Category Archives: Classics

C&S, Classics

WEEK TWENTY TWO: SUNDAY 5 MARCH 2023

Leave a comment

C&S ROUND 15 v BEAVERS AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 5 MARCH 2023: REPORT BY LENNY VOLKOV

As told by Lenny Volkov, who was there. (Ed note: and playing!

Sunday afternoon cricket, what could be better, we ten men of the Cricketers Club assembled to take the covers off, the grass was shorn and itwas humid and still. The air was thick and warm like the remnants of a Macca’s strawberry milkshake that had been left in a late eighties, pale blue  Commodore only to be found after three days of free parking five clicks out of town. 

Beavers had a full eleven Beavers (large rodents, most of whom had English accents and pink hats) so they made us field hoping to gain an advantage before our eleventh turned up. They didn’t and he didn’t. Captain Soren Hughes (“Big Sooz’) and Avinash Bhandari opened the bowling making the breakthrough in the fifth over. Hughes set it up with a well directed bumper followed by a slower ball yorker that left the batter politely asking Hughes what the ball had done. (1-26) Beavers next batter, Mr. J. Shoeffers came out with a ‘GoPro’ strapped to his helmet no doubt to later rub one out over a scratchy looking start interspersed with a few clean shots before Avi got him lbw having changed ends for his second spell. If you are ever invited to J. Shoeffers’ lodge for a home movie night, my advice would be to politely decline. They were 2-72 in the sixteenth over. Avi finishing with 1-31 off his 7 overs; it was time for spin.

Adam Khamis bowled something unplayable to the new bat who had clearly been watching the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Rather than being beaten again, he decided to play the reverse sweep. Also lbw, player review would have shown he was fired by his own team mate for stupid shot selection as much as the fact as it was cannoning into middle. 3-77 and Beavers called for an early drinks to help slow down the rot. 

It worked with a handy little partnership but then In his first game for the Club, his first ball even, Bhandari’s mate Sumeet Kudal, making his debut for the Club, struck with his leg spin. He put a very juicy one loose, full and wide and the new batter chased it all the way to me at point. Two balls later he struck again: Gerry O’Shea  pouching it nicely low down. 5-112 in the 24th. Khamis declared it a spinners’ paradise. 

Sumeet Kudal got 2 more wickets both caught by his mate Avi  Bhandari at mid and later  at long on  to have figures  of 4-40 off 5 overs.

Matt Leong who had kept until drinks,  was now unleashed from the shackles of borrowed keeping pads; he bowled with good pace and zero luck beating the bat or the ball ballooning to exactly where Captain Hughes would have had an eleventh  fielder placed. If we had had one!

At is at this point I feel I should mention we were not only a player down but we also had no specialist keeper. Matt Leong kept till drinks. After drinks Mike Beergah kept, playing his first game for the Club for three years, since Perth  in 2020. They worked hard given the conditions and lack of familiarity, but a specialist keeper would have helped.

Young Harry Walsh also in his first game for the Club wasn’t going to be the only leg spinner not getting wickets; he bowled some great nuts, went for a bit of stick coming on late in the day when they were going for quick runs and got two great spinners’ wickets in  one over to finish on 2-23 after 4 overs  plus a dropped catch and one that fell agonizingly short:  could have easily been four wickets for not many.

Captain Big Sooz brought himself back on to finish off the innings with their opening batter finally holing out for 86 to Matt Leong who took a good catch at deep square. Hughes finished with figures of 2-20 and Beavers all out for 182 in the thirty fourth over.

Mike Beergah and I opened the batting. Beergah looked me square in the eye and said “Mind if I take the first one” I did not. He fell to the one bowler that managed to swing the ball for the day for 1 in the third over and we were 1-3. Adam Khamis came out and started swinging just as the ball stopped doing the same and helped himself to 14 of the finest before a rush of blood to the head took out his middle stump. 2-18 now. Gerry O’Shea walked to crease like a man that thinks about his cricket; the bowling was tight and so was our defence. Gerry worked away for 5 before being undone playing one of his usually very dependable cut shots. We were 3-29 in the 14th. Those of you playing at home will have no doubt have done the maths and worked out that not only was I still in, but I hadn’t been scoring at a click either. ‘History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it’, said Churchill. I kept out a lot of very good balls from the openers and found the fielders with frustrating regularity.

Beavers first change bowler was probably the pick of their lot, easily a yard If not more faster than the openers and accurate with a little movement off the pitch to make you worry. He bowled an absolute peach to Harry Walsh who did everything right only to have it find the outside edge for a well placed single between the keeper and first. 3-31 at drinks.

Those assembled around the score book suggested to the skipper it might be time to retire me. As a team player I didn’t really have a problem with that, but nobody said anything further so I hydrated as best as I could in the heat and HW and I strode back to the middle where my sweat dripping, hand-me-down, Sydney Thunder helmet was waiting. Harry was out not long after to the offie for 3 in that typical Camperdown way of a shorter pitched one staying low and finding the stumps at ankle height. Tom Robertson, not opening because of the Volkov/Beergah experiment, came in and opened his account second ball with a four. Captain Big Sooz was now a lot more serious about dragging me, I negotiated as much out of pride than out of stubbornness to hit out or get out this over. A man of my word my next two balls had a strike rate of 50 and I was finally on my way for 11 caught at cover off a nothing ball. “Must be a day for ironic helmets” chirped the Beavers keeper.

Matt Leong came in and got moving including a lovely cover drive that Gerry O’Shea declared shot of the day. He and Robertson put on a 20 run partnership before he fell for 9. 6-64 in the 29th

Now Bhandari joined Robertson in the task of quick scoring (Ed note: CCNSW needed 112 off 6 overs), getting off the mark with a 4 first ball and scoring 12 runs off his first 5 balls received, These two with some power hitting, a never say die attitude and also some great running including a couple of threes, quite heroically almost got us there, putting on 84 runs in a little over 5 overs. Tommy finishing on an unbeaten 50* and Avi on 45*. After 35 overs,  Cricketers’ Club ended 34 runs short at 6-148.

Likely if we had that 11th fielder or held our catches or a specialist keeper or I had negotiated to ‘hit out or get out’ a few over earlier we might have got across the line but it was not to be. We are playing them again in three weeks time; history will not repeat itself.

The Team was (playing 10): – Michael Beergah (w) 1 (9 balls), Lenny Volkov 11 (54 balls), Adam Khamis 14 (28 balls), Gerald O’Shea 5 (15 balls), Harry Walsh 3 (14 balls); Tom Robertson 50* (35 balls), Matt Leong (w) 9 (16 balls), Avi Bhandari 45* (36 balls), Sumeet Kudal dnb, Soren Hughes  (c) dnb 

The Result was: –

Beavers CC: – 10-182 (33.3 overs) (S. Kudal 4-40)

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.: – 6-148 (35 overs) (T. Robertson 50*; A. Bhandari 45*)

By 34 runs

FoW: – 1- 2 (M. Beergah); 2-18 (L. Volkov); 3-29 (A Khamis); 4- 42 (H. Walsh); 5-44 (L. Volkov); 6-64 (M. Leong).

The Bowling was: – A. Bhandari 7-0-31-1; S. Hughes 5.3-0-20-2; G. O’Shea 2-0-11-0; A. Khamis 7-1-26-1; M. Leong 3-0-19-0; S. Kudal 5-0-40-4; H. Walsh 4-0-23-2

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 2 to A. Bhandari; one each to M. Leong, G. O’Shea and L. Volkov

Run outs: –   Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to T. Robertson; 2 points to A. Bhandari; one point to S. Kudal

CLASSICS ROUND 11  v WARRINGAH   AT FRANK GRAY OVAL, DEE WHY ON SUNDAY 5 MARCH 2023: REPORT BY SCOTT WELLS

A lovely sunny day greeted us at Weldon Oval home of Warringah CC. The pitch was well grassed with previous ball marks evident from another game so it could have proved quite difficult to bat on.

The match itself was 4th vs 5th on the table with the winner to secure a semi spot in the last game of the regular season. The toss was won by Warringah who elected to bat. From the opening spell with Mike Tarrant and Stuart Ridge, every ball was asking questions of the batters. In the blink of an eye after 10 overs Warringah was on the ropes with Tarrant picking up three plumb lbws with some great outswing and off cutter bowling and Ridge from the other end hitting the right length to secure three very sharp catches to Andrew Dawson (one hander), Paul Nash at Gully and a caught and bowled one hander. Warringah was 6 for 28 after 10 overs.

After that over, Warringah batted and batted and batted defending anything of danger and putting away the loose one plus popping some into gaps where three fielders seemed to converge plus a couple of sharp and one simple catch were put down. This went on for another 20 overs until another wicket fell – 7 for 92. The remaining overs for the openers, Greg Brooks, Andrew Bachelard, Ed Cross and David Craig could not penetrate the Warringah defence. It was only Nash who could find the way through with two clean bowled to leave Warringah on 8 for 152 after their allocated 40 overs. A great comeback by them.

CCNSW went to lunch thinking what just happened – talk about a game of two (uneven) halves. 6 for 28 in the first 10 overs and 2 for 124 in 30 overs.

Perhaps the pitch had demons when the ball was new so it was important to see of the first 10 overs. But with a very solid batting line up and power to burn at the end 150 should be well achievable.

The innings started well with Mike Pinter off to a flier picking off cover drives at will and Dawson at the other end watchful. However in the 4th over Pinter fell to an ‘Akram like’ inswinging yorker and Dawson adjudged lbw almost straight after bringing Nash and Scott Wells to the crease. Both batted watchfully until the 11th over when Wells went for a widish ball catching an outside edge to cover. Nash and Andrew Davis consolidated until the 16th over with Nash caught. Ed Cross then soon followed lbw leaving us in an unfamiliar position with the top order failing for the first time this year. But still plenty of talent with the bat to come. 

Unfortunately we just lost constant wickets giving us no momentum throughout the innings seemingly every 10 runs one wicket or 20 runs two wickets. Our power trio of Tarrant, Brooks and Bachelard then forced to play unfamiliar roles anchoring the innings. A handy partnership at the end between Ridge and Craig got us to 120. This score at the start was unthinkable but in the end we seemingly overachieved getting to 120.

It was our day then not our day – It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

In all we had a very good side and had a very good season with most importantly a great bunch of blokes.

Thanks to all for making it enjoyable.

The Team was: – Andrew Dawson 2, Mike Pinter 10, Paul Nash 22, Scott Wells (c) and (w) 9, Andrew Davis 29. Ed Cross 0, Greg Brooks 5, Mike Tarrant 10, Andrew Bachelard 2, David Craig 9, Stuart  Ridge 8*

The Result was: –

Warringah CC: – 8-152 (40 overs) (S. Ridge 3-25; M. Tarrant 3-26)

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-120 (34.3 overs)

By 32 runs

FoW: – 1-15 (M. Pinter); 2- 22 (A. Dawson); 3-44 (S. Wells); 4-55 (P Nash). 5-64 (E. Cross); 6-80 (G. Brooks); 7-93 (M. Tarrant); 8-97 (A. Davis); 9-99 (A. Bachelard); 10-120 (D. Craig).

The Bowling was: – S. Ridge 9-0-25-3; M. Tarrant 9-3-26-3; G. Brooks 5-1-13-0; A. Bachelard 6-0-30-0; E. Cross 1-0-11-0; D. Craig 5-1-26-0; P. Nash 5-2-17-2

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to each of A. Dawson, P. Nash and S. Ridge

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to S. Ridge; 2 points to M. Tarrant; one point to A. Davis.

See: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/classics-summer-202223/classics/game-centre/7a3968ff

C&S, Classics

WEEK TWENTY : WEDNESDAY 15 FEBRUARY-SUNDAY 19  FEBRUARY 2023

Leave a comment

LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 2  ROUND 14 v ‘CLEVELAND SEAMERS’ AT MP 6 ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE  PARK ON WEDNESDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2023: REPORT BY CHARLIE SHARPE

Steve Sheakey 54* off 16 balls and Rob Shone (4) opened the batting on a small ground. The Cleveland Seamers bowling was unable to trouble any of our batters on the day and stand-out performances were Steve Sheakey, Joel Uddstrom with 52* off 22 balls,  debutant Matt Shean also with 52* off 25 balls and finally Dan May with 28* off 8 balls!‘ Some really powerful hitting from all of them. Myself I was struggling with the bat (demonstrated by the lowest strike rate of any of the establish batters with 46* off 31 balls). 

Defending 1-234 we were pretty confident going in to bowl, and Steve Sheakey the acting captain gave everyone a go with the ball. Their opening batter was their stand-out performer and yet with 30 balls remaining they still needed over 70 runs to chase down the total. At this time there was some controversy as their retired bat Gaurav Runwal came back in before his turn and before their number 8 batter had come in. Without going into detail, without that controversy CCNSW would probably have won the game, but congratulations go to Gaurav Runwal with 78* off 23 balls and Kris Baptiste with 40* off 14 balls for performing very well with the bat at the end.

(Editor’s note:  Still it may well have cost us a place in the Finals as we are now very unlikely to overtake the No 4 team with only one round remaining.)

The Team was: – Steven Sheakey (c) 54*, Rod Shone 4, Matt Shean 52*, Charles Sharpe 46*, Joel Uddstrom (w) 52*, Dan May 28*, Craig Fordham dnb, Matthew Edge dnb

The Result was:- 

CCNSW: – 1-234 (20 overs) (S. Sheakey 54*; J. Uddstrom 52*; S. Williams 52*; C. Sharpe 46*)

Lost to

Cleveland Seamers: – 3-237 (19.1 overs) 

By 5 wickets

The Bowling was: – M. Edge 4-0-55-0; R. Shone 4-0-50-1; M. Shean 3-0-33-0; S. Sheakey 3-0-26-1, C. Sharpe 2.1-0-20-0, C. Fordham 2-0-39-0, D. May 1-0-12-0

The Fielding was:-

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 2 to M Shean

Run outs: – One to C. Fordham

Player points: – 3 points to S. Sheakey; 2 points to J. Uddstrom; 1 point to M. Shean

See: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/1st-innings?fixtureid=370868

C&S ROUND 13 v BALMAIN-SOUTH  SYDNEY RANGERS  AT ALAN DAVIDSON  OVAL, ST PETERS ON SUNDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2023: REPORT BY HARRY BRIDGE

An ominously cloudy morning gave way to open skies as players arrived at a lush and springy Alan Davidson oval. Neither team remembered stumps and Mike Weaver made a dash back to Camperdown to save the day; however Rangers also arrived without a scorebook so we made do with one. Fortunately it was a match where the scorebook did not require detailed scrutiny. The uncovered wicket had held up well in the overnight rain but had enough juice in it for our skipper, Jim Hadley to not hesitate in  opting to bowl. 

Rangers started slowly as runs were not easy on the thick heavy outfield against solid bowling. Soon one opener was caught at mid off trying to clear the infield, and a few others perplexingly fell playing all around full tosses and being bowled; their eagerness to score off the rare loose balls undoubtedly being their undoing. A 40 run middle order partnership between their No. 5 “Dano” with 35 runs and No. 6 “Jono” with  13 , steadied Ranger’s innings but was eventually broken when they tried to up the run rate. A well hit drive to long on was taken by Harry Bridge (narrator) stretching left simply hoping to stop a boundary and somehow holding the catch. A few overs later another firmly hit but much easier lofted drive was also taken by Bridge. Another two potential catches also came to deep mid on but Bridge was content with taking their two established batsmen which stymied Ranger’s run rate restricting them to 5-109 in an innings which appeared to have been cut short by the scorers at 34 overs.

Tom Robertson and Gerard O’Shea opened in reply with their usual complimentary styles: O’Shea working the ball around nicely for a series of twos and Robertson’s aggressive stroke play yielding a quick-fire 21 and bringing the target, and the local brewery, into focus. O’Shea fell in their spinner’s first over driving a ball which turned sharply and edged to first slip. Bridge and Weaver then took us to around 2-60 at drinks with the game in their grip almost as firmly as the Indians in Delhi as Australia haplessly swept their way to defeat on the iPad setup in the clubhouse. After drinks Weaver took a similarly aggressive approach to counter the Ranger’s spinner, who was turning it both ways but struggling with his length. Runs steadily accumulated as Bridge (41*) and Weaver (27*) compiled an unbeaten  75 run partnership, offering a handful of sharp catches but surviving. Bridge brought us home with consecutive pulls to the boundary off Ranger’s spinner to end the game early and continue our City and Suburban team’s impressive form  in 2023, in which it has not lost a C&S game (though it is fair to say a largely C&S based team did lose a non C&S social game in Canberra v Molonglo  in the last over). 

The Team was: – Tom Robertson 21, Gerard O’Shea 11, Harry Bridge 41*, Mike Weaver (w) 27*, Soren Hughes dnb, Toby Forbes dnb, Jim Hadley (c) dnb, Matt Edge dnb, Matt Leong dnb, Luke Holman dnb and   R.  McMahon dnb 

The Result was:- 

Balmain-South Sydney Rangers CC: – 7-109 (34 overs) 

Lost to

C.C.N.S.W.: – 2-113 ( overs) (H. Bridge 41*)

By 8 wickets

FoW: – 1- 28 (T. Robertson); 2- 38 (G. O’Shea)

The Bowling was: – S. Hughes 4-1-12-1, T. Forbes 7-1-15-1, M. Leong 4-0-16-1, M. Edge 9-1-28-2, L. Holman 6-0-31-1; and R. McMahon 4-1-9-1

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – Two to H. Bridge and one to M. Edge

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to H. Bridge; 2 points to G. O’Shea; one point to M. Edge

Despite the covers going down (thanks to help from a random local hippy named Tom, and Stuart Ridge arising from his deathbed), the cyclonic winds ensured some Saturday rain got on the pitch. Whilst it was certainly playable, the extra moisture promised to provide plenty of assistance to the bowlers. With our bowling line-up stacked full of Australian and State representatives, Scott Wells took pity on Roseville  and elected to bat first.

A steady start from Andrew Dawson and Ed Cross saw us to 31 without loss before the pitch demons struck in the sixth over. Cross got bowled by one that jagged back and kept low, and the very next ball spat up from a length to take Paul Nash on the glove (unplayable!); Dan Zatz at gully diving forward to take a superb one-hander: 2-31.

New batter Wells was finding it hard to get some tight bowling away, while Dawson cruised smoothly to retire not out at 31* inside 10 overs (including a rare 5 all run with a couple of overthrows – very nearly a 7!).Craig Kitson replaced Dawson and got into the groove with a couple of boundaries, and the score ticked up to 65 before Wells was caught off surprise ring-in ‘Joffra Archer’ lookalike (surely he’s not over 50?). Brett James joined Kitson in a fine partnership, with Kitson (31* ret not out) joining Dawson in the sheds before drinks were taken at 3-88.

David Kent joined James as the fourth  wicket continued to elude Roseville, and James kicked it up a gear, depositing Jom onto the hill and retiring to the sheds for a well-earned rest (32*ret not out). Mike Tarrant joined Kent and immediately began hitting out, but was somewhat frustrated when his drives kept plugging in the fairway bunkers, forcing him to “run ‘em out” on a warm, sticky day. With wickets in hand and three batters in the shed, everyone was swinging for the fences, and Tarrant (9) and Greg Brooks (1) fell in quick succession; 5-130 after 27. Andrew Bachelard  contributed an entertaining 20 with a big 6 and a couple of 4s, and Kent made a well compiled 21. David Craig made 8 before driving one straight to mid-on and inexplicably yelling out a suicidal “yes!” A flurry of hitting and running by the returning Dawson, Kitson and James lifted Roseville’s target to an even 200. With the sandy outfield making boundaries harder than usual, and the deck still offering some assistance, it was a big ask.

Mick Tarrant (6-3-10-3) started proceedings from the Australia Street end, with Stuart Ridge (5-1-14-1) steaming in with the Rotunda behind him. Both were miserly as Roseville stuttered along to just 24 off the opening 11 overs, along the way losing Jom to a superb diving catch (Andy Dawson at midwicket), Zatz & Ewing (lbw) and Harry (caught by Andy Dawson at short cover). Mick Tarrant was on a hat-trick at one point, and could have had even better figures had Scott W not spilled a dolly (“I couldn’t see it, my gloves got in the way” was a new one to me!). Brett James relieved the ‘flu-struck Ridge and promptly blew away Duncan’s middle peg and Berry’s front pad, leaving Roseville in all sorts of trouble at 6-36 when drinks were taken.

While they came out with more intent in the second half, and managed to get Woods and Mulvaney to a brace of 30*s, they were never in the hunt. Unfortunately wickets were hard to come by in the second half, with only Ed Craig (swinging one through the gate) and Brett James (played on off the last ball) having success. Craig Kitson bowled well without luck, while David Craig served up an assortment of pies before being dragged off. (“They were turning big, though!”). 

Another solid win for CCNSW against a good bunch of blokes, job done, six points and a song!

The Team was (playing 12): – Ed Cross 10, Andrew Dawson 47*, Paul Nash 0, Scott Wells (c) and (w) 4, Craig Kitson 36, Brett James 35*, David Kent 21, Mike Tarrant 9, Greg Brooks 1, Andrew Bachelard 20, David Craig 8, Stuart Ridge dnb

The Result was: 

C.C.N.S.W.: – 9-199 (40 overs) (A. Dawson 47*; B. James 35*)

Defeated

Roseville CC: – 8-126 (40 overs) (M. Tarrant 3-10; B. James 3-18)

By 63 runs

FoW: – 1- 31 (E. Cross); 2- 31 (P. Nash(); 3- 65 (S. Wells); 4-128 (M. Tarrant). 5-130  (G. Brooks); 6-160 (A. Bachelard); 7- 163 (D. Kent); 8-178(D. Craig).; 9-191  (C. Kitson).

The Bowling was: – M. Tarrant 6-2-10-3; S. Ridge 5-1-14-1; B. James 9-2-18-3; A. Bachelard 3-1-7-0; D. Craig 5-1-30-0;   E. Cross 6-1-30-1; C. Kitson 6-1-16-0

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – Two to A. Dawson

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to B. James; 2 points to A. Dawson; one point to M. Tarrant

C&S, Classics, LMS

WEEK EIGHTEEN: WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY-SUNDAY 5  FEBRUARY 2023

Leave a comment

LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 2  ROUND 11 v ‘JOHNNY CASH MEMORIAL’ AT CP5 CENTENNIAL PARK PARADE GROUND, MOORE PARK ON TUESDAY 31 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY SCOTT WILLIAMS

CCNSW fielded possibly the strongest LMS team it has ever put together. After seeing our line-up the Jonny Cash Memorial team suggested that CCNSW should bat first so that we could get a decent game. This turned out to be a good decision as CCNSW put on 3-202 and kept Jonny Cash to 119. 

Steven Sheakey and Rob Shone got CCNSW off to a good start with some quick runs before Sheakey missed a full one to be out for 25. As Sheakey departed, James Bonkowski arrived…. and then departed an over later. Scott Williams came in swinging and put together a quick fire 43 off 17 balls. Rhys ‘Wild Thing’ Longbottom took over where Scott left and smashed the ball over the place. Rhys retired 50* from 20 balls  and Rob Shone, in  keeping with his current form of being undissmissable,  retired at a run a ball 50*. Dan May came in with 6 balls left and managed to destroy those 6 balls for 28 runs which include a home run 12 on the last ball.

Set 204 to win, the Johnny Cash Memorial VIII was always going to be in trouble and Mick McGrath swinging the ball around corners,  wasn’t going to help them. Mick picked up a wicket in his first over and from there the wickets tumbled with no partnership ever getting set. Wickets were spread around with all the bowlers having great economy rates and Dan May even bowling a maiden.

The win made it back to back bonus point victories and is putting CCNSW in a great position to sneak into the 4th spot and into the finals being currently only 3 points behind the 4th place team

The Team was: – Steven Sheakey 26, Rod Shone 50*, James Bonkowski 4, Scott Williams (c) & (w)) 43, Rhys Longbottom 51*, Mick McGrath 1*, Daniel May 28*, Craig Fordham dnb

The Result was:- 

CCNSW: – 3-203 (20 overs) (R. Longbottom 51*; R. Shone 50*)

Defeated

Johnny Cash Memorial: – 6-119 (20 overs) 

By 84 runs

The Bowling was: – M. McGrath 4-0-19-2; R. Longbottom 4-0-21-0; R. Shone 4-0-20-1; D. May 3-1-11-1, S. Sheakey 3-0-23-1, C. Fordham 2-0-21-1

The Fielding was:-

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to each of S. Williams (w) and M. McGrath and D. May

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to D. May; 2 points to R. Longbottom; 1 point to R. Shone

See:  https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/1st-innings?fixtureid=370874

CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 11  v NONDESCRIPTS  AT CAMPERDOWN PARK, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2023: REPORT BY TOM ROBERTSON

(Editor’s Note: this match appears to have given rise to some tension arising from player-umpire decisions)

Glorious conditions met us at Camperdown beach for our game against Nondescripts. Jamie Murtha  was captain for the day.  ‘Nondos’ won the toss and batted. Tight bowling from Avi Bhandari and Soren Hughes had them going at only just over 2 runs per over for the first 10 overs. Wickets were not falling quickly but runs were like hens’ teeth.

The young opener to the eyes of the CCNSW fielders appeared to snick one off Avi but the (Nondo player) umpire did not apparently see or hear it. More controversy soon after, when their captain appeared to  nick one  off Matt Edge’s slow bowling which deflected into Declan Thomas’s leg, standing up as keeper, then spooned up to slip. Again the edge appeared clear to us but was given not out.

Their captain did not walk and a few words were exchanged. Their innings never really got going and they were restricted to 7-124 off 35 overs. All our bowlers bowled well with Jamie Murtha lifting and bowing some nice seam up to end up with 3-19.

Our turn to bat and we soon discovered they were very much a bowling side. Their opener bowled full and straight but as it often turns out, the other less threatening opener went and got wickets. Tom Robertson faced his first ball that went sailing over cover for 6. ‘This is easy’, thought Tom. Next ball, bowled! Matt Leon (0) and Harry Bridge (0) came and went. Avi Bhandari (12) showed good resistance till he copped a good yorker.

Nondescripts had us 6 for 38 in the eleventh over and in deep trouble. But we fought  back  thanks to Toby Forbes and Jamie Murtha. These two have been caught in bad situations many times and have really fought hard. Jamie (19), Adam Khamis (3) and Toby (32) got out within 9 runs as we slipped from 6-88 to 9-97. We were in a real pickle at 9 down for 97, needing another 28 to win with six overs to go.

 Little did they know we had a Soren Hughes and a Matt Edge at Nos. 10 and 11 and both could bat! Soren put the state of the game aside and played his natural game hitting the bad ones away hard with his 3lb monster bat. Matt too hit some beautifully timed boundaries.

Two overs left and six to get. The pendulum had swung. Matt took strike and the lads worked 3 singles off the first 4 balls. Can Soren finish this? The bowler pitches it up into Soren’s sweet spot. Boom! But wait, he’s smashed it straight at a fielder on the boundary, oh no! But justice has prevailed; it has burst through his hands and gone for 4.

 What a finish! Beers were then enjoyed and tasted oh so sweet.

While there had been a degree of controversy and contention in the game with the odd hard word, next game the slate is wiped clean so I hope it is played in the spirit cricket should be played, especially when in most C&S games the players have to umpire their own batters and the fielding side can sometimes become frustrated.

The Team was: – Michael Carman 11, Tom Robertson 7, Matt Leong 0, Harry Bridge 0, Avinash Bhandari 12, Declan Thomas (w) 2, Toby Forbes 32, Jamie Murtha (c) 19, Adam Khamis 3, Soren Hughes 16*, Matthew Edge  12* (and 11 extras)

The Result was: –

Nondescripts: – 7-124 (35 overs) (J. Murtha 3-19)

Lost to

C.C.N.S.W.: – 9-126 (33.5 overs) (T. Forbes 32)

By one wicket

FoW: – 1- 8 (T. Robertson); 2-17 (H. Bridge); 3- 17 (M. Leong); 4-33 (A. Bhandari). 5-38 (D. Thomas); 6-38 (M. Carman); 7- 88 (J. Murtha); 8-96(A. Khamis); 9- 97 (T. Forbes).

The Bowling was: – A. Bhandari 7-1-23-1; S. Hughes 5-2-8-1; M. Leong 2-1-4-0; T. Forbes 6-0-22-2; A. Khamis 5-0-21-0; M. Edge 5-1-18-0; J. Murtha 5-1-19-3

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 2 to D. Thomas (w) ; one each to H. Bridge and T. Robertson

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to T. Forbes; 2 points to S. Hughes; one point to M. Edge

CLASSICS  ROUND 9 v STRATHFIELD  AT AIREY PARK, HOMEBUSH  ON SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2023: REPORT BY SCOTT WELLS

On a lovely Summers day – mid to high 20s slight breeze, the team was eager to play on the magnificent Airey Park vs Strathfield being the Shires first grade ground with a well prepared pitch and a rarely seen carpet like couch outfield. So much so that the skipper had left his whites behind (blaming his mum for not packing them the night before). 

Two late withdrawals from our 12 man team (Ed Cross and Brett James both with injury) meant we headed into the game with 11 but still with very strong depth in the bowling and batting. With the skipper not there for the toss, Mike Pinter was anointed in that capacity. Mike lost the toss and Strathfield had no hesitation in sending us into the field on what appeared to be a belter. 

Mick Tarrant opened the bowling and was on the spot from ball one getting some good movement in the air and with the pitch seaming, some coming through with lots of bounce and others “Camperdown like”. Perhaps the good coverage on the wicket was hiding what lurks below. From the other end, Andy Bachelard returning from his great spell against Old Ignations a month ago, was  bang on with his line and length as well. This is where our team really does stand out from other teams with the seemingly abundance of good quality line and length bowling. We were without Stuart Ridge (currently in Barbados representing Australia in the over 60s) and Brett James for this game.

With one opener throwing the bat at anything short or wide and the other watching patiently, Mick Tarrant was the first to bring on a mistimed slog skying between mid-wicket and mid-on but it was unfortunately spilled. Another edge behind was also spilled to the frustration of all. Andy Bachelard  also had a skied chance dropped from their opener. Mick bowled his best spell this season continually beating the bat and eventually send middle stump cartwheeling. 1 for 24 off 7 – off to a flier but you could feel the momentum shifting now with continued pressure from the good bowling.

Their first drop was run out by some swift fielding from Mike Pinter back to the keeper and we were on our way. Andy picked up a clean bowled and Mick also picked up their opener with a classic outswinger nicked to the throat of Brooksie standing at first slip. The very next ball was followed by a beautiful inswing to the left hander knocking back to the top of middle – fair nut to get first ball. Their spine was broken.

Change bowlers Paul Nash, “The Prez” Greg Brooks and David Craig continued the pressure with great line and length 4 for 86 at drinks – we were now well in control. Brooks was rewarded with an lbw and Craig the same with the quicker ‘zooter’ trapping the batter back and in front much to his delight. Their number 4 batted well to make 30* and be back in the bank but others offered little in attack. Brooksie picking up another lbw and Dave Kent (debut CCNSW Classics) picking up another clean bowled as his first scalp. Andy B came back and made short work with of their returning batter, clean bowling him as well. Strathfield all out 148 with 5 bowled, 3 lbws, and no wides: a tribute to our great bowling on the day setting up a very chasing target. A couple of injuries from fielding with Andrew Davis copping one on the ankle (very swollen), David Benson pulling something that resembled a muscle in the thigh to groin area and Mike Pinter also hampered by a niggling gluteus muscle.

With the  ball swinging all innings, it was also going to be a tricky target. But a solid start from Pinter and Gerard O’Shea picking off runs in a very good opening stand of 38 off ten overs keeping up with the necessary run rate (with not a boundary hit) until Mike on 16 copped a questionable lbw from a right arm around the wicket slinger. Mike called for the DRS but he must have not got the signal in time. Paul Nash and Gerry continued to knock it around with Gerry playing a classy, flawless innings to retire on 30* and Nash putting the loose ones away with the score on 74 when he retired, having  set us up well.

At drinks we were 1 for 86 – well on target for the chase set up by our top 4 batters. With wickets in hand, the skipper set the goal of achieving the total within 32 overs which would gain 2 bonus points in a chase. Achievable at just over 5 an over. Post drinks Scott Wells and Nash went about their business knocking them around with the odd rush of blood from Wells (much to the ire of ‘the Prez’  – his displeasure heard well beyond the boundary causing flocks of birds to scurry from every tree within 2km). Knuckling down Nashy bought up his 30* with a typical Nash like pull well over the boundary at mid wicket.

With a few guys injured, this bought debutant David Kent to the crease still needing 42 for victory – showing his class with a watchful eye, picking off runs, good running between the wickets and a smoked cover drive until a misunderstanding bought about a run out on a misfield (what was that saying?) when he was looking at getting going on 9. This bought ’ the Closer’ to the crease (G Brooks) with 30 runs to get. Brooksie did what Brooksie does, putting loose and some good ones away and running hard on the twos and threes.

Wells retired on 32* with the scores level bringing in our pinch runner Andy Bachelard at the non striker’s end. Brooksie then hit the winning runs and we had achieved the goal of getting the runs within 32 overs with 2 bonus points in a comprehensive win.

Post-match hospitality was at its finest with lots of stories, Asahi beers, spiced chicken and noodles a plenty.

The Team was: – Mike Pinter 16, Gerard O’Shea 31*, Paul Nash 34*, Scott Wells (c) and (w) 32*, David Kent 9, Greg Brooks 14*, Andrew Bachelard 0*, Mike Tarrant dnb, David Benson dnb, David Craig dnb, Andrew Davis dnb

The Result was: –

Strathfield CC: -10-148 (37.5 overs) (M. Tarrant 3-28)

Lost to

C.C.N.S.W.: – 2-149 (31 overs) (P. Nash 34*; S. Wells 32*; G. O’Shea 31*)

By 8 wickets

FoW: – 1-38 (M. Pinter); 2-123 (D. Kent)

The Bowling was: – M. Tarrant 8-1-28-3; A. Bachelard 7.5-0-34-2; P. Nash 3-0-14-0; D. Craig 8-1-26-1; G. Brooks 7-0-29-2; D. Kent 4-1-13-1

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to G. Brooks

Run outs: – One to M. Pinter

Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to P. Nash; 2 points to S. Wells; one point to G. O’Shea

See: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/classics-summer-202223/classics/game-centre/fe97c851

C&S, Classics, LMS, Match Reports

WEEK SIXTEEN A: THURSDAY 19 JANUARY-SUNDAY 22  JANUARY 2023

Leave a comment

LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3  ROUND 9 v  ‘CLEVELAND SEAMERS’ AT MP 5, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON THURSDAY 19 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY SCOTT WILLIAMS

On a wet and miserable Thursday CCNSW were up against the previously undefeated Cleveland Seamers. Cleveland Seamers ‘generously’ offered to bat first without a toss, Our captain, Scott Williams jumped at the chance to get the ball in his hands so accepted the offer.

Some tidy bowling from Dan May (1-20 off 4 overs) and Scott  Williams(1-18 off 4 overs) had them on the back foot. Matt  Edge  (2-36 off 4 overs) didn’t let the foot off with constant wickets slowing their progress. Seamers set a pretty modest score of 150 which we never thought was to be in doubt. However what we had never contemplated when we accepted  their  ‘generous’ offer at the “toss” was that we were going to have to bat in the dark; we had been played. James Bonkowski (8) was out early to some very good line and length bowling but Rob Shone (53*) and Joel Uddstrom (24) got us back on track. On Joel’s departure, Scott  Williams came to the crease with CCNSW  needing 8 an over. His 30 off 11 balls followed by Dan May’s 37* off 20 balls was enough to get us over the line to win with 11 balls to spare and back on track for a place in the finals.

The Team was: – James Bonkowski 8, Rod Shone 53*, Joel Uddstrom (w) 24, Scott Williams (c) 30, Daniel May 37*, Matthew Edge dnb, Craig Fordham dnb, Peter Constantinou dnb

The Result was:-

Cleveland Seamers: – 5-149 (20 overs) ()

Lost to

CCNSW: – 3-155 (18.4 overs) (R. Shone 53*)

By 5 wickets

The Bowling was: – D. May 4-0-20-1; S. Williams 4-0-18-1; M. Edge 4-0-36-2; P. Constantinou 4-0-39-1; C. Fordham 4-0-35-0

The Fielding was:-

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to each of R. Shone and S. Williams

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to D. May; 2 points to R. Shone; 1 point to S. Williams

CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 9  v NONDESCRIPTS  AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 22 JANUARY 2023

Cancelled because of rain

CLASSICS ROUND 8 v ST CLAIR WARRIORS   AT MERRYLANDS  OVAL, MERRYLANDS ON SUNDAY 22 JANUARY 2023

Cancelled because of rain

C&S, Classics, LMS

WEEK FIFTEEN: WEDNESDAY 11 JANUARY-SUNDAY 15  JANUARY 2023

Leave a comment

LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3  ROUND 8 v ‘SUB-PAR-CRICKETERS’ AT MP 5, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 11 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY SCOTT WILLIAMS

CCNSW were sent into bat on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. A steady opening partnership from James Bomkowski (52*) and RodShone (50*) got us off to the start we’ve been looking for all season. Shahzeen  Ajani made a quick fire 24 after “Bonkers’” retirement. CCNSW were 1-120 in the 15th over and needed to push the run rate to be competitive, in came Scott Williams and Ben Digan. Scott managed to hit 51* off 14 balls which included 7 sixes and a ‘home run’ 12 off the last ball of the innings.

CCNSW put on 1-199 which looked never in doubt given that the Sub-Par-Cicketers were made up of ring ins. Turns out those ring ins could bat. Despite bowling a good line and length Sub-Par consistently cleared the boundary and were cruising to victory. With some retirements came in a middle order that couldn’t clear the square and made the contest close again. Unfortunately wickets fell and the openers came back in and got across the line with 1 over to spare. 

The Team was: – James Bonkowski 52*, Rod Shone 50*, Shahzeen Ajani (w) 24, Scott Williams 51*, Ben Digan 22*, Jim Hadley dnb, Craig Fordham dnb, Matthew Edge dnb

The Result was:- 

CCNSW: – 1-199 (20 overs) (J. Bonkowski 52*; S. Williams 51*; R. Shone 50*)

Lost to

Sub-par-Cricketers: – 4-200 (19 overs) 

By 4 wickets

The Bowling was: – S. Williams 4-0-26-0; M. Edge 3-0-33-0; C. Fordham 3-0-26-0; J. Hadley 3-0-33-1; B. Digan 3-0-27-2; J. Bonkowski 2-0-40-0; R. Shone 1-0-14-1

The Fielding was:-

Stumpings: – One to S. Ajani

Catches: – One to each of C. Fordham and S. Williams

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to; 2 points to; 1 point to 

See: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/1st-innings?fixtureid=370858

CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 8  v I ZINGARI (AUSTRALIA)  AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SATURDAY 14 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY PETER CONSTANTINOU

Back:  Adam Khamis, Mike Weaver, Andrew Dadswell, Matthew Edge, Harry Bridge, Peter Constantinou
Front:  Brett  James (c), Ash Perrott (w), Jonathan Shaw, James Murtha, Avinash Bhandari, Mike Pinter

I Zingari (Australia) won the toss and batted. An outstanding left arm opening spell by Australian over 50s player Brett James  captaining the C&S team for the first time and right arm away swing  by Avinash Bhandari returning from  a lengthy spell abroad,  had the visitors 4 – 18 after the first 7 overs.. They were well supported by the keeping of  Ash Perrot who caught the first three IZA batters, The pressure continued to be piled on the visitors with tight bowling from ‘Jonno’ Shaw, Jamie Murtha and Adam Khamis supported by off-spin from Andrew Dadswell. They were supported by great fielding especially by Matt Edge, nursing a broken finger, who took a screamer. ‘Captain Cool’ Brett James effected a run out and took a difficult catch. We had the victors all out for 94 in the 28th over.

The CCNSW openers Mike Pinter and Peter Constantinou got us off to a slow but steady start seeing off the two opening bowlers on a deck which wasn’t too consistent before Peter was out for 9, lbw in the ninth over with the total on 13. At the fall of his wicket Harry Bridge came in and lifted the run rate with three boundaries. Mike Pinter played solid for his 20 before being run out  but Ash Perrot then fell without scoring leaving us at 3-49 in the 19th over and Harry was bowled for 14  soon thereafter In the 21st over. With the score at 4-51, and another 43 runs needed from the final 14 overs, IZA appeared on paper to have a chance but Jamie Murtha (19*) and Brett James (18*) steadied the ship and battered nicely and aggressively  scoring the final 43 runs off only  3.2 overs  with Brett James hitting a 6 and a 4 off successive balls from IZA veteran Craig Hambleton to secure the win for the Blues. All round great cricket by the Blues and a rare win v IZA 

The Team was (playing 12): –  Mike Pinter 20, Peter Constantinou 9, Harry Bridge 14, Ash Perrot (w) 0, Jamie Murtha 19*, Brett James (c) 18*, Adam Khamis dnb,  Avinash Bhandari dnb, Jonathan Shaw dnb, Andrew Dadswell dnb,   Matthew Edge dnb and 12th man Mike Weaver dnb

The Result was: –

I Zingari (Australia): – 10-93 (27.3 overs) 

Lost to

C.C.N.S.W.: – 4-94 (24.2 overs)

By 6 wickets

FoW: – 1-13 (P. Constantinou); 2-49 (M. Pinter); 3-49 (A. Perrot); 4-58 (H. Bridge).

The Bowling was: – B. James 4-1-7-2; A. Bhandari 5-2-7-2; J. Shaw 5-2-15-0; A. Dadswell 5-0-30-0 ; J. Murtha 5-2-18-2; A. Khamis 3-0-7-2; M. Edge 0.3-0-4-1

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 3 to A. Perrot (w) and one each to M. Edge, A. Dadswell, B. James and A. Khamis

Run outs: – One to B. James

Player points (awarded by opposition captain): – 3 points to B. James; 2 points to M. Pinter; one point to A. Bhandari

CLASSICS ROUND 7 v BURWOOD BRIARS   AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN  ON SUNDAY 15 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY GREG BROOKS.

Stuart Ridge being cheered off the field  by the CCNSW team after taking 8-13

“Hacksaw Ridge tears apart Burwood”

I must admit feeling some trepidation in writing  this match report as I don’t think I can do justice to what occurred at Camperdown yesterday. It was a classic example of “you had to be there to believe it”. What started out as a regular Classics team cricket match turned into a one man show of swing and seam bowling as Stuart Ridge returned the third best bowling figures in the Club’s history.  6.5 overs 3 maidens 8 wickets for 13. Yes you read that correctly!

On a new wicket on the far side of the square Burwood won the toss, chose to bat and will long regret the decision. While not at all dangerous the wicket certainly had plenty of grass and combined with the high humidity, presented ideal conditions for high class swing bowling. Stu delivered just that and was backed up by some quality catching behind the wicket from Scott Wells and his slips cordon and in  front of the wicket by Gerry O’Shea and a fine return catch of his own. The fielding around the ground was terrific highlighted by a superb pick up and direct hit at the bowler’s end by first gamer Andrew Dawson. At 7-23 with Stu having 6 of these (one run out) we were contemplating a swim at Coogee by 2pm; however a stubborn eighth wicket partnership slowed down the speed of the carnage. Steady bowling by David Benson, Paul Nash and Greg Brooks kept  things tight during this period. The introduction of David Craig brought the breakthrough with the dismissal of  Burwood’s top scorer Steve Rouse (22). In a ruthless move our skipper brought Stu back on and he claimed the remaining two wickets with consecutive deliveries to close out the innings at 57. We discussed the potential for a hat trick next game which for Stu will be against  England on 30 January in  the West Indies Over 60s Cup in Barbados! We await the feedback from that one!

Our chase began slowly and Ed Cross was unfortunate to be out lbw in the second over. That was to be the only loss of a wicket as slowly at first and then with acceleration Mick Pinter and debutant  Andrew Dawson got on top of the bowling to see us home in the 15th over. Pinter was 27* and Dawson reached 30* retired with both in complete control.

The Burwood team was gracious in defeat acknowledging the wonderful performance of Stu and the overall dominance of their opponents. It was a short day and we were socialising with beers and cold drinks by 3pm.

Congratulations to everyone who played their part in the day. I am sure will we all remember the day for a long time to come.

The Team was (in batting order): –  Mike Pinter (v/c) 27*, Ed Cross 1, Andrew Dawson 30* ret, Gerard O’Shea 0*, Craig Kitson dnb, Paul Nash dnb, David Benson dnb, Scott Wells (c) and (w) dnb,, Greg Brooks dnb, David Craig dnb, Stuart Ridge dnb

The Result was: –

Burwood: – 10-57 (22.5 overs) (S. Ridge 8-13)

Lost to

CCNSW: – 1-60 (14.4 overs) (A. Dawson 30*; M. Pinter 27*)

By 9 wickets.

Burwood FoWs: – 1-3, 2-9, 3-10, 4-10, 5-17, 6-23, 7-23, 8-55, 9-56, 10-57

CCNSW FoW: – 1-4 (E. Cross)

The Bowling was: S. Ridge 6.5-3-13-8; D. Benson 3-1-8-0; G. Brooks 4-1-6-0; P. Nash 4-0-13-0; D. Craig 4-1-7-1; C. Kitson 1-0-4-0

The Fielding was:  –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 2 to S. Wells (w/); One to each of G. Brooks; 1 to A. Dawson, 1 to G. O’Shea, 1 to S. Ridge (c&b)

Run outs: – A. Dawson (direct hit)

Player Points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to S. Ridge; 2 points to A. Dawson; 1 point to M .Pinter

C&S, Classics, LMS

WEEK TWELVE: WEDNESDAY 7 DECEMBER –SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER 2022

Leave a comment

LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3  ROUND 6 v ‘SUB PAR CRICKETERS’ AT MP 8, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 7 DECEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JAMES MURTHA  

It was an overcast afternoon, the opposition won the toss and elected to bowl, we fielded a strong side albeit only with 7 players.

Their openers got off to a solid start and both appeared to be heading towards a 50* retired before Soren Hughes (‘Sooz’) playing his first LMS game of the season, struck a double play (Editor’s note: the LMS playing conditions adopt this rule from baseball), taking a high catch off his own bowling and having the presence of mind to throw the stumps down before the non striker could make his ground; it was a very impressive piece of cricket.

Adam Durant and Jim Hadley (also playing his first LMS game of the season) bowled exceptionally well without luck. David Craig grabbed a key wicket and Jamie Murtha bought a wicket at the end thanks to an excellent boundary catch by Craig. Solid bowling and fielding kept them to a relatively modest 5-162.

CCNSW started  the chase losing early wickets:  Jamie Murtha  (1) was bowled playing a dirty slog across the line; Scott Williams nicked off and scored his first ever LMS duck (after c. 140+ innings ); Adam Durant (7) and Rod Shone (10) both dug in early but couldn’t go on with it. 

At the other end Sooz was hitting boundaries for fun and retired on 50*. David Craig and Jim Hadley steadied and built a solid partnership before Dave fell for 30. Jim went up a gear and found the boundary regularly, requiring 24 off 10 balls Jim scored 18 off the first 5, taking the equation to 6 off 5.

A fast and accurate over took it down to the last ball requiring 1 to win, a leg bye was misfielded by the keeper and Sooz made it safely to the striker’s end for a single to win the match!

The Team was: – Soren Hughes 56*, Jamie Murtha (c) 1, Adam Durant (w) 7, Scott Williams (w) 0, Rod Shone 10, David Craig 30, Jim Hadley 55*

The Result was:- 

Sub Par Cricketers: – 5-162 (20 overs) ()

Lost to

CCNSW: – 5-163 (20 overs) (S. Hughes 56*; J. Hadley 55*; D. Craig 30)

By 3 wickets

The Bowling was: – A Durant 4-0-24-0 S. Hughes 4-1-23-1; D. Craig 4-0-39-1; J. Hadley 4-0-20-0; J. Murtha 2-0-23-1;  R. Shone 2-0-32-0; 

The Fielding was:-

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to each of D. Craig, J. Hadley and S. Hughes

Run outs: – One to S. Hughes

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to S. Hughes; 2 points to J. Hadley; 1 point to D. Craig

JACK PACE ROUND 5 v SYDNEY UNIVERSITY LIONS AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER 2022: REPORT BY HARRY BRIDGE 

Spirits were high as our C&S team was finally at Camperdown for the first time this season. The weather was perfect and the square was finally playable, but its surprisingly dry, cracked and crumbly condition would prove more suited to Sydney University Lions. We made a convincing start with Tom Robertson’s 36 a continuance of his consistent form in the first half of the season, and Jamie Murtha coming off some big scores and looking comfortable for 15, their partnership taking us swiftly to 59 before both quickly fell. Murtha was the first victim to the Lions’ new off-spinner, who found the conditions ideal and went on to dismiss four of our top six batters in his 4-16, decimating our middle order as we lost our final 5 wickets for 20 runs. The only other resistance was Karthick Subramanian’s punchy 28, as we reached a below par 10-142. 

Toby Forbes and Soren Hughes struggled to find their lengths early on; however Forbes found a crack and cut a ball in to bowl the Lions’ best batter, giving us a brief sniff of being in the game. Adam Khamis caused some difficulties with his spinners, and both Adam Durant and Craig Kitson did well taking a couple of wickets each. At six wickets  down and looking brittle, there was a feeling the Lions may have struggled if we’d posted another 20 runs and were able to apply some pressure, but in the end their top scorer’s slowly compiled 50 guided them to a solid win by four wickets. 

We look forward to the return fixture at St Paul’s college in Sydney University on 8 January next which (unlike this game) will be played for the Brooks-Manning-Moorhouse Shield. Hopefully conditions will not be quite so spin-friendly.

The Team was: – Tom Robertson 36, Jamie Murtha 15,  Karthick Subramanian (w) 28, Dan Turner 9, Harry Bridge 11, Toby Forbes 0, Adam Durant 9, Adam Khamis 5, Craig Kitson 6*,  Peter Constantinou 1, Soren Hughes (c) 4

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-142 ( overs) (T. Robertson 36)

Lost to

Sydney University Lions: – 6-145 (33.4 overs)

By 4 wickets

FoW: – 1- 59 (T. Robertson); 2-60 (J. Murtha); 3-91 (D. Turner); 4-105 (H. Bridge).5-107 (T. Forbes); 6-122 (A. Durant); 7-129 (K. Subramanian); 8- 134 (A. Khamis); 9-135 (P. Constantinou); 10-142 (S. Hughes).

The Bowling was: – T. Forbes 6-1-19-1; S. Hughes 4-0-26-0 ; P. Constantinou 7-0-30-0; A. Khamis 7-1-27-1; A. Durant 5-2-15-2; C. Kitson  4.4-1-11-2

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to A. Durant

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to T. Robertson; 2 points to K. Subramanian; one point to A Durant

CLASSICS ROUND 6 v  OLD IGNATIANS AT RYDE OVAL, RYDE ON SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER 2022: JOINT REPORT BY ANDREW DAVIS AND MIKE PINTER  

La Niña must be a thing of the past as we arrived at the ground on a very hot Sunday, winning the toss was now very important for us two reasons 1) errr …. it was very hot, and 2) one of our eleven “Mick” Tarrant was still 90 minutes away due to being called into work.  With our regular Captain Scott Wells out due to injury Mike “Punter” Pinter stepped into the role of Captain and fortunately he called correctly with “Tails never fails in New South Wales”; hence we won the toss and elected to bat.

On the ladder before the game. Old Ignatians (“Old Iggies”) were sitting in fifth spot with three wins and one washout and CCNSW down in ninth with two wins and two losses – so this was a very important game for both teams to win before the Christmas break.  We didn’t have a number of regulars due to injuries and seasonal engagements; thanks must be given to “Gerry” O’Shea, Jed Wesley-Smith and Sam Skoulis for stepping in and  we also welcomed back Brett James (who had just been selected to represent the Australian Over 50s Cricket Team in the upcoming Over 50s World Cup in Cape Town next March). 

There was a cautious start to our innings by Gerry O’Shea Ed Cross as the pitch visibly had a few gremlins with the odd ball staying low at one end and sharply kicking up at the other. Gerry was the first wicket to fall being caught for 10.  This brought in our stand-in Captain Punter to join Ed who was doing a great job of punishing all loose balls, smacking six boundaries on his way to retiring at 30*.  A nice partnership was developing with Punter and Brett James with both turning over the strike and both running quickly between the wickets, converting the ones to twos and the twos to threes.  However Punter tried to take on the field once too often for a quick single that wasn’t there and was found well short of his ground to be run out for 20. The score was now 2-77 in the 18th over.  Andrew “Dee” Davis then joined Brett James and again a nice partnership was developing between the two with both batters hitting the pickets before another call for a quick single saw Andrew Davis also short of his ground again-  run out for 22 in the 25th over with the score now 3-125.

Around about this time, a call came in from Tommy Robertson from Camperdown Oval (some 40 minutes away from our ground) apparently some knucklehead (of course … apologies to said knucklehead) had accidentally locked the Camperdown sheds with the kits and keys inside.  To paraphrase the infamous words of the Robot from Lost in Space  “Danger Tommy Robertson”.

With 15 overs left we were looking to up the rate and close in on 200 runs. Brett was joined by Greg “Brooksy” Brooks and unusually Brooksy started cautiously, to watch Brett retire on 30*.  Now with two in the bank Brooksy was joined by David  ‘Dutchy’ Craig, who once again played a reverse sweep off his first ball for three runs much to the surprise of the bowler.  The pair pushed the score along to 3-163 before we lost three wickets for 12 runs (Brooksy c and b 23, Dutchy c and b 13 & Jed Wesley-Smith bowled 1). All were selflessly trying to accelerate our innings to get us over a 200 total. The score was now 6-177 with five overs remaining.  Enter Andrew “Bach” Bachelard.

Quick runs were needed and Bachelard had been given the licence to thrill – and thrill he did!  In the 37th over he launched his assault hammering 18 runs with two massive sixes with two brilliant cricket shots, one over the cover fence and the other over deep long on.  Mick Tarrant was Bach’s wingman for the onslaught, and Mick was our 7th and final wicket to fall at 7-202.  Sam Skoulis then joined Bach in the 38th over whilst Bach continued to plunder the bowling. Bach retired soon after on 30* with four balls remaining in our innings.  What a knock – one of the best by anyone in the team this season!  Sam was joined  by Ed Cross who managed to get seven more runs off the remaining four balls to finish on 39* (well done Ed on another great innings this season).  Our innings closed at a very defendable 7-220 with eight bowlers to choose from. 

After the tea break it was our turn to take the field in slightly cooler conditions with Brett James and Mick Tarrant opening the bowling.  This was one of the first opportunities Brett has had with leather in hand since being selected for the Australian Over 50s Team.  The opposition knew about Brett’s selection and they knuckled down and relished the challenge. Brett and Mick bowled well and regularly troubled the openers however without success.  There was a very fast outfield and most balls that passed the infield made it to the fence. Brett and Mick did exactly what was required to restrict Old Iggies to 0-40 after 10 overs, this partnership helped add pressure as the run rate required increased from 5.5 RPO to 6.0 RPO.

Punter then decided to make a double change and toss the ball to Bachelard and Davis – this is where we turned up the Bunsen burner.  Bach started with a maiden and it just got better from there for CCNSW with some brilliant fielding by Gerry O’Shea in and around gully and point and Sam Skoulis proving to be very valuable in close at square leg and cutting off singles. Adrian Schwager (one of their opening batters) retired soon after for a very well made 30*. Lttle did we all know however that was as good as it was going to get for any of the Old Iggies batters today.

Over the next 10 over spell between ‘Bach’ and ‘Dee’ we managed to rip the heart out of the Old Iggies batters to take 4-36 by drinks.  I hear you ask “How did that happen?” Well funny you should ask … this is what transpired.  In each of their second overs Bach firstly disrupted the timber 1-46 in the 13th over and Dee then changed his pace nicely to see their No. 2 loft one to Mid-On. Score 2-50 in the 14th over.

This saw the very dangerous Neil McLeod stride to the crease. Then Punter (channeling Hannibal from the “A-Team”) developed a plan with Bach to drop a single man back deep at long-on and tempt McLeod.  Back you go Mick.  The temptation was too great for McLeod and within a couple of balls he struck one high and deep close to Mick Tarrant who had to cover a bit of ground to get to it and  take the first of two magnificent catches.  McLeod out for 4. Score 3-53. This brought another slogger to the crease in Nick ‘Garlo’ Garling. As usual ‘Garlo’ plundered everything within his hitting zone and raced to 15 runs – before a second plan was struck between James and Bachelard for Bach to slow one down and roll his fingers over a delivery.  ‘Garlo’ was early on the shot and it was again lofted towards Mick Tarrant in the deep; obligingly Mick gobbled his second catch.  Score 4-70.  Don’t we all love it when a plan (or two) comes together!

So, at the drinks break Old Iggies were 4-76, now requiring 7.25 RPO off the remaining 20 overs for the win, with one in the shed and their two of their most dangerous batters out and not returning again today.  At drinks Bach had the very impressive figures of 5-1-8-3 so he deserved the opportunity to bowl his allotted nine overs today.  All fielders did their jobs extremely well and continued to apply the pressure right around the park in particular Mick Tarrant and Brett James were our boundary riders on opposite sides of the pitch and each played a pivotal role in cutting off boundaries. ‘Dutchy ‘Craig and  Ed Cross were at mid off and  mid on for most of the game saving many runs with some sharp fielding, and our Keeper Jed Wesley-Smith conceded no byes (compared to 14 byes conceded by their keeper) on a very up and down pitch.  Bach finished up his spell with the extremely impressive figures of 9-4-16-4 what an outstanding effort!  Score 5-96 after 27 overs, with Old Iggies now requiring 9.62 RPO for the unlikely win.

Without downplaying their contributions Greg Brooks (6-1-30-1), David Craig (7-0-23-1) and Ed  Cross (3-0-10-1) also rolled their arms over and all continued to bowl tight lines with each bowling to their fields and the fielders stopping just about everything.  It was a comprehensive display of bowling, ground fielding and catching – full stop. So after their 40 overs Old Iggies were restricted to 8-148.

A special mention to some outstanding efforts. After bowling his nine overs Bach found his position at one end at short fine leg still chasing the odd ball and cutting off boundaries and saving many runs. Lastly Punter, was everywhere in the field, out in the deep, in close, changing sides and chasing that little red ball around the park.  In the huddle after each wicket he gave us a few uplifting words to help encourage us all that every wicket and great effort in the field was bringing us one wicket closer to victory.

After the game both teams enjoyed a well-deserved beer or two after a long day in hot conditions. What a fantastic team result where everyone contributed, and what a way to finish off 2022 by beating one of the top teams in the competition. With five games remaining before the Finals we will need to continue this form and win most of these games to have a chance of making the top four.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. Let’s continue our winning ways in 2023. 

The Team was: – Ed Cross 39*, Gerard O’Shea 10, Mike Pinter (c) 20, Andrew Davis 22, Brett James 30*, Greg  Brooks 23, David Craig 13, Andrew Bachelard 30*, Jed Wesley-Smith 1 , Mike Tarrant 5, Sam Skoulis 1*

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 7-220 (40 overs) (E. Cross 39*; B. James 30*; A. Bachelard 30*)

Defeated

Old Ignatians 8-148 CC: – (40 overs) (A. Bachelard 4-16()

By 72 runs

FoW: – 1-23 (G. O’Shea); 2-77 (M. Pinter); 3-125 (A. Davis); 4-163 (G. Brooks); 5-174; (D. Craig); 6-177 (J. Wesley-Smith); 7-202 (M. Tarrant)

The Bowling was: – B. James 5-2-22-0; M. Tarrant 5-1-18-0; A. Davis 5-0-26-1, A. Bachelard 9-4-16-4; G. Brooks 6-1-30-1; D. Craig 8-0-23-1; E. Cross 3-0-10-1

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 2 to M. Tarrant,  one to E. Cross and one to J. Wesley-Smith (w)

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to A. Bachelard; 2 points to E. Cross; one point to B. James

https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/classics-summer-202223/classics/game-centre/f9655704

C&S, Classics, LMS

WEEK TEN: WEDNESDAY 23-SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2022

Leave a comment

LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3  ROUND 4 v ‘SUB PAR  CRICKETERS’ AT MP 8, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JAMES MURTHA

On a superb sunny afternoon, CCNSW won the toss and chose to bat, but was unable to build momentum as wickets fell steadily.  CCNSW was reduced to 5-40 before the veteran Joe Scarcella  companied by the young Ben Digan who had just celebrated his 19th birthday, dug in for a partnership before Joe hit a high ball to mid off and departed for 26. James Murtha batting late in the order, scored a quick fire 43 to boost the total to 121, CCNSW failed to bat the full twenty overs being all out in the nineteenth over, about 50 short of par.

The team bowled well and tried to take the game deep. A few wickets were shared but unfortunately the chase was relatively simple for the opposition who won with nearly 5 overs to spare.

The Team was: –  Ben Gorham (w) 3; Shahzeem Adjani 15, Scott Williams 3, Peter Buruma 11, Asfand Uppal  0, Joe Scarcella 24, Ben Digan 17 (w) and James Murtha (c) 43   

The Result was:- 

CCNSW: – 8-121 (18.3 overs) (J. Murtha 43)

Lost to

Sub Par Cricketers: – 3-122 (15.3 overs)

By 5 wickets

The Bowling was: – Joe Scarcella 4-0-35-1; Scott Williams 4-0-23-0; Shahzeem Adjani 3-0-24-1; James Murtha 2-0-19-1; Ben Gorham 2-0-11-0; Peter Buruma 0.3-0-5-0

The Fielding was:-

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to J. Murtha and one to S. Williams

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to J. Scarcella; 2 points to S. Williams; One point to B. Digan 

See: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/1st-innings?fixtureid=370885

JACK PACE   ROUND 4 v OLD CRANBROOKIANS  AT DANGAR  OVAL, ROSE BAY ON SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JIM HADLEY

We lost the toss and were asked to bowl. Ian Robertson and Soren Hughes (“Big Sooz’) opened up. Ian bowled with good pace and beat the bat regularly and was rewarded with the wicket of one of Cranbrookian’s better batters. Hughes kept a good line and length for 4 overs when Mick McGrath playing his first game for our City and Suburban team and Matt Leong took over. Mick McGrath bowled a terrific 7 over spell while picking up 1 wicket for 36 runs,  a very hot catch to Ash Perrot at cover. Matt Leong after a patchy first over bowled 3 on the money. Ed Robertson bowled unchanged for 7 overs from the Rose Bay end and hit a terrific line and length to finish with 2 for 20. Old Cranbrookians ended up 8-199 after 35 overs. 

Jamie Murtha and Tom Robertson opened the batting and went along well to 18 when Jamie was late on a pull shot and caught at mid-off for 4 in the fifth over. Mick McGrath joined Tom and our score progressed to 1-73 in the 17th over when Mick unfortunately didn’t quite get hold of an on drive and was caught at mid-on for 26. Harry Bridge unluckily played on first ball when he may have just had time to kick it away. After the drinks break  and in the next over Tom  followed given out stumped. for 34  and  two balls later with a thunderstorm looming and the match likely to be decided on run rate, Soren Hughes decided to try to lift the rate but top edged to mid-on to be out for a duck. In the space of two overs we had descended from 1-73 to 5-75. Karthick Subramanian and Ash Perrot, playing his first game for CCNSW were looking comfortable at the crease when a thunderstorm and lightning hit. 

They were  facing a heavy task needing 110 runs off the final 14.5 overs with only 5 wickets in hand when the storm broke. With the thunder and lightning getting closer, Old Cranbrookians hesitated to get the covers out and after a few minutes heavy rain it became academic and Old Cranbrookians had won on run rate

(Editor’s note: a similar situation occurred simultaneously at Camperdown in the Classics where playing conditions prohibited any entry on the field even for laying covers within 30 minutes of a nearby lightning strike. That game was also lost on run rate with the covers unable to be relaid)

The Team was: – James Murtha 4 , Tom Robertson 34, Mick McGrath 26, Harry Bridge 0, Soren Hughes  0,, Ash Perrot 2*, Karthick Subramanian (w) 3* Jim Hadley (c) dnb, Edward Robertson dnb  and Ian Robertson dnb

The Result was: –

Old Cranbrookians: – 8-199 (35 overs; run rate 5.69 p over) 

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.: – 5-88-rain (20.1 overs; 4.38 run rate p over)

On run rate

FoW: – 1-18 (J. Murtha); 2-73 (M. McGrath); 3-73 (T. Robertson); 4-75 (H. Bridge); 5-75 (S. Hughes)

The Bowling was: – M. Leong 4-0-25-0; S. Hughes 7-0-46-1; J. Hadley 6-1-37-2; M. McGrath 7-1-36-1; I. Robertson 5-0-35-2; E. Robertson 6-0-20-2; 

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to K. Subramanian (w); one to Ash Perott;

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to Mick McGrath; 2 points to Ed Robertson; one point to Ian Robertson

CLASSICS ROUND 5 v GEORGES RIVER AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY MIKE PINTER

Back Row: Paul Nash, David Benson, Ed Cross, Ian Allmey, Greg Brooks, David Craig, Gerry O’Shea.
Front row: Scott Wells (c) & (w), Mike Pinter (v/c), Andrew Davis.
Absent: – Mick Weaver.

There were several players backing up in both sides (five for CCNSW – M. Pinter, M.J. Weaver, S. Wells, A. Davis and D. Craig and two from Georges River) from four games of cricket in four days at the National Over 50s Championship (which had only just wrapped up two days prior).  Special congratulations must be given to M.J. Weaver for being part of the Veterans Cricket Australia Division 5 Over 50s – National Championship winning side.

Unbelievably two players were actually voluntarily lining up for their sixth game of cricket in seven days.  Well done to you both Andrew “Dee” Davis and Trevor Whittall (the Captain of the Georges River side, who is also a member of CCNSW).

Showers were forecast for the late afternoon, so it was an interesting toss to win or lose. Fortunately for Scott Wells the decision was made for CCNSW as we lost the toss and were sent into bat.

Ian Allmey and Mike “Punter” Pinter strode to the crease.  In his usual fashion Ian (6) looked to get us off to a good start, however soon after crunching one to the boundary, and attempting a second over the covers Ian was clean bowled by a ball that stuck in the wicket.  Paul “Nashy” Nash then joined Punter, however he too fell victim to the slowness of the pitch and was also clean bowled in nearly the identical fashion to their opening bowler from the other end.  We were then 2-15 in the fifth over.

Michael J. Weaver “Weaves” then joined Punter in the middle and both of which were determined to consolidate in the middle for CCNSW.  Weaves tweaked his hamstring when running the first of five threes in the partnership with Punter.  Then just as Punter (18) was starting to hit the boundaries he was deceived by a crafty first ball delivery from O’Rourke and was adjudged LBW.  CCNSW was now 3-44 at the start of the 13thover.

Enter the third member of our team returning from Adelaide in “Scotty” Wells, and as usual he only took a couple of balls to get his first boundary of the day.  Again, just as Weaves was starting to get used to the wicket he too fell to the tackiness in the pitch and was caught in front of square leg for a very respectable 22.  Ed Cross strode to the middle with purpose, pushed at his first delivery to get an unfortunate edge and be out caught behind for 0.  The score had gone from 4-59 to 5-59 in the 15th over with the crafty O’Rourke picking up his third CCNSW scalp of the innings.  At this stage we still had another 25 overs to bat out.

Andrew “Dee” Davis (our fourth representative) then joined Scotty in the middle, and Scotty just did his thing by regularly crunching the ball into the metal picket fence all around the ground.  At this point I would like to point out that Scotty also injured his right quad at the Nationals and he was heavily bandaged, however this Mummy wasn’t going to spit the dummy!  Dee was the support act in helping Scotty to his retirement when the score had raced to 95 just after the drinks break.  Good work boys, however there was still a lot more work to be done.

There were another two brief cameos from Gerry O’Shea (6) and David Benson (5) with Dee on 25 with the score at 7-124 in the 29th over when Greg “Brooksy” Brooks walked to the middle.  We then only had 11 overs to get a respectable score on the board, and our goal was to get to somewhere around 180+.  This is where the magic started to happen; it was an absolute pleasure to watch Brooksy majestically smashing a number of straight drives to bamboozle the fielders – just as the fielders were moved from one spot, that’s exactly where he hit them.  Dee retired soon after on a very well constructed 30* in his best Academy Award winning “Best Supporting Batter Role” for our innings.

David “Dutchy” Craig, our fifth and final representative then decided that he would join in the fun and help entertain the crowd gathering on the hill* by also regularly helping the ball cross the rope.  [Note*: Crowd gathering on the hill primarily comprised of three people with two dogs]  Brooksy only took 20 balls to reach his second consecutive retirement for the Classics with 32* – top job Prez!  Dutchy was then joined by Scotty and both continued to hit the balls around the ground – none hit more infuriatingly for the bowlers than Dutchy’s paddles and reverse sweeps off middle stump to the boundary – let’s just say the bowler let Dutchy know that he wasn’t at all impressed.  These few partnerships helped take us from 7-124 in the 29th over to 7-212 by the end of the 40th over with Dutchy finishing on 27* and Scotty bringing up 50* just before the close of our innings.  Super stuff lads; we all agreed that we had been able to compile a defendable score.

We were carrying a couple of injuries into the game (Scotty (quad strain), Dutchy (calf strain)) and unfortunately a couple more injuries in our innings – Weaves (hamstring strain) and our scheduled opening bowler David “Beno” Benson (groin strain) – we knew we were going to be restricted in the field.  Especially by losing Beno’s all round speed, catching and throwing ability in the field.

Nashy and Dee opened the bowling for CCNSW, and Georges River were somewhat cautious in their approach to the chase.  Some good tight bowling from both helped ensure they were 0-16 off 6 overs before the first changes were made.  Brooksy and Gerry O’Shea tried to keep things contained, however the Georges River batsmen managed to take full toll of the rare loose ball to get to 0-45 after 12 overs, with their first retiring batsman in the shed.

The changes were being brought in regularly by Scotty in order to keep the Georges River lads on their toes, and Ed Cross was successful in his second over taking the ex-Australian Over 50s World Cup winning batter out caught behind for only 7 runs.  The bowling remained tight, and Gerry O’Shea helped ensure that Georges River did not get in front of the run rate required.  At the 20 over mark Georges River were sitting comfortably with two in the sheds at 1-84.

Whilst they still had nearly 130 runs to get, in the final 20 overs we were confident that we would be able to contain them if we fielded well.  Unfortunately for us a couple of chances went down but then we took a few quick ones to see them go from 1-103 after 23 overs for Georges River to be at 5-145 after 30 overs. [‘Dutchy’ Craig taking one off Dee at mid-on; Gerry  O’Shea taking a well struck lofted off drive on the chest at a straightish cover to take their skipper for a golden duck; then Punter took a very well judged catch which was never in doubt at cow corner – as Richie Benaud would have said “That’s brilliant – what a beauty!” – and Scotty taking his second caught behind off Dee]

We strived hard in the field but as  often happens the ball was attracted to our restricted fielders in Beno and Weaves, then also seemed to be hit towards Dutchy and Punter who regularly chased the leather all around the park, with some great chases and returns to restrict the runs where possible.

Things were definitely getting interesting as with 10 overs to go, we required another 5 wickets and Georges River required 68 runs – game on lads.  We needed to restrict the runs, as we all know that No Runs = Pressure, and Pressure = Wickets!

The Georges River lads were batting well in partnerships and they kept the scoreboard ticking along at around 6 runs per over.  Then there were a couple of quick wickets with Nashy drawing an outside edge then Ed  Cross also doing  the same, both to Scotty  to take his third and fourth catches behind the stumps for the innings. There were a couple of lusty blows by the Georges River lads in the thirty sixth over, that saw them sneak ahead of CCNSW for the first time in their entire innings.  Then with one ball to go in the 36th over there were a couple of close lightning strikes, followed by claps of thunder and we were immediately ordered off the field by the Umpire.   Due to the lightning strikes we were not allowed to put the covers down, then the heavens absolutely opened up and it bucketed down for about 10 minutes.  At that stage Georges River were 7-196 still requiring 17 runs for the victory off the remaining 4.1 overs.  

After a 30 minute delay there was a pitch inspection by the Umpire and both Captains and unfortunately for both teams the pitch was deemed unplayable due to the residual water on and around the pitch.  It was a cruel blow for CCNSW as the run rates were so close (5.30 vs 5.49). I understand that had the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method been used we apparently would have lost by only 4 runs.

Well done to the Georges River lads for a great afternoon of cricket, that was played with the spirit of cricket by both teams.  It was fantastic for most of the Georges River lads to stick around well after the game for the mandatory “debrief with refreshments”.  We were absolutely smoked by Georges River last year, and it was great for us to restore pride in the Cricketers’ Club emblem by getting so close to toppling them this year.

End result was CCNSW at 7-212 being defeated by Georges River 7-196 (on run rate and DLS).  It was a toss-up between ‘Dee’ and Scotty for the CCNSW man of the match as both made significant contributions with the bat (30* and 50* respectively) and then with the ball and gloves with Dee’s bowling figures finishing at (8-2-40-3) and Scotty taking 4 catches behind the wicket.

The Team was: – Ian Allmey 6, Mike Pinter 18, Paul Nash 0, Mike Weaver 22, Scott Wells (c) 50*, Ed Cross 0, Andrew Davis 30*, Gerry O’Shea 6, David Benson 5, Greg Brooks 30*, David Craig 27*

The Result was: 

C.C.N.S.W.: – 7-212 (40 overs/run rate 5.3 runs p over) (S. Wells 50*; G. Brooks 30*; A. Davis 30*)

Lost to

Georges River: – 7-195 (35.5 overs/run rate 5.49 p over) (A. Davis 3-40)

On run rate

FoW: – 1-9 (I. Allmey), 2-15 (P. Nash), 3-44 (M. Pinter), 4-59 (M. Weaver), 5-59 (E. Cross), 6-108 (G. O’Shea), 7-124 (D.  Benson)

The Bowling was: – P. Nash 5.5-0-30-1; A. Davis 8-2-40-3; G. Brooks 8-1-39-1; G. O’Shea 3-0-15-0; E. Cross 7-0-40-2; D. Craig  4-0-23-0

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 4 to S. Wells (w) and one to each of D. Craig, G. O’Shea and M. Pinter 

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to A. Davis; 2 points to S. Wells; one point to G. Brooks

See: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/classics-summer-202223/classics/game-centre/fd7764a6

C&S, Classics, Social

WEEK EIGHT: WEDNESDAY 9- SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER

Leave a comment

LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3  ROUND 3 v ‘’ AT ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2022: 

Report to come.

SOCIAL GAME v SCG XI AT DRUMMOYNE OVAL, DRUMMOYNE, ON WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2022:

Report to come.

C&S JACK PACE  ROUND 3 v YARALLA AT GODDARD  OVAL CONCORD ON SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2022:

Report to come.

CLASSICS ROUND 4 v MOSMAN CC AT CAMPERDOWN PARK, CAMPERDOWN  ON SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY DAVID CRAIG

How good is cricket?! At the appointed starting time of 12.15pm there were 20-odd blokes standing around watching a light drizzle fall on the covered wicket, all wondering when the game would be called off and the pub beckoned. Half an hour later the crucial North-West passage above the grandstand started to lighten, and then turn blue, the sun came out and a game was deemed possible, albeit with a slight reduction to 38 overs per side. (Some of us had bothered to read the competition rules and had an inkling that this meant maximum 8 overs per bowler instead of the usual 9. The opposing captain M. Hall was not amongst this rare group of cognoscenti, a fact which would prove important later…)

CCNSW skipper Scott Wells won the toss and batted on a mostly dry deck – fortunately the wet patch was right in the middle of the bed and had no real effect on the players. Ed Cross (2) was the unlucky recipient of one that “did a bit early” & disturbed the castle. Paul Nash joined Mike Pinter and they consolidated as the Mosman opening bowlers (Greenwood and Turner) bowled an extended spell in mostly good areas, although the odd short one was whacked away contemptuously by the in-form Nash. After 12 overs (1-36), Mosman made the double change with Varasdi and Hall coming on. Although we were under a bit of run-rate pressure, their best bowlers had only 2 overs each for the death, a factor which would prove costly later. Pinter and Nash continued to build a steady partnership with Nashy’s selective aggression netting a couple of boundaries before Punter (22) nicked off to Varasdi, leaving us 2-59 off 18 overs, and an early drinks break was taken.

With a decent platform, acceleration in the back half was the name of the game, and new batter Scott Wells immediately greeted new bowler Frost with a couple of hard hit boundaries. After Nashy cruised to retirement (31*), Mick Weaver joined the skipper, taking on a new role as a bustling & busy middle order bat with relish & aplomb. Unfortunately, when Hall switched ends the first delivery of his second spell was a loopy in-dipper that deceived Wells, LBW for 10. In the next over, Weaves was caught off Frost trying to force the pace: at 4-95 in the 25th and 2 new batters at the crease, it was advantage Mosman.

Time for a Classic(s) CCNSW Fightback! Andrew Davis and Michael Tarrant got busy, running a rare 3 off the first ball of the partnership. Davis clubbed Frost to the boundary, and Tarrant answered by lofting Bulluss out of the ground next ball. After adding 26 in 3 overs, Micky T (18 off 13) coughed up a catch off Frost. Paul Devaney, in his last opportunity for Classics this season, was promoted to number 8 and set about clubbing Frost out of the attack with a succession of boundaries. At the other end Davis was turning over the strike and stroking the odd boundary of his own as the partnership climbed to 42 off 30 balls (CCNSW 6-165 with 5 overs remaining). Mosman brought back the opening bowlers in a mostly unsuccessful attempt to stem the flow of runs. Turner’s 8th over brought Devaney (26 off 19) undone a slog short of retirement, bringing the newly re-hipped el Presidente Greg Brooks to the crease for his first dig in the Classics this season. After a few sighters the Prez unloaded, taking Greenwood downtown for successive boundaries.

At this point a heated discussion was observed between the Mosman skipper and the umpire, as Mr Hall received the unwelcome news that neither opening bowler was in fact entitled to a 9th set, and the last 3 overs had to be cobbled together from the remaining Mosman bowlers. Brooksy greeted new bowler Hall with back to back boundaries (4 fours in 5 balls to the Prez at that point). Frost returned (grumpily?) to the other end, and Davis (33* off 30) clubbed a boundary to retire. This initiated another first-time 2022/23 Classics appearance, bringing to the crease Andrew “Bash” Bachelard (having shed an impressive 25 kgs in the offseason, I might add! Bang, bang, bang, bang went the not-so-big fella, hitting his first 4 balls to the fence! At the other end Brooksy was hitting the boundary and running 2s like a youngster as the final partnership yielded 24 off 9 rocks (Brooks 30* off 19, Bachelard 17* off 5, strike rate 340 if you don’t mind). 

A shell-shocked Mosman outfit retired to the shed with the task of chasing 220 for the win off 38 overs with 10 men. Against an 11 man CCNSW with 10 genuine bowling options (sorry, Punter!), this looked a big ask, even on the fast scoring Camperdown outfield.

Varasdi and Bulluss started well, playing a bit of block, block, block, bash stuff against opening bowlers Stuart Ridge and Mick Tarrant. Both looked set to retire imminently, but Tarrant had other ideas, encouraging Bulluss (24) to guide one into the safe hands of Nashy at slip, and a few overs later having Varasdi nicking off to keeper Davis for 29. Devaney relieved Ridge at the Mallett St end and he had no hesitation in letting Aitcheson know that he was getting rather bogged down. This did seem to get into the batters mind a little, though as far as Classics sledging goes, I would have thought this was merely approaching the line and gently tapping foreheads like a mature and mellowing Nathan Lyon.

In any event, Bachelard replaced Devaney and induced a top edge from Aitcheson, caught by Nash (I want to say at backward point?). When Tarrant finished a fine spell at the Australia St end (2-35 off 8), Mosman needed 151 to win off 132 balls, with 6 wickets in hand. Turner and McLean set about rebuilding the innings, getting Mosman to drinks at 3-88 off 19. After the interval they began to score freely against the seamers Bachelard and Nash, precipitating the introduction of spin (Dave Craig) and the return of the economical Ridgey. This turned out to be a tactical masterstroke, as the leg-spinner put the brakes on the innings by allowing both batters to hit a boundary and retire!

Devaney relieved Craig and immediately castled Mosman skipper Hall through the gate (4-133 after 27). Job done, and Devaney was preserved for later, replaced by Brooks. Some useful hitting from Kingsman and Frost kept Mosman in the hunt, and with six overs left they needed just 44 with 5 wickets in hand, two set batters in and two in the shed. Things were looking – shall we say “tight” – with WinViz putting Mosman slightly ahead at this point.

Ed Cross and Paul Devaney were entrusted with death bowling duties, and straight away Devaney castled Frost (21) with a beauty. When Cross bowled Greenwood in the next over, the momentum was shifting back our way, and sure enough Kingsman (28) skied one into the safe hands of Mike Pinter off Devaney. Turner returned to the crease to join last man Paine, but after scoring just a few more he perished, bowled by another accurate Ed Cross inswinger. Three balls later Cross trapped last man Paine in front, and the game was ours, Mosman losing 5-18 in their last 4 overs to fall 20 runs short with 13 balls remaining.

This was a highly satisfying victory against a perennially tough opponent, a great day played in a fine spirit, highly competitive and at the same time social. Post-match beers tasted especially good, despite the fact I personally contributed little apart from stopping the odd ball with my face & jogging from long-on to long-on for most of the afternoon (Scotty, what did I do? I’ve done the covers, sorted out gear for the new blokes, brought the soft drinks, scored all day, and collected the money, what else do you want from me?!). 



The Team was (playing 12): – Ed Cross 2 (12), Mike Pinter 22 (60), Paul Nash 31* (44) rtno, Scott Wells (c) 10 (12), Mike Weaver 17 (13), Andrew Davis (wk) 33* (30) rtno, Mike Tarrant 18 (13), Paul Devaney 26 (19), Greg Brooks 30* (19), Andrew Bachelard 17* (5), David Craig dnb, Stuart Ridge dnb, Sundries 13

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: 6-219 (38 overs max) (A. Davis 33*, P. Nash 31*, G. Brooks 30*)

 Defeated

Mosman C.C.:  9-199 all out (35.5 overs)

By 20 runs

FoW:  1-6 (E. Cross); 2-59 (M. Pinter); 3-89 (S. Wells); 4-95 (M. Weaver); 5-121 (M. Tarrant); 
6-163 (P. Devaney)

The Bowling was: S. Ridge 6-0-27-0; M. Tarrant 8-2-35-2; P. Devaney 7-0-28-3; 
A. Bachelard 4-0-21-1; P. Nash 3-0-27-0; D. Craig 2-0-13-0; G. Brooks 2-0-23-0; E. Cross 3.5-0-15-3

The Fielding was: Catches to P. Nash (2), A. Davis, M. Pinter. No runouts, no stumpings.

Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to P. Devaney ; 2 points to G. Brooks ; one point to A. Davis

C&S, Classics, Social

WEEK SIX: WEDNESDAY 26 – SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER

Leave a comment

SOCIAL GAME v VICTORIA BARRACKS XI AT VICTORIA BARRACKS, OXFORD STREET  ON THURSDAY 27 OCTOBER 2022: 

WASHED OUT

LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3  ROUND 1 v ‘’ AT ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 26 OCTOBER 2022: 

Report and scores to come.

C&S JACK PACE  ROUND 2 v OLD ALOYSIANS CC AT ST ALOYSIUS COLLEGE OVAL, KIRRIBILLI  ON SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER 2022: REPORT BY BRETT JAMES

It was orange, it was bright and it was beautiful but what was this strange phenomenon..after much googling and conversations with the smart people on the team (no I am not looking at you Tom Robertson) we came to the conclusion the sun was shining on us today!  Cricket and hopefully the Cricketers Club would be the winner on the day.  Unfortunately someone forgot to tell Old Aloysians and their grade level line up how things should play out.

The old Aloysians ground was in top nick.  It is a beautiful place to play cricket, fast outfield, good facilities and a decent pitch.  I was internally thanking the gods for the outrageous school fees imposed on our struggling banking, financial and legal fraternity members who that just want a decent education for their little ones…..good on you all!

Soren Hughes won the toss and in we went.  Tom Robertson  and Gerry O’Shea  started very well with an excellent opening partnership of 43 before Gerry was plum LBW….oh hang on he was actually not out that ball…but the next ball he was comprehensively bowled after day dreaming about the life that our umpire had given him the ball prior.  Tom went on to score a dominant 52 before getting clean bowled and Harry Bridge put on 20 good runs during which time he discovered there seems to be common denominator in his near run outs each time he bats (I’ll leave that one hanging out there).

Brett James decided that one duck wasn’t enough and hit a simple catch back to the bowler for his second duck in a row and the rest of the batting was ho hum until Captain Soren strolled out to the wicket and smashed the best 39 not out off 19 balls we have seen this season –  it was a fantastic captains knock and got us to a defendable 156.

Things started well with Avi Bhandari collecting a wicket on the first ball of the innings.  The team was up, we were on a roll and things were looking good for the W.  Unfortunately no one told us that number 3 had played Second Grade the day before, was in form and loved medium pace, pitched up bowling.  85 runs were taken off our first 10 overs with the number 3 smoking a very fine 65 off less balls than Soren faced.  Stupidly he mentioned that he hated spin bowling so we bought Adam Khamis on and he had him bamboozled for 2 fine overs and then quickly stumped.  A great decision.  Adam bagged another wicket before our old adversary Tim Goh came in a struck a very quick 55* – game over!

Isn’t it great to play cricket!  We didn’t come back with the win but it was fantastic to be out there with mates, running around and trying to compete against a very, very good team.  Let’s look forward to next week and the fact we may get two weeks of cricket in row!

The Team: – Gerry O’shea (17), Tom Robertson (52), Harry Bridge (20), Brett James (0), Jamie Murtha (0), Avi Bhandari (7), Soren Hughes (39*), Nimesh “Fifty” Desai (3), Matt Leong (5), Declan Thomas (9*), Adam Khamis (DNB)

The Result was:-

C.C.N.S.W.: 8- 156  (35 overs)

Lost to 

Old Aloyisians– 3- 165 (21.4 overs)

FoW: – 1-43 (Gerry); 2-76 (Tom); 3-77 (Brett); 4-78 (Jamie); 5-99 (Harry); 6-118 (Avi); 7-133(Fifty); 8-144 (Matt)

The Bowling was: – Avi Bhandari 6-0-41-1; Nimesh Desai 4-0-49-0; Adam Khamis 7-0-56-2; Brett James 5-1-19-0;

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: Declan Thomas

Catches:  Adam Khamis

Run outs:  nil

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to Tom Robertson ; 2 points to Soren Hughes ; 1 point to Adam Khamis

CLASSICS ROUND 3 v LANE COVE CC AT KINGSFORD SMITH OVAL, LONGUEVILLE  ON SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER 2022: REPORT BY ED CROSS

With some fine weather finally upon us, we were pleased to arrive at Kingsford Smith Oval on a bright day. The only issue being that the U14’s match was still underway after they had a delayed start. However, the toss occurred on time and Skipper Scott Wells had no hesitation in batting first.

Mike Weaver and Ed Cross started it off for us. Unfortunately, after looking for a positive start on a hard, dry wicket, Mike went cheaply in the second over to a ball that moved considerably off the seam. That brought Paul Nash to the crease. Both Ed and Paul played strongly and well within themselves to see us off to a reasonably good start. Ed capitalised on some short bowling to retire on 30 runs when the score was 1 or 39 in the 9th over. Scott Wells came to the crease and continued with Paul showcasing some fine batting. Both Paul and Scott retired after hitting their 30-run limit in style. The total was starting to look like it could be something big when we took drinks at 1-111 after 20 overs. 

Andrew Davis and Dave Benson were next to the crease. However, Dave wasn’t at the crease for long, looking to be aggressive he was stumped for 8. Dave Byrnes came to the crease after a long absence from the Cricketers Club and again looked to be positive and keep the score moving. Unfortunately, his stay was also short as he was bowled for 1. The score had reached 3-124 in the 24th over. Mick Tarrant was next in and continued with some purposeful batting. At the other end, an ever-watchful Andrew was batting confidently and playing some nice shots. Soon he retired on 31 with the score 3-156 in the 27th over.

David Craig joined Mick in the middle and successfully, although predictably, reverse swept the first delivery for 4. He and Mick continue to bat aggressively as the final overs approached with Mick retiring after a well-made 32 before David was bowled for 18. Stuart Ridge and Paul Devaney came out looking to be positive right from the start. Paul started aggressively with a 6 whilst Stuart continued hitting singles to rotate the strike. When Paul was dismissed caught on the boundary for a quick fire 17 the score was 5 to 224 after 35 overs. 

Ed Cross returned to the crease after retiring earlier and he and Stuart did their best to lift the score above 250. Stuart continued to rotate the strike which allowed Ed some batting time to accumulate enough runs to finish on 50 not out. Stuart finished on 18 not out with the score at 5 for 257.

We knew we had a good score on the board, but we were also aware we had to bowl well with the short boundary on one side always in play. Our openers were Stuart Ridge and Mick Tarrant, who both bowled well early on, hitting the right length and moving the ball in the air. The first wicket came in the 6th over with the score at 15 when Mick had their opener caught behind by Jed Wesley-Smith. Lane Cove continued scoring runs slowly due to some tight bowling. A few dropped chances saw their other opener reach 31 before retiring. 

The two Paul’s (Devaney and Nash) took over the bowling and continued the tight lines. However, Lane Cove were batting well. By this time, they had reached 58 runs off 15 overs. The turning point came when they lost their second wicket to a fantastic one-handed catch to Dave Benson off Nash at mid-on that seemed to come from nowhere. This may well have broken Lane Cove’s spirit as the remaining batsmen didn’t seem intent on trying to chase down the imposing total. Both Paul’s continued the fine bowling with Nash picking up 2 and Devaney 1 wicket caught behind by Jed. 

Dave Craig took over from Devaney and immediately found his length. He continued to bowl tightly and was rewarded with 2 wickets off his 9 overs (caught by Scott Wells and Paul Devaney). Dave Byrne took over from Nash and also bowled tightly, further restricting Lane Cove’s scoring. He was successful in his 3rd over with an LBW.  The score had reached 7-101 off 34 overs.

Lane Cove continued to bat stubbornly in the remaining overs. Stuart Ridge came back on and was rewarded with a wicket. The final over was left to Michael Weaver to try and wrap up the last 2 wickets. Lane Cove looked to have survived until a last ball full toss was hit firmly straight to Paul Nash for the 9th wicket. The final score was 9-129 after 40 overs.

A big thank you to Jed Wesley-Smith for umpiring our innings in full. He was then able to back up in the field to neatly keep wickets and encourage the bowlers.

Our first win for the season after the disappointment of our first game. Let’s hope we can turn up each week with the same positive attitude to scoring runs and taking wickets.

The Team was: Michael Weaver 1, Ed Cross 50*, Paul Nash 32* , Scott Wells 33*, Andrew Davis 31*, David Benson 8, David Byrnes 1, Michael Tarrant 32*, David Craig 18, Stuart Ridge 18*, Paul Devaney 17 

The Result was: 

C.C.N.S.W.: 5 – 257  ( 40 overs)

Defeated

Lane Cove: 9-129  (40 overs)

By 128 runs

FoW: – 1-1 (Weaver); 2-121 (Benson); 3-124 (Byrnes); 4-203 (Craig); 5-224 (Devaney)

The Bowling was: Stuart Ridge 7-1-26-1, Michael Tarrant 6-15-1, Paul Devaney 4-1-19-1, Paul Nash 8-1-17-2, David Craig 9-1-28-2, David Byrnes 5-0-15-1,  Michael Weaver 1-0-6-1

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: Nil

Catches: Jed Wesley-Smith 2, David Benson, Scott Wells, Paul Nash, Paul Devaney

Run outs: Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to Ed Cross ; 2 points to Paul Nash ; 1 point to Scott Wells

Full scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/account/my-teams/cricket-australia/ccnsw-over-50-men-classics/05ea025f/game/807c085d

C&S, Classics

WEEK FOUR: SUNDAY 16 OCTOBER

Leave a comment

C&S JACK PACE  ROUND 1 v COLLEAGUES CC AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 16 OCTOBER 2022: REPORT BY JIM HADLEY

CCNSW won the toss and Bowled. Arvi Bhandari and new ball partner Nimesh Desai ( “Fifty”) formed a great contrasting style of new ball bowling. Fifty held consistent pace and line for his 7 overs and Arvi held a nagging length of outswingers and off cutters, backed up by good catches by Williams and Murtha. Colleagues were 5-40 after 14 overs. Colleagues decided slogging was the best response and with the help of some dropped catches moved into the 90s until spin got rid of their cowboy. Nick Leong and Big Sooz  (Soren Hughes) bowled a consistent line and length and finished off Colleagues, all out for 138. A shakey start in the run chase had Tom Robertson out chasing a wide one and Scott bowled by a good one through the gate. Harry Bridge  and Jamie Murtha pushed the game along till Harry was judged LBW. Colleagues opening left arm seamer was proving a handful so Nick Leong “night watched” his spell skilfully through to enable Jamie Murtha (30 odd) and eventually Arvi Bhandari (20 odd n/o) to get CCNSW home with a few overs to spare. Good but patchy win highlighted by a top spell by both opening bowlers.  Bhandari 3, Fifty 2, Murtha 1.   

Scores to come.

Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to Arvi Bhandari; 2 points to Nimesh Desai ; 1 point to Jamie Murtha

CLASSICS ROUND 2 v SRI LANKA LIONS AT BERT SAUNDERS RESERVE, DOONSIDE ON SUNDAY 16 OCTOBER 2022: REPORT BY SCOTT WELLS

With 20 odd players available for selection this year, choosing a side against last year’s reigning champions was going to be a good headache to have. Unfortunately, with a 60’s tournament in the ensuing week and a few N/As it made the job slightly easier.

Initially the game was down for Camperdown but with the Camperdown square resembling a boggy top dressed lawn, an early call out for an alternate ground commenced. It appears this season in particular, turf wickets will be a premium on Sundays with the mix of a wet winter and junior rep and girls cricket expanding to turf wickets on a weekend.

After discussions with the Prez, several councils, Gordon CC and the Lions, they ended up finding a ground at Doonside albeit a synthetic wicket which at least guaranteed a game with a grim weather forecast earlier in the week.

Back to selections, we had 12 chosen with spares available. By Friday night, we had 10 available with both Mikes pulling out. By then some spares had also made other plans but we ended up with still a very strong 11 showing the great depth in the club at present. SLL also had some injury concerns with two of their top players not playing which gave us a great chance of knocking them off.

With afternoon showers expected and wanting to control the game should it be shortened, Wells won the toss and sent the Lions in.

Paul Devaney took the new cherry with 4 LBW shouts in the first over all very close and all turned down against their left hander. Mick Tarrant took the ball from the other end and both started with some great line and length and swing beating the bat and finding edges with flew into gaps regularly. Mick in particular very unlucky with their lefty not scoring a run in front of the wicket. By the 10th over they had gotten off to a bit of a flier with the other opener batting solid and quickly. A change in the bowling was made with both Ed Cross and Brett James coming on. Brett sporting a side strain off his shorter run.

A retirement and wicket finally came in the 13th over with both bowlers keeping it tight building pressure. Ed picking up an LBW and Brett picking up wickets either side of drinks. By drinks SLL were 2 for 88 so that was a pretty good result. The next 5 overs were critical

David Craig entered the attack with his leg spinners but unfortunately an earlier (superb) fielding effort left his right shoulder (good one) worse for wear. So with both Brett and Dave unable to bowl Paul Nash and Craig Kitson continued the attack with great line and length frustrating the Lions batters. A mixture of some very good shots and some loose ones saw runs and wickets continue – 4 for 125 with 10 to go. Craig Kitson picking up 4 wickets in 7 overs. With two batters in the bank they were keen to get them back in for the final overs.

Wickets were shared with all bowlers bowling well – Cross 1, James 2 and Kitson 4 but that’s not a reflection on how well Tarrant, Devaney and Nash bowled.

The opening bowlers returned to close out the innings with SLL finishing off their innings at 182. A gettable target with the batting depth we had.

Lions opening bowler Wark, known for his guile and metronomic wicket taking ability was always going to be a threat early. Little was known about the rest of their attack as we haven’t played them for at least three seasons due to washouts.

Ian Allmey and Gerard O’Shea like Oscar and Felix opened the batting. Felix there to blunt their opening attack. Unfortunately Wark found the shoulder of Allmey’s bat second ball which bought an early entry for Nash. Both batters feeling their way through the guile of Wark and spin of sorts from the other end. Nashy final getting going but no sooner hit one straight to mid wicket departing on 10 (16).

O’Shea at the other end was looking very solid and stylish but still not off the mark after almost 30 balls. Andrew Davis joined Gerry at the crease with both batsmen very cautious unable to penetrate the infield. We were 2 for 29 after 15 overs when a misunderstanding lead to a runout 12 (45). With the need to get cracking, Brett James was sent in to get the innings started. Unfortunately, Brett got a very good ball cutting back in first deliver for an LBW.

This bought Scott Wells to the crease and with Andrew Davis, started to penetrate the infield and coupled with some hard running between the wickets the scoreboard stated to tick over. 4 for 45 at drinks. Not impossible with the batting still to come – 7 an over but still a shift in momentum required. Opening bowler Wark finishing with 2 for 12 off 9 overs.

Post drinks, Wells started to take to the bowlers which saw more outfielders being dispatched making it difficult to get boundaries. Davis attempted to start hitting but came unstuck with 17 (50). Kitson started very confidently with a 6 over long off from his second delivery and the runs continued to flow with Wells retiring on 30 bringing Ed Cross to the crease. Both batters kept very busy running with a deep field set before Kitson holed out at long on for a well made 12 (12). In the 30th over we were 6 down for 94 leaving 9 an over off the last 10. The last 3 batters Tarrant, Devaney and Craig couldn’t find the boundary with 5 men out but still kept it ticking over. 13(11), 11(13) and 1(4) respectively. Wells returned with 2 overs to go and finished with 43*(43) and Ed 16*(30)

Upon reflection, we bowled well, batted solidly, ground fielding was great, put down a few half chances but we needed to pace ourselves a bit better earlier but with the loss of 3 of our top 5 cheaply and runs hard to come by made the task all that more difficult. We certainly didn?t disgrace ourselves and gave it a good shot but unfortunately things didn’t come our way in the field and we found it difficult to penetrate the good Lions fielding which left us short of the total.

The Team was: – 

Ian Allmey 0, Gerard O’Shea 12, Paul Nash 10, Andrew Davis 17, Brett James 0, Scott Wells(c,wk) 43*, Craig Kitson 12, Ed Cross 16*, Michael Tarrant 13, Paul Devaney 11, David Craig 1

The Result was: 

C.C.N.S.W.: 9-146  (40 overs) 

Lost to:

Sri Lankan Lions: –  7-179 (40 overs)

By   33 runs

FoW: – 1-0  (Allmey); 2- 11(Nash); 3-32 (O’Shea); 4-32 (James). 5-71  (Davis); 6-78 (Kitson); 7-109  (Tarrant); 8-126 (Devaney).; 9-129  (Craig) 

The Bowling was: – 

Paul Devaney 9-0-49-0, Michael Tarrant 7-0-30-0, Ed Cross 7-1-32-1, David Craig 1-0-3-0, Brett James 4-2-7-2, Paul Nash 5-0-26-0, Craig Kitson 7-0-33-4

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: None

Catches: tbc

Run outs: None

Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to Scott Wells; 2 points to Craig Kitson ; 1 point to Andrew Davis