By Les Hutchings
Kilsyth Men’s First XI played Mooroolbark in the Third Round of the T-20 Finals (Quarter Finals) at Alan Smith Oval, Pinks Reserve on Tuesday 17 December 2024. Mooroolbark won the toss and elected to bowl. After Kilsyth lost an early wicket on 11 on the first ball of the third over, Mark Unternahrer and Andy Solomons put on 43 for the second wicket, when Solomons, who was batting well, was caught on the boundary by Andy Keane from the bowling of Jarrod McDowell for a quick-fire 27 off 21 balls, in the 8th over. At that stage “Unters” was on 17 not out. Unternahrer and Jack Childs then took the score to 90, when, on the second ball of the 14th over, Childs was stumped by Aden Higgins off the bowling of Bayley Driscoll for 12 (1 four), with Unternahrer on 41 not out. Mooroolbark Captain Jaylan Ross then captured two wickets off consecutive balls to see Kilsyth slump to 5/103 after 15.3 overs. Incoming batsman Pasan Ganegoda, who was recovering from a dislocated finger injury, survived the hat-trick and then struck a nice boundary at the end of the over to see Kilsyth 5/107 after 16 overs. A further 31 runs were added in the final 4 overs to see Kilsyth finish on 5/138cc after 20 overs. After opening the batting, Mark Unternahrer played a great hand, carrying his bat through the entire innings and finishing on 63 not out off 49 balls (8 fours and 1 six). He was well supported in the final overs by Pasan Ganegoda, who was 18 not out off 15 balls. Jaylan Ross produced Mooroolbark’s best bowling figures, capturing 2/18 off 4 overs, whilst Bayley Driscoll took 1/9 off 2 overs, Jarrod McDowell 1/24 off 3 overs, and Jack Thomas 1/35 off 4 overs.
After the break, Mooroolbark set about the run chase for a spot in the Semi Final. Kilsyth’s opening bowler Kamal Kuruppu delivered an accurate first over, which only yielded one run. Right arm off spinner, Pasan Ganegoda, then struck with his first ball when Uvindu Wimaladharma took a brilliant catch over his head to have Mooroolbark 1/1. Daniel Ivanovic joined Harry Trenwith and after 4 overs, Mooroolbark were 1/28 and back on track. Then Trenwith, who was particularly damaging with 19 off 14 balls (4 fours), was trapped lbw on the second ball bowled by Mackenzie Scott-Thomas. A 64-run third wicket partnership between Ivanovic and Aden Higgins threatened to take the game away from Kilsyth, as Mooroolbark cruised to 2/92 in the 14th over. It was then that Higgins, who had struck the ball with authority, was well caught at deep wide long-on by Andy Solomons off Mackenzie Scott-Thomas for 37 off 32 balls (5 fours). Soon after, Daniel Ivanovic was brilliantly caught and bowled by Solomons for 35 off 35 balls (1 four). Thus, at the end of the 15th over Mooroolbark were 4/99. At the same stage, Kilsyth were 3/103, so the game was evenly poised. Twenty-two runs came from the next two overs, with the Barkers needing 18 runs off the last 18 balls with six wickets in hand. The 18th over saw Kamal Kuruppu re-introduced into the attack. Five runs came from the first 2 balls, so the equation was now 13 needed off 16 balls with 6 wickets in hand. It was at this point that the game turned. Kamal Kuruppu claimed a wicket (lbw), and then Jack Thomas, who had been batting well, scoring 20 off 14 balls (1 four), was run out following a direct hit from Pasan Ganegoda. Mooroolbark were now 6/126 with 2 overs remaining and needed 13 off 12 balls. Andy Solomons bowled the penultimate (19th) over and 4 singles came from the first five balls, before the last ball resulted in a wicket (clean bowled). So Mooroolbark were now 7/130 and needed 9 runs off the last over to win. Kamal Kuruppu had the responsibility of bowling the last over for Kilsyth. The first three balls resulted in singles, so 6 runs were needed off the last 3 balls. A dot, then a single, took the score to 134. A four off the last ball would tie the scores and mean the game would go to a super over. With tension in the air and the crowd watching intently, the last ball resulted in a run out by Karmal Kuruppu at the bowler’s end and Kilsyth had won the match to advance to the Semi Final. The wicket takers for Kilsyth were Mackenzie Scott-Thomas, 2/18 off 4 overs, Andy Solomons 2/25 off 4 overs, Kamal Kuruppu 1/19 off 4 overs, and Pasan Ganegoda 1/35 off 4 overs. Congratulations to both teams on a great game of cricket.
On Saturday 21 December 2024 Kilsyth First XI played Norwood at Alan Smith Oval, Pinks Reserve with Norwood winning the toss and electing to bowl. On the first ball of the fifth over, Kilsyth lost their first wicket with 18 runs on the board. Then a 50-run partnership between Kevin Baldsing and Andy Solomons took the score to 68, when, in the 12th over, Solomons was caught behind, attempting a square cut, for an attractive 24 off 23 balls (3 fours and 1 six). So, Kilsyth were 2/68 and it soon became 3/69 after 13 overs. Opener Kevin Baldsing played a good innings of 35 off 46 balls (4 fours) before he was bowled by Lewis Miller with the score on 81 in the 16th over. From there, wickets tumbled: 5/92, 6/100, 7/100 and 8/120 after 26 overs. In the meantime, Captain Marcus Adams was holding the innings together and at that stage was on 36 not out. There were still 14 overs remaining, but Kilsyth only had 2 wickets in hand. Kamal Kuruppu and Marcus Adams then worked hard to build the score. They added 40 valuable runs for the ninth wicket, when, in the 37th over, Kuruppu was unfortunately bowled by Miller going for a big hit. In the following over, a close runout at the bowler’s end attempting a two, to keep Adams on strike, was most unfortunate, as Kilsyth were all out for 164 in 37.1 overs. Marcus Adams, who had batted brilliantly, was left stranded on 62 not out off 69 balls (7 fours), with 17 balls not utilised. Norwood’s best bowlers were Andre Eramo, 3/19 off 6 overs, Lewis Miller 3/41 off 7 overs, and Nathan Lester 1/15 off 6.1 overs (3 maidens). Wicket keeper Justin Cook took three good catches.
After the tea break with the score on 5, Norwood lost an early wicket in the second over (bowled by Scott Nicholson). Ben Hastie struck 4 boundaries in his 19 off 28 balls before being well caught in the gully by Pasan Ganegoda off spin bowler Hayden Pleming. So, Norwood were now 2/34 after 10 overs with Kilsyth well in the game. However, a 101-run third wicket partnership between Sam Storey and former Kilsyth champion player Josh Turner put Norwood on the path to victory. It was then that Storey was trapped lbw by Uvindu Wimaladharma for 56 off 93 balls (4 fours), and Norwood were now 3/135 off 30 overs. Kilsyth continued to fight back when Andy Solomons was brought back into the attack and had Turner caught at mid-on by Mackenzie Scott -Thomas for 56 off 61 balls (6 fours and 1 six), with Norwood now 4/149 after 34 overs. It became 5/154 after 36 overs when Solomons struck again after another catch by Mackenzie Scott-Thomas. Then, a caught behind by Marcus Adams off Scott-Thomas had Norwood 6/158 after 37 overs. In his next over Andy Solomons struck again (lbw), and Norwood were now 7/159 after 38 overs. Unfortunately for Kilsyth, Norwood got the required runs in the next over to finish on 7/166 with 7 balls to spare. Andy Solomons took the bowling honours for Kilsyth with 3/19 off 5 overs. Uvindu Wimaladharma bowled well to take 1/21 off 8 economical overs, Hayden Pleming 1/15 off 4 overs, Mackenzie Scott-Thomas 1/31 off 7.5 overs, and Scott Nicholson 1/25 off 6 overs.
The Second XI played against Norwood at Mullum Mullum Reserve. Norwood won the toss and batted, compiling 6/186cc off their allotted 40 overs. Number 5 batsman Lloyd Jordan top scored with 55 off 57 balls (4 fours and 1 six), whilst opener Jake Sali contributed 44 off 80 balls, and Jordan Osborne was run out for 25 off 50 balls. For Kilsyth, the multiple wicket taker was Daniel Stapelfeldt who captured 2/30 off 8 overs, whilst Daniel Caton took 1/27 off 8 overs . In reply, Kilsyth were all out for 133 off 37.4 overs. The chief run getters were Sanjeev Rana 27 (5 fours), Daniel Caton 25 (4 fours), Captain Matthew Coghlan 23 (3 fours), and Dan Beard 19. For Norwood, Luke Raggett took 4/10 off 7.4 overs, and Lloyd Jordan 2/14 off 4 overs.
The Third XI played away against Lilydale at Gateway Reserve. Lilydale won the toss and elected to bat. After Lilydale lost their first wicket on 41 (bowled by Max Wills), a second wicket partnership of 77 between Thomas Smith and Kalen Tahirovski set the innings up for Lilydale. With the score on 118 in the 21st over, Smith was caught by Max Wills, bowled by Mark Wells for 52 off 72 balls (8 fours). Tahirovski went on to score 53 off 66 balls (7 fours), and Lilydale’s innings closed on 6/237cc after 40 overs. The other main contributors with the bat were Captain Matthew Browell, 31 off 33 balls (4 fours and 1 six), Luke Green 30 off 20 balls, and Elijah Prentice 29 not out off 28 balls (2 fours and 2 sixes). For Kilsyth, Trent Potter took 2/31 off 6 overs and in so doing, reached the 50 wickets senior milestone for Kilsyth CC.
In the run chase, Kilsyth lost early wickets on 19 and 24 but by the end of the 16th over had reached 2/95, following a good third wicket partnership between Justin Smith and Mark Unternahrer. However, Unternahrer, who was in fine form, was caught behind down the leg side by Luke Green off Connor Smith’s second ball for an attacking 40 off 33 balls (8 fours). After that, wickets fell regularly, and Kilsyth were dismissed for 178 off only 31.2 overs. Justin Smith top scored with a fighting 49 off 64 balls (10 fours), whilst Joel Gibb made a quick-fire 29 off 26 balls (3 fours and 1 six). The best of Lilydale’s bowlers were Connor Smith, 3/31 off 8 overs (1 maiden), Dean Bree 3/18 off 2.2 overs, Thomas Smith 2/45 off 6 overs, and Justin Woolley 1/4 off 5 overs (3 maidens).
The Fourth XI played at home against Wantirna First XI on Roy Baldwin Oval at Pinks Reserve. Wantirna won the toss and elected to bat, but their innings never really got going and they were dismissed for 106 in 30.5 overs. Middle order batsman Ned Eyres top scored with 43 off 59 balls (5 fours), whilst the next best was Mark Pemberton’s 14 off 36 balls. The wicket takers for the Redbacks were Tait Harper 4/27 off 7 overs (1 maiden), Travis Tyszkiewicz 2/10 off 7 overs (1 maiden), Michael Sturt 1/14 off 4.5 overs,
Ravin Mehra 1/17 off 5 overs, Brodie Goodwin 1/17 off 3 overs, and Andrew Smith 1/21 off 4 overs. Kilsyth chased down the runs in 24 overs and finished on 5/109. Shane Smith batted with intent, scoring 43 off 38 balls (9 fours), and Captain Anthony Sequeira made 19 off 62 balls (4 fours). The best of Wantirna’s bowlers were Matthew O’Brien, 1/9 off 6 overs (2 maidens), Mark Pemberton 1/13 off 4 overs (2 maidens), and Captain James Willoughby, 1/18 off 5 overs (1 maiden). It was a good win for Kilsyth’s Fourth XI who are third on the ladder at the Christmas break after 9 rounds.
There were no fixtured matches for the Fifth XI (currently second on the ladder), or the Women’s First XI (in fourth position).
In the Juniors, the Under 16-1 team, who scored 4/135cc, had an exciting tie against North Ringwood 7/135cc. It was Kilsyth U16’s second tie for the season. The combined Yarra Glen/Kilsyth Under 14 team scored 8/94cc, losing to Yarra Junction 6/109cc, whilst the Under 12‘s posted 4/123cc to defeat Heatherdale 1/99cc.
The best junior performances were as follows:
Under 16’s: Josh Bock 2/10 off 2 overs and 20 run out off 25 balls (3 fours), Jack Childs 2/13 off 4 overs and 20 retired not out off 25 balls (2 fours), Kyan Harper 1/9 off 2 overs, Luke Childs 1/15 off 3 overs, Will Beard 35 retired not out off 25 balls (6 fours), and Joel Harris 20 retired not out off 25 balls (3 fours).
Under 14’s: Lawson Appleton 2/8 off 3 overs, Ronak Mehra 1/10 off 3 overs, Mitchell Ammeriaan 1/11 off 3 overs, and Tait Harper 23 off 25 balls.
Under 12’s: Zion Solomons 21 retired not out off 15 balls (3 fours), Bailey Kennon 13 retired not out off 15 balls (1 four), and Tate Lindsay 11 retired not out off 15 balls (1 four).
