LMS T20 (8-a-SIDE) EASTERN SYDNEY SUNDAY DIVISION 3 ROUND 8 v THE CUSTARD ARMS AT MP5, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON SUNDAY 25 JUNE 2023: REPORT BY JAMIE MURTHA
Round 8 was played under stunning blue skies, there was no dew, and it was very warm for 9am. The captains agreed on the outcome of the toss, we wanted to bat, and they wanted to bowl.
Charles Sharpe and Mick McGrath opened and got us off to a very solid start, the boundaries were large, so the first boundary took a while to score, it wasn’t long before both batters started clearing the deep mid-wicket boundary for 6. Mick fell for 31 off just 25 and Charles retired quickly taking only 27 balls for his 51*.
Wade Butler on the other hand was clearly in a hurry, he retired with 53* off an astonishing 15 balls, Wade effortlessly dispatched full-tosses over deep mid-wicket and was gifted a few free hits in the process. Jamie Murtha kept the scoreboard ticking over at the other end with a handy cameo 37 of 23 balls before being adjudged caught behind.
At 5, Ming Heng was stumped for 5, a very close call. With less than two overs remaining Avi Bhandari kept the momentum going with 10* off 4 balls and Tom Sterrett 3* kept Avi on strike. Our total score after 20 overs was a hard to beat 3-198.
Tom and Phil Anderson shared the new ball. Tom was once again unlucky not to get a wicket, beating the bat multiple times. Phil on the other hand picked up one of the openers cheaply with a ripping ball through the gate, a great bowling performance on debut!
Avi and Mick came on in the middle overs and both had a significant impact, each of them took a wicket. Mick had a straightforward caught & bowled in his first over and then helped Avi by making a much more challenging catch on the long-on boundary look easy. Avi, our premier C&S quick bowler beat the bat a few times in his economical spell.
Ming and Jamie filled in the remaining overs, doing enough to make sure the opposition were never in the game. Tom, Mick, and Phil each then bowled the final three overs without any real damage, securing us a bonus point victory by 56 runs.
We’ve returned to the top spot on the table as we head into the back half of the season, a solid position to be in as we work our way towards defending last year’s title!
The Team was: – Charles Sharpe 51*, Mick McGrath 31, Wade Butler (w) 53*, Jamie Murtha (c) 37, Ming Heng 5, Avi Bhandari 10*, Tom Sterrett 3*, Phi Anderson dnb.
The Result was: –
CCNSW: – 3-198 (20 overs) (W. Butler 53*, C. Sharpe 51*)
Defeated
The Custard Arms: – 3-142 (20 overs)
By 56 runs
The Bowling was: – P. Anderson 4-0-17-1; T. Sterrett 4-0-27-0; A. Bhandari 4-0-18-1; M. McGrath 4-0-33-1; M. Heng 2-0-31-0; J. Murtha 2-0-16-0;
The Fielding was:-
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – Two to M. McGrath
Run outs: – Nil
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to Wade Butler; 2 points to Charles Sharpe; 1 point to Mick McGrath
See: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/1st-innings?fixtureid=389030