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
SEE: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/1st-innings?fixtureid=370881
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
The Result was:
C.C.N.S.W.: – 7-227 (35 overs) (H. Bridge 61; S. Hughes 54)
Defeated
Saint George Veterans: – 10-119 (32.2 overs) (A. Khamis 4-14; C. Kitson 3-9)
By 108 runs
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 to A. 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

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
See: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/1st-innings?fixtureid=370879