Jonty's Jottings - February 7-9

A big report this week, because for the first time in a long time, we have 12 matches to talk about, but the highlight undoubtedly belongs to Felix Fischer, who was selected to make his second grade debut as wicketkeeper. Great stuff Felix, a massive congratulations to you and good luck for your stint behind the stumps this week.

 

Thankyou very much to everyone who jumped on board with the pie orders - if everything goes to plan they should be at the club on Saturday morning and ready for pick-up during the afternoon. I will contact those who ordered when their orders are ready. It looks like we have raised a significant amount of money, so thankyou everyone who pitched and enjoy the spoils of your support!

 

A reminder for the dads and mums who enjoy a game of cards - the annual Moonee Valley Cricket Club poker night will be held at the clubrooms on Saturday, February 22. The details are below. Hope to see you there!

 

 

Further details are still to come, but the senior MVP vote counts will be held at the clubrooms on Sunday night, March 8, so if you have played any senior cricket (or even if you haven't) we would love to see you there!

 

 

Onto the cricket, and we had wins for the 4s (YAY!!!) and 5s and losses for the 3s and 7s, while the 1s, 6s, U16(1), U16(2) and U12 are in winning positions, the 2s game is in the balance and the 14s have a chance to bounce back to pull off a win this week. Unfortunately no details have been submitted for the U10s, so I can't tell you anything!

 

We have three one-day teams to be picked for Sunday, including the quarter-final for the 7s, so please get your availabilities in - especially for the 7s, where we need to get permission to get you in for the finals.

 

Here's what happened:

 

1st Grade - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 6/104 v Melton South 117. Both top orders struggled on a spicy deck, with Valleys being well on top when we cut the Royals down to 6/42 before 31 and 38--run partnerships got them into triple figures. Skipper Jack Newman (4/12) was again the star with the ball, giving himself a remarkable 10/38 in the past two innings. He found support from Nate Wolland (3/21) and Sameera Vithana (2/35). Our batting went much the same way, with a horrible collapse to 6/39 before Nadeera Thuppahi (45no) and Sumit Anand (30no) put on 65 unbroken for the seventh wicket to put us in sight of victory. Luca Nimorakiotakis (0/19) is playing his second first grade game, which is great to see. Ladder Position: 1st

 

2nd Grade - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 157 v Melton South 0/18. As I said, this one is hanging in the balance entering day 2. No details have been submitted as yet, but Jay Patel (67) was the star with the bat to help lift the Valleys to a competitive total in a must-win match. The Royals' batsmen survived eight testing overs before stumps, so early wickets are imperative this week. Another huge congratulations to Felix Fischer on his second grade debut alongside Josh Norsetter, once again proving there are plenty of opportunities for you young stars to become the next heroes of our great club. Ladder Position: 5th

 

3rd Grade - 45 overs - Moonee Valley 157 lost to Royal Park Reds 9/163 by six runs. Another near miss leaves our team needing two wins from the last three games to make the finals. Having lost to the Reds by just three runs in Round 3, this time it was a paltry six runs the difference at the end. Dean Jukic (4/23) continued his marvellous season with the ball, well supported by Sohail Hussain (3/18), but a 102-run stand for the third wicket proved crucial. Mark Gauci (50) got the chase off to a flyer, but wickets fell regularly at the other end as we slumped to 7/93. Sagar Bhatia (35) and Matt Esmore (23) rallied with a 43-run partnership, but we fell just short. Ladder Position: 5th

 

4th Grade - 45 overs - Moonee Valley 5/98 def Burnley CYMS 96 by five wickets with 169 balls to spare. A rare bright spot in what has been a tough season as we picked up our third win of the year  and all but guaranteed we would avoid the wooden spoon. After a great run out from Dhaval Patel, Burnley moved comfortably to 1/68 before the tide turned. A brilliant spell from Geoff Shiell (3/21) opened the door before Prashant Hirani (4/10) took 4/1 off 17 balls on debut to rip them out for 96. Jay Patel (32) and Prashant (25) made short work of the chase, lifting us to 2/87 before a late hiccup - a team hat-trick - sent a few shudders through the camp. But there were no more dramas and we got over the line. Ladder Position: 7th

 

5th Grade - 35 overs - Moonee Valley 8/236 def Genesis 149 by 87 runs. The Shiners' pre-season is drawing to a close, with just one more game before the real stuff starts. And this was another dominant display. Sam Kater (58 off 34) clubbed it around, while Paddy Shelton (41no), Liam Shaw (30), Dom Rettino (26) and Liam Farrell (22) all chipped in to tally a big score. It was far too big for Genesis, with Justin Trowell (4/29) being the destroyer to keep them well in check. Ladder Position: 2nd

 

6th Grade - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 0/15 v Sydenham Hillside 120. The Candyman Can! See the story on our website to read about Mitch Britton, who is a new player to our club this year, and after years of trying, finally broke through for a maiden Michelle Pfeiffer, taking 5/30. It was an outstanding bowling display by the Valleys against the second placed Storm, helped by four excellent catches at slip from club legend Darren "Spud" Nagle. Jackson Price and Markus Harris saw off 10 overs before stumps to have us in good shape to potentially move into the top four. Full details have not been submitted. Dejan Gilevski is playing in the game. Ladder Position: 5th

 

7th Grade - 35 overs - Moonee Valley 124 lost to Kealba-Green Gully 147 by 23 runs. So close, yet so far. The Valleys went within a sniff of that first win for the season heading into the quarter-finals, and it was Josh Norsetter who carried the team on his back. He took 2/0 off his first three overs before finishing with 2/17, then added two catches and a runout for good measure. He then top scored with 41 as the team fell short of what would have been a great win. Tomas Morrissy (2/23 and 19) was the second best player on the ground in another great sign for the future, while Noah Nimorakiotakis (1/11 and 0no) picked up another senior wicket and Felix Fischer (8) and Bevan Holder made up five juniors in the same team. Awesome! Shaun Rayment (21) also batted extremely well late in the innings. There was one other highlight I must mention. Gavin Fischer hasn't played cricket for I believe about 35 years, but his baseball ability saw jaws drop when he launched a massive six almost onto the freeway - into the wind! Wow, Gavin, you'll have to face the little red ball a bit more often in future. Finals this week, GO VALLEYS! Ladder Position: 7th

 

Under 16 (1) - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 0/98 v Flemington 134. Needing an outright win to stay in finals contention, the boys certainly did their part on day one to be in total control. Dylan Pleban (2/0) was impossible to hit with the ball, before Bevan Holder (62no) and Luca Nimorakiotakis took control of the chase. Keep going in the same vein this week boys! Ladder Position: 6th

 

Under 16 (2) - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 2/128 v Pascoe Vale United 2/63. Again the boys played brilliant cricket and have themselves in a position where making the finals remains in our own hands. Excellent batting from Tomas Morrissy (63no), who made the highest score of his young career and his first 50 since under-12s to have the team in great shape. Well done Tomas, the second of many big scores I'm sure. We're backing you to go on with it. Nam Nguyen (19) hit two sixes, while Harry and Max Pickering took the wickets. Ladder Position: 4th

 

Under 14 (3) - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 5/85 v Burnside Springs 1/174. It was a tough evening for the boys, but they stuck at their task manfully and will benefit from that in the long run. Lachie Monger (19no) held the batting innings together, while Zac Nilsson picked up the wicket. Ladder Position: 8th

Under 12 (4) - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 3/103 v East Coburg 5/99. Our boys have a narrow lead with two extra wickets in hand at half-time. Jeremy Sevenson (20ret) and Archie Frazer (11ret) batted beautifully, while Antonio Baldino (2/1) struck twice in one over to set-up a shot at a win that could put us in the top four and earn a home final. Ladder Position: 6th

 

Under 10 - One-dayer - Moonee Valley v Preston Druids. No details submitted for this game.

 

 

Here are the games this week:

 

FRIDAY

Under 16 (1) - Day 2 v Flemington at Ormond Park East 6th v 8th

Under 16 (2) - Day 2 v Pascoe Vale United at Debneys Park 4th v 9th

Under 14 (3) - Day 2 v Burnside Springs at Burnside Heights Rec Reserve 1 8th v 2nd

Under 12 (4) - Day 2 v East Coburg at Jackson Reserve, Coburg North 6th v 8th

Under 10 - One-dayer v Taylors Lakes Blue at Ormond Park West

 

SATURDAY

1st Grade - Day 2 v Melton South Royals at Ormond Park West 1st v 5th

2nd Grade - Day 2 v Melton South Royals at Emmanuel College, Altona North 5th v 3rd

5th Grade - 35 overs v Donnybrook at Ormond Park East 2nd v 1st for the minor premiership

6th Grade - Day 2 v Sydenham-Hillside at Taylors Hill Rec Reserve 5th v 2nd

SUNDAY

3rd Grade - 45 overs v National at Fawkner Park 4, South Yarra 5th v 1st

4th Grade - 45 overs v Brunswick at Ormond Park West 7th v 6th

7th Grade - QUARTER FINAL - 35 overs v Aintree at Frontier Reserve West, Rockbank 7th v 2nd

 

GO VALLEYS!

 

Jonty (Brendan Rhodes)