Collapse stymies Firsts
THE Maccabi AJAX First XI has set up an enthralling day two encounter against Clayton District, after posting a first innings score of 144 at the weekend.
THE Maccabi AJAX First XI has set up an enthralling day two encounter against Clayton District, after posting a first innings score of 144 at the weekend.
Electing to bat first, Maccabi started brightly with young gun Brandon Friedman (37) and skipper David Majtlis (20) combining to have the home side at 1-71, just before tea.
However, a disastrous period of play saw the Firsts lose 4-6 before the break because of its inability to deal with the spinners ultimately costing it the opportunity to post a large score.
Dean Wiener (28) and wicket-keeper Anders Simon (12) were useful lower-order contributors, helping the side on its way to 144, which will need to be defended next week in order to shore up a top-four position on the VTCA South A1 ladder.
The Maccabi Second XI had a tough day at the office as they chased the ball to all parts of the field, their opposition Clayton District amassing a whopping 8-291 off its allotted 80 overs.
Simon Fisher (4-87) and skipper Simon Morawetz (3-64) were the only multiple wicket-takers, but their scalps didn’t come without some punishment from the batters.
The Seconds’ horror day in the field was capped off by a collision between Stuart Fayman and Jeff Nadelman, in attempting an outfield catch. Fayman was briefly knocked unconscious and received a broken jaw when he ran into Nadelman, who came away with a badly bruised shoulder.
The side will resume play next week, and will need to bat out of their skins in order to achieve victory.
The Thirds played a one-day match at home against Power House, and made a paltry 57 runs in their 29 overs. Jonathan Balbin was the only one to reach double figures, with his knock of 12.
Leg-spinner Nathan Rothschild gave the side a slight chance of victory with his figures of 5-33, but Power House proved too good, eventually bowled out for 91.
The Silver Arc Sunday Fourth XI fared little better in their one-day match against Bentleigh, only putting 75 runs on the board, with opener Benji Jones top-scoring with a courageous 29.
In response, two wickets each from Yossi Herbst (2-13), Ian Jones (2-19) and Daniel Wein (2-23) were not enough to restrict Bentleigh, who surpassed Maccabi’s total on their way to 97.
The Firsts will defend their 144-run total against Clayton District at 1pm on Saturday.
Gary Smorgon Oval 9 (Melway 57 K6)
PAUL FINK
comments