Sport
14 February, 2025
MDCA looking for Melbourne Country Week improvement, seeking third win
The Maryborough District Cricket Association (MDCA) is having a heavy sense of deja vu, needing a victory today against Sunraysia to qualify for the playoff finals in Melbourne Country Week.
As of time of production, the MDCA are playing their final round-robin game after winning their first two games against Hamilton and South West and losing to Mornington Peninsula.
It’s the same position the MDCA found themselves in last season, falling short against South West and missing out on a chance at the third-place playoff.
This time, they can do one better, a bonus point victory against Sunraysia and losses for Gisborne and Ballarat would put the MDCA in the final and promote them to division one of Melbourne Country Week.
Otherwise, an MDCA victory and a win for Ballarat or Gisborne would see them in the third place playoff, a wonderful achievement after their seventh-placed finish last season.
The MDCA started their campaign strongly on Monday with a three-wicket victory against Hamilton.
Max Jackson was on fire immediately with the ball, grabbing three wickets in his first three overs to have Hamilton shellshocked at 4/11.
Jackson would pick up his fourth shortly thereafter before Joel Pymer got into the action with a wicket to have Hamilton seemingly dead to rights at 6/25.
However, a great 52-run partnership from Paul Procter and Mitch Arnold brought Hamilton back into the contest.
Lachlan Oddie and Alex Cook were the ones to initiate the final breakthroughs, grabbing two wickets each to bowl Hamilton out for a respectable 134.
Jackson was electric throughout the innings, finishing with best figures of 4/26 from 10 overs, five of which were maidens.
The two Tom’s, Alexander and Hannett got the MDCA off to a strong start with both scoring 23.
Their dismissals brought about a mini-collapse to leave the MDCA at 3/62, but Kamaljot Romana and Lachlan Oddie ensured the run chase would stay on stable ground.
Oddie would remain at the crease until the end, finishing unbeaten with a high score of 28 to steer the MDCA to victory.
The team continued that momentum the following day, avenging their round-robin loss to South West last season with another three-wicket victory.
After Pymer grabbed the first two wickets inside his first two overs, South West was in the driver’s seat thanks to a 59-run partnership between Matthew Boyle and Lachlan Green.
However, a double breakthrough from Daniel Romeo and Oddie halted that partnership to put South West at 4/87.
With Oddie grabbing another wicket, the MDCA were looking for someone to step up to ensure the tail didn’t wag like it did against Hamilton.
Enter Romana.
He grabbed four wickets in quick succession to finish with top figures of 4/16 from eight overs and limit South West to 159.
Romana would also excel with the bat, combining with Hannett for a 64-run partnership to put MDCA in a comfortable position at 1/83.
Key contributions from Cook, Dean Nalder and Jackson got MDCA over the line with three wickets in hand.
The MDCA couldn’t make it three from three on Wednesday, falling short against ladder-leading Mornington Peninsula by 149 runs.
Despite the best efforts from the MDCA bowling attack and strong fielding which brought about two run-outs, Sam Fowler, Kierran Voelkl, Samuel Field and Matthew Prosser all reached fifties to give Mornington Peninsula a strong total of 263.
The MDCA needed a strong start to have a decent chance at chasing the total but they lost four wickets inside four overs to be left at 4/9.
Romana and Cook played remarkably well against the tide, scoring 38 and 37 respectively, but it wasn’t enough, handing the MDCA their first loss of the campaign.
With one round-robin game to go at the time of production, the MDCA sits in fourth with ten points, with Romana the leading run-scorer with 94, while Oddie is the leading wicket-taker with five.