THE weekend saw the Victorian Men’s Premier League return across Metropolitan Melbourne, with the weekend defined by a number of teams recording massive wins around the grounds. There were five sides claiming wins in excess of 50 runs as the top half of the ladder began to take shape after five rounds of action. The league found itself with a new side on top of the ladder, with Carlton storming into the title of ladder-leaders with a dominant victory, which saw them overtake St Kilda to become the strongest performing team in the competition after four matches of cricket.

Carlton (253) def. Kingston Hawthorn (138)

Carlton was able to steal top spot on the ladder with a commanding victory over Kingston Hawthorn to the tune of 115 runs at Princes Park on Saturday. The percentage boost resulting from this match has seen the victors overtake St Kilda on the ladder to sit on top of the standings. Carlton won the toss and opted to send their batters out first with the wicket looking promising at aiding a strong score early.

The innings did not exactly start in ideal fashion for Carlton, with opening captain Evan Gulbis dismissed after recording just three runs, and fellow opener Mackenzie Harvey followed shortly after with just 12 runs of his own. When the side’s third batsman only lasted 14 balls of his own, a batting collapse looked imminent given the side had only found itself with 27 runs from their top batting talent.

However, it was a 130 run partnership from Carlton duo Nicholas Ross (72 runs off 90 balls) and Thomas Smyth (58 not out off 54 balls) that truly boosted the side into a winning position. In fact, despite the collapse at the top of the batting order, they were still able to produce five batsmen who scored over 20 runs. The side finished on an impressive score of 253, with Kingston Hawthorn facing an uphill battle of wrestling the match back into their favour.

In eye-catching fashion, the bowling attack of Carlton was just as impressive (if not more so) than their performance with bat in hand. The Kingston Hawthorn batting order stood no chance, facing off against a ruthless performance from their opponents. Kingston Hawthorn opener Thaveesh Attanayake was dismissed for a duck as the Carlton bowlers ripped through the batting order of the opposition. There were three Carlton players who took multiple wickets in a brutal showing with ball in hand, as they stormed home to claim their fourth win of the season in remarkably impressive fashion.

ACROSS THE GROUNDS

Across the grounds, Northcote was able to flex their muscles with a 122-run triumph over the Greenvale Kangaroos at Bill Lawry Oval on Saturday. The victors were ruthless in their pursuit of their third win of the season, batting first and posting a big score of 249, which was led by a 94 (not out) run performance from Jack Lalor, who produced a best-on-ground performance. The second innings saw a terrific performance from Northcote bowler Jonty Rushton, who finished with figures of 4/23, with the Kangaroos batsmen having no apparent answers to the bowling attack of their opponents, with Greenvale still searching for their first win of the season.

The next match of the round saw Geelong unable to chase down the large run total set by its opponent and the Cats were eventually defeated by the Ringwood at Geelong Cricket Ground on Saturday. The home side saw their opponents score a whopping 262 with bat in hand, thanks to the duo of Thomas Rogers (118 runs) and Arjun Dhull (93 runs). Geelong bowler Dom McGlinchey still impressed with the ball, taking five wickets for the innings, but his side was unable to surpass the score set by Ringwood.

Moving to Mervyn G Hughes Oval, Melbourne was able to chase down the score set by Footscray on Saturday to record their third win of the season in a slight upset. Footscray had entered this clash undefeated, and Melbourne were able to pull off the narrow victory. The win was set up by a 102-run effort by Campbell Kellaway, who steered his side to victory with a composed innings, while teammate Jack Harper was just as impressive with the bat, registering 74 runs of his own.

Despite losing top spot on the ladder, St Kilda was still able to register their fourth win of the season by taking down Frankston Peninsula on Saturday at CitiPower Centre. St Kilda won the toss and opted to bat first, but did not set the world on fire with their 149 total. Despite an opening batting collapse, the batting depth of the victors was in full display with four players scoring over 20 runs. In the end, Frankston Peninsula could not chase down the run total, with St Kilda bowler Todd Murphy taking five wickets in a commanding performance.

At Schramms Reserve, Fitzroy Doncaster found its score of 128 chased down by Melbourne University when the two sides clashed on Saturday. The home side won the toss and chose to send their batsmen out to the crease to open proceedings for the match, but were only able to reach 128, thanks to an impressive four wicket haul by Melbourne University bowler Alexander Gregory. It took their opponents just 37 overs to chase down their score as they recorded their fourth win of the season to remain one of three sides undefeated.

Casey-South Melbourne has continued their promising start to the season, with the side taking down Dandenong at Shepley Oval on Saturday. Dandenong won the toss, and opted to send the opposition batsmen out to the crease early. However this plan backfired when Casey-South Melbourne were able to execute with bat in hand, putting up a total of 258, which was led by Michael Wallace‘s score of 89. Dandenong were not able to able to hold off the bowling power of their opponents, with four of the five Casey-South Melbourne bowlers claiming multiple wickets in a terrific outing for the side.

At Toorak Park, Richmond was able to cruise to a commanding victory by taking down Prahran on Saturday. The victors were clinical not only with the ball, but more so with the bat in hand, chasing down their opponent’s score of 193 in just 37 overs. This was largely led by a terrific performance by Richmond opener Shobit Singh, who registered a score of 98 not out to lead his side to their second victory of the year.

The final match of the round saw Essendon emerge victorious over the Camberwell Magpies when the two sides faced off at Windy Hill on Saturday. Essendon was sent out to bat first by their opponents, and produced a score of 252 (coming from just six of their batsmen in a strong performance). A four-wicket outing from Essendon bowler Liam Bowe saw the Magpies unable to chase down this score with the match decided 45 overs into their innings.