Wins put Maccabi-AJAX in strong position

IT wasn’t pretty, but Maccabi-AJAX maintained equal first place on the Mercantile Cricket Association’s Sunday A grade ladder with a rather unconvincing Round 8 win against last-placed Monash University last Sunday.

Captain Zak Fleisher-Sharbanee top-scored with a crucial 54 runs off 88 balls, and Jonathan Weinstock chipped in with 31 runs, as Maccabi scored a moderate total of 150.

Accurate early bowling from Benji Gore (2/22) and Benji Jones (3/33) removed Monash’s top order, but their middle batters and tail-enders put up major resistance, to the point where a thrilling last over would determine the result.

Monash Uni needed 10 runs off it, and scored 6 runs off the first 2 balls, but they only had one wicket left, which Gore promptly removed to get his side across the line.

In B grade, Maccabi-AJAX’s 38-run win over Monash Uni saw them move up to fifth in the 10-team competition.

The star for Maccabi was bowler Eli Barr, who first top-scored with 23 runs after an early batting collapse which saw his team only reach 123 all out.

He then took 3/14 as Monash were dismissed for just 85.

Barr’s teammate Coby Felbel also excelled with the ball, taking 3/26.

Maccabi’s Third XI also had a strong win over Power House to put them back in the hunt for the finals.

Batting first, the early loss of a wicket brought Joel Lewis (64 runs) and skipper Zak Pollak (34 runs) to the crease, who combined for an 86-run partnership.

Jeremy Hoppe added 29 runs of his own, as Maccabi reached a good score of 168.

Some early big hitting by Power House put Maccabi on the back foot, but wickets to Hoppe (2/29) and Pollak (3/22), and then 3/11 by Lewis late in the piece, saw them all out for 114.

And Maccabi-AJAX’s development team had a 52-run loss to the Flemington Colts. Best performers for Maccabi were bowler Adam Carew (3/5) and batter Allan Sheffield (42 runs).