The Camberwell Magpies bagged their second First XI win on the trot with a thrilling five-run win over archrivals Richmond on Saturday.
Looking to continue the momentum generated by their breakthrough win over Greenvale the previous week, the Pies headed to Central Reserve with renewed confidence. The Tigers won the toss and elected to bowl first on a wicket that would prove to be difficult to score on as the contest unfolded.
Many Camberwell batsmen made solid starts throughout the batting innings, with Simon Hill (37), James Wiseman (28) and Hamish Burrill (25) all spending valuable time at the crease. However a combination of a difficult wicket and a disciplined Richmond bowling performance restricted the Pies to 177 all out.
With a below par score on the board, plenty rested on the Magpies’ bowling attack. The Tigers started steadily enough and looked in control of the chase at 2/123, before a middle order collapse brought Camberwell right back into contention. After removing Zac Sleeman at the top, skipper Andrew Fekete ripped through Richmond’s middle order with three wickets for just four runs to bring the game back in to the balance at 5/127.
Small partnerships from then on in swung the game back in Richmond’s favour as they reached 7/171 with just six runs to win. Enter Magpie stars Will Walker and Fekete, who cleaned up the last three wickets in quick succession to bowl out the Tigers for 172.
Fekete finished with the season best figures of 5/37 off his 10 overs, while Walker was the next best with 2/28 off 9. Akshay Kodoth also had an excellent day with the mitts with five top class catches.
The win keeps Camberwell’s season alive ahead of an all-important Round 8 clash against Dandenong on the public holiday match tomorrow.
At McQueen Park, the Second XI hosted Richmond and skipper Shane Mays elected to bat after winning the flip. Despite the early loss of the returning Chris Thewlis, signs were positive initially for the Pies as Rishab Guddadamane (also returning from injury) and the ever-reliable Daniel Rawson combined for a 120-run partnership.
The duo were dismissed for 59 and 74 respectively, and from there the Pies failed to capitalise on the strong foundation as they finished their 50 overs at 6/207.
The score would ultimately prove well short of what was required, as the Tigers chased down the score reasonably comfortably to record a five-wicket win. Pick of the bowlers for Camberwell were Ben Jowett, whose figures of 4/37 off 9 overs are his best for the club so far, and Thomas Vanderslik with 1/42 off 9 overs.
In the Third XI, Camberwell headed out to Central Reserve South to take on a Richmond side that was sitting on top of the ladder. The Pies got off to the right start by winning the toss and batting, with Spencer Wood continuing with his strong recent form with a solid start at the top.
But once he fell for 32, the Magpies fell into a bit of trouble at 5/93. It was then up to skipper Adrian Vidajic (34 off 26) and Jacob Kooran (36 off 33) to launch a quick-fire counterattack to lift the score to 9/195 off 45 overs.
Heading into the second innings, the Pies knew they had to bowl and field well if they were to defeat the ladder leaders. And that’s what they proceeded to do, as Camberwell’s bowling attack combined to put in a extremely disciplined performance; aided by an excellent fielding display that garnered three run outs.
Led by Sam Nash’s 2/37 off 9 and Dhruv Redhu’s 2/42 off 9, the Pies were able to bundle out the Tigers for 182 to record their third win for the season.
Unfortunately for the inexperienced Fourth XI, they endured a tough day down at Watson Park. Richmond batted first and dominated the contest from the outset; racking up 5/274 off their 45 overs. Nevertheless, the Camberwell bowlers toiled hard, with Angus Steele recording the best figures with 2/34 off 8.
In reply, youngsters Josh Nelson (27) and Ollie Garlick (22) were the only batsmen that made it into double figures as the Magpies were bundled out for a lowly 97.
Attention now turns to tomorrow’s clash against Dandenong, where the First XI will be at home and the Second XI out at Shepley Oval. At McQueen Park, the new clubrooms will be open and a BBQ and bar will be available, so get on down and enjoy an awesome day of Victorian Premier Cricket.
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