Magoos Secure Clutch Win at the Death to Keep Season Alive
At 8:00pm on Saturday Night the Old Xaverians 2nd XI still only had 8 players on the team sheet for their must-win clash against South Caulfield the following day. The season looked all but over until a few great men put their hands up to fill in, and hope was reinstated amongst the OXCC 2s camp.
A hot, sunny but windy day met the Magoos at Princes Park CAULFIELD, and with Skipper Matt Perrett winning the toss for the 6th week running, and electing to bat on what appeared to be a nice, hard wicket. Accomplished fill-in Will Vergano (21) and Barak Kandala (35) got the boys off to a solid start, keeping their heads down and waiting for the bad ball to come. When Vergano skied one, Alex Eden-Lachowicz (45) entered the crease and capitalised beautifully on his promotion up the order, impressing all with hard running between wickets and ability to hit the ball safely along the ground. Barak and Lash saw the lads through to the 20 over mark 1 down, which is always the goal in a competition where the 4th, 5th and 6th bowlers can often be capitalised on. The middle order of Perrett (30), Jack Carroll (40) and Callum Abrahams (21) all added crucial runs to the tally, with Pez and Caz striking at about 150 to guide the score above 200, which was believed to be par at the beginning of the innings. Despite a late run of wickets to South Caulfield, the Magoos finished on a solid 8/208, which, if early wickets were taken, was going to be a tough score to chase.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. Due to the aforementioned selection dilemmas, the Magoos were left without a keeper, which presented itself as a huge issue. Skipper Pez took it upon himself (albeit reluctantly) to keep for the first time in his career, and although he tried his hardest, not having a proper keeper was a liability which the Magoos will strive to never face again.
Despite openers Paddy Martin (0/18 off 4) and Hayden Ellis (0/38 off 8) rarely bowling a bad ball, the two veteran openers for South Caulfield only needed 1 loose one an over to make their impact, and were mature enough not to take any risks. These openers guided South Caulfield through to the 18th over, taking advantage of some loose bowling from Callum Abrahams (0/23 off 3) who could not find the outstanding form he displayed the previous week. At 0/81 off 17 overs South Caulfield were poised well to run over the Old Xavs, until Ed “Chief” MacIsaac (2/29 off 8) was thrown the ball. The big Chief put in his best performance of the year when his team needed him most, securing the 2 crucial wickets of the openers either side of the drinks break. Chief showed an enormous amount of heart as he bowled 8 straight overs in 30+ degree heat, tying down one end allowing Lash (0/36 off 6) and Tom Worsnop (1/14 off 3) to be dangerous with their slow bowling at the other end. Yet, with 9 overs to go South Caulfield were still only a run a ball away from victory, with 7 wickets in hand, and it was going to take a massive effort in hot conditions for the Magoos to claim the victory. Jack Carroll (1/31 off 8) proved to all in this trying moment just how good of a cricketer he is. After his first spell was denied wickets by some highly defensive batting from the openers, Caz was instrumental in securing dot balls and building pressure both by setting smart fields and bowling in a brilliant partnership with Haydos at the death. In the end, Caulfield needed 27 off 18 balls, then 19 off 12, then 12 off 6. Hadyos bowled a near perfect final over, and despite a boundary off the last ball the Magoos secured the win by just 2 runs, as South Caulfield managed 5/206 off their full 40 overs.
It was 40 of the most difficult overs in the field the Magoos have had in the last 5 years. Battling hot summer conditions, a lack of wickets and perhaps a fair bit of residual dust, to secure a win was nothing short of incredible. The boys were absolutely stoked, and with just 2 rounds to go before finals, it has set up the Old Xaverians 2nd XI for some more epic clashes. Stay tuned as we turn our sights to Northcote on the Plunket this Sunday. Go Old Xavs!
