Doncaster hosted Vermont Sth at Boronia Grove and batting first compiled a competitive 6/214cc. Ben Hirsch and Sam MacDonald set the early running with a fine 2^nd wicket stand before Hirsch retired hurt for 36. Joe Blyth took up the challenge with a handy 22 but it was MacDonald’s 79 that was the backbone of the innings with Vermont Sths wickets evenly shared.

Namzi Ozkam made early breakthroughs before Jayden MacLeod and Matthew Sutherland played vital support roles to a brilliant 101* by Tom Cunningham to get Vermont Sth home with 5 wickets to spare in a tight and exciting finish.

Both Heatherdale and Donvale were desperately chasing points at Heatherdale Reserve but batting first the home side were quickly in trouble against some excellent Donvale bowling and despite a fighting 33 from Ben Joseph it was bowlers Josh White, Nathan Fraser, Riley Winton and Darcey Brush who shared the wickets around to knock Heatherdale over for only 76.

Scenting victory the Donvale bats put their head down and proved far too strong in reply running out comfortable winners at 4/152 with all batsmen getting a start, Jackson Ford top scoring with 46.

Park Orchards looked early doors as if they were going to post a big score and give ladder leaders Vermont a real fight. Consistent Rudi Hunt and Michael Minz combined to post a healthy 78 run opening stand and Prahn Nicholson kept the runs ticking along to bring up three figures with only 1 down. The introduction of Fraser Day and Max Healey to the bowling crease started the rot with Mitchell Tomkins-Barry snaring an impressive 3/4 to close out the innings at 8/139cc.

A slow Eagles start gave Park Orchards early hope but this was quickly dashed by Ryan Phillips who posted a tremendous unbeaten ton supported by fine all-round performances by Tomkins-Barry 23 and Healey 49 to ensure Vermont kept their unbeaten run intact.

It was a confident Blackburn Sth that travelled down to H E Parker Reserve to take on Heathmont in what promised to be a tight and entertaining clash. It was therefore somewhat of a surprise to see Blackburn Sth wickets tumble at an alarming rate to some hostile bowling by opener James King who was ably supported by Tom Delaney 3/13 and James Kelly 2/17 to be all out for only 76.

Heathmont however made heavy work of knocking of the runs against a steady attack, it took an excellent all round performance by Tom Deleaney who backed up his bowling with a handy 25 to steer Heathmont home with 5 wickets still in the shed in this low scoring affair.

Perhaps the most exciting finish of the round was at East Burwood where the home side hosted the Zebras in what was to prove another low scoring affair. Batting first Forest Hill struggled against the bowling of Justin Meridith 3/11 and Jackson Ealy 3/29 and they only just limped past the 100 mark thanks mainly to Gavin Carusi’s 24 and Ben Matthews 19 accounting for nearly half their total.

Carusi was again prominent for the Zebras when it came time for East Burwood to bat as the bowlers again dominated the bat as the match swung one way and then the other. The loss of Mitch Gale when it seemed East Burwood were slowly but surely coasting to victory gave the Forest Hill bowlers heart and as the score rose slowly and wickets fell it was down to the last pairing to eke out the final few runs as spectators chewed their nails and encouraged their “boys” on. In the end a well struck boundary saw East Burwood over the line in a match that could have so easily gone the other way.

Picking the Maddocks Sports Player of the Round is again an impossible task with the twin tons of Vermont South’s Tom Cunningham and Vermont’s Ryan Phillips sharing the award.

Bring on Rd 5 – Peter

Whilst Round 2 was to all sense and purposes a washout on Day 2, there were still several great performances with both bat and ball which again made the selection of the Maddocks Sports Player of the Round very difficult indeed.

East Burwood Mitch Gale showed that his Rd 1 effort in winning the Player of the Round was no flash in the pan as he was again prominent against Doncaster posting 45 with the bat then grabbing 2 / 4 before the game was called off.

Lincoln Wong scored a top 66 for Heathmont and Ben Gibson shared in an unbeaten opening stand of 187 with a fine 54* for Vermont against Heatherdale.

But two other performances stood out in the Rd. First was Rudi Hunt who blasted and unbeaten 100 for Park Orchards against Vermont Sth to record our first ton for the season. Equally impressive was Vermont’s Sam Weideman who was Ben’s partyner in their big opening stand. Sam scored a fantastic 91* and them backed up with the ball in hand to snare 3 / 4 before rain interrupted what was shaping to be a phenomenal double.

In fairness I just cannot break the deadlock between Sam and Rudi for the Maddocks $50.00 voucher so I will award both of them for their efforts in Rd 2.

The support of Maddocks Sports in their sponsorship of this competition is very much appreciated and I am sure that competition for the Player of the Round will be very hot indeed. Remember if you want a new bat grip or batting gloves or any cricket gear at all, go down to Maddocks Sports and they will look after you, they are our local “one stop cricket shop”

Peter

Season 2013-14 sees the introduction of the Doug Rickarby Medal which will be awarded to the U18 player adjudged by the umpires to be the Player of the Year.

Doug Rickarby was an outstanding administrator within the Box Hill Reporter over many years at both club (Vermont) and association level. The naming of this award in his honour will serve not only as a testament to Doug’s commitment, strength and foresight for Junior cricket, but also as an example to all administrators that their efforts are acknowledged and appreciated.

Doug’s personal contributions have encompassed Junior cricket right across the spectrum from the introduction and leadership of the U10 competition right through to conceptualisation of the U18 Colts format which he envisaged as the “bridge” between U16 level and senior cricket for many kids. As he puts it

“I developed the initial proposals for Under 18’s, to forge a better and supportive pathway to retain more kids into adulthood, enjoying their cricket and developing maturity with their club as Adults.”

The proof of the success of Doug’s vision is seen by the elevation of the U18 competition as the Premier Junior Grade from this year and already the standard on display has been of the highest quality. The competition has grown as a vital transition stage between junior and senior sport and will continue to be a major catalyst to players continuing their cricket careers at senior club level.

Doug’s influence was not only restricted to the development of “Big Ideas”, he recognised the need to ensure that the basics were not ignored and his work in areas such as rules rationalisation, team grading and the setting of fixtures, form the grassroots of what we have in use today and we owe a great deal to his insight and perseverance often against the odds to “get it right”

The Doug Rickarby Medal will be presented following a vote count at the Junior Presentation Night each season. Winners of the Medal will be recognised as the Box Hill Reporter and District Cricket Assn Junior Player of the Year.