Category Archives: Match Reports

C&S, Classics, LMS, Match Reports, Vintage

WEEK ELEVEN: WEDNESDAY 22 – SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2023

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LAST MAN STANDS T20 8-A-SIDE EAST SYDNEY DIVISION TWO ROUND 4                          v GORILLA BOUNDARY BASHERS  AT MP 8  , ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER: REPORT BY WILL JACOBS

Heading into the game quietly confident of a first win , we started steady with the batting lead by debutant Jim  Dempster who made a solid 50 but unfortunately fell away at the end and didn’t score enough runs. A solid effort by the bowlers and in the field and some ‘never say die’ attitude made it hard for the opposition but they passed our score in the 14th over for the loss of only 2 wickets. CCNSW simply did not score enough runs. 

Great to see we can still get 8 players to a game after using a lot of players already this year. Hopefully we can improve on our batting next game 

The Team was: –  Nicholas Kochanowicz 14, Jim Dempster 55, Luke Goodman 10, Arun Shyamsunder 19, Ben Digan 7, Craig Fordham 8, William Jacobs (c) and (w) 5, Joseph Taylor 3

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 8-117 (19.3 Overs) (J. Dempster 55)

Lost to

Gorilla Boundary Bashers:  2-120 (14 Overs)

By 6 wickets

The Bowling was: – A. Shyamsunder 3-0-15-0; N. Kochanowicz 3-0-26-0; J. Taylor 2-0-22-0 ; C. Fordham 2-0-14-0; L. Goodman 2-0-11-0; B. Digan 1-0-19-0; J. Dempster 1-0-5-2; 

 The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – Two to J. Dempster

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): 3 points to J. Dempster; 2 points to A. Shyamsunder; one point to W. Jacobs 

Scorecard:  https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/1st-innings?fixtureid=407378

C&S ROUND 5: CCNSW vs THE SACHIN TENDULKAR XI AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN     ON SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2023 

Cancelled by rain.

CLASSICS  ROUND 5: CCNSW vs  SRI LANKA LIONS   AT WATERLOO OVAL, ZETLAND  ON SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2023: REPORT BY SHERVILLE HALL 

The Team was (playing 12): – Mike Weaver 44*, Tom Robertson 11, Paul Nash 16, Andrew Dawson 17, Andrew Davis 2, Andrew Bachelard 11, Mike Pinter 2, Scott Wells (c) and (w) 5, David Kent 4, Mike Tarrant 14, Sherville Hall 10, Ed Cross dnb

The Result was: –

Sri Lanka Lions: – 10-178 (39.4 Overs) (E. Cross 3-31))

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-144   (36.1 Overs) (M. Weaver 44*)

By 34 runs

FoWs: – 1-14 (T. Robertson); 2-33 (P. Nash); 3-71 (A. Dawson); 4-81 (A. Davis); 5-91 (M. Pinter); 6-98 (S. Wells); 7-102 (A. Bachelard); 8-120 (M. Tarrant); 9-121 (D. Kent) 10-144 (S. Hall)

The Bowling was: – S. Hall 7.4-0-41-2; D. Kent 3-0-27-0; A. Bachelard 9-0-40-1; E. Cross 9-1-31-3; A. Davis 2-0-10-0; M. Tarrant 9-1-25-2

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One To A. Davis and one to P. Nash

Run outs: – One to E. Cross

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to M. Weaver; 2 points to E. Cross; one point to S. Hall

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/classics-summer-202324/classics-foxs/game-centre/c7239e35

VINTAGE ROUND 4: CCNSW vs NORTHERN STARS AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN     ON SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2023: REPORT BY MICK McCORMICK 

Luckily the Bureau of Meteorology got their Saturday forecast wrong with the prediction of considerable rain not eventuating. The humidity was pushing 90% at Camperdown on the Sunday morning and what better way to warm up than fold up covers big enough to cover the space shuttle. 24 senior citizens slaving and sweating profusely chasing sporting glory. And the game hadn’t even started. The resultant pile of conglomerated plastic would have easily plugged the entrance to the new Rozelle junction tunnel.

State championship cross overs between the two clubs ensured the prospect of uncompromising competition once on the field with the added nuance of a Kim Philby like defection adding social media interest and whispers in the toilets.

The pitch was surprisingly firm. CCNSW lost the toss and was sent into bat.

In form opener Gerry O’Shea and Peter Rolls donned the gear early. Rolls, having sustained an injury surfing (still thinking he was Wayne Bartholomew) was furiously rubbing his leg as the crowd jeered his slower than usual running between wickets.

The Northern Stars opening bowlers bowled accurately. Gerry hit some fine shots to keep the run rate on an even keel. One shot was driven well down the field close to the mid on boundary where a soccer ball had magically appeared some four metres inside the boundary like some David Copperfield illusion. The fieldsman signaled four as the ball passed the soccer ball until everyone, including the local dog, realised the soccer ball was not the boundary marker. It is a well-known fact that the last time a soccer ball was used as a cricket boundary marker was in a Christmas game of backyard cricket at Tim Cahill’s house in 2004.In a surprisingly sensible umpiring decision Garry James estimated the pair would have run three, completely ignoring Rolls surfing trauma.

Gerry clipped and drove until he was caught and bowled by an excellent reflex catch. Rolls buckled down with Joe Scarcella, keeping the run rate ticking at a reasonable pace. Joe conscious of increasing the run rate got scuttled with an uncharacteristic swipe.

Greg Brooks started his innings in the best way possible sweeping his first ball from the opposition run- scrooge captain over the square leg boundary for six. He then took full toll of a couple of short balls from the Northern Stars recent leg spin recruit with one denting the roof of the pavilion.  He quickly reached his 30* laying a valuable foundation for the remaining batsmen. Unfortunately, Mick McCormick could not capitalise on the set up when his forward defence lost all structure waiting incessantly for the ball to arrive.

Garry James took up the challenge, though it seemed he had a gastric band on obtaining the strike. Meanwhile Dr. Sittampalam Ragavan (“Raga”) was getting on with it until a unfortunate run out ended the partnership.

As the overs started diminishing, Frank Baliotis was caught at the bowler’s end thinking about his upcoming Sri Lankan trip. Garry called loudly for a run off his pads. When Garry arrived at the bowlers end Frank was still thinking about what to put in his bags. Then as though someone said, “you better get home, your house is on fire” Frank took off like a fox terrier pursued by a leopard, ending in a gymnastic rollover manoeuvre Simone Biles would be proud of as the fielder and wicket keeper fluffed and fumbled leaving Frank safe and back on planet Earth.

Garry got his third undefeated 30*. Then John Finucane and David Glen ran like greyhounds between wickets to add some very valuable late runs. A final score of 5-163. A defendable score but needing good bowling and fielding against a strong batting line up.

Stuart Ridge settled into his normal line and length while Paul Georgiadis enticed the Northern Stars openers into hitting into the air resulting in a competent catch to Joe Scarcella followed by a lively caught and bowled to Paul himself. The new Northern Stars recruit then increased the risk taking with a number of edged and lofted shots narrowly escaping the fielders..

The Northern Stars captain required Dr Ragavan to delve into his bag of medical marvels for industrial quantities of magnesium to relieve his cramp brought on by attempting to bowl 8 overs and complaining he should be allowed to bowl 18. The drugs were to no avail and certainly had no calming effect.

Greg Brooks bowled beautifully conceding a miserly 3 runs over 5 overs. Mick McCormick took over from Ridge and bowled straighter picking up a couple of wickets including the aggressive lefty. Garry James threw the ball up and bowled a Jaffa arm ball to remove one of the more stubborn Northern Stars middle order batters. 

Garry then blew up like a puffer fish when Mick McCormick loped around the pavilion boundary Michael Holding style, until he dropped as though shot by a sniper, failing to observe the crater like depression adjacent to the entrance gate, (note to A Hawkes… public liability claim pending) unable to propel forward on his stomach akin to a stranded walrus, he forlornly flapped his flipper at the ball just inches away as it continued to roll agonisingly slowly towards the boundary. The ball won. 

Garry was somewhat recompensed the next ball, when a seemingly certain four halted centimeters from the cone designated boundary. The batters meanwhile were glove punching mid pitch having not crossed for a run whilst also risking a “Bairstow” incident as the ball was returned as they obliviously continued to wax lyrical over the shot not realising it had not made the boundary.

Raga then settled into his bowling rhythm even extracting some late innings bounce whilst keeping it tight. He was rewarded with two wickets, both plumb lbws. Joe Scarcella bowled the necessary tight overs when the opposition was looking to take more risk.

Greg Brooks and Stuart Ridge returned for the final six overs with the rain greasing the pitch and the ball. The light was also deteriorating and might have tempted formal umpires to cut proceedings short. The Northern Stars number 10 was batting ok until the slippery pitch saw him fall like one of the ice-skating group in front of Stephen Bradbury’s gold medal win.  An easy run out resulted. (There may have been a loud Leyton Hewitt “C’mon” call from the Pres in instigating the run out).

Although at more than 10 runs an over… with ‘Mr Magnesium’ and some bloke named Jim (Ed Note Jim Hadley not playing for CCNSW this season) at the crease, the fat lady still hadn’t sung.

But Stu appealed for a caught behind. The umpire, gave the batsman the opportunity of walking, possibly because of Mr Magnesium’s awkward after shot gait, he looked like he was walking, but not in a month of Sundays.  Finally  the dreaded digit was raised to send him on his way. This resulted in a spray at the umpire a humpback whale would be proud of. All out for 123.

A gratifying and eventful win with every player contributing

The Team was (playing 12): – Gerry O’Shea 13, Peter Rolls 31* ret not out, Joe Scarcella 14, Mick McCormick 6, Greg Brooks 32* ret not out, Garry James 31* ret not out, Sittampalam Ragavan 8, Frank Baliotis 12, David Glen, 0* John Finucane (w) 8*, Stuart Ridge (c) dnb, Paul Georgiadis dnb

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 5-163 (40 Overs) (G. Brooks 32* ret not out,; G. James 31* ret not out,; P. Rolls 31* ret not out,)

Defeated

Northern Stars: – 10-123 (37 Overs)

By 40 runs

FoWs: – 1-20 (G. O’Shea); 2-44 (J. Scarcella); 3-99 (M. McCormick); 4-115 (S. Ragavan); 5-142 (F. Baliotis).

The Bowling was: – G. Brooks 5-2-3-0; P. Georgiadis 3-1-12-2; G. James 7-0=29-1; M. McCormick 6-0-29-2; S. Ragavan 7-0-15-2; S. Ridge 6-0-23-1; J. Scarcella  3-0-13-0 

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – Two to J. Finucane (w) and one to each of P. Georgiadis and J. Scarcella

Run outs: – Two: – One to G. Brooks and one to P. Georgiadis

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to G. Brooks; 2 points to G. James; one point to S. Ridge

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/vintage-summer-202324/vintage/game-centre/abc5add6

C&S, LMS, Masters, Match Reports

WEEK TEN: WEDNESDAY 15 – SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2023

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LAST MAN STANDS T20 8-A-SIDE EAST SYDNEY DIVISION TWO ROUND 3                          v GRIZZLIES AT MP 4 , ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER: REPORT BY JAMIE MURTHA

(Ed note: In this game, Jamie Murtha broke his right hand in two places and will be out till after Christmas)

Following a washout last week, we lost the toss and were required to field. Debutant Joseph Taylor started off with a bang taking two wickets in an over, but the opposition steadied and then accelerated after collecting a couple of retirees and looked to score a big total.

Debutant Will Austen chipped in with a good wicket of his own, but it was a tough day for the remaining bowlers. Guy Sebastian of the Grizzlies buried the final nail in with a well struck home run 6 over the bowler’s head to boost the grisly score to 4-236 a run rate of just under 12 per five ball over.

Jonathan Seifman and debutant John Lyons opened and started positively. Seifman was seeing them well and hit some clean strikes and banked himself as a retiree early on with 51* off 20 balls

Will Austen and Rod Shone both kept the scoreboard ticking, Austen finding the boundary often retired with a swift 53* off 27, and Shone worked the ball around falling just short of his half century on 49* off 38 balls

The run rate eventually proved too high, but the team had reason to celebrate the batting performances. A big win is hopefully just around the corner.

The Team was: – Jonathan Seifman 51*; John Lyons 14, Will Austen 53*, Rod Shone 49*, Joseph Taylor 5, Vyshakh Sunny 14*, Jamie Murtha dnb, Will Jacobs (c) and (w) dnb

The Result was: –

Grizzlies: –  4-236 (20 Overs) 

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.:  2- 190 (20 Overs) (W. Austen 53*;J. Seifman 51*; R. Shone 49*)

By 46 runs

The Bowling was: –  J. Taylor 4-0-43-3; J. Murtha 4-0-44-0; V. Sunny 3-0-24-0; J. Seifman; 3-0-42-0 R. Shone 2-0-19-0; W. Austen 2-0-27-1; J. Lyons 2-0-38-0

 The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – One to W. Jacobs

Catches: – Two to J. Taylor and one to R. Shone

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): 3 points to J. Seifman; 2 points to W. Austen; one point to J. Taylor 

Scorecard: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/2nd-innings?fixtureid=407373

JACK PACE ROUND 3: CCNSW vs MARRICKVILE CC AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN     ON SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2023: REPORT BY SOREN HUGHES

With Jamie Murtha nursing a broken finger in his right hand, his role was relegated to scorer on the day and organiser of the covers removal with the brand new trolley. Soren Hughes took over as captain for the day.

The early arrivals at Camperdown were treated to a glorious summer day with the prospect of a good contest, only to be informed that not only did the hessian and mid size covers need to be folded but also the large covers needed to be taken out and folded properly. Unfortunately it then took three attempts to get them folded correctly and once folded and in the sheds, it was time to go out to the centre and lose the toss. In a shock twist, we were sent in to bat and that was our first win for the day.

Gerry O’Shea and Rhys Longbottom  kicked  off boldly with runs and 2 powerfully hooked boundaries  by Rhys before he made the mistake of trusting the bounce at Camperdown and was bowled playing a pull shot for 8. Ryan Lynch was about to take off before playing forward second ball  loosely outside the off stump at a slower ball to be caught behind for a duck. At 2-12, enter Sam Millar whom we hope will become a regular this season. Supported by quick turnover of the strike by Gerry, Sam got himself in and began seeing how much noise the fence posts could make. While he was lucky enough to be dropped a couple of times, he gently hit a couple into the change rooms just before drinks at 2-80 after 17 overs.  After drinks he accelerated past 50 through to 80 in an over including a hit over and onto the change rooms and another into Australia Street. After a partnership of 155 off 27 overs, Gerry decided he needed a break on 33 off 76 balls -all run  with no boundaries and only one 3 and let one slip through the gate. Millar was finally out in the 31st over for 119 off 88 balls with fourteen fours and five 6s with the score at 176. Mick McGrath and Tom Robertson then added 44 off the final four overs. Mick McGrath (30* off 15 balls with four 4s and two 6s) decided to join the CCNSW orchestra trials and belted everything in sight including a six into the sightscreen at the cafe end. Tom Robertson (14* from 8 balls) also chipped in to bring us to 4-220 after 35 overs- a run rate of over 6 per over.

The bowling went well. We opened with the medium fast right arm bowling of Avi Bhandari and Mick McGrath, who both bowled seven overs straight, both with figures of 2 for 20. Rhys Longbottom and Ryan Lynch bowled well to take us into the sheds at drinks 4 for 57 after 17 overs. It was going to be a tough ask for the Marrickville Saggers to score at over 9 per over and hit 164 from the remaining 18 overs.In the face of a lack of intent from the lower order Marrickville  batters, spin was ordered, delivered and the game was closed out without much fuss by the leg spin of  Henry Davis  and Adam Khamis but especially Rhys Longbottom who finished with figures of 3 for 5 from 7 overs. It was nice to get currently into the top 8 of the JPS league table (Ed note some JP results have yet to be posted) with a win (possibly with some bonus points). Just need to continue our good form into the next two games.

The Team was (playing 12): –Gerry O’Shea 33; Rhys Longbottom 8, Ryan Lynch 0, Sam Millar 119. Tom Robertson 15*, Mick McGrath 30*, Mike Pinter dnb, Henry Davis dnb, Soren Hughes (c) dnb, Avi Bhandari dnb, Declan Thomas (w) dnb and  Adam Khamis dnb

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 4-220 (35 Overs) (S. Millar 119)

Defeated

Marrickville CC: – 7-113 (35 Overs) (R. Longbottom 3-5)

By 107 runs

FoWs: – 1-11 (R. Longbottom), 2-12 (R. Lynch), 3-167 (G. O’Shea), 4- 179 (S. Millar)

The Bowling was: – A. Bhandari 7-2-20-2; M. McGrath 7-1-20-2; R. Longbottom 7-3-5-3; R. Lynch 4-0-18-0; H. Davis 7-0-25-0; A. Khamis 3-0-12-0

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – One to D. Thomas

Catches: – One to R. Lynch and one to M. McGrath

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): 3 points to S. Millar; 2 points to M. McGrath; one point to G. O’Shea

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/city-and-suburban-cricket-association-1903-inc/summer-202324/jack-pace-shield/game-centre/48ce718a

MASTERS  ROUND 4: CCNSW vs  INGLEBURN CC  AT MEMORIAL PARK  OVAL, CAMPBELLTOWN,   ON SUNDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2023: REPORT BY DAN TURNER

After a longer than usual break between games of 3 weeks, the team gathered in the Deep South West of Sydney enthused from their last outing, a very tight loss to a traditionally powerful team. In last years encounter with Ingleburn, the game was decided on the last ball with CCNSW getting up. So we were ready for a close tight affair, always the best ones.

The wicket looked dry and hard and when captain Dan Turner  called incorrectly and was told to have a bowl, there were a few forced smiles. But the Ingleburn innings got off to a great start for CCNSW with Ben Stanic (1-33) getting the prized scalp of the Ingleburn skipper on the 3rd ball of the innings, attracting a false shot and a high edge to 2nd slip, v/c Andrew Dadswell. This was the beginning of a dominating opening spell of twelve overs by both Stanic and Mick Tarrant (3-16). Both bowlers set about bowling very tight lines on a wicket that wasn’t playing as freely as first thought. Mick secured two wickets in his opening spell, bowling the other opened and trapping the dangerous No.3 lbw. After twelve overs Ingleburn were 3-32 and CCNSW was producing its best fielding display of the season. Matt Johnston at cover and Ashley Perrott at mid-wicket  were a constant threat to the batters. The whole  team was in on it and the fielding was excellent.

A double change in the bowling brought on Matt Johnston (0-14) and David Abreu (1-8) who both extended the CCNSW domination, bowling very well, and at drinks Ingleburn were 3-45, tracking well below a par score. 

After drinks, Abreu lured a lofted shot and Ed Cross took a nice catch to make it 41-4. Andrew Dadswell (3-28) and Ed Cross (1-25) soon came on and continued the theme of good bowling, to some middle order hitters who were keen to get going. Birriwa reserve is a massive ground and with Ingleburn needing to hit out to get a score, there were plenty of spaces. Dadswell got 3 good wickets including the biggest hitter, bowled. Cross chimed in with a bowled as well. Ingleburn was restricted to 9-141, a score that was too small for that ground. A fantastic bowling and fielding performance, one that I am sure sent golden vibes to the Aussies who were later that evening about to provide their  own fantastic bowling and fielding display.

We had a solid start to our innings with Ed Cross and Jason Kenn playing a good cop, bad cop routine. Ed playing slightly more watchful, and ‘Jaydos’ (as Dave Craig christened him last season in a moment of brotherly love), looking to be more forceful. The bowling tactics were obvious, stump to stump, pace off, keep it tight on a slow wicket. Cross went first bowled by the opening bowler with one that clipped the off bail in the fifth over (1-18). Paul Nash joined Kenn and was also watchful, playing a classic innings of’ respect the good, punish the bad’. 

Things were going along well until Jason got one that nipped back. At first glance the ball hit him on the tip of the pad/thighpad, but he was given in what was to be one of four lbw decisions (out of 6 wickets). ‘Jaydos ‘walked off the ground, and let’s just say he wasn’t happy and leave it at that. Dan Turner joined Nash and was gone soon after lbw, and Ash Perrott came out and tried to smack the legspinner, only to get bowled. At 4-58 after 15 overs, things were still okay, but we needed a partnership.

Scott Wells strode to the wicket and after a small period of consolidation, set about changing the tempo of the game with his positive shots and running. Nash departed for a well made 32 (lbw again) and in came Dadswell, who played the Marnus innings while Wells played the aggressor. Wells went for 30 (yes, lbw) with the score on 6-106, but the momentum was with us. Mick Tarrant and Dadswell got us home with 4 overs to spare with the biggest partnership of the game (37) with excellent patience, shot making, and running. 

A good win for Masters on a tough wicket.

The Team was: –  Ed Cross 9, Jason Kenn 20, Paul Nash 32, Dan Turner (c) 4, Ash Perrott 2, Scott Wells (w) 30, Andrew Dadswell 20*, Mike Tarrant 19*, Matt Johnston dnb , Ben Stanic dnb , David Abreu dnb

The Result was: –

Ingleburn CC.: – 9-141 (40 Overs)

Lost to 

C.C.N.S.W.: – 6-143 (35.4 Overs) (P. Nash 32; S. Wells 30)

Lost to

By 4 wickets

FoWs: – 1-18 (E. Cross); 2-36 (J. Kenn); 3-53 (D. Turner); 4-58 (A. Perrott); 5-80 (P. Nash) 6-106 (S. Wells)

The Bowling was: – M. Johnston 6.2-2-14-0; D. Abreu 6-0-18-1, A. Dadswell 6.4-1-28-3; E. Cross 7-1-25-1; B. Stanic 7-0-33-1; M. Tarrant 7-1-16-3

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One catch to each of A. Dadswell, E. Cross, J. Kenn and P Nash

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to A. Dadswell; 2 points to M. Tarrant; one point to P. Nash

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/masters-summer-202324/masters-foxs/game-centre/1ce48a68

C&S, Classics, LMS, Match Reports, Social

WEEK NINE: WEDNESDAY 8 – SUNDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2023

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SOCIAL GAME: CCNSW vs SYDNEY CC  XI  AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL. CAMPERDOWN ,   ON WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2023: REPORT BY EDWARD ROBERTSON

With the previous match rained out, we all looked forward to this mid week match at the home of CCNSW at Camperdown. To his joy, dad (Ed note: aka ‘Tom Robertson’) had bumped into Bill (umpire) on the walk from the bus stop, further lifting up his excitement for another midweek cricket match. Match manager on the day, Soren Hughes exercised his outstanding skills with the coin. SCC called incorrectly and we chose to bat first. Two guest debutants Sean Avers and Mike Norris were brought along by long time stalwart Mitch Sturt.

And Tyson McCallum reprised his guest appearance of last season. All were ready to compete at any moment; their enthusiasm was saved to the middle order. CCNSW members Ed Robertson, Len Volkov, Michael Carman and Richard Clark and Tyson McCallum got us off to a gentle start with the run-rate slowly ticking over at around 4.5 for 3-74 runs off the first 17 overs to the drinks’ break. This was then backed up with the fire-power of Sean Avers (50* ret), Mike Norris (51* ret) and Mitch Sturt (19*) who scored 152 off the final 18 overs to take the CCNSW total to 4-227 after 35 overs with five notably large sixes by Mike Norris  at the pavilion roof, on the roof and over the roof. To the team’s dismay, dad saving himself till later in the order, did not score a boundary.

The Sydney CC XI started strongly with the bat, but then four key wickets by Sean Avers destroyed their top order left them all with three main run scorers, two batters (52* and 33) and sundries (30 inc 19 wides and 9 no balls !!). Tyson McCallum put on an incredible fielding display, saving runs with his speed and his gun arm from the boundary. With 68 needed off the last 10 overs, two wickets fell quickly to Mario Giarratano playing for CCNSW for the first time in 2 years, all but signaling the impending end of the SCC innings. Richard Clark ‘s competitive intensity further strangled their efforts, and he was rewarded by finishing the game off.

Pizza and drinks were shared at the end, with Soren graciously gifting the SCC XI a token of appreciation. A welcomed win, and in dads words, ‘this feels different’.

The Team was: – Len Volkov 2, Edward Robertson 50* ret not out, Michael Carman 13, Richard Clark 14, Tyson McCallum 7, Sean Aver 50* ret not out , Mike Norris (w) 51* ret not out, Mitch Sturt 19*, Tom Robertson 7*, Soren Hughes (c) dnb and Mario Giarratano dnb

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 4-227 (35 Overs) (M. Norris 51*; S. Aver 50*; E. Robertson 50*)

Defeated

SCC XI: – 10-171 (29.2 Overs) (S. Aver 4-52)

By 56 runs

FoWs: – 1-8 (L. Volkov), 2-28 (), 3-74 (M. Carman), 4- 87 (T. McCallum),

The Bowling was: – M. Giarratano 4-0-22-2; E. Robertson 5-2-8-1; S. Aver 7-0-52-4; S. Hughes 4-0-23-2;   T. McCallum 4-0-37-1; R. Clark 5.2-0-27-2

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – two to R. Clark; one to each of T. McCallum, Ed Robertson and Tom Robertson

Run outs: – Nil


LAST MAN STANDS T20 8-A-SIDE EAST SYDNEY DIVISION TWO ROUND 2  v CLEVELAND SEAMERS AT MP 3, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON THURSDAY 9 NOVEMBER

Cancelled by rain

C&S ROUND  4: CCNSW vs YARALLA AT GODDARD OVAL, CONCORD    ON SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2023: REPORT BY DAVID CRAIG

“Who the f*** IS that guy?”

On a warm humid afternoon, the skipper Jamie Murtha did us proud by calling correctly and electing to bat (a sound choice that avoided a possible lynching in the dressing room). In the absence of the Robertson half of the ‘Tom & Gerry’ Show, “Dutchy” David Craig volunteered to open the batting with the wily, wiry Irishman, Gerry O’Shea and after a Remembrance Day ceremony play commenced.

Under instructions to get us to 0-40 after 10, O’Shea and Craig delivered the goods plus 10% interest, 0-44 after 11. O’Shea demonstrated a clinical technique, straight bat, scoring in the V, with Craig alternately stodgy and flashy, scoring in the inverted V between third man and fine leg. It would be remiss of me not to mention the perfectly executed reverse scoop for 4 in the 9th over; Joe Root would have been pleased with that one, and much merriment and mirth ensued. (The bowler’s name? S. Minns).

Craig perished trying to sweep a loopy yorker from the erratic Yaralla leggie, lbw (with no complaints, a rare event!) to bring the real batters to the crease. Exhilarated by the wicket, Yaralla’s erratic leggie greeted Jamie Murtha with a head high full toss that he despatched for 4 to set the tone for a fine captain’s knock. The platform was laid and we went to drinks at 1-77 off 17 (Murtha 19*, O’Shea 29*). After a few more overs accumulating, the skipper pronounced it was “go time”, and O’Shea hobbled off retired hurt 42* (slightly hurt indeed, with a minor groin niggle and some academy award winning acting) to bring in the hard hitting middle order.

Murtha and newcomer Mick Norris pushed the score along with intent. Norris was just finding his groove when one jagged away and rattled the pegs, 2-145 in the 28th. Murtha upped the ante by hitting one into the keeper’s helmet and another over the fence, before announcing to the umpire he was going to hit another six and getting bowled playing an agricultural swipe. “That’s nay how ya premeditate, Jamie”. Returning CCNSW member Sam Millar was joined by the Taswegian “Berryman” Richard Clark, and smote the erratic Yaralla leggie for three mighty boundaries in four balls. A fourth looked odds on as the next ball sailed high and straight, when to everyone’s surprise some bloke with too-short pants and black sneakers threw out a left paw and snagged a most improbable catch. Unlucky Sam, and a lifelong memory for that bloke I’m sure.

Henry Davis joined Clark at the crease, and before he had time to settle he was not exactly barbecued, but at least lightly grilled by a “Yes, I’m coming regardless of what you reckon” call from the other end. ‘Berryman’ made up for this misdemeanour by swiping a couple of (very ugly) deliveries over the fence, with Matt Leong at the other end hitting some powerful drives to bring us up to a very respectable 5-210 at the end of the allotted 35.

You would think, dear reader, that we had laid the table for a probable win, with runs on the board and a tired batting unit after a hot day in the field. Instead, we were greeted by an onslaught that left me stroking my chin and asking, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, “Who ARE those guys?” as they just kept coming. Yaralla had promoted their regular number 7 to open, to give him a bit of a hit. (That man’s name? S. Minns. Maybe I should not have ramped him, IDK). Well, the statistics of that “bit of a hit” are as follows: 100 runs off 52 balls, 16 fours and 3 sixes. (He slowed up a bit at the end, exhausted from swinging the bat so hard). Yaralla were 0-106 after 10, Minns 79 (34), and 0-132 after 14.2 overs when he retired out (very out indeed, after Murtha pressed the point HARD! Undeterred, the Yaralla scorers recorded this as retired hurt, can you believe it?!))

Anyhoo, for CCNSW it was Sam Millar and Ming Heng who were entrusted with the new ball, and they did well to restrict our opponents to just 12 runs an over for the first 6 overs. Matt Leong came on at the 7th over and bowled a fine spell with a lot of off-speed cutters, while at the other end Asam Khamis was unable to arrest the onslaught from Minns. Henry Davis relieved Khamis and, bowling a tidy line and length, produced a rare moment of satisfaction for CCNSW by picking up the wicket of Yaralla’s star batter, Alex Mayes first ball, nicely caught by Millar at mid-off as he arrogantly went the tonk. (Ed Note: with his brother Dorny Mayes he put on a partnership of 308 for the second wicket v St George Vets last March in a 35 over game) His day comprised two dropped catches at slip and a first ball duck, so there was some solace in that. If you can’t revel in your own success, enjoy the failures of your opponents, I say.

It was leg-spin from both ends after the drinks break, as David Craig and Henry Davis gave the dodgy Yaralla leggie a lesson in how to bowl good areas consistently. After they were bowled out, Ming Heng returned and improved his economy rate (admittedly from a low base, but still, well done Ming). At the other end Khamis came on for a second spell and took a wicket with just one run required, so that was fun. Rich Clark was given the honour of conceding the winning run, as (curiously) the in-form skipper remained unbowed and unbowled. Still, credit to Jamie Murtha for protecting his bowling average under difficult circumstances, well done. Go Go Youse Kiwis, I say (a terrific song by Greg Champion, look it up). A special shout out to the Yaralla scorers for starting the innings with “W” for wide and “X” for wicket, and then reversing it later, that made the scorebook a pleasure to interpret, thanks champs., so I had little alternative but to fume at a couple of blokes that annoyed me. All in all a day that started well enough but soured like a jug of fresh milk left out in the sun on a hot afternoon.

With respectful apologies to Alex  Mayes and  Shezon Saleem (aka “the erratic Yaralla leggie”).

The Team was: – Gerry O’Shea 42* ret hurt, David Craig 11, James Murtha (c) 68, Mick Norris (w) 13, Sam Millar 17, Richard Clark 19*,  Henry Davis 1, Matt Leong 15*, Ming Heng dnb. Len Volkov dnb, Adam Khamis dnb

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 5-210   (35 Overs) (J. Murtha 68; G. O’Shea 42* ret hurt)

Lost to

Yaralla CC: – 2-212 (31.3 Overs)

By 8 wickets

FoWs: – 1-44 (D. Craig), 2-145 (M. Norris), 3- 161 (J. Murtha), 4-173 (S. Millar), 5-176 (H. Davis),

The Bowling was: – S. Millar 3-0-34-0, M. Heng 5-0-51-0; M. Leong 5-0-33-0; A. Khamis 4-0-34-1; H. Davis 7-0-38-1; D. Craig 7-1-21-0;  R. Clark 0.3-0-2-0;

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to S. Millar

Run outs: – Nil

Player points : 3 points to G. O’Shea; 2 points to J. Murtha; one point to D. Craig

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/city-and-suburban-cricket-association-1903-inc/summer-202324/c-and-s-club-matches/game-centre/0b4cccda


CLASSICS  ROUND 4: CCNSW vs  MACARTHUR CC AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN,   ON SUNDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2023: REPORT BY MIKE WEAVER  

Tom Robertson was a key player for this fixture at Camperdown. As he turned up with the key which led to to accessing the change rooms at 12:07pm (start time is 12:15pm)

The weather was cloudy and humid and the pitch was patchy with several unrolled green spots. MacArthur sent us in to bat, bowled accurately and recorded a comfortable win against an underperforming CCNSW 

Personally, I’m smarting from the loss

We started reasonably well. Opening stand was looking sound between ‘The Two Mikes’, Pinter and Weaver. I think maybe the flick I tried was a little ambitious, in the six over, to have me adjudged lbw. The ball was full and straightened up in the air, from leg to off. Following me into the sheds was Paul Nash with a first ball duck. A ball that just took off from a length, was edged off the splice to gully. From a pretty confident start, we are 2-21.

Then there was quite a good partnership between ‘Punter’ and Andrew Dawson. Punter had already slashed a nice boundary over point and was picking up his ones and twos. Andrew was stroking the ball around with ease and sending the rare loose ball to the fence.

‘’Very disappointed is an understatement, at a loss to how this keeps happening’’ – Michael Tarrant – WhatsApp chat post from the CCNSW opening bowler and allrounder, afterwards.

Now, to answer Mick. A reason could have been that CCNSW just didn’t battle through the tough overs and take the time to set a platform. That’s what the team plan used to be. Get to 30 overs with two in the shed. Then smash it for the last 10 overs, with wickets in hand. It was the old fashioned style and it normally always meant we scored 180-200 minimum. The top order simply left too much for the lower order to do, and did not seize the day. 

I’m guilty as anyone. I hit a full toss straight to the field as well for no run, and needed to hit gaps better, missed a couple on my pads down leg side. Andy Davis batted very well, in contrast to this. Two nice cuts for four and knocking it around nicely. Was done over by the pitch, caught behind

Not putting the loose ball away with authority, leading to dismissal, was a theme. Scott Wells, the skipper, probably looked the best of all. But he, Pinter and Dawson and later Mick Tarrant, all got out caught to a full ball or full toss. To be fair, Scott was caught on the fence, which isn’t the worst way to be dismissed. The others each bunted back a catch to the bowler. David Kent, in at 8, was showing the team the way with Andy Davis (in at 7). This pair had got us to drinks and afterwards. Then an lbw decision sent Dave back. It seemed the ball must have been sliding across off stump and/or pitched off the stumps. Left arm over, spinning away from him and Dave was well forward, sweeping. The ball had 2-3 metres to travel after striking him. Admittedly, height was probably not an issue. And the umpire had no doubt and he’s in the best position to see.

Dave Craig said: ‘The top order all looked great at the crease. Until …’

Earlier, Tom Robertson, in at 5,  was looking very good with the bat in hand, dealing in two boundaries as part of his brief stay, one a crunching square cut, textbook style. Then he was out lbw, a front stool stride well down the pitch.

Nobody got going enough and we were all-out for 141, when Sherville (“Wes”) Hall was bowled. Both he and Mick Tarrant had each cracked a straight drive to the fence and tried hard. And with the score posted, CCNSW held some hope of being able to defend it. A decent afternoon tea was consumed at the break. CCNSW have lifted in this area, this season. 

The CCNSW bowling effort started off well and Mick Tarrant and ‘Wes’ Hall did a decent job with the new ball, mostly attacking the stumps. But because MacArthur had a small target to chase, they were able to start carefully. CCNSW had a couple of big shouts for caught behind, off Tarrant. He very nearly had one of the openers bowled. We needed an early wicket, and MacArthur did well and survived. The spinners we tried, David Craig and Luke Holman, didn’t bowl as well as what they are capable of  because there was too much pressure on them. There were simply not enough runs on the board for their attacking loopy style. 

Paul Nash did a good job to pick up a wicket late and Tarrant came back on from the Rotunda end to get his deserved wicket, when it was all over. Dave Kent bowled some good areas at a decent clip, coming on second change from the cafe end. He trapped the number 3, lbw, to get us on the wicket tally board finally, after both the openers had retired. He dropped short only 2-3 times and the MacArthur bats didn’t miss out, each time the ball was spanked to the fence. Dave continued to bowl very well, even when it seemed a lost cause. 

We dropped a couple of chances that didn’t help team spirits. The ground fielding kept up well, the one exception being ‘Weaves’ refusing to get down to one. And we were never really in it after the openers retired and they had attacked our spinners with freedom.

So, CCNSW play Sri Lanka next game and have to be more determined. I suggest let’s get to the nets. 

‘Wellsy’ went home It seems the Skipper  wasn’t particularly impressed. We will all have to think about our games and rally as a team, as a response.

’Nuff said ‘’ was skipper Scott Well’s only after match Whatsapp group chat post.

Mike Weaver to Dave Kent, WhatsApp chat, post match: “ I see, well it seemed a decent shot (his sweep, that led to dismissal) to attempt. Where did the ball pitch do you reckon, Kenty?

Dave Kent: “4th stump”

For CCNSW, it was one of those days when a few guys looked very likely to go right on and were thwarted by things out of their control. Conversely, others looked very likely and succumbed to things they were unlucky not to have controlled better. That’s cricket in general I guess and it bit very hard in this match. 

A few of the CCNSW were quite crestfallen today after getting out. Overall It just didn’t seem normal, especially playing at Camperdown. It was a crestfallen performance.

To re-state, one guy had no luck at all. I’m referring to Nashy’s first ball dismissal. Paul is normally very reliable and is often the team’s top performer. 

So looking back on it, CCNSW can’t let this performance affect their overall confidence. There was a bit of bad luck that conspired somehow stopped getting our battling retirements as normal. And all credit to MacArthur. 

It’s not likely to happen again. 

‘Don’t be thinking you might get out when you bat’ (to quote Ricky Ponting) 

We just have to be a bit more determined, individually. I think we should all go for a hit and a bowl and a field in the week before the Sri Lanka game 

We must come together in this time of adversity

The Team was: – Mike Weaver 14, Mike Pinter 13, Paul Nash 0, Andrew Dawson 25, Tom Robertson 9, Scott Wells 12, Andrew Davis 25, David Kent 10, Mike Tarrant 11, Sherville Hall, 9 David Craig 2* and Luke Holman dnb

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-141 (37.2 Overs)

Lost to

MacArthur CC: -3-142 (23.5 Overs)

By 7 wickets

FoWs: – 1-21 (M. Weaver); 2-21 (P. Nash); 3-40 (M. Pinter) 4-57 (T. Robertson); 5-82 (A Dawson); 6-82 (S. Wells); 7-113 (D. Kent) 8-118 (A Davis); 9-130 (M. Tarrant); 10-141 (S. Hall)

The Bowling was: – M. Tarrant 6.5-0-37-1; S. Hall 4-0-19-0; D. Craig; 2-0-18-0 D. Kent 7-0-31-1; L. Holman 1-0-17-0; P. Nash 3-0-17-1

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to M Pinter

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to A. Davis; 2 points to A. Dawson; one point to M. Tarrant

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/classics-summer-202324/classics-foxs/game-centre/1c0e66fd

C&S, Classics, LMS, Match Reports, Social, Vintage

WEEK EIGHT: WEDNESDAY 1 – SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2023

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SOCIAL GAME: CCNSW vs ‘RAGA’ INVITATION XI  AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL. CAMPERDOWN ,   ON WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2023: REPORT BY PETER ROLLS 

TEAMS: CCNSW AND RAGA’S  INVITATIONAL XI – WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2023
Back Row: Gowri Palan, John Jackson, Kim Taylor (wk/1 for Raga XI), Stuart Ridge, Neveille Emerson, Joe Scarcella, Greg Brooks, Michael McCarron, Frank Baliotis, David Craig, Cuthbert Berenger, Gary Whittaker (wk/2 for Raga XI), Malcolm Freame (wk for CCNSW), David Glen, Ian Bradburn.  
Front Row: Michael Carmen, Matt Brennan, Sittampalam Ragavan (c for Raga XI), Peter Rolls (c for CCNSW), Garry Winney, Wasantha Hettiarrchchi, Upul Dangalle.

An English style 21 deg C and a firm, dry wicket.

Dr Ragavan Sittampalam (“Raga’) won the toss and elected to bat.

Rules for batters was retire at 30 balls (with no runs limit which was a big mistake!) and max 5 overs per bowler and one ball allowed down leg side per over (with second ruled a wide). 40 overs per side.

Raga’s XI Innings:

Raga had more ring-ins than Ringling Brothers.  He was determined to break the deadlock of 2 games a piece on the shield to his favour. 

Kim Taylor, all the way from Bathurst and in his first appearance for Raga’s team, opened and received the first two balls unusually loose from Greg Brooks as a welcome gift for 2 boundaries, then Greg’s next 4 overs only went for 11 including the wicket of Neville for 0, the other opener, caught well by David Craig at mid off.

Taylor reached 32 runs for his 30 balls (and recycled later to get 37). Upul Dangalle. was caught at mid wicket by Peter for 20 off David Craig who had them tied up better than an S&M worker which included the prize wicket of Gary Whittaker for 6 hitting on to his stumps.

Kesara de Costa (0) got a tickle off David Craig caught behind by keeper Malcolm Freame which was a pleasure for him after so much stretching/diving to leg side deliveries by Joe Scarcella. Uncharacteristic for Joe’s normal impeccable line and length and he claimed it must have been something he ate the night before…perhaps a lentil soup to be that lax??? 

Matt Brennan came in with gay abandon for a quick fire 51 from 30 balls. To David Glen’s credit he kept them pitched up but Matt kept pitching them to and over the short boundary fence. Brennan recycled and continued his onslaught for a huge 73 but then was caught unawares bowled by a good ball by Michael Carman (alias Opera) after some variety of lengths. Including one ball that bounced twice before hitting Raga’s stumps. Unlucky for Raga that the second bounce was between the crease and stumps so judged a fair delivery and Raga therefore out.

Michael McCarron and Cuthbert Berenger batted sensibly against the swift and accurate bowling of Stuart Ridge and the other end nagging length bowling of John Jackson (alias ‘Jacko)’. Both retiring for 7 and 26 respectively after 30 balls. (McCarron recycled to end with 17 not out). 

After a hiatus Garry Winney came into the match saying he had not played for a while but showed his many years of experience and bowled Wasantha Hettiarrchchi (‘Wasa’) for 7 with good flight. Gowri Palan at number 11 showed his class, assisting Taylor, Brennan and McCarron when they recycled to be not out 13.

An imposing target was set of 8-266. 

CCNSW Innings:

An event to enjoy our senior years especially with our Sri Lankans friends who don’t get to experience turf too often and for all to participate. We mixed it up to our normal games at Vintage on Sundays with Stuart Ridge opening the innings with Frank Baliotis. They survived the first two overs from Raga and McCarron but in Raga’s second over he slipped through Ridge’s defences bowling him for 3.  Baliotis retired on 13 after his 30 balls (and when recycled later didn’t add to his score). 

Peter Rolls and Joe  Scarcella kept the score board ticking along until Scarcella (facing) had a seniors moment and called for a single after his nice straight drive hit the bowlers end stumps and deflected straight to mid off while Rolls went back into his crease to avoid a run out if Brennan the bowler had touched the ball on the way through. Rolls not seeing where the ball had deflected too, blindly responded and with keeper Taylor whipping off the bails, was run out by a metre for 19.

Brooks started promising with a boundary but was departed soon after stumped by Taylor off Brennan. Scarcella went aerial, caught for 18 off Gowri Palan. David Craig followed Joes lead for same outcome for 7. David Glen showed some fight retiring for 13 off his 30 balls. Carman didn’t last the first act out LBW to de Costa for 1. John Jackson ran some quick single for a 70 year old and showed the “young’uns” how to be selective retiring after his 30 balls for 15. Malcolm Freame was bowled for 4 by another 70 year old in Cuthbert Berenger who bowled an impeccable line and length.

Garry Winney was looking good with a couple of boundaries until caught off Upul Dangalle for 11. David Glen and Jackson recycled to keep pushing and enjoyed taking 5 runs off wicket keeper turned bowler Kim Taylor for his only over until Glen holed out to Neville Emerson with an easy catch at point off Dangalle in the second last over for 21. Jackson unbeaten on 17*. A good job that Kim Taylor didn’t get the last wicket otherwise the news would have been echoed from Sydney to Bathurst from the Blue Mountains.

After the game, the beer, wine and soft drinks still went down well with plenty of what ifs!!!

Thanks to Raga for supplying the tasty bbq chicken and bread rolls and fruit delights with more bananas than Taronga Zoo.

The Result was: –

Raga Invitation XI: – 8-266 (40 0vers) (NB Inc 53 extras)

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-127 (38 Overs) 

By 139 runs

Raga’s XI Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – One to K. Taylor (w)

Catches: – One to N. Emerson, three to anonymous

Run outs: – One to K. Taylor.

The CCNSW Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One to M. Freame (w) and one to each of D. Craig and  P. Rolls

Run outs: – Nil

Raga’s XI Batting: Kim Taylor 37 (wk/1), Neville Emerson 0, Upul Dangalle 20, Gary Whittaker 6 (wk/2), Kesara De Costa 0, Matt Brennan 73, Michael McCarron 17*, Cuthbert Berenger 26*, Sittampalam Ragavan (c) 18, Wasantha Hettiarachchi 7, Gowri Palan 13*. 

FoWs: – 1-23 (N. Emerson), 2-70 (G. Whittaker), 2-70 (K. De Costa), 4-188 (U. Dangalle), 5-200 (S. Ragavan), 6-210 (W. Hettiarrchchi), 7-216 (K. Taylor), 8-251 (M. Brennan).  

CCNSW Bowling was: G. Brooks 5-1-19-1; J. Scarcella 5-0-40-0; D. Craig 5-0-20-3; D. Glen 5-0-52-0; J. Jackson 5-2-14-0, S. Ridge 5-0-23-0, G. Winney 5-0-41-1, M. Carman 5-0-32-3

CCNSW XI Batting: Stuart Ridge 3, Frank Baliotis 13, Peter Rolls (c) 19, Joe Scarcella 18,  Greg Brooks 6, David Craig 7, David Glen 21, Michael Carman 1 , John Jackson 17*, Malcolm Freame (w) 4, Garry Winney 11. 

FoWs: – 1-6 (S. Ridge), 2-52 (P. Rolls), 3-62 (G. Brooks), 4-64 (J. Scarcella), 5-69 (D. Craig), 6-78 (M. Carman), 7-105 (M. Freame), 8-106 (F. Baliotis), 9-118 (G. Winney), 10-127 (D. Glen)

Raga’s XI Bowling was: –:  S. Ragavan 4-0-13-1, M. Mc Carron 5-1-11-0, M. Brennan 3-0-20-1, G. Palan 5-1-18-2, K. De Costa 5-1-14-1, W. Hettiarrchchi 2-0-5-0, N. Emerson 5-1-9-0, C. Berenger 5-1-11-1, U. Dangalle 4-0-6-3.

Shield presented to winners Raga XI by CCNSW

LAST MAN STANDS T20 8-A-SIDE EAST SYDNEY DIVISION TWO ROUND 1 v O’SULLIVAN ROADMEN AT MP 6, ROBERTSON ROAD, MOORE PARK ON WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER: REPORT BY WILL JACOBS

Our first game of the season started at Moore Park 6, as C.C.N.S.W. faced O’Sullivan Roadmen. Winning the toss, C.C.N.S.W. chose to field first. The weather conditions were pretty good, but it threatened to get gloomy. 

Our opposition put up a strong batting performance, scoring a total of 206 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in their 20 overs. We faced a challenging run chase and the clouds started to take over, it became very dark before long!

In response we managed to score 119 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 20 overs. Our opposition used the conditions and bowled well making it tough for the batters to find their rhythm and timing, Craig Fordham and Nicholas Kochanowicz had a solid partnership at the end but O’Sullivan Roadmen’s bowlers proved effective, ensuring their team’s 87-run victory.

Our guys dusted off the cobwebs and displayed good enthusiasm, setting the stage for an exciting season ahead in division 2.

The Team was:   Rod Shone 24, Geoff Whitehead 9, Scott Williams 1, Asfand Uppal 30, Craig Fordham, 27* Nicholas Kochanowicz 21*, Joshua Heldarskard dnb , William Jacobs, dnb (c ) and (w)

The Result was: –

O’Sullivan Roadmen: – 3-206 (20 Overs)

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.:   4-119 (20 Overs)

By 87 runs

The Bowling was:  N. Kochanowicz 4-0-45-0; C. Fordham 4-0-32-1; J. Heldarskard 4-0-36-0 ; S. Williams 4-0-44-2; A. Uppal 2-0-26-0; R. Shone 2-0-22-0

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – one to W. Jacobs (w)

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): 3 points to C. Fordham; 2 points to R. Shone; one point to N. Kochanowicz

Scorecard: https://www.lastmanstands.com/leagues/scorecard/2nd-innings?fixtureid=407377

SOCIAL GAME v VICTORIA BARRACKS XI FOR THE BARRACKERS’ CUP AT KENSINGTON OVAL, KENSINGTON  ON THURSDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2020

This game had been rearranged because of rain the previous week but despite the weather now being perfect, neither side could raise a full team at a week’s notice. so it was cancelled.

The date for the second fixture this season for the ‘Barrackers’ Cup’ is Thursday February 29.

JACK PACE ROUND 2: CCNSW vs OLD CRANBROOKIANS AT DANGAR FIELD, ROSE BAY  ON SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2023

Cancelled by rain 

CLASSICS  ROUND 3: CCNSW vs ROSEVILLE  AT ROSEVILLE CHASE  OVAL. EAST LINDFIELD ,   ON SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2023:

Cancelled by rain 

VINTAGE  ROUND 3: CCNSW vs LINDFIELD  AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL. CAMPERDOWN ,   ON SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2023

Cancelled by rain 

C&S, Masters, Match Reports, Vintage

WEEK SEVEN: THURSDAY 25- SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2023

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SOCIAL GAME v VICTORIA BARRACKS XI FOR THE BARRACKERS’ CUP AT KENSINGTON OVAL, KENSINGTON  ON THURSDAY 25 OCTOBER 2020

Cancelled because of rain 

(Editor’s note) It was the Victoria Barracks player who in the 1850s, originally developed what became the SCG; they also claim that their soldier spectators who came from the Barracks and supported them are the originators of the term “to barrack” as used in Australia.  (This is disputed by etymologists who ascribe the term either to Melbourne or Ireland) 

C.C.N.S.W. was invited by Cricket NSW to represent the civilian population of NSW v the Army at the SCG to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the SCG. Arising from that game C.C.N.S.W. and the Army jointly bought “The Barrackers’ Cup” which is kept in the Army Museum at Victoria Barracks and occasionally at the request of the C.C.N.S.W. Match Manager brought out on the day

The ball with which C.C.N.S.W. bowled in the150th anniversary game can be seen in the SCG Museum.

To quote from the Army web site

“Victoria Barracks is one of the best-known examples of military architecture in Australia. The Regency-style Victoria Barracks were designed by Lieutenant-Colonel George Barney, who also built Fort Denison and reconstructed Circular Quay. Most of barracks was constructed using locally quarried sandstone between 1841 and 1849. The barracks were occupied by British troops up until 1870 and then taken over by the New South Wales colonial forces. After the Federation in 1901, Victoria Barracks housed the various headquarters responsible for administering and co-coordinating the military. Between 1931 and 1936 the barracks was home to the Royal Military College of Australia and from July 1938 to July 1940 it also housed the Command and Staff School. Today, Victoria Barracks is home to the Headquarters of Forces Command. The Barracks are widely considered to be one of the best examples of a military barracks in the world”

CITY AND SUBURBAN ROUND 3: CCNSW vs OLD ALOYSIANS ON SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY JAMIE MURTHA

The match was played at Old Aloysians College oval, a typically gold standard batting track prepared primarily for school boys, with an immaculate outfield but  very small boundaries, the ground is not much bigger than a rugby field.

We once again lost the toss and were made to field.

Our opponent had stacked their side with grade players as a resault of being short of regulars, they made a good start and went to drinks at 0-125 after 17 overs.

They looked to accelerate after drinks. Jamie Murtha brought himself on to bowl and managed to grab the first wicket; the catch was taken brilliantly by Mick McGrath at long on, on the run. Soren Hughes bowled well to remove the other set opener, and picked up an additional two wickets courtesy of more great outfielding by debutant Ryan Lynch and Toby Forbes.

Both Mick McGrath and Avi Bhandari picked up a wicket each at the end. We did a great job after drinks to stem the flow of runs and restrict them to 252.

In response, many of our batters once again made starts but were unable to convert those into solid scores. Left hander Ryan Lynch on debut opened the batting and was the stand out performer with 44. He presented the full face of the bat and timed the ball very sweetly. It took a remarkable one handed diving catch by mid off  to dismiss him.

We were unfortunately bundled out for 152 in the 34th over, precisely one hundred runs short of the target.

The Team was: – Ryan Lynch 44, Harry Brooks 5, Toby Forbes 14, Alex Cumming (w) 20 , Jamie Murtha (c) 0, Avinash Bhandari 11,  Mick McGrath 19, Soren Hughes 12, Henry Davis 17* Ming Heng 11 and Jonathan Shaw 0

The Result was: –

Old Aloysians CC: -7-252 (35 Overs)

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-152 (33.1 Overs) (R. Lynch 44)

By 100 runs

FoWs: – 1-14 (H. Bridge); 2-47 (T. Forbes); 3-75 (R. Lynch), 4-75 (J. Murtha); 5-96 (A. Cumming); 6-101 (A. Bhandari); 7-123 (S. Hughes); 8-124 (M. McGrath); 9-144 (M. Heng): 10-152 (J. Shaw).

The Bowling was: – H. Davis 3-0-35-0; M. Heng 3-0-31-0; S. Hughes 6-0-31-3; M. McGrath 7-0-35-1; J. Murtha 7-0-49-2; A. Bhandari 6-0-53-1; J. Shaw 3-0-12-0. 

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 3 to Toby Forbes, two to Mick McGrath and one to A. Cumming (w)

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): 3 points to S. Hughes; 2 points to R. Lynch; one point to T. Forbes

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/city-and-suburban-cricket-association-1903-inc/summer-202324/c-and-s-club-matches/game-centre/ede29375

MASTERS ROUND 3: CCNSW vs OLD IGNATIANS  AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL. CAMPERDOWN ,   ON SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY PAUL NASH 

Arriving to a stunning day at Camperdown and our captain Dan Turner did the right thing and won the toss; we batted.

The deck looked good, so here we go! Sadly Tom Robertson was adjudged lbw early second ball after hitting a four to square leg first ball. Jason Kenn  and Mike Weaver got down to business, until ‘Weaves’ pulled a ham string  and retired hurt on 29*. Paul Nash joined Jason Kenn and the pair ticked along nicely, as they dispatched bad balls and took singles where they could. The pitch was clearly playing more slowly than we had had expected; forcing the pace was challenging.

At drinks we were 1-84. Kenn soon retired at 40*, and in came the skipper Dan Turner. Bang! Bang! Both Nash (40*) and Turner (42*) retired. Everyone contributed and kept the run rate ticking over and we set them a fair 220 target. 

Old Ignatians had bowled well and had taken the pace off the ball and fielded well but we needed to have turned our twos in threes better.

We didn’t get too excited when one of their openers was bowled second ball …..  as McCaffrey (former Grade player) had different ideas and had serious intent to finish the game before drinks.

They were scoring close to 10 an over, but by drinks we had pulled it back a little, they were 1-127.

They too had three retired not out in the shed (like us), so not panicking we kept to the plan and pinned back the run rate with the incoming new batters. Stand out in the field was wicketkeeper Ash Perrott (usually a keeper) patrolling the boundary with pace and strong arm returns, not bad for an old bugger!

Then things really got interesting! Their gun opener McCaffrey left the game early so was timed out!  It was our Jason Kenn who came into the attack to stem the flow and took maybe his club best bowling figures of 4-19

At the 35 over mark with 5 overs to go, the scores of both teams were practically the same …… now 11 required off 3 overs and 2 wickets needed.. We took them to the last over and they scraped home by one wicket.

A terrific game with a lot of positives to take out from this loss. Take the tough chances, run harder, and never give up.

The Team was (playing 12): – Tom Robertson 4, Mike Weaver 29* ret injured, Jason Kenn 40*, Paul Nash 40*, Dan Turner 42*, Scott Wells 25, Ash Perrott 2, Jose Poothokaren 8*, Michael Tarrant 16*, David Craig dnb, David Abreu dnb and Ben Stanic dnb

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 3-219 (40 Overs) (D. Turner 42*; J. Kenn 40*; P. Nash 40*)

Lost to

Old Ignatians: – 9-223 (39.3 Overs) (J. Kenn 4-20)

By one wicket

FoWs: –1-9 (T. Robertson); 2-187 (A. Perrott); 3-196 (S. Wells).

The Bowling was: – B. Stanic 5.3-0-49-1; D. Craig 9-1-37-1; D. Abreu 6-0-36-0, J. Poothokaren 4-0-22-0; J. Kenn 6-1-20-4; M. Tarrant 9-0-59-2

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One catch to T. Robertson and one to M. Tarrant.

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to J. Kenn; 2 points to D. Turner; one point to P. Nash

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/masters-summer-202324/masters-foxs/game-centre/283b2077

VINTAGE ROUND 2: CCNSW vs CASTLE HILL  AT BEROWRA PVAL OVAL , BEROWRA  ON SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY GREG BROOKS.

The over 60s CCNSW side stamped their seniors’ travel cards and headed north to the picturesque suburb of Berowra. This was a late change as the hosts usual ground at Kenthurst was unavailable due to repairs. The Berowra Oval is in very good condition and the wicket hard with a nice covering of grass. David Glen was the only player with memories of the ground but admitted they were vague as he was channeling Under 10s rugby!

Castle Hill RSL won the toss and sent us in. Gerry O’Shea and Frank Baliotis got us off to a good start putting on 41 before Baliotis was adjudged lbw for a well made 25. O’Shea (30* ret) kept accumulating running many threes to all parts of the large ground. Sittampalam Ragavan (“Raga”) (7) and Mick McCormick (4) both came and went looking to accelerate the run rate. The Prez’ (your writer) slogged a few and managed to retire with 31^ while David Glen (13) formed a partnership with Garry James who also found the wicket to his liking adding 30* ret in quick time. Joe Scarcella (30* ret) and Ashok Peiris (ret out  22), our guest wicket keeper while John Finuncane is smoking cigars and drinking rum in Cuba and Mexico, kept the score rolling along as we reached 200 in the 37th over. Our skipper Stuart Ridge (20*)  and debutant Emmanuel Mouglalis (2*)  took us to 5-230 at the completion of our 40 overs.

A large target to chase and Castle Hill got off to a wobbly start and never really recovered. Stusrt Ridge did the early damage withtwowickets in his first four overs while Greg Brooks picked up one from the other end. Garry James added two more after replacing Brooks at the southern end to have the hosts reeling at 5-21.Add in a smart run out where Ashok threw to the bowler’s end following a great throw from the outfield by David Glen and the game was just about done. Joe Scarcella, Mick McCormick and David Glen all bowled well during a period where the remaining batters chose to defend rather than attack. ‘Raga’ then came on and assisted Ridge in cleaning up the tail. Castle Hill all out for 72 in the 37th over.

We enjoyed a drink and some banter with our hosts and we all agreed that the venue was a great spot for a game of Vintage cricket.

We are backing up next week when we host Lindfield at Camperdown. This will be a much sterner test of our early season form and we are all looking forward to the challenge!

The Team was: – Frank Baliotis 25, Gerard O’Shea 30*, Sittampalam Ragavan 7, Greg Brooks 31*, Mick McCormick 4, David Glen 13, Garry James 30*, Joe Scarcella 30*, Ashok Peiris (w) ret out 22, Stuart Ridge (c) 20*, Emmanuel Mouglalis 2*

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 5-230 (40 Overs) (G. Brooks 31*; G. James 30*; G. O’Shea 30*; J. Scarcella 30*)

Defeated

Castle Hill: – 10-72 (36.4 Overs) (S. Ridge 4-6)

By 158 runs

FoWs: – 1-41 (F. Baliotis); 2-62 (S. Ragavan); 3-97 (M. McCormick); 4-145 (D. Glen); 5-201 (A. Peiris).

The Bowling was: – G. Brooks 5-2-7-1; D. Glen 3-0-5-0; G. James 7-1-14-2; M. McCormick 4-2-10-0 ; S. Ragavan 6-3-3-2; S. Ridge 5.4-3-6-4; J. Scarcella 6-1-18-0

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 2 to A. Peiris (w); one to each of F. Baliotis and G. Brooks

Run outs: – 2: One to D. Glen and one to G. James

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to S. Ridge; 2 points to G. James; one point to S. Ragavan

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/vintage-summer-202324/vintage/game-centre/5ff84825

Classics, Match Reports

WEEK SIX: SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER 2023

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CLASSICS ROUND 3: CCNSW vs STRATHFIELD  AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL. CAMPERDOWN ,   ON SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY ED CROSS

Camperdown Park was a sight to behold as we turned up for the second Classics match of the year after a disappointing loss in the first game. Due to the recent good weather, the outfield was green with a good grass covering, and we were pleased to see a new wicket had been prepared that was hard with a nice covering of grass ensuring a more consistent bounce. The team was aware that a much-improved performance in all areas was required to see us home against a Strathfield side also coming off a close loss after scoring in excess of 200 runs in the first game.

Skipper Scott Wells duly won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. Mike (Punter) Pinter and Ed Cross were given the task to get us off to a good start and Mike took full advantage with a cover drive to the boundary first ball of the day. The scene was set for a bright batting performance. Mike and Ed continued to bat well, but watchfully, and the score ticked over at just under 4 an over early on.

By the 12th over the score had moved on to 57 without loss when Ed suffered a calf tear and was forced to retire on 28*. This brought Paul Nash to the crease, who looked determined to play well. He and Punter kept the scoreboard moving along with Punter soon retiring on 30* after some lovely cover drives. Andrew Dawson replaced Punter and the scoreboard continued to tick over as both batters played some beautiful shots. At the twenty over break, CCNSW were 0 for 101 and looking good.

Unfortunately Andrew Dawspn  was adjudged lbw when on 20 and CCNSW lost its first wicket with the score on 111 in the 23rd over. A big score was still on the cards when Scott Wells joined Paul and the boundaries started to flow. Both Paul and Scott played some glorious strokes and soon both retired after reaching 30* runs in quick time. 4 retirees by the 27th over.

Craig Kitson and Andrew Davis were the next pair to bat, and both looked good trying to lift the scoring rate further. Unfortunately Andrew Davis departed for a well-made 15 trying to accelerate. He was replaced by Andrew Bachelard, who despite a big hitting innings last game, soon departed trying to hit a straight ball to the boundary. Craig Kitson  continued to look good with a flurry of boundaries that saw him retire on 30* in the 35th over. The last 3 batters, Mick Tarrant, Sherville (‘Wes’) Hall and David Craig continued the run accumulation in style, hitting numerous boundaries before the retirees returned to finish off the innings. CCNSW compiled 7 for 258 in 40 overs. Our first task – to improve our batting performance – had been achieved.

Our second task for the day was to serve a much-improved afternoon tea, as prompted by Punter midweek. While celery was nowhere to be seen, the spread prepared was a big improvement on previous efforts and was enjoyed by all. The home-made marinated chicken wings were a big hit.

We knew the next step for us was to bowl and field well. Stuart Ridge got us away and was rewarded with a wicket in the first over with Strathfield’s opener having his castle disturbed without troubling the scorers. ‘You beaut’ – 1 for 0. Mick Tarrant started strongly with the new ball from the southern end without the same immediate success. Strathfield’s batters obviously thought the best form of defence was attack and during the subsequent overs started to hit the boundary and get the score moving.

Persistent good lines and lengths led to success for Mick Tarrant when he bowled Strathfield’s number 3 in the 8th over leaving the score 2 for 45. The fightback in the field had commenced and the ground fielding was excellent, further restricting the Strathfield batters. Success again for Stuart Ridge in his 5th over saw Strathfield in a bit of trouble at 3 for 51, still more than 200 runs short. However, their opener, Stanley Sebastien, was still travelling well and retired on 31*  which included 7 fours.

A double bowling change by skipper Wells saw Andrew Bachelard and ‘Wes’ Hall into the attack. Both bowled strongly and were rewarded with a wicket each just before drinks. David Craig was brought into the attack for some leg spin in the last over before the break and removed the dangerous Bob Egerton who had scored 23 solid runs. 6 for 87 at the break, with batters 8 and 9 at the crease.

After the break, Wes and David continued the attack. David, in particular, was landing them well and got a further reward with a wicket in the 25th over. Andy Davis was brought into the attack to replace Wes and picked up a wicket in his first over with Strathfield now 8 for 112. However, Strathfield’s number 8, Greg John, was batting well with little support and retired after reaching 30*  allowing Stanley to return to the crease. He wasn’t there long, becoming David’s third wicket with the score at 9 for 116. Greg returned to the crease and continued his fine batting until he became David’s fourth victim when on 46. Strathfield all out 136.

A comprehensive win by CCNSW with a much-improved overall performance. Paul Nash and Scott Wells were the pick of the batters, with David Craig the pick of the bowlers returning the figures of 7.4–0–26. All that was left to do was to crack a few “winners” ales and finish off the chicken wings and cheese and crackers. All agreed we had achieved our goal of improving in the 4 aspects of the game – batting, bowling, fielding and catering.

The Team was (playing 12): – Mike Pinter 34, Ed Cross 28* (ret hurt), Paul Nash 37* , Andrew Dawson 20, Scott Wells (c) and (w) 37*, Craig Kitson 30*, Andrew Davis 15, Andrew  Bachelard 0, Mike Tarrant 13, Sherville Hall 12, David Craig 15, and Stuart Ridge dnb

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: 7 – 258 (40 Overs) (P. Nash 37*; S. Wells 37*; C. Kitson 30*)

Defeated

Strathfield CC: – 10-136 (33 Overs) (D. Craig 4-26)

By 122 runs

FoWs: – 1-111 (A. Dawson); 2-196 (A. Davis); 3-196 (A. Bachelard); 4-218 (M. Tarrant); 5-232 (S. Hall); 6-249 (M. Pinter): 7-253 (D. Craig).

The Bowling was: – S. Ridge 7-0-35-2; M. Tarrant 7-0-26-1; A. Bachelard 2-0-16-1; S. Hall 5-1-19-1; D. Craig 8-0-26-4; A. Davis 4-0-12-1

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – one to each of A. Davis and M. Pinter

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to P. Nash; 2 points to S. Wells; one point to D. Craig

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/classics-summer-202324/classics-foxs/game-centre/b9fb3aff

C&S, Match Reports

WEEK SIX: SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER 2023

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CITY AND SUBURBAN  JACK PACE ROUND 1: CCNSW vs REG BARTLEY XI AT REG BARTLEY OVAL, RUSHCUTTERS BAY   ON SUNDAY 22 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY JAMIE MURTHA

CCNSW C&S TEAM vs REG BARTLEY XI 22 OCTOBER 2023

Back row: Adam Khamis, Soren Hughes, Alex Cumming, Henry Davis, Matthew Leong, Jim Hadley, Gerry O’Shea

Front row: Mick McGrath, Declan Thomas (w), Jamie Murtha (c), Tom Robertson, Toby Forbes

It was yet another stunning spring day and there are not many better places in Sydney to play cricket than at Reg Bartley Oval; our team faced off against a fresh looking Reg Bartley XI in the opening round of the City & Suburban Jack Pace Shield.

The pitch was quite hard with a tiny bit of moisture on the surface and a good coating of light fluffy grass.We wanted to bat, but unfortunately lost the toss and were sent into field. We had high hopes that we could restrict our opposition to 130 off the back of some good bowling performances in previous rounds, but we know that a consistently good performance is required to have any chance of chasing down a target at this ground.

Mick McGrath shared the new ball with Matthew Leong. Mick bowled from the harbour end and struck in his second over with a beautiful in-swinger that got through the batter and struck middle firmly.

Matt was unlucky not to pick up an early wicket at first slip, the number 3 got an early life, thick edge to Soren Hughes at first slip where it was juggled half a dozen times before going down.

Soren ended up replacing Matt at the City end, it was the tight spell we needed and he was rewarded with a wicket, possibly off his worst ball, a low full toss cracked to Henry Davis’ right at mid-wicket.

Leg spin bowlers Henry and Jim Hadley had the batters in trouble at times but had no luck go their way, with the ball going just to the left or right of fielders, still they took us to drinks without too much damage on the board around 2-70.

After drinks RBXI showed their intent and started to accumulate steady runs & threatened to make an unchaseable total. 

Jamie Murtha brought himself on to bowl his loopy leg-cutters and for the second time this season took a wicket with his first ball, it was a criminal full toss on middle stump and the batter played all around it. Jamie struck again later in the over to remove RBXI’s Captain, Tom Greenway who scored a stylish 62.

Jamie found his rhythm from the second over and continued to take wickets on a pitch that provided moderate assistance. Toby comfortably took a high one at mid-off, Declan Thomas took a sharp catch behind the wicket & Henry received a reverse sweeping gift at leg gully & Jamie collected the remaining two wickets bowled. Ending with tidy figures of 6-24 from 6 overs.

Matthew Leong showed his skill with the old ball in the final overs once again, offering vital support harbour end and also picking up 2 crucial wickets by himself. It was an excellent come back from the team to restrict RBXI to a total of 10-152 in the final over.

In pursuit of 153 runs for victory, we faced a stiff challenge, as usually the pitch gets worse to bat on, but the team had belief it could be done! The ‘Tom and Gerry’ show was back by popular demand, Tom Robertson looking in fine form scoring 10 runs off the first over, but wasn’t able to kick on with it, eventually nicking a wide one to first slip.

Gerry O’Shea and Toby Forbes steadily accumulated runs nicely before drinks. Boundaries proved difficult to come across – but the pair looked like having a great day together until Gerry was run out in an unlucky fashion at the non striker’s end. Toby nailed a straight drive and the bowler managed to get a fingertip on it before it hit the stumps with Gerry caught backing up too far.

Toby looked to be positive but couldn’t get it over the man at deep mid on, from there we lost our next 7 wickets for 46 runs. New batters found it difficult to get going with slow bowlers operating during the middle overs, the scorers were kept busy!

An inspired knock from Declan Thomas at 11 where he fundamentally didn’t deserve to be, the traditional sweep shot was demonstrated and several occasions and he remained unbeaten with an entertaining 16* at the end.

Eventually we were dismissed for 105 and Reg Bartley XI successfully defended their target, winning the match by 47 runs. 

We fought hard to get ourselves back in the game and certainly had our chance to win this one, but in the end the pressure proved to be too much for our batters who were once again unable to chase  the target.

We look to train hard during the week and give the strong Old Aloysians side a challenge next week on a ground that is typically enjoyable for batters!

The Team was: – Tom Robertson 13, Gerry O’Shea 23, Toby Forbes 20, Alex Cumming 3, Soren Hughes 5, Jim Hadley 6, Mick McGrath 3, James Murtha (c) 7, Henry  Davis 2, Matt Leong 1, Declan Thomas (w) 16*

The Result was: –

Reg Bartley XI.: – 10-152 (35 Overs) (J. Murtha 6-24)

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-105 (32 Overs)

By 47 runs

FoWs: – 1-26 (T. Robertson); 2-59 (G. O’Shea); 3-63 (T. Forbes); 4-66 (A. Cumming); 5-71 (S. Hughes); 6-76 (M. McGrath); 7-80 (J. Hadley); 8-87 (J. Murtha); 9-87 (H. Davis); 10-105 (M. Leong).

The Bowling was: – M. McGrath 7-2-25-1; M. Leong 5.1-0-18-2; S. Hughes 5-1-15-1; J. Hadley 4-0-31-0; H. Davis 4-1-21-0; A. Khamis 3-0-17-0; J. Murtha  6-1-24-6

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 2 to H. Davis and one each to T. Forbes and D. Thomas (w)

Run outs: – Nil

Player points: 3 points to J. Murtha; 2 points to M. Leong; one point to T. Forbes

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/city-and-suburban-cricket-association-1903-inc/summer-202324/jack-pace-shield/game-centre/7fc8ea98

C&S, Masters, Match Reports

WEEK FIVE: SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2023

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CITY AND SUBURBAN  ROUND 2: CCNSW vs COLLEAGUES   AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN  ON SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY JAMIE MURTHA

Our first official home game got off to a great start with Jamie Murtha winning the toss and deciding to bat. Colleagues CC struck with a wicket in the first over, Jamie and Scott Williams got us back on track with a solid 48 run partnership before Jamie holed out to deep mid-wicket. Scott looked in good form, hitting back to back boundaries on a couple of occasions before being adjudged lbw.

A middle order collapse saw us in a lot of strife, but Henry Davis and debutant Kieren Purnell were able to dig in and rebuild. The pair worked the ball around, but Henry unfortunately strangled a ball down the leg side which sparked another collapse.

Ming Heng wacked a few nice fours to boost our score, but in the end we were all out for 134 with 8 overs remaining, (Ed note: This was a 40 over p. side game) short of our 160+ target. Our opposition fielded very well, preventing boundaries and building pressure, we had a few good partnerships starting, but couldn’t capitalise on those.

We took a break for tea and the CCNSW team put on a great spread, the opposition seemed quite surprised by it and grateful. John Shaw’s beef patties went down nice and Ming went all in with hot dogs in a slow cooker.

Needing 135 to win and having somewhere to be, Colleagues CC came out firing, they got off to a fast start. Jon Shaw found his line and length from his third over at the Rotunda end, he had the ball jagging away from the right handers and picked up two crucial wickets.

Despite the wickets, our opposition kept coming at us hard, determined to finish the game and head to the pub.  This attacking style kept us in the game, Henry Davis’ leggies beat the outside edge twice giving Declan Thomas stumping opportunities, both of which he made look easy.

Adam Khamis with his own leggies targeted the stumps and took two wickets of his own.

We fielded well on the day, despite a few rough patches within the infield, and the guys never have up – we tried to take wickets right down to the last ball but unfortunately the opposition were able to chase down our total in the 26th over with four wickets in hand.

Still plenty of positives to take away from the game, with a few more runs on the board and our strong bowling attack could have won it for us on the day.

Now we look ahead to JPS round 1 against the Reg Bartley XI next Sunday 22nd October.

The Team was: – Gerard O’Shea 1, Jamie Murtha (c) 10, Scott Williams 37, Alex Cumming 10, Declan Thomas (w) 4, Henry Davis 24, Len Volkov 0, Kieren Purnell 16, Ming Heng 17, Jonathan  Shaw 1 Adam Khamis 2* 

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-134 (31.2 Overs) (S. Williams 37)

Lost to

Colleagues: – 6-141 (25.1 Overs)

By 4 wickets

FoWs: – 1-2 (G. O’Shea); 2-49 (J. Murtha); 3-51 (S. Williams); 4-64 (A. Cumming); 5-67 (D. Thomas); 6-71 (L. Volkov); 7-105 (H. Davis); 8-127 (M. Heng); 9-131 (J. Shaw);10-134 (K. Purnell).

The Bowling was: – J. Shaw 5-1-21-2; M. Heng 4-0-22-0; A. Khamis 6.1-1-28-2, H. Davis 4-0-33-2; S. Williams 3-0-15-0; K. Purnell 3-1-19-0

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – 2 to D. Thomas

Catches: – One to G. O’Shea

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): 3 points to H. Davis; 2 points to J. Shaw; one point to A. Khamis

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/city-and-suburban-cricket-association-1903-inc/summer-202324/c-and-s-club-matches/game-centre/36f5fc90

MASTERS ROUND 2: CCNSW vs ROSEVILLE  AT TURRAMURRA MEMORIAL PARK, TURRAMURRA,   ON SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY BEN STANIC

Round 2 for the 2023-2024 season saw the CCNSW Masters team venture out to Turramurra to take on a strong Roseville team. Captain Dan Turner on seeing a questionable pitch on arrival elected to bowl first after successfully winning the toss in the hope that the pitch could provide some assistance to the bowlers.

From the outset it was clear the pitch would play fine, and the Roseville batsmen were keen to play aggressively and not let the CCNSW attack settle into a groove. Despite runs flowing freely, CCNSW were able to get an early breakthrough in the third over when one of the Roseville openers played a false shot with the ball popping up to short mid-wicket where for the second match running Jose Poothokaren made good ground to take a tricky catch to earn our first wicket.

From that point on however, the Roseville batsmen were well on top with their other opener as well as batsmen 3 and 4 retiring and taking their team to an imposing 1-123 after 20 overs at drinks. Things were looking a little dire at drinks with a score in the 300s even a possibility the way the Roseville batsmen were striking the ball. 

Thankfully, Paul Nash and Jose Poothokaren were able to pick up a middle order wicket each and Ben Stanic was able to bowl the number 9 late in the innings to stem the flow of runs a little, but not before another of the Roseville middle order (their 4th for the innings) managed to get to retirement and take their total to 4-260 after their allotted 40 overs. CCNSW were happy to get out of the sun and off a challenging Turramurra outfield which provided some awkward fielding moments including the need to avoid swarms of insects (that appeared to be bees) constantly flying into us in the last 5 to 10 overs of the Roseville innings!

In the innings break, the Roseville team provided barbecued sausage sandwiches for all to enjoy, perhaps hoping this would cause the CCNSW batsmen to be a little sluggish on the return to play. CCNSW Masters knew we had to bat well to chase down the challenging total of 261 and perhaps the barbecue sausages played their part, as it was noticeable that our innings consisted of a lot of boundaries and less running between the wickets when compared to other games we have been involved in.

At the start of the innings Tom Robertson  and Jason Kenn got us off to a good start, approaching things in the same attacking manner that the Roseville batsmen did, before the Roseville opening bowler settled into his rhythm and managed to sneak one through Jason’s defences to take their first wicket in the 5th over. Following that early setback, Paul Nash, Andrew Dadswell and Scott Wells all came and went relatively quickly and all for the identical score of 4 to leave CCNSW at the precarious position of 4-86 after 17 overs.

However, despite the wickets falling at the other end, Tom kept going with his usual swashbuckling style, never letting the Roseville bowlers dictate terms to him and quickly moved to 41* and a well- earned retirement. This left Dan and Jose to form a great partnership which took us to 4-110 at drinks and onto 133 in the 24th over before Dan was unfortunately undone for a well-made 31 whilst trying to keep the run rate ticking over.

Soon after, Jose fell agonisingly short of his own retirement milestone on 37 when going for one last hefty blow he was unfortunately bowled. After that, debutant Chinmay Trivedi, Ben Stanic and David Abreu all came and went quickly, all caught off the Roseville spinner, whilst trying to keep the runs flowing. This brought Tom back to the crease to join Mick Tarrant who had been watching the carnage unfold from the non-striker’s end. Mick and Tom then went on to push our score from 164 to 201 with a great last wicket partnership before Tom was ultimately dismissed on 62, caught on the straight boundary looking to keep our faint hopes of an unlikely victory alive, leaving Micky stranded on a quality 22*.

Our innings was also highlighted by a local kid deciding that running through a live cricket match to get to the other side of Turramurra oval was the quickest way to get to the other side, despite the obvious dangers of getting hit by a leather cricket ball. This was complimented by another Turramurra local (perhaps the kid’s mum) attempting to stroll out into the outfield to commence her regular Sunday afternoon laps despite the live game of cricket going on at the time. She at least provided some comic relief when informed she could not enter the oval while a live cricket game was in play for her own safety, when she with a straight face responded that the oval was a public place and clearly the cricket game had to end immediately so that her and other residents could use the oval. Thankfully, Tom was around and able to use his extensive diplomatic skills and inform the lady that the game would not be finished for quite some time, and she could run around the outside of the oval and call the local council if she was not happy with the outcome. The whole episode making us grateful for the fact that at Camperdown we simply need to shoo away several families having picnics on the oval before we start our home games! 

But back to the cricket; overall, this game was a reminder that we are in Division 1 of the Masters competition this season and there will be no easy matches as we will be facing quality opposition every match. Although it was a tough day out for the bowling attack with us only managing to snare 4 Roseville wickets and leaking 260 runs, it was encouraging that our batting line up was able to score over 200 runs in the chase (spearheaded by a great innings from Tom). 

We will no doubt be looking forward to a rematch with Roseville next season to attempt to avenge this defeat, especially given at the end of the match they decided to stay in their own dressing room with their own beers completely avoiding and ignoring the CCNSW Masters team much to the annoyance of captain Dan Turner and our team. Pretty poor form from them in our view given the game was played in highly respectful spirit without any conflict, disputes, or heckling.

The Team was: – Jason Kenn 8, Tom Robertson 62, Paul Nash 4, Andrew Dadswell 4, Scott Wells (w) 4, Dan Turner 31, Jose Poothokaren 37, Mick Tarrant 22*, Chinmay Trivedi 4, Ben Stanic 0 , David Abreu 2,  

The Result was: –

Roseville CC.: – 4-260 (40 Overs) 

Defeated 

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-201 (37.5 Overs) (T. Robertson 62)

By 59 runs

FoWs: – 1-18 (J. Kenn); 2-39 (P. Nash); 3-45 (A. Dadswell); 4-86 (S. Wells); 5-133 (D. Turner); 6-148 (J. Poothokaren); 7-158 (C. Trivedi); 8-158 (B. Stanic); 9-164 (D. Abreu); 10-201 T. Robertson.

The Bowling was: – B. Stanic 7-0-44-2; A. Dadswell 5-0-27-0; M. Tarrant 8-0-43-0; D. Abreu 4-0-26-0; C. Travedi 1-0-8-0; J. Poothokaren; 9-0-61-1 P. Nash 4-0-28-1; J. Kenn 2-0-14-0

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – One each to J. Poothokaren and D. Turner

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to T. Robertson; 2 points to M. Tarrant; one point to J. Poothokaren

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/masters-summer-202324/masters-foxs/game-centre/ae2a7c81

C&S, Match Reports

WEEK FOUR: SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER 2023

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CITY AND SUBURBAN  ROUND 1: CCNSW vs YARALLA  AT GODDARD  OVAL, CONCORD  ON SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY JAMES MURTHA

Our round one social game took place on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Goddard, which now features a stunning new pavilion and change rooms. We lost the toss and were made to field on a flat and hard looking wicket. Before the game the teams observed a minute silence to pay respect to Yaralla’s long time scorer who recently passed away.

Yaralla got off to a strong start attacking the bowling of Matt Leong and Ming Heng who shared the new ball. It was clear that the pitch would offer little assistance for the bowlers. Wrist spinner Henry Davis bowled first change from the pavilion end and drew the opening batter into a false shot early; the ball was skied and taken comfortably by wicket keeper Alex Cumming, officially getting us in the books.

The next two batters built a healthy partnership but did not get away from us due to lack of pace from resident spinners Adam Khamis (leg spin) and Mark Henwood (off spin).  Yaralla went to drinks at 1-107.

After drinks, the batters continued steadily though Soren Hughes and Brett James kept the scoring rate relatively tight without any luck. Henry came back into the attack and struck again immediately to remove the set batter for 99 (!), Tom Robertson making sure of a difficult catch on the boundary. From the other end Jamie Murtha needed one over to make the numbers and bought a wicket, removing the other set opener with a gentle lob first ball.

Soren Hughes and Matt Leong closed out the innings with very tight bowling to the new batters, Matt snared himself two excellent wickets and together the pair made sure the total to chase was not insurmountable.

The teams retired to the pavilion for soft drinks and sandwiches graciously hosted by Yaralla before going about the run chase on a warm afternoon. Our batters didn’t get off to the desired start. Tom Robertson Alex Cumming  and Jamie Murtha were all removed without troubling the scorers. Harry Bridge scored a good looking four before being dismissed.

Both Brett James and Soren Hughes offered some resistance but ultimately met similar fates to the other batters.

Gerry O’Shea was the star of the batting line up; he could do nothing but remain stoic as carnage unfolded from the other end. When Gerry was on strike, he was rock solid in defence, ran hard between the wickets and made use of excellent batting conditions with well timed shots to the boundary. The 62 year old received  generous applause as he brought up his maiden half century for the Club.

Gerry eventually was dismissed for 55, but ultimately provided some confidence that there are better batting days to come.

Matthew Leong also had an inspired innings of 25, during which he made his partner run four, not once but three times! Matt and Ming Heng got us to a respectable score of 150 before Matt was dismissed to end the innings.

The result was less than desirable and started by losing an important toss, but the bowlers and fielders worked hard to keep us in the game and a few batters stood up and gave us something to cheer about. I have no doubt that there are better days ahead.

Off to Camperdown next Sunday where we will look to get our season back on track with a win against Colleagues CC.

The Team was (playing 12): –   Tom Robertson 0, Gerard O’Shea 55, Harry Bridge 4, Alexander Cumming (w) 0,  Brett James 15,  Jamie Murtha  (c) 0, Soren Hughes 20,  Henry Davis 1,   Adam Khamis 2,  Matthew Leong 25, Ming Heng 11* and Mark Henwood (dnb)

The Result was: –

Yaralla CC.: – 5- 239 (35 Overs)

Defeated

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-150   (31 Overs) (G. O’Shea 55)

By 89 runs

FoWs: – 1-3 T. Robertson; 2-30 H .Bridge, 3-31 A. Cumming, 4-59 B. James, 5-59 J. Murtha, 6-93 S. Hughes, 7-103 H. Davis, 8-107 G. O’Shea, 9-118 A. Khamis, 10-151 M. Leong

The Bowling was: – H. Davis 5-0-45-2; M. Heng 3-0-20-0; M. Henwood 3-0-25-0; S. Hughes 7-0-37-0; B. James 6-1-36-0; A. Khamis 3-0-19-0; M. Leong 7-0-38-2; J. Murtha 1-0-11-1; G. O’Shea 1-0-8-0

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – Nil

Catches: – 3 to A. Cumming (w) and one each to G. O’Shea and T. Robertson

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by captain): 3 points to G. O’Shea; 2 points to M. Leong; one point to S. Hughes

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/city-and-suburban-cricket-association-1903-inc/summer-202324/c-and-s-club-matches/game-centre/90a39274

Classics, Match Reports

WEEK FOUR: SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER 2023

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CLASSICS ROUND 1: CCNSW vs MOSMAN AT CAMPERDOWN OVAL, CAMPERDOWN  ON SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER 2023: REPORT BY SCOTT WELLS

A beautiful Spring-like day awaited us at our first day at Camperdown vs Mosman – mid 20s partly cloudy. The outfield looked as good as it ever has for this time of the year and the centre square on the dry side. We had beaten Mosman the previous two seasons so were quietly confident of keeping that going.

Scott Wells won the toss and elected to bat – knowing that the pitch does get lower later in the day. We had a very strong batting line-up for the day and as usual the bowling resources were plentiful as well. Mosman had found a couple of pretty useful opening bowlers with their normal openers put back to change bowlers.

Sherville (“Wes”) Hall and Tom Robertson made their debut for Classics. Tom opened up the batting with Mike Pinter in the hope of getting Tom off to a flier with Michael Weaver parked in at number 3 – just in case. Just as well as no sooner did Tom bludgeon their opener back over his head, he copped one that didn’t bounce as much as expected – in front lbw. “Weaves” on a golden run of form started solidly but soon punched one to cover to leave us at 2 for 17. Paul Nash copped a beautiful outswinger first ball and feel to a full stretch catch to the keeper (former CCNSW player Ash Perrot). Oh S***!

Wells came to the crease in hope of settling things down in a solid partnership with Pinter but the other opener bowled a very full length ball that rattled Pinter’s leg stump – 4 for 19 – oh double S***!

Andrew Dawson and Wells set about business as usual with watchful innings sprinkled with some cracking boundaries – putting away any loose ones particularly short. That was until Dawson copped one that kept low – and other lbw. Next ball – Andy Davis was rapped in front with one that cut back and kept low. 6 for 52 Holy S***!

But still with the batters remaining, there was hope – double cross your fingers and toes type hope. Ed Cross came to the crease but no sooner did he come than Wells spooned a mistimed drive to cover point. He was soon followed by Cross who fell to a spectacular caught and bowled – tie for catch of the season so far. So it was up to the bowlers to get us into a decent position.

Andy Bachelard sent balls to the boundary and Mick Tarrant middled everything except the one that bowled him after Bach retired at 40*. David Craig looked solid with one particular sweep (conventional) shot sent to the boundary. ‘Bach’ returned and continued playing them like a symphony but alas DC was bowled bringing the batting to an end at 123 – probably about 100 or so short of where we planned and probably should have got to. Well batted Andy Bachelard who chanced his arm but all the others barely troubled the scorers

With not much in the bank, a lot depended on the opening spell. Their opener Rose played the pitch well and quickly retired 30* off 30. The other opener was trapped lbw from a classic Tarrant in cutter.

None of the bowlers could seem to settle into a good line and length consistently with boundaries leaking at regular intervals – some due to some less than desperate fielding. David Craig was the pick of the bowlers dropping his ‘leggies’ and making them play every ball and was rewarded with two wickets. ‘Wes’ Hall also bowled a good line and length and got his wicket probably off his worst ball (full toss). Another batter retired and we were passed 4 down

Mosman were by far the better side on the day – they came to play well – performing much better with the ball, bat and their fielding was exceptional. The final result showed this – Here’s hoping for a better performance in all three facets next game. Much improvement and commitment is required if we are to remain a top 4 side in this comp.

The Team was (playing 12): –  Tom Robertson 8, Mike Pinter 5, Mike Weaver 3, Paul Nash 0, Scott Wells (c) and (w) 15, Andrew Dawson 19, Andrew Davis 0, Ed Cross 9, Andrew Bachelard, 42* Mike Tarrant 4, David Craig 8, and Sherville Hall dnb

The Result was: –

C.C.N.S.W.: – 10-123 (29.2 Overs) (A. Bachelard 42*)

Lost to

Mosman CC.: – 4-125 (23.3 Overs)

By 6 wickets

FoWs: – 1-12 (T. Robertson); 2-17 (M. Weaver ); 3-17 (P. Nash ); 4-19 (M. Pinter); 5- 52 ( A. Dawson); 6-52 (A. Davis ); 7-56 (S. Wells ); 8- 94 (E. Cross); 9-103 (M. Tarrant ); 10-123 (D. Craig ).

The Bowling was: – M. Tarrant 6-0-29-1; A. Bachelard 3-0-15-0; P. Nash 4-1-20-0; E. Cross 2-0-15-0; D. Craig 4.3-1-22-2; S. Hall 4-0-18-1

The Fielding was: –

Stumpings: – One to S. Wells (w)

Catches: – One to A. Davis and one to E. Cross

Run outs: – Nil

Player points (awarded by umpire): 3 points to A. Bachelard; 2 points to D. Craig; one point to A. Dawson

Scorecard: https://www.playhq.com/cricket-australia/org/sydney-masters-cricket-association/classics-summer-202324/classics-foxs/game-centre/69107eaa