Jonty's Jottings - January 31-February 2

Onto the cricket, and unfortunately there's not much to report due to the heat on the Friday and the rain on Saturday. We saw some brilliant batting from Danny Terzini and Murray Price to keep the 6s' season alive and similar from Channa de Silva and Luca Nimorakiotakis to see the 7s go close to their first win, but the 3s fell short after struggling the bat and the 4s had another day to forget.

It was sad to see the 300th and 200th games of Jim Polonidis and Matt Thomas washed out just when the 2s and 1s were on their way to victory (as were the 5s), but a huge congratulations again to both of them.

 

We have three two-day teams to be picked for Saturday and three one-day teams for Sunday, so please get your availabilities in today.

 

Here's what happened:

 

1st Grade - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 2/77 drew Sunshine YCW 112. No play on Day 2 due to rain, meaning debutant Luca Nimorakiotakis didn't take the field. A great debut though. Ladder Position: 1st

 

2nd Grade - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 6/93 drew Sunshine YCW 115. After resuming at 5/60, we lost an early wicket, but debutant Jaykumar Patel (18no) and Jim Polonidis (13no) had us motoring towards the target in the little play that was possible before the rain set in. Josh Norsetter was ready and waiting to finish it off. Ladder Position: 5th

 

3rd Grade - 45 overs - Moonee Valley 122 lost to Youlden Parkville 8/129 by two wickets in the last over. Another scratchy batting performance on a wet pitch has left our boys needing a quick bounceback to hold their spot in the top 4. Only club legend Ian Denny (65) was able to provide any real resistance with the bat, with 10 being the second top score. Youlden got a great start with 41 for the first wicket and although we battled hard to pull them back, the damage was done. Sohail Hussain (3/27), Dean Jukic (2/21) and Sunil Bhandari (2/26) were the pick of the bowlers. Josh Norsetter (6 and 0/8) tried hard to turn the tide. Ladder Position: 5th

 

4th Grade - 45 overs - Moonee Valley 86 lost to Charles Sturt University 1/95 by nine wickets with 126 balls to spare. Another day where we were badly outclassed and never in the contest, but we also never gave up and fought it out right to the end. Nobody was able to reach 20 with the bat, and the only wicket we took came from a wonderful one-handed catch from Mitch Britton, who probably still doesn't know how he did it! This weekend is the first of our Grand Finals.  Ladder Position: 7th

 

5th Grade - 35 overs - Moonee Valley v Northern Lions 8/102. The Shiners were well on top when the rain came, thanks to an even bowling performance led by Cassidy Box (2/14) and Shane Chalmers (2/25). Ladder Position: 2nd

 

6th Grade - Two-dayer - Moonee Valley 3/207 def Preston Druids 170 by 37 runs/seven wickets. Needing just 47 to win and with rain threatening, a fast start was required. And skipper Danny Terzini delivered it. He started on 9no alongside the rocksolid Murray Price (57no), and by the time the heavens opened, he had caught up and we had the crucial six points. Danny (73no) and Murray (74no) did it all on their own on Day 2. Last week, Dejan Gilevski (24) put on a magnificent 107-run third-wicket partnership with Murray to recover after two early wickets - a performance that was just as important. With the ball, Mitch Britton (3/29) and Jesse Felle (3/47) led the way, while Dejan (1/20) and Tomas Morrissy (1/24) also picked up wickets. Ladder Position: 5th

 

7th Grade - 35 overs - Moonee Valley 3/148 lost to Hume 7/149 by three wickets with 53 balls to spare. What an amazing turnaround in form! Last time we met Hume, our bowlers were pounded to the tune of 443 runs off 35 overs. This time, we gave them an almighty fright and almost pinched a first win for the season. A terrific opening partnership of 122 from Channa de Silva (94) and Luca Nimorakiotakis (38) set us up to bat through the 35 overs for the first time since November. Then our young stars bowled beautifully to almost defend the score. Noah Nimorakiotakis (2/21) took his first two senior wickets - well done Noah! Luca (1/27) and Felix Fischer (1/33) were also successful, while Dejan Gilevski (0/14) was the most economical bowler. George Manousas (2/11) continued his strong introduction to our club. It was also brilliant to see Bevan Holder back in senior cricket, snaring two catches behind the stumps. Let's have a win this week boys! Ladder Position: 7th

 

Here are the games this week:

 

FRIDAY (finally!)

Under 16 (1) - Two-dayer v Flemington at Ormond Park East 6th v 8th

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

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

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

Under 10 - One-dayer v Preston Druids at AH Capp Reserve, Preston

 

SATURDAY

1st Grade - Two-dayer v Melton South Royals at Ormond Park West 1st v 5th

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

5th Grade - 35 overs v Genesis at Gibb Reserve, Broadmeadows 2nd v 6th

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

SUNDAY

3rd Grade - 45 overs v Royal Park Reds at Walker Oval West, Parkville 5th v 6th

4th Grade - 45 overs v Burnley CYMS at Ormond Park West 7th v 8th

7th Grade - 35 overs v Kealba-Green Gully at Ormond Park East 7th v 6th

 

GO VALLEYS!

 

Jonty (Brendan Rhodes)