THE weekend has concluded, as has the most recent round of the Victoria Men’s Premier Cricket League. Round 10 saw scoring drop for a number of sides, largely due to to the rainfall around Melbourne over the days prior. The wild weather also saw two matches forced into cancellation, with the Footscray/Melbourne University and Carlton/Melbourne clashes unable to go ahead. However, there were still seven cracking matchups for fans to enjoy around the grounds, with none more crucial than the battle between top-four sides St Kilda and Northcote, with the former able to get the win and stay at the top.

St Kilda (3/189) def. Northcote (186)

In what was a highly anticipated clash, St Kilda was able to remain undefeated with a win over Northcote at CitiPower Centre on Saturday afternoon. The two sides currently occupy two of the top-four spots on the ladder, setting up a blockbuster matchup. In the end, it was the home side that got the job done, claiming their ninth win from nine games.

St Kilda won the toss and decided to send Northcote out to the crease to bat first, given the fact that the pitch appeared to suit bowling. This was a move that ended up paying off, with the visitors unable to produce a strong enough partnership to muster up a winning score. Northcote opener Mark Phelan started things off in decent fashion, racking up 41 runs to get the ball rolling for his side, but this effort could not be replicated by his teammates. When St Kilda were able to claim the vital wicket of Jack Lalor, things looked dire for Northcote. The visiting team were dismissed for just 186 runs, which looked a very achievable total for their opponents.

The home side did not exactly start their innings as planned, with opener Michael De Iacovo dismissed for just nine runs. However, fellow opener Marcus Harris was able to get the side back on track, recording 97 runs (not out) from just 105 runs in a terrific outing for the star batsman. While Northcote were able to get the occasional wicket, they were unable to conjure a batting collapse, as each St Kilda player that headed out to the crease was able to get rolling reasonably quickly. In the end, the victors were able to reach the required total in just 38 overs, as they maintain their spot at the top of the ladder for another week.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

Moving across town for some other matches, the total set by Casey-South Melbourne proved too much for the Camberwell Magpies when the two sides faced off at Casey Fields on Saturday. The home side batted first and racked up a score of 285 runs from their 50 overs. The Magpies could not get the same output from their batting lineup, only reaching just over 200 runs before they were completely dismissed.

Heading down south for the next contest, Fitzroy Doncaster was able to chase down the required score to defeat Geelong at Geelong Cricket Ground on Saturday. Despite the home side setting a strong total of 236 runs from their time at the crease, Fitzroy Doncaster were too good with bat in hand, completing the chase down with three overs and three wickets to spare, thanks to a ton from Glenn Maxwell.

The next match of the round saw Richmond emerge victorious over the Greenvale Kangaroos when the two sides went head-to-head at Greenvale Reserve on Saturday. The victors could sense the quality of the pitch and sent their opponents out to bat first, where they finished with a total of 9/152. The visitors then chased this down with 11 overs to spare, despite a brave bowling performance from the Kangaroos making things interesting towards the end.

In one of the highest scoring clashes of the round, Dandenong fell painfully short of chasing down the total set by Prahran at Toorak Park on Saturday afternoon. Prahran chose to bat first, and produced a strong batting performance with five players scoring at least 37 runs. Their opponents looked a strong chance of chasing down the score of 271 runs, but sadly fell just six runs short of achieving this as Prahran claimed their fourth win of the 2021/22 season.

The penultimate match of the round saw Kingston Hawthorn emerging victorious over Ringwood when the two teams went to battle at Walter Galt Oval on Saturday. Ringwood won the toss and headed out to bat in the first innings, setting a strong total of 261 from their 50 overs. However, Kingston Hawthorn were able to get the job done just in the nick of time, thanks to a 107-run effort from Shorye Chopra.

The final match of Round 10 saw Essendon prove too good for Frankston Peninsula at Windy Hill on Saturday. The home side went out to the crease first after winning the toss, and managed to get their total to 181 runs. This score ended up being match-winning, with their opponents finding their batting lineup dismissed for a total of just 161 runs as their struggles continue.