A windy afternoon in Yarralumla saw the first game of the New Year for the Strikers and a chance for the boys to show their fans how they've developed their skills over the summer break.

Eastlake won the toss and elected to bat, sending the boys into the field with Shay taking the new ball.

It was an energetic start from the team with plenty of good chat and encouragement in the field and some tight bowling keeping the runs to a minimum. This energy in the field saw Xander make a brilliant diving effort at square leg, just missing the catch off a great over from Doug, however Dougs bowling was rewarded two balls later when he clean bowled one of the Eastlake batsmen.
A tight tussle for the rest of the innings ensued, with Matthew (1 for 11), Xander (2 for 9) and Lewis (1 for 2) bowling particularly well with pace and accuracy. This was backed by the teams great fielding. It was clear all the boys had used the holidays to hone their individual cricketing skills without losing focus on supporting their teammates and the opposition with words of encouragement, perhaps the biggest and best trait of this Strikers team.
While Eastlake put together some good batting performances, the boys fielding effort was highlighted by one of their best for the match when Doug managed a great run out from backstop off Evans bowling. The highlights kept coming, with Lachie (1 for 4) taking a great caught and bowled chance, Lewis taking the teams first caught behind with a great catch behind the stumps off Matthew's bowling, while Evan took a brilliant catch at mid-on giving Austin a wicket in the last over.

Austin and Lewis opened the batting for the Strikers. It was a solid start with some good shots, particularly from Lewis (16 off 15) with two boundaries and a few that would've crossed the rope if the grass was shorter.

The tight game continued with some quality fast bowling by Eastlake and some real cricket shots from the boys. Special mentions go to Xander for his leg side batting, and Doug and Evan for their great partnership of good shots and great running between the wickets.
Lachie and Matthew were in next and kept the runs ticking over and the wickets at bay. Lachie found the boundary as did Matthew with a suberb straight drive for four, overcoming his calf injury from the first innings.
Shay rounded out a solid batting performance by the team with Lachie, and despite at couple of last minute wickets by Eastlake, Marist countered with some great shots, holding on for another win to start 2025.

Well done boys.