Horror weekend for Maccabi AJAX
MACCABI AJAX Cricket Club endured a horror weekend, with all teams sustaining heavy defeats.
MACCABI AJAX Cricket Club endured a horror weekend, with all teams sustaining heavy defeats.
The First XI narrowly avoided an embarrassing outright defeat in its away match against Heatherton after falling 130 runs short in its first innings.
In pursuit of 278, the Firsts started disastrously, with star batsman Mark Soffer run out in the second over, and Majtlis brothers, David and Bradley, both out cheaply after failing to cope with the seam-conducive pitch.
Middle-order wickets continued to tumble, with Simon Lipschitz the only player to score more than 20 runs, notching up a brave 53 as others toppled around him.
The South Australian-born Lipschitz struck four cracking boundaries and a massive six that broke a spectator’s car window on his way to a powerful half-century. Medium-pace bowler Simon Fisher was the last man dismissed, as the Firsts were all out for 148.
Sent in to bat for the second time, the Firsts were required to negotiate 27 overs to avoid an outright defeat. David Majtlis opened the batting and led from the front with 26 runs, consistently finding the middle of the bat as he appeared to emerge from a recent run of poor form.
However, the captain’s dismissal led to a collapse, with wickets falling thick and fast, leaving it to Brad Majtlis and tail-ender Dean Wiener to fend of the Heatherton attack.
After a nervous period towards the end of play, the Firsts avoided an embarrassing result, finishing the game on 5-97.
The Second XI sustained an even heavier defeat in its home game against Heatherton. Having already lost first innings points on day one, the Seconds put on a dismal display slumping to an outright defeat.
Craig Woolf was the only standout for Maccabi in the match, taking a sublime seven wickets, as Heatherton was bowled out for 165 in its innings.
But the Seconds capitulated for a just 71 and it might have been a lot worse if not for the efforts of Jeremy Balbin who added 27. It went from bad to worse for the home side, with no Maccabi batsman able to reach double figures in the side’s second-innings total, a paltry 38.
The Thirds were in search of some magic to reel in Burnley’s massive total of 303, but it wasn’t to be, the side managing just 206, despite a scintillating century from Leon Jacobs.
Jacobs hit a career-high 107, batting for almost the entire innings, and had late support from Jonathan Balbin who managed 26 of his own, as the Thirds fell 97 runs short of victory.
The Silver Arc Fourth XI was out of action at the weekend because its match against TTS Black called off due to the inclement weather.
The Firsts will play second-spot Dingley in a must win battle at 1pm on Saturday. Gary Smorgon Oval 9 (Melway 57K6).
ASHLEY SHENKER
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