THIS past weekend saw another round of the Victorian Men’s Premier Cricket League take place over the weekend, across a number of grounds. Metropolitan Melbourne was treated to some excellent action, with the competition’s top eight beginning to take shape as the weeks progress. There were some strong performances with both bat and ball, as plenty of sides recorded crucial wins as they look to move up the ladder. One of the biggest results of the round saw Essendon take home a vital win as they defeated Footscray by a considerable margin.

Footscray (185) def. by Essendon (3/257)

In one of the biggest upsets of the round, Footscray could not withstand the bowling power of Essendon, eventually falling by 72 runs at Mervyn G Hughes Oval on Saturday. Footscray was stationed inside the top eight heading into this clash, while Essendon was a fair way lower in the standings. However, they proved to be the better team on the day with bat and ball as they cruised to a big win.

Footscray won the toss and opted to send Essendon out to bat after investigating the pitch prior to the first innings. This ended up backfiring, as the Essendon batsmen ended up excelling at the crease during their time out there. Opener James Seymour started the game in fine style, racking up 80 runs and getting his side off to a flying start. He was the first of three Essendon batsmen to surpass the 50-run mark when at the crease. This saw Essendon finish their 50-over innings at 257 runs, which is known to be a defendable total.

Despite a strong performance with bat in hand, Essendon saved their best for when their opponents were at the crease. The Footscray batting order simply could not get rolling, with the Essendon bowlers claiming wickets on a consistent basis. The duo of Travis Dean and Dylan Kight gave some hope to Footscray, but this was shortly gone when the rest of their batting order collapsed in quick fashion. Essendon bowler Cameron McClure finished with remarkable figures of 4/13 from his 10 overs with ball in hand and led his side to a big win in the context of their season.

Around the Grounds

Moving across Metropolitan Melbourne, Prahran fell just short of chasing down the required total set by Melbourne when the two sides went head-to-head at Albert Ground on Saturday. Melbourne set a strong score when at the crease, but faced a big scare when Prahran started the second innings off strong with bat in hand, but the fell just eight runs shy of pulling off the upset.

Moving north for the next clash, Northcote were able to take down Ringwood in a high-scoring affair at Bill Lawry oval on Saturday afternoon. After winning the toss and heading out to the crease first, Ringwood were quite impressive with bat in hand, setting a strong score of 219 runs. However, it took Northcote just 39 overs to surpass this total as they continued their strong start to the season.

Heading over to Camberwell, the Magpies found themselves bested by Frankston Peninsula when the two teams locked horns at Camberwell Sports Ground on Saturday. The Magpies could not get their batting order rolling in the second innings, only able to manage just over 150 runs, which was well short of the total set by Frankston Peninsula.

Casey-South Melbourne were able to get the job done in their matchup against the Greenvale Kangaroos at Casey Fields on the weekend. The Kangaroos won the toss and opted to bat first, but this move did not pay off as they could only conjure up 168 runs, a total that was reached by Casey-South Melbourne in just over 34 overs.

The next match of the round saw Richmond record a big win, taking down Kingston Hawthorn to the tune of 98 runs at Central Reserve North on Saturday. The home side recorded a big score in the first innings, falling just two runs shy of the 250-mark, and they defended this score with ease.

Geelong racked up a bit of an upset in their clash against Melbourne University at University Main Oval on Saturday afternoon. Despite coming into this clash with a poorer record than their opponents, Geelong were able to chase down the score of 197 set by the home side in the allotted amount of time.

In the penultimate match of the round, Carlton were able to continue their strong run of form by recording a big win over Dandenong at Princes Park on the weekend. Carlton headed out to the crease first and set a whopping total of 264 runs, while their opponents could only reach 134 runs themselves, with a number of players recording multiple wickets each.

The final match of the round saw St Kilda continue their undefeated run when they defeated Fitzroy Doncaster by 132 runs at Schramms Reserve on Saturday. The victors entered this clash heavily favoured given their fantastic start to the year, and they were able to prove too strong with both bat and ball as they continue their charge towards this year’s premiership.