2nd XI at Windy Hill lost first innings to Dandenong in spite of bowling the visitors  all out for 129 on pink Stumps Day in support of the McGrath  Foundation. Slevison was on fire, taking seven wickets including four caught behinds by Rory and another stumping. Unfortunately Essendon could not make the runs. Rory on 30, Dickinson 19 and a patient 14 from Mitch could not stem a strong attack. Essendon all out for 98. (Bulakowaki 5/19).

3rd XI. Another loss after Dandenong easily overtook the Essendon 1st innings score of 101, declaring at six for 163. In the second innings ECC made 5/127 Dec.

4th XI. Won first innings keeping Dandenong to 88 with six wickets to Jack Rhodes (6/19 off 11.3). The boys then made 7/94 Ingleton 35.

Thanks to the Mums and other women supporters who came long to Windy Hill for the afternoon tea in support of the Jane McGrath Foundation fundraiser. It was a nice turnout for this community event and several hundred dollars was raised in the worthy cause.
Special thanks to Val Peters who shared some interesting stories of Essendon CC’s past, and Ben Fletcher who talked about the importance of volunteers and community support in boosting the club’s fortunes.

Afternoon Tea at Windy Hill

Saturday, February 18, 3.30 p.m.

In support of the McGrath Foundation

Come along and support the Bombers, watch some cricket, with tea, coffee, cake and a glass of wine

And help raise funds for this important community service – all funds raised go towards hiring breast cancer nurses to help care for women with the illness. So far the Jane McGrath foundation has raised enough funds to hire 68 nurses caring for women in communities around Australia, and helps to raise awareness among young women about this illness. Click here for more details

See the full newsletter here.

Good effort from First 11 in first day against Ringwood at Windy Hill and also from thirds and fourths. Seconds had a shocker.  Great 100 from Lowther in the Fourths and 93 for Howell in the Firsts.

Firsts: Essendon scored 269 on a hot and humid day with Benny Howell unlucky not to make 100, caught on 93. Good efforts also from Fletcher 55, Hussain 37, Godsell 28, Macrae 25 and Patton 15. Ringwood went in to bat for ten overs with Clint in great form getting two wickets leaving them 2/33 at stumps.

Seconds: all out 80 then Ringwood made 3/146 dec. they put Dons back in and the score was 4/28 at stumps.

Thirds: Ringwood all out for 209 with four wickets for D. Tate and two for Slevo.

Fourths: Essendon 9/232 at stumps. Lowther 100, Howard 44, Hutcheson 35.

First XI – Nth set a first innings target last week of 181 but easily got us all out for 105 after leaving us 6/90 odd overnight. They went for the outright and made 6 for 188 before declaring. This set us a 2nd innings target of 266 off 41 overs. At stumps we were 4 for 184, thus avoiding the outright but still delivering Nth Melb first innings points. Well done JP not out (13*, 40*) both innings and Dicko 41* . Louis took 7 for the match. Steve Reid out with shoulder injury hopes for early return next month. Best wishes for speedy return.

2nd 11 – Nth Melbourne 8/350 def Ess all out 276. Great efforts from Tom Godsell 98 and Zaheer Hussein 66.

3rd 11- Essendon 7/314 def Nth Melb all out 141.  Dimattina 138 and Tate 82.

4th 11 – Nth Melbourne 10/181 def by Essendon 10/217. S Brown 45. Great last wicket partnership by Aangan 30 and Darcy 35.

Nice to see a good crowd for after match get together in club rooms early evening

Reaching 250 games places Berger among a handful of Premier Cricket’s greats. He already reached the highest number of runs for an Essendon player last year, and now is pushing further records with his 7,800 runs. Since beginning his Premier Cricket career in 1996, he has also taken 219 wickets for his club with his deceptive medium pace. Bergs is happy with the way the Club has started the season, currently in fifth place following the strong pre season training regime under Captain/Coach Ben Fletcher.  “We are going well at present  winning three out of our four games. The club aimed in the pre season to improve in three areas. 1. Junior Development ( which should kick in over the next 3-4 years ). 2. Increased coaching structure (added Former Victorian Player Graeme Vimpani ) 3. Adding a senior player ( English recruit Benny Howell ).”

After growing up in Essendon, Berger later moved to Melton. “I met the ECC Club Coach in 1996 who invited me down to pre season.” Luckily for the club, he has remained loyal ever since. His advice for young cricketers is to hang in there. “Work on all aspects of your game. Train with players who play in a higher grade than you’re playing.” Like most cricketers Bergs has a few rules to help him get the best out of his batting: “ I usually write some basic letters on my arm when batting. Reminds me to keep it simple.”

Asked the inevitable questions about how long he will stay in the game, he gives the inevitable answer: “.. one season at a time.” His favourite cricketers? Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Viv Richards and Justin Baker.

He replaces Scott Bryant, who has injured his hip, for Country Round game in Meerlieu, Gippsland.

Corey Altis also comes in to the 1st XI team for Clint McKay who has played in Victoria’s Sheffield Shield match against NSW this week and will play in their Ryobi Cup clash on Sunday.

This will be Altis’ second game; he debuted against Frankston in Round 3 and his first wicket was former Victorian opening batsman Nick Jewell.

In the other 2nds, Hayden Lane and Daniel Stavris will both play their first games for the club in that grade.

Injury-riddled quick and cult hero Daniel Slevison will make his return to cricket in the 3rds.

Slevison has a strong 1st XI record (28 wickets in 21 games) and will be looking to push for selection in higher grades.

Full teams, as well as ground information, can be viewed here.

Play did not start until about 1.30pm due to rain and the match was shortened to 27 overs for each side.

When play finally got underway, the Bombers lost the toss and were sent in to bat and compiled a very competitive target of 4-175.

Captain-coach Ben Fletcher led the way with an unbeaten 55 and was well supported by Ben Howell (43) and Clint McKay (35).

In reply, Northcote started slowly and struggled to keep up with the run chase as they regularly lost wickets throughout their innings.

Craig Berger, in his 250th game for the club, was at his miserly best and finished with figures of 3-22 off 6 overs.

The Bombers now sit 5th on the Premier Cricket ladder, with 3 wins from 4 matches.

At Bill Lawry Oval, the 2nds were also sent in to bat in a rain shortened match. From their alloted 34 overs, they could only manage a total of 114.

Northcote chased the runs down in the 26th over. John Patton top scored for the Bombers with 21 and Corey Altis was the pick of the Essendon bowlers with 2-18 off 7 overs.

In the other matches, the 3rds were called off and the 4ths were comprehensively beaten.

Click here for full scores.

McKay, who was restricted from bowling last week as a precaution following that week’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland, will play as an all-rounder and will add some extra fire power to the 1st XI’s bowling attack

He will pair up with fellow quick Steven Reid, who took 9 wickets for Victoria in a midweek 2nd XI game against New South Wales.

Essendon’s 1st XI currently sits 9th on the ladder with 2 wins from 3 games. Northcote are yet to win a game and will be keen to knock the Bombers off for their first win.

The 2nd XI, playing at Bill Lawry Oval in Northcote, will be boosted by the return of Corey Altis, who took 3 wickets in his 1st XI debut against Frankston last Sunday. His first wicket was former Victorian opening batsman Nick Jewell.

The 3rds and 4ths, playing at Cross Keys Reserve in Essendon and Binnak Oval in Watsonia North respectively, will be eager to have their first wins of the season.

The 1sts and 2nds kick off at 11am and the 3rds and 4ths at 12pm.