Batting - Nick Brennan retired 48*, Efrem Tijo retired 34*, Paddy Bartlett 21, Finn Duffy 21* no

Bowling - Henry Lejsek 2/16, Xavier Batch 1/12, Xander Denny 1/13 

In challenging conditions, Marist took to the field first after losing the toss. The weather made things difficult, and their usually sharp fielding and catching were off the mark. Despite a few missed chances, Marist managed to stay in the contest thanks to some disciplined bowling. Jackson led the attack brilliantly, claiming a few key wickets and keeping the run rate in check.

When it was Marist’s turn to bat, the conditions didn’t get any easier. Eastlake came out fired up and quickly tore through Marist’s top order, putting them under serious pressure. With rain looming, Marist needed to lift the scoring rate, and that’s exactly what happened when Nero stepped up to the crease.

After a composed start, Nero unleashed an onslaught of boundaries, sending the ball racing to the fence time and time again. Sammy joined him at the other end and matched his intensity, turning the game completely on its head. The pair’s partnership was electric, every over brought more runs and mounting frustration for Eastlake’s bowlers.

In the end, Marist completed an incredible comeback, chasing down the total with plenty of balls to spare. It was a stunning turnaround that showed determination, power hitting, and true team spirit.

Batting: Cameron Smith 47 (41) , Isaac Sladic 43 (27)

Bowling: Vivan Passi 3/12, Lero Craven 1/9

In an absolute cliffhanger, Marist Blue - S3 secured a dramatic victory over Marist Light - S3, winning by 2 wickets after successfully chasing the target in 26.3 overs. The match featured a brilliant half-century for Marist Light and a spectacular chase anchored by two aggressive innings from Marist Blue.

🟢 Marist Light - S3 Innings: A Strong Target (7/153)

Marist Light set a challenging target of 154, thanks primarily to a composed half-century.

• Batting Star: Lachlan Field was the standout performer, retiring not out on 50 off 45 balls (7x4s). He was well supported by Noah Maguire (22*).
• Bowling Attack: Marist Blue's bowling was led by Vivan Veer Passi, who delivered a match-defining spell of 6 overs, taking 3 wickets for only 12 runs.

🔵 Marist Blue - S3 Innings: The Thrilling Chase (8/154)

Marist Blue's innings was a roller-coaster, featuring a blistering opening partnership, a middle-order collapse, and a heroic finish. They successfully reached 154 runs for 8 wickets in just 26.3 overs.

• Batting Heroes: The chase was propelled by two aggressive knocks:
• Cameron Smith anchored the middle and late innings with a vital 47 runs off 41 balls (6x4s) before being dismissed late in the chase.
• Opener Isaac Sladic provided the fireworks at the start, scoring a rapid 43 runs off just 27 balls, including 8 fours and a six, setting the tone for the chase.
• Crucial Extras: A generous tally of 40 Extras (30 wides) significantly aided Marist Blue's successful pursuit.
• Collapse and Recovery: Marist Blue suffered a disastrous collapse in the middle, losing four wickets for zero runs (from 2-76 to 5-77). However, the resilience shown by Cameron Smith and Shahmir Mahmood (9* off 40 balls) stabilized the innings and guided them toward the target.

⚔️ Key Match Moments

• Decisive Partnership: The 71-run opening partnership between Isaac Sladic and Leroy Craven gave Marist Blue a flying start.
• Match-Turning Spells: Vivan Veer Passi (3/12) for Marist Blue kept the target manageable for the team
• Nail-Biting Finish: Despite a dramatic loss of wickets late in the innings, Marist Blue crossed the line with 3.3 overs to spare to complete the narrow 2-wicket win.

Result: Marist Blue - S3 defeated Marist Light - S3 by 2 wickets.

Batting: Lachlan F - 50 off 45 and Noah M - 22 off 45

Bowling: Joey I - 2 /3, Liam M 2/4 and Jack M 2/10

Fielding: Joey I for his cracking outfield catch

it was a Marist vs Marist affair, so the stakes were high! Light won the toss and elected to bat. Blue put the pressure on from the start, with tight bowling and fielding. there was some great batting that put on a defendable total of 153. The weather was turning at the innings break and no one was sure how long it would last before the rain came down. A notable batting innings by Isaac S and Leroy C saw blue race to 71, before Liam M and then Jack M took some valuable wickets, with a great run out in the mix. Joey's spin attack put pressure on Blue tsking a key wicket! Cam S raced took on Will Sc ball with a massive shot into the wind but into the safe hands of Joey I! It was a tight awesome game showcasing the great talent in Stage 3a Div 2. Light didn't get the win on the day, but certainly fought to the end! The game ended and packed up just in time before the heavens opened up!

Batting: N.Maguire - 77*, W.Scholtens -57*, W.Spencer - 57

Bowling: Will Scholtens 2/27, E.Campbell 2/31, N.Maguire 1/10

Given the early Sunday morning start, parents were armed with coffee and the boys showed a rare abundance of energy for that time of the day.

The boys' enjoyment for the season to start was straight away visible, with many of the boys who had never played together already a sense of mateship could be seen across the team. With three maiden half centuries during the match, a great knock by all three, and Eamon on a hat-trick that just missed out, the boys had plenty to celebrate.

With a guaranteed victory (even after some very untidy bowling), the boys went into the final over with our wicketkeeper and 7 fielders stacked in the slips, pure theatrics and camaraderie from the boys as they celebrated an enjoyable day out.

Thanks to the all match volunteers for the day - John (umpire) and James (scorer)

To open the season, Marist S3 Navy played at Garran Oval against Yerrabi. Marist lost the toss and started by bowling first. Yerrabi had a fast start, hitting boundaries and finding gaps in the field. However, Marist regained some momentum by taking two wickets in one over. After the drinks break, Yerrabi’s batsmen formed a strong partnership for the remainder of their innings.

In the second innings, Marist had a shaky start, losing two early wickets in the first two overs. Unfortunately, they could not recover from this setback and were bowled out for a total of 92 runs. Notable contributions from the Marist team included Sammy, who took two wickets, and Harrison, who scored 15 runs.

Batting: Samrath Khaira 51*, Nirodha Pathmaperuma, 17*, Riley Walters 16*, William Sanders 15.

Bowling: Alex Sedgwick 2/6 (4), Flynn Hurley 1/20 (4), George Sanders 0/5 (2), Riley Walters 0/11 (4).

Fielding: Alastair Wise, direct hit runout, Ethan Warner-Payten, direct hit runout.

The two teams gathered for a brief few words before the game and wore a black armband in honour of Ben Austin, the young man who sadly lost his life in an accident at cricket training. Marist Blue won the toss and elected to bat first. Riley opened the bowling and Marist Navy got off to a good start with, Ethan getting a direct hit runout on the first ball of the third over holding Marist Blue to 1/9. Flynn came in next and showed his great skill by getting an LBW in his second over, putting the score at 2/13. After those two early wickets, Cam Smith came in to settle the game for Marist Blue retiring at 27 off his 30 balls. Lucas Clark also retired for Marist Blue at 16 off his 30 balls. After these two boys retired, Marist Navy had their work cut out for them, but the team showed their great skill with some tight bowling by George Sanders and Samrath Khaira. After the first 15 overs Marist Blue had set a good total of 2/71. After a quick drinks break, Marist Blue got right back into the action with Vivaan hitting a four in the 16th over. It was shortly after that, when Alex came back out to bowl getting 2 clean-bowled wickets in a row! Unfortunately, he just missed out on his hattrick with a nick by the batter. With some great bowling and fielding, Marist Navy held Marist Blue to a respectable 5/148. It was Marist Navy’s turn to bat. Vivaan Veer Passi opened the bowling for Marist Blue with a beautiful ball taking a wicket straight up. Harrison and Samrath then settled in and faced some great balls until another great wicket fell for Marist Navy making the score 2/18. Marist Blue were on point with another wicket falling, before Nirodha came in (or Niro as the team call him) and both Niro and Samrath faced their thirty balls each and retired on 43* and 17*. After 15 overs Marist Navy had hit 4/83. The two teams came back out onto the field after the drinks break and Marist Navy had some chasing to do. The team made up some good runs and a few more wickets fell. Will and Riley teamed up to bring the Marist Navy team in closer making for a tight match. Samrath came back in after his retirement pairing up with Riley to finish the game off hitting 17 off 7 balls together for the win! Samrath made the only half-century of the game, finishing on 51* on the last ball. It was a great game with plenty of Marist sportsmanship the two teams, but in the end Marist Navy came away with the win.

Batting: Nate Hamilton 27, Blake Lette 23.

Bowling: Nate Hamilton 4/21, Blake Lette 2/21.

Noteble player: Matthew Graham won parent's award for bringing the energy, loud calling in the field and strategic captaining.

It was a great day for cricket but before the game the boys and their families lined up to pay respects to Ben Austin all wearing black armbands and having a minute of silence before starting the game. We choose to open in the field. The first wicket fell in the 7th over from a great bowl from Blake and Nick had a great catch near the end of the first inning, Nate showed his bowling skills with 4 wickets.

We went into bat, opening with Hamish and Finn Henry, the two brothers stayed in for a solid 6 overs before Hamish was dismissed. Blake and Nate had a great partnership to spice up the game. Blake and Finn both retired. Midnight batted through all 30 overs finishing strong and positive from all team members but ultimately losing to a great opponent.

Playing at Deakin ovals today captained by Blake Lette Marist Midnight demonstrated their team work and resilience, facing a strong team in the Tigers and 3 people down due to illness and injury. Loosing the toss the team were sent in to field on a wet and slippery surface, and covered the field as best they could with their 8 players, with some solid fielding, direct hits to the wickets and strong backing up. Whilst the Tigers had the upper hand throughout their batting, there were some positive moments including Nate’s chatter on the field, Blake’s caught and bowled of an opposition player on their way to 50 and Hamish’s bowling out another for a duck.

Finishing their 30 overs with the opposition at 310 runs, Marist Midnight faced a daunting task,. Regardless the team came out to bat and demonstrated what Marist boys are made of, opening pair Nate (standing in to support our numbers) and Nick made a solid start to some very quick bowlers with Nick showing his mental toughness after three blows to the body within a single over. Overall our boys put up a solid fight in their batting, demonstrating an improvement on the previous week, blocking well and taking advantage of every opportunity making good use of running between the wickets for quick singles. Of note it was great to see Tom take to the crease to support the team despite carrying an injury.

Overall, a really tough game, but a solid showing of resilience, team work and a great attitude.

Coaches award to Nate Hamilton for stepping in at short notice and demonstrating some great team work, making his debut as opener and high scoring in the batting department

Parents award to Harrison Hansen for his strong efforts and performance fielding in a wet and slippery outfield.

Batting: Strong performance by Nate with 38 not out and Hugh Williams with 13 from 17, after facing some strong bowling from the opposition

Bowling: Best bowlers for the day Orlando Pabian and Hugh Williams, despite not getting any wickets they both managed to dampen a strong Tiger batting attack.

Batting: Eric Tunningley 34, Henry Platt 31*, Alex Moore 25*

Bowling: Eddie Tunningley 1/15

It was an impressive showing from what was Cobalt’s first game of the season, especially considering we were a few players down. Being sent in to bat we were on the ropes early losing three wickets inside the first three overs, however a remarkable recovery from the middle and lower order ensured the game would not be a walk in the park for the opposition. The resurgence was spearheaded by the excellent batting of Eric, Henry, and Alex, all supported with solid innings by James, Lachie, and Eddie. To recover from 3/12 in the third over, to bat out the 30 overs and compile 7/165 was an outstanding effort.

In reply, SEC were patient and measured with their batting innings and, to their credit, they took advantage of the gaps in the field to accumulate the runs they needed while giving very few chances. Only two wickets were given up in their chase. The first was some clever work by Lachie to run out the batter who had dived back only to end up half a meter short of the crease. The second was a lovely outswinger by our stage 2 fill-in, Eddie, that managed to get past the batter and rattle the woodwork.

Whilst we didn’t get the result, there were plenty of encouraging signs, not the least of which was the support we offered to our teammates. If we play all our games in this spirit, the results will come.

Batting : Eric Tunningley 34, Henry Platt 31 and Alex Moore 25.

Summary

On a lovely spring morning fun game was had and enjoyed by all. After losing the toss and sent in to bat, the boys had a poor start (3/12) but the 9 Cobalt boys still posted 165 runs. Eric hit a quick 34 at almost a run a ball for the 5th wicket, breaking his bat on the way, Henry held the innings together batting for 16 overs for his 31 not out with Alex hitting at quick fire 25 not out at the end of the innings. Even with some sprited bowling and feilding the total was not enough and the game ended with 6 overs to go.

Batting: Blake Lette 26, Hugh Williams 11

Bowling: Blake Lette 1/7

Coaches award: Blake Lette

Parents award: for his resilience and determination to continue playing through adversity - Thomas Gates

SUMMARY:

A bright sunny start to the start of the cricket season out at Narrabundah oval. St Eddies won the toss and sent Marist Midnight into bat.

With expected nervy start against some tall timbers, Blake Lette and Joshua O'Mahony opened the batting for the team.

Blake set a solid foundation for the team batting throughout the Midnight innings. He scored 26, remained unbeaten for the innings and beat his personal record by 10 runs. Terrific effort.

Solid contributions given by Finn Henry, Hugh Williams, Nicholas Ryan and Ethan Rippon in their innings to ensure Marist held firm for the 30 overs. All the Marist players got an opportunity to bat to start the year solidly while setting St Eddies a target of 100 to win.

Orlando Pabian captained the Midnight team on the field with support and guided them through the game in bowling allocation and fielding positions.

The Midnight team grabbed a couple of early wickets and put pressure on SEC throughout the game putting in a strong fielding effort. The support and backing up of throws in the field were a couple of key team attributes demonstrated throughout By the boys.

The highlight of the game was the positive communication illustrated by all Marist Midnight players throughout the game. The Marist spirit of providing constant encouragement created an environment of respect for all players and is an attribute the boys can be proud to have demonstrated. Great first effort Midnight and great start to the season.

Batting: Eric Tunningley 40, Henry Platt 39*, Alex Moore 39

Bowling: Levi Mahony 1/6, Alex Moore 1/7, Josh Moody 1/10

Notable Player: Eddie Tunningley 6 overs, 4 maidens, 1/10

This week saw us square up against our brothers from Marist Midnight. Before play was started, both teams and parents got together on the pitch to listen to some beautiful words by Midnight coach Simon and observe a minute of silence in honour of Ben Austin.

Play then got underway with Midnight sending us in to bat. The Midnight boys were on the money from ball one, but unfortunately for them, our boys were in a party mood (perhaps full of sugar from the previous night’s trick or treating). Alex pummelled the leg side boundary for a quickfire 39, ably supported by Levi making his debut at opener. James looked solid in his short time at the crease but copped a beauty from Midnight’s Nate who was bowling with searing heat and accuracy. Tom looked good too but succumbed to another good ball from Midnight. From there Eric and Henry took charge and combined boundaries with smart running to build a sizable total. Lachie and Oscar added valuable runs at the bottom of the order, and a late cameo from Josh pushed the total past 200.

Any chase at over 7 runs an over was always going to be a challenge, but bowling and fielding still had to be tight… and tight it was. Eddie backed up after playing only 12 hours earlier in stage 2 to open the bowling. In an amazing effort he bowled 4 maidens on the trot to put the pressure firmly on the Midnight batters. Pressure creates wickets and the boys shared them round, Eddie, Alex, Eric, Levi, Oscar, Josh, and James all claimed a scalp. The bowling was backed up by great boundary fielding by Lachie and the impenetrable James at fine leg. Skilled catches were taken by Tom, Eric, and Henry (wk), but Oscar’s effort was truly remarkable. Fielding at short mid off, he snared an absolute tracer bullet by Midnight’s Orlando, in a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment.

In the end the Cobalt total was too big for Midnight. I’m sure all the boys are looking forward to meeting again in the rematch at the end of the season. Will Midnight square the ledger? Will Cobalt retain bragging rights? Stay tuned to find out.

Marist Cobalt defeated WCMCC U15 Mixed by forfeit