THE weekend has passed, so it is time to look back at the most recent round of the Victoria Men’s Premier Cricket League, which took place across Metropolitan Melbourne in the past few days. In typical fashion of late, there were plenty of big scores with teams looking to cement themselves in the top half of the ladder, with the competition now being six rounds in. There were also a number of surprising scores, none more so than the Greenvale Kangaroos upsetting one of the competition’s top sides to claim their opening win of the 2021/22 season.

Greenvale Kangaroos (6/253) def. Carlton (227)

The Greenvale Kangaroos have claimed their first win of the season in the most remarkable fashion, knocking off the ladder-leaders by 26 runs at Greenvale Reserve on Saturday. Heading into this round, Carlton were widely expected to claim the win, given they sat at the top of the standings, while their opponents were seated at the other end of the table on the bottom of the ladder. However, they instead found themselves unable to chase down the total set by the Kangaroos as they suffered one of the most surprising losses of the year.

Greenvale won the toss and opted to bat, a move which paid off big time given their success in this area for the match. The Kangaroos heaped on the runs in the first innings, setting a whopping score that was well-set up by their first batman. Opener Joshua Treambearth was outstanding in setting his side up for a winning score, finishing with 119 runs from just 158 balls in what was a tonesetter for the side. He found the boundary with ease, hitting 14 four’s in his innings and was one of the main reasons his side claimed the win. The Kangaroos finished on 253 runs at inning’s end and had set themselves up in a winning position.

The Kangaroos were just as impressive with ball in hand, not allowing their opponents to post a winning score and tearing through the Carlton batting order. They claimed 10 wickets in just 48 overs as they stormed home on the back of seven wickets between Harvinder Singh and Sean McNicholl, who did not allow the Carlton batsmen to get close to a winning score, in a victory that changed the landscape of the competition.

Across the grounds:

Over at Albert Ground, Melbourne was able to claim their fourth win of the season, defeating Essendon by 89 points on Saturday. In a result that was expected, Essendon were unable to reach the total set by their opponents, with the Melbourne bowling attack ripping through the Essendon batting order in just 39 overs, with Kyle Williamson taking four wickets of his own in an impressive display.

The next game of the round saw the Camberwell Magpies produce one of the lowest scores of the season, falling to Northcote by a whopping 178 runs at Bill Lawry Oval on Saturday. Northcote won the toss and decided to bat given the conditions, and was able to put up a strong score of 237. However, what was most impressive was their work with the ball, as they managed to bowl out the Magpies for just 59 runs in a telling performance. Player of the match honours clearly belonged to Michael Edwards, who was near flawless in the bowling department, finishing with figures of 6/21 off his 10 overs.

Moving to Casey Fields, Casey-South Melbourne found itself on the end of their third loss of the season after being defeated by St Kilda by seven wickets on Saturday. The home side batted first, and put up a score of 185 runs, which ended up being very achievable for the opposition side. St Kilda were led by an unbeaten knock of 76 by Patrick Rowe as his side snatched top spot on the ladder following Carlton’s shock defeat earlier in the round.

Saturday’s next match saw Fitzroy Doncaster prove too strong in their contest against Richmond, claiming a 43-run win over at Central Reserve North. This was quite an upset given the victors were much lower on the ladder heading into this match, however their work with the ball in hand was too much for the opposition, with Fitzroy Doncaster bowlers Ejaaz Alavi and Zac Parr producing three wickets each as they ended up being the driving force in their side’s second win of the season.

The following match of the round saw Prahran unable to chase down the massive score set by Ringwood when the two sides went head-to-head at Russell Lucas Oval on Saturday. Prahran won the toss and opted to send its opponents out to bat first, in a move that ended up backfiring in a big way, with Ringwood posting a huge score of 325 (thanks to a stunning knock of 200 by opener Thomas Rogers), and the match was all but sealed, with Prahran unable to chase down this total as they suffered third loss of the 2021/22 season.

Over at J Coburn Oval, Footscray had no troubles chasing down the run total set by Frankston Peninsula when the two sides faced off on Saturday. Batting first, Frankston Peninsula were only able to manage 111 runs in their innings, which was easily chased down by the opposition, with the Footscray batsmen able to reach this total in just 25 overs and with four wickets to spare.

In the next upset of the round, Dandenong delivered a performance that proved too much for Melbourne University at University Main Oval on Saturday. Melbourne University entered this match as one of the competition’s form sides, but were shocked when Dandenong not only came out to play, but came out to win, posting a score that proved unreachable for the home side. Dandenong bowler Gehan Seneviratne finished with figures of 4/42 for the match as he ripped through the opposition batsmen.

The final match of the round saw Kingston Hawthorn not able to reach the total set by Geelong when the two sides faced off at Walter Galt Reserve on Saturday. Geelong headed out to the crease first and behind a knock of 104 from opener Hayden Butterworth and 103 from Jack Riding, posted a score of 272 from the first innings, and the score was unable to be reached by their opponents.