Hawks cricketers in clean A and B-grade sweep against St Mary’s

A maiden century from B-grade captain Al McIlroy ensured his side came away victorious against Saint Mary’s on Saturday, rounding off a perfect day for the Hawks, with the A-grade side also winning at Barnard Park.

St Mary’s B-grade posted a useful 7/237 from their 45 overs, thanks to Robbie Trebbell, who finished not out on 133.

It was a timely innings, as Ben Howes had ripped through the Saints top order before the skipper steadied the ship.

Going in to bat for the Hwks, Al Wilkie (32 off 28) and Bailey Groves (31 off 51) capitalised on ill-disciplined early bowling from the hosts.

Wilkie departed with the score on 40, but the introduction of McIlroy did nothing to stop the Hawks’ onslaught.

The skipper struck 13 boundaries, courtesy of his trademark cut shot and brutality towards anything remotely short and wide, as well as intelligent running between the wickets.

A convincing cameo from the ever-reliable Shane Joyce shepherded the Hawks towards their target, but McIlroy delivered the final blow, bringing up his hundred off 88 deliveries to win the game.

On the adjacent A-grade turf, the Hawks bounced back after two tight recent losses to seal a much-needed win against St Mary’s.

After losing the toss, the Hawks took on a slow, wet pitch.

Despite rumours of talented Henry Shawcross donning the keeper’s gloves, he kept his focus solely on batting and looked solid for his 45.

Despite impressing with the ball, Rumesh Silva was galvanised by his promotion up the batting order against his former side.

Initially circumspect on the turgid wicket, his 87 was punctuated by some belligerent hitting over mid-on and through the covers.

He was well-supported by a resurgent Bailey Kelly before falling just shy of his century to an excellent diving catch at deep square leg.

There was little resistance from the Hawks middle order, with the side dismissed for 212, feeling they had left a few runs unscored.

Fortunately, St Mary’s struggled with the bat.

Watkins probed with the new ball early on, bowling tight lines and finishing with 2-12 off his six overs.

The spinners squeezed the hosts, with Rumesh Silva just inches from a hat-trick, Peter Crimp taking his 350th wicket, and Danny Weston securing the points with two wickets for no runs.

It was a good day at the office for the A-grade as they look to push up the table.