NICL Victoria: Match Week Ended 12 May 2019

Victoria East and West Division – Men’s:

It was not to be a happy homecoming for Rose, as his young CSB side went down in both their encounters, but put up good fights in the process. It was the Albury Warriors continued their good form this season with their 117-85 win over CSB led by Jack Craig, who moved across from Cranbourne during the off-season, taking 2 wickets and then blasting 29 off 11 balls to set up the win.

The Melton Falcons are flying high and have sounded a warning to the other sides in not only the West division but Victoria as a whole, after they soared to seven straight wins for the season. They defeated Casey Stars in the match of the round, breaking the Stars’ four-match winning streak to start the season in the process. A seven-man Falcons’ side chased down 95 with a ball to spare in a thrilling finish, with best on ground Craig Ballinger (+28) cracking a five off Jarrod Armitage on the penultimate ball.

Meanwhile, Croydon Raiders and Cranbourne Kings both had big wins over Geelong Jets and North Geelong Supercats. The victories were enough to have Croydon sit top of the table on 28 points, one point ahead of the Stars, with the Kings in third place on 18 points.

The Northcote Knights would have been breathing a sigh of relief at the Supercats’ losses, after they retained their third spot with a resounding 125-66 thrashing of Hoppers Hurricanes. It was a welcome return to the winners’ circle for Northcote who looked the like the Knights of old on the court, reducing the Hurricanes to just 22 in their last 8 overs, before letting loose with the bat, passing the target by the 9^th over. The Hurricanes’ held on to second place after hammering the Pirates 112-68 on the same night, with skipper Trent Lawford clubbing a brutal 37 off 12 balls, which included three sevens.

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Victoria East Division – Women’s:

It’s so far, so good for the new look Northcote Pirates, as they picked up their third straight win for the season, this time overcoming Casey Stars 94-74. The Stars had to work hard in their last two pairs after being reduced to 28 in the first eight overs. In the chase, the Pirates made headway through the middle of the innings, with Ella Stallwood and Jemma Heitlinger combining for 33 whilst Sahasni Wanigatunga and Stephanie Burgen following up with 32.

Cranbourne are not far behind however after a resounding 140-82 win over CSB Seahawks. Saseeka Manakulasaria, Marnie Kelly and Debbie Wierbinski all scored over 25 as Cranbourne piled up the runs, before backing it up with 11 wickets in the field.

Croydon had the bye.

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Victoria West Division – Women’s:

Rivals the Raiders and Kings played out a last-ball thriller at Casey and in some fashion, with the Raiders scoring the required 49 off the last four overs to take the win 97-96. Adelaide Campion was the star, striking 30 off just 11 balls including a seven in the last over where 15 was required. Jess Adams partnered her for 19 as the Raiders took the win at the death. The Kings won’t be too discouraged, as they took three skins in the loss and have received a good gauge of their opponents early in the season. Raiders stay at the top of the ladder, with Cranbourne just behind.

EMP Bombers rebounded from their loss against the Raiders with a resounding 106-59 triumph over the Monash Tigers. The Tigers started and finished promisingly, with 53 runs in the first and last pairs, however only six runs were scored combined in the middle pairs as the Bombers claimed 12 wickets in all. Fiona Jenkins took 3, whilst Chloe Ip and Acaceia Davis shared two apiece. In the chase they were assertive, reaching the target by the second pair on their way to a big win.

Hoppers Hurricanes had the bye.

Written by Ahmad Khawaja