Pythons pick up where they left off - CSB Mens Round 7 Recap

The CSB Mens season continued over the weekend, and whilst clubs and teams found themselves impacted by the spread of covid in the southeast, the round still produced highlights and excitement.

In Championship Division, South Caulfield picked up where they left off, recording an 8 wicket win over Carnegie.

Sent into bat, Carnegie bounced back from the loss of early wickets to post a defendable total of 162. Tirun Rabari played an important middle order role, finishing with 52 off 83 deliveries. Five South bowlers shared the wickets at two-apiece, again led by Lachlon Mahon who finished with 2/22 off 7.5 overs.

South Caulfield’s response was clinical, again completing the chase without the need to expose the middle-lower order. Josh O’Donnell (57 off 83) and Will Russell (64* off 80) batted with poise, making light work of the chase, reaching the target in the 36th over just two wickets down.

Mordiallocs win over Beaumaris takes them to second place, and one step closer to a potential post season birth.

The Bloodhounds batted first against an undermanned Beaumaris outfit, posting a total of 8/129 off their allotted overs. In a day where runs were hard to come by, with Ryan Morris (28) and AK Tyrone (24) top scoring for the home side. Cam Watts (2/25 off 8) and Tom Mellick (2/29 off 8) bowled well, collecting two wickets each and doing their part to restrict their opponent’s total.

It appeared to be one of ‘those days’ for Beaumaris, crumbling all out for just 69 in their response, losing the final four wickets for three runs. AK Tyrone again proved his value for the Bloodhounds, taking 3/14 to round out his performance, and was supported by Jacob Woinarski (2/24 off 8) and Chamindu Mathra (2/15 off 5).

Hampton upset Bentleigh away to record their first win of the season, starting 2022 on a more positive note than it finished.

Winning the toss and batting first, Hampton reached a total of 9/136 off their 40 overs. Charlie Ross (29 off 54) and Jarrod Hewitt 24 off 33) looked the best for the seahorses, while Brendan Drew (3/25 off 8) and Adrian McInnes (2/15 off 8) were the best with the ball.

Bentleigh’s chase went right down to the wire, finishing the innings just three runs shy of the target, eight-wickets down. Gregory Buckley (51 off 80) anchored the demons’ innings, butting superbly for his half century. Charlie Ross continued his reliable season with the ball, finishing with 2/14 off 8 overs.

Murrumbeena and Bonbeach shared the points.

In Division 1, Mentone leant on their middle order to get the job done against Clayton District.

Batting first, Mentone went from 0/35 to 4/36 in the blink of an eye, with their star batters in Cormie, Edgeworth and Heverin among the casualties. This gave the tigers middle order an opportunity to shine, with Gavin Brown (44) top scoring, closely supported by Travis Price, who finished with 37 in his first one’s match for the season. The Tigers were dismissed in the 37th over for 181, with Joel Rigoni (4/38 off 6.5) the pick of the bowlers.

Clayton District struggled in response, dismissed for 117 with six overs to spare. Navdeep Singh was the only shining light for the Clays, batting brilliantly for 71* off 93 balls, but lacking support from his teammates. The wickets were shared amongst the Mentone bowlers, with Darcy Brown (2/21 off 6) and Josh Fisher (2/24 off 5) leading the charge.

St Brigids St Louis found themselves on the winners list for the first time this season, upsetting Dingley at home.

Sent into bat, Dingley struggled to build partnerships, falling all out for 126 in the 36th over. Jamieson Mulready (50 off 82) was the rock of the Dingo innings, with eight batsmen failing to reach double figures. St Brigids openers James Barker (2/17 off 6) and Angus Macquire (3/28 off 7) both bowled brilliantly to pick up multiple wickets.

The Saints made light work of the chase, reaching the target with six overs to spare, only four wickets down. Ashley Wood (45 off 70) top scored in his debut 1st XI game for the season, supported well by James Vanminnen (31 off 65) and Oisin Gribben (32 off 82).

Parkdale United continued their red-hot early season form into 2022, defeating McKinnon to join them in equal second position.

Losing the toss and sent into bat, Parkdale Untied were unable to get away from the Mckinnon bowlers, dismissed all out for 116 in 33.3 overs. Rahul Shanmugam (23) and Ben Marsh (24) top scored for the Pythons, in conditions that seemed to favor the fielding side. McKinnon’s’ bowling unit impressed again, with Ben Porter (3/37 off 7.3), Wade King (2/7 off 5), and Brian Kulasena (2/19 off 8) sharing the bulk of the wickets.

In response, the Pythons, showing the same belief and determination that has seen them perform so well this year, dismissing the Heat for 104 in the 39th over, securing a 12-run victory. Rahul Shanamugam (3/29 off 7), Cal Ravesi (2/9 off 7.1), and Ben Marsh (2/22 off 8) shared the brunt of the damage with ball in hand.

Parkdale edged themselves closer to the finals race, with an important win over Brighton District at home.

After a slight delay to the game, Parkdale overcame the early loss of Ab Das (9) to post a score of 8/134 off their 32 overs. Geoffrey Crosby (38 off 66) provided composure at the top of the order, supported by Grant Chatfield (31 off 44) in the middle. Up and coming junior Max Ralph was the star of the bowlers, picking up 3/18 off his 7 overs.

In response, Brighton District fell all out for 85 in the last over. 15-year-old debutant Jake Cotchin (18 off 40) and club stalwart Stephen Hill (19 of 29) fought hard towards the end of the innings, but the damage had already been done. Lachlan Cox (3/26 off 7) and James Billings (3/7 off 5.1) both finished with three-apiece.

Division 2

Bayside 114 (D O’keefe 62, M Bowen 3/16) def by 4/115 (M Bowen 46, DJ Andrews 2/28)

Aspendale drew w/ Chelsea

South Caulfield 8/177 (A Welcome 41, A Suresh 4/33) def by Carnegie 4/182 (L Middag 86*, D Ford 2/37)

Cheltenham 3/81 def Bentleigh 7/74 (R Mott 34*, T Batchelor 3/9)

Batting Performances of the Week

Lex Middag (Carnegie) 86* vs South Caulfield (Division 2)

Navdeep Singh (Clayton District) 71* vs Mentone (Division 1)

William Russell (South Caulfield) 64* vs Carnegie (Championship)

Bowling Performances of the Week

Arvind Suresh (Carnegie) 4/33 vs South Caulfield (Division 2)

Joel Rigoni (Clayton District) 4/38 vs Mentone (Division 1)

James Billings (Parkdale) 3/7 vs Brighton District (Division 1)