Greenvale Kangaroos started the Victorian Premier Cricket season with a loss to Frankston Peninsula on Friday.
The Kangaroos looked on track midway through its innings to come close to Frankston Peninsula’s total of 5-221 declared, before losing late wickets to finish 9-184 off 50 overs.
Frankston Peninsula won the toss and elected to bat, and all of its top order got starts.
A run-out broke the opening partnership when the score was on 21, but that didn’t stop Frankston Peninsula from scoring runs with ease.
With wickets in hand, Frankston Peninsula pushed for quick runs, scoring 5-221 off 50 overs. James Rosewarne took 2-43 for the Kangaroos.
The Kangaroos lost Mathew Dowsett cheaply at the start of the innings, before Harry Dearden and Nathan Massey settled in.
Massey’s wicket for 14 was quickly followed by two more, as the Kangaroos slumped to 4-62.
Sunam Gautam joined Dearden at the crease and, at the half way mark of the innings, they had taken the Kangaroos to 4-119.
Gautum’s wicket for 40 was the start of a collapse for the rest of the innings. The Kangaroos finished at 9-184.
Dearden, in his first game for Greenvale, top-scored with 66.
Meanwhile, Plenty Valley will resume at 1-9 in reply to Noble Park’s 174 in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association’s north-east group.
After deciding to bat in the two-day clash, Noble Park’s innings got off to the worst possible start, with Jake Richardson out for a duck.
The Bats’ Sunan Rubaiyat then chipped in with his first wicket for the reigning premiers, to make the score 2-8.
Noble Park managed to get some partnerships going in the middle of the order, but when they lost a wicket another one or two followed quickly after that.
The Bats wrapped up the tail, taking the last three wickets for two runs to restrict Noble Park to 174. Veteran Sean Ayres was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-45 off 25.4 overs including 10 maidens. Simon Bray took two wickets.
The Bats then had to survive nine overs at the end of the day. Ayres couldn’t repeat his good work with the bat, falling for seven.
Bats’ debutant Will Wright and Bray will resume their innings on 0 not out on Saturday.
Roxburgh Park Broadmeadows delayed its start by a week, turning the match into a one-dayer against Preston starting on Saturday.
