SIMON MORAWETZ

FIRST XI captain Dave Gelbart brought Port Melbourne to its knees with a stunning five-wicket haul on the first day of the match.

Gelbart’s was one of several excellent performances that has Maccabi AJAX in a strong position in the match, which resumes on Saturday November 7.

Port Melbourne was all out for a modest 119 with Maccabi AJAX at 1-45 at the end of the day.

Gelbart won the toss for his side’s home clash against Port Melbourne and sent the visitors in.

It proved a smart move early on, with a spate of top-order wickets leaving the batting side at 5-50. Gelbart was in top form, and finished with the outstanding figures of 5-42.

He had important assistance from Hayden Lipsitz (2-13 from eight overs) and Brad Majtlis, who took two fantastic close-in catches.

Before Port Melbourne could mount any sort of comeback, Daniel Svirskis arrived on the scene and took 3-17 to clean up the tail. After just 42 overs, the visitors were dismissed for a modest 119.

The Maccabi AJAX batsmen then took to the middle, hoping to make an early start to the run chase.

By the end of the day, the side was 1-45, with Jonty Rosenthal and Daniel Kaplan -– in his 100th game -– still at the crease.

Second XI

The Second XI had a difficult time against Port Melbourne, losing on day one of the two-day clash.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, the Seconds looked solid early on with an opening stand of 21. But the side lost three wickets for the addition of just two runs, slumping to 3-23.

Opener Darren Bloch held his end up well before having his stumps broken for 31, and stand-in skipper Mark Soffer looked dangerous for his 30, but theirs were the only starts the team made.

The stream of wickets continued and Maccabi AJAX was ultimately bowled out for 97.

In response, Port Melbourne closed out the day at 3-106. Speedster David Fayman claimed two wickets and young Ben Miller took his first Second XI wicket.

The game took an interesting twist when Fayman took his two wickets with successive deliveries, but the home side was able to steady and claim first innings points.

Third XI, Fourth XI

Neither the Third XI nor the Fourth XI took to the field on Saturday, after their games were rained out. Their matches will become one-dayers next week.

Fifth XI

The Silver Arc Fifth XI did well to bowl South Yarra out for 114, but the start of the side’s run chase was thwarted by rain and it will have to wait to begin its assault on the required runs.

The First XI resumes against Port Melbourne on Saturday November 7 at 1pm at Gary Smorgon Oval.