LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 3 ROUND 3 v ‘’ AT ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2022:
Report to come.
SOCIAL GAME v SCG XI AT DRUMMOYNE OVAL, DRUMMOYNE, ON WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2022:
Report to come.
C&S JACK PACE ROUND 3 v YARALLA AT GODDARD OVAL CONCORD ON SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2022:
Report to come.
CLASSICS ROUND 4 v MOSMAN CC AT CAMPERDOWN PARK, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2022: REPORT BY DAVID CRAIG
How good is cricket?! At the appointed starting time of 12.15pm there were 20-odd blokes standing around watching a light drizzle fall on the covered wicket, all wondering when the game would be called off and the pub beckoned. Half an hour later the crucial North-West passage above the grandstand started to lighten, and then turn blue, the sun came out and a game was deemed possible, albeit with a slight reduction to 38 overs per side. (Some of us had bothered to read the competition rules and had an inkling that this meant maximum 8 overs per bowler instead of the usual 9. The opposing captain M. Hall was not amongst this rare group of cognoscenti, a fact which would prove important later…)
CCNSW skipper Scott Wells won the toss and batted on a mostly dry deck – fortunately the wet patch was right in the middle of the bed and had no real effect on the players. Ed Cross (2) was the unlucky recipient of one that “did a bit early” & disturbed the castle. Paul Nash joined Mike Pinter and they consolidated as the Mosman opening bowlers (Greenwood and Turner) bowled an extended spell in mostly good areas, although the odd short one was whacked away contemptuously by the in-form Nash. After 12 overs (1-36), Mosman made the double change with Varasdi and Hall coming on. Although we were under a bit of run-rate pressure, their best bowlers had only 2 overs each for the death, a factor which would prove costly later. Pinter and Nash continued to build a steady partnership with Nashy’s selective aggression netting a couple of boundaries before Punter (22) nicked off to Varasdi, leaving us 2-59 off 18 overs, and an early drinks break was taken.
With a decent platform, acceleration in the back half was the name of the game, and new batter Scott Wells immediately greeted new bowler Frost with a couple of hard hit boundaries. After Nashy cruised to retirement (31*), Mick Weaver joined the skipper, taking on a new role as a bustling & busy middle order bat with relish & aplomb. Unfortunately, when Hall switched ends the first delivery of his second spell was a loopy in-dipper that deceived Wells, LBW for 10. In the next over, Weaves was caught off Frost trying to force the pace: at 4-95 in the 25th and 2 new batters at the crease, it was advantage Mosman.
Time for a Classic(s) CCNSW Fightback! Andrew Davis and Michael Tarrant got busy, running a rare 3 off the first ball of the partnership. Davis clubbed Frost to the boundary, and Tarrant answered by lofting Bulluss out of the ground next ball. After adding 26 in 3 overs, Micky T (18 off 13) coughed up a catch off Frost. Paul Devaney, in his last opportunity for Classics this season, was promoted to number 8 and set about clubbing Frost out of the attack with a succession of boundaries. At the other end Davis was turning over the strike and stroking the odd boundary of his own as the partnership climbed to 42 off 30 balls (CCNSW 6-165 with 5 overs remaining). Mosman brought back the opening bowlers in a mostly unsuccessful attempt to stem the flow of runs. Turner’s 8th over brought Devaney (26 off 19) undone a slog short of retirement, bringing the newly re-hipped el Presidente Greg Brooks to the crease for his first dig in the Classics this season. After a few sighters the Prez unloaded, taking Greenwood downtown for successive boundaries.
At this point a heated discussion was observed between the Mosman skipper and the umpire, as Mr Hall received the unwelcome news that neither opening bowler was in fact entitled to a 9th set, and the last 3 overs had to be cobbled together from the remaining Mosman bowlers. Brooksy greeted new bowler Hall with back to back boundaries (4 fours in 5 balls to the Prez at that point). Frost returned (grumpily?) to the other end, and Davis (33* off 30) clubbed a boundary to retire. This initiated another first-time 2022/23 Classics appearance, bringing to the crease Andrew “Bash” Bachelard (having shed an impressive 25 kgs in the offseason, I might add! Bang, bang, bang, bang went the not-so-big fella, hitting his first 4 balls to the fence! At the other end Brooksy was hitting the boundary and running 2s like a youngster as the final partnership yielded 24 off 9 rocks (Brooks 30* off 19, Bachelard 17* off 5, strike rate 340 if you don’t mind).
A shell-shocked Mosman outfit retired to the shed with the task of chasing 220 for the win off 38 overs with 10 men. Against an 11 man CCNSW with 10 genuine bowling options (sorry, Punter!), this looked a big ask, even on the fast scoring Camperdown outfield.
Varasdi and Bulluss started well, playing a bit of block, block, block, bash stuff against opening bowlers Stuart Ridge and Mick Tarrant. Both looked set to retire imminently, but Tarrant had other ideas, encouraging Bulluss (24) to guide one into the safe hands of Nashy at slip, and a few overs later having Varasdi nicking off to keeper Davis for 29. Devaney relieved Ridge at the Mallett St end and he had no hesitation in letting Aitcheson know that he was getting rather bogged down. This did seem to get into the batters mind a little, though as far as Classics sledging goes, I would have thought this was merely approaching the line and gently tapping foreheads like a mature and mellowing Nathan Lyon.
In any event, Bachelard replaced Devaney and induced a top edge from Aitcheson, caught by Nash (I want to say at backward point?). When Tarrant finished a fine spell at the Australia St end (2-35 off 8), Mosman needed 151 to win off 132 balls, with 6 wickets in hand. Turner and McLean set about rebuilding the innings, getting Mosman to drinks at 3-88 off 19. After the interval they began to score freely against the seamers Bachelard and Nash, precipitating the introduction of spin (Dave Craig) and the return of the economical Ridgey. This turned out to be a tactical masterstroke, as the leg-spinner put the brakes on the innings by allowing both batters to hit a boundary and retire!
Devaney relieved Craig and immediately castled Mosman skipper Hall through the gate (4-133 after 27). Job done, and Devaney was preserved for later, replaced by Brooks. Some useful hitting from Kingsman and Frost kept Mosman in the hunt, and with six overs left they needed just 44 with 5 wickets in hand, two set batters in and two in the shed. Things were looking – shall we say “tight” – with WinViz putting Mosman slightly ahead at this point.
Ed Cross and Paul Devaney were entrusted with death bowling duties, and straight away Devaney castled Frost (21) with a beauty. When Cross bowled Greenwood in the next over, the momentum was shifting back our way, and sure enough Kingsman (28) skied one into the safe hands of Mike Pinter off Devaney. Turner returned to the crease to join last man Paine, but after scoring just a few more he perished, bowled by another accurate Ed Cross inswinger. Three balls later Cross trapped last man Paine in front, and the game was ours, Mosman losing 5-18 in their last 4 overs to fall 20 runs short with 13 balls remaining.
This was a highly satisfying victory against a perennially tough opponent, a great day played in a fine spirit, highly competitive and at the same time social. Post-match beers tasted especially good, despite the fact I personally contributed little apart from stopping the odd ball with my face & jogging from long-on to long-on for most of the afternoon (Scotty, what did I do? I’ve done the covers, sorted out gear for the new blokes, brought the soft drinks, scored all day, and collected the money, what else do you want from me?!).
The Team was (playing 12): – Ed Cross 2 (12), Mike Pinter 22 (60), Paul Nash 31* (44) rtno, Scott Wells (c) 10 (12), Mike Weaver 17 (13), Andrew Davis (wk) 33* (30) rtno, Mike Tarrant 18 (13), Paul Devaney 26 (19), Greg Brooks 30* (19), Andrew Bachelard 17* (5), David Craig dnb, Stuart Ridge dnb, Sundries 13
The Result was: –
C.C.N.S.W.: 6-219 (38 overs max) (A. Davis 33*, P. Nash 31*, G. Brooks 30*)
Defeated
Mosman C.C.: 9-199 all out (35.5 overs)
By 20 runs
FoW: 1-6 (E. Cross); 2-59 (M. Pinter); 3-89 (S. Wells); 4-95 (M. Weaver); 5-121 (M. Tarrant);
6-163 (P. Devaney)
The Bowling was: S. Ridge 6-0-27-0; M. Tarrant 8-2-35-2; P. Devaney 7-0-28-3;
A. Bachelard 4-0-21-1; P. Nash 3-0-27-0; D. Craig 2-0-13-0; G. Brooks 2-0-23-0; E. Cross 3.5-0-15-3
The Fielding was: Catches to P. Nash (2), A. Davis, M. Pinter. No runouts, no stumpings.
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to P. Devaney ; 2 points to G. Brooks ; one point to A. Davis