The recent and current weather conditions in Victoria forced officials to announce that all matches in ECA Turf (Saturday and Sunday grades) would been cancelled for week one fixtured games due to the current state of the preparation of wickets and grounds. Therefore, the First XI, Second XI and Fifth XI (Sunday Turf) teams didn’t play last weekend resulting in their matches being abandoned and drawn with no reserve day reschedule.
This week however, despite the wet weather, we were able to see some teams in action with the Third XI and Fourth XI playing their first matches of the season. The Second XI match against Heathmont was cancelled early midway through week and the First XI match against Deepdene was cancelled a day before match day after the ground was deemed too wet to play. The Fifth XI (Sunday Turf) was cancelled, again due to the weather and despite the Vets getting gametime in overcast conditions, the rain kicked in later in the day and the match ended up finishing with no result.
Third XI
The Third XI played their first match against the Eagles CC all the way out in Endeavour Hills. Losing the toss, the Saints were sent into the field in overcast conditions. Opening the bowling for the Saints was Dave Perkins and Richard Spratt, a bowling duo that dominated last season. Perkins was the pick of the bowlers for the Saints finishing with figures of 3/20 off eight overs. The Eagles batted aggressively on their home deck and ended up posting a score of 226. After the First XI was cancelled a day out from the game, young gun Joel Watts who was planning on making his Firsts debut, was selected to come down and play for the Third XI after a late change in the original line up. Watts continued his fine form from last season, finishing with figures of 2/21 off eight overs and an impressive 39 runs with the bat. Matt Stuart was also dominant, making a solid 44 runs opening the batting. After plenty of starts with the bat from the Saints, the team wasn’t able to chase down the Eagles 226 runs and fell short by 49 runs.
Joel Watts was a standout in the Third XI side on the weekend, dominating with both bat and ball to add to his impressive start to the season.
(Photo: Supplied)
Fourth XI
The Fourth XI played their first match against Burnley CYMS on the bouncy home deck at Balwyn Park. Winning the toss, the Saints elected to bat in the hope of putting a big score on the board. This was unfortunately not the case. After both openers went out for low scores, a little partnership from Shakir Siddeek and Claude Bisinella steadied the ship before wickets fell again at the wrong time. Siddeek made a score of 21 hitting four boundaries when the team score was low, and youngster Archie Harvey made 26-not-out steering the team to a total of 115. Burnley CYMS were able to chase down this score with seven overs to spare, only losing three wickets. Harvey didn’t just perform with the bat, but was the only standout bowler from the innings, ending up with 2/11 off four overs.
Vets
Despite the wet weather on Sunday afternoon, the Vets were able to get some game time prior to the heavy rain coming down to leave the match with no result. The Vets played their first match away against Hawthorn. Losing the toss, the Saints were sent into the field. With a dominant early batting display from Hawthorn, the Saints fought back keeping the opposition under 200 runs. Hawthorn ended up scoring 190. Batting displays from Damien Argenti (37), Ewoud Botha (26-not-out) and First XI captain Serge Moussi (19-not-out) guided the team to 105 runs after only losing three wickets in just 23 overs. The overcast conditions would impact the remainder of the match, resulting to an end in the run chase and an end to the game.
Serge Moussi played a key role for the Vets on Sunday hitting 19* with the bat and chipping in with 1/10 with the ball.
(Photo: Balwyn Saints Facebook)
MATCH RESULTS
1XI vs Deepdene
ABANDONED - Match Drawn
2XI vs Heathmont
ABANDONED - Match Drawn
3XI vs Eagles CC
LOST BY 49 RUNS
· J. Watts: 39 runs & 2/21
· M. Stuart: 44 runs
4XI vs Burnley CYMS
LOST BY 7 WICKETS
· A. Harvey: 26* runs & 2/11
· S. Siddeek: 21 runs
5XI vs North Dandenong
ABANDONED - Match Drawn
VETS vs Hawthorn
ABANDONED - Match Drawn
· D. Argenti: 37 runs
· S. Moussi: 19* runs & 1/10
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