C&S JACK PACE ROUND 1 v COLLEAGUES AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN ON SUNDAY 12 OCTOBER 2025: REPORT BY ADAM KHAMIS
The official start of the season had arrived and our C&S team was feeling confident going into our first game of the season off the back of a strong performance in the President’s Cup the week before. The skipper had been recruiting heavily over the winter and the team taking the field looked decidedly younger than in seasons past, which bodes well for the long-term future of the side.
Captain Soren Hughes lost the toss and we were bowling first on a hot morning in full sunshine, more on the weather later. Left-arm pacer Theo Joy-Page took the new ball for his first spell for the club. After finding his line, Theo bowled well against batsmen who clearly liked pace bowling. He managed to break the opening partnership which had been scoring at a bit under a run a ball; a valuable contribution. Theo was partnered at the other end by Ezekial (“Zeke”) Hughes, who found some bounce in the ever-flat Camperdown pitch but struggled to keep the runs in check. The first change came in the tenth over with the score at 1-55 when Adam Khamis, member of the rejuvenated spin cartel, came into the attack. After also having early problems with his length, Adam was able to remove the other opener in his second over; another lbw to the wrong-un’. At 2-62, we thought the contest was looking pretty balanced and we were a chance of wresting control of the game. However, Colleagues are a strong batting side (which we knew going in) and the nos. 3 and 4 batters made good use of the hard and fast outfield, one short boundary and some pretty ordinary fielding all round (notwithstanding Sam Millar, who was a steel trap in the covers as usual). Tom Barrett and Yagya Giri toiled hard with the ball as the skipper cycled through bowlers in short spells. Tom looked dangerous with his off-spin, ripping the ball and keeping the batsmen honest. Yagya found consistent line and length but was unfortunate not to get a wicket for his efforts. Sriram Ramani and Aleksandr Yap were brought on for short spells but were unable to staunch the flow of runs. Meanwhile the weather was changing. While the strong cooling wind was a welcome development, the fluff it brought from the nearby flame trees was not, as we were all coughing like asthmatics. Great song, shit tree. With both batsmen set and on their way to three figures, Josh Heldarskard came in to spoil the party. His darting spin broke through the defences of the no. 3, ending a 158 run partnership in the 34th over, leaving Colleagues on a measly looking 3-220. Tom Barrett got in on the act soon after, taking a well-earned wicket with a great catch from Yagya. Hopefully this went some way to easing the pain Tom experienced earlier as he learnt a valuable lesson about the uneven bounce of the Camperdown outfield that will probably live long in his memory; but if it doesn’t, he’ll have the photo taken of him in this low moment to remind him. Josh finished off the innings with three more wickets, first a caught and bowled followed by two stumpings as Colleagues ‘collapsed’ to 7-259 to end the innings.
We knew we would need to keep up with the run rate to have any hope of chasing down such a large total, but we were confident we had the batting depth and firepower to do it. Our openers Josh Heldarskard and Roman Hughes started confidently with some good shots around the ground. That was before Josh was run out after being called through for a single that wasn’t there. Perhaps sensing that running out your partner warranted a good score to make up for it, Roman remained at the crease and batted fluently, partnering Karthick Subramaniam and Sam Millar. Karthick couldn’t add many to the score before being trapped in front for 6. Roman’s innings came to a close when he was caught for 35. We were well behind the run rate at 3-79 at drinks with the windy weather now downright cold, but were still in a position to turn it around with big hitters Sam Millar and Ezekiel Hughes at the crease. Unfortunately the pattern of 30-odd run partnerships continued when Sam got bowled on 21. Yagya Giri joined Zeke in the middle and helped turn the strike over well, allowing Zeke to build a good innings. Zeke was eventually bowled for 36, another good start that we needed to be got on with but it was looking like it wasn’t going to be our day. Tom Barrett wasn’t at the crease long, bowled for 2. Yagya too was bowled as we were now 7-152 with 7 overs to go. Our need to score big was forcing batsmen to take more risks, meaning the bowlers just had to keep it on the stumps and wait for a mistake, which is what they did. At the crease now were Soren Hughes, who could definitely hit the boundaries we needed, and Adam Khamis, who definitely couldn’t. Soren got a few big hits in over the short boundary before mishitting one and getting caught. The rest was just a formality as Adam and Theo Joy-Page were both bowled to leave CCNSW all out for 175, our first lost to Colleagues for a few years but the better team on the day. A run chase of that size was always going to be difficult, despite it certainly being a batter’s pitch.
The Team was (playing 12): – Joshua Heldarskard 12, Roman Hughes 30, Karthick Subramaniam 6, Sam Millar 21, Ezekiel Hughes 36, Yagya Giri 17, Thomas Barrett 2, Soren Hughes (c) 33, Adam Khamis (v/c) 1, Sriram Rhamani 2, Theo Joy-Page 2 and Aleksandr Yap dnb
The Result was: –
Colleagues CC: 7- 259 (40 Overs) (J. Heldarskard 4-34)
Defeated
C.C.N.S.W.: 10-175 (38.4 Overs) (Ezekiel Hughes 36)
By 84 runs
FoW: – 1-24 (J. Heldarskard); 2-47 (K. Subramaniam); 3-63 (R. Hughes); 4-99 (S. Millar); 5-133 (Ezekiel Hughes); 6-138 (T. Barrett); 7-152 (Y. Giri); 8-172 (A Khamis); 9-172 (S. Hughes); 10-175 (T. Joy-Page).
The Bowling was: – T. Joy-Page 8-0-38-1; Ezekiel Hughes 4-0-22-0; A. Khamis 7-0-49-1; T. Barrett 6-0-35-1; Y. Giri 6-0-39-0; S. Ramani 2-0-14-0; A. Yap 2-0-20-0; J. Heldarskard 5-0-34-4
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: -One to Y. Giri
Run outs: – One to
Player points (awarded by captain): – 3 points to J. Heldarskard ; 2 points to Ezekiel Hughes ; one point to Roman Hughes
CLASSICS ROUND 1 v GEORGES RIVER AT BLAND OVAL, RIVERWOOD ON SUNDAY 12 OCTOBER 2025: REPORT BY JASON KEANE
The Classics started the season with a very strong line-up, despite the late withdrawals of Scott Wells and Andrew Bachelard.
Asked to bowl first under sunny skies, skipper Brett James and Phil Melville claimed early wickets, as Georges River adopted a cavalier approach that mixed risk with the promise of reward on the tiny Bland Oval. The weather too played its part as the hot conditions turned to gloom, bursts of icy rain and cyclonic winds. This was obviously an omen as Jason Keane came into the attack and was thrashed mercilessly (3-0-33-0) – although at least he had the decency to keep the ball within the playing arena rather than having to send search parties into the Army Barracks, the bush or on to Canterbury Road.
Clinton Palmer kept things tight at the other end, but the real turning point was the introduction of Craig Kitson’s off-spin. ‘Kitso’ flighted the ball with great control in gale-force conditions and on a pitch with slow and variable bounce proved to be almost unhittable- his 8 overs for only 5 runs were a true reflection of his spell.
Dan Turner bowled well in tandem with Kitson, attacking the stumps and giving little away as he picked up a couple of wickets and stifled the run rate with 2 for 7 off five overs.
Georges River were reduced to 9 for 110, before a stubborn last wicked stand boosted the total to 166.
In reply Gerry O’Shea and John Munden fell early, whilst Tom Robertson mixed a few blows with a few edges to reach 18 and keep the scoreboard ticking over. CCNSW slumped to 4 for 33, but a strong middle-order came to the rescue, with Kitson (32* ret not out), Brett James (31* ret not out) and Dan Turner (40*) all reaching the retirement mark with comfort. By the time those three had retired, victory was within reach, and Dan Turner returned to hit the winning runs, selfishly denying Keane (10*) the minor consolation of doing so. “Sorry mate- I couldn’t help myself!” he said, before the ball had even landed.
So, victory was achieved with more than 10 overs to spare and plenty of good performers. However the scorebook doesn’t lie, and three names stand out. Kitson, Turner and James all turned in significant all-round performances. Kitson’s match-changing spell and its timing probably make him Player of the Match in a photo finish from Turner and James- but either way, these three went close to winning the match on their own in what was an impressive start to the season.
The Team was (playing 12): – Tom Robertson 18, Gerald O’Shea 3, John Munden 4, Dan Turner 40*, Andrew Dawson (w) 4, Craig Kitson 32* ret not out, Brett James (c) 31* ret not out, Philip Melville 0, Sherville Hall 13, Jason Keane 10*, Clinton Palmer 1, David Craig dnb
The Result was: –
Georges River CC: – 10-166 (38.3 Overs)
Lost to
C.C.N.S.W.: – 7-167 (29 Overs) (D. Turner 40*; C. Kitson 32* ret not out; B. James 31*)
By 3 wickets.
FoW: – 1-15 (G. O’Shea); 2-21 (J. Munden); 3-25 (T. Robertson); 4-33 (A. Dawson); 5-127 (P. Melville); 6-156 Sherville Hall); 7-161 (C. Palmer).
The Bowling was: – P. Melville 7.3-1-39-2; B. James 8-0-53-2; C. Palmer 4-0-13-2; J. Keane 3-0-33-0; D. Turner 5-3-7-2; C. Kitson 8-5-5-1; D. Craig 3-0-15-0
The Fielding was: –
Stumpings: – Nil
Catches: – Three to A. Dawson (w);One to each of D. Craig and B. James
Run outs: – One to B. James
CCNSW Player points (awarded by umpire): – 4 points to ; 3 points to ; 2 points to ; one point to