Gal Matz, 15, became the youngest ever batsman to score a league half century, scoring exactly 50, as his team, Netanya, defeated Young Ashdod by 4 wickets in a Division 1 game played at Hadar Yosef on Friday. Matz, promoted to open the innings, survived a couple of nervous moments, but for the most part his innings was one of skill, composure and determination, hitting the ball sweetly off both the front and back foot, and displaying a fine repertoire of shots in front and square of the wicket. Eventually run out, Matz's dismissal was the start of a mini collpase as 3 wickets tumbled in the space of 2 overs, but Adrian Vard (28*) steered Netanya to their target with more than 3 overs to spare.

Earlier, Young Ashdod, having won the toss and decided to bat, and led by Raymond Ashton (37) and Michael Moses (31) who added 69 for the 3rd wicket, posted a challenging score of 173/9 in their 40 overs. Vard was the most successful of the Neyanta bowlers, finishing with 3 for 23 in his 8 overs.

In a game played on Saturday, Ramle defeated Ashdod 'A', who have won the league three times in the past ten years, in a result that may rank as one of the biggest upsets of the past few seasons. Having scored just 82 against Tel Aviv in their first game, the Ashdod batsman again disappointed, managing just 130 in reply to Ramle's 183.

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