With Ed being in form with the coin toss, we were batting first on what looked to be a good batting wicket. This was somewhat wrong as we found ourselves in trouble at 6/50. Henry came to the crease and took his usual batting game with him, showing excellent aggressive strokes that rattled the North Sydney bowlers. Beau Saddler also joined Henry and established a crucial partnership in the innings to reach a score of 169 which was a respectful total seen the position we were in.

Henry Carmichael proved to be the rock of the Gordon innings

With this score, we knew we were well in the game, as North Sydney needed to get the runs in fewer than 30 overs to be a chance of making the finals. As such, the bowlers were expecting an explosive batting display from the Bears. With this in mind, our bowling had to bowl straight, as extras could not be afforded. James Kidd bowling exceptionally well picked up 5 wickets that he rightly deserved. 

Runs were tallying up fast, however the wickets were falling as well care of some excellent catching by Harry out in the deep. 

After Effeney’s efforts last week at Killara, it is fitting to mention the efforts of another Stag, Ian Higgins this time, who caught a great catch out at long off. However, in steadying himself, he touched the 4cm concrete edge running around the ground which happened to be right near the Bears’ players.

James Kidd in great form coming into the finals series 

Ian straight away signaled a six. As he should have. 

However, instead of applauding Ian’s sportsmanship, the Bears carried on as if the bloke batting had hit the winning runs. That’s just typical behavior from North Sydney and why I will always play for a team that embodies sportsmanship above all else.

Club coach Ed Howitt Jnr in action

Having them 7 down with a few runs to score the game was still close and a wicket or two at the end could have grabbed us the 6 points. However, this was not to be. Coming of two losses, we are hungry for a win and will be ready for a good game this weekend.

Kris Colley

There were a few alterations to the 3rd grade side that came up against Parramatta in our last fixture. We were now a little light on Knoxonians as we lost Bangs, Lines, and Turner, however it was left to Sweeney, Higgins, Kidd, and Ed Howitt Snr to fly the Knox flag. Both Jack and Kris Colley also found themselves in a third grade side together, which was worth the admission price alone.

Tjaard Tait works one to the leg side 

Ed Howitt chose to bat first against a classy Mosman bowling attack, and after a busy warm-up, the plans were in place to accrue a total that we could defend. Hoppa got the scoreboard ticking over quickly as he usually does. Reg, the guy that has a pet python, joined Kris Colley in the middle, and the pair gave us a free lesson on turning over the strike. This was much to James Kidd’s despair as he was on sight screen duty when the left and right hand combo went to task. Kris and Damon added 52 to the total before Col was dismissed on 41 after a solid opening knock. Reg claimed he had trained too hard, (nothing ever changes) and finished with 34.

Ed Howitt Snr cracked open a pack of ‘footy fever’. Henry, Wilbur, and Pat certainly caught the contagious footy fever, and had a field day discussing the opening round of Super Rugby. Hurricanes to get the spoon in the NZ conference. 

Tjaard worked hard for his 22, whilst Henry suitably adapted to game situation. His innings was unlike what we normally see from the big hitting Chennai import, although he did manage to sneak in a Carmichael Classic bomb over cover. A well-earned 23, in conjunction with Kidd’s 14 helped boost us to 215.We were content with this total, as we enjoyed what was left of the spirit of cricket beers.

Classic 'Chennai' Carmichael bombs one over covers 

As Kiddy was leaving the change room he notified Hoppa that he had a fairly large function on the following Friday night, to which Junior replied: “That’s not ideal James.” This is not the first time I have heard our Club Coach say this. Pre-season training at Narrabeen, the first grade captain was having a hit in the nets, and what a better time to bring out some new balls. Packers danced down the wicket, and as Ed watched a $63 Kookaburra fly into the Narrabeen bushland, we heard: “That’s not ideal James.” 

Astonishingly, Kiddy was fresh and one of the first at Killara the following Saturday for Day Two. After heavy precipitation throughout the week, it was not surprising to see some rain cards played. Not many thought we would have a game, which was reflected in the amount of tea that was brought. However a magnificent job of covering the wicket throughout the week allowed for one of the only games to play on Saturday. The help of Falk, Wilson, Michael, Howitt, Higgins, Effeney, and the ground staff at Killara was monumental in getting us a game, and to everyone else that contributed, we are very grateful for your efforts.

The wicket had a bit of early life to it, so it’s understandably perplexing that our first wicket was a run out. With player of the year points on offer, Sweeney didn’t want the catch anyway. His foxing was second to none, and executed an outstanding run out. Howitt then claimed the important wicket of Roberts through a spectacular catch to Jack Colley. I am a little concerned about Jack, as now Steve and Kris are living out of home, someone needs to toughen him up because he is still soft as butter. Nonetheless, a sensational catch in the conditions.

Henry backs up his batting with some handy wickets in tough conditions 

With the score at 4-53, we had early control in a topsy turvy game that had a number of momentum shifts. A Mosman partnership followed, however we were patient to remove the left hander who took a particular liking to the legside. Henry jagged one back through the gate, and one did bring two, as Carmichael went bang bang in the same over. With the ball becoming increasing harder to grip, spin bowling was the best (only) option. Howitt and Tait displayed some high quality lengthy spells of bowling, as the pair completed 50 overs between them.

At 7-160, we had a small delay with two dogs on the field. Normally at Killara, the dog walkers start arriving from about 5:30, and ask annoying questions like: “Who’s winning?” and “When is Missy going to bowl?” However this time, a lady decided to open the gate, take her dogs off the leash, and let them run wild. Missy decided to let her know that: “We’ve actually got something on here at the moment, can we do this later?” Not quite sure what that was all about.

It's hard to keep Taity out of the action, with bat or ball 

The intensity of the match lifted another gear and after two wickets to Ed, we had the Whales on the ropes at 9-180. Unfortunately we couldn’t find the last wicket, and the last batting pair saw Mosman home on the final ball of the day. A thrilling and tense finish to a game that was full of tough cricket. In the end, a solid hit out against a quality opposition. A good taste of pressure cricket, which there will be plenty of in the forthcoming weeks. 

Tom Beverley

Editor’s Note: See the article regarding Mosman’s commendation of Pat Effeney’s spirit of cricket.

After a short lay-off through injury, this scribe arrived at Merrylands Oval to be greeted with a slightly unfamiliar squadron of Gordon cricketers. Most notably, it was a far less intimidating 3rd grade line up in the absence of our hairy and hard-working hybrids - Little Lion Man (Effeney) and Little Bear Man (Cubbage). One was up. One was down. Neither here to amuse us.

Hey Missy, perhaps this was as better shot to play on 99?? 

On the flip side, the changing room bore a far less noxious odour. It was also flooded in one corner, but this was no surprise given the housing of Manatee over Saturday and Sunday. The reverse-inclining-pivot double-doored entry to our temporary abode was also worth a mention, although honestly it was too confusing to describe properly in words. Let’s just say it required a lot of effort to enter/exit this change room.

As it turned out, the toss was one of the few Ward Howitt has won this season (so I understand), or over his career for that matter. Inevitably, given his lack of experience in this regard, his election to bat was not great (we very quickly found ourselves 5/50 on the first morning). This, however, is very easy to say in hindsight, given the wicket looked reasonably batting-friendly. Further, the Parramatta quicks bowled with discipline, with one completing a hatrick with a ball that had one of the Kolley brothers (Dave?) shaping to leave, then decked to dislodge his leg stump.

The non-striker Higgins (who, by the way, is preparing to make his Hillsong radio debut after the success of his podcasts) described this ball as unplayable.

In fact that was really the story of Missy’s early morning. He was a spectator to the demise of our top order. However, slowly but surely he accreted runs, mostly with little tickles and flicks to the on-side (as he was constantly reminded by the intellects in the Parramatta cordon). In a display of defiance, Missy continued to 50 and then 80 with the support of the Mini Beaver. Tom Beverley played a very important innings in the context, taking singles here and there whilst occasionally branching out with a booming shot.

After he departed, Missy continued on his merry way but was incomprehensibly denied his hundred after he lobbed a ball to mid-wicket on 99. This was undoubtedly the worst ball of the day, and deceived Missy by its parabolic like qualities as it floated through the air. A fantastic innings all the same, which put Gordon in a commanding position going in to day two.

Let’s not forget Charlie “Billy Bongwater” Bangs’ contribution either. His 2 or 3 bombs at the end of the innings, which got progressively bigger in size, were awesome. One even interrupted the Under 8 swim carnival next door. Harry ‘Hooch’ Turner claimed it was 109m. Silliness. He was too busy downloading country and western tunes on his iPod in preparation for the night’s festivities. Gordon all out for 224, or thereabouts.

In the short list for photos of the year, Howitt is bowled neck-and-crop 

The short conclusion of day 1 was equally exciting, with T-jaard and Billy removing an opener a piece. The Roxy was surely heaving on Saturday night.

Day 2 was much more subdued. Reg even had time to let his new pet snake loose on the outfield for a while. Gordon slowly accumulated wickets throughout the day, albeit a couple of small partnerships. As usual, Howitt Jnr lead the charge, claiming 4 crucial wickets with his wily straight-ones. All the other bowlers also contributed and Alex ‘Lines of” Lines even snatched a cheeky run out in combination with “Fingers” Beverly (rarely has a quicker and more probing pair of hands been witnessed).

As was the trend throughout the game, this act by Lines cost Taity about $400. Gambling has been taken to a new (low) level by this two, and not an over went by without some sort of odds being thrown about.

In any event, the game was secured with an hour to go in the day. Another solid win, another step closer to the finals. An exciting few weeks ahead.

Will Sweeney

We arrived at Punchbowl to be pleasantly surprised at the condition of the playing surface. A slight amount of grass and a firmish appearance. Absolutely outstanding for the amount of rain and poor weather we have had all week. We knew a lot of other games would be either washed out or rain affected. Hopefully a win here would consolidate our top 6 rank.

In my 20 years of grade cricket, I don't have too many fond memories of the Petersham Oval wicket. 

Damon Livermore, batsman and author 

A 4 innings match was common and being dismissed twice in a day was even more regular. But the pavilion, with all its memorabilia and its top class afternoon teas, was highly regarded. The Pavilion was even making an appearance during the lunch break segment on the cricket show. ...as a commentator. That's how good it was.

Things have changed now. The wicket was great and the Pavillion was .......the toilet bowl. A smell often associated with a prank of enormous proportions. The change room was not the greatest place to be.

Anyhows, in many companies, if you do a bad job, for long enough, they simply ask you not to do the job anymore or just not to come back in on Monday. Let's be honest. It's not the coins fault. Ask Pic. It's the bloke who we send out there to represent our team, our club, our state. Howitt has got to go! Edward Howitt - you're fired ! 

We can ramble on for hours about how it comes down to luck.....it's always a 50 /50 chance....call tails south of the harbour....whatever! Its going to cost us a premiership one day! I vote Clem to do it. Hi Clem.

Lost the toss and sent in. The wicket was soft and seamed a little early on. We can cope with this now; in fact we dominate on a wet seaming wicket. Howitt, who only wants to open the batting so he can win player of the year ahead of his old mate Fester, takes his positive attitude about marriage and applies it to his batting. Gets on the front foot early, goes over the top, has a crack at anything wide and he will not be home late for dinner.

He just goes and smashes the ball to all parts of the ground while Harry Turner sits and watches.

At the score on 60 from 10 overs, Tom Beverley noticed an attractive woman with a baby in a pram fast approaching. As she noted, 60 from 10 overs was a good score,that confirmed that she was in fact a male and that the baby was indeed a rolled up blanket. If she didn't mention the score, (real women don't understand the score) we may never had known....and Tom may have had a date for Valentines Day.

Howitt's 44 from 43 balls set the tone. Reg joined Harry at the crease to form a memorable partnership. Reg's 88 was regarded as one of the best ever at Petersham Oval. Harry and Reg's running between wickets was brilliant. With the outfield so slow, singles and twos were crucial. Harry continued to blunt the Randy Petes attack. His solid determination to bat for long periods of time is commendable and now i am glad to see the runs are piling up next to his name each week. Reg and Harry put on a 100+ run partnership before Harry was run out on 66. A great innings. Missy batted with a bit of intent again this week and is showing that his form is returning at the business end of the season.

A few cameos at the end proved important as we reached 247 from our 50 overs. (Damon Livermore 88, Harry Turner 61, Ed Howitt 44, Ian Higgins 26).

We should have made 249, but Cubbage thought it would be good to run the first one hard and push for 2 on the last ball. Unfortunately, Cubby was run out attempting the 2nd. Unfortunately, Cubby also ran 1 short. Good effort Cubby, I've got Shayne Lin's number for you.

With the phone ban lifted for the lunch interval, we could see oceans of red headed our way on the radar. So when we returned to the field to bowl at the Randy Petes' batsmen, rain started to fall after just one over. Covers were called and full credit must be given to the Gordon ground staff. A commendable job indeed.

With the rain not as heavy as the radar indicated, play was resumed with the loss of just 6 overs and the target reduced to 217 on run rate.

We bowled reasonably well but drifted a little too much on leg stump early doors, providing easy runs to the vacant mid wicket area.

As the sun stuck its head out in the afternoon, the wicket firmed up and turned into a good batting track. wickets were hard to come by, so excellent fielding was crucial in this period.

However, wickets fell at regular intervals but the Randy Petes' batsman scored quite quickly with their aggressive shot selection.

Kris Colley looks to score runs down the ground 

With the score on 6 for 130, their number 7 played and missed a few times but found a liking to Taity's offspinners, bombing 3 consecutive sixes. There was a possibility that this guy could win the game single handedly. But our steady heads in time of immense pressure, turned the screws and forced the run out of the year. I don't want to talk about it further but it was pretty damn impressive.

Our bowlers toiled away as usual.

Effeney 1 for 20, probably bowled the best lines and was unlucky not have a few more wickets. James Kidd 3 for 31 bowled a fraction short but got the breakthroughs we needed. Tjaard Tait 2 for 29. Came back well after being hit for 3 consecutive 6's to post impressive figures. Adam Cubbage 1 for 27. Best wicket ever. Pushed the James Gatting look-a-like back onto his stumps. Classic Cubbage delivery.

But what won us the game was the outstanding fielding. 3 run outs really changed the game. A great effort from all the boys. 

We kept the chirp up in the field the whole time and the energy we created was exceptional.

With 3 more games to go, we need to continue this roll we are on. We are often given the worst of the conditions to bat on and we bat with intent and determination. We have bowlers that can change the game but most importantly, we have the fielders that can carry us to a win!

Yours in Cricket

Damon Livermore

PS: To the gamblers in our team, you are wrecking homes and hurting feelings. I know who you are and betting on dot balls while I am batting is very hurtful.

A must read report from Ian Higgins

Let's be honest. You don't care what happened in a 3rd grade game at Killara Oval vs Bankstown in round 12 of the 2011/12 season. Gosh, I barely even care and I participated (starred) in the affair. You're reading this because I’m writing it. What? That's arrogant? I know. I don't care.

Ed Howitt celebrates one of his bagfull of wickets

So let's cut to the chase, call a spade a spade, and I’ll give you the boring bits first and the decent bits - the bits you actually care about -second.

Scores on doors:
Us: 6/253 (dec) from 56 overs.
Them: 104 all out from 44.1 overs and 6/108 from 26 overs.

Howitt lost his millionth toss in a row and we were sent in on a wicket that was moist and an outfield that was lush. Openers Turner and Howitt walked out to the middle in gumboots, wearing life jackets and carried one end of a canoe each. Their efforts to merely make it out to the middle were well rewarded as Howitt specifically was ruthless on some lack lustre opening spells from the Bankstown bowlers.

The captains 33 from 31 deliveries received was as entertaining as it was frustrating, as good balls - be they few and far between - were interspersed with textbook and borderline cliché' wrenches, cuts and pulls from balls not worthy of such a bowler friendly wicket. If only Gordon's captain knew how to win a toss, both sides could have had Sunday off. As it was, Howitt was dismissed at fine leg and Livermore was smartly caught from a rank long hop. Higgins and Turner (unarguably the best looking partnership in grade cricket) were reunited after 47 minutes of separation and rejoiced their reunion with an 86 run partnership which would ultimately take the Stags out of reach of the Bulldogs.

God it was a good looking partnership. Aesthetically, their bodies have rarely looked better and their lofted drives, flicks and pulls were highlighted in between moments of brooding, posing, propositioning and finger bashing. Cargo was a heavy discussion point between overs and whether or not there is in fact a "downstairs".

The outfield was, and presumably still is, unfathomably long. The only way to penetrate the field was aerially as anything along the ground would screech to a halt. 4's were turned into 1's and even balls landing mere feet from the perimetre would pitch and station unerringly close to the boundary without ever crossing it. Turner's 65, Higgins' 58 and Tait's 58* on other days may well have been hundreds. Howitt's 33 would have been 10.

Tjaard Tait makes short work of the Bankstown bowlers on Day 2

Long story short, Turner smashed them. Higgins smashed them. Tait smashed them. 253 was akin to 793 according to one spectator.

Truthfully, after an evening and extensive period of non-rain, the wicket looked and played significantly better on day 2 of this encounter. The bounce was quicker and overall truer, the pitch continued to turn but was entirely less outrageous than the day before and balls regularly came onto the bat as if Sydney wasn't the wettest city in the hemisphere. It cannot be argued that the visitors had the better of the conditions by a discernible margin - which is probably irrelevant but no less important to mention.

Unpredictably, Gordon's bowlers were truer to the conditions at foot and fieldsmen offered fewer chances to batsmen as they stood in shin-high cooch. Stephenson and Howitt were exceptional. Does that surprise you? Obviously not. Hence why these minutiae are so irrelevant to any part of your life, I may as well be writing to you about what I'm thinking about right now.

And what I am thinking about right now is that I'd be happy to substitute Jim Courier for Ian Healy on Channel 9's coverage of the Australian cricket summer. I love his accent. I love his honesty. I love his je ne sais qoui. I don't have the power to make this happen, nor do I really care as I have both a 'mute' and 'volume up' button. Rich kid.

Anyway, I’m getting side tracked and bored because all I really want to talk about is the highlight of the summer for every Gordon Stag player, ever, but through fear of climaxing too early I shall save it for the end. Yes, I have a perennial fear of climaxing too early. Hoppa bowled a bloke who played a back foot defensive leave. It was the slowest death since Leonardo Di Caprio's character in Titanic.

The 'mane' man, Pat Effeney charging in for his skipper

Cubbage picked up an equally comedic wicket from a ball which was on its way down for the second bounce, as the batsman pulled a ball straight to Tait who was sweeping on the square leg boundary. The only thing funnier than the dismissal itself was the way Tait caught the ball as he rolled awkwardly over his head and somehow managed to get 3 spikes from his right boot to scrape up his left thigh. It was as if Wolverine had made an advance on him. That bloke is weird. Saffa's are weird.

The 10th wicket of the Bankstown first innings added 32 before Stephenson, fresh from taking a properly decent two handed catch diving to his right, confirmed the 6 points with his first ball of a new spell. Without saying a word, he collected his wide brim hat from the umpire, walked 4 metres towards the Killara dressing rooms and called out to the visitors "Put 'em on".

With only 26 overs to have a crack at the outright victory, one could never really hold hopes of taking 10 points away from this match, but to beat a club like Bankstown so thoroughly is such a rare feat, everyone in the home dressing room were more than happy to try to dismiss some batsmen twice in a day. I think most have been on the receiving end of a Bulldog flogging at one time or another.

A slightly more folically-challenged bowler - Jules Stephenson

And that's exactly what happened. With 6 of the Bankstown players having played Green Shield last season, the contrast between youth and experience was never more tangible. It fringed upon the embarrassing for the visitors as they continually chirped at the fielding side, with bat in hand, and 6 second innings wickets were gifted rather than earned.

Harry Turner capped off a truly tremendous outing with 4 wickets in 5 overs, 2 from full tosses. The first resulted in a quite remarkable outfield catch from Adam Cubbage. A knee high full toss from Turner was comprehensively flicked with distain from the right handed opening batsman toward the mid wicket fence. Cubbage, fractionally behind square (probably eyeing off picnic baskets) took 641 steps to run 30 metres, as he does.

As the ball dropped from the heavens, "Carbo" (in no way does this nick-name work, as he doesn't at all resemble the "Packed to the Rafters" character, nor does his name align with this alias. Also, can report writers stop inserting weekly nicknames into their match reports? It's annoying, it rarely has context for the neutral reader and it's not funny) dropped to the floor and slid along the sponge cushioned canvas. He lifted himself from the dirt triumphantly, almost in disbelief, and held the ball aloft in one greedy hand. An unequivocally astonishing grab, deserved of mention.

However, my second favourite moment of this match occurred thanks to Jules Stephenson in the second innings. After questioning the left handed opening batsman, who seemed regularly open to symposium, if he could score a run on the off-side, he stood atop his mark and vociferated to the striker "This is going to be a half-volley outside off-stump. It won't swing."

Harry Turner makes a big impact in the second innings

He didn't offer a stroke. It hit middle and off. Queue eruption.

But let's cut to the chase. The game was done. The good guys had taken 15 wickets in the day on a far superior day for batting than the one before and the 'baddies' were limping to the 80th over of the day without any real ambition. I think there comes a certain self-satisfaction from beating a team after having the worse of the conditions.

79 overs have been bowled for the day; the 80th is a proverbial dead rubber. Higgins has been warming up for a month and a half.

Higgins is on.

First things first, he gets a sweeper. All good captains will give an inexperienced bowler a sweeper. It's captaincy 101. Higgins is nervous because A: he realises he hasn't got his bowling shoes on and B: he will have to complete a full over. 6 balls and everything. And C: Paul Stephenson has his camera primed and pointing straight at I. Higgins. I don't know how Jules does it every week. Literally every week - off season inclusive.

At this point, let me run you through my current grade bowling experience for those I haven't told. 8 years, 0.1 overs, 0/4.

Many of you will point out that my current economy is 24.00 per over. Cheers for that. At this point, I’m really looking at going for anything less than 6 boundaries in this over. You have no idea how much I need this. More than Cubbage needs a back wax, or a rug dealer or something. Cheap shot.

Is this photo real? With photoshopping and graphic design, could this really be Ian Higgins bowling?

I hand my cap to the umpire, look him dead in the eye; "right arm over.... and rapid". Leg spin is not for the untrained, and with recent work commitments, my pursuit to usurp Nathan Lyon as Australia's premier spinner has had to be put on hold. For now. I don't have a run up, so I kind of amble around where a good run up would start. I've seen them on the telly hanging about here; I’ll just do what they do. All of a sudden, the wind picks up. It's more than gusty. It's near cyclonic. It's meant to be. The best wind bowler in grade cricket is on.

So I roll out my first ball, praying it doesn't get pumped for a 4, or a 6, or an 8. I burgle a dot. Perfect. Now I can tell the striker to not get out to me. "Don't get out to me. Don't be my first. I'll never forget this. I'm going to take the scorebook home with me and frame it on my wall. I'll never forget your name". Kids are so easily riled. Stephenson at point isn't helping, sledging me.

I run in again, nay steam, lusting for a wicket I’ve dreamed about for as long as I’ve donned the Stags cap - more than 100 fixtures ago. I don't know why, but I’ve decided to run my fingers down the side of this one, trying to seduce the left handed wicket-keeper batsman into a false drive in hope of feeding one of the many hungry vultures, barely concentrating, around the blade.

An error in execution on my behalf sees that plan go to waste and in semi-despair I see the kookaburra bounce half way down, openly inviting a boundary laden stroke. Without realising how quick I can actually be, the ball lifts and kicks and bites, rushing and hurrying the batsman. He's pushed back upon his stumps, practically fending away such an unfairly aggressive delivery. The ball nastily careers into the splice of the bat and is lofted, as planned, toward the man of the match.

Now, I’ve seen some beautiful things in my time. I scribe this with the evenings 7th Heineken beside me. I remember the times I spent touring the Heineken factory in Dublin and the shared experiences and laughter I had. The bands of string that limply lasso my left wrist from which I purchased on Las Ramblas in Barcelona remind me of all the things I’ve seen and done. The places I’ve been, the people I’ve met, the things I’ve achieved.

Cubbage congratulates Higgins after his first ball doesn't get punished to the boundary

I've seen sunrises in Rome and and Paris and sunsets in New York and Tokyo. I've had both kinds of threesome, and once slept with two different birds in one night. But nothing, upon nothing, compares to the sight of when that ball left that bat and sailed safely into the hands of Harry Turner at deep mid wicket. My friend. My beloved friend.

I'm not sure if I’ve ever had to work 8 years for something before. Maybe to graduate kindergarten. So there you go. A third grade match report. Now go and do whatever you're supposed to be doing.

Gordon 6
Bankstown 0

Missy

It was a long journey to Raby 2, and even longer for me. As I arrived at the newly refurbished facilities of Campbelltown-Camden I was more than impressed; especially as I was greeted with the news that we didn’t have to share a changeroom with another team. The changeroom was filled with positivity as we headed out to inspect a relatively hard but grassy pitch before our warm up. We awaited a few late comers - Harry ‘Disco’ Turner and Ian ‘Cargo’ Higgins if I was to mention some names.

Adam "Flem ball" Fleming - part of a successful opening pair

We had a solid warm up followed by a not so surprisingly poor coin toss in which Hoppa lost and we found ourselves out on the field bowling first. Campbelltown’s openers kept out some very tidy bowling from Adam ‘Flem ball’ Fleming and Julian ‘Midnight’ Stephenson, who bowled some nice lines at good length and managed to get a bit of bounce from the grassy wicket. After a catch going down early in the slips, it wasn’t too long before Jules had his man, pulling a shorter ball straight to Turner at square leg.

This started a small tumble of wickets. Shortly after this 2 more wickets fell in the same over from Flem, both LBW, proving bowling full and straight with the new ball will get wickets.

The bowling continued to trouble the batsmen as the run rate was going not much over 2 an over for the first 20 or so overs. Hoppa brought himself on for a short little spell and trapped another victim in front of his stumps to claim his 500 and something’th wicket.

It was an all too familiar sight as the Campbelltown boys found themselves 4 down for 30 odd and in a bit of strife.

Despite the prediction of a local Campbelltown meteorologist, the rain was in fact falling from the sky at this point and began to get a little heavier. Covers were brought on and play was shortly delayed until it eased up. After the break James Kidd came on to bowl, 2 balls after the break a full pitched ball on middle stump struck the pad of yet another of Campbelltown’s batsmen.

Jules "Midnight" Stephenson - the other half of the opening bowlers

The middle overs brought about a longish but relatively inexpensive partnership due to some really tight bowling from Tjaard Tait, Harry Turner and James Kidd, who bowled to the field whilst the opposition batsmen were rarely able to pierce the field and looked for few singles. A few catches were put down but we stuck to our plans and kept it tight all the way to the end as Flem and Jules came back on for the last 6 overs. Jules dismissing their only batsmen to score a 50 in the dying overs, leaving us with an uncertain score of 6 for 142 on a pitch that was starting to get flatter. And the sun starting to come through the clouds was about to make it a little bit dryer and flatter.

However, Hoppa was unsure about what the new ball could do to us early, so we still had a fair bit of work to do.

Harry Turn(tables)er and Hoppa headed out to bat after lunch to chase down the low total. The first 2 overs were a little shaky as balls were whizzing past the bat and popping off a length; the total looked as though it might be a tough chase.

Harry didn’t last long, copping a good ball and he was trapped in front and on his way.

Harry Turner makes a contribution with the ball before missing out with the bat

Damon or Damien (as he prefers) ‘where’s my bacon and eggs’ Livermore, trounced his way out to the middle with the swagger of a guy that owns a Mercedes Benz and can keep his lights on all day. His innings started well, working the ball around the field, rotating the strike around to Hoppa at the other end who was swatting balls all over the park. The aggressive batting of both Hoppa and Reg unsettled the opposition bowlers, and they had changed the bowling about 4 times in the first 10 overs. Runs were flowing easily and fielders continued to chase balls around the park.

"Reg" Livermore looks to his trademark hookshot, whilst "Hoppa" Howitt celebrates his 50

After 1 for 4 we raced away to 1 for 120, Hoppa reaching his half century in 20th over. Reg soon followed suit and brought his half century up shortly after. With a win well in sight it was the bonus point that we were now after. ‘Cargo Bar’ Higgins went in after Hoppa to work a few singles around looking to support his partner at the other end (and possibly improve his average) and chase down the few remaining runs. Both batsmen were still there in the 27th over when the runs were chased down with 8 wickets in hand.

A convincing win for the Stags. Well worth the long drive.

Special mention must go to Clem Bromwhich and Adam Cubbage, who, despite not contributing with either bat or ball made a long drive for a game of cricket with their team mates… TFC guys.

James Kidd

In 3rd grade, we don't even ask who won the toss, we just ask "what are we doing?" 

We bowled first on a slow but decent Killara Wicket.

Get a good look at this young man - Tom Stobo - we'll be seeing a lot of him in the future. Either at GDCC or in some police line-ups (see property damage story below)

Early wickets were the key and Jules Stephenson assisted by bowling the opener on the third ball and also took a wicket in each of his subsequent overs. It was good to have Jules back, his pace was decent and hitting the right areas brought instant rewards.

We bowled well and wickets fell at regular intervals. The fielding was exceptional as always, led by Missy Higgins and young Brett Rosen. These two always lead from the front with banter and very witty remarks. It makes the time spent in the field rather enjoyable.

But I'm happy to be parked at 1st slip most of the game just so i can have a decent, mature conversation with Tom Beverley. Hi Tom, done any food shopping lately?

The spinners bowled really well as a group. Just as Ed Howitt ties up an end, someone like Taity or Cubbage can take over at any stage and do just as good a job. Having 3 spinners in your team, in a limited overs game is always a very handy option.

A few catches just didn't go to hand in the latter overs but this didn't really matter, the Stags were on top with the ball, eventually ending the Warriors innings on 141 in the 42nd over.

(Tjaard Tait 3 for 17, Julian Stephenson 3 for 23, Adam Cubbage 1, Ed Howitt 1, James Kidd 1, Tom Stobo 1)

Special mention must be made of Tom Stobo. Yeah, he may have taken a wicket with his 1st ball in Grade cricket but watching him collect a ball that went for 6 down the road, then trying to throw the ball back to the field whilst standing on the road and the ball hitting a parked van was exceptional. I think the driver of the van, who was sitting in the van at the time, was rather pleased.

Also, Missys mate who was seen walking round the oval with a flag on his back and wearing a funny hat was also a highlight. Missy, where do you get these friends??

Back to the cricket

The rain held off and the wicket improved for the 2nd half of the game.

With a bonus point a possibility if the runs could be scored under 30 overs, Ed and Brett Rosen set about to collect quick runs with 50 coming off the first 6 overs. Some lovely cut shots over 3rd slip really boosted Howitt's Scoring rate. Bretty also played some glorious shots with Tom Beverley's bat.

It's all a blur - Jules Stephenson continues to perform in his comeback year

A couple of wickets meant a consolidation was needed and Clem Bromwich provided this with a well-made 34 off 38 balls, while Ian Higgins and Tjaard Tait also kept the runs coming. Missy was out once again LBW. He has missed a couple on his pads this year. The bin and the chair in the change room must have been on his offside as they were dipatched quite easily on his return to his seat. Just saying.....

With the cut off for the bonus point closing in, Taity continued to block the hell out of it. Luckily, for the team of course, Taity was dismissed and Tom Beverley pretty much ran a suicide single to win the game for the Stags with a Bonus point. Great win and an early finish to boot.

It's great to have that winning feelings back again. Hopefully everyone is fit and injury free this coming week to take on the 3rd placed Ghosts.

Yours in Cricket

Damon Livermore

Thirds turned up for the first match of the new year, ready to burn off some Christmas pudding, but surprisingly were greeted by a pitch that was a worrying grey colour. On closer inspection, the decision to leave the white covers off on Thursday night to let the square get some moisture had left the wicket too wet to start on time.  

Damon "Reg" Livermore was particular fond of the leg-side boundary

Eventually it was decided to start at 12, 2 hours after the initial start time.  Some players called for a super over to decide the match, but it was determined that the match would remain 20 overs a side, with the start to the 5ths match also pushed back. 

As per usual, Howitt (now engaged!!) lost the toss and the Stags were sent into bat.  We expected a slow wicket, with some unpredictable bounce.  However, although we had the worse of the conditions, the 2 hours of sun had dried out the wicket and it played much better than we expected. Howitt opened and, after dispatching two balls for six with his trademark wrench over the (very) short Killara boundary, was dismissed for 22 off only 8 balls.  Livermore then joined Turner and together they built on the rapid start and we were flying along at 10 an over.  Harry scored a well made 28 off 25 balls and Reg was particularly severe, smashing 68 off 36 balls. His only undoing was yours truly saying that we could be about to witness the first Gordon T20 100. Reg was dismissed the next ball!

After a bit of hiccup mid innings, losing 6/46, including Dowsley damaging his ankle while getting run out going for a single he would never consider taking in any other form of the game, we were suddenly 8/152. However, some impressive hitting from debutante Bromwich (17 off 10) and a late innings cameo from Fleming (38 off 14), including 3 sixes in a row, got us to the very satisfactory total of 200. Thornborough (10 off 15) also deserves some credit for holding the team together while wickets fell around him, ensuring we batted out the 20 overs.

The author of this report, resting a sore ankle, wasn't able to field and thus can't comment in specific detail as to the energy and application in the field.  It is safe to say, however, that we went from being very confident to very worried, very quickly, as is the way with T20s.  The Hawks came out of the blocks flying and were over 80 after 7 overs and 2/100 off less than 10 overs. After a few economical overs, we were able to peg the Hawks back a bit, but it was very tight all the way - 30 off 3 overs, 17 off 2, 13 off 1 with 3 wickets remaining. 

Howitt stepped up to take the last over. Watching from the sidelines, I knew the next batsman in was a left hander, who would have easy access to the short boundary and, in a strange way, I was hoping a wicket didn't fall! The first two balls both went for 2 runs and then Hoppa snuck one through to clean bowl the batsman and the left hander walked to the crease. 3 balls left, 9 to win, 2 wickets in hand, left hander on strike. 

Ed Howitt, man for any situation, impersonates a flamingo during all the hustle and bustle of a T20 match

As dreaded, the next ball angled in to the pads and was slogged for 6 over the short boundary. Suddenly it was 3 off 2 and the Hawks were in the box seat.  Howitt though is the right man for a tight situation and crucially managed a dot ball off the next ball, which was hit straight back to him, meaning a single off the last would still result in a Stags victory.  This proved to be the case as the ball was hit into the batsman's pads and rolled a short distance away on the off side. An amazing win by the smallest of margins!

Credit must also go to Adam Cubbage (1/21 off 3) who bowled some tight leg spin when the Hawks were threatening to race away and Adam Fleming (4 overs for 20 runs) who was the most economical of the bowlers, including keeping the penultimate over to only 6 runs. Thanks also to Jack Colley and Ben Armstrong for their assistance in the field.

Right, enough of this crazy cricket, back to the real stuff.

Nick Dowsley

T20! What’s all the fuss about?

It really isn’t that hard. Don’t bowl a JK length, play some normal cricket shots and thump the ones in your area. The thirsty thirds showed exactly how it’s done on Saturday.

Adam Cubbage celebrtaes a wicket on Saturday

The toss was lost yet again and we were given first chance to make the most of the early life on a typical Killara pitch. At 1/21 off the first 3 overs, it was looking though we might be chasing a large total but Adam “Lines bowls faster” Fleming continued his good form with the ball bowling his 4 straight for a miserly 10 runs and picking up 3 good wickets.

From that point on,  all the bowlers kept it tight with Harry “Hooch” Turner and Will “Moose” Sweeny picking up one each and spinners Adam “Bear” Cubbage and Tjaard “I bowl now that Hopper isn’t captain” Tait cleaning up the tail with two each.

Special mention must go to Justin “Superstar” Avendano and Damon “Smashes 20’s” Livermore in the field with both taking great catches in what was a clinical fielding performance. In the end, ND’s were all out for a below par 115, probably not enough on a good wicket but hey, it is T20 and anything can happen. When you think about it, it’s only 6 an over for 20 overs .

The next 14.1 overs were a master class in aggressive, power hitting from the Superstar, smashing the ND’s bowling to all parts of Killara oval and especially harsh on anything vaguely short.

 

Adam Cubbage, Harry Turner and Justin Avendano in action against ND's 

Harry and Justin put on 112 for the first wicket, with Harry playing the perfect foil innings ending 49 not out. Justin’s great innings ended on 65 with the skip finishing off proceedings.

A great way to finish the first half of the season and head into the Christmas break on a very positive note.  Hopefully that momentum can be taken into the second half providing the turkey and ham doesn’t get the best of us

Happy Christmas everyone 

Adam Cubbage 

Third Grade journeyed to Cook Park to take on Penrith in Round 7.

Wet creases at both ends of the pitch were a cause of concern for the delivery stride of the bowlers, however, the Stags were keen for a game, considering the RTA profited around $200 in tolls from us. Dylan was the only person pleased about this. Cheers Dyl.

Senior and Missy greeted each other with their usual friendly exchange. After a three hour delay, the ground was fit to play, and both sides would contest for the six points with 42 overs each.

It was strange not having Hoppa skipper the side, however, Damon is a more than competent replacement. Often when there is a long delay prior to a match, it’s hard to keep focused. Reg mentally prepared the team in a positive frame of mind to play cricket, and stamped his authority in regular fashion by stating: “the days of static stretching are over.” Apparently static stretching can be more harm than good, as it causes the muscle to tighten rather than relax. Can someone pass this onto Marcus?

We unfortunately lost a toss that had a major influence on the outcome of the game. Nonetheless, we were sent in on a wicket that had a bit of life to it. Kris “I’m tougher than Steve AND Jack” Colley was impressive. His technique and patience were clearly up to the bowling and conditions that were in front of him. Kris ended up with 14 after batting for 52 minutes, but this was not a true reflection of his contribution. Higgins was subject to yet another great decision. Don’t think he would have reviewed it anyway. Maybe check the no-ball?

At 4-32, we were in a bit of danger. Taity was joined by Cubbage at the crease, who were both well aware of the situation at hand. They managed to deflate the chests of Lalor and Gott (good blokes) to ‘get’ us back into a decent position through some sensible batting, and some hard fought runs. Tjaard “I played school cricket against Vernon Philander” Tait finished with a well made 25. Cubby was run out soon after on 23, however provided a solid platform in the course of those middle overs, so the lower order could accumulate some vital runs with wickets in hand. We finished on 9-116 off our 42 overs. The slow and large outfield at Cook meant this total was more respectable than it looked, and definitely something to defend.

Jules took the new rock and was threatening until he pulled up a bit tight at the end of his third. James “I got an extra 5 litres of petrol” Kidd put the ball in the right areas, but was unlucky to go wicketless with a couple of decisions not in his favour. At 0-50 we were behind the 8-ball, but we continued to toil away and apply pressure to the Penrith batting line-up. Pat “I can name 10 players in the NRL that wear headgear” Effeney continued where he left off from his second spell against Wests. Pat has been in some good form recently, and is consistently swinging the ball. His figures were 2-18 off 8.

Reg then decided to take the pace off the ball by calling upon Adam “I vote on the Vodafone viewers choice” Cubbage. From his first set, we all new Cubby was on song. 3-100 soon became 7-109. Cubby was backed up by some classy fielding to assist him in taking 4 wickets. Chris “I bat in a long sleeve because I lost my short sleeve in round 1” Retallick was a magnet to the ball, and snared 2 catches. Livermore then took a full stretch cracker at square leg. That’s right everybody. I haven’t seen Reg move this fast since the last time free samples were given out at Lane Cove Fitness First. Julian “take me off your text list” Stephenson then followed suit with a screamer in first slip diving low to his left. At 7-109 the pressure was well and truly on, but we couldn’t manage to finish them off, despite the risky shots from the Panthers lower order. Our total off 116 was passed with 6 overs to spare. The third grade stags found themselves on the wrong side of some decisions, and although we came away with no points, there were plenty of positives to take out of that fixture. Thanks to Senior and Paul Stephenson for scoring and managing the team.

Tom Beverley