PROVINCIAL
CRIB Point finished the MPCA Provincial cricket home and away season on top of the ladder after recording a comfortable victory against Moorooduc on Saturday.
The Magpies will host Baxter in the first semi-final this weekend.
In the other big match over the weekend, Peninsula Old Boys and Somerville will go head to head for the second time in as many weeks when they clash in the second of the semi-finals.
Baxter maintained its position in the top four despite going down to Pines.
The loser over the weekend was Langwarrin, who had a chance to grab fourth place with a win against Mt Eliza. However, the Kangas couldn’t get the job done and finished a game outside the top bracket.
Sorrento tried everything that it could to get an outright win against Rye. It took 15 wickets for the day but it still wasn’t enough to pick-up the additional eight points. The Sharks finished four points behind Baxter.
In the match of the round, Peninsula Old Boys won the toss and batted first against Somerville, making 200 in their 40 overs.
Wade Pelzer opened with 41, Will Crowder was solid through the middle of the inning with 50 and Glenn Prendergast hit 35.
Brenton Alp was the pick of the Somerville bowlers, taking 3/44.
The Eagles started slowly and were 2/35 at one point before skipper Leigh Lowry came to the crease and hit an unbeaten 85 and Justin Allsop provided terrific support with 35.
Somerville got the runs (7/205) with three overs to spare.
Langwarrin had Mt Eliza on the ropes at 3/22, however, 57 from Keith Briggs and 25 from keeper Tim Clark helped propel the visitors to 9/165 in its 40 overs. It was enough to defend.
Travis Campbell top scored for the Kangas with 53 in reply and Simon McEvoy opened with 31, however, no other players made a serious contribution to the scoreboard. Langwarrin was bowled out for 139 in the 39th over.
Nick Baron was the star for the Mounties with 5/27 from 9.4 overs. The Mounties won four of their last five matches of the season.
Rye batted its full 40 overs against Sorrento with Justin King hitting 50 and Tom Baron 36.
Sorrento then made 2/143 in 16 overs with Leigh Poholke hitting 55 and Anthony Blackwell 45.
In the final 24 overs of the day, Rye made 5/40. CJ King took 3/7 from five overs.
Baxter will be looking for a much better performance in its semi-final than what it produced on Saturday against Pines.
Daniel Warwick top scored in his team’s total of 136, while Dale Irving hit 32.
Debutant Connor Jackson was the pick of the Pines’ bowlers with 4/8 from 2.3 overs.
Pines scored 7/137 with one over to spare.
Rhys Chalkley top scored for the Piners with 46 and Harley Peace-Stirling contributed 42.
Baxter opening batsman Todd Quinn was thrown the cherry and responded with 3/15.
Long Island welcomed the return of Michael Burke for the first time this season against Mornington and the champ responded with a game-high 75. Peter Connell contributed 30 of the team’s 141 runs in 40 overs.
The Islanders then bowled out the Dogs for 117.
Semi Finals
Crib Point and Baxter met in Round 8 in the second match after Christmas. Baxter lost outright.
Baxter batted first and was rolled for 88 in 30.1 overs.
Jacob Cook was the destroyer with 6/43 and Glenn Barclay picked up 3/37.
Crib Point then made 9/192 with Ricky Thompson top scoring with 45.
Baxter was bowled out in its second innings for an embarrassing 53. Cook claimed 3/24 and Brad Davidson chipped in with 4/14 from 12.4 overs.
