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

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 28^th 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 19^th over and Harry was bowled for 14  soon thereafter In the 21^st 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 12^th 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.

“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

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 18^th 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 37^th 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 7^th and final wicket to fall at 7-202.  Sam Skoulis then joined Bach in the 38^th 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 13^th over and Dee then changed his pace nicely to see their No. 2 loft one to Mid-On. Score 2-50 in the 14^th 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

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 19^th 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 17^th 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

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 13^thover.

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 15^th 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 29^th 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 29^th over to 7-212 by the end of the 40^th 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 36^th 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