NICL – Round 6 & 7 Wrap

Men’s

Melton Falcons caused the upset of the round, taking a last ball win over ladder leaders Northcote Knights in Sunday evening’s live streamed match. Chasing the Falcons’ target of 66 batting first, the Knights were well placed on 46 at the halfway point of their innings. However, tight bowling and a buildup of pressure in the field contributed to a resurgence from Melton, which left scores level on the final ball of the match. Wayne Dow managed only to hit the final ball back to the bowler’s end and was comfortably run-out.

Hoppers Crossing took full advantage of the Knights loss and now sit atop of the West Zone after comfortably accounting for the Northcote Pirates (107-50). Nathan D’Antonio and Trent Lawford were influential for the Hurricanes with the bat.

In the East, Croydon Raiders were too strong for the Cranbourne Kings (96-63). Kieran and Justin Perkins again were key figures for the Raiders putting together a batting partnership of 42, and taking a combined 5 wickets.

Frankston Sharks secured a big win over the Monash Tigers (135-27). Clive Rose continued his strong batting form with 26 runs, and was well supported by his brother Brendan (24 runs, 2 wickets), Cam Dinger (25 runs) and Jarrod Armitage (3 wickets) in a dominant performance by the Sharks.

Women’s

The Kings remain top of the West Zone ladder after a comfortable 31 run victory over Melton in Sunday night’s live stream match. The Kings were led well by captain Nicole Martin who posted 24 runs in their total of 91 batting first. In response, Melton’s batting innings lacked any fluency, as Katia Jomini (6 wickets) dominated with the ball in a Player of the Match performance.

Elsewhere, Northcote Knights were too strong for the Springvale Scorpions (104-68); while in the East Zone the Falcons accounted for the Northcote Pirates (138-75). Michelle Lewtas (28 runs, 3 wickets) and Suzie Hilton (42 runs) were dominant in the victory.

Monash Tigers also remain top of the ladder after a convincing win over Cranbourne (79-37).

This weekend will be a bye round across Victoria, however Northcote will play host to the NICL All-Star Challenge on Saturday night.

The NICL All-Star Challenge will pit Victoria’s best Indoor Cricketers against each other across three fixtures, and will feature the likes of Big Bash stars Clive Rose and Trent Lawford. 

For full fixtures, news, results and match replays of all live-streamed matches head to www.nicl.com.au or the @CricketAusIndoor Facebook page.

Article image courtesy of Chloe IP.