MyCricket Legends: Opener belts six sixes

With the increased confidence and power exhibited by batsmen in the Twenty20 era, it’s hardly a surprise even at club-level to see six consecutive deliveries sail over the fence.

But to have Balgownie Cricket Club batsman Corbin Brown’s perfect set of sweetly-timed slogs punctuated by a disciplined maiden over seen out by his opening partner amid the carnage of an early-overs run-fest was an unusual occurrence.

Especially considering the man who faced those six dot balls went on to outscore his free-wheeling teammate.

Brown begun the onslaught in the Illawarra T20 competition when he followed a four off Port Kembla bowler Greg Wray with three successive sixes.

Fellow opener Adam Berwick then faced a maiden before Brown sent the first three balls of Wray’s next over flying over the Judy Masters Park boundary.

Brown’s 23-ball, 29-minute knock saw him rack up 71 of the first 104 runs of Balgownie’s innings.

That was before Berwick himself unleashed, posting 112 to power the hosts to an imposing total of 219, which was enough to see them record a comfortable 79-run win over Port Kembla.

"Myself and Adam decided to back ourselves in the first six overs with the field restrictions and I was hitting with the wind and they came out pretty clean,’’ Brown told the Illawarra Mercury.

"Most of them went between mid-on and square leg. It’s Twenty 20 so the bowlers have a tough job, especially early on.

"But I’ve never hit six balls in a row for six and there was a bit of fun from the boys as it was happening."

South of the Murray, former Test batsman Brad Hodge was at it again for East Sandringham, this time blasting a double-century in the Longmuir Shield.

Image Id: FE95B97396F84A91B62F67E24F9F99C5 Image Caption: Hodge in action for East Sandringham on the weekend // Graeme Diggle

Hodge pummelled eight sixes and 24 boundaries in total in his mammoth knock and bowlers in the Bayside competition are quickly becoming accustomed to the right-hander’s destructive ways.

The 41-year-old, who recently coached the Cricket Australia XI in the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, has racked up tallies of 141, 56 and 202 in his three hits for the season.

In Perth, a teenager 26 years Hodge’s junior brought up a double-ton of his own to record the highest individual score in junior cricket in Australia so far this summer.

Scarborough 15-year-old Lochie Hardy belted 222 against Mount Lawley to become just the second player after Test allrounder Mitch Marsh to pass 200 in the WACA District U17 competition.

The left-handed opener brought up the milestone with a nicely-timed boundary through the offside, prompting him to remove his helmet and wave his bat in acknowledgement to his delighted teammates.

Hardy was eventually run-out for 222, as Scarborough finished with 5-384 from their 60 overs.

It was a different story in Melbourne’s north-west, where Melton had an afternoon to remember with the ball, rolling Hoppers Crossing for just 19 in their Victorian Sub-district clash.

Second-change seamer Nathan Geisler snagged 5-5 from 5.5 overs in the rout while Jake Charge claimed 4-3 from his six overs.

Hoppers Crossing were dismissed in the 22nd over before Melton openers Ben MacRae and Michael Alexander needed just 5.5 overs to complete the 10-wicket thumping.

They weren’t the only bowlers to have a day out on the weekend, with Ashfield Cricket Club left-armer Kristian Messia achieving the remarkable triple of a hat-trick, a nine-for and 16 scalps for the match.

Image Id: B1AA0F6F14C04DC9A87BB4CE99C9214F Image Caption: Kristian Messia with a souvenir from his 16-wicket haul // Ashfield CC

Only two batsman from Hyderabad CC recorded double-digits as Messia snared 9-18 including three in three balls to bowl their opposition out for 30 in just 12.2 overs in their first-innings

And after Ashfield were rolled for just 95 themselves, Messia returned to take 7-16 in Hyderabad’s second dig to complete the comprehensive outright win.

Finally a pair of teenage debutants lit up the Premier Cricket scenes in Melbourne and Sydney on the weekend.

In NSW Premier Cricket, Manly-Warringah 17-year-old Joe Graham bowled his side to victory on first-grade debut, picking up 7-148 from a marathon 34.2 over spell.

The off-spinner pushed through cramp to seal the tight 13-run victory over Sutherland and finished with the second-best figures on debut for the club.

For the Monash Tigers in Victorian Premier Cricket, 16-year-old Mitch Perry also had a memorable maiden outing in the first XI, nicking off Melbourne University opener Harry Byrnes-Howe with his very first delivery.

Perry, a right-arm seamer, finished with 5-21 from his 12 overs as the Tigers recorded first-innings points on the opening day of the two-day game.

MEN’S PREMIER CRICKET TOP FIVE

A pair of NSW Premier Cricket 7-wicket hauls headline this week’s top-five, including Manly-Warringah's tweaker Joe Graham who got his side over the line in a high-scoring match.

1. Daya Singh 7-83 Blacktown CC NSW 

2. Joe Graham 7-148 Manly Warringah CC NSW 

3. Matt Short 176 Northcote CC VIC 

4. Mark Cosgrove 172 Northern Districts SA 

5. Keagan Africa 6-31 Claremont Nedands CC WA 

WOMEN’S PREMIER CRICKET TOP FIVE

1. Jess Cameron 117 Prahran VIC

2. Hayley Jensen 101* Melbourne CC VIC

3. Sarah Elliott 4-44 & 62* Dandenong Womens VIC

4. Emma Inglis 87 Prahran VIC

5. Chloe Piparo 84* Midland-Guildford CC WA

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