After winning the toss & batting, the Marcellin innings got underway solidly with openers Sean Phillips Williams (15no) & Nick Welsh (12) seeing off the Box Hill opening bowlers. Marcus Alessi (7) & Rosie Dillon (13) continued scoring until marcus coped a beauty. Lucas Spinella was controversially given out caught behind but not before making a quick fire (17). Bailey Mallia batted well for his (11no) whilst Lucas Stambos went for the big shot early only to be out caught.  Chris Welsh & Julian Spinella remained unbeaten, enabling the retired top order batsman to have another crack towards the end of the innings.

A shortened morning tea was consumed by all as players took to the field in search of early wickets. Some sharp work by Rosie in the field forced a run out  in the 2^nd over of the innings, & a sharp Yorker by Rosie in the next over saw the middle stump uprooted.

The slinging action of Lucas Stambos knocked over a third Box Hill top order batsman before a straight one from Lucas Spinella had the home team in dire straits at 4/7 after only just 5 overs. A second brilliant piece of fielding from Rosie found the batsman short of his ground for a second runout which became infectious  as Lucas Spinella added 2 more run outs & a catch to cap an excellent day in the field by the Marcellin team. The Welsh boys firstly Nick with 2 wickets & Chris with 1 cleaned up the remaining Box Hill batsman aided by  brilliant catches from Marcus Alessi & Sean Phillips Williams to wrap up a convincing victory away from home.

Marcellin 7/112   def    Box Hill 65

Player of The Match:    Nicholas Welsh 12 runs & 3 overs 2/11

Under 12c:

Amid mass confusion our Round 5 class against Surrey Hills was in jeopardy as players from both teams arrived only to find that our ground allocation was taken up by the school team. After pleading (1 VB Slab) to the Carey Grammar grounds staff for support, we finally got the game underway all be it at 9:00am.

Early break throughs from Conner Firth & Michael Tsalikis combined with a run out from Alec Morris had the visitors 3/23 after 8 overs. The scoring tempo was raised but not before inform bowlers Alex Morris & Christian Kogoi crashed the defense’s of the Surrey Hills middle order. With 76 as the total we knew that the young Marcellin Eagles would have to find something extra to overhaul the target set.

Alex Morris (2 no) together with cousin Sammy Sammit (19 no) gave the team the exact start we were after by putting on an unbeaten 29 for the first wicket stand. Christian Cogoi added (5) with the ever reliable Matthew Difazio helping himself to (6no). Zac Elsbury who is having a bumber season with the bat was out for (4) with Connor Firth (4no) rounding off a great allround performance with both Bat & ball. In the end we could only manage 69 to narrowly go down by a handful of runs for the second week in a row. Some encouraging signs from our bowlers with only 31 no balls & wides conceded . A vast improvement from our previous match.

Marcellin 6/69  lost to Surrey Hills 5/76

Man of the Match:

Connor Firth for his highest score of 4 runs no & bowling figures of 1/3

ROUND 3

MATCH REPORT

The Marcellin innings got underway in cautious style with openers Sean Phillips Williams & Nick Welsh seeing off the NB opening bowlers. Lucas Spinella & Rosie Dillon attempted to push the scoring along until Lucas was bowled by an off break for 11. This brought Marcus Alessi to the crease for his first hit of the summer & he didn’t disappoint the mass’s. Together with Rosie Dillon (21no) Marcus brought up his highest first class score remaining on (31no). Lucas Stambos was again handy with the bat until he received a good one, but Marcellin looked to have the run chase in hand at 3/115. With some tight opposition bowling the North Balwyn boys update the required run rate which saw us lose some middle order wickets very cheaply making the job tough for the lower order batsman. We unfortunately fell just short of the target with Rosie needing to leave early for a prior engagement. With some extra hard work I’m sure we have a team that will be very competitive in the B grade comp this season.

Marcellin 9/138 lost to North Balwyn 7/154.

Man of The Match:    MARCUS ALESSI 31 no

U12 C

ROUND 4

MATCH REPORT

A keen Marcellin outfit prepared for the return battle against North Balwyn whom we defeated in the first match of the season. Captain Zac Elsbury bravely sent the opposition in & handed the ball to Alec “Junior Cubba” Morris who had immediate success on the

Second ball of the match after Matthew Difazio held on to a firmly struck shot. The scoring rate off the bat was extremely slow however our bowlers’ discipline had seemingly deserted them from the previous weeks’ good performance. Connor Firth took the scalp of the Bulls number 6 batsman for his first wicket of the season. An additional 4 wickets were missed from no balls as the illegal delivery tally soared to a record high 54.

Put simply, 54 runs were added to the North Balwyn team total which only returned 26 runs off the batsman. The one shinning light in an otherwise disappointing bowling performance was from youngster Alexander Hodder who bowled 3 overs 1/4 in a great individual performance.

Our batting didn’t fare any better losing the wickets of Difazio (4), Morris (1) & Jose Ablaza with the score on 11. First gamer Sammy Samitt (8) got the scoreboard moving as he was joined in the middle by inform batsman Micheal Tsalikis (6 no). Connor Firth (2) made his first runs of the season as Sean Hibberd (2no) showed that he could develop into a handy all round cricketer with some additional net practice. Julian Spinella (5no) together with Zac “killer” Elsbury (6no) gave the home team a scare at the end as the game tightened up thanks to some great running between wickets from the pair.

Marcellin 7/74 CC lost to North Balwyn 3/84 CC

Man of the Match:

Alexander Hodder – 3 overs 1 wicket for 4 runs

ROUND 3

MATCH REPORT

The first day of three 2 day games for the season was played on Saturday as we took on a North Balwyn outfit fielding a couple of ex Marcellin players in Carey Hassall & Adam Bettiol. After winning the toss & sending the opposition in to bat, the game was evenly poised after the Lucas’s Stambos & Spinella struck early blows which saw the visitors at 2/32 after 10 overs. This brought along a great partnership between the Bulls Cunningham & Hassall which took the score along to 78 for the loss of only 2 wickets. A brilliant bit of fielding by Tom Morgan sent Adam Bettiol on his way, but scoring was still easy for the Bulls who moved to 3/120 after 33 overs. A spark was needed to keep the score line respectable. Enter Sean Phillips Williams whose 2 wicket over forced a middle order collapse that saw the visitors plummet to be 7/134. In the end the bulls added only 24 more runs thanks mainly to some tidy bowling spells from Chris Welsh 3 overs 0/2, Bailey Mallia 4 overs 0/10, Nick Tsalikis 3 overs 0/6, Lucas Stambos 4 overs 1/10. Fielding was fairly sharp with Rosie Dillon taking a couple of hot chances, Bailey Mallia grasping a flyier & Nick Welsh who completed a run out & stumping.

North Balwyn 7/154 from 45 overs. Marcellin require 155 for victory next week

U12 C

ROUND 3

MATCH REPORT

A depleted under 12 C Marcellin team took on a strong Boorondara xi outfit fielding 5 under 10 players & 3 other players who were playing there first ever game of cricket.

Although we knew the boys were up against it we started fairly well with experienced pair in Zac Elsbury (2 no) & Matthew Difazio (6) keeping out the 2 opening bowlers. 9 year old Michael Tsalikis strode out to the middle following the Difazio dismissal & took on the bowling & remained (3 no). Aided by some wayward bowling by the opposition we reached 50 for the loss of 8 wickets, a mini victory in that the Bowlers failed to take all 9 wickets available.

A good start to our bowling innings saw Alec Morris (1/10) & second gamer Shaun Hibberd (1/10) dismissing the Boorandara opening pair cheaply. Our bowlers continued to toil manfully even though we looked unlikely to defend our modest total. Special mention to young bowlers Alex Hodder who bowled 3 overs 0/8, Michael Tsalikis 2 overs 0/8, Julian Spinella 2 overs 0/9 & debutant Christian Ratnayke 2 overs 0/5.

A fabulous direct hit run out by youngster Jose Ablaza was the highlight of the morning in the field.

Marcellin 8/50 CC lost to Boroondara 3/125 CC

Man of the Match:

Michael Tsalikis for his highest score of 3 runs no & bowling  figures of 0/8

ROUND 1

MATCH REPORT

We required the support required from the North Balwyn CC in agreeing to reschedule the opening game of the season in order tokick off the season. Featuring a good mix of experienced players & a crop of youngsters 8 year old Julian Spinella , 9 year old Jose Ablaza & Christian Kogoi were presented with their respective baggy maroon caps. We also welcomed back Alec Morris after a year off chasing his dream in the IPL.

After losing the toss we were sent in to bat in overcast conditions. Keen to do well, Josh Sassella (15 no ) & Mick “the PM “ Williams (9 no) got us off to a dream start to be no wicket for 34 after 6 overs. Lucas Spinella (23 no) supported by Liam Bartholomeusz (3 no) rocketed the scoring along to 72 for no loss after just 11 overs. Our opening stand of 108 runs goes into the record books at Marcellin. OCC for the highest opening stand by a junior team. (I just made it up, but it might be fact). Zac Elsbury (4) strode out to the middle in search of the holy grail of  a score greater than 15 to receive his lucrative bonus that could one day bring the club down into financial ruin. But we live on.

Our innings came to a compulsory close after 24 overs with the core on 3 for 123 meaning the North Balwyn Bulls would need a big performance to over run the large target set.

Our bowlers were right on song taking the early ascendancy with wickets to Tom Morgan & Christian Kogoi bowling almost unplayable leg spin. Liam Bartholomeusz & Lucas Spinella struck in each of there first over as did M.Williams courtesy of a brilliant catch to Matthew Difazio. Matty then picked up his first wicket for the season after a brilliant take by young Julian Spinella.

In the end Marcellin was far too strong for the boys from the other side of the Freeway.

Marcellin 3/123 def North Balwyn 77

Man of the Match:

Zac Elsbury for his highest score of 4 runs & best bowling  figures of 0/7

ROUND 1

MATCH REPORT

The first game of the 2008 season saw us blood 6 new recruits all eager to prove the big bucks paid to secure their services. With season regulars Lucas, Tom, Josh & Rosie unavailable not a lot was expected from such a young & inexperienced line up. But boy were we wrong. Opening bowlers Lucas Stambos & Marcus Alessi both had the ball swinging & seaming around from the outset. The Balwyn top order looked out of their depth as the wickets tumbled from both ends. After 3 overs the score was 3 for 1 just about game over. The only resistance came from opener J.Baring who retired on 25 no. Wickets continued to tumble through out the short innings which saw the home team bowled out for just 47. Apart from the outstanding bowling performance, special mention must go to Bailey Mallia, Phillips – Williams, Lucas Stambos Alex Hodder who each took outstanding catches. You have now set a standard for the whole season.

Great Bowling performance from first gamers :

Lucas Stambos who took 3 for 2 off his 3 overs

Nick Tsalikis 1 for 6 off his 2

Alex Hodder 2 for 12 off 2

Connor Firth 1 for 9 off 2

After morning tea was taken openers Chris Welsh (5 no) & Phillips –Williams  (8 no) got us off to a flying start to be 0/25 after 6 overs. Bailey Mallia (7 no) & Nick Welsh (5 no) continued the solid start at the top order. Lucas Stambos backed up his bowling performance with another great contribution with the willow to post (8 no) as well as Marcus Alessi who made a great start with both bat & ball to sore an unbeaten 7.

Alex Hodder showed that he will be a handy allrounder with (2 no). We past the required runs in the 12^th over to easily run out comfortable winners & get our season off to a high flying Eagle start.

Man of the Match:  LUCAS STAMBOS

Parents, its not too late to sign up your child for the coming season.  Read more