balls (6 fours), and Jason Stone 20 not out off 32 balls. Kilsyth were untroubled chasing down the target and finished on 4/127 off 25.5 overs. Major run scorers were Geoff Kennedy 50 retired not out off 63 balls (10 fours), and Steve Galea 41 not out off 35 balls (1 four and 5 sixes). It was a good win for the Fifth XI who are second on the ladder after 9 one-day rounds.
On Sunday, the Women’s First XI won the toss and batted against North Ringwood at Colman Reserve, South Warrandyte. After being 0/17 off the first two overs, the Redbacks lost regular wickets and slumped to 8/50 after 20 overs. However, a fighting 37-run ninth wicket partnership (a Club record), between Faye Baxevanis, 18 off 34 balls, and Nisansala Hettiarachchi, 12 not out off 38 balls, added some respectability to Kilsyth’s final score of 9/87cc off 30 overs. North Ringwood’s multiple wicket takers were Jessica Smith with 4/23 off 6 overs, and Darcy Collins 2/1 off 3 overs. Kilsyth’s bowlers were competitive but, in the end North Ringwood achieved the target for the loss of six wickets in 24.4 overs. Top scorers were Emma Peter-Budge, 33 off 60 balls (3 fours), and Jessica Smith 24 off 37 balls. For Kilsyth, Georgia Smith took 3/18 off 6 overs, Courtney Anderson 1/12 off 6 overs and Avanthi Jayawickrema 1/16 off 5 overs.
