First XI team photo.
(Photo: Supplied)
This week, we saw the First XI and Second XI in their first matches of the season after two weeks of cancellation due to the wet weather, the Third XI lost to last year's LOC4 grand finalist Mulgrave, and the Fifth XI (Sunday Turf) lost to Kew in what was a game to forget for the team.
First XI
The First XI played their first match against the St Kevins OC out in Fairfield. After two weeks of no games, the weather over the weekend turned out to be beautiful as the club finally got to officially congratulate Madhur Ghai, Ronny Brandigampala and Joel Watts with their First XI ‘baggy blacks’. Losing the toss, the Saints were sent into the field on what was a flat and dry turf wicket. Opening bowlers Max Murphy and Jonah Dillion were clinical with the new ball, making it hard for the St Kevins openers to score. Murphy finished with 2/34 off 11 overs and Dillion 1/19 off 14 overs. These boys set up the bowling innings superbly and were reliable throughout the whole innings. The three debutants were also instrumental with the ball, taking seven wickets combined.
Ghai was the pick of the bowlers taking 3/23 off 20 overs. During the warmup, Ghai appeared to have strained his back and looked unlikely to have a big impact on the innings. Luckily after a few pain killers and rub downs with Voltaren, Ghai was ready to fire and did just that. After a best on ground performance in the Third XI last week, Watts was back again in hot form. The 15-year-old superstar finished off with 1/16 off five overs. His wicket was arguably the most important one of the innings, getting the St Kevins captain out caught by Thomas Torresi in what was an amazing fielding display. Brandigampala bowled brilliantly with plenty of tricks and crafty spin variations, finishing with 3/54 off 18 overs, being an important bowler alongside Ghai at the death.
In the words of First XI captain, Serge Moussi, it was one of the best team performances he’s been a part of. Every player on the field had some impact, whether it was a taking a wicket or catch for the team. The Saints bowled out the opposition for a final score of 186. The target next week for the Saints will be 187 off 80 overs.
Ronny Brandigampala, Joel Watts and Madhur Ghai all made their First XI debut on the weekend.
(Photo: Supplied)
Second XI
The Second XI played their first match against Surrey Hills at Myrtle Park. Losing the toss, the Saints were sent into bat on what looked to be a nice turf deck to bat on. Quality batting innings' from Christian Zini (33), Nav Ganesh (31) and John Auchterlonie (33) helped the team to a final total of 213 runs. Second XI captain, Glenn Sanguinetti showed who was boss coming into bat at seven and scoring a rapid 61 runs off only 43 balls including four maximums. After being bowled out with more overs to be played before stumps, opening bowlers John Collopy and Liam Walsh bowled the first 11 overs of the Saints' bowling innings before play ended. Surrey Hills finished the day with 0/22 off 11 overs. They will need to make another 191 runs to chase down the Saints total. Special mention to Liam Walsh and Cameron Marcroft who both made their debut for the club.
Third XI
The Third XI played their second match against last year's grand finalists Mulgrave. With many registered players unavailable for selection, the team lineup had many changes including Christopher Watts captaining the team and five juniors in the final lineup. Winning the toss, the Saints elected to bat in hopes to post a big score on the board. After many starts with the bat, wickets fell quickly, as the final team score was 125. Oscar Torresi was the standout performer with the bat scoring 37 runs. Craig Miles opened the bowling for the Saints and managed to take 3/30 from his six overs, but that wasn’t enough to stop Mulgrave chasing down the target and winning by five wickets with a handful of overs left. The Third XI will be hoping for more player availability in coming weeks.
Fifth XI
It was a day to forget for Sunday turf team. In their first game of the season, the Fifth XI played against Kew at Victoria Park. Losing the toss, the Saints were sent into the field. The Kew batting lineup managed to pile on the runs and notch up a total of 220 runs off 36 overs with only a loss of three wickets. Wickets from the Saints came from Palash Shirurkar, Alex Skinner and Kasun Rajapaksha. With a big score to chase, none of the batters were able to get going. Skinner was the only batsmen who was able to get some runs, finishing with 26 runs from his opening position. The Saints were bowled out for 91 runs in what was a dominant display from Kew. The Fifth XI will be looking to put this game in the past and move on quickly in preparation for next week against Heathmont.
The Second XI in action at Myrtle Park.
(Photo: Blair Burns)
MATCH RESULTS
1XI vs St Kevins OC (Two-day game)
ST KEVINS OC – 186 (79.1)
BALWYN SAINTS – 0/0 (0)
· M. Ghai 3/23
· R. Brandigampala 3/54
2XI vs Surrey Hills (Two-day game)
BALWYN SAINTS – 213 (59.2 overs)
SURREY HILLS – 0/22 (11)
· G. Sanguinetti (61 runs)
· C. Zini (33 runs)
3XI vs Mulgrave
LOST BY 5 WICKETS
· O. Torresi (39 runs)
· C. Miles 3/22
4XI - BYE
5XI vs KEW
LOST BY 129 RUNS
· A. Skinner (26 runs)
· P. Shirurkar 1/32
VETS – WEEK OFF
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