It was an action packed weekend of T20 cricket for the Bombers, facing off against Casey South Melbourne and Dandenong in the seniors and Frankston Peninsula and Northcote in Sunday's Under 18 Fixtures.
See below for reports on each game.
1ST XI
Round 10: DANDENONG 8-105 def Essendon 9-102
In an over reduced match to start the day at Casey Fields the firsts had a positive start. Sending the Panthers in to bat Nick McGuane had immediate impact with the ball taking a wicket in the first over of the day. Mcguane the pick of the bowlers snaring 3/22 off his four overs with contributions from Captain Liam Molloy (2/18 off 3) and Jarrod Parsons (3/18 off 2) helping the Bombers to restrict Dandenong to a gettable 8-105.
Chasing 106 to win from 16 overs Connor Poulton once again stepped up hitting a well-made 56* off 40. Needing 17 off the final over with a firing Poulton still at the crease, Essendon’s hopes were well and truly alive. Despite hitting three boundaries, Dandenong were able to hold on by three to win the game. The Bombers falling agonisingly short to go down by 3 runs.
Round 11: ECC 9-178 DEF BY CSM 3-189
With clouds in the sky and the rain staying away for the second game, Essendon won the toss and sent the away side in looking to capitalise early. Losing only three wickets in a strong batting performance, Casey put up a solid first innings total of 189. Eyeing off a big run chase, the Bombers fought hard with an important opening stance of 55 from Emerson White (27 off 23) and England overseas Harry Duke (33 off 20). A quick-fire 50 off 27 from captain Liam Molloy through the middle helped to keep them right in the game. However, losing wickets late Casey’s total proved to be too great. Essendon finishing their innings at 9-178.
2ND XI
Round 9: ECC 5-127 DEF CSM 7-125
In their first game back at Windy Hill the 2nd XI defeated Casey in a last ball thriller to open the round. Opting to bat first in slightly overcast conditions, the Bombers started the day strong. In a clinical display, opening batsman Aidan Salvado fresh from turning 21 on Friday hit a faultless 74 off 61 to help the twos set a total of 127.
Despite Essendon looking in control for majority of the second innings, the away side were able to wrestle back some momentum in the 19th over. With only seven required for the win in the last over, Navdeep Rai stood up claiming a remarkable 1/4 in the last over to secure win. Rai continuing his strong season finishing the match with 2/17 off his three overs.
Round 11: ECC 6-145 DEF BY DANDENONG 5-166
With the pitch flattening out in the afternoon heat, Dandenong won the toss and elected to bat first in the final game of the day. Getting off to a flyer, the away side set the Bombers a target of 166. 15-year-old Jackson Martin was the pick of Essendon’s bowlers, claiming 1/21 off his four overs. The run chase started promisingly with a 70-run opening stand between Aidan Salvado (29) a standout knock from Simrth Gill who hit a blistering 48 off 37. Despite a positive start the Bombers were unable to keep up with a climbing run rate and in what was always going to be a tough chase, the home side fell 21 runs shy finishing the innings on 145.
3RD XI
Round 9: ECC 8-138 DEF BY CSM 3-137
Forced to bowl after losing the toss, the thirds were disciplined in a positive first innings display with the ball. Restricting Casey to 137, young speedster Luay Miraz took 1/19 off his three overs. With bat in hand on a tricky wicket, Vansh Sandhu with 28 and Zach Beniwal 24 put the 3rds in the box seat early. With Casey coming hard at the back end, some late hitting from Paramvir Singh (19 off 10) and Diliwar Ali (18 off 11) got the bombers over the line with two wickets still in the shed.
Round 11: ECC 9-95 DEF BY DANDENONG 7-116
In their second match of the day the Bombers came against the ever strong Dandenong. Bowling first Essendon were dominant early with wickets in clumps to Heath Doherty (3/11 off 3) and Paramvir Singh (2/10 off 3) leaving the Panthers to crawl to 116. Losing a few early wickets in the second innings, Diliwar Ali returning after his special comments duties with Frogbox Au, showed some fightback late with a classy 21. Unfortunately it was all in vain as the 3rds fell well short finishing their innings at 9-95.
4th XI
Round 9: ECC 5-124 DEF BY CSM 4-148
Winning the toss and sending Casey in to bat early in the morning, the 4ths looked to make the most of the conditions with the ball. A tidy bowling innings from the home side lead by captain Krishna Chandak (2/26 off 4) restricted Casey to 148. A solid start by openers Stefan James (29) Nivain Gamanayake (31) put the Bombers in a good spot early. However with the only contributions in the middle coming from Gurnoor Gill (30) who hit some mighty sixes the chase came to a close, leaving the 4ths falling a frustrating 24 short.
Round 11: ECC 6-126 DEF BY DANDENONG 2-193
Opting to bat first Dandenong made the most of a deteriorating pitch late in the day. In a strong batting performance, the Panthers posted 193 losing only two wickets.
Despite a solid inning from opener Nivain Gamanayake (64 off 58) the total proved to be too great. A tough day for the 4ths coming to a close.
Under 18s
Round 4: ECC 9-121 DEF NORTHCOTE 9-117
Bowling first to start the day the young Bombers looked well in control restricting Northcote to 9-117. Seamer Cooper Albers looked dangerous early ultimately snaring 2/28 whilst Pawaan Sharma (2/21 from 4 overs) and Yunal Sumuthipala (3/43) closed out the innings strongly.
Set 118 to win the Bombers looked in control for most of the innings however some tight bowling meant the Bombers still required 11 of the final over of the game. Backing up from his bowling efforts Pawan Sharma cleared the rope off the 3rd ball to give the Bombers hope before being dismissed the very next ball trying to hit the winning runs. The ice man Yunal Sumuthipala was next man in and living up to his reputation blasted his second ball (and last of the game) for 4 to secure a mighty victory for the Bombers.
Round 5: ECC 8-121 DEF FPCC 10-117
Following on from an outstanding win to start the day the Bombers looked to continue their fine form. Batting first the Bombers set an ultra competitive 121. Misha El Sean the standout with a mature 26 not out. With ball in hand in the second innings the Bombers proved too strong for Frankston bowling them out for 117 to record another strong win to finish the day. 3 wickets to spinner Krit Darji the highlight.
Sunday's two wins from two the perfect way to round out the weekend of cricket for Bombers.
The T20 cricket continues next week for the Bombers with another double header against St Kilda CC and Prahran CC.
Komentáře