NICL – Round 5 & 6 Wrap

Men’s Round 5 and 6

Playing at home, Cranbourne returned to the winners list with two hard fought victories over Melton Falcons (110-88) and Hoppers Crossing Hurricanes (81-68). Chasing 88 against the Falcons, a second pair partnership of 39 between Jack Craig and Josh Gregory laid the foundation as the Kings secured maximum points. In their second match against the Hurricanes, it was Peter Cassidy who led the way with 19 runs and 3 wickets for the Kings.

Monash Tigers continued their momentum from the previous week in a high scoring 131-100 victory over Hoppers Crossing Hurricanes. Mackenzie Harvey continued his strong start to the season with 23 runs. Trent Lawford (28 runs) threatened to take the game back for the Hurricanes, but an impressive 5 wickets to Thanesh Attanayake proved to be the difference in the match.

Melton Falcons managed to get the better of the Monash Tigers in their second match of the evening with a 91-84 win. Steve Szabo and Steve Robertson’s final pair partnership of 43 was the deciding factor in the match.

At Northcote, Croydon Raiders remain the only undefeated team in the Men’s competition as they comfortably accounted for both North Geelong Supercats (93-13) and Northcote Knights (85-36). Against the Supercats, Mark Appleby (4 wickets) and Justin Perkins (23 runs) were the key contributors for the Raiders. While in the top of the tables clash with the Knights, 6 wickets between Andrew Keane and Travis Baker restricted the Knights to 36 and h saw the Raiders claim maximum points.

Frankston Sharks also went 2-0 after their double header matches achieving an 82-56 win over Northcote Pirates, and 65-39 win against North Geelong Supercats. 18 runs and 2 wickets to Jarrod Armitage was the standout for the Sharks against the Pirates, while Cam Dinger led the way against the Supercats with 23 runs.

Women’s Round 5

In the Women’s competition, the match of the round saw the Springvale Seahawks narrowly defeat Cranbourne by 3 runs. Cheris Hallett was important for Cranbourne scoring 21 and taking 2 wickets, but an even batting performance saw the Seahawks chase down Cranbourne’s target 113-110.

In another close encounter Melton defeated the Northcote Knights by 2 runs. Leanne Leggire and Zoe Griffiths put together an opening pair stand of 44 in pursuit of the Knights total of 96. Melton’s second pair however did not register a single run leaving their final pair requiring 37 in the final four overs. But it was Briony Polkinghorne who stepped up for Melton registering 26 runs and hitting the winning runs.

Monash Tigers suffered their first defeat in the competition to the Falcons 94-118. The Tigers started well posting a 43 run opening pair partnership between Stella Reid and Hayley Ferris. In reply the Falcons had too much depth with the bat, Leanne Netto (27) and Alanah Mison (23) leading the way.

In the final match of the round the Kings comfortably accounted for the Springvale Scorpions (93-45). Danielle Montague performed well with both bat and ball to see the Kings remain equal first on the West ladder with Melton.

This Sunday evening sees the National Livestream matches return to Victoria and head to the West at Hoppers Crossing.

6.15pm – Kings vs. Melton

8.00pm – Northcote Knights vs. Melton Falcons

For full fixtures and results – or to find out more about the Beastwear NICL – head to www.nicl.com.au

Article image courtesy of Chloe IP.