CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 7 v SYDNEY UNIVERSITY VETERANS AT ST PAUL’S OVAL, SYDNEY UNIVERSITY ON SUNDAY 8 JANUARY 2023 FOR THE BROOKS-MANNING-MOORHOUSE SHIELD: REPORT BY HARRY BRIDGE
CCNSW retain the Shield
Most players were excited to be playing on the picturesque St Paul’s Oval at Sydney University for the first time to defend the Brooks-Manning-Moorhouse Shield. Conditions were perfect but parking restrictions in the University grounds caused early chaos. Jim Hadley dropped a regulation catch at first slip first ball off Avinash Bhandari, who had another dropped behind in his five overs to leave him wicket less in an impressive spell. The wicket proved more conducive to spin and the catches began to stick, seven in all. The University Lions crumbled, with our spinners picking up a couple of wickets each with some nice variety. The Lions were all out in 31 overs for 145.
The University Lions started their bowling strongly and rattled Tom Robertson and Rhys Longbottom with some chin music. Longbottom was caught behind for 6 off a short ball and then Robertson was yorked for 11 soon after. Karthick Subramanian was out for a duck, lured into driving a full ball early which cut in through the gate, leaving us looking precarious at 3-18. Longbottom then came on to umpire and perhaps swept up by the Lions’ momentum, gave Harry Bridge (scribe) out for a fifth ball duck, to a ball with so much bat on it (feet and pads well clear behind the ball) that the University skipper at first slip didn’t appeal.
This left us in trouble at 4-18 in the sixth over. Fortunately we knew we had a solid batting line-up. Both Jamie Murtha (44) and Brett James (65*) soaked up the pressure and carried on their good form to turn the game and take us to 105 before Murtha was out for 44, with some lovely clips to the short boundary into St Paul’s college. In the end we came home comfortably in the thirtieth over with 7 down, retaining the shield and enjoying a few celebratory drinks with the opposition.
The Team was (playing 12): – Tom Robertson 11, Rhys Longbottom (w) 6, Karthick Subramanian 0, Harry Bridge 0, James Murtha 44, Brett James 65*, Peter Constantinou 6, Matthew Edge 2; Tim Litherland 4*, Adam Khamis dnb, Jim Hadley (c) dnb and Avinash Bhandari dnb
The Result was:
Sydney University Lions: – 10-145 (31 overs)
Lost to
C.C.N.S.W.: – 7-146(29.2 overs) (B. James 65*; J. Murtha 44)
The Bowling was: – A. Bhandari 5-0-15-0; B. James 5-1-34-1; J. Hadley 7-1-30-2; T. Litherland 7-0-22-2; A Khamis 3-0-24-1 , J. Murtha 3-0-15-2; M. Edge 1-0-3-2
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – Two to H. bridge and one to each of A. Bhandari, H. Bridge, M. Edge, B. James, R. Longbottom (w), and J. Murtha
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to B. James; 2 points to J. Murtha; one point to T. Litherland
MASTERS ROUND 7 v SCHOFIELDS CC AT OAKVILLE RESERVE, OAKVILLE ON SUNDAY 8 JANUARY 2023
Cancelled by rain
VINTAGE ROUND 7 v HUNTER TAVERNERS VETERANS AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 8 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY STUART RIDGE
After a wet week, summer returned to Camperdown with a fine Sunday afternoon for cricket. The Hunter skipper won the toss and spotting a couple of damp patches from a leak in the new covers, put us in to bat.
Following a steady start from Frank Baliotis and Gerry O’Shea, that decision looked vindicated when Gerry got a couple of nasty lifters, nicking one to the keeper for 15. Joe Scarcella then joined Frank, both working the ball around well and, with good running between the wickets, put on 44 in the next 9 overs before Frank retired for a well made 30. Without any further addition, Joe popped up a leading edge to square leg to depart for 21 to bring Greg Brooks out to join Peter Rolls as the two new batsmen.
The skipper and president upped the run rate bringing the 100 up in the 22nd over. Brooskie in particular was looking threatening with four well struck boundaries before missing one to be bowled for 18, leaving us 3-100 in the 22nd over. Mick McCormick and Peter then added another 28 to set us up for a big total with wickets in hand and 12 overs remaining at 3-128. Looking to hit the accelerator, Peter (22) hit a glorious sweep to the long boundary but trod on his stumps in the process.
We still had high hopes of a total close to 200 but after Mick (24) miscued to be caught, Mel Lucas (4), Garry Winney (9) and Garry James (4) quickly followed in a collapse of 4-10 to take the wind out of our sails. Stuart Ridge (11) and Paul Georgiadis (13*) eked out another 20 runs and a returning Frank Baliotis was stumped in the last over for a total of 180 all out.
While not what we had hoped, 180 was still a defendable total with a strong CCNSW bowling attack and things were looking good when Greg Brooks removed Hunter danger man Spruce leg before in his first over. Stuart Ridge was looking dangerous from the other end but the next Hunter pair were able to consolidate.
Mick McCormick and Garry James kept things tight but were unable to dislodge a frustrating 50 partnership for the second wicket. Finally another bowling change brought the breakthrough with Paul Georgiadis picking up a wicket first ball and with the opener reaching 30* shortly afterwards, we had two fresh batsmen to bowl at.
Hunter reached drinks at 2-82 with the game evenly poised. However, straight from the break, new bowler, Joe Scarcella jagged one back sharply to take a wicket with the first ball of his spell before Garry James deservedly struck in his last over with the help of a smart catch by Paul Georgiadis. Joe then hit the stumps again and Gerry O’Shea kept up the trend of first over wickets to leave Hunter 6-100 after 26 overs with the required run rate climbing.
Hunter stemmed the flow of wickets but required 65 runs off the last 10 overs before some good counter attacking and a couple of expensive overs swung the pendulum back their way. Brooksie returned to break the partnership with another lbw but Hunter’s injured captain maintained the onslaught, regularly striking boundaries to spare his runner. Another retirement and late wicket to Mick McCormick brought their number 11 to the crease with 8 down and 11 needed. Stuart Ridge came back but despite shaving both leg and off stumps could not make any further breakthrough with Hunter completing the chase with 4 balls to spare.
A lot of ifs, buts and maybes and a result to bring us down to earth in the New Year after finishing last year a couple of points off the top of the ladder. It was disappointing not to be able to defend 180 but Hunter batted well and deep. Having batters to come back makes a big difference and we definitely missed an opportunity to set a larger target with all of our top 6 making good starts but with only one reaching retirement.
The Team was: – Gerard O’Shea 15, Frank Baliotis 34, Joe Scarcella 21, Peter Rolls (c) 22, Greg Brooks 18, Mick McCormick 24, Garry Winney 9, Mel Lucas 4, Garry James 4, Stuart Ridge 11, and Paul Georgiadis 13*
The Result was: –
C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-180 (39.5 overs) (F. Baliotis 34)
Lost to
Hunter Taverners: – 8-184 (39.2 overs)
By 2 wickets
FoW: – 1-23 (G, O’Shea); 2-67 (J. Scarcella); 3-100 (G. Brooks); 4-128 (P. Rolls); 5-143 (M. McCormick); 6-148 (M. Lucas); 7-149 (G. Winney); 8-153 (G. James); 9-173 (S. Ridge); 10-180 (F. Baliotis).
The Bowling was: – M.McCormick 5.2-1-30-1; S. Ridge 6-1-15-0; G. Brooks 7-1-31-2; G. James 7-1-26-1; P. Georgiadis 2-0-14-1; J. Scarcella 6-0-24-2; G. O’Shea 5-0-30-1
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – One to each of P. Georgiadis, M. Lucas and G. Winney
LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3 ROUND 7 v ‘ONE MORE BEER’ AT CENTENNIAL PARK CP 5 ON THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JAMIE MURTHA
The second last game of the calendar year was played on one of the larger grounds, the grass was heavy and conditions both overcast and windy.
We batted first and made a promising start going at around 8 RPO but after 5 overs, a middle order collapse and series of unfortunate dismissals made it difficult to post a competitive total. Mick McGrath played some sublime lofted cover drives in his total of 67* and was the only one on the day who could punish the ordinary middle over bowling. Rod Shone (17*) supported McGrath nicely at the end, presenting the full face of the bat as he rotated the strike, however, the opposition lifted at the death with excellent bowling and fielding to limit our total to 124 off 20 overs.
The opposition openers struggled early against an excellent opening spell from both Rhys Longbottom and McGrath with the former delivered an early breakthrough hitting the top of off. We generally bowled well but luck went the opposition’s way with chances just out of reach as Hardy continued his run of form against us with his second half century this season. Jamie Murtha applied some pressure with a wicket stumped by Will Jacobs, a great piece of keeping off balance. However he bowled one too many overs and was punished for it in the third. Unfortunately ‘One More Beer’ scored the runs easily with over 3 overs left and 6 wickets in hand. With one game remaining for the calendar year we will be looking to finish with a win next week against the LMS NRL CC.
The Team was: – Rhys Longbottom 8, James Murtha (c) 14, Mick McGrath 67*, Peter Constantinou 4, Ben Digan 2, Rob Shone 17*, William Jacobs (w) 5, Jim Hadley1
The Result was:-
CCNSW: – 6-124 (20 overs) (M. McGrath 67*)
Lost to
One more Beer: – 2-128 (16.3 overs)
By 6 wickets
The Bowling was: – R. Shone 4-0-25-0; R. Longbottom 4-0-25-1; M. McGrath 3.3-0-32-0; J. Murtha 3-0-27-1; J. Hadley 1-0-5-0; B. Digan 1-0-14-0
The Fielding was:-
Stumpings: – One to W. Jacobs (w)
Catches: – Nil
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to M. McGrath; 2 points to R. Shone; one point to W. Jacobs
CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 6 v ST GEORGE VETERANS AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SATURDAY 17 DECEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JIM HADLEY
CCNSW lost the toss and were sent in. Tom Robertson and Mike Pinter opened and gave us a steady start against accurate bowling till Tom got a good delivery clipping his off stump and was out for 17. Peter Constantinou and Pinter looked to be settling in till a mix up had Constantinou run out for 5. Craig Kitson hit some quick boundaries to up the run rate till he tripped over a ball he had covered and was judged lbw for 15. Pinter was then bowled by a good off cutter for 23. Harry Bridge and Soren Hughes then took over and put on a 100 stand, Bridge 61 and Hughes 54. Tom Litherland 10 and Adam Khamis 14 * finished off our innings. CCNSW 6-227 off 35 overs.
‘Jonno’ Shaw and Soren Hughes (‘Big Sooz‘)opened the bowling, Jonno brushing off the rust with a steady 6 overs 0-24, Sooz a tidy 4 overs 0-8. Tim Litherland’s off-spin hit a length from the first ball and with attacking fields he finished with 6 overs 1-25. Tom Robertson was then introduced and bowled a barnstorming 5 overs 2-17 and St George were in a hole. Adam Khamis mesmerised their lower order with his leggies and googlies finishing with 4 overs 3-9 and Craig Kitson chipped in with an accurate 4 overs of off-spin 3-9. St George Veterans finished all out for 119 in the 33rd over.
The Team was: – Tom Robertson 17; Mike Pinter 23, Peter Constantinou 5, Craig Kitson 15, Harry Bridge 61, Soren Hughes 54, Tim Litherland 10, Adam Khamis 14*, Declan Thomas (w) 2*, Jim Hadley (c) dnb, Jonathon Shaw dnb
Saint George Veterans: – 10-119 (32.2 overs) (A. Khamis 4-14; C. Kitson 3-9)
By 108runs
FoW: – 1-25 (T. Robertson); 2-35 (P. Constantinou); 3-68 (M. Pinter); 4-70 (C. Kitson). 5-172 (S. Hughes); 6-195 (T. Litherland); 7- 207 (H. Bridge);
The Bowling was: – J. Shaw 6-1-29-0; S. Hughes 4-1-8-0; T. Litherland 6-1-25-1; J. Hadley 1-0-2-0; T. Robertson 5-2-7-2; A. Khamis 6.2-14-4; C. Kitson 4-1-9-3
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – One to D. Thomas (w) and one to each of H. Bridge, C. Kitson and M. Pinter
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to H. Bridge; 2 points to S. Hughes; one point toA. Khamis
MASTERS ROUND 6 v GALUNGARA AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 18 DECEMBER 2022
Cancelled by rain leaking through hole in the covers
VINTAGE ROUND 6 v ROSEVILLE ROGUES AT NORMANHURST OVAL, NORMANHURST ON SUNDAY 18 DECEMBER 2022: REPORT BY PAUL GEORGIADIS
Back row: Sittampalam Ragavan, Greg Brooks, Garry James, Stuart Ridge, Gerry O’Shea Front Row: Paul Georgiadis, Joe Scarcella, Frank Baliotis, Peter Rolls (c) & (w), Mick McCormick, Garry Winney
A damp and chilly summer morning (with 19°C and a 20km/h wind making it feel like 13°C) at Normanhurst for a match on the synthetic pitch rather than the available turf wicket at Marrickville left many bemused. Last season at Marrickville in our previous encounter our bowlers had bowled the Roseville Rogues out for 39 runs when they were chasing 139. Certainly one would assume that a synthetic wicket would give the batters the upper hand but as it turned out, good line and length bowling always makes things difficult for batters and brings rewards but more of that later.
Sittampalam Ragavan (“Raga”) brought along a stack of food to celebrate his 65th birthday and Peter Rolls provided a pink iced donut with candles for us to sing happy birthday. With that formality out of the way, we had a team photo. Only 5 candles used to signify 65 as using all to match Raga’s age would have brought the fire brigade (who happened to be in the same street!)
The Rogues won the toss and elected to bat. Four balls into their innings and without any runs having been scored Stuart Ridge (Ed note: newly selected for Australian over 60s squad) clean bowled the opening batter. Stuart struck twice in his fifth over and once again in his sixth over finishing up with the impressive figures of 4 for 17 off his seven overs (3 bowled and 1 lbw) – an excellent bowling spell that set the match up for us. Raga came on at the other end after Paul Georgiadis who had not taken any wickets in his four overs but had been unlucky as one difficult catch was put down by an outstretched keeper. Raga’s first over went for 11 runs but he recovered his line and length and in the next 4 overs took 2 wickets for 9 runs. Greg Brooks chimed in with 2 wickets of his own from his seven overs for 19 runs which included a remarkable one handed reflex catch at first slip by Gerry O’Shea, taking it to his right side and behind him. Mick McCormick at second slip said “I decided not to go for it so as not to put Gerry off” but in real fact hadd not move as he had not see it!. Garry James bowled exceptionally well for 2 wickets conceding only 3 runs off his 6.3 overs. Special mention for Frank Baliotis whose fielding continues to impress and also for Peter Rolls as our stand in wicket keeper with John Finucane overseas. A couple of casualties for our fielders with Frank Baliotis straining a quad and Garry Winney straining a back flexor when both were chasing down balls heading to the boundary. Joe Scarcella gave them his physio contact after the game as he did not bowl as he was still getting physio for his groin (HCF are still questioning the legitimacy of his claim!) The opposition were all out for 99 in the thirty fourth over leaving us a target of 100 for victory.
Gerry O’Shea and Peter Rolls opened the batting in a steady fashion defending good balls and finding the gaps to keep the scoreboard ticking along at about 3 runs an over until the ninth over when Gerry was surprised by a rising ball that he could not get his top edge out of the way of – 1 for 23. Joe Scarcella (who seems to be enjoying a break from bowling) joined Peter in the middle and together they started to increase the run rate. In the twelfth over Peter hit the accelerator smashing 16 runs (including two fours and a six into the car park) to retire not out on 32* with the team score on 1-50 and only another 50 required from the remaining 28 overs
Raga joined Joe Scarcella and together they put on a quick 19 runs before Raga was run out in the fifteenth over (2 – 69). The word was then sent out that we wanted to finish the game within 20 overs to maximize bonus points. Joe was out for 29 followed by Greg Brooks (10) and Garry James (0) with Mick McCormick on 5* and Frank Baliotis on 28 in the twentieth over – the objective having been achieved by our two new “Finishers” with Mick hitting a boundary for the winning runs. A good overall team effort with plenty of great and good individual performances.
The Team was: – Gerard O’Shea 10, Peter Rolls (c) & (w) 32* ret not out, Joe Scarcella 29, Sittampalam Ragavan 8, Greg Brooks 10, Garry James 0, Mick McCormick 5*, Frank Baliotis 2*, Stuart Ridge dnb, Paul Georgiadis dnb, Garry Winney dnb
The Result was: –
Roseville Rogues: – 10-99 (33.4 overs) (S. Ridge 4-17)
Lost to
C.C.N.S.W.: – 5-103(19.4 overs) (P. Rolls 32*; J. Scarcella 29)
By 5 wickets
FoW: – 1-23 (G. O’Shea), 2-69 (S. Ragavan), 3-85 (G. Brooks), 4-93 (J. Scarcella), 5-93 (G. James)
The Bowling was: – S. Ridge 7-1-17-4;P. Georgiadis 4-1-16-0; S. Ragavan 6-0-26-2;M. McCormick 3-0-17-0; G. Brooks 7-2-19-2; G. James 6.3-3-3-2
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – Two to G. O’Shea and one to S. Ragavan
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to S. Ridge; 2 points to G. James; one point to P. Rolls
LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3 ROUND 8 v ‘NRL CC’ AT MP 5, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 21 DECEMBER 2022:REPORT BY JIM HADLEY
CCNSW lost the toss and were sent in. James Bonkowski and Rhys Longbottom put on an opening partnership of 70 till Bonkowski departed for 39. Longbottom retired soon thereafter for 50 * and Scott Williams took over, hitting some heavy balls to and over the boundary till departing for 46. Peter Constantinou 17 and Mick McGrath 18 * made the most of the final overs helped by Craig McKenzie 6*. CCNSW 3-176 off 20 overs.
McGrath opened the bowling and was untouchable for 3 overs for 7 runs, backed by Williams 2 overs 2-10 and Rod Shone 3 overs 3-38. Craig McKenzie was a trump for us keeping taking 2 catches and 1 stumping. NRL CC were all out for 110.
The Team was: – James Bonkowski 39, Rhys Longbottom 50*, Scott Williams 46, Peter Constantinou 17, Mick McGrath 18*, Craig McKenzie (w) 6*, Jim Hadley (c) dnb, Rod Shone dnb
The Result was:-
CCNSW: – 3-176 (20 overs) (R. Longbottom 50*; S. Williams 46)
Defeated
NRL CC: – 8-110 (16.3 overs) (R. Shone 3-38)
By 66 runs
The Bowling was: – R. Shone 4-0-38-3; M. McGrath 3-0-7-0; J. Hadley 2-0-18-2; S. Williams 2-0-10-2; R. Longbottom 2-0-14-0; J. Bonkowski 2-0-11-0; P. Constantinou 1.3-0-6-0
The Fielding was:-
Stumpings: – One to C. McKenzie
Catches: – 2 to C. McKenzie (w) and 2 to S. Williams and one each to J. Bonkowski and R. Shone
Run outs: – One to Jim Hadley
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to C. McKenzie; 2 points to M. McGrath ; 1 point to S. Williams
LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3 ROUND 5 v ‘ONE MORE BEER’ AT MP 4, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2022:REPORT BY JAMES MURTHA
(Editor’s note: When one of the opposition players opens and scores 80* and later opens the bowling and takes 3 wickets in his first over, with figures of 3-11 in 4 overs, it is difficult to win!)
A tough loss to swallow considering we bowled well. One of their players, Michael Hardy was great and a distinct class above the other 15 players. After scoring 80*, he took 3 wickets in his first over and we could not recover.
We lost the toss and were sent in to the field. The team bowled well, limiting the boundaries and taking a couple of early wickets. Rod Shone’s leg spin was extremely well bowled, he took 3 genuine wickets in his 4 overs and was the pick of the bowlers. Dan May on debut bowled mostly yorkers and looked very dangerous too. Our fielding standard was also very high especially considering we had no experienced keeper.
We were happy with our effort restricting them to 157, we set out to chase the runs, unfortunately 3 wickets in the first over and 1 in the second flattened our hopes of winning the game easily, Jamie Murtha and Craig Fordham started a nice partnership before a mix up lead to a run out, Rod Shone entertained as the last man for a while but we were soon wrapped up by the opposition for 75.
We have six games remaining for the season before the Finals and need to win most or maybe all of them to have a chance of making the Finals!
The Team was: – Daniel May 1, Peter Buruma 2, Ben Digan 0, Steve Middleton 1, Jamie Murtha (c) & (w) 25, Adam Durant (w) 1, Craig Fordham 24, Rod Shone 15
The Result was:-
One More Beer: – 6-157 (20 overs) (R. Shone 3-36)
Defeated
CCNSW: – 8-75 (17.2 overs)
By 82 runs
The Bowling was: – A Durant 4-0-46-0; R. Shone 4-0-36-3; J. Murtha 4-0-19-0; C. Fordham 4-0-27-0; D. May 3-0-12-2, P. Buruma 1-0-12-1
The Fielding was:-
Stumpings: – One to A. Durant
Catches: – 2 to D. May and one to J. Murtha
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to Rod Shone; 2 points to Dan May; 1 point to Adam Durant
C&S ROUND 5 v KNOX OLD BOYS AT GILLESPIE FIELD, WAHROONGA ON SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JIM HADLEY
CCNSW lost the toss and was asked to bowl. Soren Hughes and Harry Bridge opened the bowling on an under prepared but consistent surface. Both Harry and ‘Sooz’ were a bit unlucky with anything miscued finding space which seemed to give the Knox openers further licence to try their hand. Bridge eventually got his man but Knox OBs were by then 1-113. Jamie Murtha and Adam Khamis were brought on and troubled the Knox batters but just couldn’t sustain a consistent length, Khamis 8 overs 2-58 and Murtha 6 overs 2-42. Peter Constantinou held a good length for 3 overs 1-15 and Ash Perrot and his son Tom Perrot bowled the final overs reasonably cheaply Ash 3 overs 0-27 and Tom 2 overs 1-17. Our keeper Declan Thomas threw himself everywhere to hardly concede a sundry all innings. Knox 7-245 after 35 overs.
Tom Robertson and Karthick Subramanian opened the batting with Tom hitting 16 off the first over. Tom soon skied an off drive to be out for 21. Karthick hit some big pull shots before departing for 31 when trying to up the run rate. Constantinou played round an off spinner to be bowled for 14 and Bridge after an encouraging start departed for 23. Ash Perrot got the only low bounce of the day, bowled for 0 and Murtha played on for 2. Hughes skied one hitting out for 0 as did Thomas 0. Lenny Volkov looked solid till being given out lbw and the final overs were played out by Khamis 19* and Hadley 10*. CCNSW finished 110 runs behind at 9-135 after 35 overs.
The Team was (playing 12): – Karthick Subramanian 31, Tom Robertson 21, Peter Constantinou 14, Harry Bridge 23, Ash Perrot 0, James Murtha 2, Soren Hughes 0, Declan Thomas (w) 0, Adam Khamis 19*, Len Volkov 2, Jim Hadley (c) 10* and Tim Perrot dnb
The Result was: –
Knox Old Boys: – 7- 245 (35 overs)
Defeated
C.C.N.S.W.: – 9-135 (35 overs) (K. Subramanian 31)
The Bowling was: – S Hughes 7-0-55-0; H. Bridge 6-1-34-0; Adam Khamis 8-0-58-2; J Murtha 6-0-42-2; Peter Constantinou 3-0-15-1; A Perrot 3-0-27-0; T. Perrot 2-0-17-1
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – One to D Thomas (w); one to S. Hughes and one to A. Perrot
Run outs: – One to Tom Robertson
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to K. Subramanian; 2 points to D. Thomas; one point toH. Bridge
MASTERS ROUND 5 v NORTHBRIDGE AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER 2022: REPORT BY DAVID CRAIG
CCNSW MASTERS TEAM V NORTHBRIDGE CC AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL ON SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER 2022 Top row L-R: Jason Kenn, David Craig (w), Ed Cross, Ben Stanic, Mike Pinter, Tony Campey, Jose Poothokaren Bottom row L-R: Dan Turner (v/c), Andrew Dadswell (c), Dave Abreu, Mike Weaver
Well, it’s that time of the year and every team I know of seems to be scrambling for eleven players. (Personally I can’t understand this, but then “I don’t like cricket, no, no, I love it!”), and Tex had to put a late Saturday evening call out for a batter. When NSW Emus rep Michael Pinter answered the call (11.03pm), skip gladly confirmed his spot in the team (11.05pm) – good call! Another good call was winning the toss and batting on the same old Camperdown strip (nearest the fig trees), which looked terrific but had already been used about six times this season and was either mutton dressed as lamb or a wolf in sheep’s clothing, depending on your personal platitude and cliché proclivities. It started to break up from ball one, and while a lot of balls from the Australia Street end kept disconcertingly low, it was true enough to allow a decent contest between bat and ball.
Ed Cross and Mile Pinter (“Punter”) took to the crease against a Northbridge team new to the competition, and perhaps more suited to Classics than Masters. Twelve off the first over was a bright start and CCNSW were never really under pressure from this point on. (Game over, six points and a song, where’s the beers!). Nevertheless, it was a beautiful warm summer’s day and another 79 overs of cricket scheduled, so we played on regardless. In the fourth over Zatz got one to move in and got the lbw decision to send Ed on his way for 9. From there Pinter and Dan Turner compiled an excellent partnership, with Punter turning the strike over nearly every ball, while Dan dealt primarily in boundaries to quickly reach 40 retired not out at 1-79 in the twelfth over
Northbridge may have been relieved to see the back of the (first) mountain man, but there was to be no respite as Jason Kenn strode to the crease. There are strong Matthew Hayden vibes about the Springwood lefty, with his muscular build and belligerent hitting down the ground, but whereas ‘Haydos’ preferred catching in the gully, ‘JDo’s prowls around point or midwicket saving bulk runs and creating run out opportunities. The runs continued to flow with both Pinter and Kenn regularly finding the boundary and keeping the singles ticking over before retiring either side of the drinks break (1-136 after 20).
As often happens, the double retirement put the brakes on the scoring for a little while, and when Tony Campey making his CCNSW Masters debut (Ed note: Tony became a financial member in January 2020 c 3 years ago), and veteran Mike Weaver perished in consecutive overs we were 3-156 in the twenty fifth over and with a slight feeling of the old revolving dressing room door, new batters Andrew Dadswell (c) and Dave Craig set out to consolidate for a few overs. Eventually the shackles were broken as Tex drove extravagantly and yours truly fulfilled his contractual obligations by reverse sweeping the spinner to the third man boundary. The partnership yielded 56 before Craig mowed across the line once too often and the skied top edge presented little challenge for the Northbridge ‘keeper. Skipper Dadswell continued on his merry way to a quick 40*, whereupon David Abreu demonstrated why he is a highly regarded new ball bowler by swinging lustily: the willow moving plenty of air but not a lot of leather! Some late hitting by Jose Poohokaren in a nice partnership with a scampering Ben Stanic lifted the tally to 5-259 off our allotted 40 overs.
After a sumptuous afternoon tea with all the major food groups represented (Twisties, lamingtons, muffins, cakes, cookies, snakes) we took to the field. I had the privilege of witnessing a clinical new ball spell from behind the sticks. Ben Stanic charging in from the Australia Street end with the wind at his back was getting good inswing, and with the ball regularly keeping alarmingly low, was a constant threat. From the Rotunda end, left armer Dave Abreu bowled with control and variety, mostly pushing it across the right handed openers, swinging the odd one back in, and occasionally rolling his fingers over a nasty leg-cutter that beat the bat consistently. It was only a matter of time really, as the dots began to fill the scorebook, and sure enough in the tenth over Collins skied Abreu into the safe hands of Ed Cross at mid-off (1-18). His mate Boulton followed next over with a textbook “top of off” from Stanic sending him back to the sheds. A problem for Northbridge quickly became a crisis two overs later when Ben induced a nick and Mike Weaver snared a one-handed screamer at second slip to dismiss Greenlees for a 🦆. Next over DA produced a peach that flicked Smith’s off stump, 4-30 after 14.
The game was still well and truly in the balance though, with Northbridge skipper Monty Noble at the crease. This bloke is good enough to have a stand named after him at the SCG, so commands RESPECT with a capital everything. Fortunately, Stanic got a thin edge and debutant ‘keeper Craig stooped low to scoop up the chance in defiance of the trademark Camperdown mullygrubber-style bounce.
Tony Campey relieved Abreu from the Rotunda end, and his first delivery was a little off line, crashing into the middle stump instead of the off stump. Very disappointing, but the wicket first ball did help to ease the pain, and at 6-31 in the 16th over this was becoming something of a rout. Stanic bowled out his ninth over at the other end, finishing with the remarkable figures of 9-4-8-3 before handing bowling duties to Jose Poothokaren. For Northbridge Danny Zatz joined Parker at the crease and they built a nice partnership of 41 with some classical straight drives and not-so-classical mows to leg. The drinks break came and went and both batters reached 22 before the pressure eventually proved too much. First Zatz skied a lifter from Campey to a fast moving Mike Pinter running to his right from cover. Soon after Parker chanced his arm against Tony Campey (TC – Top Cat, anyone?) once too often, the lofted slog settling into the hands of “Tex” Dadswell at long-on. Jose Poothokaren toils were rewarded next over when Maw screwed one to backward point where ‘JDos’ Kenn wrapped his mitts around it (9-87).
Jason Kenn kept his mitts on the ball to relieve Campey from the Rotunda end, commencing his first bowling spell for CCNSW Masters. It did not last long. Steaming in to a badly wounded Cope (early in their fielding stint he went down as if a sniper had felled him, hamstring gaaawn), Kenn’s pace was just too much, and Cope could only spoon the very first ball to Stanic at mid-wicket.
There were a number of “firsts” for the Club in this one. Tony Campey, in his first official outing for CCNSW Masters snared a wicket with his first ball, a feat later replicated by Jason Kenn (well into his second season but hitherto not entrusted with bowling duties). Considering Dave Abreu also snared a pole with his first ball for the Club in Round 1, perhaps we could change our recruitment spie to:: “Join CCNSW Masters and you are practically guaranteed a wicket first ball!” And after pestering numerous CCNSW captains unsuccessfully over the years, I finally got the nod to ‘keep and if I had to say (reluctantly, of course) the feedback was pretty bloody positive in fact (thanks for the opportunity Tex).
A great day out against some top blokes (shout out to Northbridge for bringing beers), I’ll be back for more for sure .The Team was: –Ed Cross 9, Mike Pinter 40* (ret not out), Dan Turner 40* (ret not out), Jason Kenn 42* (ret not out), Anthony Campey 5, Mike Weaver 6, Andrew Dadswell (c) 40* (ret not out), David Craig (w) 16, Jose Poothokaren 23*, David Abreu 0, Ben Stanic 5* (and Sundries 33)
The Result was:
C.C.N.S.W.: –5-259 (40 overs) (J Kenn 42*, M. Pinter 40*; D. Turner 40*; A Dadswell 40*)
VINTAGE ROUND 5 v BURWOOD/KU-RING-GAI AT TURRAMURRA MEMORIAL PARK, TURRAMURRA ON SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER 2022: REPORT BYFRANK BALIOTIS
La Niña must be on hiatus as we arrived at the picturesque Turramurra Memorial Park under glorious sunshine and a rather warm 33 degrees. Our skipper, Peter Rolls won the toss and decided to bowl on what looked like a dodgy wicket with large pieces of turf missing from both popping creases.
The Burwood Ku-ring-gai openers were pretty well tied down by some exceptional bowling from Stuart Ridge and Sittampalam Rafavan (“Raga”). Stuart was a little unlucky, but still managed figures 1-19 off 7 overs and Raga 2-26 of his 7 overs. (Both were amazingly accurate when coming on for last 2 overs each at the death considering they played National Over 60s in Geelong in the previous week). Joe Scarcella was next up but only lasted 4 balls before succumbing to a groin injury sustained in the Nationals the week before. More about Joey’s batting heroics to follow. Gerry O’Shea took over admirably and only conceded 16 runs from his 6.2 overs. He also ran for miles in the outfield and took an exceptional running catch on the boundary. Greg Brooks was also unlucky not to get a wicket and only conceded 25 runs from his 7 overs. It’s amazing what Brooksie can do, given his new hip. Mel Lucas also ran for miles and his bowling continually troubled the batters and combined well with John Finucane for a classy stumping. John also took a catch and kept well given the tricky pitch and heat. Garry James was at his bamboozling best; he’s clearly been doing this for a long time, and took two well-deserved wickets.
Even though three Burwood Ku-ring-gai batters scored 30* , we still bowled and fielded very well to contain them to 6-155 runs after 40 overs.
Gerry O’Shea and I opened the batting, and unlike me, out for 1, Gerry,went on to make a well played 30*. Mel Lucas was unlucky being given out lbw for 2. Peter Rolls was up next and scored two quick fours then played smart patient cricket until getting caught for 25 trying to smack one over long on. Brooks came in after Gerry O’Shea retired and as only he can, smacked a quick fire 23 before being caught in the deep. We were now 4-100 off 30 overs and plenty of work still required to reach 156. Garry James and John Finucane were now in bat. Garry opens his account with a four and then proceeds to play a controlled innings scoring ones and twos before retiring at 31*. I think Garry continually asking the umpire for centre was a ploy used to catch his breath. Very clever ploy Garry! By this time, John has scored a couple of fours and a bunch of singles when the man of the hour arrives in the name of Joe Scarcella.
Let me set the scene. Before the game Joe arrives in the dressing room and confides to his teammates that his undergarment is entwined in his heavily strapped groin resulting in an inability to perform on the Royal Dalton. With this in mind and having broken down after bowling 4 balls, he was determined to make a contribution and limped out to bat with the able assistance of Gerry O’Shea as the runner. After a few minutes working out the rules and who would stand where the first ball was bowled and people started running everywhere. Gerry, John and Joe were in no man’s land while the fielders had at least three attempts at removing the bails but inexplicably failed every attempt. It was like watching inebriated Keystone Cops. This happened twice!!
The boys settled as 6 an over was still required from the last 5 overs. But Joe nonchalantly hit two signature consecutive boundaries behind square leg, providing the impetus to go on and win the game with John hitting the winning runs (the first time he’s ever done that) with an over to spare.
A few laughs, a great game of cricket followed by a few drinks. The world is a beautiful place.
The Team was: – Gerard O’Shea 30*; Frank Baliotis 1, Mel Lucas 2, Peter Rolls (c) 25, Greg Brooks 23, Garry James 31*, John Finucane (w) 19*, Joe Scarcella 12*, Sittampalam Ragavan dnb, Stuart Ridge dnb
The Result was: –
Burwood/Ku-ring-gai: – 6-155 (40 overs)
Lost to
C.C.N.S.W.: – 4-156(39 overs) (G. James 31*; G. O’Shea 30*)
By 6 wickets
FoW: – 1-9 (F. Baliotis); 2-17 (M. Lucas); 3-92 (G. Brooks); 4-100 (P. Rolls)
The Bowling was: – S. Ridge 7-2-19-1; S. Ragavan 7-1-26-2; J. Scarcella 0.4-0-0-0; G. O’Shea 6.2-0-16.0; G. Brooks 7-0-25-0; M. Lucas 5-0-25-1; G. James 7-0-38-2
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – One to J. Finucane
Catches: – J. Finucane (w), G. O’Shea, G. Brooks
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to G. James; 2 points to G. O’Shea; one point to S. Ragavan
LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 2 ROUND 3 v ‘NRL CC’ AT MP 4 ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2022:REPORT BY BEN GORHAM
A late ground change and a game starting early (who would have thought?) led to the writer to turn up 12 overs late! By the looks of the scorecard the NRL CC got off to a very fast start. We were able to reign the scoring in, in the final 8 overs and take our only wicket with CCNSW debutante, Ben Digan getting one past the slogging batsman. 187 the total to get but with plenty of LMS experience in the top order and a short boundary it looked possible.
Our batting got off to a solid start with Ben Gorham and Charlie Sharpe starting well but it came crashing down quickly when Ben G held out trying to slog, with the NRL spinner quickly picking up 3 wickets. Runs became very hard to come by with good cricket shots not getting full value. Unfortunately we fell a long way short of the target reaching only 5-125 at the end of the allocated overs.
The Team was: – Charles Sharpe 22, Ben Gorham (c) 45, Joel Uddstrom (w) 5, Peter Buruma 33*, Rod Shone 10, Ben Digan 2*, Aditya Hingorani 5, Niall Digan 0
The Result was:-
NRL CC: – 1-186 (20 overs)
Defeated
CCNSW: – 5-125 (20 overs) ()
By 61 runs
The Bowling was: – Ben Gorham 4-0-17-0; Ben Digan 4-0-38-1; Charles Sharpe 4-0-31-0; Niall Digan 4-0-38-0; Peter Buruma 2-0-24-0; Rod Shone 2-0-27-0
The Fielding was:-
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – Nil
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to B. Gorham; 2 points to C. Sharpe; 1 point to P. Buruma
CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 4 v COLLEAGUES AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2022
CCNSW win by forfeit
MASTERS ROUND 4 v AUBURN CC AT GEORGE PARRY OVAL, MONA PARK, AUBURN ON SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY ANDREW DADSWELL
After two wins to start the season the Masters were keen to take on Auburn at George Parry Oval. With a number of our top order batters representing NSW in the over 50s Nationals, Peter Constantinou and Kunal Patel made their Masters debuts. Welcome aboard.
Auburn won the toss and batted first, wasting no time as they went after the bowling early. Ben Stanic bowled very well with the new ball and got the first breakthrough. However the runs continued to flow as we dropped 3 tough chances in the first 10 overs that would ultimately prove costly.Auburn proceeded to 3 for 113 off their first 20 overs with Dave Abreu using the conditions nicely in a spell that saw him hit the stumps and draw false shots with clever changes of pace.
After drinks the runs didn’t flow as easily for Auburn as Dave Abreu continued to bowl well and was supported by Paul Nash, Jose Poothokaren and Soren Hughes. ‘Sooz’s’ first ball grabbed an lbw decision despite what the umpire considered the worst appeal he had ever seen. Jose bowled a great line and length and removed the dangerous Ebert.
Auburn made 8 for 218 which was always going to be a challenge on their home track.
The CCNSW innings started steadily. Ed Cross looked set as he flicked a leg side six only to get out the next over. Paul “elbow guard” Anumodu worked the ball around in partnership with Paul Nash until the dreaded run out ended their partnership.
Our middle order of Soren Hughes, Peter Constantinou and Kunal Patel all came and went just as they started to get going. Auburn’s consistency proved a challenge throughout the innings.
Nash was the one CCNSW batter who found his groove and he retired just after drinks, giving us a chance to play some shots and try to get close to the total. Nash’s bat might need inspection by the rules committee because it literally made no sound whenever he middled the ball, causing much speculation.
A late partnership between Ben Stanic and Andrew Dadswell got us past the 100 mark but it was never enough
A solid defeat at the hands of quality opposition. Still, a good day was had by all.
Kunal Patel’s great diving catch on club debut was a highlight and he would be a handy inclusion in any side for his keeping alone. Peter Constantinou proved good value around the sheds and we hope to see him get amongst it soon.
The Team was: – Ed Cross 10 (off 23, Paul Anumodu 10 (off 37), Paul Nash 40 (off 62) , Soren Hughes 3 (off 5, Pete Constantinou 8 (off 19), Kunal Patel (w) 7 (off 10), Jose Poothokaren 5 (off 10), Mick Tarrant 0 (off 5, Andrew Dadswell (c) 24 (off 21) , Ben Stanic 3 (off 9), Dave Abreu 5* (off 7)
The Bowling was: – B. Stanic 7-0-35-2, M. Tarrant 7-0-45-0, D. Abreu 9-0-42-3, A. Dadswell 6-0-32-0, P. Nash 4-0-23-0, J. Poothokaren 4-0-20-1, S. Hughes 3-0-15-2
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – None
Catches: – two to E. Cross 2 catches, K Patel one (w)
Run outs: – None
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to P. Nash; 2 points to D. Abreu; 1 point to B. Stanic
VINTAGE ROUND 4 v SRI LANKA LIONS CC AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JOHN FINUCANE
Hot and blustery conditions greeted the players at Camperdown for our round four match against the Sri Lanka lions. Both teams were evenly placed on the ladder going into the game and a win was needed to keep pace with the top team.
Peter Rolls lost he toss and Sri Lanka batted first, no doubt with an eye on a wearing and drying pitch that could suit their predominantly spin attack later in the afternoon. Stuart Ridge and Paul Georgiadis opened the bowling , and Paul in particular shone with accurate bowling that netted him 2-18 off his 7 overs. Probably his best spell this season and deserved figures. Paul’s early inroads, back up by Stuart grabbing one as well, saw their best batsmen struggle to 3-28 and then 5-69.
After drinks their middle order consolidated although the bowlers did well to hold back the run rate. What could have been 180-200 or more, on what seemed a reasonable pitch, was held to just 163. Game on!
Sittampalam Ragavan (‘Raga’) turned in a great spell in the latter overs picking up 3-21, and with Gerry O’Shea getting an economical 2-14 off 6, both did the business when really needed. Some great fielding and catching backed up good line and length bowling for a solid all around effort in the field on what could have been a tough afternoon if this strong batting line-up had got away on us. Mick McCormick was a stand out in the field – swan dives, rolls, spectacular action down on the fence impressing (NOT!) the young ladies in the stands.
Our run chase began with a healthy run rate of just over 4 per over needed for a win. A solid start from openers, debutante Neville Emerson (30*) and John Finucane (31*) saw both retire with the score at 0-60 in the sixteenth over. Dan Pellen (28) and Peter Rolls (17) continued the good progress through to the first wicket falling in the 25th over at 1-92 and the run rate tight, but on track.
Sri Lanka then turned the screws and progress was challenging for a period and the game was going to go down to the wire. Greg Brooks (28) came to the crease and gave the run rate a well needed boost with his usual quick fire batting before being caught behind and stumped same ball. That was the impetus needed to get the match in hand despite a few finger nails being chewed in the last 5 overs. Gerry O’Shea and Raga steered the ship home in the 39th over at 4-167 for a good win against a solid team.
We are now sitting in third place with only Lindfield and the Cyclones above us. A push for points will be important before we play both Southern Highlands and Cyclones in key matches in the home run in February.
The Team was: –John Finucane 31* ret no, Neville Emerson 30* ret no, Daniel Pellen 28, Peter Rolls 17, Mick McCormick 3, Greg Brooks 28, Gerard O’Shea 6*, Sittampalam Ragavan 14*, Paul Georgiadis dnb, Stuart Ridge dnb, Mel Lucas dnb
The Result was: –
Sri Lanka Lions: – 8-163 (40 overs) (S. Ragavan 3-21)
Lost to
C.C.N.S.W.: – 4-167(38.3 overs) (J. Finucane 31*; N Emerson 30*)
By 6 wickets
FoW: – 1-91 (P. Rolls); 2-101 (M. McCormick); 3-140 (D. Pellen); 4-146 (G. Brooks)
The Bowling was: – S. Ridge 7-0-44-1; P. Georgiadis 7-2-18-2; G. Brooks 7-0-32-0; S. Ragavan 7-0-21-3; M. McCormick 5-0-24-0; G. O’Shea 6-0-14-2. N. Emerson 1-0-9-0
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – 2 to G. Brooks; one to each of P. Georgiadis, M. McCormick, G. O’Shea and S. Ridge
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to S. Ragavan; 2 points to J. Finucane; one point toG. Brooks
SOCIAL GAME v “RAGA INVITATION XI” AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN, ON WEDNESDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY PETER ROLLS
TEAMS CCNSW AND RAGA’S INVITATIONAL XII – WEDNESDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2022 Back Row: John Jackson, Paul Georgiadis, Joe Scarcella, Ashok Victor Ponnudurai, Douglas Latto, David Wright (w for CCNSW), Peter Rolls (c for CCNSW), Nadarajah Gowripalan, Sittampalam Ragavan (c for Raga XII), Stuart Ridge, Neville Emerson, Peter Harrison, Gunaratnam Kandakumar, Raj Beadle, Graham McDonald, Peter O’Reilly, Inset: Jed Wesley-Smith (was getting a coffee!). Front Row: Garry Budden (w for Raga XI), David Craig, Russell Nation, Wasantha Hettiarachchi, Neil Karunasegara, Mel Lucas, Simon Lyon.
With La Nina still hanging around we were fortunate to get a beautiful sunny day albeit a bit chilly-windy 19°C (with a 15°C wind chill factor). Jumpers and vests pulled out of storage with Simon Lyon’s looking like a gift from WG Grace!
The game was switched to Marrickville Oval as Camperdown was still recovering from a wet rugby season that had shredded the wicket like a horse-drawn plough.
Sittampalam Ragavan (‘Raga’) and Peter Rolls managed to get 12 players for each team with more diversity than the United Nations.Peter won the toss and elected to bowl as not sure how the wicket would play after so much wet weather leading up to the game. Raga was happy as he wanted to bat anyway. Luckily, the pitch played fairly true and flat.
Rules for batsman was retire not out at 25 runs or 35 balls (whichever came first) and max 6 overs per bowler and one ball allowed down leg side per over (with second ruled a wide).
Raga’s XII Innings:
Peter O’Reilly and Neville Emerson opened Raga’s XI innings and started strongly with Peter banging 2 boundaries off Stuart Ridge’s first over. Stuart was “not happy Jan” and responded with only a single off his next 3 overs. David Craig opened from the other end into a strong southerly with his leggies and Neville showed more likes than an Instagram photo by hitting 8 off David C’s first over. No wicket for 53 after 10 overs with O’Reilly and Emerson soon retiring after scoring their respective 25 runs in quick time including 4 and 3 fours respectively. Garry Budden continued the onslaught against Paul Georgiadis and Joe Scarcella and also retired after reaching 25* including 4 fours.
Then the tide turned with Paul Georgiadis bamboozling Neil Karunasegara, bowling him with a slower ball (but many argue they are all slow!). After 20 overs the score 1 for 76 so more pressure on Raga’s men with the run rate slowed after the first 10 overs. Gunaratnam Kandakumar(“Kanda”) and Simon Lyon both started their innings with more dots than a Dalmatian (10 dot balls each) due to Jed Wesley-Smith and Peter Harrison ‘muzzle bowling’ restricting them with 5 overs for 16 runs each. They both retired at 13* after reaching their allotted 35 balls. Wasantha Hettiarachchi worked the ball beautifully to up the tempo with more noodling than a Chinese street food peddler and retired on 23* after reaching his 35 balls. However, with 1 for 113 off 30 overs the run rate resembled a trickle from a swollen prostate.
Russell Nation started his innings with intent by working the singles straight away but came undone for 3 courtesy of a very slick stumping by David Wright from the one ball allowed down the leg side from John Jackson. John’s celebration animation will be in the next Disney movie.
Enter captain courageous Raga who slayed our dragon death bowlers with 25* off 21 balls to make for a now fired up run rate of 164 off 40 overs. Raj Beadle (8) kept the momentum going until retiring to a leg injury. Ashok Victor Ponnudurai (15*) and Nadarajah Gowripalan (“Gowr”)i (8*) plundered the final overs well to remain not out after 45 overs with the very respectable score of 2-190.
CCNSW Innings:
We knew we would have to bat deeper than an accountant’s pockets to get this total. Peter Harrison and Douglas Latto opened our innings. Douglas now having the honour of having played for both teams (as Raga missed his availability email and Peter’s team needed one). Both got us off to a good start with early boundaries. Peter Harrison was the first to go for 10 holing out to a solid catch to Raga at mid on from Gown bowling a tight line. Douglas (17) soon followed but out to a screamer at first slip by Peter O’Reilly off Russell Nation who was on song this day bowling his melodic mediums. 2 for 33 off 11 overs but on track.
Joe Scarcella (1) came and went like a bride’s nightie caught behind by Garry Budden off Russell Nation. Mel Lucas, a newcomer to the Club, showed his class with 20* retired off 35 balls. Peter Rolls needing to lift the run rate made 26* retired off 25 balls. 3 for 75 off 20 overs and still on track.
David Craig (6) looked sharp until Raga threw down the stumps (non-striker end) from mid on to deny him a 7th run. Enter Stuart Ridge and John Jackson who ran like rabbits despite John turning 70 this year. They lifted the run rate until Stuart retired for 25 off 34 balls and John 25 retired off 30 balls. Graham MacDonald didn’t trouble the scorers bowled by Peter O’Reilly and David Wright (7) the team man threw his bat out caught by Simon Lyon at cover off talso he tight bowling of Peter O’Reilly. 6 for 168 off 40 overs and any ones game with 23 required off 5 overs.
Paul Georgiadis (1) also a team man threw his bat for Simon Lyon to take another catch but this time off Neil. Jed Wesley-Smith picked up the pace with 19 off 24 balls with exciting death running with Mel Lucas who returned after Paul departed. More tension than a triple D bra as Jed was bowled by Neil Gowripalan in the second last over still needing 6 to win. Peter Rolls returned and took 2 runs off the last ball of Neil’s over. 4 to win off the last over with Mel Lucas facing Captain Raga. A dot ball first ball then Mel unleashed a pull shot for the ages to hit the boundary and winning runs. Another exciting chapter in the Raga social spirit of cricket.
Thanks to Raga for supplying the tasty bbq chicken and bread rolls although the garnish was warmer than a Northern Territory public bench! The beers helped big time!
Raga’s XII team was (playing 12): – Peter O’Reilly 28* retired not out, Neville Emerson 25* retired not out, Garry Budden 26* retired not out, Neil Karunasegara 2, Gunaratnam Kandakumar 13* retired not out, Simon Lyon 13* retired not out, Wasantha Hettiarachchi 23* retired not out, Russell Nation 3, Sittampalam Ragavan (c) 25* retired not out, Raj Beadle 8* retired (injured), Ashok Victor Ponnudurai 15* , Nadarajah Gowripalan 8*.
CCNSW Team was (playing 12): – Peter Harrison 10, Douglas Latto 17, Joe Scarcella 1, Mel Lucas 36*, Peter Rolls (c) 28*, David Craig 6, Stuart Ridge 25*, John Jackson 25*, Graham MacDonald 0, David Wright (w) 7, Paul Georgiadis 1, Jed Wesley-Smith (w) 19
The Result was: –
Raga XI: – 2 – 190 (45 overs)
Lost to
C.C.N.S.W.: – 8-192(44.2 overs) (M. Lucas 36*)
By 2 wickets
FoW: – 1-28 (P. Harrison); 2-28 (D. Latto); 3-33 (J. Scarcella); 4-93 (D. Craig); 5-133 (G. MacDonald); 6-168 (D. Wright); 7-172 (P. Georgiadis); 8-185 (J. Wesley-Smith)
The CCNSW Bowling was: Stuart Ridge 6-0-27-0, David Craig 6-0-35-0, Paul Georgiadis 5-2-15-1, Joe Scarcella 5-0-21-0, Jed Wesley-Smith 5-0-16-0, Peter Harrison 5-0-16-0, John Jackson 6-0-22-1, Mel Lucas 4-0-21-0, Graham MacDonald 3-0-13-0
Raga’s XII Bowling was: –: S. Ragavan 4.2-0-21-0; A. Ponnudurai 2-0-9-0; R. Nation 6-1-19-2; N. Gowripalan 6-1-19-2; W. Hettiarrchchi 6-0-22-0; S. Lyon 6-0-33-0; P. O’Reilly 6-0-24-2; N. Emerson 6-0-29-0; N. Karunasegara 2-0-11-2.
CCNSW Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – One to Jed Wesley-Smith
Catches: -Nil
Run outs: – Nil
CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 3 v CRANBROOK OLD BOYS AT DANGAR OVAL, ROSE BAY ON SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2022:
Cancelled – Cranbrook forfeit.
MASTERS ROUND 3 v LANE COVE CC AT KINGSFORD SMITH OVAL, LONGUEVILLE ON SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BYANDREW DADSWELL
What a great day for cricket! Sunshine and a cool breeze. The over 40s made their way to Kingsford Smith Oval looking to replicate the form of the Classics the week before.
The skipper lost the toss and Lane Cove elected to bat first.
The bowling effort was spearheaded by Ben Stanic who made the first breakthrough by trapping the dangerous Howard LBW in the 3rd over. Michael Tarrant and Stanic both challenged the top order with tight bowling and Ben snagged his second wicket to leave Lane Cove in an awkward position at 2 for 19 in the 7th over.
Dave Craig came on early and found some good bounce which helped with the dismissal of Glover, stumped by keeper Rob Lawther.
The danger man for Lane Cove was always going to be the classy Neil McLeod who has dined out on the CCNSW Masters bowlers the last two seasons, but when Dave Abreu had the audacity to bowl a slower ball yorker to remove him for 24 it felt like a big moment in the match.
The Lane Covians showed good batting depth as their middle order all contributed steadily. Dadswell picked up a couple of wickets with some flighted deliveries and Jose Poothokaren bowled expertly in denying the batters the short boundary and picked up 2 wickets of his own. Jose’s second wicket was caught behind by Robbie Lawther who was having a great day with the gloves, taking two low, fast chances.
In the end Lane Cove made 9 for 160 off their 40 overs.
In between innings, former Masters great Ian Allmey made his presence known and imparted some of his substantial wisdom on the young lads. Or was he really there to check out the Longueville real estate?
In pursuit of 161 Jason Kenn set the tone early by smacking some beautiful boundaries straight down the ground. Ed Cross also looked good, and the mountain men took the total to 1 for 63 off the first 10 overs. A great start to a run chase with Jason undone by one that angled across him.
Ed and Scott Well went in the space of 2 overs to leave us 3 for 68 but the local knowledge of Paul Nash was on display in a dominant innings of 30, punctuated by cracking pull shots and some thumping drives over mid-on.
Nashie ended up hauling out to deep mid-on which brought Lawther and Andrew Dadswell together. They worked the ball around in a 46-run partnership before Lawther nicked off with 30 to get.
Jose looked composed in his innings until he was dismissed by a sensational catch at short mid-on. Michael Tarrant came in and with Tex saw us pass the total with 6 and a half overs to spare.
In the end, with the wicket playing a little up and down from one end being cancelled out by the small boundary, 160 was probably 30 short of par. The consistency of the CCNSW bowlers set up the win. Notably we didn’t bowl any wides – that must be a rare occurrence.
Both teams shared beers after play and we thank Lane Cove for their great hospitality.
The team – Ed Cross (11), Jason Kenn (26), Paul Nash (30), Scott Wells (4), Rob Lawther (25), Andrew Dadswell (c) (34*), Jose Poothokaren (6), Mick Tarrant (12*), Ben Stanic (DNB), Dave Craig (DNB), Dave Abreu (DNB)
The bowling was: Ben Stanic (9-0-2-28), Mick Tarrant (8-2-0-22), Dave Craig (6-0-1-37), Dave Abreu (7-1-2-26), Andrew Dadswell (4-0-2-23), Jose Poothokaren (4-0-2-19), Paul Nash (2-1-0-1)
The fielding was:
Stumpings: 1 Rob Lawther
Catches: 2 Rob Lawther (WK), 1 Mick Tarrant, 2 Scott Wells
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to Andrew Dadswell; 2 points to Paulk Nash ; 1 point to Rob Lawther
VINTAGE ROUND 3 v CASTLE HILL CC AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JOE SCARCELLA
CCNSW returns to Camperdown
On a glorious sunny day, the Vintage team turned up at Camperdown Oval with more than a little apprehension about the state of the centre square after it was torn apart in the off-season by those evil rugger-heads. The council had spent a considerable amount of money laying fresh couch on the damaged area and it’ll take time to bed in, but the groundsman had managed to prepare a pitch on the edge of the square that was pretty good. So, all systems go for the start.
Our opponents Castle Hill won the toss and sent us in. But more drama awaited us before we took to the field. Where the hell are the stumps and bails??? Michael McCormick was asked to check the store-room and couldn’t find them anywhere!! No matter, the ever-reliable Raga had a couple of sets in his car if they were needed. As it turns out, they weren’t. A further check was made of the store-room by the Prez. In a sadly obvious pointer his mental faculties are on a rapid decline of Biden-esque proportions, the said MM couldn’t see what was under his eyes. The Prez located not just 6 stumps but SIXTEEN.
But back to the game.
The opening pair of John Finucane and Frank Baliotis started steadily enough, but Frank was trapped LBW playing back to an in-dipper (4). Joe Scarcella came in at first drop and was looking comfortable before falling victim to another LBW decision by our umpires (10). Jim Robson (Jungle) joined John at the crease. John was eventually dismissed for a very solid 29. At this point, we were 3-46. Peter Rolls joined Jungle at the crease, and the pair both batted with great authority and urgency, not looking at all troubled by the bowling and putting on a solid partnership in quick time before both retired unbeaten, on 30 and 31, respectively. Meanwhile, Greg Brooks came in and smashed a quick-fire unbeaten 32, his innings featuring a number of lovely straight hits down the ground that had the bowler diving for cover. Mick came and went (10). Raga followed him, and he wasted no time in taking to the bowling, scoring five 4s on the way to his rapid and valuable 23. Coming in at 9, Gerry O’Shea was cruising along steadily, while Stu Ridge was bowled for 2 in the pursuit of quick runs, and Paul Georgadis at 11 hung around to be unbeaten on 10 with Gerry who was not out 17 at the end of the innings.
Our total of 6-209 after 40 overs was always going to be very hard to beat. Our bowlers performed superbly to dismiss Castle Hill for 104.
Stuey and Paul opened the bowling and, after bowling a maiden in his first over, Stu took a wicket in his second. After his successful 6-over spell (1 for 3, including 3 maidens), Joe came in first change and continued the relentless line and length attack which the batsmen could not handle. Joe bowled an excellent spell, finishing with 3 victims (all bowled) for 5, including 5 maidens from his 7 overs. At the other end, Raga chipped in with a wicket in his first spell of 4 overs, before being replaced by Mick McCormick. Mick struck with his first delivery, an outside edge to ‘keeper John. His 2nd wicket followed in the next over, clean bowled, and he took another (caught at 1st slip by the Greg Brooks). It was another excellent contribution by Mick, his 7 overs yielding 3 for 28. Prez Brooksy bowled some steady overs before Raga came back on and took his 2 wicket to finally put the opponents out of their misery.
Overall, it was a very good effort by the team to comprehensively thrash Castle Hill and earn valuable bonus points to celebrate the club’s first outing this season at Camperdown.
The Team was: John Finucane 29, Frank Baliotis 4,Joe Scarcella 10, James Robson 30*, Peter Rolls 31*, Greg Brooks 32*, Michael McCormick 10, Sittampalam Ragavan 23, Gerard O’Shea 17*, Stuart Ridge 2, Paul Georgadis 10*
The Bowling was: Stuart Ridge 6-3-3-1, Paul Georgadis 6-1-24-0, Joe Scarcella 7-4-5-3, Sittampalam Ragavan 4.2-0-16-2, Michael McCormick 7-1-28-3, Greg Brooks 5-0-15-0, Gerard O’Shea 1-0-8-0
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: Nil
Catches: John Finucane, Greg Brooks, Stuart Ridge
Run outs: Nil
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to Joe Scarcella; 2 points to Greg Brooks ; 1 point to Michael McCormick
CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 2 v REG BARTLEY XI AT REG BARTLEY OVAL, RUSHCUTTERS BAY ON SUNDAY 23 OCTOBER 2022:
WASHED OUT
MASTERS ROUND 2 v BALMAIN/SOUTH SYDNEY RANGERS AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 23 OCTOBER 2022:
WASHED OUT
VINTAGE ROUND 2 v ASHFIELD DE LA SALLE OLD BOYS AT RON ROUTLEY OVAL, CONCORD ON SUNDAY 23 OCTOBER 2022: REPORT BY MICHAEL MCORMICK
After a week in which many of the team had played 3 or 4 games at the State Championships the creaks and groans were louder and more frequent than normal. Well done to Joe Scarcella, Peter Rolls and Stu Ridge on their Port Jackson Grand Final win.
The weather over most of the state made cricket a pipe dream but a window of opportunity remained at Ron Routley Oval where only a sprinkle had occurred.
The now familiar La Nina omnipresence of clusters of dark clouds surrounded the ground, but both the pitch and outfield were in good condition. Fortuitously, the clouds rolled past all day.
Rollsey lost the toss and De La Salle decided to bat on a dry slightly slow pitch. It wouldn’t take long for that decision to be regretted.
Stuart Ridge, fresh from his week at Penrith panthers, pounced, cat- like on the oblivious opposition, bowling their best batsman with a hooping inswinger. He followed this up with two further top of off stump pearlers that hooped in and mercilessly clipped the off bail.
Stuart had better figures than the Bolshoi ballet. 4-1 after 3 overs. Whiley Coyote, Paul Georgiadis was getting back in his Pilates like rhythm seemingly halting the ball in mid flight on its way to the batsman. He kept it tight to allow Stuart to weave his magic. Stu finished with the amazing figures of 4 for 3 with 5 maidens in his 7 overs.
At 3 for 4 thoughts of under 9 matches started to surface but the De la Salle left-handed opener remained steadfast despite opening a meatworks of butchered opportunities down the leg side.
Garry James bowled tightly coping with a very stiff back. His crooked man appearance would not have caused any concern if had parked in a disabled spot. He floated and beat the bat on several occasions until his “spec savers” moment when he over enthusiastically appealed for LBW. To every player, spectator, umpire and nearby covid tester, it was obvious that the ball had hit the back of the bat which was easily caught by Jerry at first slip.
Joe Scarcella then replaced Stu and used the perfect in swinging breeze to again ask questions of the batsman. He bowled without luck for figures of 0-17
Mick McCormick then replaced Joe and had similar back stiffness to Garry James but more brought about by the weeding stick then the games in Penrith. The inconsistency of line and length probably assisted in surprising the batsman and the good balls reaped rewards bowling the number 6 and then removing the dogged left hander who had a brain explosion and inexplicably made a charge at the bowler. The next ball was full and trapped the batsman inches from the stumps. It was an impossible task for his teammate not to raise the finger (no official umpires this game)
A semblance of excitement momentarily greeted the hat trick ball, but it was left outside the offstump by the batsman prompting Garry James’s encouragement, mentoring and coaching advice to “bowl on the ****king stumps”
Stu came back on to try and pick up the remaining wickets with his final two overs, bowling well but no cigars. Jerry picked up a wicket with a good catch to Frank at mid-off who seemed to lose the ball in the trees but then came forward caught the ball, then completed a perfect forward roll reminiscent of Nadia Comaneci.
New recruit Dan Pellen showed pace in the field all day and was rewarded when he implemented the final wicket via run out. De la Salle all out for 78.
Frank Baliotis opened with John Finucane. Frank got off to a good start punching the ball like Kostya Zhu through the leg and offside. John ably assisted and the score progressed to 36 without loss. Frank unfortunately cut one to point and was out for 28 but had guided the team to a likely victory. Dan Pellen in his first innings for a while, seemed to easily get back on the bike and played some nice shots to score 15.
Jim Robson immediately took control and had the running between wickets tempo upped to a staccato level. He went caught and bowled trying to get the runs by 20 overs.
John Finucane had to retire owing to some pain in his chest, he headed to hospital for some cautionary tests with the good news that there were no problems, except running with Jungle.
Captain Peter Rolls, Garry James and Mick McCormick hit sufficient runs to get to the total by 20 overs and obtain the maximum bonus points.
An excellent win with Stu’s spell and Frank’s innings the highlights.
The Team was: John Finucane 15 retired, Frank Baliotis 28, Daniel Pellen 15, Jim Robson 4, Peter Rolls 5, Michael McCormick 6, Garry James 0*, Gerard O’shea dnb, Joe Scarcella dnb, Stuart Ridge dnb, Paul Georgadis dnb
The Bowling was: Stuart Ridge 7-5-3-4, Paul Georgadis 7-2-12-0, Joe Scarcella 7-2-17-0, Garry James 7-1-16-1, Michael McCormick 4-1-15-3, Gerard O’Shea 4-0-21-1
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: None
Catches: Gerard O’Shea, Frank Baliotis
Run outs: Daniel Pellen
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to Stuart Ridge; 2 points to Michael McCormick; 1 point toFrank Baliotis
MASTERS ROUND 1 v INGLEBURN RSL AT SEDDON PARK GLENFIELD ON SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2022: REPORT BY MICHAEL WEAVER
A scrambled single run has secured a dramatic first round win for the CCNSW Masters team. A firm shot hit straight to short midwicket by Daniel Turner, from the last ball of the match, fortunately resulted in a fumble by the fielder. Surviving the pressure of this moment, ‘The Blues’ were seemingly home by the narrowest of margins, one wicket remaining.
A major part of the drama though, ocurred after the play had ceased.
The last scorebook recording partnership for CCNSW had seemed to be working very well during the closing overs. And the final tally of batters scores, plus sundries, had added up to the required 162 runs for victory.
Yet the dreaded bowling figures tally (plus byes and leg byes), so often the nemisis in the comfirmation of a result, had added up to just 161 !
A tie?
Part time Senior Scorer and playing all rounder Brett James, had at first given up on a win, after the umpire rightly declared that “bowling figures total must rule”.
To his internal credit, Brett kept up the fight, in what will hereafter come to be known as ‘The Missing Run’ case.
Using all his forensic skills, Brett diligently kept searching for a further twenty minutes or so, to find the final piece of the puzzle! Surely there was an answer somewhere.
Tension was mounting and the pressure was really starting to tell in the scorers hut, until Dave Craig arrived on the scene for his input. Red faced and indignant, Dave demanded to know if an extra run had been accredited to him after he had been runout, going for a suicidal second run.
And indeed, it was found that the single had not been recorded in the bowling stats! A great play from Mr Craig. Mr James, immediately and without fuss, duly amended the sheet and the umpire accepted the fair correction.
A CCNSW win ! Never in too much doubt.
Perhaps somewhat lucky, although the most luck stemmed from the fact that the game was able to be staged at all, after initially being called off at Memorial Oval, Ingleburn.
Many thanks to the Ingleburn RSL team for rearranging the fixture late on the Saturday afternoon, to the superturf track at Glenfield. Regardless of who won the game, it was great to be back out on the field finally, after a long winter. And in what was a very keen contest.
CCNSW three, two, one points, awarded by the opposing captain and the umpire, were:
Daniel Turner. 45 not out. Hit winning run as well as 4 sixes and 2 fours in a man of the match performance.3 points
David Abreu, on playing debut for CCNSW. Took four wickets, the first, a nick to the ‘keeper, off his initial delivery ! 2 points
Brett James. Two deserved wickets at the death after accurate opening bowling and complied a handy 22 runs. 1 point.
Other notable mentions:
Rob Lawther: Another debutant for CCNSW, competent wicket keeping display
Ed Cross: Three very handy wickets in the middle overs, not conceding many runs
Jose Poothokaren: Two good catches and some accurate bowling
David Craig. No wickets but could have had several. Accurate leg spin. Took great catch at mid wicket.
Jason Kenn. Powerful opening batting. Good start and didn’t go on this time. Promising.
Andrew Dadswell: Very good captaincy debut. One of ‘Tex’s’ fielding changes resulted in a catch taken to the moved fielder, the very next ball. Lost the toss, but made up for it with a quick fire 11 runs off six balls, to help CCNSW snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.
Notes on conditions: Beautiful clear skies on the day. The outfield was very slow, making runs hard to come by for batters, for shots along the ground. Synthetic pitch.
The Team was: –
Michael Weaver 15, Jason Kenn 18, Daniel Turner (vc) 45*, Paul Nash 4, Rob Lawther 7, Brett James 22, Ed Cross 3, Jose Poothokaren 13, David Craig 10, David Abreu 0*, Andrew Dadswell (c) 11
The Result was:
C.C.N.S.W.: –9 / 162 (40 Overs)
Defeated
Ingleburn: – 9 / 161 (40 Overs)
By 1 wicket
FoW: – 1-39 Jason Kenn, 2-43 Michael Weaver, 3-62 Paul Nash, 4-81 Rob Lawther, 5-120 Brett James, 6-123 Ed Cross, 7-144 Jose Poothokaren, 8-145 David Craig, 9-157 Andrew Dadswell
The Bowling was: –
Brett James 9-0-39-2, David Abreu 8-1-27-4, Andrew Dadswell 4-0-13-0, Jose Poothokaren 6-0-28-0, David Craig 8-0-30-0, Ed Cross 5-0-21-3
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – Rob Lawther 1, David Craig 2, Jose Poothokaren 2
Run outs: –
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to Daniel Turner; 2 points to David Abreu ; one point toBrett James
VINTAGE ROUND 1 v LINDFIELD CC AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2022: REPORT BY JIM ROBSON
OUR RACEHORSE CRICKET TEAM
The first game of the Vintage Season took place at Marrickville Oval on Sunday September 25. Unfortunately we were all like racehorses. As any professional punter will tell you …. don’t back horses if it is their first run after a spell and don’t back them if they have been having too many hard runs.
A number of players were having their first go after a long spell with limited or no trial runs or practice ( Brooks, Robson and Winney…). And a number of our men had been running in England (Raga, Frank, Rolls, Ridge) in the offseason and weren’t used to the Australian conditions . Only Black Caviar could perform immediately in both countries.
We lost a crucial toss and on a moist, seaming pitch we were soon 5 for 15. This involved two runs out as Robson and McCormick thought they were batting with Winx and unfortunately ran out their partners (Frank and Brooksy). No one ever really recovers and wins from this score. It reminded me of Australia’s Test in Capetown in 2011 when they were also 5 for 15 and finished with 47 .
We did end up with 93 which was reasonable after our terrible start out of the barrier with Mick McCormick , Ross Dalgleish, Gerry O’Shea and Garry James all doing well to get double figures and Garry Winney rotating the strike well. As Garry James will assert, it was difficult for him to lay bat on ball when he first came in so to get 23 was an outstanding effort. He was our only best performed player/horse as this was his 4th run from a spell after a few trials with two wild, noisy stallions Ken Hall and Scorch out at some rough country track (Penrith O60’s Regional training).
Garry J being in prime condition with his coat gleaming in the stables, then came on early and was our best bowler. He was inspiring, and with small steps, a slow arm action and big follow through was very impressive. He reminded me of Jim Laker in 1956 at Old Trafford when he got 19 wickets. All the bowlers for the first outing bowled pretty well and we actually had them 1 for 41 after the first 20 overs . The wicket flattened out and they passed us with 8 wickets in hand. A game we lost badly but the toss was crucial and even Phar Lap once lost on a wet track. It was still an enjoyable day with both teams having a beer together after the match .
The Team was:
Peter Rolls 6, Sittampalam Ragavan 2, Frank Baliotis 2, James Robson 2, Greg Brooks 1, Mick McCormick 23, Garry James 16, Ross Dalgleish 12, Garry Winney 8, Gerard O’Shea 13*, Stuart Ridge 1
The Result was:
C.C.N.S.W.: 10 / 93 (39.5 Overs)
Lost to
Lindfield Lancers: 2 / 97 (34.2 Overs)
By 8 wickets
FoW: 1-2 Sittampalam Ragavan, 2-8 Peter Rolls, 3-12 Frank Baliotis, 4-12 James Robson, 5-13 Greg Brooks, 6-51 Garry James, 7-55 Mick McCormick, 8-66 Garry Winney, 9-90 Ross Dalgleish, 10-93 Stuart Ridge
VINTAGE OVER 60s ROUND 7 v SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS AT CHATER OVAL, MITTAGONG , ON SUNDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2022 : REPORT BY PETER ROLLS
La Nina once again threatened the round with rain leading up to the weekend. The groundsman did an amazing job to get us on.
Sunny skies on a damp pitch. Peter Rolls won the toss and decided to bowl. The outfield was wet in places so hard for balls to reach the boundary. Ambient temperature 22°C with little humidity in the Highlands. We welcomed Jim Hadley for his first game in Vintage Cricket.
The Highlands openers were patient and played well on a slow variable pitch and Joe Scarcella and Paul Georgiadis bowled without luck. It took Mick McCormick in the 17th over before we got a wicket. 1-50 off 17 overs. John Finucane and David Wright shared the keeping with 20 overs a piece and did a great job on a tricky pitch.
Enter Pete Jensen and the strategy was to have Stuart Ridge have a crack at him as soon as he came in and the planned worked! Stuart in his second over bowling him for 8 with a beautiful in-swinger. The first time Pete has been out in 3 seasons of Vintage cricket! 2-58 off 19 overs. Stuart followed up a few overs later to also bowl Rod Van Beek who was settled in. 3-89 off 28 overs.
Jim Hadley bowling his leggies claimed his first wicket in Vintage bowling the batsman after tying him down. 4-104 off 31. Jim snared his second wicket from a well judged catch by Paul Georgiadis. Frank Baliotis got a freakish run out throwing the ball to the bowlers end while still on the ground.
Greg Brooks bowling well then chimed in with 3 quick wickets. The Southern Highlands’ retired opener came back in and did some damage in the last couple of overs. 9-151 off 40 overs.
Peter Rolls and Jim Hadley opened and Jim dispatched two full tosses to the boundary in quick succession. But in the 4th over Jim tried to smash a loopy off spinner with the ball popping and edging to the keeper. 1-12 off 4 overs.
Peter Rolls edged one to keeper and John Finucane hit a powerful shot but a great running catch at deep mid-on by Pete Jensen removed him. 3-22 off 10 overs. Jim Robson was looking good until he clipped one straight to square leg. 4-74 off 17 overs. Greg Brooks showed a master class of power hitting with 3 sixes and a four to soon retire at 30*. Tight bowling by The Highlanders made scoring slow. Mick McCormick was patient then hit out with 3 fours. We lost Frank Baliotis, Stuart Ridge, Joe, Scarcella,Paul Georgiadis and David Wrightin quick succession but this helped bring back big hitting Greg. 9-103 off 29 overs. Greg hit another four and looking good for the final chase but then disaster with Mick hitting over the top of a slow loopy Pete Jensen to be bowled to have us all out for 113 with still 8.4 overs remaining and only 39 runs to get.
A disappointing end and if only we had a couple more batsman ‘in the bank’. Shows the value of getting a couple in the bank early in the innings. Greg left to ponder “what if”. It took a few minutes after the game for the steam to subside from his ears. Then Greg kissed and made up with Mick. That’s cricket!
Still an enjoyable drink after the game in beautiful country surroundings in The Highlands.
The Team was: – Jim Hadley 10, Peter Rolls (c) 4 , John Finucane 6, Jim Robson 21, Greg Brooks 36*, Mick McCormick 22, Frank Baliotis 5, Stuart Ridge 1, Joe Scarcella 1, Paul Georgiadis 1, David Wright (w) 1
CITY & SUBURBAN ROUND 16 v PADDINGTON AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SATURDAY 12 MARCH 2022
Cancelled by rain.
MASTERS OVER 40s ROUND 9 v GEORGES RIVER AT BLAND OVAL, RIVERWOOD ON SUNDAY 13 MARCH 2022 : REPORT BY MIKE WEAVER
Back row:- Luke Holman; Ian Allmey (c); Ed Cross; Lee Witherden ; Tim Croft; Stuart Ridge Front row: – Andrew Dadswell ; Mike Weaver, Tom Robertson, Soren Hughes, Scott Wells (w) Absent: Paul Nash
CCNSW Masters were hopeful of a good result to end their season in their final match at Bland Oval, hosted by Georges River.
Blues captain Ian Allmey won the toss in conditions which made scoring, via more conventional means at least, difficult. The pitch was quite normal for a Bland Oval track and the outfield, as could be reasonably expected, was thickly grassed and boggy in some areas. Good to stomp around on though! Sincere thanks to the Georges River club for the efforts they made to get the ground prepared up to a playable standard, considering the previous weeks’ record deluge of rain.
Stuart Ridge and Tim Croft opened the bowling with Tim steaming in from the car park end. ‘Crofty’ had been chaffing at the bit for a run, his recent CCNSW net practice efforts testimony to that. And he didn’t disappoint. Operating at very good pace he soon had Georges River opener Hillman caught at mid off for 2 and number 3 Doran ‘nicked off’ to wicketkeeper Scott Wells, for a duck, to have Georges River 2 for 2 after his first over and just the second of the innings.
‘Ridgy’ was keeping things tight at the other end as the opposition crawled along to consolidate. A bowling change for the tenth over saw Paul Nash collect the wicket of Smith, snapped up in the gully by Mike Weaver. ‘Weaves’ managed to hang on to the chance at his second attempt after the ball flew to his outstretched right hand. Unfortunately Paul strained his calf and could not continue his one over spell.
With CCNSW well on top, a relatively easier chance given by Georges River batter Gerard was put down off Paul’s replacement Lee Witherden, also in the bowler’s initial over. Never the less, both sides went to drinks with Georges River battling at 3- 29. Andrew Dadswell had replaced Stuart Ridge from the far end and had bowled extremely well. He was very unlucky not to obtain a wicket on the day, keeping the Georges River batters guessing with his very accurate, very subtle and very tricky changes of pace and flight.
In the ‘second stanza’ things changed around a lot as the ball got older and a lot softer. Georges River opener and Over 50s Australian representative, Todd O’Keefe, accelerated his very watchful and responsible start and began to hit the Blues bowlers around. After he retired on 42* , CCNSW couldn’t take advantage of a run out chance and although eventually having Gerard caught in the deep by Ed Cross, off Soren Hughes, were unable to take any other wickets. Georges River batter, Mag, attacked the bowling ruthlessly to also retire and see his team to a very respectable 4-154 at the close.
The CCNSW bowling fell away markedly in comparison to the first 20 overs and in the entire process another three catches went down, one off GR batter Whittall’s first ball faced, to rub salt into the wounds. A half hour rain delay after 37 overs ended up reducing the match to a 39 over per side affair. The rain had softened the pitch up a little as well, which was not to Cricketers’ Club’s advantage.
This could not be held as an excuse though. The Georges River bowlers attacked the stumps and off side lines relentlessly with maybe only one or two short of a length deliveries that could have been hit, over the whole innings. It was an impatient batting display by CCNSW overall. Some batters seemed not prepared to knuckle down enough to avert a batting collapse, after two very good deliveries knocked over key men Allmey and Nash for ducks. Tom Robertson was also adjudged lbw for 4 runs in what was possibly an unlucky decision for him. ‘Nashy’ received a ‘rip snorter’ of a ball, that swung very late from middle to off stump, to knock out his off stump high up.
Scott Wells and Mike Weaver both seemed in good touch yet both were unable to get full value for shots played right along the ground, aside from Scott’s nice hook to the short fine leg fence. Scotty, in an abnormal dismissal for him, holed out a drive to mid off.
And in pursuit of his sixth single run, Weaves tried in vain to nurdle a ball to the onside, which straightened from leg to off and lobbed off the back of his bat, for a sharp catch at second slip. It was an impatient shot in the conditions and situation.
Ed Cross and Soren Hughes both had their castles knocked down with the score on just 25. Lee Witherden then hit his first ball received straight to mid off to be caught for a golden duck, with again no addition. It was definitely difficult to score at this point, for all the wrong reasons. It seemed Lee had been rushing to get his pads on, to get out to the middle in time, as he obviously, and perhaps justifiably, wasn’t settled at all by the situation. At this stage the CCNSW boys might have been thinking about finishing the game off early, to get to the local Riverwood Tavern, to watch the NRL.
Fortunately for the Club, Stu Ridge isn’t that interested in NRL and at 8-25, Tim Croft was simply not going to give his wicket away. Both men demonstrated a proud, stubborn application and resolve that had been missing from most of their team mates.
Stu chewed up 48 balls for 8 runs, finally looking to gain some kind of ascendancy, before getting himself caught, dancing down to the wicket to try to gain the said ascendancy. Last man Luke Holman succumbed to the second best ball received during the innings, unluckily bowled, to record the fourth Blues duck on the score sheet.
So Tim was left defiantly stranded, unbeaten on 21*, his highlight a booming six over the far mid on boundary of the back foot, to complete a fine match performance for himself. The final team score of 57 runs just managed to beat the record lowest club score in Masters and Classics. So well done boys…
In what can only be described as a difficult Masters season for so many reasons, CCNSW were again well led by their skipper Ian Allmey on the day and the team accepted the defeat in typical good grace.
As…there’s always next season !!!
The Team was (playing 12): – Tom Robertson 4, Ian Allmey (c) 0, Mike Weaver 5, Paul Nash, 0 Scott Wells (w) 7, Ed Cross 5, Soren Hughes 2, Tim Croft 21* , Lee Witherden 0, Stuart Ridge 8, Luke Holman 0, and Andrew Dadswell (dnb)
The Result was: –
Georges River C.C.: – 4-154 (39 overs)
Defeated
C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-57 (27.5 overs) (T. Croft 21*)
By 97 runs
FoW: – 1- 5 (T. Robertson); 2-5 (I. Allmey); 3-6 (P. Nash); 4-15 (S. Wells); 5-21 (M. Weaver); 6-25 (E. Cross); 7-25 (S. Hughes); 8-25 (L. Witherden); 9-57 (S. Ridge); 10-57 (L. Holman)
The Bowling was: –: S. Ridge 7-1-30-0; T. Croft 8-2-24-2; A. Dadswell 8-0-23-0; P. Nash 1-0-5-1, L. Witherden 9-3-32-0; T. Robertson 2-0-17-0; S. Hughes 4-0-20-1
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – Two catches to E. Cross and one to each of S. Wells (w) and M. Weaver.
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to T. Croft; 2 points to A. Dadswell; one point to L. Witherden
VINTAGE OVER 60s ROUND 9 v LINDFIELD AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 13 MARCH 2022 :
Cancelled by rain.
SOCIAL v THE BRADMAN FOUNDATION XI AT BRADMAN OVAL, BOWRAL ON SUNDAY 13 MARCH 2022 :
