Under Sunny skies and a lovely picuresque setting at Scotch College (Main oval), Crusaders batted 1st.
Mike Winneke and Charlie Skinner opened up and put on 76, before Winneke was out for 36.
Dutch International and Scotch old boy Noah Croes came to the crease and manipulated the strike with some aesthetically pleasing cricket shots.
The score rattled along. Skinner out for 59, Croes 57, and skipper Tom Murphy 33 the main contributors. They were ably supported by youngsters Max Johnston 26, Will Markell and perennial favourite and OSC Tom Polkinghorne 17 not out. Crusaders made 8/265 off 40 overs.
Scotch were in early trouble, but recovered somewhat to be 5/103 at 20 overs, needing about 8 an over thereafter.
They batted superbly and gave it a red hot go, finishing 6/220. Sasha Yuvaraj was 104 not out for Scotch. Well played.
Thanks also to James Gray who bowled tight off spin at the back end of Scotch batting innings, and youngster Will Markell bowling with both his Right arm, and also Left arm in alternate overs, both with excellent proficiency. The Appu brothers, Ashwin and Laxman bowled well, as did Orlando Pender early on.
A great day, superbly hosted with a lunch from Scotch College, who showed great character and resilience to try and chase down the Crusader total.

John Murphy

Location

1 Morrison St, Hawthorn VIC 3122, Australia