THIS past weekend saw another round of the Victorian Men’s Premier Cricket League take place around metropolitan Melbourne, with some enthralling matchups around the grounds. With the conclusion of Round 14, finals are now just weeks away, so these matches hold plenty of significance for each side. This resulted in some hard fought games, with scoring dropping as the quality of bowling and fielding went through the roof.

Carlton (145) def. by Geelong (6/146)

In one of the most surprising results of the round, Geelong was able to deliver a major boilover when it took down Carlton by four wickets at Princes Park on Saturday afternoon. Carlton entered this clash heavily favoured given its placement in second spot on the ladder, while Geelong came into this matchup in the midst of an inconsistent season. However, the visiting side were able to come in and shock the competition with a terrific performance as they continued their pursuit of a top-eight spot.

Carlton won the toss and decided to head out to the crease first, given the condition of the pitch appeared to suit the batting side. This ended up backfiring a bit, with their first three batsmen combining for a total of nine runs, as the Geelong bowlers began to make their mark on the contest. Thankfully, Carlton was given a saving grace in the form of Xavier Crone, whose 51-run knock ended up being the highest of the team, with the rest of his teammates unable to surpass 21 runs. Due to this collapse, Carlton could only post a total of 145 runs, which was well-down on their season average.

Despite the low total required to win the match, Geelong would have still been worried when star opener Hayden Butterworth was dismissed for just one run off 10 balls. Butterworth has been a pillar of the Geelong batting order for the entirety of the season, so when he edged through to the keeper on such a low score, Carlton would have been much more confident in their chances. In the end, it was the trio of Jack Riding (61 runs), Thomas Jackson (34 runs) and Thomas O’Connell (33 runs) that made the real difference, as Geelong managed to chase down their opponent’s score with 17 overs and four wickets in hand.

Around the Grounds …

Speaking of upsets, the Camberwell Magpies were able to pull off one of their own when they took down Melbourne University at Camberwell Sports Ground on Saturday. It was a win that was set up by a powerful showing with ball in hand, with the Magpies only allowing their opponents to score 106 runs, which was 53 shy of the total set in the first innings.

Casey-South Melbourne was able to make a move up the standings when they defeated their opponents in Northcote by four runs on Saturday afternoon. Northcote batted first, but could not get a meaningful score out of most of their batting lineup, and when Ashley Chandrasinghe reached a half-ton in the second innings, it was clear that Casey-South Melbourne were going to be too good.

The theme of surprising results continued when Richmond found themselves bested by Essendon to the tune of seven wickets at Central Reserve North on Saturday. Richmond won the toss and headed out to bat first, but in a familiar theme of the weekend, could not put together a defendable score, as Essendon rallied behind their openers to chase down the score in no time at all.

In a low-scoring encounter, Footscray were able to deliver a dominant display with ball in hand as they defeated the Greenvale Kangaroos by seven wickets at Mervyn G Hughes Oval. The Kangaroos batted first, but could not reach triple-digits before the Footscray bowling attack was able to dismiss their entire batting lineup for just 97, and it took just 27 overs for the visitors to secure the win.

A telling performance at the crease saw Fitzroy Doncaster claim the win over Dandenong at Shepley Oval on Saturday afternoon. After heading out to bat first, the home side showed their intent early, and were boosted by the output of Jack Rudd and Liam Banthorpe, who combined for 155 runs. This proved too much for Dandenong, who fell 43 runs shy of this total.

St Kilda was able to bounce back from their Round 13 loss by taking down Prahran by 22 runs at Toorak Park on Saturday afternoon. Despite having no player score above 37 runs, St Kilda was still able to hold on for the win, largely thanks to an impressive outing from their bowling attack.

The penultimate match of the round saw Frankston Peninsula claim their fifth win of the season when they took down Kingston Hawthorn at Walter Galt Reserve on Saturday. The home side batted first, but could not put up a defendable total in the end, as Frankston Peninsula came out in the second innings and got the job done with five overs up their sleeve.

The final match of Round 14 saw Melbourne defeat Ringwood on the back of a match-winning partnership at Albert Ground on Saturday afternoon. Ringwood managed to post a nice total of 210 from their innings, which would be considered strong enough to defend given the results we have seen this round. Instead, it was the heroics of Melbourne duo Blake Thomson (100 not out) and Campbell Kellaway (96) that ended up being the most important factor of the match, as the pair guided their side to victory.