LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY MIDWEEK DIVISION 2 ROUND 10 v ‘NRLCC’ AT MP 8, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 25 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY SCOTT WILLIAMS
CCNSW win the toss and elected to bowl. Things got off to a great start with Mick McGrath being unplayable and even bowling a maiden-a very rare event in LMS cricket. Scott Williams and Mick kept things tidy for the first 8 overs and NRLCC never recovered, only scoring 5-106 off their 20 overs with new keeper and English debutant Freddie Greenwood getting a stumping and 2 catches..
CCNSW needed to score 107 within 16 overs to get the bonus point and Stephen Sheakey (13 off 9 balls) and Rob Shone (30 off 35 balls) got us off to the start we needed. Once ‘Sheaks’ departed, Freddie Greenwood (50* off 34 balls) picked up where ‘Sheaks’ left off and we managed to win in the sixteenth over with a bonus point.
The Team was: – Steven Sheakey 13, Rod Shone 30, Fred Greenwood (w) 50*, Tom Richardson 9, Mick McGrath 0, Scott Williams 5, Jim Hadley (c) dnb, Soren Hughes dnb and Will Jacobs dnb
The Result was:-
NRLCC: – 5-106 (20 overs)
Lost to
CCNSW: – 3-107 (15.2 overs) (F. Greenwood 50*; R. Shone 30)
By 5 wickets
The Bowling was: – S. Williams 4-0-14-1; M. McGrath 4-1-13-2; T. Richardson 3-0-21-0, S. Sheakey 3-0-13-0; R. Shone 3-0-16-1; J. Hadley 3-0-27-0
The Fielding was:-
Stumpings: – 2 to F. Greenwood
Catches: – One to F. Greenwood (w)
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to F. Greenwood; 2 points to M. McGrath; 1 point to R. Shone
See: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/2nd-innings?fixtureid=370871
SOCIAL GAME V ‘RAGA’ INVITATION XI AT CAMPERDOWN PARK, CAMPERDOWN ON THURSDAY 26 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY PETER ROLLS
[PETER ROLLS REPORT TO FOLLOW]
The Team was: – John Finucane 4, Andrew Thurlow 3, Michael Carman 10, Mel Lucas 30*, Peter Rolls (c) 7, Greg Brooks 5, David Craig 13, John Jackson 25. Paul Kumar 1, David Wright 9, Joe Scarcella 0
The Result was:
Raga Invitation XI: – 9-199 (40 overs) (J. Finucane 3-14; G. Brooks 3-24)
Defeated
C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-119 (38 overs) (M. Lucas 30)
By 80 runs
FoW: – 1-4 (A. Thurlow); 2- 9 (J. Finucane); 3-50 (G. Brooks); 4-50 (P. Rolls). 5-72 (D. Craig); 6-73 (P. Kumar); 7- 94 (J. Scarcella); 8-113 (D. Wright); 9-117 (M. Carman); 10-119 (J. Jackson).
The Bowling was: – G. Brooks 6-0-24-3; J. Scarcella 6-1-20-1; D. Craig 6-0-41-0; M. Carman 4-0-23-0; P. Rolls 6-0-31-0; J. Jackson 5-1-23-1; J. Finucane 4-0-14-3; A. Thurlow 3-0-21-0
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: –
Catches: – 2 to M. Carman; 2 to P. Kumar, one to P. Rolls and one to J. Scarcella
Run outs: – One to anonymous
CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 10 v HUNTERS HILL AT BORONIA PARK, HUNTERS HILL ON SUNDAY 29 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY TOM ROBERTSON
Always interesting playing at Boronia Park. Wicket is full of spice. To help bowlers even more, the humidity at Hunters Hill may have exceeded 100%.
Craig Kitson took the reins and went and lost the toss. Hunters Hill decided to have a bat.
Avi Bhandari and Toby Forbes opened the bowling and the scoring rate was dour. Hunters Hill amassed 1-29 from their first 18 overs. After drinks wickets steadily fell. We knew their best batter hated spin so Adam Khamis came on and bamboozled him and got his wicket not long after. One of their middle order batters so struggled with his pads that he eventually just batted without them. Something you don’t see every day. Hunters Hill ended at 9-109 after 35 overs
Our turn to bat to chase a small total. The modern vogue in cricket is to attack the bowling but Hunters Hill’s strength is bowling so we needed to be careful about our chase. Tom Robertson and Jamie Murtha opened the CCNSW batting and went at over a run a ball. The ground is probably the biggest in C&S and that made it ripe for threes. We certainly earned our runs the hard way.
A 50 opening partnership all but ensured victory. Tom proved his inability to finish again by choking within sight of the line. Harry Bridge and Paul Nash took us home with more threes. One real point of difference in the sides was our catching; we caught everything (Oh except Declan when his Dad arrived to watch).
The Team was: – Tom Robertson 56, James Murtha 15, Paul Nash 18*, Harry Bridge 11*, Peter Constantinou dnb, Soren Hughes dnb, Toby Forbes dnb, Declan Thomas (w) dnb, Craig Kitson (c) dnb Avinash Bhandari dnb
The Result was:
Hunters Hill: – 9-109 (35 overs)
Lost to
C.C.N.S.W.: – 2-111 (16 overs) (T. Robertson 56)
By 8 wickets
FoW: – 1- 54 (J. Murtha); 2- 93 (T. Robertson)
The Bowling was: – A. Bhandari 9-4-17-2; T. Forbes 6-2-10-0; S. Hughes 5-0-21-2; P. Nash 3-0-4-0; C. Kitson 3-0-13-1; A Khamis 7-0-35-2; P. Constantinou 2-1-5-2
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – 3 to T. Forbes; one each to A. Bhandari S. Hughes, A Khamis, C. Kitson and T. Robertson
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to T. Robertson; 2 points to A. Bhandari; one point to T. Forbes
MASTERS ROUND 8 v STRATHFIELD CC AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL ON SUNDAY 29 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY ANDREW DADSWELL
A tough day in the office against some genuine quality cricketers
It was hot. It was humid. The opposition was high quality.
After two washouts the CCNSW Masters were keen to get on the field and have a crack at the defending premiers and undefeated Strathfield on our home soil. We presented a strong line-up by CCNSW standards, but so did Strathfield, in fact they seemed to have all their gun players on show and boy did they come ready to play.
Strathfield skipper Pasupati won the toss and happily batted first, taking advantage of the hot conditions. The pitch was an unknown factor and gave us some hope of early damage. Brett James didn’t disappoint with a fine display of left arm medium new ball bowling. But the Strathfield openers played the right shots at the right times until Ben Stanic got a wicket first ball of his spell to remove the dangerous Patel. Strathfield went about seeing off the good balls and punishing anything remotely loose. Four of their top seven batters reached 40*+ retirement scores as we struggled to make inroads in the middle overs. It wasn’t so much a case of bad bowling – it’s just that the batting was very, very good.
Ben Stanic continued to create chances and Mick Tarrant’s second spell was high quality. Their efforts created our best period in the field as we took wickets after drinks. But when Strathfield’s Paul Maraziotis came back to the crease he played his shots and ended up on 92* – just 98 short of his highest score of 190 for the NSW 2nd XI against the likes of Mitch Johnson back in the 2000s!
Against this kind of quality batting if we were to restrict them we needed to hold every half chance. We had our moments in the field with a brilliant one handed diving catch by Brett James, Jason Kenn’s great pair of hands and a beauty of a direct-hit run-out by Ed Cross. However we let a few chances slip too which proved costly, as they always do.
Strathfield’s 8-320 was going to be tough to chase down and it didn’t start well as both openers, Ed Cross and Jason Kenn, departed for ducks. Dan Turner looked very good against the pace of Kish ‘I don’t bulk bill’ Nadesan and Scott Wells saw off the good bowling early before cashing in with some lusty blows and retiring at number 4. They were ably supported by Rob Lawther who continues to show his quality against good bowling.
But as each quality Strathfield bowler’s spell ended, another quality one would begin There was no let up and we ended up being all out for 134.
Beers were enjoyed after the game and the Strathfield guys are a good bunch.
It is easy to see why they keep winning the over 40s Masters competition each year. With Paul Maraziotis, the 8th highest run scorer ever in Grade Cricket, followed by two current representatives in the Australian over 40s side and a bunch of other quality players, they are the yardstick and they showed us the level to which we need to get if we are to threaten the top sides.
The pitch played excellently and provided good consistent bounce throughout the day.
The Team was: – Ed Cross 0, Jason Kenn 0,Dan Turner 26, Scott Wells (w) 43, Rob Lawther 19, Brett James 2, Andrew Dadswell (c) 7, Jose Poothokaren 0, Michael Tarrant 11, David Abreu 11*, Ben Stanic 0
The Result was: –
Strathfield CC: – 8-320 (40 overs) (B. Stanic 4-77)
Defeated
C.C.N.S.W.: -10-134 (35 overs) (S. Wells 43)
By 86 runs
FoW: – 1-0 (E. Cross); 2-0 (J. Kenn); 3-39 (D. Turner); 4-83 (B. James); 5-91 (A. Dadswell); 6-98 (J. Poothokaren); 7-100 (R. Lawther); 8-118 (M. Tarrant); 9-118 (B. Stanic); 10-134 (S. Wells)
The Bowling was: – B.James 9-0-36-1; M. Tarrant 8-0-69-1; B. Stanic 9-0-77-4; D. Abreu 6-0-51-0, A. Dadswell 6-0-57-1; J. Poothokaren 2-0-28-0
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – 2 to J. Kenn; one to each of S. Wells (w), B. James and R. Lawther
Run outs: – One to E. Cross
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to S. Wells; 2 points to B. Stanic; one point to D. Turner
VINTAGE ROUND 8 v GEORGES RIVER AT BLAND OVAL, RIVERWOOD ON SUNDAY 29 JANUARY 2023: REPORT BY GREG BROOKS
When you’re hot, you’re hot!!
The over 60s CCNSW side arrived at Bland Oval with the conditions best described as hot and humid. Clouds were gathering and the first thought from the ‘Weather Oracle’ (Mr. G. James) was rain by 3pm.
Georges River won the toss and sent us in on a well grassed, hard wicket. We had a slow and measured start by Gerard O’Shea alongside guest player Neville Emerson who joined us via the “Raga network”, a very extensive network as we know! Neville was first to go adjudged lbw and Gerry was joined by Frank Baliotis, resplendent in his new CCNSW long sleeve shirt. He has now worn it twice and made consecutive 30 not outs! Further steady progress was made until Gerry (23) was stumped with the score on 43. Peter Rolls and Frank both batted well and were in complete control. On Frank’s retirement at 30* ret not out, ‘the Prez’, Greg Brooks joined the Skipper, Peter Rolls to initiate some acceleration. The fours and sixes flowed and with the ‘Prez’s’ departure (34* ret not out) Mick McCormick joined Peter who retired not long after for 31*. Garry James (30* ret not out) then strode out… (perhaps more of a shuffle with his sore knee!) and smacked it to all parts of the ground continually “encouraging” Mick to follow suit! Mick (33* ret not out) changed bats and started to find the middle with regularity.
‘The Oracle’ was only 10 minutes off and sure enough at 2:50pm we retreated to the pavilion as a thunderstorm came through with solid rain. As a result we lost three overs. John Finucane (8*), Sittampalam Ragavan (0) and Joe Scarcella (8*) then came out swinging on the resumption and we finished with a very healthy total of 3-218 off 37 overs.
The umpire for the day Scott did a great job in managing the break between innings. Both teams wanted to get back out there and play some cricket as the covers had done their job. A target of 219 from 37 overs was always going to be tough so getting through the first 15 overs as quickly as possible to ensure a game was our first objective.
Georges River got off to a terrible start with the opener chopping down on his stumps (hit wicket) in the first over. Joe Scarcella (3-15) and Paul Georgiadis (1-20) did all the early damage backed up by some great catches from Neville Emerson (2) and Gerry O’Shea (1). With Garry James and Greg Brooks replacing the openers Georges River found the going tough. Six of the runs from Garry’s bowling came in one blow yet the next ball saw a smart stumping by John Finucane and GR’s best batter was on his way! From 5-58 there was no recovery but two more wickets to Garry James (3-8) , one to Greg Brooks (1-14) and a destructive 2 ball /2 wicket spell from David Craig (2-0) meant the last 5 wickets fell for nothing!! All out 58 in 21.2 overs.
David Craig as a 58 yr old ‘youngster’, played his first Vintage competition match thanks to permission from the Vintage Association Committee (and with the consent of the Georges River captain) and he duly delivered! Excellent in the field as always and limited to a 4 over bowling, he short changed himself by needing only 2 balls to wrap it all up.
Georges River were good sports and we had a laugh and a beer to finish.
Tough matches lay ahead starting with Southern Highlands at Camperdown on Sunday February 12th, followed by Central Coast and Northern Stars to finish.
If we continue to back our batting and bowling with good fielding we can give this competition a shake!
The Team was (playing 12): – Gerard O’Shea 23, Neville Emerson 4, Frank Baliotis 30*, Peter Rolls 31*, Greg Brooks 34*, Mick McCormick 33*, Garry James 30*; John Finucane 8*, Sittampalam Ragavan 0, Joe Scarcella 8*, Paul Georgiadis dnb, David Craig dnb
The Result was: –
C.C.N.S.W.: – 3-218 (37 overs) (G. Brooks 34*; M. McCormick 33*; P. Rolls 31*; G. James 30*)
Defeated
Georges River CC: -10-58 (21.2 overs) (G. James 3-8; J. Scarcella 3-15)
By 160 runs
FoW CCNSW: – 1-18 (N. Emerson); 2-43 (G. O’Shea); 3-209 (S. Ragavan).
FoW GR: – 1-0, 2-21, 3-27, 4-31, 5-48, 6-58, 7-58, 8-58, 9-58, 10-58.
The Bowling was: – J.Scarcella 7-3-15-3; P. Georgiadis 5-0- 20-1; G. Brooks 5-1-14-1; G. James 4-2-8-3; D. Craig 0.2-0-0-2
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – One to J. Finucane
Catches: – One to J. Finucane (w) and two to N. Emerson and one to G. O’Shea
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by umpire): – 3 points to G. James; 2 points to G. Brooks; one point to J. Scarcella