By Jonty Ralphsmith
The Casey Cardinia Cricket Association (CCCA) was well represented at the Victorian Metropolitan Cricket Union (VMCU) carnival throughout January, with a suite of talent on display.
The CCCA was done proud by the under-12s in the J Browne Plate, the team reaching the grand final but ultimately falling 92 runs short on Sunday.
Skipper Manmeet Singh Gabbi and middle-order bat Jackson Francis both made 34 off 39, but CCCA never threatened knocking off WRJCA’s massive 3/232 off 40 overs.
Gabbi’s knock came after he top-scored in the semi final against SECA to steer his team towards a tense one-wicket win, with Kaiden Sibelle-Strang (34 not out off 60) also critical after Blake Tongue’s three first-innings wickets helped give the CCCA a chance.
After losing its first game of the carnival against RDCA, the CCCA stormed into the final on a six-game winning streak which included that tight semi final win.
Tyson Larner was a prominent player throughout the tournament, finishing the earlier fixtures on a high with 53 off 42 to help his team to victory over BHRDCA.
Larner also started strongly with the bat, his 40 off 43 a big factor behind his team’s first win of the tournament in round two, while he also showed his talent with the ball, taking 5/12 (6) to help bowl MPCA out for 82.
The fast scoring Gabbi also showed glimpses of his best, with a half century at better than a run a ball kick-starting his campaign.
Tongue (3/13 off four in round 3) and Francis (46* off 60) also contributed through the round robin phase of the tournament.
In the Under-14 Nolan Cup, CCCA managed to win just one of its six round-robin matches but there were still promising displays.
The round two win over FTGDCA was set up by Tye Whitnell tearing apart the middle order with 4/17 (4.4) before Ranveer Sharma and Diluth Aluthwatta played an important 64-run opening stand.
Opening bowler Khushpreet Singh (3/21 off eight) did his part despite the loss in round one; Dihela Thilakarathna took three important wickets as part of a strong bowling display in round three, while Sharma scored a steady half-century in round four.
During a solid campaign with the bat, Aluthwatta also took three wickets; and Murphy Hancox led the attack in round five.
The Under-16 Crusaders won their first four matches of the round robin, enough to qualify for the semis, where they were undone by FTGDCA.
CCCA had several standouts with the ball, led by Ethan Wood, who took a scalp each match, finishing with 14 wickets across the seven games, while Will Setford (11 wickets), Dylan Aluthwatta and Jasjit (both six wickets) were also strong.
Darcy Freeman’s two half centuries, including one in the semi final, stood out with the bat, while Gurnoor Momi and Dev Narayan Brojesh both played classy knocks.
The under-18 team was winless across five rounds with Kye Prior the clear standout with the ball, taking seven wickets, while Liam Simpson played two important lower-order cameos.
