CSB Mens - Round 3 Recap

Round 3 certainly lived up to the expectations set by a thrilling first week of play, as clubs and players settled in to the 2021/22 season with another Round of enthralling cricket.

Upsets, final over victories and covid interruptions, Round 3 had close to it all.

In Championship Division, Bentleigh and South Caulfield backed up their round 1 victories with strong performances to break away at the top of the ladder, while Beaumaris prevailed over Hampton in a final over thriller.

Mordialloc hosted Bentleigh, with both teams looking to claim their second win in as many matches. Batting first, Bentleigh posted a competitive total of 5/172, mainly thanks to an unbeaten knock of 92 (103) from Brendan Drew.

Full of confidence from the previous week, the Bloodhounds fought valiantly but fell 8 runs shy, dismissed for 164 with 7 balls remaining. Chamindu Mathra backed up his unbeaten century with a rock solid 59 (82), but it wasn’t enough for the home team to collect the points. Finding themselves at 2/119, Mordialloc could look back on this loss as a chance gone begging.

Beaumaris immediately bounced back from their disappointing week 1 loss to claim a thrilling last over win against neighbors Hampton. Stumbling to 2/3, Kenny (84 from 104) and Munday (66 from 104) put on 158 to guide the Seahorses to a strong total of 6/198, with Will Avery the pick of the bowlers with 3/38 (8).

The Sharks showed their character, fighting back from 5/51 to reach the target 9 wickets down, with just 1 ball to spare. A team building win steered by Jonathan Leadbeater (65 off 75), who partnered up skipper Cam Watts at a crucial time to steady the ship. Munday finished with 5 dismissals to go with his classy half century.

South Caulfield proved that little bit too strong for Bonbeach, defending their total of 9/193 at Shark Park. Bradley top scored with 36, as South Caulfield gave us an example of their top order depth and how hard they will be to contain if one or more of their top five gets away early. Mueller and Bailey finished with three-a-piece for the Sharks.

In reply, Bonbeach struggled to build momentum, with partnerships forming and then falling. Gales (39) and Bailey (29) got the Sharks into the position of 3/111, but with neither batters going on with their starts, 194 proved too many as they finished their innings 10/169.

Murrumbeena and Carnegie shared the points, with the game called a draw due to a covid outbreak.

In Division 1, Dingley sent a message to the rest of the competition with a dominant win over premiership favorites Mentone.

Batting first, Mentone found themselves at 2/152, and with former Dandenong teammates set at the crease a huge total looked ominous. What followed was a game deciding collapse at the hands of Bevin Corneille (5/46 off 8), as the Tigers failed to capitalize on their start, falling to 8/180. Edgeworth (46 off 75) and Heverin (75 off 75) showed class but were let down by their middle-lower order teammates on this occasion.

The Dingoes controlled their innings to perfection, reaching the target in the last over but only 3 wickets down. Luke Spears batted brilliantly for an unbeaten 108 off 103 balls, guiding the team to their second win of the season.

Brighton District were able to overcome a disappointing round 1 loss to defeat Parkdale United. Batting first, the Pythons posted 8/195, led by Rahul Shanmugam who finished with 61.

Needing a strong start, the Dragons opened their account with a partnership of 103, as Lasky (40 off 69) and Oldfield (67 off 80) did what they have done so many times before. Despite the strong starting position, the Dragons stumbled to the finish line, losing 5/18 to reach the target 8 down with 5 balls remaining.

Mckinnon were able to hold off Parkdale in another thriller, with the two-blues falling just 6 runs shy of their first win of the year. The Heat posted a total of 6/181, guided by an unbeaten 84 from club recruit Luke Heath.

Parkdale lost wickets regularly throughout their chase, which ultimately prevented them from reaching their target. Das (44 off 36) top scored for the home side, while King led the Mckinnon bowlers with 3/31 off 7.2, claiming the final and match winning wicket.

Clayton District enter the winners list, with a relatively comfortable 5-wicket win over St Brigids St Louis.

Batting first, the young saints side managed to post a reasonably defendable total of 160, giving their inexperienced bowling attack a chance to restrict the opposition. Trae Love-Linay, one of the upcoming stars for the club, batted patiently for 31.

Clayton District chased the total down with two overs to spare, winning by five wickets. Jak Jowett (41) and Kevin Harris (42) did the bulk of the leg work for the Clays, who will look to build on their first win in the weeks to come.

Division 2:

Bentleigh 4/184 (M Stonier 102*, J Symons 2/29) def by Chelsea 5/185 (C Wenck 61*, J Symons 30*, S Booth 2/24)

Cheltenham 7/189 (L Dinger 95, S Brown 32*) def Aspendale 7/187 (S Donnell 3/41, T Batchelor 2/23)

Carnegie drew Middle Park (Covid)

South Caulfield 7/179 (J Ellwood 37, R Hunter 3/21) def Bayside 9/178 (D McMaster 35, R Pietsch 3/25)

Batting Performances of the Week:

Luke Spears (Dingley CC) 108* vs Mentone (Division 1)

Matt Stonier (Bentleigh CC) 102* vs Chelsea (Division 2)

Lachlan Dinger (Cheltenham CC) 95 vs Aspendale (Division 2)

Bowling Performances of the Week:

Bilendra Gunawardena (Bonbeach CC) 6/7 vs Glen Iris (One Day Division 2 Sunday)

Jason Abraham (Bentleigh CC) 6/12 vs Chelsea (One Day Division 1 Saturday)

Sumit Chhikara (Clayton District CC) 6/18 vs Parkdale United One Day Division 3 Sunday)