SunshineIT was always going to be a season of education for a young Crows line-up.
To the delight of co-captains Andrew Webb and Troy Stone, the Crows have shown gradual if unspectacular improvement to steer clear of the wooden spoon.
The Crows will be aiming for a mid-table finish, but it might be a stretch with matches against top-two Caulfield and Melton as well as fifth-placed Moorabbin on the schedule in the final three rounds of the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association south-west group.
Prediction: No change. They will finish slightly above the bottom two.
Keilor
THE Blues are bona fide premiership contenders in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association senior division.
While they are rated marginally behind ladder-leader Yarraville Club in the title race, the Blues will be make the Clubbers nervous when the business end of the campaign swings into action.
The Blues’ only blemish came against the Clubbers in a one-day match way back in round one, but they have been flawless since with star bowlers Jody Hutchinson and James McKay having a major impact.
They will head in as favourites in their last three matches against McKinnon, Williamstown CYMS and Old Essendon Grammarians.
Prediction: To steal the No. 1 finals ranking and feature in the grand final.
Keilor Park
THE Devils are erratic and their destination in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association north division is unpredictable.
The fourth-placed side has lost three games, all to teams outside the top-four.
There is a good reason for that — the Devils have somehow managed to avoid playing top-three clubs Strathmore, Greenvale and Westmeadows until now.
Guess what? They are the three teams the Devils will confront in the next three rounds and it would be a monumental task for them to pick up the required points to feature in the finals.
But, with a solid contribution from the competition’s leading runscorer Joe Misiti and more wickets from top-10 rated Joe Carland and Ian Blanchett, you never know — the Devils could hold on for fourth.
Expect the unexpected.
Nobody expected them to win this season’s Twenty20 tournament did they?
Prediction: The formline is not great. The crystal ball points to a finals-less season.
Sunshine United
IT will be a nervous end to the Victorian Turf Cricket Association north division home-and-away season for United.
They occupy fifth position and would be sitting amongst the top-four if not for a derby loss to Sunshine Druids before Christmas.
Reaching the finals will be an uphill task with tough home assignments against Greenvale and Westmeadows, and a tricky trip to Doutta Stars.
The good news for United is they are well-balanced and not reliant on one or two contributors.
They know how to post a winning score as Shamus Robertson (292), Daniel Pace (284) and Shaun buttigieg-Clarke (234) have demonstrated with the bat and they have an even spread of wicket-takers led by Robertson (19) and veteran Bill Blair (18).
Prediction: Will feature in the finals despite a tough run home.
Sunshine Druids
FINALS are not an impossibility, but the Druids should be content with merely surviving in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association north division after an up-and-down opening eight rounds.
The Druids grabbed bragging rights over local rivals United — a feat they are unlikely to top this summer.
They have extracted regular runs out of not out king Sam Thurston (268), David Darlow (251) and Indika Gallage (185), while the wickets have come thick and fast for William Mallory (18) and Gallage (15).
Prediction: A mid-table finish is the likely outcome.
St Albans
MOONEE Valley has virtually locked up top spot, leaving five teams scrapping for the three available positions in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association north A1 finals.
The Saints are in the mix, sitting fifth with minimal ground to make up on teams two to four.
The positive for the Saints is their easy run home, avoiding all top-four teams and winnable clashes with Taylors Lakes, Seddon and Craigieburn.
Having scored 323 runs to date, rising star Matthew Montebello looms as a key batsman should the Saints reach the finals.
Tom Langley-Dunn has produced the goods with 22 wickets.
Prediction: Definite semi-finalist, but appeared to be a class below the top-two at this stage.
Taylors Lakes
WHILE it is a long-shot, the Lakers are still in contention for a finals berth in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association north A1 in their first season in the competition.
What would frustrate them is if they miss out on the March action by one game after their clash with Werribee Centrals earlier in the season was abandoned without a point distributed.
Also against the Lakers is their arduous run home, starting with this week’s clash with top-of-the-ladder Moonee Valley before tough encounters with St Albans and East Keilor.
With 334 runs and 17 wickets, all-rounder Glen Jones has to play a leading role in the final month of the season.
Prediction: The Lakers could be controversially squeezed out of the finals by one game.
St Andrews
MOVING from the Western Suburbs United Churches Cricket Association to the Victorian Turf Cricket Association’s rapidly improving north B1 division was never going to be an easy task for the Saints and it has turned out that way.
The Saints are winless in 11 rounds (including three draws), virtually guaranteed the wooden spoon and come face-to-face with top-two sides Aberfeldie Park and Jacana before Flemington in the last round.
It does not make for great reading for supporters of the Braybrook-based club, but they will be heartened by the consistency of Andrew Hodgart (273 runs) and a late flurry by former player-coach Michael O’Toole (266 at 88.67), while Daniel Kuno (18 wickets) and James Draper (16) have offered a ray of light with the ball.
Prediction: Wooden spoon, but obtained great knowledge for a better crack in year two.
Sunshine Heights
THE Heights have to close a two-game gap on the Moreland Moonee Valley Cricket Association A-turf top-four if they want to appear in this summer’s finals. For that to happen, all the planets need to align.
The Heights will need to beat St Francis de Sales, St Marys and Barkly Street Uniting and hope the cards fall its way in other matches.
Only the extreme optimist would consider the Heights a chance to make the finals, but captain Llewellyn Berchy will implore his team to fight tooth and nail until it is an impossibility.
Matthew Shawcross (22 wickets) and James Rhodes (20) have been affective with the red pill, however, a lack of runs has been the Heights’ achilles heel.
Prediction: A solid mid-table finish.
Sunshine YCW
CLOSER to relegation than the finals, YCW will be content to avoid the bottom two and make a push for a mid-table finish in the Moreland Moonee Valley Cricket Association A-turf.
YCW will consider itself a great chance of beating West Coburg and Pascoe Vale — clubs sitting either side of them on the ladder — before the misfortune of playing a red-hot St Andrews in the final round.
It’s fair to say YCW has lacked a genuine match-winner with its leading runscorers Michael Slopak (224) and Dean Pacholi (217) inconsistent and No. 1 bowler Steve Richards (10 wickets) not featuring since round six.
Prediction: Will more than likely stay 10th position when stumps are drawn on the final day.
Sydenham-Hillside
THE Storm are looking the goods for a long-awaited finals berth in the North West Cricket Association’s Luscombe Shield.
Running fifth four times since 2002-03, the Storm appear to have found the right mix under coach Bob Kunesevic.
While nothing is guaranteed for a club that has been frustrated after coming so close on countless occasions last decade, the Storm are almost out of sight of fifth placed Kealba-Green Gully who will need to be flawless to make up the 10-point deficit.
Should the Storm’s first XI break their finals hoodoo, they will provide nuisence value for frontrunners Gladstone Park and Pascoe Vale Central.
Prediction: Finals, finally!
Kealba-Green Gully
THE fifth-placed Gully have two things in their favour, a game in hand on third-placed Sydenham-Hillside and a chance to knock-off fourth-placed Buckley Park when they meet in the next round of the North West Cricket Association’s Luscombe Shield.
The odds are stacked against Gully reaching the finals with an nine-point deficit to make up on Buckley Park, but skipper Danny Viani has never been one to back down from a challenge.
Prediction: Miss out on the finals in a nail-biting finish.
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