Balwyn Saints is charging towards the pointy end of the Eastern Cricket Association (ECA) with the Third XI and Fourth XI battling it out in the LOC 4 and LOC 8 Grand Finals this Saturday.
The Thirds will have the tough task of defeating Mulgrave for the second time in three weeks at Tally Ho Reserve.
While the Fourths will look to defeat St Andrews Gardiner for the first time this season at Victoria Road Reserve in what would be an upset to win the LOC 8 premiership.
Third XI
The Thirds haven’t played finals since 2014, so coming from nowhere and winning 10 out of its last 11 games has got the supporters of the club buzzing with optimism for what the final game of the season could hold.
The Third XI finished in third position on the ladder after knocking off the top side and previous favourite for the LOC 4 premiership, Mulgrave.
Balwyn looks pretty set with a very deep batting line-up and some economic firepower with the ball.
The side has not relied on any single players throughout the season and have had a number of players stand up and produce match-winning performances with bat or ball.
The Saints have just tamed Mulgrave and rolled AYC Harlequins in a hard-fought game and will be looking to make it one more win, once again with Mulgrave the side standing in their way.
Led by Aaron ‘AJ’ Jackson, the side has a great mix of youth and experience and will look to cap off the season with the ultimate glory on Saturday.
Fourth XI
Balwyn Saints’ Fourths side has deserved its spot in the Grand Final after clearly being the second-best side in the competition all season.
Despite having not beaten St Andrews Gardiner yet this season, Saturday is the day where the side will look to tick off that objective.
With some great leadership from skipper, Chris Watts helping guide the side to the final day of the season, everything will be put on the line to try and come away with the win.
Much like the thirds side, the team has a good mix of youth and experience giving it the best of both worlds and setting the side up well for the clash.
A couple early wickets will be vital for Balwyn to give itself every chance to win this game, the batting was solid last week, and the side will hope to replicate that with hopes of singing the song.
SEASON REVIEWS
First XI - (Armstrong Shield – B Turf)
Position: Seventh
Season record (home and away): 2-7
Most runs: Wasim Khan (200 runs @)
Most wickets: Wasim Khan (18 wickets @14.17)
After just falling short of finals last season, the Saints’ First XI has had a tough season recording two wins and they sit seventh out of the eight sides, which was four wins below fifth spot.
Wasim Khan has been a shining light for the Balwyn Saints having made the most runs and taken the most wickets.
Khan has been the designated number three batsman for the side and has managed to make a few impressive scores, with his best knock of 78 coming in round eight against Richmond Union.
Figures of 5-28 with the ball against Canterbury was a highlight and just one of multiple games which saw ‘Waz’ rip through the opposition batsmen, claiming two other hauls of four wickets.
Young gun, Owen Watts has also had a solid season with the bat scoring 196 runs @19.60 at the top level and has been impressive with the gloves.
While ‘Roy’ will not be satisfied with his performances, a blistering knock of 75 against Old Carey Cricket Club in round 13 showed what he is capable of.
Captain, Shoeb ‘Showy’ Kotwal (147 runs) and Serge Moussi (152 runs) have both had solid seasons with bat in hand, while James Alleva has scored some handy lower order runs with a couple scores greater than 30.
Coming off a “Michelle”, Michael ‘Hara’ Haralambopoulos took 10 wickets for the season with best figures of 5-55 off 25 overs, including eight maidens.
John ‘JC’ Collopy has been consistent with the ball claiming 15 wickets across his nine matches, his standout game came against Richmond Union in round six where he took 4-23 off eight overs; this included both opening batsmen.
The ones will look to go a few wins better next season and return to the higher end of the table, with hopes of continuing to develop some of its young talent and play finals.
Second XI – (Cohen Shield – E Turf)
Position: Eighth
Season record (home and away): 1-9
Most Runs: Shiv Shahaney (108 runs @10.80)
Most wickets: Lucas Gallesio (8 wickets @32.88)
It has been an incredibly tough season for the Balwyn Saints Second XI, winning just a single match for the year and being bowled out for some low scores.
Skipper, Shiv Shahaney has had his work cut out for him this season and his team suffered through a number of tough losses, its only win for the season coming against East Malvern Tooronga in round nine.
In this game, the top five batsmen in Matt McGrath (10), Hudson ‘Huddo’ Sharp (26), Owen Watts (23), Shiv Shahaney (14) and Will Spratt (23-not-out) started the run chase of 126 well.
Despite losing a few quick wickets towards the end, Lucas ‘Cheesy’ Gallesio (three-not-out) and Spratty saw the side to its first win of the season, a two-wicket victory.
While starts and cameos were regular with the bat in the second XI this year, it was rare that the players were able to turn those starts into big scores to help see the side to competitive totals.
Shahaney scored the most runs for the season for his side with a few solid scores, while Cheesy scored 78 runs and was only dismissed twice giving him an impressive season batting average of 39.
Young talent in Christian Zini, Oscar Torresi and Hudson Sharp are all big upsides for the club which is in good hands for future hands.
Torresi managed to grind out a few runs and showed in a third XI game that he could also do damage with the ball taking 5-11 from four overs.
The trio gained a number of votes at the club’s Hunt-Kelly Medal last weekend and are definitely players to watch with both the bat and the ball next season.
There was plenty of glimpses shown from this group and they will hope to build on that in the 2023-24 season.
While they weren’t a chance to play finals this season, the second XI will hope to turn the tides next season with a lot of improvement not far on the horizon.
Third XI – (Tobias Shield – LOC 4)
Position: Third
Season record (home and away): 10-5
Most Runs: Mat Pinwill (360 runs @27.69)
Most wickets: David Perkins (25 wickets @13.60)
It’s come down to the big dance for the Sainters’ Third XI with the side set to take on Mulgrave in the Grand Final this Saturday, the side has high hopes and is the form team of the competition.
The thirds side has won 10 out of its last 11 games and is in scintillating form coming into the final game of the season after rolling the top side, Mulgrave by five wickets in the final game of the season, before knocking off AYC last weekend.
The top order has delivered in spades with the bat this season with ‘Pinners’ leading the pack, his season highlight, a century against Ashburton Willows in round 11.
Next on the list is Julian Georgiou who has had a stellar season with both bat and ball, ‘Dools’ as he is known within the four walls, is the best all-rounder in LOC 4.
Amassing 320 runs with the bat at an average of 26.67 with a high score of 70-not-out against Mount Waverley Catholics and taking 16 wickets with best bowling figures of 3-11 (on two occasions).
New recruit, Hugo O’Callaghan has been massive for the side with the bat this season, scoring 223 runs for the home and away season.
While he started with scores of zero and one, he found form scoring 25, 45, 32 and 44 in the following games and claimed his spot as number three batsmen for the side with some strong scores.
Anthony Cecchi (213 runs @42.60) and Gary Billings (190 runs @47.50) have played limited games but have the ability to take the game away from the opposition with powerful scoring and will have massive roles to play in finals.
Opening bowler, David ‘Tex’ Perkins has had a great season with the ball claiming 25 wickets at an average of 13.60 and will look to claim some big scalps this weekend.
Richard Spratt has taken 11 wickets this season and Spratty has been setting the tone with the new ball in hand, he boasts an impressive average of 12.91 and has been crucially economic early in games.
Fourth XI – (Carr Shield – LOC 8)
Position: Second
Season record (home and away): 8-6
Most Runs: Joel Watts (289 runs @26.27)
Most wickets: Craig Miles (19 wickets @14.63)
The Fourth XI has had a very impressive season and finished second on the ladder of LOC 8 as a result and the hunger to go all the way is instilled in the group with one more hurdle to get over.
Led by Chris Watts, the side finished the home and away season with an 8-6 record and some great wins, including last week’s semi-final win against Ashwood.
The only team above Balwyn Saints on the ladder was St Andrews Gardiner which has just managed to defeat Balwyn on both occasions as the games have finished in a thrilling fashion.
The potential is there, so is the current side, the mindset, the ammunition, the redemption, it’s all there for the Balwyn Saints to go all the way.
Joel ‘Button’ Watts had a standout season with the bat scoring a team-high 289 runs including a maiden half century against STC Camberwell in round 10.
The young wicketkeeper started the season slowly scoring 19 runs in his first three innings’ but then found form, hitting scores of 53*, 29, 39*, 29, 27, 33, 25 since round 10.
Vivek Sreenivasan has also had a stellar season scoring four half centuries for the season and amassing a total of 284 runs at an impressive average of 47.33.
He finished seventh in the Drownlow club best and fairest with 13 votes as reward for his consistent season with the bat.
It has been club legend, Craig ‘Junior’ Miles who has led the way for the side with the ball in hand this season taking 19 wickets at an average of 14.63.
His season best figures came earlier in the season against Ashwood where he demolished the side to claim 4-14 off seven overs.
Young spinner, Anhad ‘Aussie’ Marhala has had a great individual season setting traps for opposition batsmen and executing well to take 14 wickets at an impressive average of 12.
Aussie has bamboozled his opponents with nobody in the competition figuring out how to score runs off him, he has taken figures of 3-4, 4-8 and 2-5 this season and will be vital come Saturday’s Grand Final.
With 10 wickets and 138 runs, Claude Bisinella has also been impressive, with assistance from Chin-Yeow Saw (210 runs) and Knotty (170 runs).
Well worth a read.