I may be on holiday but that hasn’t stopped me from perusing the scenario at hand around the grounds.
THE PERTH TRIP IS NICE
I’m loving every bit of it. Travelled over to Perth to make a weekend of it, exploring what is a very lovely city. And naturally, of course, I decided it would be wise to spend some of my time watching some Shield cricket. Queensland and Western Australia doing battle at the WACA, which is a lovely ground full of history and heritage.
BACK TO THE CRICKET
Cricket finally got under way in the Diamond Valley Cricket Association and it is off to a flyer, with plenty of big scores and plenty of wickets.
LAST YEAR’S CHAMPS OFF AND RUNNING
Rosanna did it quite easily in the Barclay Shield to start off another premiership defence, defeating Heidelberg by eight wickets.
A very well-balanced team, Josh Henkel took three wickets, which Nick Horsford scored a comfortable 56 not out opening the batting as Rosanna needed just 27.1 overs to chase down Heidelberg’s 8/122.
Lewis Balcombe provided much of the resistance for Heidelberg, scoring 64 off 103.
ELTHAM’S PERFECT START
Eltham, promoted to Barclay Shield, got off to a flyer by defeating Diamond Creek by seven wickets.
The task appeared daunting when Diamond Creek posted 4/216, with Callum Doyle scoring 71 and Mark Phelan 77, but a heroic knock from Andrew Lamont was the story of the day.
Lamont hit 19 fours and one six as he scored 121 from 113 deliveries, allowing Eltham to chase the target with eight deliveries to spare.
STANLEY’S DAY OUT
It’s still a shock to see Riverside in Money Shield, but on first impressions, they do not plan to be there for long.
Mackenzie Stanley was simply dominant at Waterview Reserve on Saturday afternoon, smashing 11 fours and six sixes on his way to a super impressive 136 off 113 deliveries. Jack Atkinson ably supported him with 81 as Riverside made 2/246, before Mernda made 8/134 – Gareth Sharp providing a rear-guard action with 52.
UNBELIEVABLE FINISH AT MONTMORENCY
Needing 16 for victory in the final over, Montmorency didn’t look like winners as its game with Hurstbridge approached its conclusion.
Having earlier scored 89, Max Avard was tasked with the final over.
However, a four off the first ball made things a touch nervy, before a single was followed by five wides. Suddenly, Montmorency needed six runs from four balls, which soon became five runs with another wide.
A six from Thomas Downes with two balls left simultaneously brought up his 50 from 30 balls and victory for Montmorency in an incredible finish.
RYAN OPENS DYSON SHIELD WITH A BANG
History for the Diamond Valley competition, with the first-ever round of the new Dyson Shield played.
Having struggled enormously last season in Mash Shield, there were questions over how Old Ivanhoe Grammarians would perform, but on evidence of its first game, it looks like it will be more competitive.
Michael Ryan took the game away from Thomastown, smashing 117 off 100 deliveries to help Old Ivanhoe score 5/265, before bowling Thomastown out in 27 overs for just 109.
BOTTOM THREE LAST SEASON ALL WIN
It wasn’t just Old Ivanhoe who got its season off to a great start – Mill Park and Dennis, who finished 11th and 10th respectively in Mash Shield last season – also got off the mark with wins.
Dennis held on to record a six-run victory over South Morang away from home, while Mill Park accounted for Thomastown United by 26 runs.
THE LEADING RUNSCORERS
Eight centuries were recorded on day one of the Diamond Valley season – here are the top 10 runscorers:
Mackenzie Stanley (Riverside) 136
Andrew Lamont (Eltham) 121
Andrew Bennett (Montmorency) 120
Michael Ryan (Old Ivanhoe Grammarians) 117
Shaun Lorenzini (Eltham) 116
Thomas Dicker (Diamond Creek) 115
Ashley Coles (Plenty) 102
Kynon Whitcher (Lower Eltham) 101
Yianni Billias (Macleod) 97
Cameron Drake (Riverside) 97
THE LEADING WICKET TAKERS
And here are the best figures of week one.
Sumit Chopra (Thomastown United) 7/12
Damian Madiona (Bundoora Park) 6/18
Spencer Veal (Riverside) 6/25
Sujith Peiris (Rivergum) 5/20
Chris Masters (Mill Park) 4/10
Pratheepan Gunaratnam (Rivergum) 4/11
Angus Innes (Rosebank) 4/14
Nuwan Madhusanka (Whittlesea) 4/15
Sachin Anand (Bundoora United) 4/25
Brodie Odermatt (Lalor Stars) 4/25
