By Les Hutchings
It was a round of mixed results for Kilsyth’s senior and junior cricket teams on the weekend with four wins, a draw and three losses, including the Women’s epic game which went down to the wire. Jake Powell was Kilsyth’s highest run scorer with 78 not out (9 fours and 1 six), playing for the Fourth XI, and the best bowling performance came from Justin Smith, who took 4/70 off 31 overs (11 maidens) for the Third XI.
Kilsyth First XI resumed their innings on Day 2 at 1/12 off 8 overs chasing Croydon Ranges’ score of 191. It was an overcast, windy day with showers predicted. Kilsyth’s score had progressed to 1/31 off 14.5 overs when rain stopped play for 7 minutes. Upon resumption, Jack Childs and Hayden Pleming batted steadily to take the score to 1/38 off 22.3 overs when rain stopped play again, this time for 34 minutes. Almost immediately after getting back onto the field, Pleming was caught at cover by Blake Smith off the bowling of Mitchell Thomas, and Kilsyth were now 2/38 after 23.2 overs. Nightwatchmen Pleming had scored a patient 11 off 65 balls, and Jack Childs was then on 23 not out.
This brought Andy Solomons to the crease and he and Childs lifted the score to 2/59 off 27 overs when an early tea break was taken at 2.52pm, due to more rain tumbling down. At that stage Solomons was on 19 not out and Childs was on 25 not out. After a 27-minute tea break, the weather improved enough for play to get underway. Jack Childs played out a maiden over and then Andy Solomons, facing his first ball after the break, left a ball from spinner Jack Blyth that, to his surprise, clipped the top of the off bail and Solomons was out bowled for 19 off 20 balls. This was a big blow for Kilsyth. Captain Marcus Adams and Childs tried to steady the innings but with the score on 82 in the 40th over, Mitchell Thomas struck again, when he had Adams caught behind by Will Gadsden for 8 off 37 balls. From there the innings basically folded and Kilsyth were dismissed for 95 off 53.1 overs, losing their last 7 wickets for 13 runs.
The bright spot for the Redbacks was the innings of opener Jack Childs, who top scored with 46 off 151 balls. There is one more round left in the Trollope Shield competition, with Kilsyth on 31 points in second last spot, only 0.027 per cent above Ainslie Park. Hence, the Redbacks need to win their last match to avoid relegation.
The Second XI, after scoring 263 last week, resumed their match against Croydon Ranges Second XI at Pinks Reserve. Ranges lost early wickets to be 1/2, 2/8, 3/8 and then 4/38, before a 92-run fifth wicket partnership between Captain Michael Crosbie and Jake Bradley ended when Crosbie was bowled by spinner Kasun Ekanayake for 68 off 127 balls. Ranges were now 5/130. When Bradley was run out for 37 off 94 balls, Ranges had slumped to 6/144 with Kilsyth gaining the ascendancy. From there wickets fell regularly, 7/153, 8/158, 9/183 and all out for 183 in 62.1 overs, with Harrison Low scoring 21 off 21 balls. Kilsyth’s opening bowlers bowled well. Captain Daniel Stapelfeldt captured 3/37 off 14 overs, whilst Scott Nicholson snared 2/36 off 16 overs. Spinner Kasun Ekanayake was tidy, taking 2/55 off 20.1 overs, and medium pacer Matthew Young took 1/22 off 5 overs. It was a good win for the Second XI, who have won their last two matches, after losing their third last match very narrowly by one wicket in the last over.
At Kimberley Reserve, the Third XI resumed their match against Chirnside Park, who were 0/9 off 10 overs at stumps last week, chasing Kilsyth’s score of 218. Chirnside lost their first wicket with the score on 42 in the 26th over when Barry Collins was caught by Dylan Smith off the bowling of Max Wills for 26 off 74 balls. At tea Chirnside had progressed to 1/71 off 43 overs, with 47 overs still remaining. Sugar Ray Turner was on 22 not out and Kaiden Holliday on 15 not out. After tea, spinner Justin Smith achieved the breakthrough with the score on 91 in the 51st over, when Holliday was caught by Kilsyth Captain Robert Hutchings for 23 off 91 balls. Turner and Scott Luckhurst then added 29 for the third wicket before Luckhurst was trapped lbw by pace bowler Joel Gibb for 20 off 31 balls. Then, another quick wicket, bowled by Justin Smith and Chirnside were now 4/124 after 56 overs with 34 overs remaining. The fifth and big wicket of Sugar Ray Turner came with the score on 147, when Turner was caught by Robert Hutchings off Justin Smith for a patient 54 off 211 balls.
When rain stopped play, the game was in the balance with Chirnside Park on 5/155 after 75.1 overs, needing 64 runs to win off the last 14.5 overs. After the resumption of play, the sixth wicket fell on 158, Jackson Lehmann being caught behind by Anthony Cook, bowled Justin Smith, for 15 off 26 balls. The score progressed to 176 after 80 overs when Dylan Smith picked up his first wicket, Reuben Johnson caught behind by Anthony Cook for 13 off 24 balls. From there the wickets tumbled and Chirnside were all out for 185 in 84.1 overs. The wicket takers for Kilsyth were Justin Smith, 4/70 off 31 overs, Dylan Smith 19.3 overs 3/33, Max Wills 1/21 off 11 overs, and Joel Gibb, bowling for the first time after recovering from an injury, 13 overs 1/13. The Third XI have now won six out of their last seven matches and this latest win has moved them up from fifth to third place, with one round remaining before the finals.
The Fourth XI resumed their split innings match against Chirnside Park with Kilsyth 3/102 at the end of the first split, and in reply Chirnside were 3/134 at stumps. On Saturday, Chirnside resumed batting and posted 8/276cc off their 72 allotted overs. In addition to Darren Cameron’s 53 last week, Cameron Anderson scored 47 off 104 balls, Captain Paul Dryden 36 off 58 balls, Seth McDonnell 24 off 28 balls, and Joshua Singh-Sawyers 27 not out off 23 balls. The best of Kilsyth’s bowlers were Michael Sturt, who took 3/55 off 12 overs, Rhys Kearney 2/46 off 9 overs, Hayden Monds 1/30 off 9 overs, and Travis Tyszkiewicz 1/37 off 11 overs. In reply, Kilsyth batted well but fell 16 runs short, finishing on 9/260cc from 72 overs. After being 9/211, Jake Powell and Travis Tyszkiewicz (9 not out), shared an unbroken last wicket partnership of 49 when stumps were drawn. The previous week, Captain Anthony Sequeira scored 38, Shaun Goodwin 33 and Rhys Keaney 19. However, the standout innings on Saturday came from Jake Powell, who top scored with 78 not out off 120 balls, whilst Jamie Tooth scored 18 off 25 balls, and Michael Sturt 17 off 12 balls. The multiple wicket takers for Chirnside Park were Trent Summers, 3/40 off 8 overs, Seth McDonnell 2/48 off 9 overs, and Justin Moore 2/62 off 9 overs. Kilsyth’s Fourths are currently fourth on the ladder with one home and away round remaining.
The Fifth XI’s one-day match against Hoddle’s Creek was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to the state of the pitch after heavy rain.
Kilsyth Women’s First XI (second), played Wandin (first) in a top of the table clash at Pinks Reserve on Sunday. The game was an absolute thriller that went down to the last over. Wandin won the toss and elected to bowl. A late start due to rain reduced the match to 28 overs per side. Kilsyth lost their first wicket on the last ball of the fourth over to be 1/14. It was soon 2/15, 3/18 and 4/19 in the 8th over with Tilly Pearce picking up 3 wickets. At 5/38 after 14 overs, Kilsyth were in even more trouble, but a 31-run partnership between Sarah Gibbs (11), and Captain Ashleigh Katoa, lifted the score to 6/69 in the 22nd over, but it soon became 7/72 after 23 overs. Ashleigh Katoa and Lecia Baldry then took the score to 8/104cc off 28 overs when Lecia was adjudged lbw on the last ball of the innings for 8 off 16 balls. Katoa finished on 36 not out off 38 balls. Wandin’s wicket takers were Tilly Pearce 3/16 off 6 overs, Olivia Edwards 2/13 off 6 overs, Charlotte Edwards 2/29 off 6 overs, and Lisa Vanderzee 1/10 off 3 overs.
Wandin got off to a great start in the run chase, aided by five early dropped catches, and took the score to 0/48 off 14 overs when Gayle Burgi retired hurt for 17. The first wicket fell on 66 at the end of the 18th over with medium pacer Avanythi Jayawickrema achieving the breakthrough. When opener Charlotte Edwards was caught and bowled by Kilsyth Captain Ashleigh Katoa for 41 off 66 balls (4 fours), Wandin had advanced to 2/80 off 20.4 overs and were well on top. However, Katoa claimed another wicket with her next ball and Wandin were now 3/80. It soon became 4/85 and then 5/85 after 22 overs when Georgia Smith claimed two wickets in consecutive balls (both clean bowled). A run out in the next over with a throw by Avanthia Jayawickrema to Lecia Baldry at the bowler’s end, saw Wandin slump to 6/87 in the 23rd over. Georgia Smith then claimed another wicket (lbw) in the 25th over (7/93), followed by Lecia Baldry capturing the eighth wicket (clean bowled), to see Wandin 8/97 after 26 overs. Two runs came from Georgia Smith’s next over and Wandin were 8/99 with one over remaining. Lecia Baldry struck again with the first ball of the last over (clean bowled) and Wandin now needed 6 runs off the last 5 balls for victory with one wicket in hand. The last batter was opener Gayle Burgi, who had retired hurt earlier, and she came out with a runner. Unfortunately for Kilsyth, the next ball was an over the waist high full toss no ball that was dispatched to the boundary for four to level the scores. Then two dot balls increased the tension but a quick single off the third last ball gave Wandin the win in an epic finish. Burgi finished on 22 not out off 45 balls (2 fours). For Kilsyth, Georgia Smith, playing her 50th game for the Kilsyth Women’s Team, captured 3/16 off 6 overs, Ashleigh Katoa 2/10 off 3 overs, Lecia Baldry 2/19 off 5.4 overs, and Avanthi Jayawickrema 1/13 off 3 overs. Well played to both sides in a game that was played in great sporting spirit. Despite the loss, Kilsyth’s women retained second place on the ladder.
The previous week, the U16-1’s were dismissed for 102 and in reply, Norwood were 1/56 off 15 overs at stumps. Norwood resumed batting last Saturday morning and compiled 3/232 off 45 overs when the game was called off. The top scorers for Norwood were William Elford 66 not out off 50 balls (7 fours), James Matthews 65 off 83 balls (3 fours), Andrew Kelly 35 off 64 balls (2 fours), and Liam Irvine 22 not out off 31 balls. For Kilsyth, Luke Childs took 1/17 of 4 overs, Josh Bock 1/29 off 4 overs, and Matthew Smith 1/25 off 8 overs.
The Under 14-5 combined Yarra Glen/Kilsyth team had another very close one-day match. Last week the game went down to the last ball and they lost by one run against Mount Evelyn. This week they managed to defeat top side Yarra Junction by one run following a run out off the very last ball of the match! Yarra Glen/Kilsyth won the toss and elected to bat scoring 6/126cc off their allotted 25 overs. The main run getters were Lucas Burke, 27 retired not out off 25 balls (4 fours), Lawson Appleton 26 off 21 balls (3 fours), Ronak Mehra 24 off 23 balls (3 fours), and Daniel Shaw 11 retired not out off 25 balls. The wickets were shared amongst the Yarra Junction bowlers with six individual wicket takers. In reply, Yarra Junction scored 8/125cc off their 25 overs. There were four run outs in the Yarra Junction innings including the last ball run out, and there were four single wicket takers for Yarra Glen/Kilsyth. The top scorers for Yarra Junction were Beau Asztalos 24 retired not out off 25 balls (4 fours), Taj Thornton-Lindsay 20 not out off 27 balls (4 fours), Jaiden Lever 17 off 26 balls (1 four), and Tyson Oates 17 off 24 balls (2 fours). The U14’s are in third place behind Mount Evelyn on percentage, whom they play in the last round.
Last Friday evening the U12-4’s played Warranwood at Roy Baldwin Oval, Pinks Reserve. The Redbacks won the toss and elected to bowl. Warranwood posted 5/85cc off their allotted 23 overs. Jacob McLeod was the best of the batsmen with 15 retired not out off 30 balls (2 fours). There two run outs and the single wicket takers for Kilsyth were Thomas Berntsen 1/4 off 2 overs, Noah Stirling 1/5 off 3 overs, and Isaac Donley 1/11 off 2 overs. Kilsyth replied with 3/103cc with Zion Solomons scoring 18 retired not out off 15 balls (1 four), Zack Mellerick 13 retired not out off 15 balls (1 four), and Thomas Berntsen 13 not out off 14 balls (3 fours). Caleb Ingram took 1/9 off 3 overs for Warranwood. With one round remaining, the U12’s are third on the ladder.
