Somerville, Tyabb and Crib Point Cricket Clubs all triumphed on the weekend in their respective semi-final fixtures. According to MPCA historian Doug Dyall, this is the first time these proud Westernport clubs have qualified to simultaneously play in the Grand Final.
Each club has worked extremely hard to build its club culture and competitive edge by investing in junior development and fundraising to enhance facilities. Each club recorded a hard-fought victory on the weekend to progress to the ultimate prize, the MPCA Grand Final Cup.
In another magnificent and historical quirk, the competitors in each division will play each other for the first time in a Grand Final. The fixtures for the coming weekend comprise:
Provincial: Mornington v Red Hill
Peninsula: Somerville v Old Peninsula
District: Crib Point v Carrum Downs
Sub District: Tyabb v Baxter
Semi-final results:
1’s: Somerville 139 defeated Rosebud 77
In another historical landmark, seven-year Somerville coach Jason “Jugga” Nagel lined up against his two sons, Patrick and Ashley, who both played for Rosebud. Fair to say, it was an emotionally draining experience.
Winning the toss and batting first, Somerville scrapped and grafted to accumulate a moderate total of 139 in the face of an outstanding bowling performance from Jak Jowett (5/35) and Patrick Nagel (4/42). Nick Mann (37 not out from 165 balls) anchored the innings while wickets tumbled around him, with skipper Chris Brittain (26) and Jack Kennedy (32) stretching the total under typical finals pressure.
The following day, Somerville needed to be at their best to defend a modest total. Ryan McNamara enhanced his reputation as a big-game performer and, in quick time, knocked over three top-order Rosebud bats to have the opposition reeling. Not to be denied, the sublimely talented Jack Kennedy displayed his full bag of tricks and proved to be the perfect foil to McNamara.
Ryan McNamara finished with the elite figures of 5/45 off 17 overs, and Kennedy 4/24 off 15 overs.
This weekend, Somerville takes on Old Peninsula at Somerville in what shapes as a combative contest between two teams that have both shown they have the armoury to seize key moments.
2’s: Somerville 4/207 defeated Mt Eliza 8/206
Batting first, Mt Eliza compiled a very competitive total, with James Lynch and Marshall Hunter the main contributors. For Somerville, Charlie Dixon displayed his all-round ability with figures of 5/59.
In reply, Somerville was immediately in dire straits, with both openers back in the pavilion with a collective total of one run on the board. Enter Bailey “Basil” White who, along with experienced skipper Brad Staff, put together a dazzling partnership of 147 runs to seize the momentum and put the Eagles close to the target. White scored a brilliant 109 not out and Staff 59.
Grand Final: Somerville v Long Island at Ballam Park
4’s: Somerville 5/426 defeated Seaford Tigers 155
Jedd Sutton (an amazing 204 not out), Matt Page (70) and Jarrod Hodgins (49).
Matt Page 3/25, Andrew Patterson, Justin Allsopp and Ben Page two wickets each.
Grand Final: Somerville v Mornington at Barber Reserve, Somerville
5ths: Mt Martha 9/181 defeated Somerville 141
Ben Wickham 44, Tom Minton 26, Anton Bergman 23.
Anton Bergman 3/24, Ash Mahoney 3/24.
There are a couple of lines in the 4’s and 5ths sections that read more like score notes than full sentences. I left the content intact and only cleaned grammar. If you want, I can do a second pass to make those score sections read more smoothly without changing the facts.
