THE Christmas and New Year break is over and the Victoria Men’s Premier Cricket competition is back for another year of exciting, and proceedings resumed over the weekend. The league enjoyed their seventh round of action, with plenty of intriguing matchups that were certain to shape the ladder moving forward. After two weeks off over the holiday period, fans were truly excited to see their local teams back in action as the competition begins to heat up over the coming rounds.

The only interruption this week was some slightly unwelcome weather around Melbourne early on in the day, and this prevented the usual start times. However, the rain passed shortly after, and proceedings were able to resume in entertaining fashion.

Kingston Hawthorn (104) def by. Melbourne (1/105)

Melbourne was able to continue their rise up the ladder, defeating Kingston Hawthorn by nine wickets at Walter Galt Reserve on Saturday. This was Melbourne’s fifth win from its six games so far this season and it sees the Demons currently sitting in third place on the ladder. It was a clinical performance from the victors, who had no issue succeeding with both bat and ball as they cruised to an easy triumph. The win has announced the side as one of the premiership favourites as they cement themselves towards the top of the ladder.

Melbourne won the toss and opted to send Kingston Hawthorn out to bat first, given the rain had certainly made it a bowler’s wicket. This was reflected in the innings, with Melbourne able to wreak havoc with ball in hand, and the opposition batsmen unable to build a respectable total. Their strongest performance at the crease came from Joel Lewis, who was able to slowly work his way to a score of 42, before he was bowled out. In the end, four Melbourne bowlers took multiple wickets, with Kingston Hawthorn’s final total standing at 104.

This was a particularly anticipated innings for the eventual victors, with Melbourne welcoming back star batsman Will Pucovski following a series of injuries. Given the expectations for the youngster to eventually become Australia’s opening batsman at international level, Melbourne would be thrilled to add a player of such quality talent. It took over 15 balls for Pucovski to get off the mark, but once he did, his skill was evident. He quickly worked his way to a respectable score, before being dismissed for 40 runs. His teammates were able to continue his work from there, with Harry Demattia pushing closer to a half century, before his side reached the required total after just 28 overs in an impressive performance.

Moving around the grounds now, Carlton were able to get their season back on track, taking down the Camberwell Magpies by nine wickets at Princes Park on Saturday. After being upset by the bottom side last round, the victors delivered a much stronger performance this time around, as they dominated their opponents on the back of a 100* run performance from batsman Evan Gulbis, as they managed to get the job done with plenty of overs to spare in a strong outing.

Over at Shepley Oval, Ringwood was unable to hold off their opponents, as Dandenong chased down the required total to claim the win on Saturday. After winning the toss and opting to head to the crease first, Ringwood was unable to put together an unbeatable total, as the Dandenong bowlers ripped through their batting order. The set score of 123 runs proved no issue for the opposition batsmen, who were able to reach this in the span of just over 33 overs as they claim their third win of the season.

In a bit of an upset, Frankston Peninsula proved capable of chasing down the run total of Melbourne University when the two sides faced off at University Main Oval on Saturday. The home side looked in a strong position after setting the first innings total at 158 runs, which has proved a winning score in the past. However, the Frankston Peninsula batsmen had other ideas, with the side rallying behind a 68 run performance from Brodie Symons to chase down the total in 45 overs.

In an exciting match, the total set by Fitzroy Doncaster proved too much for the Greenvale Kangaroos, with the home side unable to chase down the score at Greenvale Reserve on Saturday. The victors were sent out to bat first in a move that ultimately backfired, with their innings total finishing at 167 runs. However, the wicket was favouring the batting side, and the Kangaroos looked a chance to finish with a big score. However, they fell just short, and while they finished with a respectable 155, it was not enough.

Moving to Toorak Park, Prahran were bested by Northcote when the two sides locked horns on Saturday. The victors were able to take advantage of the pitch and send the opposition side out to bat first. Prahran were only able to conjure 138 runs from their time at the crease, and it did not take long for Northcote to chase this down, thanks to 67 runs from opener Mark Phelan.

In a low-scoring affair, Richmond took no time at all to chase down the required total as they defeated Footscray at Central Reserve North on Saturday. Footscray were sent out to the crease first, and could only muster up a total of 86 runs in their innings. Richmond were ruthless with ball in hand and clinical with bat in hand, as they were able to chase this total down in just 23 overs.

Over at Casey Fields, the home side ended up emerging victorious, with Casey-South Melbourne taking down Essendon by nine wickets when the two sides went to battle on Saturday. Essendon won the toss and chose to bat first, and this looked to be a match-winning move, as they worked their way to a respectable total of 157 (which was set up by an impressive batting performance from their tail-enders). However, the home team were able to stunningly chase this total down in just 27 overs, behind 107 runs from opener Luke Manders from just 86 runs.

The final match of the round saw a high-scoring affair, as St Kilda emerged victorious in their clash against Geelong at CitiPower Centre on Saturday. After sending Geelong out to bat first, things looked ominous for St Kilda when their opponents managed to get their total up to 219. However, this ended up proving no problem for the home side, who were able to chase down this total in just 39 overs as they remain on top of the standings with an undefeated record after seven rounds.