On a very hot afternoon at Deakin (and after their first week of Year 7) Marist Aqua took on Wests Rockets. Captain Rami won the toss and elected to bowl. Solid opening spells from Lawrence Friesen and Daniel Trinca saw Wests make a slow start to their innings. Daniel’s brilliance in the field was on display, taking a sharp catch, before Ryan Nammuni Dewage followed with his own moment of class, bowling a Wests batsman for a duck.

The pressure continued with disciplined bowling from Julian Baseby and Edmund Dziedzic, although Wests began to build some momentum on the scoreboard with a few well-timed boundaries. Thomas Ferrari’s bowling skills were an absolute highlight when he joined the attack in the 11th, taking two wickets in quick succession, first bowling a Wests batsman for a golden duck and then backing it up with a second wicket.

Further tight bowling from Fred Friesen and Vincent Imbriano caused Wests’ run rate to stall before Captain Rami produced some bowling magic of his own, first stumping one Wests batsman and then bowling another in succession. The final ball of the over saw Daniel’s fielding brilliance shine once more, running out the last Wests batsman.

As the shade crept across the oval, Aqua began their innings with a solid opening partnership between Rami and Vincent. Captain Rami struck a few boundaries before being run out. Thomas then made his way to the crease but was unfortunately run out at the non-striker’s end without facing a ball, the harsh side of cricket, much to the disappointment of the spectators.

Vincent was then joined by Edmund, who responded immediately by striking a quick boundary to settle the innings. A steady partnership between Edmund and Vincent followed, with Edmund contributing several boundaries and Vincent adding one of his own, before both batsmen retired not out.

Julian and Fred formed the next partnership, with Julian hitting four boundaries and retiring not out, while Fred added three boundaries before being bowled. Ryan continued Aqua’s push and was joined by Daniel, before Ryan was caught in the field. Aqua’s final partnership, between Daniel and Lawrence, saw the total steadily edge towards victory, with Lawrence striking further boundaries to secure the game.

Congratulate to the Aqua boys on their kindness and support of each other - especially when experiencing a duck. Several boys were seen to check in on their mates during the match (Marist values are certainly on display).