LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3 ROUND 13 v ‘NRLCC’ AT MP4 ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2021: REPORT BY BEN GORHAM
Losing the toss and batting first we off to a steady but slow start. Being 1-67 after 10 gave us a great launching pad but couldn’t use it effectively. Finishing 6-128 a mediocre score but one we felt we could defend.
Bowling we got off to a good start keeping the runs in check but struggled to get wickets. All bowlers bowled really well. The opposition got the runs in the second last after proving how well we bowled. Last game next week hopefully we can get a win on the board.
The Team was: – Ben Gorham (c) 17, Mark Richardson 17, Scott Williams 40, Asfand Uppal 14, Tom Treleaven (w) 13, Josh Johnston 6, George Arnold 11*, Craig Fordham 7
The Result was:-
C.C.N.S.W.: – 6-128 (S. Williams 40) (20 overs)
Lost to
‘NRL’: – 2-132 (18.3 overs)
By 6 wickets
The Bowling was: – C. Fordham 4-0-24-0; B. Gorham 4-0-26-0; M. Richardson 3-0-27-0; G. Arnold 2-0-13-1, J. Johnston 2-0-9-1, S. Williams 2-0-17-0, A. Uppal 1-0-8-0, T. Treleaven 0.3-0-5-0
Fielding
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – One each to B. Gorham and T. Treleaven
Run outs: – Nil
Player Points (awarded by captain): 3 points to S. Williams; 2 points to G. Arnold; One point to C. Fordham.
CITY & SUBURBAN ROUND 13 v HUNTERS HILL AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2021: REPORT BY SOREN HUGHES
From the moment the team was announced, but probably more so from the moment our opposition was announced, we were all reasonably confident that we would take this one by the horns and shower in the glory of a big victory. It was a must win toss. The only credible option against Hunters Hill was to bat, put a large total on the board and get them out early.
Jim Hadley was back from a break too and it was good to have him around to lead the team. He rewarded us by sending us in to bat. Tom Robertson was elected No.1 in the scorebook quicker than a fat guy at a hot pizza and smartly chopped out 15 from five balls. George, not wanting to be left behind, smoked the next ball to cover and was out caught for 5. Tom continued briefly however found the same fielder, out caught for 26 and remarked “it’s us versus the pitch here” on his way to the pavilion.
This brought our old blokes (Ed note: both in their fifties) to the centre, Craig Kitson and Paul Nash, who went about jogging singles in the sun for a time. The singles soon became twos and threes and ‘Kitso’ had accelerated to 40 odd in a very gracious and unassuming manner. The partnership continued along past drinks with Mr Nash swatting the occasional UFO floating past his neck. Kitso and Nash continued running twos and threes with now the odd four thrown in and we fired up the defibrillator, with both now tanned to an unusual purplish colour in the heat and the pressure gauge indicating they might boil over at any minute. In true form, both men continued the onslaught with shots played in every direction all around the ground and Hunters Hill having no answers to the batting exhibition put on by our old blokes, Kitso now timing almost everything for four. With four odd overs to go, Kitso got himself through the 90s up to 100 in fine style with a couple of fours and a two: a fine innings. Mr Nash was unlucky to have run out of time to bag himself a 100, however was unbeaten on 68* in a classic C&S partnership of nearly 200 runs. After Kitso unselfishly hit one to the fielder at long on, Scott Williams came in and the score mounted by 10 from five balls (including extras) and we had scored 3- 227 with 7 wickets left in the shed.
Chasing down 228 was always going to be tough for Hunters Hill v our battery of 5 fast bowlers at hand. Soren Hughes opened with Morley Goodchild and despite an attempt at a fast start by the Hunters Hill openers, Morley and Soren bagged 2 each and they were 4-43 after eight overs. Perhaps they were hoping for a first change combination with less menace and pace. However the Robertson boys (Ed and Ian) ripped in to the middle order with figures of 1 for 4 (Ian) and 2 for 3 (Ed) over the next eight overs. From here, the medium pace of Scott Williams and the flighted slow odd spin of Mark Henwood terrified the tail, Mark knocking off the tail in 1.2 overs, picking up two wickets for just one run to dismiss Hunters Hill for 55 in the seventeenth over.
A memorable day out for us and Jim Hadley must have been pleased with his return. After a few months of hardship, perhaps we are back to form. If only JPS started next week!
The Team was (playing 12): – Tom Robertson 26, George Arnold 5, Craig Kitson 100, Paul Nash 68*, Scott Williams 4*, Edward Robertson dnb, Mike Weaver (w) dnb, Jim Hadley (c) dnb, Soren Hughes dnb, Ian Robertson dnb, M. Goodchild dnb, Mark Henwood dnb
The Result was:-
CCNSW: – 3-227 (35 overs)
Defeated
Hunters Hill: – 10-55 (16.2 overs)
By 172 runs
FoW: – 1- 24 (G. Arnold); 2-32 (T. Robertson); 3-216 (C. Kitson)
The Bowling was: – S. Hughes 4-0-23-2; M. Goodchild 5-0-22-2; Ian Robertson 4-1-4-1; Edward Robertson 3-2-3-2; M. Henwood 1.2-0-1-2; S. Williams 1-1-0-1
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: Nil
Catches: 3 to M. Weaver (w); one each to Edward Robertson and Tom Robertson
Run outs: Nil
Player Points (awarded by captain): – Three points to C. Kitson; Two points to M. Goodchild; One point to P. Nash.
CLASSICS ROUND 7 v MOSMAN AT RAWSON OVAL, MOSMAN ON SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2021: REPORT BY DAVID CRAIG
A Game of Two Halves
With perfect late summer weather and excellent facilities at Allan Border Oval, the stage was set for some great cricket and a chance for CCNSW to break the “Mosman hoodoo” and firmly stamp ourselves as title contenders. Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen!
First up, the under 17s game still had 15 overs to play when the appointed starting time rolled around, giving us all a lengthy wait for a delayed start. Mosman won the toss and batted on a good looking pitch that offered more pace and bounce than most. We took the field with a confident bowling line-up that had skittled our opponents in the last two outings. Mosman, however, were ready to play with a line-up including most/all of their gun bats: they jumped out of the gate with a flurry of early boundaries that was interrupted briefly when Mike Tarrant knocked back Davis’ off peg with a beauty. Atkinson at no.3 scored freely, retiring at 1-52 in the ninth over to be replaced by Perrott, who was stone cold LBW first ball to Tarrant. Unfortunately, the umpire was not “with us” at that moment, a decision that cost us 43 runs.
Greg Brooks replaced Stuart Ridge but tragically broke down with a left knee injury in his third over that ended his participation in the match – get well soon, Prez ! At the other end, Garry James relieved Tarrant, a move that sparked Varasdi into a brief flurry of hitting that ended with him lifting one to Mick McCormack, caught for 26 at 2-90 after 15. Moss came out swinging and soon top edged a skier to keeper Glenn Mortell off James: however at the drinks break Mosman were ominously placed at 3-115 and two in the shed.
After the break we did pretty well to restrict them to under 5 an over, with all the bowlers giving away very little in the way of loose deliveries. Turner survived an early LBW shout (James) and a caught and bowled “chance” off yours truly (although TBH, if they start hitting them back any harder I might have to consider bowling in a helmet!) before retiring at 33*, while at the other end wickets fell regularly enough, until the recycled hitters had a few overs of slather and whack to end the innings at 8-212. A challenging target, but achievable on a nice pacey wicket.
The less said about our batting, the better. Scott Wells hit 30 but everyone else failed, all out 92. The end.
I’ve been informed I won’t get paid* unless I write a bit more about our innings, so here it is. Mike Weaver and Mike Pinter started positively against some tight bowling by Turner and Greenwood, until a nip-backer from Turner disturbed ‘Punter’s castle and ‘Weaves’ was caught trying to up the run rate:
2-20. Short of frontline bowlers, Mosman’s strategy of basically bowling out Greenwood and Turner in the first half and exerting scoreboard pressure was working. Scott Wells started smacking a few 4s and 6s, but lost Mick McCormick (lbw) and Andrew Spedding (stumped) before retiring (30*) at 4-50 in the fourteenth over.
Leg-spinner Frost relieved Turner, and needing more than a run a ball, Martin Speiser slapped a loosener for 4 before holing out. Glenn Mortell and Mike Tarrant consolidated but we limped into drinks at 5-65 needing 7.5 an over in the back half. Boundaries were hard to come by: it appeared that the outfield grass had grown half an inch during the innings break. An alternative, but more likely explanation was that they just hit the ball harder than us!
Tarrant and Mortell put on a steadying 26, but with the RRR escalating, risks had to be taken, and Tarrant (12) fell to a return catch off Elliott, and when Mortell was bowled by Condon for 4, it was 7-85 and the RRR up over 9. A fine* partnership between David Craig (2) and Garry James (7) was cruelly cut short when Craig lofted Condon to deepish mid-off. I don’t know what happened next, but by the time I had the pads off, the ground was completely empty! The scorebook indicates a hat-trick may have taken place to end the innings, with James stumped and the recycled Wells LBW “first” ball.
In a game played in two halves, we fell behind in the first half and got slaughtered in the second. We were comprehensively beaten in the battle of the bats: their top six amassed 3-167 while ours in reply could only muster 6-53. On the positive side, we bowled and fielded well, held most of our catches, and did pretty well restricting them after a fast start. A good win against Roseville in the next round could see us back in the top four, but our title hopes are well and truly gone. If you think I’m taking that well, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you…
*not really
The Team was (playing 12): – Mick Weaver 10, Mike Pinter 4, Scott Wells 30, Mick McCormick 3, Andrew Spedding 0, Martin Speiser 6, Glenn Mortell (w) 14, Mike Tarrant 12, Garry James 7, David Craig 2, Stuart Ridge (c) 0*, Greg Brooks dnb
The Result was:-
Mosman CC: – 8-212 (40 overs)
Defeated
C.C.N.S.W.: -10-92 (S. Wells 30) (27.3 overs)
By 120 runs
FoW: – 1-9 (M. Pinter); 2-20 (M. Weaver); 3-30 (M. McCormick); 4-41 (A. Spedding); 5- 54 (M. Speiser); 6-80 (M. Tarrant); 7-85 (G. Mortell); 8-92 (D. Craig); 9-92 (G. James); 10-92 (S. Wells).
The Bowling was: – M. Tarrant 9-0-44-2; S. Ridge 9-0-55-2; G. Brooks 2.1-0-14-0; G. James 9-0-40-2; M. McCormick 5.5-0-27-1, D. Craig 5-0-24-1
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: Nil
Catches: Two to S. Wells and one to each of D. Craig, M. McCormick, G. Mortell (w) and M. Weaver.
Run outs: NilPlayer Points (awarded by umpire): – Three points to S. Wells; Two points to M. Tarrant; One point to G. James.