Source: AJN

After the summer school holiday break, the Southern Bayside junior cricket season resumed for Maccabi-AJAX Junior Cricket Club teams last Sunday.

A highlight was Ethan Sacks playing his 100th game for the club. Sacks took three wickets in his milestone match to help his U17 team win against ladder leader Murrumbeena.

Batting first, Maccabi reached 7/92 off their allotted 24 overs on a tricky wicket at Albert Park before bowling their opponent out for just 67.

Zac Rostkier, the competition’s leading wicket taker, took 4/16.

The team moved up to fourth on the ladder with two rounds remaining before the finals.

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This season also marks the start of a new club tradition, recognising players who reach 100 games for the junior club with a special commemorative cup. Besides Ethan Sacks in the U17s, Gilad Lowinger is the only other player in the past three years to achieve this milestone. Reaching 100 games is a significant commitment, particularly given the number of two-day matches that require many early Sunday mornings.

Gilad played junior cricket at the club until last year and is now giving back as a coach of the U13 Raiders. During his time as a player, he scored 2,149 runs, including a top score of 103, and took 78 wickets, earning multiple club awards along the way. He has also been recognised with his own special cap.

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The Maccabi U15 Titans are on top of their ladder after comfortably beating East Malvern Tooronga.

They lost five wickets when setting a solid target of 141 thanks mainly to top scores by Toby Ritterman (38) and Max Raleigh (30).

Then they restricted East Malvern Tooronga to 8/85. Judah Goldman had figures of 3/12.

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And the Maccabi U13 Chargers played in arguably the match of the round, scoring 141 runs and then bowling out Narre Warren in the last over for 134.

Nathan Goldberg was the pick of the batters, scoring 35 not out.

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The club is proud of the achievements of four junior players – Ethan Sacks, Max Raleigh, Frank Raleigh and Nathan Goldberg, who represented the Inner South East Cricket (ISEC) region with distinction in the Victorian Metropolitan Cricket Union’s 2026 carnival in January.

The two-week carnival, which has a selection process, is regarded as the highest level of junior metro cricket in Victoria.

Goldberg emerged as ISEC’s top scorer in the carnival with 111 runs and a top score of 52.