After last weeks mauling at Westow it was a nervous Melbourne [well Ruth at least] who entertained table toppers Bishopthorpe on a glorious afternoon at the MCG. Bishopthorpe won the toss and put Melbourne in to bat little realising that they would still be in the field 40 overs later. Tim Blackmore and James Coupland had to work hard to find runs against the tight bowling of Mercer and Holmes. Coupland nicked one in the 12th over and was caught by the keeper off the bowling of Holmes and two balls later Ben Thompson was bowled by Holmes to put Melbourne on 22-2 after 12 overs. A 19 run partnership between Tim Blackmore and Oliver Steels was severed in the 19th over when Blackmore was caught off the bowling of Reeves after making a good 31. Steels was joined by Joss Room returning to his roots after hanging up his boots for several years and the two added a further 34 to the board before Room [12] was caught off the bowling of Reeves in the 29th over. Matt Beevers [21] hit 4 boundaries before being bowled by Mercer in the 37th over. Steels who had been at the crease for 27 overs fell to a catch on the boundary in the 39th over after making an excellent 48. Both Scott Coupland and Mal Harrison were run out in the final over of the innings as Melbourne tried to find those few extra runs. Melbourne finished on a creditable 128-8
Bowling: P Mercer 8-1-15-2, P Holmes 12-2-32-2, S Reeves 12-2-39-2
In reply Melbourne opened the bowling attack with Room and Thompson - Bishopthorpe lost 3 early wickets thanks to Ben Thompson - with a catch by Room to dismiss Smith [9], an lbw against Dale [8] and a catch by James Coupland to dismiss Holmes [3] - along with a catch by Melbourne keeper Matt Beevers off the bowling of Scott Coupland this put Bish on the backfoot with 43-4. A 29 run partnership between A Seagar and S Davies followed added vital runs before Davies [9] was caught and bowled by Underwood in the 16th over. Seagar was bowled by S Coupland in the 23rd over after making a good 40. As Bishopthorpe edged closer to the required runs Melbourne were rewarded with further wickets as Mackie [10] was bowled by Coupland and Reeves [8] was run out however the experienced Markham and G Davis saved the day for Bishopthorpe as victory was secured in the 33rd over. Markham finishing on 8* and Davis on 10*
Melbourne bowling: B Thompson 6-0-33-3, S Coupland 12-1-29-3, B Underwood 5-0-19-1
Next week Melbourne are at home to Burn. Many thanks to the match ball sponsor - Jelf Insurance