Report

We came up against reigning premiers Pulteney at their home ground of Morgan Oval to start the new season. Sent into bat on a soft deck we got off to a horror start with Walsh, new boy English and Hurburgh all out with only 15 runs on the board. Sturt fill in Tom Moffat, playing under the dual registered rule then combined with skipper Tyler for a partnership of 74 when Tyler departed for 29. Michael Richo continued where skipper left off, scoring a brisk 40 in a 71 run stand with Moffat and when he chipped one to mid wicket power hitter and coach Christophers with a blade weighing around four pounds entered the field of play. An 80 run stand ensued with the patient Moffat (90) with Christo ending 74 not out from just 46 balls. Our total of 8 for 272 was a very competitive score especially considering our start.

Buddies Tim Boo and Matt Thommo opened the bowling after plenty of party pies at tea but it took a superb nut from first change bowler and new VC Jack Dent to dismiss the talented Tamblyn to claim our first wicket. Two wickets in Boo's 8th over was good reward for a long economical spell and when Thommo ran through their middle order with three scalps the win was in sight. Dent cleaned up the dangerous Ashmead and Bowie stepped up for the last wicket to give us a 54 run victory.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Tom Moffat

Report

The A's were welcomed home to Park 9 in round 2 to a pretty soft and grassy wicket after some rain late in the week. Despite a valiant effort from the Club Coach to break into the shed and take pitch preparation into his own hands, the security proved too strong and the go ahead was given for play, albeit with a revised start time of 2.11pm. Unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of the coin and were sent in to bat by the very worthy opposition of Woodville South.

Some excellent driving on a slow pitch from Keagan English saw the reds move along steadily to 2 for 50. From there, unfortunately we slumped to 8 for 85 just before tea. At 8 wickets down Jack Dent and Sam Richardson put on a very solid and patient display of batting to survive until tea while still progressing the score along nicely. After tea, those two were rewarded for their pre-tea patience and put on a wonderful display of batting with some beautiful hitting through the off-side by Jack Dent and some powerful straight pulling from S Richardson. Jack reached his 50 in style before S Richardson was eventually out for 46 after the pair had put on 101 runs for the ninth wicket. Jack was eventually out for 76 runs.

We were left with a maximum of 10 overs to bowl at the end of the day and were keen to make inroads. Matt Thomas reversed the new ball to take the first wicket LBW before the day's play was eventually called to a close due to bad light at about 11.30 pm just in time for last drinks at the Hackney.

The following week saw the Adelaide CBD's micro-climates in full flight as Park 9 was a hard as a rock while the Club's other grounds in the area were under a foot of water. Well aware the Woodville had the pick of the conditions, the A's were keen to make early inroads. Tim Boucaut and Matt Thomas came together after about 10 overs and bowled very well with Thommo taking the first two wickets of the day. Tim Boucaut was rewarded with one pole for his efforts. Tom Phillips then came on and bowled an excellent spell and broke a crucial partnership. After that, the wickets kept falling regularly and we finished off the opposition for 135 with a chance for a quick 8 over hit for some bonus points. Matt Thomas and Tom Phillips shared the bulk of the wickets finishing with four and three respectively.

A very strong start to the year from the A grade has seen us knock off two teams that finished ahead of us last year.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Jack Dent

Report

With week one being washed out we commenced a one dayer on day two at home against highly rated Goodwood. Losing the toss and bowling we took no early wickets as they cruised to 73 before Filly sparked us with two wickets in three balls in his second over and Goodwood were soon 3 for 80. The wicket of Shane Martin was one we wanted early but didn't get, he went about progressing their total with a fine 50, controlling the middle overs but we managed to keep their score in check with some defensive cricket. Filly was the pick of the bowlers with three poles, Clownfield caught well.

Chasing 235 young openers Walshy and Keg started brilliantly, easing to 106 in the 22nd over when Jordan fell for a flamboyant 66. Hurb went quickly at three but with Keagan in control at the other end Styles joined him in a 75 run union and they put the win well within our reach. From here, needing less than fifty at three an over we made it tough for ourselves, losing a few wickets and consequently slowing down in the chase as Keg completed a richly deserved ton with great patience and concentration. After numerous nervous moments and some much tighter bowling from Goodwood we struggled to tick the score over but we finally prevailed in the last over with Keg facing the first and last ball of our innings, he receives the player of the match.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Keagan English

Report

Played Pembroke at Haslam Oval, round 4 in a match we should have won but didn't. We had them 5 for 64 at tea on day 1 after Styles went none from four at the coin toss. A couple of frustrating stands after tea with their number 8 hitting fifty and their number 4 amassing a patient 31 in 3 and a half hours from 181 balls with no boundaries gave them a handy total of 158. Bowie and Boo were the pick but the wickets were shared between six bowlers.

We faced out seven overs on day one to finish at 1/18, Walshy losing his off peg first nut. Skipper fell first ball of week 2, Clownfield first ball of second over, Keg also soon after, not having the impact of the game before. From here we steadied with Boo and Richo providing resistance against some tidy Pembroke bowling while Christo piled on the runs at the other end. At 6 for 130 the game was ours for the taking but Christo departed for 80 then the remaining batsmen fell to an inspired Donkey who bowled Pembroke to the win. Phillips batted well for 0 not out. Our Coach, Matt Christophers scored well over half the team's runs and batted beautifully however I fear this match will be better remembered for an incident after the match, photos are available but it is disturbing viewing.

We had them 9 for 80 in a boring 33 overs to finish the day. Again Gorilla Bowie and Boo bowled good lines, rewarded with 3 wickets each and it was good to finish the game well but our batsmen did not do the job this game and that was disappointing.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Matt Christophers

Report

This match pitted us against the promoted Unley side who had started the season well, including amassing a team score of over 400 in the previous match. We were sent in to bowl with Styles moving to none from 5 at the toss this season.

Tight stump to stump bowling from our openers, especially Boo restricted Unley to 2 for 17 after 10 overs and then 3 for 41 after 20 overs. Their scoring rate did not improve too much for the next twenty overs either as all bowlers continued to bowl tight lines, Tom Filly and Styles getting through their overs in about a minute each one. When drinks were run out to the batsmen with ten overs remaining in their innings their score still hadn't exceeded 100 and at this stage they decided to finally up the scoring tempo. For the loss of no more wickets, they scored at a run a ball for the last ten, finishing at 4 for 157, probably not enough runs but they had them on the board.

Our openers started us off well, when Walshy departed Christo shared in a fifty run stand with Keghead to keep us cruising along and at 2 for 110 just after the halfway mark the game looked to be in the bag for the Reds. Some average middle order batting followed with batsmen not applying themselves to put a high price on their wicket. When Kegface fell for a well compiled, patient and fluent 86, we still required 14 runs with only 3 wickets in hand and no recognised bats left. Fortunately from here our more than capable lower order made light work of those 14 runs and added 50 more for bonus points with Boo making 44 of these, finishing a great all-round match for the Prince Harry lookalike.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Keagan English

Report

Last game before Christmas break with a 5 and 1 standing in sight we faced Rechabites away and over two rain affected weeks we were completely outplayed, falling back to the pack with a 4 and 2 record at the break.

We won the toss and sent them in on a green deck and although our bowlers toiled hard without much luck we also dished up too many four balls that were rightly dispatched on most occasions. Tim Boo continued his great start to the season with 5 for 55 and Bowie and Filly provided good support taking 3 and 2 respectively.

Beside a confident opening stand between inform batsmen Keagan and Hurb we were horrible with the bat on week 2. At 0 for 43 we were well on track but losing ten for 66 to be bowled out in under 40 overs was hugely disappointing, again the middle order lacked purpose and resilience especially considering the dark clouds on the horizon.

Sent back in for a second bat we saw out eleven overs with Hurb and Keg again starting well before the rain came and ended a forgetful two days of cricket.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Tim Boucaut

Report

Started the New Year against Payneham by winning the toss and batting, Park 9 looking good, the day threatened afternoon rain and storms. Our innings started slowly, scoring at a run an over for the first twenty, the openers put a high price on their wickets against a switched on Payneham attack. The top five got starts but a failure to convert to a big score cost us dearly. Styles and Richo put on 65 before we lost six for eleven, Dent and Phillips fought well for a last wicket stand of twelve, 134 not enough.

The rain came in late on day one, Payneham none for seven from four.

Off spinner Phillips opened on day two with two lefties at the crease but it was Thommo who took the early wicket. A direct hit from Styles left them two for forty with all bowlers applying the pressure through sensible park 9 bowling. Payneham batted as patiently as we bowled however and although Dent Legs and Boo claimed vital scalps while Filly again fielded incredibly off his own bowling, they passed our score in the 66th over with only half of their batsmen out. We bowled slow bowlers to get through the overs, Filly finishing with three for.

The loss leaves us outside the top four with four games remaining starting with Grange away.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Tom Phillips

Report

Playing Grange near the beach is always an enjoyable fixture and this year proved exactly that as we came away with a convincing outright win.

Winning the toss and batting, Keg and Hurb looked unperturbed in a forty run stand before both being run out while Christo and Walshy took a more aerial approach in forming forty between them. From here the middle order failed again around Christo who was smashing them at the other end. When Christo fell, Damo Weekley led two handy unions with Bowie and Mr. T which got our total to a respectable but not satisfying one.

We had 19 overs to bowl that night with the assistance of Josh Hall in the field as Christo left early but much later than he had hoped. Grange got to eighteen runs before Bowie started a collapse that yielded us 9 wickets in 13 overs. The Gorilla took five of these with genuine pace bowling aided by the howling Seaton doctor coming over his right shoulder which also allowed him to swing the ball in to the right handers. Some intense individual celebrations followed from self proclaimed BOT (Best On Team) while Boo and Jack grabbed two each to leave us in a great position overnight.

Boo cleaned up the last wicket early on day 2 to finish with 3 wickets and we had the luxury of asking Grange to follow on as they were over 100 runs short of our total. Grange started their second innings cautiously before moving with relative ease to 67 without losing a wicket. From here a remarkable one handed catch from Weeks, much harder than it should have been, got us going and Glamour took his first A grade wicket dismissing the dangerous Benwell with a long hop. Jack, Boo and Styles bowled well but it was BOT again who took 4 wickets in a player of the round performance as we cleaned them up for 139.

Keg and Hurb chased the 33 needed for outright at five times their normal scoring rate, Hurb finishing it with a hook for six!

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Sam Richardson

Report

Park nine greeted us with a well prepared deck and a lusciously mowed outfield but after losing the toss Boo copped the full brunt of the park 9 potholes in the first over, fielding a ball with his jaw that should have rolled to him. We applied good early pressure with Bowie eventually getting the first wicket. From here AHOS struggled to from any sustainable partnerships as we reduced them to 7 for 90 at tea with Boo bowling 16 overs in a standout display. At 9 for 101 we again let a last wicket stand get on top of us but dismissing AHOS for 135 in just over 50 overs in good batting conditions was pleasing.

We faced 17 overs on day 1, losing hurb three balls before the close of play but the start to our innings will be best remembered by those present for the perculiar incident that saw the authorities flock to park nine.

Day two presented us with conditions in favour of the bowling side but following some dedicated pitch rolling and a delayed start, Christo and Styles adapted well to the damp pitch and began the day in positive fashion with a 58 run stand. From here the win was sealed without losing another wicket until an embarrassing collapse saw our first innings lead reach only 34 as we lost five for 2 to finish the innings.

We had 37 overs at AHOS, with our pacemen bowling some nasty rising deliveries but it was Filly, underbowled in the first innings, who proved virtually unplayable with his spinners as we dismissed half of their team. Nick Brooks took two fantastic catches in his role as sub fielder.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Sam Tyler

Report

Round 10 saw the Red's taking on Walkerville at home with the ambition of securing a place in the finals. On a warm first day PAOC won the toss and elected to bat. The conditions meant that it was imperative to bat all day.

A speedy and solid opening stand of 50 from the left-handed duo of Christophers and English provided a solid base for the reds. From that a good partnership for the second wicket meant that we could save the skipper until after the tea break, and until the score was about 2/170. From there a few small partnerships helped the reds to 9/294 from 80 overs; the first time the A's have managed to bat for a full 80-over day this season. Keagan English finished with another ton. His batting was superb on a hot day with a slightly slower than normal outfield at Park 9. He showed that he had superior fitness and strokemaking ability than the opposition. He will clearly be a key player for us come finals.

With a decent amount of runs on the board there was confidence going into the second week. Nevertheless, some Reds were haunted by the memories of Round 1 2010/11 which saw us (the then reigning premiers) allow Walkerville (the then freshly promoted A2 side) chase over 265 in 50 overs. On top of that, a 39.7 degree scorcher and a typically bare and hard Park 9 wicket meant conditions were favouring the batting team. Thankfully, history would not be repeated this time, with some excellent tight bowling from Boucaut, who has no doubt has his best year for the club with the new ball, and some aggression from S Richardson making early inroads into the Walkerville top order. A continual and steady flow of wickets, including a great wiley spell from the skipper and a spurt of 3 poles in the 20 minutes after tea, meant that Walkerville were all out for just 94, and the reds had cemented a top 4 finish at just after 4pm on the second day.

Some good straight hitting scored some valuable bonus points at the end.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Keagan English

Report

We faced ladder leader Brighton away to finish the minor round knowing a win would give us a chance at second spot and a home final but finishing third was the most likely outcome irrespective of the result.

We won the toss and batted on a green but hard deck with the aim of batting our eighty overs with a score of over 200 the target. Brighton's standard luscious, slow outfield led to few boundaries, and our first came in the 21st over from the unlikely blade of Hurbie. We trudged along at two an over but lost wickets too regularly to stumble to 6 for 100 just after tea before Boo combined with Richo to establish a match winning partnership of 60 with some sensible pressure batting and a bit of luck. We almost faced our eighty to end with 173, a modest but very defendable total.

Week two provided sunshine, a lovely deck, that smell of freshly mowed grass and a long overdue carton of beer with no means of keeping it cold courtesy of Bowie. 1 for none from the first 4 was a great start but Brighton's top order batted patiently to be three down at tea. A couple of lucky poles to Styles turned the match in our favour and we took regular wickets to roll them for 105. All bowlers bowled good lines and 27 maidens from 57 overs was indicative of this. Richo kept well, three catches.

Batting second Keg and Christo put on fifty to finish a good day for the Reds but the win was not enough to finish second, that went to Rechabites who beat Grange to knock them out of fourth spot.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Michael Richardson

Report

The toss of the coin went our way and we opted bat on a nice deck that we knew would only get better over the weekend. A fast outfield meant a score over 200 was reachable and we started with the openers cruising to a 59 run stand at better than four an over. Christo then played all around one before Hurb steadied with Keghead progressing at a good pace. The loss of Keagan slowed the run rate and again our middle order was disappointing as we fell to 5 for 87. Richo and Jack tried hard to establish a partnership and batted well under pressure before another collapse left us at 9 for 125. Bowie and Filly faced out ten overs, time that proved valuable to us, as we were bowled out for 133. Their skipper bowled tirelessly to take six wickets.

21 overs to bowl day one and we needed to make inroads to be in with a chance overnight. Their hard hitting line up started well before Boo broke the opening stand of 30 but it was the lbw decision of the association's best batsmen in Duffett that turned the game our way as we slowed their scoring and took two more poles to have them 4 for 67 at stumps.

Day two had plenty of cricket to play even though the result was determined in the first hour, an hour that our lads absolutely dominated. Jack bowled an inspired spell, Hurb hit the stumps from point while Boo, Thommo and Bowie showed why we have the best bowling attack in the competition as we skittled them for 96. This came at a huge cost as strike bowlers Bowie and Thommo both went down with injuries that will keep them out of the GF.
Rechabites sent us back in and we had the challenge of batting 56 overs or somewhere near that to avoid any chance of them stealing the outright win. At 3 for 23 after eleven overs the nerves were ripe on the sidelines but old man Dick and Styles steadied in the middle before Richo joined the skipper, batting together for twenty overs before they pulled the game with an hour to play.

Grand Final!

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Keagan English

Report

Goodwood Oval has been a happy hunting ground for the A Grade in finals previously, and this year saw the Reds match up against reigning premiers Pulteney Old Scholars at that venue for the final dance. Plenty of rain during the week and there was a lot of interest in the pitch condition on Saturday morning, but once the covers were peeled off, a beautiful looking wicket presented. Unfortunately, the best cricket covers in the world cannot prevent a border collie from cocking its leg on a nice length and putting a bit of juice in the wicket for the bowlers.

Sam Tyler took the democratic approach to the decision on the coin, but when it came down in his favour, the captain made the courageous decision to bat first. Perhaps looks were slightly deceiving as there was certainly some sideways movement and bounce in the wicket for the Pulteney bowlers early. This led to the early loss of the A's two best performing batmen for the season, Keagan English and Matt Christophers, with just 20 on the board. This brought Tyler and Hurburgh to the crease, who after both having disappointing seasons, looked to guide the reds out of trouble. Tyler looked to punish anything loose, while Hurburgh looked to block at the other end. As the wicket flattened out, some distinctive Tyler stroke play through the offside took the reds to 110 at tea, for the loss of just 2 wickets. After tea, just as the reds looked like they were gaining some real momentum, a gem from Pulteney stalwart James Marsh trapped Tyler in front for a well made 75. After some rebuilding, another small partnership and a good solid innings from Michael Richardson helped the reds to 4/170. Hurburgh was eventually out from 73 after almost 4 hours of batting. From there some handy hitting by Chris Drew and Hamish Eske and some acceleration from Hurburgh helped the reds to almost 230, being dismissed in the last over of the day.

Sunday morning and Richard Hockney's medicine cabinet was in full flight in the rooms before the days play. It was no secret that the reds bowlers would have to step up in the absence of Sam Richardson and Matt Thomas. Jack Dent did just that, extracting all the bounce and movement he could out of a flat wicket on the second day. He took the first 3 wickets and Pulteney were on the ropes with still more than 200 to get for victory. Dent finished with 4 and did a fantastic job with the new ball. Tim Boucaut joined the party taking three of Pulteney's biggest scalps, finishing with 4 and a share in the bowling trophy. Tom Phillips featured with the ball as well, with a good LBW and an uncharacteristic run-out, that provided a useful reminder to all the spectators that they were watching Turf Cricket after all. Pulteney all out for 105 shortly after tea.

A fitting finish for the reds this year. We proved that our side has the most depth and heart of the Premier Grade.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Jack Dent

Report

The B's started their campaign against Port Districts at Park 9 with a young side and a couple of debutants. We were sent in on a Park 9 green top and were in early trouble with Austy and Weed back in the pavilion within the first two and a half overs without troubling the scorers. Jon Tamblyn, in a guest appearance, looked to knuckle down and worked hard on a difficult pitch but was dismissed for 12 and Sam Pittman and Alex Politis, both on debut, showed good signs but both were dismissed in the teens. After 20 overs, we were 4 for 74 which was a reasonable position given that we had been sent in. However, we then lost our remaining 6 wickets for only 14 runs to be bowled out for 88 in just 25 overs. Three further players failed to trouble the scorer and as a result, our resident number 11 Max Burford earnt bragging rights with a score of four not out. The backbone of our innings was our vice-captain Daniel Weekley, who continued his good form from late last season, with the innings top score of 27. His innings was crucial in the context of the game and hopefully that will mark the start of a big year for Weeks.

Having seen 20 wickets fall for less than 130 runs on Park 9 at a similar time last year, we took to the field with runs on the board and full of confidence. Burf and Tambo opened up and Max took the first three wickets (3 for 20 off 7). Tambo (1 for 27) bowled his 10 on the trot from the other end and could have easily taken more. With only 88 on the board, the game was always in the balance until Evan Lucas replaced Burf and singlehandedly destroyed Port Districts. In 3.1 overs, Evan took 6 wickets for just 10 runs, with only 5 runs off the bat. Ev would be first to admit it wasnt his best bowling spell (the captain even considered removing him from the attack despite having 4 for 8 off his first 2 overs), but 6 wickets is 6 wickets, so well done Ev. The fielding was pretty good given we haven't really spent that much time working on it, 3 catches to our new keeper Aaron Richards and 2 each to Weeks and Pitto. Port Districts final score was 60, resulting in a 28 run win and a great start to the season for the B's.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Evan Lucas

Report

The B's journeyed to Gaza this round with Weekley taking the Skipper's reins with Weed heading to Sydney Town. We were greeted with a soggy pitch that had received a bit of rain coupled with an outfield that looked like the cows had been moved on the night before. After losing the toss and been sent in, Gaza started the match with only seven players. However, even with this numbers advantage we were unable to capitalise as the top order collapsed to be 3 for 14 after 6. Some good grafting by Drewy Clayfield and Weeks saw PAOC move to 3 for 65 at drinks. However, after drinks the weather returned as did the wickets. Weeks fell for 20 and with the loss of PA and Richo, Drewy started to tee off and looked well on his way to 50 before he too was out caught in covers for 48, leaving the tail to hit out as PAOC scrambled to be all out for 120.

Having got out of gaol last round, the boys were still supremely confident we could pull off a win, and with the Semaphore Doctor kicking in Burf (proudly sponsored by Richard Hockney) was producing some serious heat and it didn't take him long to strike, taking 3 quick wickets including their dangerous captain. With Gaza in trouble, Aaron Richards added to the pain with a brilliant direct hit to remove their opener and Matt Davis also struck with 2 for 24 leaving Gaza 6 for 25. Maxi then found another gear to take 2 more to have 5 for 12 from 10.4 overs when Gaza ran out of players to be all out for 37 with 2 batsman timed out. A good win. However, the outright was now on the cards.

We ventured back out to Gaza for the second dig to find the cows had been replaced by kids and a bouncy castle which caused the boundary to "bow" slightly. With a much nicer day and an 83 run lead we were pretty confident of an outright victory as well as some much needed time at the crease. However once again our batting let us down badly, with PAOC find itself in the awkward position of being 8 for 21 after 19 overs before PA and Ev put on a much needed 32 run partnership to restore some sanity to the score before Ev fell for 18 as did PA (18) meaning PAOC were all out for 60 a lead of 143.

Having been in the same situation last week the outright was still on the cards and with Burf and Davis picking up where they left off, it was never really in doubt. What was amazing was Matt Davis's 10.4 overs of brilliance! Matt systematically picked up 8 wickets with some of the best swing bowling you will see. He only missed out on taking the full bag by one wicket with Ev taking 1 for 7 as Gaza again had one batsman timed out to be all out for 37. Matt Davis finished with 8 for 18. This meant PAOC picked up the outright victory and top spot after two rounds.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Matt Davis

Report

The B's ventured to Goodwood Oval to take the undefeated Goodwood B Grade. We elected to bat and with the strongest batting line-up seen in the B Grade for some time and coupled with a good pitch and fast outfield, we had hoped to post a score of in excess of 200. Things didn't start well with Weed and Drew both bowled by the evergreen Sargent for 0 and 3. Aaron Richards showed good signs with some strong cover drives but then he holed out for 21, with the score on 27. Lexi, Weeks and Pitto all got starts but were also back in the pavilion before 20 overs had been bowled with us in deep trouble at 6 for 54 off 20 overs. Looking down the barrel of being bowled out for a score well under 100, PA and Jesse Vass (in his first B Grade game) put their heads down and put together a partnership of 32 before PA was out LBW for 22. Jesse then combined with Hamish Eske (16) for a further partnership of 43 to get us to 8 for 129. We had hoped to get to a score of 150 but were bowled out for 139. It was good to see Matty Davis (6no) get off the mark in his 4th attempt this season and to see Mr Infinity, Max Burford brought back to earth with his first dismissal this season. Jesse Vass was the pick of the batsman with a composed 36 in his first hit for a few years and no doubt will contribute in the top 4 in the coming weeks.

Having our highest score on the board for the year, we were confident that we could defend it but knew that we would need things to go our way against a strong Goodwood batting lineup. Things started in the worst possible way with Burf bowling Potts off the first ball of the innings with a no ball. He redeemed himself two balls later trapping Potts plumb LBW, but from then on Goodwood set out chasing down our score with some sensible batting. During this time, our bowlers failed to bowl consistent lines or lengths and contributed 37 to the Goodwood score in wides and no balls. We were never really in the hunt as Goodwood passed our score 5 wickets down. They ended up 9 for 223 off 50 overs. Burf, Drewy and Lexi each picked up 2 wickets but pick of the bowlers was Pitto who bowled 10 overs of accurate leg spin, picking up 1 for 22. Pitto should get plenty of work this year based on that performance. He bowled in tandem with fellow spin twin, PA and other than one costly over, PA bowled well, including picking up his first wicket for the club. After the game was over, everyone had a bowl including A Richo bowling the worst ball seen in turf cricket for some time. Jesse Vass impressed with the gloves including a slick leg side stumping off Lexi.

A substandard effort from the B's this game - all players need to improve their training efforts if we are to be a force this summer.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Jesse Vass

Report

The B's returned home to Park 9 to take on SHOC's A-Grade. We won the toss and elected to bat on a very good Park 9 wicket. Batting has been a major weakness for the B-Grade for a number of years now so we set ourselves the target of batting out our 80 overs and scoring over 200.

Richo and Hockers opened up but we lost Richo early (1/7). Weeks looked good again but was unlucky, being caught by silly mid from a full blooded hook shot (2/16). Jesse Vass joined Hockers and they batted patiently before Jesse fell LBW for a patient 14 off 50 balls (3/49). Weed came in and looked to lift the run rate but holed out to cover for 13 (4/65). After tea, Wints combined some strong drives with plenty of patience and together with Hockers, put on 110 for the 5th wicket. Hockers was outstanding once again, making 78 off 186 balls. Wints made his maiden B-Grade 50 before being dismissed for 57 off 125 balls. We really hope this is the start of some big things for Wints. We were well placed at 4/170 off 70 overs and could have easily posted a score of 220-230 but were bowled out for 203 just short of the 80 over mark. Despite this, it was a great effort from the B's and it was pleasing to see all batsmen knuckle down and value their wicket.

Returning on day two, with runs of the board, we were confident that we could get the job done. Burf and Matty Davis opened up and both bowled 11 overs straight. Burf took the first three wickets, including clean bowling their two best players. Evan Lucas bowled first change and was swinging the ball a long way. He took two wickets also and we went to tea with the game very much in the balance with SHOC on 5/109 off 40 overs. After tea, the ball stopped swinging and the pitch flattened out and the SHOC batsmen batted sensibly, slowing creeping towards our score. Aaron Richards took a one hander at short cover to dismiss their top scorer but at 7/165 and only 38 needed, the game was very much in the balance. Enter Justin Mitchell. Justin had bowled a solid first spell but returned in style, picking up the last three wickets. SHOC were all out for 172 resulting in a strong win. Burford was easily the pick of the bowlers, picking up 4/25 off 19 overs. Max has taken 14 wickets at an average of 7 this year and shouldn't be too far off making his A-Grade debut. He was well supported by Mitchell, 3/28 off 9.3, Lucas 2/27 off 11 and Davis 1/49 off 16. Jesse Vass should also get a mention for an outstanding effort with the gloves in trying circumstances due to the variable Park 9 wicket.

We scored some additional bonus points in the remaining hour of play, finishing 2/75 off 13. Richo (29) played some classy pull shots and Jess Vass (35no) continued to impress.

The B's sit in 4th spot after 4 rounds but play 3 of the top 5 teams in the next 3 games. The results in these games will go a long way towards determining where we will end up this season.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Richard Hockney

Report

The B's travelled out to Duncan Fraser Reserve to take on 5th placed Gepps Cross in a game that could cement our top 4 spot for the time being. We lost the toss and were in the field, with only 10 players at the start but were soon helped for 8 overs by E-Grade captain Matthew Kildea. Eske claimed a wicket early but Gepps Cross got on top, helped by some sloppy bowling and were 1 for 60 off 15 overs. Lexi then came on to bowl and he managed to apply the handbrake and pick up three wickets in quick succession (all were full tosses!). He was well supported through the middle overs by Justin Mitchell and when he picked up two wickets, Gepps Cross had slumped to 7 for 125 and we were right on top. Gepps Cross continued to show a lack of intent with the bat and at some stages, we wondered whether they had remembered it was a one-day game. Eske came back and took two of the final three wickets as Gepps Cross lost their final 3 wickets for 4 runs to be all out for 162 in their final over. Lexi was easily the pick of the bowlers taking a miserly 3 for 12 off his 10 overs. He received good support from Eske (3 for 27 off 10) and Mitchell (2 for 25 off 10). The infamous 'X. Tras' was the top scorer for Gepps Cross, with 'W. Ide' contributing 30. But for this and the additional 5 overs bowled, Gepps Cross would have made a lot less.

We were confident of chasing down the runs and despite losing Lexi early, we quickly moved to 3 for 107 in reply. Dick Hockney continued his rich vein of form with 41 off 69 balls and Aaron Richards made a confident, but at times streaky, 30 off 39 balls. From here on it became the Drew Clayfield show and we did not lose another wicket for the innings. Drew, dropped from the A-Grade, rarely looked like getting out as he combined some clever running between wickets with some brute force and amazing bat speed. Despite a couple of close calls on 99, Drew brought up only his second hundred and finished the day 104 not out off 116 balls. His innings included 13 fours and 2 sixes. He was well supported at the other end by Daniel Weekley who has looked in good touch all year despite not cashing in. Weeks finished 47 not out off 59 balls and his innings included 3 fours and 1 six. The fourth wicket partnership was 138 as we finished 3 for 245. Another strong batting performance by the B-Grade with Wints, Weed and Pitto still in the shed. This is now the second week in a row that we have passed 200 and we will need to consistently continue to do that over the remaining six rounds in order to play finals.

The B's now sit 4th after Round 5 and now play the 3rd and 2nd placed teams in the next two games, which is a challenge which we are looking forward to.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Drew Clayfield

Report

The final game before Christmas was a crucial one for the B's. Unfortunately it was one that never got going and the pre-game preparation probably had a lot to say for the end result. We were sent in by Brahma Lodge and Hocks and Weed opened up. Weed's run of outs continued as he was out early. Hocks and Richo both looked solid as did Drewy but none got going. The pitch was a tad slow and Weeks (29) and Wints (14) battled hard throughout the middle of our innings but struggled to break the shackles. Lexy came in with a few overs to go and started quickly but was out for 14 and Mitch made a handy 13 at the end. All in all, Brahma Lodge bowled tight lines and lengths and fielded and caught well. As a result, we were restricted to just 9 for 146 off our 50 overs.

With a storm on the way, we knew that we would either have to bowl Brahma Lodge out or keep the runs down to hold out for a draw. Unfortunately we couldn't do either. Matty Davis picked up a couple of early wickets but we continually bowled one or two loose balls an over and Brahma Lodge took full toll. As the rain came, Brahma Lodge reached our score and finished 5 for 149 off 33 overs when stumps were called early. Matt Davis bowled well (3 for 37) and Justin Mitchell bowled without luck (1 for 33).

We head to Christmas in the top four but having lost comprehensively to two of the other top four teams. We play the other top four team straight after Christmas and our players need to come back from the break ready to work hard if we are going to make finals and also have impact if we get there.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Matt Davis

Report

Our first game after Christmas was at Hope Valley, who were sitting second on the ladder, making it a crucial game for us in order to hold onto 4th spot.

We arrived at Hope Valley on a very overcast day, with a well grassed wicket and the chance of rain later in the day. We took a punt and sent Hope Valley into bat and had them in early trouble thanks to a good bouncer from Max Burford and a sharp catch to PA. This trend continued with Hope Valley soon in real trouble at 6 for 84 off 31 overs and our decision to bowl first looking to be the right one. Unfortunately their captain batted well for 46 and shared in a stand of 43 for the 7th wicket. We then rallied to take the last four wickets for 17 with Hope Valley all out for 144. Hamish Eske was clearly the pick of the bowlers, bowling 17 overs unchanged, taking 3 for 38 and beating the bat on numerous occasions. PA cleaned up the tail, taking 3 for 10 off 2.4 overs, including a sharp return catch. Matt Davis also picked up two wickets and singles went to Lucas and Burford.

We had 26 overs to bat in fading light and with rain closing in. Aaron Richards and Jesse Vass got us off to a positive start, putting on 50 in no time. Aaron batted the best he has all year and made 37 in quick time with a strong display of cover drives. With the light fading, we should have been back in the pavilion at 0 for 50 but the umpires played on and we lost Aaron and night watchman Matt Davis with the score on 56 before the rain set in.

Returning on day two, we needed 88 runs with 8 wickets in hand. Wickets tumbled at the start of play and we very quickly found ourselves in all sorts at 7 for 78. Their captain was bowling full and hitting the stumps on regular occasions. Weed and Eske then knuckled down and put on 30 before Eske was out and Weed soon after and the innings ended with the score on 114. Apart from Richo and Weed (29), none of the batsman got going as their captain took 7 for 35 including five bowled and a LBW. In the end, we didn't even get close which was disappointing.

We returned to the field agreeing to try and take something out of an otherwise disappointing result. The players responded but it was too late - Hope Valley bowled out again, this time for only 110. Hamish Eske was again the pick of the bowlers picking up another 4 for 14 off 7.3 overs. He received good support from Evan Lucas who bowled some excellent in-swingers (12 overs, 3 for 24) and Matty Davis added another 3 wickets to his tally, taking him to 19 B-Grade wickets for the year. Mention should also be made of Hamish Eske for his catch which was taken on the third bite.

Back to the drawing board as we now sit 6th and with only one finals spot realistically remaining up for grabs, we will need to win our remaining four games to be in contention.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Hamish Eske

Report

Old Ignatians won the toss and chose to bat. We started well to have Iggies in early trouble at 4 for 33 and soon 7 for 77, thanks to some tight bowling from Hamish Eske, Max Burford and Evan Lucas. Unfortunately from here we dropped our heads and Iggies put on 115 for the last 3 wickets. Evan Lucas was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 31 while Max Burford took 3 for 40. Mention should also be made of Alex Butenko, who despite being seriously 'under the weather', picked up his first B-Grade wicket. Iggies all out 192.

We had to bat for 10 overs and unfortunately lost Weed and Hockney prior to stumps. On day two we struggled to 5 for 85 when Wints was dismissed for an impressive 38. However a late innings rally from Aaron Richards (17), PA Polities and Hamish Eske saw us ease our way back into the game. From 6 for 142, we should have won but unfortunately PA threw his wicket away for a well made 23 and we Hamish Eske was dismissed for 35, we were bowled out for 167, 25 short.

Ignatians batted again and we had them in trouble again at 7 for 64 when stumps were drawn. Pitto and Dick Hockney (with some very slow mediums) both picked up two wickets.

A very disappointing result given that we controlled a majority of the game.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Evan Lucas

Report

The B's travelled to Rostrevor College this week having to win all three remaining games to make the finals. We have bad memories of Rostrevor having conceded over 700 runs in our last two fixtures there.

We won the toss and elected to bat and had lost Richards, Vass and Hockney before we had reached 50. The wicket had just enough in it to keep the bowlers interested but Matt Thomas (playing as a batsman) and Clayfield batted well against the momentum and put on 67. It was a welcome return to form with the bat for Thommo who made 50 even while Drew Clayfield showed off his amazing bat speed once again with eight boundaries in his 37. Unfortunately disaster struck with both of these players falling as well as Walshy without addition to the score. At 6-114, we needed the lower order to dig in and with Weed and Larkins sharing in a 20 run partnership, Weed and Matty Davis (partnership of 48) and Davis and Brooks (partnership of 25), we got to 207 all out. Weed made a college 32 whilst Matty Davis compiled 25*. We must also make mention of Burf's innings - he got half way out to bat (without gloves and box), faced two 'double bouncers' and then was bowled for a duck.

With 10 overs to bowl minus Thommo and Brooks (both resting injuries), Burf opened up with a spell of 0/8 off 5 overs (7 sundries). However, we struggled to stem the flow of runs from the other end and Rostrevor had 42 on the board at stumps. The one highlight was Matt Thomas' direct hit run-out at the bowlers' end from point, which would have otherwise resulted in four overthrows.

Unfortunately day 2 was not to be as rain ruined any chance we had of defending our score. With other results not going our way, we are playing for pride for the rest of teh season

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Matt Thomas

Report

With our finals chances all but gone, we gave a few guys a chance to show their talents at B-Grade level. This included Pat Sadlier, Toby Nihill and Shane Roberts, who returned to the B-Grade for the first time for a number of years.

We won the toss and batted first. It was the usual story from the top order this year, being in early trouble at 6 for 59. Jesse Vass then combined with Shane Roberts and these two put on 41, with Jesse out for a patient 33. Robbo continued on and ended up top scoring with 24, Max Burford made his highest score (20) and Josh Hall hit a big six in his 14. We were dismissed for 142 which was never going to be enough on a small ground with a fast outfield. Fulham moved quickly towards our score and when we returned on day two, the pitch was flat, it was 39 degrees and Fulham proceeded to dispatch our attack to all parts.

It was a very long day with some poor bowling and 8-10 dropped catches / missed stumpings. Fulham eventually closed this innings just short of stumps with the score on 9 for 411 off 103 overs. Adam Richardson bowled well without luck (3 for 68 off 22) and was able to bowl himself into some form leading into C-Grade finals. Shane Roberts was the other pick of the bowlers and picked up 3 for 49 off 15 overs to take out man of the match honours.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Shane Roberts

Report

Sent in to bat, we started well, with Weed and Olly turning back the clock to the 2002/03 B-Grade premiership. They put on 30 in 10 overs before Weed was dismissed. Olly knuckled down and while he only made 14, he faced 75 balls and showed the rest of the top order the patience that was needed. Wickets fell around Olly and once again we were in trouble at 8 for 61. However, Matt Davis (31*) and Evan Lucas (23) put on 54 for the 9th wicket and we crawled our way to 125. We had Brighton in trouble at 3 for 40 odd overnight, with Max Burford picking up 2 wickets.

Day 2 we returned needing early wickets and had to hold our catches. And that we did. We set some aggressive fields and the bowlers did the job, bowling Brighton out for 102. Max Burford finished with 4 for 46, Matt Davis 3 for 35 and Evan Lucas 2 for 11. Mention should also be made off a great catch from Olly at first slip and a "knock on" to Jordan Walsh who effected a run-out and also 3 catches to Aaron Richards.

A great win to finish an otherwise disappointing year. We finish in 7th spot, which could have easily been 4th, having been in winning positions in games against Hope Valley and Old Ignatians.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Matt Davis

Report

The opening round of the season and the C Grade were itching to get the season underway with a roady against Port Districts out at the Port. Dart in hand, Jack lost the toss and we were sent in on a green deck that played very well. Port Districts had us on the ropes early at 4/38 claiming Clarke, Winter, Hudson and Welsby cheaply, however Gavin Jones held firm seeing off the openers and displaying some fine early season strokeplay. He was joined at the crease by a characteristic slog sweeping Dave Gerner for a 66 run partnership before Gerner was dismissed. Spurred by Tim Hudson, who commented he was an OK bat if he could just learn a few shots, Mitchell blasted 56 off 50, while Jonesy continued to a brilliant century 107 from 146 balls. His batting was exceptional and really set us up for the win with a wagon wheel saturated with brutal cut shots. Jones and Mitchell guided us to a very imposing 6/238.

Brooks and Brabham took the new pill with Brooks claiming an early scalp and Brabham bowling some searing outswingers. But it wasn't really until Justin Mitchell took the ball where we began to see regular wickets falling. Aided by a 3 for at the other end from the concussed Alex Butenko (including a wicket off an expletive assisted ball bouncing 3 times), Michelle Mitchell cleaned up the Port Districts lineup bowling tight lines and a couple of beauties that had the batsmen all at sea. Port Districts were all out for 115 and Justin ended up with 5/33 to go with his 56, a very fine game by both him, and Gavin Jones, but the rest of the team has plenty to think about going in to Round 2!

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Gavin Jones

Report

The C grade had their 1st home game of the season playing Marion who were in the finals mix last season. With 5 forced changes from our previous team, there were new faces everywhere. James Prest and Toby Nihill made their C grade debuts with Adam Richardson, Nick Selth and Mason Angove all moving up on the back of strong performances.

With a bowler heavy line up and a pitch that looked no different to the rest of the square it was fortunate that we won the toss and chose to bowl. With all bowlers other than Mason preferring 1st change it was he and Jack who opened up. The pitch played quite well with few of the expected demons but with good lines, great bounce and a bit of heat, Mason put the pressure on the opposition. The first wicket fell at 20 runs to Mason with Jack gaining the next 2 runs later. Prest and Richardson came on 1st change and both applied the pressure not allowing the batsmen to get comfortable. Prest collected his 1st C grade wicket soon after with Richo needing to adjust to lower level bowling lines as the bats had no idea how to handle him. Next up was Alex Butenko and Toby Nihill. Toby came charging in from the outset and collected 2 for 6 in a great 5 over spell, Boots was Boots and created numerous chances but was dragged shortly for ignoring instructions attempting his 'fast bouncer' shock ball. The fielding had been excellent all day with only 1 or 2 minor lapses that the boys quickly recovered from. After tea the goal was to finish it as quick as possible with Jack taking 2 more wickets and Richo clean bowling a batsman who still hasnt worked out where the ball was. A runout by Dave Gerner and the final wicket being a run out/stumping to Schulz off Presty they were all out 94.

With 28 overs to bat our makeshift opening pairing of Schulz and Winter headed out. Marion's former A grade opening bowler started proceedings and had both bats jumping with good movement and lift however they both played within themselves and despite repeated stare downs blunted his attack. With the other bowlers the challenge was not to swing at it too hard. Both Matt and Ryan applied themselves brilliantly securing the win with an over spare. Matt finished the day 49no and Ryan 39no looking to extend their dominance into day 2. Unfortunately day two did not proceed due to rain on Thursday and Friday but we had already secured first innings points.

Well done to all the lads on a great team effort with contribution by all (even though Tim Hudson admitted to not touching the ball in play all day). 2 wins from 2 starts now to look forward to our next game, home again at Park 15.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Matt Schulz

Report

The PAOCCC C-Grade was raring to go against Brahma Lodge - a team moved this year from the hard wicket comp. With arguably the strongest line up we have had this year the boys were keen to get out and put the points on the board.

B grade import Aust and Gav Jones opened the reds batting account, unfortunately neither really troubled the scorers which brought Wints and Huddo to the crease. Wints was looking amazing in form until a run out debacle saw him back in the pavilion for just 15. Huddo stuck around with Shultzy (18) and Mitchell (24) for an extremely ugly 44, with the majority of runs coming off the edge of his bat through slips. It was a necessary innings which allowed for a couple of expression cameos from Presty (21) and Butenko (16). After 49 overs the Reds were all out for 200.

Tony the skipper opened the attack and struck first ball of the game, bowling their opening batsmen straight through the gate. Dave Larkins struggled with the new ball in his first over, but pulled himself together in his next, and with tight bowling at the other end, the Reds had Brahma Lodge reeling at 3/16.
ENTER JAMES PREST, after his knock of 21, and a wicket 1st ball he was smacked right back down to Earth, with a record breaking 20 ball over containing 14 wides.

Predictably Presty was given a spell after his 3-Over over. Tony was puffed, which brought Mitchell and Butenko into the attack who bowled well in partnership, tightening back up to see the opposition at 6/66. Down to 4 confident bowlers Antony had to resort to some of his part timers which included an over from Hudson who was belted for 16 and immediately sent back to the slips. Mitchell bowled his 10 straight and ended up with the extremely respectable figures of 4 Maidens, 1/25. Boots came back to bowl out his 10 and beside being cracked for possibly the biggest 6 ever seen on Park 15 bowled well for his 1/50 at a critical point in the match.

At this point the Lodge was getting a bit of a run on and with Mitchell and Butenko bowled out Presty came back on for another over to round out his day 2 Overs, 1 for 33 (20 wides and 2 no balls). Gerner his was given the chance to redeem himself with his dibbly dobblies, and miraculously broke the Brahma Lodge run taking 2 for 17 of his 3 overs. Jack swung himself back into the attack with Larko to try and finish off the match with their last 5 overs. Tonio bowled extremely well and would have had the match wrapped up if not for the appalling hands of a couple of fielders who managed to drop absolute sitters. Thanks to an opposition LBW they did clean up the tail and after a shaky start Dave finished with the excellent figures of 9.4 Overs, 3 Maidens, 3/18, Jack 10 overs, 3 maidens, 2/20.
Brahma Lodge was bowled out for 182 late in the 45th over, seeing the boys claim the points in possibly the worst game of cricket you will ever see from the Red and White.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Tim Hudson

Report

On a perfect day for cricket Jack won the toss and had no choice to bat. The Hectorville bowlers were on the money early on and it was clear from the first ball that this was a class bowling attack. Jonesy and Austy made a solid start and were patient before Charlie hoicked at a straight ball and was bowled for 6. Smithy came and went with the next ball and we were 2/33. Gav and Huddo stuck it out for a while and got us back on the front foot before Gav was dismissed for a well made 34. We lost Tapey and Selthy for a handful between them before Larkins was sent out to steady the ship. He and Huddo put their heads down and had to work very hard for their runs, but saw us through until tea at 4/90. After the break their bowlers got back on top and the lads toiled to keep their wickets, before DL lost his patience and spooned one to mid on. It was a gutsy partnership but needed some backing up. Unfortunately Gerner, Presty and Richo came and went without too much fuss and the tail went rather limp. Huddo finally decided to have a swing and was caught out for a patient and hard fought 48 off 136 balls, Jack left stranded agonisingly on 0*. We had 13 overs at them and were wicket less for about 20 overnight, and staring down the barrel of the first defeat for the season.

Despite a light sprinkle of rain in the morning it wasn't enough to affect play and the reds rolled up their sleeves and set about taking a few early poles. Jack and Richo opened up and unrolled what can only be described as some of the tightest bowling we've witnessed in an age. Larkins was brought on as first change and kept the pressure well and truly applied at both ends as the three bowlers rotated through. The pressure paid dividends as we took a few early wickets and had a look at their middle order before the first drinks break. The following 15 overs were some of the most intense and tight overs this sports critic has witnessed on the field. Just when the Hounds looked like consolidating and putting together a much needed partnership Gav stepped up and brilliantly ran their skipper out and the avalanche began. Smithy was brought on for a 1 over spell before tea and managed to bamboozle the batsmen as he was bowled around his legs. Even Presty stepped up after his record breaking performances of the previous game and managed to land a few on the pitch, his one over spell conceded just the one Warwick Ide. It really was the reds day as we bowled Hectorville out for double figures and recorded a remarkable come back and fourth straight win.

We were sent back in in the hope of picking up a few bonus points. What ensued can only be described as a pitiful and embarrassing schamozzle as we slumped to 7 for 80 before Huddo, batting at 9, put the shutters up and saw out the Hectorville part timers. Not the greatest end to the game, but we had done the hard work to secure the points, and the Juggernaut rolls on.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Tim Hudson

Report

With week 1 of the 2 day match washed out, we faced a strongish Fulham outfit in a one day match. Jack lost the toss and we fielded first.

Rolling up dressed in a rather louche manner 10 minutes before the game, Nick Brooks was given the task of taking the new pill. A bit rusty from his injury layoff, a short loosener in the first over was skied to fine leg which was caught by 'safe-as-houses' Dave Gerner.

From there on, the Skipper and Brooks kept them to a snail paced start, being around 3 for not much after 20 overs. Jack's excessive appealing seemed to pay off with their umpire firing one of his own, while another good delivery took off peg to give Jack 2 handy early wickets.

Into the attack came Burra Reed in his Life Membership game with Dave Larkins at the other end. Burra dropped an absolute dolly off his own bowling and one can only imagine the spray he would've given had he not been the cuplrit.

It was here though that the team sensed Dave Larkins may not have been in the most forgiving mood - expletives uttered under his breath when the inevitable C Grade misfield occurred were heard from the other side of the field. This was exacerbated when a few overs later Larkins was given a runout opportunity, threw it to Schulzy, the batsman was out by miles, however Schulzy had taken the stumps down with the ball dislodged from his gloves. Wow. The scenes of outrage at mid wicket were something to treasure for those playing.

In the end, all bowlers bowled well with club leading wicket taker Jack Zacker claiming his first C Grade scalp, but despite Burra's outrageous drop catch and being slapped for 6 by their number 11 he was pick of the bowlers with 3/34.

Batting we opened with Schulzy and 'ring-in' Chris Spencer. As mentioned earlier, the ground transformed into an absolute road in between innings as from the get go we were displaying some textbook strokeplay. Our openers got off to a good start, before Schulzy was dismissed bringing in our other ring-in Tim McQueen (also playing his life membership game). Both he and Spencer played some brutal but controlled shots and they combined for a wonderful partnership of 100 (Spencer 79, McQueen 104). Both innings were the equal of each other, it was a pity Spence didn't get to his maiden ton because he was batting beautifully. A class above.

With the game won, some fun was to be had with the rest of the order. Tys batted well for a handy 41. Huddo, Burra and Larkins all appeared briefly with Burra running himself out for a golden duck and Larkins being run out by his no-longer best mate Gerner in what can only be described as a debacle. Quote Dave Gerner '...but, was it really my fault?' met with one of the filthiest stares you've seen from a 5 ft not much man like Larkins.

All in all, a great performance that will no doubt send an ominous warning throughout our division.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Tim McQueen

Report

R6, washed out first week and again a one dayer - hosting SHOC at P15. Entering the game 5-0, a win would put us in a dominant position at the Christmas break, this we set out to achieve. With the threat of rain during the afternoon we decided to take an aggressive approach, won the toss and in true Brabham style sent the opposition in.

Josh Hall, making his debut for the C Grade in 2011, took the new rock, however had serious trouble standing up. Fortunately, one of the the batsman couldn't get his bat out the way of edging to Schulzy for a fine catch. Jack bowled from the other end and was clocked for six second ball, Hally was immediately replaced by Brooksy who took the wicket of their other opener caught by Pitto at 2nd slip. The next few overs proved a little expensive with Jack not finding his rhythm and Brooksy losing his way Steve Harmison (Presty) style. On came Dave Larkins who bowled exceptionally well for 2/18 bowling his full 10 straight, he was unlucky not to grab 4 or 5. Zacker bowled from the other end and didn't put a foot wrong finishing with another Michelle (5/12 off 7.5 overs including the last 3 wickets without a run scored). It seems to be his year. All out for 84, a low total but a dangerous score given the conditions.

Gav looked a million dollars, with trademark cuts and drives, before he was dismissed for 12, Schultzy also fell for 12. Pitto made a nice start but fell for 15, Huddo bowled for 2 and at 4/62 SHOC could smell the rain coming. Enter Tys Smith and Dave Larkins - both batted very well with Larkins hitting 3 beautiful boundaries off the final over before tea to ensure we passed their total and weren't stranded if the rain came during the tea break. A crowd began to form at P15 formed of D graders and a few others encouraging the team to have a bit of fun. Tys made 35 and DL a valuable 43. Dave Gerner made 18 and didn't run out Extreme. Hally pestered to be promoted, came in, charged the 1st ball for 4 but forgot to charge the 2nd when should have thus bowled. Enter Nick Brooks looking resplendent in a white floppy. To the jeers of all he somehow successfully played a defensive shot to the 1st ball but the need to entertain then got the better of him. What followed 444..644.24464.46 consisted some of the biggest and wildest swings seen at P15. With the now well lubricated crowd continually being brought to their feet even the Gods were entertained with his first 6 accompanied by an appreciative clap of thunder. Brooker's 50 was secured with a 6 off only the 17th ball he faced surely a club and possibly association record. With the rain denying what was potentially a 30 ball hundred we finished at 9/235 of only 38 overs.
It was a terrific team win against another club's B grade. We go into the Christmas break at 6-0, the C grade sitting atop the table in a commanding position leading into the second half of the season.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Dave Larkins

Report

Round 7 the C Grade took on Para Hills out at Silverstream Oval. We won the toss and batted on a deck that probably had a bit in it for everyone. Schulzy and Dave Gerner opened the batting and both looked in relatively good knick after the Christmas break. Schulzy batted well for his flashy 22, while Gerner uncharacteristically bored the hell out of us with his 5 off 30 (17 balls or so to get off the mark) but it was an important knock seeing off their gun left armer. Jack decided to promote Alex Butenko the all rounder up the order, so he came in when Schulzy got out and while his innings was primarily a myriad of unorthodox shots. During this time Huddo came to the crease and they formed a partnership of 49, Huddo contributing 6 of those. Boots 'crafted' a very handy 39 off 33 balls but unfortunately got out trying to whip one down to fine leg from off stump denying himself a deserved 50.

All of Huddo's remaining partners bar Austy failed to make double digits with Sic and Lobbster being caught off consecutive balls to the same freakish catch at first slip. While our middle order and tail fell like flies Huddo grinded out a really hard fought 43 off 114 balls. He won us the game with this innings working the ball around for singles. We were bowled out for a meager 163.

Late day 1 before the rain came down we had 11.4 overs at them. Brooksy bowled a bit of chin music which had the opposition calling for helmets, but for some reason we were quite sloppy in the field, like our batting we just didn't seem switched on. We dropped two important catches but luckily Zacker picked up their captain with his first ball. They ended 1/54 overnight.

Day 2 we were a lot more switched on. From the opening ball we fielded well. Brooksy and Zacker took the ball first up and the opposition got away a little bit grinding themselves to 2/110 before Zacker picked up some of their important top order bats. The opposition went into tea in a very favourable position and we needed to do something dramatic. With a bit of a spray from the captain and Brooksy to bowling to a 9-2 field, and consistently putting the ball outside off and it paid off with the batsman getting frustrated and spooning catches out wide. Boots bowling in partnership reaped the rewards, bowling a very good spell of spin at the other end picking up 2-11 off 8 overs.

Zacker (4/27) and Jack came back on and with a tight field, the opposition needed about 20 runs with 4 wickets in the shed and to our credit we really just piled on the pressure and they crumbled with our bowling and fielding. We bowled them out for 158, just 5 runs shy of our total. The session after tea was probably one of the very best for the year considering the pressure we were under and I'm proud we got the job done.

With 21 overs left we had a bit of a hit around, Gerner was the pick of the bats making 24.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Tim Hudson

Report

The plan was to bowl first, however Brooksy lost the toss and they sent us in.

Opening was Dave Gerner and Matty Schulz, but Gerner was dismissed cheaply so Alex Marantos joined Schulzy at the crease. From here they demolished the Goodwood pace attack with Schulzy passing his maiden half century while Marantos showed his class blasting the bowlers all around the park to join Schulzy with a half century. Schulzy batted sensibly and laid the foundations for the batting attack we made later in the innings. He was eventually dismissed for 61.

Marantos was joined at the kevin crease by PJ Chapman who was in no mood to hang around. Between them they piled on 120 off probably 100 balls and ripped the game out of Goodwoods hands. Unfortunately PJ was dismissed one short of his half century, but Marantos was still at the crease. Despite being dropped countless times he continued to destroy their attack, eventually bringing up his century.

With his trademark sushi under his belt, Lexi continued to toy with the opposition but was dismissed for 147 and at 331 the middle order decided it was time to party, Austy feasted on afternoon tea...as well as their bowlers scoring 42 off 21 balls, Larkins scored 21 while Sici made a patient 50*. The team was dismissed in the last over for 418, the highest score for the club this year. Well done guys.

Week 2 we went into the field with the aim of getting them out as fast as possible which started well with Brooksy taking 2 early wickets and also hitting his fellow captain in the ribs which prompted him to retire hurt. From here however it was hard going with their obvious intentions to bat out the day without scoring a run and even hope for a minuscule chance of rain. No matter how aggressive we set the field they seemed contempt to just block back to the bowler which made for the most boring day of cricket most of us are likely to encounter.

Therefore the ball was thrown around, Mase bowled really well to pick up 3 wickets, while the Magic Man Michael Siciliano was brought into the attack bowling his right arm powders with great success, also picked up 3 wickets. We ended up dismissing them for 143 after 67 overs.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Alex Marantos

Report

C grade travelled to St Pauls College to play Hope Valley. With a pitch, while undulating, looking very good Jack duly lost the toss, however, Hope Valley sent us in to bat. With a strong batting line up but multiple changes from the previous game (7 changes) our intention was to bat the full 80 overs and get some quality time in the middle.

Opening together for the 2nd time Spencer and Schulz got off to a steady start yet again. The partnership had passed 50 before Sarge went after one too many and was dismissed for 32. Batting at 3 was the return of Ryan Winter and true to form he made a steady start. Spence had begun playing an impressive array of shots including well hit cover drives and powerful pulls for 6. Looking like he was going to fully capitalise some slower bowling eventually had him out in the 62. Husdon and Wintman then consolidated. Whilst not going as the same rate as the openers they both did a great job and built a platform for the rest of the team. Huddo made another solid 35 whilst Winter went past 50 again finally being dismissed for 66. With about 20 overs left the rest of the guys upped the tempo with goo contributions from Smith 32, Zacker, Boots and even the captain taking 15 off the last over to end at 9/298.

We turned up week 2 with rain and questions as to whether we would get away - at least it was the same pitch this year. It was agreed to a late 2.30pm start and if we could stand up it was going to benefit the bowlers. Opening with Jack and Adam Richardson the aim was to pitch it up and make the bats play. Whilst slow and difficult the pitch wasn't dangerous however the Hope Valley boys had already psyched themselves out of the game and played loose and awful shots to be reduced to 7/12. With both bowlers always pitching up one of their batsmen decided it wasn't really that bad and decided to play aggressively with the line of the ball. Adam Richardsons went for 22 off one over and even though he was given another after was disappointed to be dragged with figures of 4/33 off 9 overs, Jack had given the last 2 in Richo's over so the batsman stayed off strike so protected his figures to finish with 5/7 off 11. Zacker had one over to collect 1 wicket.

With the opposition captain pulling stumps and wanting to hit the pub we agreed to the 2nd inning using all the other bowlers. At the end 5/121 finished a successful day for the C grade. 2 minor round games to go, the C grade remains undefeated, the job now is to still improve each week as we know when it comes to finals what happened before doesn't matter.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Chris Spencer

Report

Due to Clipsal the C grade enjoyed a home road trip to Flinders Uni no.2 for a home game against Pembroke who we basically out of the finals race. Upon arriving at the ground a thorough inspection was required to discover what was actually the pitch (if there weren't lines you couldn't find it from the rest of the outfield). Both captains debated as to whether the game should proceed and agreed to do so but if at any time either considered it not suitable we would abandon play. For once Captain Jack won a toss and unsurprisingly chose to bowl.

We opened with the mediums of Brabham and Mitchell and although there were some unusual results off the pitch the Pembroke bats after losing an early wicket became more comfortable. Some sloppy catching allowed their opener to anchor the innings with Pembroke dismissed in the 47th over for 142. Brabham 4/30 off 14, Mitchell 3/49 off 15 (+ 1x retired to Flinders Hospital), Spencer 2/16 off 7 with Larkins unlucky not to claim a wicket but was able to show the nickname EXTREME is very well warranted.

With a bit of a makeshift line up we had to bat 22 overs for the rest of the day and managed to make a meal of it. With their bowlers having a little more pace our batsmen would look comfortable one minute and fending off their bodies or helmet the next. We managed 5/66 but had a couple of good bats left in the shed overnight.

Going into the 2nd week with an extra week of preparation on the pitch we remained confident we would maintain our unbeaten run.

Upon arriving at the ground we were initially disappointed to see not much had changed but the pitch did look a bit better. Then we realised it was a completely different pitch. Suffice to say an outright win gave Pembroke a faint chance of resurrecting their finals chances and after discussions with the ATCA they understandably took that option and were awarded a forfeit win.

Still undefeated on the field it was a disappointing to have a loss recorded against us. Good luck to Pembroke and if they make the finals we will most likely play them in the semi.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Antony Brabham

Report

Heading into the final game for the minor round we got sent in by Modbury. We wanted to have a good hit out and Schulz and Spence opened. Spencer, the god he is, set about his business nicely by putting bad balls away with ease and working the good ball around to tick the strike over to Schulz who looked in great nick also. He and his vampire showed elegant power and reached their half century before Spence got out to a better catch than dangling the rod off Marion Bay jetty to reel in a nice juicy snapper, the opening partnership was 103. Wints came out and got cleaned bowled straight away which brought Dick Hockney to the crease, who got out lbw without scoring by a ball that "clearly appeared to be going on to hit the base of middle" (for another description you can read Dick's tweets). Schulzy got out soon after for a well made 65, who with Spencer set up the whole innings. The middle order unfortunately didn't provide a lot, which they will be looking to rectify this weekend coming. Losing a bit of momentum being 6/113 after such a good start, a gritty partnership from Juzzy Mitchell and Dave Larkins really did show the middle order how to value their wicket to get the innings back on track. Juzzy a very under rated 34 and Larkins 74. This took the score to 8/233. Some late order hitting saw the total end up at 251.

We came back the 2nd week to find ourselves looking to fine tune and have a solid bowling display. Brooks bowled well without a heap of luck. Whilst Jack Brabham was really steaming in putting the heat on the opening pair and removed them having them, 2/20. From here on they couldn't really generate solid partnerships, Adam Richardson, who really hit the crease hard, bowled with good shape getting 1/23 off 14. The pleasing thing was having a good spread of wickets. If one plan wasn't working a new bowler would come on and do the job. Larkins chimed in with 2, Spencer and Mitchell 1 each and Hockney cleaned up the tail with the last 2. The pick of the bowlers was Ryan Winter though who bowled poetic off spin to finish with 0/5 off of 2 overs.
We ended up sending them back in and had them 2/61 at the end of play. Grandson Churchill took a wicket with his 1st nutta callinan, with some impressive keeping from Schulz who played through a nasty toe injury which just shows the quality of the man! Adam Richardson got the other.

We are very much looking forward to putting in our best performance this week coming and take a lot of confidence heading into the 1st final. Congrats on all other grades who made the finals.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Matt Schulz

Report

Having finished top of the table in the minor round, the C Grade found themselves hosting 4th placed Pembroke at Park 9 for the Semi Final. After enduring two atrocious pitches in previous matches, openers Spence and Schultz were salivating at the sight of a typical Park 9 road. Against every instinct in his body, Captain Jack won the toss and elected to bat, with the knowledge that it's always a tough ask to chase down a total at Park 9, let alone in a Semi.

Spence and Schulz made light work of the Pembroke attack, with the former unleashing a brutal pull shot over the mid-wicket boundary. In not much time, our total had passed 50 without loss, with a massive a total on the cards. Spence went soon after for a stylish 36. Schulz was joined by Winter and they continued to pile on the runs. Schulz was eventually dismissed for 39. Winter and Hudson showed some resolve to almost get us to tea but despite a couple of starts, the middle order failed to capitalise on a great foundation, losing three wickets for not many runs. Larkins and Winter steadied the ship and after a patient few overs began to find some momentum before the man with no sleeves was dismissed for a gritty 47. Brooks joined Larkins at the crease, and soon began to shift the momentum with a colossal six. Brooks proceeded to hit an even bigger six two balls later, and continued in a like minded fashion until dismissed for a game changing 32 off 22 balls. All out for 210 in the 73rd over with 'Brother of Primate' confirming a batting average lower than Chris Martin's. Despite not making the most of a fantastic start, we knew that with the added pressure of chasing in finals, Pembroke would definitely have their work cut out getting the runs.

Day 2, and despite a couple of early wickets, we struggled to dismiss their captain who managed to grind his way to 50. At tea Pembroke had plenty of batting left in the shed, but had a lot of runs to chase - if we could keep applying the pressure and remain patient we knew we would emerge on top.
The pressure may have got to us a bit as the crowd from other games grew and we continued to give away freebie runs - the opposition could sense that they were in with a chance as runs began to flow a little more freely. Larkins and Spence teamed up for a tight spell of bowling which resulted in 6 wickets falling, 4 from the bowlers and two run outs courtesy of Wints and Mitch who with a direct hit sparked a celebration that had to be seen to be believed.

With 5 overs to go and 30 runs to get, we did our best to let Pembroke win with some loose bowling and sloppy fielding, until Wints decided he was overdue for an Up and Go and ran their final batsmen out with Pembroke falling 16 short of their target. Brooks 0/27 off 11, Brabham 2/32 off 16, A Richardson (back to his best) 1/27 off 13, Mitchell 0/31 off 11, Larkins 3/30 off 16, T Smith 0/14 off 4 and C Spencer 1/23 off 7.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Ryan Winter

Report

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Matt Schulz

Report

The D-Grade started season 2011/12 with a one day game at the home of cricket against AHOS. With six bowlers and a greenish pitch, the opportunity to bowl first when the coin came down the skippers way was too good to refuse.

Mason Angove took the new ball and had immediate success with Jack Zacker taking a blinder in short cover. First gamer Toby Nihill opened at the other end and while it took him a while to settle, he too began bowling good consistent areas outside off stump and it wasn't long before he too got some rewards. Toby took the next two wickets, and all of a sudden AHOS were in some trouble. Mason Angove continued to bowl well, finishing his 9 overs with 5 maidens, 1/11, while Toby bowled 7 overs taking 2/26 in an impressive display. AHOS never really got going as we continued to dial up the pressure, resulting in wickets. Sam Wood took 1/0 off an over before drinks after Ben Cunningham swallowed a low chance in the slips, and Ben Allen just did what Ben Allen does, bowling well outside off stump and drying up the runs. He finished with 1/12 from his 9 overs. Adam Richardson returned from Ireland and it wasn't long before he had the ball hooping around. He made it nearly impossible for the opposition to score, bowling through to finish with 2/10. Another first gamer Josh Orken was able to grab his first wicket for the club to clean AHOS up for 65. It was a terrific effort with the ball and in the field, and something that is expected for the rest of the year.

You expect to win chasing 66, but it's often never easy. We got off to a good start before the skipper lost his wicket for 11, and we then proceeded to lose 4/12 and found ourselves in huge strife at 5/25. To AHOS credit, they bowled very well early. However, Adam Richardson and James Prest got together for a critical partnership of 21 and showed the top order what should have been done, by keeping the good ones out, playing straight and putting a value on their wicket. Adam made a vital 6 off 30 deliveries, but when he lost his wicket, there was still some work to do at 6/46. Mason Angove came in and playing an equally important innings in support to Presty who started to find the boundary, easing the pressure. We reached drinks at 6/65, equal with AHOS total and it didn't take long to pick up the winning runs. Presty fell for a match winning 26 (3x4, 1x6) off 33, and we then suffered another collapse, all out for 69 in what was a disappointing result.

Good to get out of gaol and blow off some cobwebs in the process, but it's important that we take on board some of the lessons we learnt with the bat into next weeks game against Grange.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - James Prest

Report

The D-grade travelled to Henley Beach to take on Grange for the first two day match of the season. On a damp pitch, we won the toss and sent Grange in. Max Clarke took the new ball in his first game for the club and applied some pressure to Grange's top order, and again we fielded well early, not allowing runs to leak easily. Maxy took the first wicket, however Grange were looking good at 1/31. Enter Jack Zacker, who came on and bowled a terrific spell ripping Grange's top and middle order apart with 5 quick wickets to have Grange 6/36. At 8/58, it looked as if we'd be able to get a head start on the runs, however it wasn't to be, as we allowed a couple of partnerships to get away from us. Jack Zacker came back on to take a vital wicket, finishing his spell with career best figures, 12 overs, 5 maidens, 6/21. Sam Wood cleaned up Grange's number 10 for an impressive 41, dismissing them for 125. Shane Roberts and John Churchill survived 11 overs to finish 0/11.

While some late rain Thursday caused some issues for some sides, we were fortunate to arrive on day 2 with a fairly dry pitch. Robbo and Jono got us off to a neat start before Jono lost his wicket at 49. Robbo batted very patiently for an impressive 35, however when he, and two others departed cheaply, we were in some strife at 4/69. At 6/84. Rowan Tape and Justin Mitchell got together and batted very well, making the most of some luck to put on 39 before Flipper was dismissed for 28, 3 runs short of our target. We got the runs, and Tapey continued his excellent knock in tandem with some brief cameos from the tail enders before we were dismissed for 160.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Jack Zacker

Report

Warm winds not unlike those experienced sitting next to the likes of Jack Brabham, Sam Tyler, Jack Dent and Michael Richardson on a Saturday night in the Hackney beer garden greeted the D-grade at the ATCA's north pole equivalent, Argana Park for our Round 3 fixture against Brahma Lodge.

We won the toss and the skipper spent more time out in the middle tossing the coin than he did with the bat, in some trouble at 1/0 and then 2/11 when Ben Lobban departed. Michael Clarke (12), Jack Zacker (12) and Ben Cunningham (33) freed the arms and provided some entertainment but at 5/72 after 14 overs, it was looking as if we'd be in the field sooner rather than later. Rowan Tape came to the crease and knuckled down, and was provided with some valuable support from Shane Roberts (7), with the pair getting through an important 8 overs. The wickets continued to fall, however critical little partnerships of 16, 15, 20, 9 and an unbeaten 14 helped us get to a competitive 9/146 off our 40 overs. Rowan Tape batted superbly, facing 80 balls for his 48 not out. Peter Ingman continued his rich vein of form at number 11, with a swash-buckling 8 not out, including stealing the strike for the final over and letting 4 balls go before hitting a boundary and a single to prevent Tapey getting his half century!

Nick Brooks removed the cotton wool from his shoulder and steamed in off the long run at 80%, looking dangerous. Things didn't quite go to plan at the other end, the ten other members of the team witnessing first hand the second, and final time the skipper will take the new rock. Conquest Solutions very own Sam Wood (1/19), bowling an uncharacteristically tidy Alex Boots like spell of off-spin got the break through, so hung over he saw a second set of stumps and threw one down leg side, only to have Tapey follow the ball and take a good catch. Joined by Jack Zacker (3/27), fresh from the jungles hunting cougars we started to get on top and at 4/46 the game was ours for the taking. Despite some lapses in the field, Brooks (2/14) returned for a lethal spell of bowling, taking wickets with consecutive balls, while a fired up Shane Roberts (2/10) intimidated at the other end after being harshly adjudged LBW earlier in the day. At 9/84, the ball was thrown to Peter Ingman who took just one ball to get the final wicket.

A great start to the year to win the first three games, but plenty of improvements to be made with bat, ball and in the field should we wish to continue our winning start.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Rowan Tape

Report

Shooting for our 4th win of the year, we took on Woodville South at Devitt Oval. Things didn't go to plan, we lost the toss and were sent into the field. While Elliott Monfries in his return to wicket keeping took a sharp catch third ball off the bowling of Josh Orken, the lackadaisical tone we carried for 40 overs was set the ball before when Alex Marantos dropped a soda at gully. Eight catches were dropped in an embarrassing session between the drinks and tea break, and bowlers struggled to grasp the concept that with two strong batsman at the wicket, we weren't going to get wickets bowling juicy full tossers to them. To Woodville South's credit, they took full toll on our errors, with two of their bats both reaching half centuries. Robbo took two wickets (2/17) shortly before tea to rescue some momentum, but at 4/140, things were looking grim. We came out into the field with a new attitude, and one bowler that really shone through was Jack Zacker. He continued an excellent spell taking 5/25 after tea to finish with 5/33. Josh Orken bowled a much better second spell to finish with 2/29, however a 28 run 10th wicket stand would frustrate us and prove crucial in deciding the fate of the match.

We got a head start on the runs through the help of Alex Marantos, who made a chanceless and sensible 40 not out, while Robbo looked ominous for 12 before he was run out, and Thumper survived day 2 to take the score to 1/69 overnight.

We were confident going into day 2 that we could get the runs, however Hamish Eske (who was resuming Lexi's innings as sub) was bowled early for 2. Ben Lobban batted well for 12, however when he and Thumper (26) were dismissed in consecutive overs we were in trouble at 4/99. Jack Zacker and Elliott Monfries got together and put on another 20 runs before Zacker was fired LBW. Mono batted well for 19 however a rush of blood proved costly, and when Cunners was well caught in slips for 11, at 7/141 the game was as good as over. Will Farminer hit the ball crisp for 10 and deserves an opportunity to bat up the order, however he ran out of partners and hauled out to be all out for 154.

A disappointing fielding effort, and a lesson in how not to manage a chase. The game was lost on day 1, if we took our chances we would have been chasing 120, and while we didn't do much wrong after tea, the 28 run 10th wicket partnership was the difference/ Plenty of work to be done at training ahead of a must-win game against Ingle Farm.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Jack Zacker

Report

We turned up to Park 15 knowing we'd have to be at our best to beat Ingle Farm. We lost the toss and were sent into the field on what looked to be a good batting wicket. In an unusual move Shane Roberts took the new ball and bowled a pretty good 9 over spell, finishing with 1/38, thanks to a good stumping from Tapey, and unlucky not to have a couple more wickets. At the other end, Mason Angove got the early break through with Sic mitting one in the gully. He bowled 5 overs in his first spell, taking 1/6. Toby Nihill replaced Mason and took a while to settle but bowled a couple of tight overs, helping himself to a wicket. At 3/57 after 18 overs, we'd started well. Ingle Farm's skipper strolled to the wicket and quickly punished any loose bowling, forming a couple of important partnerships. Sam Pontifex got the break through, and then Michael Siciliano settled in and bowled well, taking 2/27 off 7. Mason Angove returned and we managed to dry up the scoring, conceeding 15 runs between overs 30 and 36. However, some wayward bowling and clean hitting saw the total go from 139 to 176. We didn't bowl all that badly, however the one, or two bad balls an over usually found their way to the fence. Needless to say, it was a score we felt we could chase down.

Charlie Aust and Shane Roberts set about the run chase, getting us off to a conservative start. The D-grades own Kerry O'Keefe, Ben Cunningham, had the crowd in stitches as we searched for a middle name for Mason Angove to avoid Heito's records spreadsheet from crashing! However, when we lost Robbo (5) and Austy (15) with the score on 27, Cunners was required to get us back into the game. He was dropped second ball, but barely gave them a chance after that, patiently waiting on the bad ball and pouncing. Sic joined him with the score on 54 in the 19th over and played an important foil. We were 101 after 30 overs, but within 5 overs we had amassed 55 runs. Cunners reached the 3 figures (8 x 4s, 4 x 6s), but was run out with a direct hit to be dismissed for an even 100. Sic battled on, and despite losing another wicket, he (28 not out) and Ben Lobban (14 not out) finished the job with 4 balls to spare.

A terrific run chase, highlighted by Ben Cunningham's brute force and Michael Siciliano putting a price on his wicket to support him and form a match winning partnership. 4-1 is a good start to the year, important that we continue that next game and go into the break 5-1 with a tough second half of the year to determine our fate.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Ben Cunningham

Report

Presented with a surprisingly dry wicket, we won the toss and elected to bowl in our Round 6 encounter vs Grange, on the Back Oval. Hamish Eske took the new ball and bowled a terrific spell of bowling down hill, unlucky not to take a wicket. While Mason Angove got a couple of early break throughs, Grange's captain batted well to hold their top order together. At 4/140 at tea, we were starring down the barrel of a chase of 300+. Mason changed ends after tea and reaped the rewards, taking 4 wickets to finish with 6/57 off 15 overs, a terrific return after struggling to find rhythm coming up the hill into a stiff breeze. Hamish return to clean up the tail to finish with 2/64 off 15 overs to dismiss Grange for 212.

With 17 overs to bat, we entered an important period. Sam Wood lost his wicket early, but with a glint in his eye after a successful night of dice rolling, PAOC's own love rat, Shane Roberts worked hard to survive. Joined by the skipper, who should have been out twice, the pair survived to take the score to 1/34.

With some inclement weather floating around, we felt best to have a go and try and get the runs fast. In hindsight, this was a mistake, and we should have left the batting order the way it was. We lost 5/38 to be 6/72 when Ben Lobban and Rowan Tape came to the crease. Both batted well in tough conditions early, and wrestled back some momentum before a mix up left Rowan Tape run out for a well compiled 16. Mason Angove came to the crease and batted really well in support of Rosey who was starting to get on top of the bowling. We got to tea at 7/180, however third ball after tea Rosey was out for 78. Mason was dismissed a short time later for 22, while Toby Nihill provided a brief cameo of 13 before we were bowled out for 200.

Disappointing way to end a positive start to the season. Twice we've lost games we've been in control of after day 1, and it's something we'll need to learn from going forward. After six rounds we only have two players with over 100 runs, and one player with over ten wickets (who is now in the C-grade). If we want to win games of cricket, we need players to work harder at training and have a more even contribution on a Saturday.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Mason Angove

Report

The D Grade began the second half of the season against a Hectorville side that had struggled to pass 3 figures all year. Smelling blood in the water - skipper Will was intent on taking the field and bowling first. Alas, the Hectorville skipper called correctly and sent us in. Obviously, they had similar plans as they had been practicing their fielding since 12.10 - a practice foreign to most C3 sides.

The highlight of the season arrived in the second over when Shane 'SK Roberts-Robson' Roberts was given out LBW. Unhappy (putting it mildly) with the decision, Robbo stormed off, only to be greeted by comiserations from his team mates. Apparently bad luck had nothing to do with it. The rest of the side sat slightly scared for their safety - as Robbo vented inside the changeroom - no item of glass was safe from Robbo's wrath.

Back on the field, Thumper and John Churchill set about reviving the innings with some patient batting against tight bowling. The two put on 60 before JC was dismissed for a customarily explosive 18. Thumper was agonizingly dismissed short of his maiden 50 for a very well crafted 40, before Justin Mitchell and Rowan Tape took the score past 100. After losing Mitchell for 17, the Tape Worm was joined by James Prest. Taking advantage of a flattening surface and tiring bowling lineup, the two batted aggressively, but without risk and put us in a strong position. With a declaration imminent, some late slapping from Josh Hall took us to 193 before Thumper pulled us in. The Tape Worm finished 41no and Prest ended up with 44. 10 overs in dwindling light netted us 1 wicket and we went into day 2 in a strong position.

Gaining the services of The Greatest - Chris Drew and Alex Marantos, our already imposing bowling lineup was only strengthened. Drewy and Mason Angove struck early and from there on it was a procession. Josh Hall chipped in with 3 wickets - his express pace far too much for the Hectorville middle-order. The highlight arguably The Tape Worm's stunning legside catch off Drewy.

After bowling them out for 60 - we immediately sent them back in, in search of an outright. Our quicks, led by Drewy and Mason bowled brilliantly, but without luck. The incredible afternoon tea (highlighted by Lexi's sushi offering) probably didn't help our cause and a flat session after tea couldn't bring the quick wickets we needed. The ball was thrown around to 10 of 11 players, but we couldn't conjure the winning formula to crack through Hectorville's middle-order. Hally picked up 2 wickets and was the pick of the bowlers in the second dig.

A flat feeling at the end of the day's play to not walk away with an outright, but nevertheless a strong performance against an opponent who we should be aspiring to beat comfortably. A challenge looms next week against top side Woodville Rechabites.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Rowan Tape

Report

Skipper Will Thomas elected to bowl on a wicket that was conducive for batting. Justin Mitchell and Jack Zacker took the new ball and commenced what would be a big afternoon of bowling. Both bowled well with little luck before Rowan Tape stuck a hand out to take a good one handed catch, and Sam Wood held onto a sharp chance in the gully with the score on 55. Pete Ingman, Josh Orken and Sam Wood all bowled pretty well for little reward, with the score of 2/81 being taken quickly into the 130's after tea, a worrying sign given the heat and the batting paradise. Mitchell and Zacker both returned and took 2 wickets each to go into the drinks break with the score at 6/162. We managed to keep the score to 3 runs an over for the remaining 15 overs, while Mitch and Zacker dug in to bowl the rest of the day out, each taking a wicket, and Mitch helping himself to a direct hit run out. Despite this we couldn't manage to bowl Woodville Rechabites out, they finished on 9/207, a score we felt we could chase down. Mitchell finished with 5/83 from 30 overs, and Zacker 3/59 from 27 overs, a remarkable effort given the heat, and one that was greatly appreciated by the rest of the side.

We arrived on day 2 to find a slower wicket and an A1 bowler, so we knew 207 was going to be a very tough chase. A subdued Shane Roberts was out early for 1, and we were in some strife before Chris Spencer and the skipper went about surviving. Things were going well until Thumper played a loose cut shot and was caught in the slips for 16, 2/49. Unfortunately Spence followed suit, bowled for a well made 35. Things were grim until Ben Cunningham strolled to the crease and hit a 6 to get off the mark, then followed up with another that landed in a nearby house. He was well supported by Jon Churchill, and together survived until tea to be 3/91, in a strong position. It was always going to be a matter of surviving the first ten overs after tea, however, things started to go pear shaped first rock, with Jon out LBW for 5. This triggered a characteristic collapse through our middle order that has haunted us in run chases throughout the year. A combination of good bowling, and poor shots saw us go from 4/91 to 8/109 in a matter of overs. Other than Cunners who made a brisk 39, no one managed to get over double figures. Ingers and Orks taught a few in the middle to lower order a bit of a lesson as they delayed the inevitable for 5 or 6 overs by putting a price on their wicket and wearing a few on the body, however it wasn't enough, all out for 117.

Really disappointing effort with the bat after we worked hard the week before in the heat. We once again let ourselves down chasing a target, and it could be a loss that comes back to haunt us in the pursuit of a finals spot, with not much separating 2nd through to 5th on the C3 table.

Moo Premium Foods Players of the Match - Justin Mitchell and Jack Zacker

Report

Winning the toss we elected to bat in an important Round 9 clash against Para Hills in our final home game of the season. Things didn't get off to an ideal start, the skipper out in the first over. However Alex Marantos and Charlie Aust quickly accelerated the run rate before Charlie was out for 19. The scoring continued to flow, however Lexi (33) skying a ball triggered a middle order collapse, with Cunners chasing a wide one and being caught behind first rock, and Ben Lobban out for 5, leaving us 5/65. While James Prest came and went for a patient 12, Michael Siciliano and the ever reliable Rowan Tape put together an important 39 run partnership to take the score to 128 before Sic was fired LBW by Rosey much to his disgust for a well made 28! While Dags swung and missed a straight one, Tapey began to hit his straps as he often does, finding the boundary. He ably supported by Mason Angove, who made an entertaining 13 in a very important 39 run stand before being bowled. A declaration was imminent; however we were determined to see Tapey get to the elusive 50. A surprisingly sober Sam Wood strolled out to the crease and found some form, before running Tapey out for an excellent 47. While disappointed, Tapey should be proud of his efforts, it was an important knock and he once again showed the maturity needed from batsmen in the lower order to come in and support a team mate who is scoring runs, then go on with it when a partner gets out.

We had 7 overs at Para Hills at the end of day one, and while we bowled well, we couldn't get the break through, finishing the day 0/3.

Unfortunately we turned up day 2 to find the pitch under a fair bit of water after some overnight rain. This was very disappointing as we were denied the opportunity to finish off a game that we were confident of winning. As a result, we find ourselves in third place with only 7 points separating us and 6th place. We need to finish off the year strong, starting Saturday against Hectorville to ensure we hold our spot in the 4. Our batting needs to improve substantially if we want to win the remaining games.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Rowan Tape

Report

We were sent in on a pitch that resembled a cow paddock, but minus the odd gremlin wasn't too bad. Dave Gerner (19), Ben Lobban (20) and Ben Cunningham (23) all got solid starts but couldn't go on. At 5/87 Rowan Tape joined James Dalwood, and the pair quickly went about building a respectable score. At 5/140ish at tea, we set ourselves a goal to get to 200 in seven overs. Rowan Tape was looking good, but when he fell for 25 and Boots failed to trouble the scores, 200 was looking out of our reach. But Dags, joined by Zacker (23 not out), got the result we were after, finishing 7 dec./197. Dags' 52 not out which included 4x4s and 3x6s was very impressive and may result in a promotion up the batting order!

We had 24 overs at Hectorville, and were keen to make some early inroads. However we came out and just went through the motions, with some ordinary fielding not supporting the bowlers. Boots chimed in with his second wicket in the last over leaving Hectorville 4/65 overnight.

Keen to set up the possibility of an outright victory, we were intending to come out early on day 2 and make some inroads. However, despite the loss of an early wicket, in warm conditions Hectorville were switched on batted well, while we were at our worst. Our attitude wasn't right, we expected things to happen for us and we tried to intimidate the opposition and got distracted, letting our standards with the ball and in the field slip. At 5/130 with a catch being put down, the game was in the balance, however a cold drink and a stern word from the skipper changed our attitude, and we took 5/4 to clean Hectorville up for 139. Max Clarke was fantastic with the ball, bowling 11 overs and taking 4/15. James Dalwood also bowled well despite some shoulder discomfort, taking 2/16.

In an attempt to set up an outright, we intended to bat for 7 overs and set Hectorville a total. However, with Ben Cunningham at the crease, planting the first ball into a neighbouring house, it looked as if we might get our total a little sooner than we had hoped. What followed was a 4.5 over expression session in which we amassed 2/73. Dave Gerner hit 29 off 11 deliveries including 5x4s and 1x6. Ben Cunningham pinned the ears back for 15 off 6 balls including two maximums. And Ben Lobban finished 28 not out off 12 balls, with 2x6s and a four. Hectorville required 132 off 19 overs, a gettable score.

Unfortunately Hectorville didn't come to the party early making a slow start. After Dags and Zacker got an early wicket each, the Hectorville batsmen started to have a swing their arms, but it was too late, finishing their 19 overs at 3/97. The ball was thrown around to some genuine part timers late, with even the Worm having his first trundle of the year! It finished a patchy day of cricket where we did enough to get the victory, but failed to achieve what we set out to do.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - James Dalwood

Report

The equation was simple going into the clash against second placed Port Districts, win and we were guaranteed a finals berth, lose, and we had to rely on other results going our way. Buoyed by a strong side we won the toss and elected to field. Port had been a strong batting side all year so it was crucial we bowled well.

Mason Angove settled into a terrific spell, and while he was a little wayward early, a 14 over spell gave him the opportunity to have a solid bowl. Jack Zacker took the new ball at the other end and continued to do what he does best, bowl full and straight, and take wickets. Some tidy bowling, and our best fielding performance of the year quickly saw the momentum of the game swing in our direction. 7/87 at tea and we had them on the ropes. We returned after tea and Lexi took an early wicket to finish with 2/7 off his 5 overs, thanks to a blinder from Maxy Clarke at short fine leg. Max managed a wicket himself, and Zacker completed the job by taking his 4th wicket, to bowl Port out for 107. He finished with 4/29 from 15 overs, while Mase finished with 3/48 from 14.

We had 23 overs to bat and the score was gettable, but we weren't going to take any risks trying to get there. Despite the loss of an early wicket, Marantos absorbed the pressure and he and Michael Siciliano got together for what was ultimately a match winning partnership. Lexi was at his blistering best, while Sic played the support role. With Lex on 67 and the score at 102, he was caught. A disappointing end, but a match winning innings, and one he should be proud of. Sic was joined by Alex Butenko, and the gamer didn't die wondering, getting down the track and whipping one through midwicket for a boundary to get off the mark. We got the runs in the second last over of the day, and finished the day at 4/110.

Boots didn't last long on day 2, bowled for 13, which brought Ben Hook to the crease. Hooky looked a little out of sorts, possibly due to his pre-game shower, or lack of carbohydrates in his diet? But it wasn't long before he put a ball into a neighbouring front yard and got his innings underway. Meanwhile, at the other end Sic was stamping his authority on the game with some boundaries after his partner had labelled him the 'most boring cricketer' at PAOC the previous week. To the delight of the Port Districts boys, Hooky was caught for 19, but the slack was taken up by Rowan Tape. Tapey looked on, playing his signature cross bat shots like the cut, the sweep and the pull as the pair passed the 50 partnership. After the loss of Tapey for 24, the tail failed to wag to see us all out for 212.

We've finished the season in second place, a great achievement and we will play Grange in the Semi. We are all looking forward to an exciting and successful end to the season.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Jack Zacker

Report

The D-grade, after finishing 2nd took on 3rd placed Grange at Kingswood Oval in a cut-throat semi final. After some midweek rain, the pitch was a little soft and green, but upon winning the toss, the skipper elected to bat. Charlie Aust started well and looked on, but after hitting his fifth boundary, had a bit of a brain fade and hit one straight up in the air, out for 26. We lost another quick wicket when Will Thomas fell for one, however Alex Marantos and Paul Chapman worked hard to get things back on track. The patience and quality of these batsmen shone through as they began pouncing on anything loose from the Grange bowlers. Our hearts were in our mouths a little when Lexi skied a ball, only to be dropped, but he quickly passed 50 and looked set for a big one. Chappy fell just before tea for a well compiled 37, and Lexi was joined by Cunners. It's always nerve wracking watching Cunners first couple of deliveries, but nerves were eased when he belted one over long off's head for 6 third rock! The pair took us to tea at 3/150, a massive start, and we had Grange on the ropes. The pair resumed after tea, and Lexi didn't take long to bring up his 100 (117 balls, 12 x 4s), before snicking up. Cunners departed for 45 a short time later with a sharp caught and bowled chance, and when Dags got bowled for 2, we were 6/237. The middle and lower order all got starts, with Lobban (15), Tape (11), Zacker (13) and Butenko (15 not out), helping us to finish with 286, a terrific score.

We turned up on day 2 determined to bowl Grange out for under 150, knowing it would be tough to chase 286. Mason Angove took the new ball with instant success, Grange's skipper trying to hit him out of the park, and Mason, to his credit was full and straight and knocked his middle peg out of the ground. James Dalwood tied them down at the other end, and was unlucky to not have a wicket early after Cunners dropped a catch in slips. However, he managed to get a wicket the next ball, with Cunners getting a second chance and holding onto it! To Grange's credit, their opener and #4 batted well to put on 50, but when Lexi wrapped their leading run scorer on the pads, the game was ours for the taking. All bowlers bowled well, drying up the runs, and the fielding was very good. James Dalwood (1/23), Alex Marantos (1/31) and Jack Zacker (3/15) all bowled great spells before tea to have Grange 6/115. Mason Angove returned to the attack after tea fired up, taking the remaining three wickets to finish with 4/29, Grange all out for 128.

A great win and one we should take plenty out of going into a Grand Final against 4th placed Ingle Farm at Rowe Park. Look forward to seeing plenty of support on the sidelines!

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Alex Marantos

Report

After a terrific semi final victory, the D-grade had one final hurdle to secure premiership glory - Ingle Farm at Rowe Park. Unfortunately Saturday was washed out so the game was reduced to a 40 over a side one day match on the Sunday. We were sent in on a damp wicket, and from ball one it became clear surviving our 40 overs would be a real challenge. Things didn't start too well, with Austy running himself out cheaply. Alex Marantos joined the skipper at the crease, and they began to chip away on the score board. However, when Lexi skied a ball on 8 and was caught, the Ingle Farm boys got pretty excited and started to get on top of us again. Chappy fell for 4, Thumper nicked one and fell for a patient 22, Cunners hit a ball that went into outer space and then fell back down into the arms of a sprawled out Ingle Farm fielder, and Dags was also caught for a duck. When we looked over at the scoreboard and saw 6/43 on it, the mood was grim. As disappointing as it was to lose early wickets, we appreciated that if we could get to 100, we'd have something to defend on a pitch that was extremely difficult to bat on. Ben Lobban and Rowan Tape managed a 10 run partnership before Rosey also skied a ball. Tapey was incredibally unlucky to be given out caught off a ball that hit his forearm, however the game changed when a bowling change was made and the competitions leading wicket taker, Darren Cox, was bought on. Jack Zacker managed to find the boundary twice, once from a ball that went through the hands of a fielder, and then clear the boundary with a maximum to ease some tension. He finished an important 21 not out after we were rolled for 84 after 37 overs.

Our strength of tight bowling and good fielding was prevalent as we restricted them to just 8 runs off 10 overs, however in the 11th over, Mason bowled a peach of a delivery, knocking the other opener over for a duck. Two overs later a flat chance was hit low to the skipper standing at mid-off was swallowed, at at 3/11, we were right on top. At the other end, Jack Zacker had them in all sorts, and went 6 overs before producing another maiden, which featured two 'slow death' LBW's much to our joy, 5/11 and the game was ours for the taking. As often happens, one little partnership gets away from you and we lost our concentration momentarily. The six-pack took his third wicket in his final over when Mason held onto another chance that balooned off the batsmans gloves, to finish with 3/4 off 9 inc. 6 maidens, while Mason finished with 3/25. James Dalwood and Alex Marantos continued to apply pressure, and it wasn't long before Lexi got the break through with Austy holding onto a sharp chance in the slips. When Dags bowled their skipper breaking Ingle Farm's back, we knew the flag would be ours. Lexi took the final two wickets in consecutive overs to finish with 3/2 off 6 overs inc. 5 maidens, and it was official, we had both hands on the shield.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Jack Zacker

Report

The players met on the Back Oval of the school for their first match of the season. After losing the toss and getting sent in on a very green wicket, the Captain needed to raise the mood of the group, and did so by announcing that David "Burra" Reed would be the team's Vice Captain for the season. This announcement was warmly welcomed by all those present. Club stalwart, Andrew Heitmann who was playing in his 50th 1-day game for the Club, presented Burra with a brand new Club Cap to unofficially honour his appointment.

It was a slow but steady start for the reds with Olly (1 off 28) and Weed (54 off 85) taking up the challenge against a strong bowling attack from Concordia. Olly decided to play soccer with a full-toss that was hitting middle bringing Drewy (8 off 24) to the crease, who just started to look comfortable before a mix up saw him standing at the same end as Weed (who was still struggling after a failed game of Yahtzee that extended past 6am that morning). At 3/49 it was year 12 student Henry Olsson (22 off 31) who got things moving with first 6 of the innings and with 10 overs to go Burra (11 off 19) and Rayner (10 off 18) were at the crease for the expression session. A lost ball was the result of a massive six from Buzz that landed on the roof of the undercroft, but other than that our innings fizzled out without much of a bang. Coop (2 off 14) did well to run himself out as well as first gamer Will Heaslip, while Heito (10 off 12) and BA (0* off 1) did their best to avoid Coopy's calling. In the end all out for 140 from 39.2 overs. During the tea break an amazing spread was put on by the boys and Rayner almost snared man of the match honours when he produced a bucket of KFC chicken much to the delight of all those present.

We had a strong bowling attack and were confident if we held our chances we would be right in this one. Drewy opened up and was bowling wonderfully. And from the other end it was the ever reliable Heito (1/10 off 4) who picked up the first wicket. Rayner (0/24 off 7) bowled well all day without luck. At 1/68 in the 17th over we needed a spark which came in the form of a running catch at mid-off from Drewy. BA then picked up a 2nd as he knocked over middle stump to have them 3 for 70 at drinks. Drewy (3/23 off 9) then bowled out after the break picking up 3 wickets including one to a sharp catch at short cover by the Skipper Kildea, while it was Burra (1/23 off 8) at the other end who was doing too much with the ball to gain the edge. We'd taken 6 for 18 and with a further 45 needed, we were every chance to kick the season off with a win. Unfortunately it wasnt to be as they put on an unbeaten 8th wicket partnership to get over the line in the 36th over.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Chris Drew

Report

Match abandoned due to pitch condition.

Report

The E-grade were keen to get into some cricket after last week's stint on the sidelines, and with 7 players making their first appearance for the season, it was a fresh team free of the demons from Rds 1 and 2. Unfortunately 14.8mm of rain had something to say about that and we spent the day with our major sponsor.

It may have taken intervention from Mother Nature, but the E's have some points on the board! After three winless home games, the E's look forward to playing every single game away for the rest of the year, but will obviously be disappointed to miss out on Tom Rayner's KFC at afternoon teas!

Report

For the first of many away games we had 7 changes including new players to the Club; Nick 'Chook' Fowler and Scott 'MmmBop' Hanson-Easey. Winning the toss we opened the batting with Andrew Heitmann and Jonathan Churchill. Both got out to dismissals rarely seen in LOD cricket; Heitmann to a diving 1-hander at gully and Churchill to a ball that literally did everything. Richard Hockney and Paul Chapman saw off the strong opening attack, then capitalised on the change bowlers. Chapman (35) fell before drinks and at the break we were 3/103.

Hockney hit 9 singles to bring up his 50 and then scored his next 30 runs in boundaries, pushing his partnership with Reed beyond 100. With few overs to go quick runs were scored and a few wickets fell; Hockney out for a well-made 93 and Reed (40). John Coop hit a brisk 13 to get the total to 7/225.

Heitmann bowled his 9 overs straight, leaving early for a reception, so Sam Pontifex sub fielded. After a wayward start Pat McCole picked up the first wicket thanks to a good running catch by Reed. Iggies main man came to the centre and being a class above we restricted him to singles and strangled the other batsmen. At drinks they were 2/70.
Matt Kildea and Pat Sadlier bowled well before McCole came back to pick up 2 in 2 balls, wasting his hat-trick chance with a wide. Reed resumed, picking up their key player and finished with a 4-wicket-maiden to wrap up the game.

Of special note was the hat-trick ball. Reed's fast ball hit the batsman's pads, all appealed except Hockney who fell to the ground grasping the ball. The ump gave the LBW not out, but Hockney politely asked the batsman if he wouldn't mind walking, given the ball flicked the bat after the pad. After a moment of hesitation, the batsman dropped his head and walked.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - David Reed

Report

With half our team running late, VC Reed was forced to take the toss and without sufficient time to prepare himself, unfortunately his call was inaccurate. Put in the field our remaining 5 players arrived with 3 minutes to spare and we walked out onto the park like any rabble you'd expect in LOD cricket. Starting his run-up with a belch, and then a groan half way in, it was Andrew Heitmann who picked up a wicket with the first ball of the game. We took regular wickets throughout their innings, however runs also flowed at an alarming rate. At drinks they were 5/90 and we had to make sure we tightened up in the field. Burra did just that bowling his 9 overs to collect figures of 3/18, while Heito (3/19) and Tyndall (2/22) were the other impressive bowlers. We fielded well with 5 out of 6 catches being held which went a long way to restricting them. Unfortunately an unbeaten 10th wicket stand of nearly 40 runs let Trinity off the hook a little as they posted a very competitive 152.

Our run chase didn't start well and after a dozen or so overs we were 4/25 and looking down the barrel of an early finish. Chook Fowler stood strong and together with Burra they put on a small partnership before Heito sent the VC on his way much to the delight of the chirpy Trinity boys. Scooter came and hit a brisk 14 before he departed and at 6 for 70ish, we were in all sorts needing another 80-odd runs. Chook combined with Captain Kildea to consolidate the innings and bring us within striking distance. With 8 overs to go and 40 runs needed, the Skipper fell brining our unknown, Pat McCole to the crease. In his 7 matches for PAOC, Pat had a total of 1 run to his name, so it was to everyone's shock, and pleasure as Patty put their spinner over cow corner for a 1-bounce Four. Another boundary and a couple of 2s, soon put the game well in our control. Meanwhile at the other end Chook brought up his 50 and continued on in what was a great innings of patience, combined with the ability to put the bad ball away. Needing just 3 runs to win unfortunately Pat got out and it was up to Heito to hit the winning runs as he worked one to wide-third man and took on the fielders arm to charge home for the winning runs!

A great win that gives our E-grade some momentum; just what we needed. It was good to see the boys knuckle down and fight the game out against the B-grade from Trinity. And with the return leg against Trinity in just two weeks, we are happy to go in with the upper hand in what is sure to be another lippy game!

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Nick Fowler

Report

Travelling back to Iggies after a solid victory there just 2 weeks ago, the E-grade strengthened by several players from higher grades was quietly confident of a comfortable victory. Unfortunately Iggies had their own recruits with a couple of star batsmen that got their innings going with a 97 run opening stand. Iggies were 1/126 with 12 overs to go and we were looking down the barrel of chasing a huge total. Thankfully PA Politis bowled a wonderful spell of hand-break bowling picking up 3/21 off 8 overs, then Heito, Burra and Drewy closed out the innings with limited fuss to restrict them to 158.

Congrats to Johnny "Buckets" Coop, whose glove work is improving steadily and he claimed his first career stumping to help PA claim the all-important first wicket.

A strong batting line up and we were still reasonably confident. We managed to put on 5 of 6 partnerships in double figures using the Ben Hook KPI to wonderful success as the team batted around Chris Drew who just did what the GOAT does, compiling an unbeaten 70, to see our boys cruise home with overs in hand.

A great effort by the boys to fight back after a disappointing start, that helps put our season back on track. A big month ahead will determine how far our season extends.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Alex Politis

Report

Match abandoned due to rain.

Report

The E's got to play alongside the B's out at Duncan Fraser Reserve, which was a blessing for the B's, as they needed Matt Kildea to sub-field for them for the first hour and 40 minutes. Gepps Cross won the toss, batted and never really threatened to take control of the game on the small no.2 oval, being bowled out for 113 in the 34th over. All our bowlers bowled well, whether it was taking wickets and/or bowling extremely tight.

Most of the highlights were in this first half, with Josh Hall hitting their opener in the head, who wasn't wearing a helmet, he rubbed his head played on and called for some Panadol a few overs later. Our fielding was sensational, with Tom Rayner taking a one-hander in slips, which was soon out done by Nick Selth's left handed grab. Some entertainment was also provided in the field, with Pat Sadlier having three attempts to field a ball while trying to avoid some fertiliser left by local hounds, John Coop who doesn't wear a box while keeping, taking one fair and square in the tool shed off Matt Kildea and Sam Wood throwing the ball into the ground in disgust of the catch he had just taken.

Our batting got off to a bad start, with Andrew Heitmann being bowled around his legs with the opening delivery, he was heard to mutter 'even Hammer would say that was unplayable, what a waste of Player Sponsor credits'. After this point, there was no looking back as our batsmen took control with three solid partnerships and wrapped up the match only three wickets down and with 15 overs to spare. The highlight of the second half was Jonathan Churchill's towering 6 during his very patient and solid innings at number three.

Despite making a guest appearance in the E's, the D Grade Vice Captain, Sam Wood, was on carton duties. We all enjoyed a few beers while watching Drew Clayfield's expression session on the no.1 oval as he scored an unbeaten century in the B's win. A perfect afternoon's cricket concluded when we arrived at the Hackney, to talk about 'colour blocking', the latest female fashion trend, with some lovely ladies in the beer garden.

With a 'double mail' performance of 3/14 off 7.4 overs, 31 runs off 26 balls and running catch in the outfield, James Dalwood was easily the player of the match.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - James Dalwood

Report

Match abandoned due to rain.

While we will take the 5 points against one of the top sides, it is disappointing not to have had the opportunity to test ourselves, especially considering that we had a fairly strong side available.

Report

Rd 10 saw the E's up against Concordia who beat us earlier in the year; giving the side plenty of motivation to put a good performance on the park. Unfortunately, Concordia's A-grade had been washed out in the morning, and they stacked their LOD side as a result.

Concordia batted first and piled on the runs, posting an impressive 6/201. The reds had very few answers for the power hitting that came late with nearly 100 runs coming from the final 10 overs. With very few highlights in the field, it would be remiss of me to fail to mention a wonderful spell from Heito who bowled his 9 overs for the extremely tidy figures of 3/18. Despite the onslaught, it was very pleasing to see the boys remain positive in the field and we fielded extremely well. Paul Chapman took two good catches under skied balls on a very windy day, Charlie Aust kept up at the stumps most of the day despite some pace bowling from Burra and Benny Allen, and even Matt Kildea held onto a low catch despite being incapacitated. Also, a big thanks to Sam Pontifex for his freakish efforts sub-fielding for Tommy Rayner who went off injured.

Chasing a big total we sent out a couple of big hitters in Charlie Aust and James Dalwood who got us off to a swift start as the total moved to 0/40 inside 7 overs, however we quickly lost 5 for 26 and all of a sudden we were pulling out the ipad to see how far off the rain was! Chook Fowler and Tom Rayner dug in and got us through the drinks break but when they both fell along with Boots, we were in deep poo 8 wickets down and the rain still a while away. The injured skipper padded up and hobbled out to the crease. With instructions to block em out and wait for the Rain, Benny pulled out the sweep shot first ball, despatching Concordia's A-grade leggie to the fence. As the lightning started to flash and the thunder rumbled we knew we were getting close and finally, the heavens opened and the rain tumbled down. Needing a further 96 runs from 9 overs and just Heito in the shed, we left the ground content in the knowledge that the draw was a fair result.

Despite the lightening, thunder and rain most of the team huddled under a large pine tree to enjoy the team beers and a bit of post-match banter before heading off to the Hackney to enjoy some free beers on the club.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Andrew Heitmann

Report

With a strong side due to the holiday season playing games with selection availabilities, we won the toss and had no hesitation batting under clear skies with a nice firm deck. We comprehensively took control of the game right from the start with Walshy getting us off to a flyer. He brought up his 50 from just 28 balls before falling shortly thereafter. Hockney and Weekley put their heads down, rotating the strike to ensure the scoreboard continued to tick over without any risk. With 15 overs to go we were 1/150 and as we started to push the run-rate Sir Richard fell for a well made 67. Weeks started to open up and soon brought up his maiden Ton for PAOC with a big six deep into the tennis courts from the far pitch. An unbeaten 108 runs from just 86 balls including 8 fours and 5 sixes. At the other end "Burra" Reed wasn't being left behind as he raced past 50 to finish on 73 not out from just 32 balls. In the final 10 overs we faced just 6 dot balls and scored 137 runs to post the Bradman like score of 3/334 and created a new club record for the highest score in a 40 over match.

We knew we were in a strong position but still had to get the job done in the field. Heito once again bowled full and straight early to put us on top from the start as he picked up 1/12 from 5, while Burra picked up 2 in his first spell. BA replaced Burra and did the team thing bowling from the "bad end" for his 9 effective overs, not to mention his two alligators and his part in the run-out, while at the other end it was Simon Butler who was superb conceding just 13 runs from his 9 overs on the back oval, and collecting a wicket along the way. At 6/63 we were well on top before they put on a partnership of 51. Burra was brought back and picked up 3 more to claim his second Michelle for the season. Patty Sadlier also took his first wicket for the club! We fielded well with only a couple of sharp chances hitting the deck and affected a solid run out opportunity. Chappy was clean in his first game with the gloves on for this season and our ground fielding in general was exceptional. In the end we rolled them for 123 to win by 211 runs.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - David Reed

Report

The E-Grade travelled out to sunny Kilburn on Saturday to take on Kilburn's B-Grade who had won just one game for the year in a match that was a must win for PAC due to the very tough run home. A late change to the teams saw Heitmann picked up by the C's, and in the process, perhaps surprisingly bypassed the D's all together. There were a few new faces in the team with club stalwarts Alex Greenslade and Tom Martin playing their first games for the year and Sam Pontifex playing his first E-Grade game for the year.

We won the toss and chose to bat on what looked to be a very good batting wicket and with a very strong batting line up in tow, we set about putting together a score for our bowlers to bowl at. Unfortunately after 9 overs we had crumbled to be 6/38 and in all sorts of trouble. Kilburn had a good bowling line up but our batsmen were very complacent and played some loose shots and we found ourselves staring down the barrel of being bowled out inside 20 overs.

Some cool heads were required and Kildea and Rayner came together to steady the ship and put on 56 valuable runs for the 7th wicket before Rayner was out caught for a well made 27. Kildea continued on and batted with the tail in what was an exceptional captain's knock before being dismissed for 47 chasing quick runs as the final overs approached. The tail scrambled together some valuable runs and saw us reach 139 on a very slow oval with just 3 boundaries scored.

With a very strong bowling line up we were confident that we could defend this total with some good lines and solid fielding. It was great fielding that brought about the first wicket with Dalwood affecting a direct hit from mid on at the wicket keepers end to run out their opener despite probably being able to take the bails off at the bowlers end. Adam Richardson then bagged two quick wickets and was followed by Matt Davis who took another to reduce Kilburn to 4/14. A bowling change was made and Drew and Reed came into the attack with instant success as Reed took a wicket off his first ball and then Drew took two wickets in two balls to be on a hat-trick and have the home side teetering at 8/48. Despite a close LBW shout the hat-trick was not to be. Kilburn showed some fight through some very agricultural batting from their tail end and some sloppy fielding from us, but eventually Reed picked up some more cheap wickets to finish with 4/33 and Kilburn were dismissed for 72 in the 21st over.

Despite a poor start this was a very important win and was created through some resilient batting by Kildea and Rayner and a good all round bowling effort.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Round - Matt Kildea

Report

Rd 13 saw the E grade head to Webb Oval to host the highly rated Unley side. We lost the toss and took to the field. Andrew Heitmann opened up and picked up two genuine edges, however neither made it to hand. At the other end Tom Rayner picked up the first wicket with John Coop diving in front of Simon Butler to complete a very nice catch. Ben Allen came on and started with a wicket maiden in what was a good spell of 6 overs leading into the drinks break. They were 2/66 with their best two bats set at the crease and we knew we had some work to do if we were to reign them in. Rayner returned and picked up their gun with a sharp caught and bowled to turn the game in our favour, and from there Chris Drew and Butler turned the screws to pick up wickets and keep things tight at the same time. We restricted them to 7/152 from the 40 overs. Rayner 2/24 and Butler 2/39 the pick of the bowlers.

With some real quality in our top order, we were confident we could chase the 153 required for victory, however a shaky start saw Alex Greenslade, Drew, Tim McQueen and Dan Weekley all back in the shed before our innings really got going. Returning to opening the batting for the first time since school cricket, Politis had dropped anchor at his end and fought hard to survive while the carnage occurred at the other end. Politis and Rayner got us through to drinks to be 4/67, 1 run ahead, but 2 wickets behind Unley at the same time. After the break Rayner pushed on past his 3rd 1/4 century for the season, but once again fell just short of making the paper, this time for a very handy 28, as part of a 57 run stand with Politis that put us back in the game. Matt Kildea strode to the crease a little fired up after some banter with an Unley fieldsman who didn't understand that if the ball went 2m past the line it was a four. Needing 50 runs to win from 11 overs, the understanding between Politis and Kildea was impeccable with power hitting taking a back seat while quick singles became the norm, well, Politis was practically lapping Kildea. Risk free cricket kept us up with the required rate and as we got into the final couple of overs Politis passed his 50 and went on to hit a 6 to bring up the winning runs with an over to spare, a great effort.

At the end of the game Allen unveiled his Macedonian "Vergina" beers, which the team enjoyed drinking at a home game for the first time in a while and reflected on what was a great win against a very good side which certainly keeps our finals chances alive.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Alex Politis

Report

We rocked up to Wellington Oval to find a very soggy pitch after 6.8mm of rain on Friday night, but needed the game to play to qualify a few players, the reds were keen to see things get underway. The coin went up and came down to another correct call by the opposition and we were put in to bat. Patty Sadlier gladly accepted the opportunity to get out in the middle and in difficult conditions he put a value on his wicket. Pat also introduced the world to the "Standing Ramp Shot", as he flicked the opening bowler over the keepers head after following through on a drive that popped up off the dodgy deck. Simon Butler and Chris Drew found themselves in the middle together and the pair did a wonderful job in very trying conditions. Drewy took nearly a dozen balls on the body as they continued to misbehave off the pitch, but the pair battled on and got us to drinks at 2/45. After drinks we had 20 overs to make the best of it and we did that with a few cameos from Burra and Greenslade to push the total to 153 from our allotment of overs.

In the field we had the perfect start thanks to good line and length from Andrew Heitmann and some luck to Tom Rayner. We had Penfield 3/14 from nearly as many overs, when all of a sudden the game got taken from us in no time. An over from Burra went for 19 and then Drewy for 22 runs a couple of overs later, it was some of the cleanest hitting LOD has seen in a long time as balls went onto tennis courts, into playgrounds and over Portrush Road. Penfield's #5 smashed 79 from just 45 balls to take the game away from us in next to no time. Buts came on and bowled well, picking up a wicket in the process but it was too little too late as Penfield chipped the ball around to get home with plenty of overs to spare and 5 wickets in the shed. Special mention to Greeny who picked up his first wicket of the season (thanks to a very good catch by Drewy), then gave the incoming batsman one of the funniest bouncers of the season, good stuff!

This was a good reality check for us and gives us a good gage of where the opposition is at. Time to regroup and make sure we get back on the winners side of things with a game against Payneham next week.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Alex Greenslade

Report

Returning to Trinity Gardens Primary School the E Grade had a new look side with 7 changes from last week. Winning the toss we had no hesitation in batting and set about posting a score to defend. The top order all got starts, Matt Kildea 25, Tom Martin 18, Nick Selth 12 and Gavin Jones 10, but Tyson Smith was the only one to go on with it. Smith's impressive knock of 84 from just 81 balls was pure class as he worked the ball to all parts of the ground. Batting through the oppressive heat without any breeze, Smith didn't give a chance until the final few overs when it was time to play some expansive shots. Scot Tyndall and John Coop also chimed in with a boundary each to get the total over 180, a good effort.

Possibly a bowler short we looked to sneak through some early overs with Kildea and Tyndall bowling the first 7 overs from the Southern End. At the other end, Andrew Heitmann was once again keeping things tight, conceding just 2.2 runs per over. After tying them down early, the strike bowlers in Simon Butler and Ben Allen were brought on to attack and the pair did a wonderful job taking 5 wickets between them. Nick Fowler followed Butler and once again bowled well, and after 5 dropped catches off him earlier this year, he finally was rewarded with his first wicket for the Club. Coop and Jones both bowled well but neither could get the final break through so Selth was brought on for the first time in nearly a decade. In what can only be described as "buying a wicket" his over had to be seen to be believed. Eleven balls, 4 full tosses over the batsmen's head, 6 double bouncers and a grubber that Trevor Chappell would have been proud off. Thankfully the tactic of bowling for runouts worked and the decision to give him a bowl can almost be justified.

Congratulations to Martin for his work behind the sticks, despite the rabble we had bowling to him he was very clean during the 39 overs. Thanks to Tyndall who once again put his hand up to help out when we were short on numbers, he had a day out collecting the first wicket of the innings as he clean bowled their opener, had two run outs, including a direct hit from the boundary and also took a catch off Allen.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Tyson Smith

Report

Heading down to sunny Reynella the E's were presented with a rock hard wicket perfect for batting as the mercury hit 39.7. So when Matt Kildea elected to bowl everyone assumed we lost another toss. Reynella's experienced batting attack got off to a flying start and at 1/67 from 13 overs things weren't looking too good. We took the pace off the ball with Simon Butler coming on to bowl 9 overs straight despite suffering from a serious case of food poisoning. Not to be outdone, Sam Pontifex was brought into the attack from the other end and bowled beautifully as he had the ball on a string to collect three very valuable wickets. It was a long 40 overs in the sun, with runs generally flowing all day as we conceded 26 boundaries. Despite a few catches hitting the turf, we also took some good ones with Nobby taking one on the line at cow corner, Olly showing after 40 seasons he can still take a sharp catch at Square Leg and Serious Ev collecting one at deep back stop as he was dawdling over to fine leg for the change to the left hander.

Needing 5 an over on a large ground we knew it wouldn't be easy, however we were confident in the strength and length of our batting line-up. We sent the cannon fodder in Kildea, Olsson and Eske out early to try and see the shine off the ball, however all failed and at 3/27, Nick Noblett and Alex Greenslade set about starting the recovery mission. The pair batted beautifully combining clean hitting with crisp running between the wickets to put on a 77 run stand before Nobby fell just after reaching his 50. At the second drinks break we were 4/121, needing 74 from 14 overs. Burra fell soon after the break and this brought Will Dalwood to the crease for his first hit in 2 years. Together with Greeny the pair pushed on with ease. Greeny went past his fifty to finish unbeaten on 73, while at the other end the Good Dags smashed four 6's, three 4's and before we knew it the game was over with nearly 6 overs to spare. Dags finished 41 not out off just 23 balls.

It was a great run chase lead well by Greeny, Nobby and Will Dags to get us over a strong Reynella side. This win secures the E-grade finals for only the second time in four seasons. Two big games over the next two weeks will determine who and where we play the Semi Final.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Alex Greenslade

Report

With a finals spot locked away, the E's packed the overnight bags and headed out to sunny Elizabeth Downs to renew the battle against a strong Penfield Central Districts C-grade. Winning the toss and electing to bat was about the only thing skipper Kildea did right for the day, however even that looked shaky as once again we lost early wickets and were struggling at 3/14 from 10 overs. Our top order is something we really need to work on; in the last 6 games, we have had 5 terrible starts (3/14, 3/27, 2/20, 4/46 and 6/38). We are confident in the abilities of our top order batsmen and are just waiting for things to "click". When they do, we are sure to post some big scores. Once again our middle order came to the rescue in the form of a 77 run partnership between McQueen and Greenslade and a further 41 between Greenslade and Hudson. As Greenslade passed his 2nd 50 in a row and with the score on 4/132 with a dozen overs to go we were looking ready to launch to a mammoth total. Unfortunately we lost 5/19 in the next 5 overs and all of a sudden Andrew Heitmann and Ben Allen had 7 or so overs to bat out and put some respectability on the board. The pair were spectacular as they ran well between the wickets on a slow outfield, and then played the big shots as required. Heitmann tripled his season runs as he made a brisk 28 before we were bowled out in the final over to finish with a competitive 176.

Sticking with the partnerships that worked, Greenslade and McQueen started us off with the ball and the pair did well to claim the first 3 wickets before the score reached 40. Heitmann and Allen then followed and while they had less success in the wickets column, they bowled with great economy conceding just 3.1 runs per over for the 18 overs they bowled, despite bowling at Penfield's biggest hitters. Penfield needed 88 runs from the final 12 overs so we took the pace right off the ball with Nick Noblett bowling for the first time this year. Noblett produced a wonderful spell that combined attacking lines with great economy to claim 4/29 and put the game beyond the home team. This result now secures us a top 3 finish, and if we can knock off top placed Unley this week, we will finish minor premiers and therefore head into finals with the critical benefit of being the higher ranked side.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Alex Greenslade

Report

The final round of the regular season saw the E's travel to Unley High School for a battle that would determine top spot. Losing the toss and taking to the field we got off to the perfect start with a maiden from Andrew Heitmann (Proudly Sponsored By....) also producing a run out off the last ball of the over as McQueen and Martin combined to run out their B-grade captain for a diamond duck. From there Unley built a partnership before Burra combined with Chris Drew (Proudly Sponsored By....) who completed a regulation catch at first slip. Another catch to Drewy, this time off J Dags and then an LBW to Drewy saw the reds right on top with the scoreboard reading 4/54. After drinks Drewy took a cluster of wickets to have the Gunners in all sorts at 7/81. Unfortunately an 8th wicket partnership of 46 runs let them back in the game before we finally closed things out at 134 in the 33rd over. Chris Drew the pick of the bowlers with 4/22 while J Dags claimed 3/24.

Another game and it was another sluggish start to our top order as we soon found ourselves 3/39. Greeny and McQueen fought hard and won back the ascendancy in the match to put on a solid 47 run stand before Greeny was sent packing; LBW by his mate Nobby. Their opening bowler returned in an effort to win the game however his 3/5 from 9 overs wasn't enough as Ponti saw him off and dispatched the other bowlers to all corners of the Unley High School grounds. A near run-a-ball 35 from Ponti saw us home with for a 5 wicket win with nearly 10 overs to spare.

The only low-light from the game would be the injuries to A Heitmann (shoulder), T Martin (broken finger) and S Pontifex (groin). This raps up top spot for the E-grade who will go into the finals confident in the knowledge they have the ability to match it with the B and C grade sides from the other clubs.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Chris Drew

Report

Losing the toss and taking to the field there was plenty of positive intent from the Reds as we started to build the pressure from ball one, and in the fifth over, we reaped the rewards as Andrew Heitmann picked up the first wicket via a catch to the skipper at leg-gully of all places. Penfield had 4 key batsmen this season, and their #3 was one of them so we knew we had to bowl well at him early to take advantage before he got set. Strangling him down leg side for a golden globe wasn't the plan but we'd certainly take it as Tom Rayner completed the catch with the gloves despite keeping for the first time this season. It was 2/7 and their biggest hitter came to the crease and couldn't work out if he should defend or play his natural game. Drewy replaced Heito with almost immediate results as he got one to climb off a good length to take the shoulder of the bat on the way through to Greeny at 2nd slip. We needed another break-through to allow our slow bowlers to tie the game up and Drewy delivered again. Clean bowling their main man who had scored 38 of their 50 runs. Heitmann was brought straight back into the attack with devastating effect picking up a further 4/5 from his remaining 5 overs to finish with the figures of 6/20 from his 9 overs. At the other end it was Simon Butler just doing his thing keeping the game tighter than ever bowling 9 overs straight, conceding just 12 runs in the process. At 8/64 it was time for the strike bowlers in Drewy and Burra to finish the game off, however they were unable to do so, and as the score closed in on 100, Matt Kildea brought himself on to claim the cheap wicket at the end and close the innings out at 98.

Chasing a small total we threw Dave Gerner up the order to get the runs quickly, however it wasn't to be as their former A-grade District bowler destroyed our top order. We were 4/11 from 12 overs and it was time for yet another rescue mission. Greeny was patent early while Burra took the aggressive approach getting off the mark with consecutive boundaries. A brisk 22 from Buz took the wind out of the sails of Penfield to move the score to 5/42. Butler continued his brilliant game as he took the majority of the strike from their main bowler during his 2nd spell, seeing him off leaving us 12 overs to get the remaining 41 runs for victory. Some entertaining banter between Buts, Greeny and Penfield's senior citizens kept things interesting for all concerned, but on the scoreboard it was one way traffic in the final session as Greeny and Buts were nearly chance-less in their 57 run stand to get us over the line with 5 wickets in hand.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Andrew Heitmann

Report

We arrived at Woodcroft College to find a soggy pitch and the game was delayed. After reducing the overs to 36 a side we finally got under-way, winning the toss and inserting Reynella. Tidy lines were the early go and we restricted them to just 38 from the first 18 overs, however we hadn't managed to get a break-through. Andrew Heitmann bowled beautifully conceding just 15 runs from his 9 overs, including 4 maidens. After the drinks break Reynella upped the anti and started to push the run-rate. We picked up a wicket when Johnny Coop took the catch from the bowling of Sam Pontifex. Simon Butler continued his season of tight bowling claiming 2/30 himself, but the runs came with relative ease as Reynella posted 101 from the second set of 18 overs, to finish with 3/139.

Having chased nearly 200 here from 35 overs a little over a month ago, we were confident we had the batting order to get the job done. Clev opened up with Nobby who took a big stride down the wicket before being sent packing LBW to a ball that was doing a fair bit. Chook got an opportunity up the order and middled a pull shot, but unfortunately picked out Mid-wicket, and then when McQueen copped a peach 3rd ball he faced we were once again in early trouble, this time at 3/13. Greenslade came to the crease and just as things started to go our way a brain fade from Matthew Kildea resulted in him being runout by half a pitch. A few loose shots in the coming overs saw three more batsmen finding themselves in the shed and at 7/40 things were looking bleak. Dave Gerner and Simon Butler worked on a recovery mission and as the partnership passed 50 the Reynella boys started to get a little nervous. With 6 overs to go we needed 49 more runs for victory, but unfortunately Reynella bowled very well causing some risks to be taken that didn't quite come off and we were bowled out. A very deserving victory for Reynella who proved too good this season.

I would like to take the opportunity to say thanks to some of the guys who made this season possible. Coach Matt Christophers, Vice-captain David Reed, our 'team manager' Andrew Heitmann and over half the club who played with us this season.

Moo Premium Foods Player of the Match - Dave Gerner