Tara Murray
A solid performance with the bat wasn’t enough for Melton in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association east-west on Saturday.
Searching for their second win of the season, the Lions faced a fired up Hoppers Crossing side which was still trying to find its best combination.
Melton won the toss and elected to bat on its home deck.
After a solid start, they lost three quick wickets to be in trouble at 3-41.
That would be the last of the wickets, as Jason Hibbert and captain Ben MacRae came together and put together a partnership.
The two would put on 129 to guide the side to 3-170. MacRae and Hibbert finished 61 not out apiece.
The Cats, who changed up their top order, started well and were cruising at 1-135. While they lost two more wickets, they chased down the runs with ease.
The Cats hit the winning runs with five overs remaining, finishing 3-171.
Stephen Wiig finished with two wickets for the Lions.
The Lions sit in 13th spot after six rounds.
This week they face Donvale.
In other east-west XI matches on Saturday, Box Hill defeated Croydon, Donvale was too strong for Taylors Lakes, Mt Waverley accounted for Bayswater, Spotswood suffered its first loss of the season, losing to Endeavour Hills, Williamstown beat Yarraville, Altona was too good for Noble Park and Balwyn beat Werribee.
Melton’s second XI also suffered a loss to Hoppers Crossing on the weekend.
The Lions won the toss and decided to bat and were quickly in trouble at 3-11 and then 4-29. The middle order steadied and the side was 4-90. Three quick wickets turned the game back in the Cats favour.
The Lions lower order battled hard, as they were eventually bowled out for 152. Alex Kerr top scored with 40.
The Cats started well before quickly slipping to 4-78. The Cats then steadied and cruised to victory, finishing 4-153.
Heath Fleetwood took 3-14 off his nine overs.
It was a better weekend for the Lions third XI and fourth XI both beat Altona.
The Lions made 6-187 from their overs, with Arshdeep Singh top scoring with 84.
The Lions bowlers then did the job, bowling Altona out for 105.
Kuvam Sharma and Shine Sarabnoor Chawla took three wickets each.
In the fourth XI, the Lions restricted Altona to 6-87. The Lions chased the runs down with ease, finishing 4-89 in the 20th over.
Chris Hope and Matt Kerr top scored with 27.
