The upcoming centenary of the ANZAC landings is ­especially significant for our Gordon District Cricket Club. As reported in the North Shore Times, the club had 51 players serve in World War I, with six of them making the ultimate sacrifice and 35 of them never playing cricket again due to injuries they ­sustained.

Nine players perished during combat in World War II.

John 'Jack' Rule - sacrificed his life so that we may live 

The club will hold a ­remembrance ceremony to commemorate these servicemen at Chatswood Oval on March 14 at 1.30pm. We encourage everyone to attend and have extended in invitation to all of the local RSL Sub-Branches. We are honoured to have the mayors from Willoughby and Kur-ring-gai attending and the local state member, Gladys Berejiklian to make the occasion with a presentation to club president, Andy Falk.

Schedule of Events

1:30pm – Scheduled innings break in the cricket match at Chatswood Oval
1:32pm – Welcome – Dave Millar
1:35pm – Address – Paul Stephenson
1:45pm – Presentation – Hon. Berejiklian
1:47pm – Plaque unveiling – Andrew Falk, Hon. Berejiklian, Mayors Giles-Gidney & Anderson
1:50pm – Close

Lunch will be available from 1 o’clock.
Tea, coffee and drinks are available throughout the day.

Run as part of the state government’s United We Stand initiative, committee member David Millar said it was vital to remember. “The centenary of the First World War presents our cricketers’ generation with the opportunity to ­reflect on a significant chapter in our nation’s history,” he said. 

“As a nation, we should be proud that our country has historically punched above its weight on the international stage. Much of that standing can be traced back to a new national government eager to establish its reputation through its contribution to the war efforts. Although history shows the Gallipoli campaign ­failed in its military objectives, the actions during the campaign left Australia with a powerful legacy."

“Precisely because of the differing views people have on war, we believe the ultimate sacrifice made by so many men and women should never be forgot.”

The club is intending to dedicate the final round of each season to their fallen soldiers, with the names of the 15 soldiers who perished to be displayed.

Gordon players who lost their lives fighting in Egypt, Gallipoli and France during WWI were John Rule, Colin McCulloch, Fred Easton, Gother Clarke, Alan Bruce and Reg Black.

Those who died in WWII were Les Holland, Geoff Martin, David Robinson, Norm Spalding, John McDonagh, John Wearne, Gordon Thame, Ron Lockrey and Norman Trumper.

If you would like to read more about some of these players, check out some of the recent stories that Paul Stephenson has researched. They are truly fantastic.

How did he survive?

You are not forgotten

Remembrance Day 2014

There’s been one consistent thing about the Stags performances over the past few years; the Christmas break has not been kind to the sides. This season hasn’t been any exception. It would be difficult to say much else than that Gordon had a hard day against Penrith.

Elliot Richtor puts up a fight against the Panthers, top scoring in their one-dayer 

First Grade played a one-day game while all lower grades completed the first day of a two day game. Elliot Richtor’s 84 in 1sts was not enough to stave off a loss, while all the lower grades have tough tasks next week.

1st Grade

Gordon won the toss in their one-dayer against Penrith at Chatswood. Cam Eccles and Steve Colley got off to a good start, adding 50 for the opening partnership. 

Cam Eccles plays his trademark pull shot 

A handy contribution from Harry Evans continued the progress but it was only Elliot Richtor who built a substantial score.

The middle order struggled and it was only a 50 run partnership between Elliot and Chad Soper, who continued his good form with the bat, that pushed the Gordon total to a fair 8-234 from their 50 overs. Elliot’s 84 from 106 balls was a stand-out.

The photographers had a good opportunity to get all angles of Elliot's innings covered 

Penrith started at a good clip. They lost an early wicket but the run rate was always around 5 an over and Gordon found difficulty keeping them in check. 

Harry Evans looks to combine with Elliot and set a target for the Panthers to chase 

A third wicket of 97 took the game away from the Stags and, although they fought hard, taking four wickets for 30 to put a little pressure on, Penrith achieved their goal in the 48th over. Dan Smith’s 3-43 was best for Gordon.

Gordon 8-234 (Elliot Richtor 84, Harry Evans 37, Cam Eccles 33, Chad Soper 27*, Steve Colley 24) lost to Penrith 6-235 (Dan Smith 3-43).

2nd Grade

Seconds bowled first on a good wicket at Penrith. An early wicket to Dan Stickland was promising and four wickets before lunch, two to Adam Cubbage, had Gordon in a good position.

Looking for runs at the top of the order, Steve Colley manages 24 before being dismissed 

However, after the break a good partnership ensued and the next wicket, to Adam again, did not fall until the score had moved to 190. The Panthers batsmen then got right on top, scoring freely as the bowlers tired. Max Newman was excellent behind the stumps with four catches and a stumping. The day finished at 8-381 and a big effort needed next week by the Gordon batsmen.

Penrith 8-381 (Adam Cubbage 3-119, Dan Stickland 2-48) vs Gordon.

3rd Grade

Gordon bowled first at Killara on a deck offering a little assistance. A wicket was taken early before a handy partnership. However, the bowling was quite good and wickets fell steadily. Nick Miller was impressive and Scott O’Brien also was threatening as Penrith were struggling at 5-75.

Scott O'Brien continues to be an impressive wicket-taker in the 3rd Grade side 

Just when they started to get back into it, Matt Keevers took three quickly and, despite some good work from the last couple of batsmen, the innings was over at 118.

Gordon needed a good start. They certainly didn’t get it. The ball was still moving around a little and the Penrith bowling was good and the day concluded with the Stags sitting precariously at 5-40. Some real determination is needed next week.

Gordon 5-40 vs Penrith 118 (Matt Keevers 3-12, Scott O’Brien 2-24, Nick Miller 2-25, Pat Effeney 2-30).

4th Grade

Gordon won the toss and batted first. They were in immediate trouble, slumping to 3-15. Michael Strauss and Shayne Lin did their best to resurrect the situation but the innings finished at 76.

Nick Miller, seemingly a foot taller than he began the season, takes a couple of poles as Penrith struggle early in their innings against a strong 3rd Grade attack 

In response, Penrith lost several early wickets. However, they recovered to pass the Gordon score and declared at 8-125. Matt Keane was the best of the bowlers with 3-30.

The Stags had the chance to knuckle down and make a good fist of the end of the day, setting themselves up for an outright chance next week. 

Good shape for Dom Thomson as he sets about creating a platform for 5th Grade's innings at Beauchamp Oval 

However, in what seems like a common occurrence, in the remaining overs they lost a further 4 wickets to finish on 4-37. They will need to show some real fight to avoid an outright next week. Let’s hope they do.

Gordon 76 (Michael Strauss 24, Shayne Lin 23) and 4-37 vs Penrith 8 dec 125 (Matt Keane 3-30).

5th Grade

Fifths batted first at Beauchamp. After Anthony Sherman and Dom Thomson got off to a reasonable start, at 0-30 things went awry. In a big way. 

Keeping up the pressure to the Panthers batsmen, Tim Ferrero in action at Killara Oval 

The innings slumped to 7-59 and although Dave Monaghan and a few of the lower order batsmen fought hard, Gordon were all out for 90 – a very disappointing total.

Tim Fulton took an early wicket but the Penrith batsmen were solid and moved the score along capably. 

They passed the score one down and, after Tristan Cooper took another wicket at 104, they finished the day at 2-115. 

Pic Sherman joins with Dom Thomson at the top of the order in 5th Grade 

Much like 4th Grade, Gordon need a real effort next week to get back in the game.

Gordon 90 (Anthony Sherman 18, Dave Monaghan 15) vs Penrith 2-115.

Moving into the back end of the season, sitting outside the top six, we knew we had to win the last three games of the season to be playing deep into March. The Onions (minus Reece) couldn’t have got off to a better start scoring an early goal in the warm up, as the top 5 were clearly agitated.

On debut, Blaize receives plenty of encouragement from his teammates 

The loss of one of the greats Onion soccer players, Stobes, did not stop the dominance and he was replaced by our debutant Blaize Irving-Holliday (congratulations on your debut mate), and proved vital in assisting Poysden park the bus at the back.

Numerous balls in from wide areas from Chad and Smithy proved difficult to deal with, especially for Steve as he found himself up the wrong end of the field in his defensive goal box. The top 5 plus coach Howitt skipped flustered and became immediately rattled. 

2-0 up with a couple of minutes left on the clock, the London double decker bus was well and truly parked and not moving. Jose Mourinho would have been happy as the defense could not be broken down and Chad escaped on the counter attack and slotted home another to take the lead out to 3-0. Another famous victory for the Onions. 

Chad Soper. Great value all-rounder for our fantasy sides 

On a green wicket at Chatswood Oval, Gordon was sent into bat on an overcast and rain threatening day. Bev and Cam got off to a solid start and they managed to keep out a strong opening bowling attack before rain interrupted play. On the resumption Sutherland came out firing and had Gordon in trouble, 4 wickets down at lunch. Most players were able to get starts but would be disappointed they couldn’t go on with it and take it deep into the day. 

However, our lower order combined to do this and a brilliant innings by Chad Soper displayed his full potential as a batsmen. Sopes started off slowly and was met at the crease by Josh with the score at 213, below par at Chatswood. 

Cam Eccles provides the side a good start before the rains closed in 

Sensible batting mixed with class and precision saw Chad dominate the partnership placing the ball into gaps on the fast outfield and scoring off many balls whether it be boundaries or quick singles. 

Josh played a great anchor role and ensured his wicket was not taken easily. They put on 89 for the last wicket, which was a club 1st grade record partnership for the final wicket. Congratulations! Chad finished on 78 and Josh 24*, which finished the days play and gave the bowlers something to bowl at on Sunday.

Sunday morning, and the pitch was rock hard and early wickets would be needed to defend the total on the board. 

It didn’t take long before the Onions got into their stride, less than an over and Dan 'Hound' Smith had raced away to an early start thanks to a great diving catch in front of the parrot at first slip. Chad was the other Onion who opened from the North end and it wasn’t long before he added one to his tally as Reece fed himself off Harry’s hands, well done Parrot, staying true to yourself. 

Poysden. I'd frame this pull shot. Classic.

Chad bowls with great consistency, which means the opposition won’t get off to a quick start when he opens the bowling. Not long later Hound had another wicket, through some short pitched bowling. Another brilliant catch by Bev down the leg side this time, sticking out his left hand out and snaring another beauty, tongue out and all. YES! YES! 

At lunch, Sutherland has battled well to not lose another wicket and steady the ship. 

Tym guides one through the gully region 

Although there was some attacking bowling, we were not able to break a partnership that slowly edged their way closer to our total. From here on in, it was a hard slog on a good batting wicket, the bowlers struggled to consistently put the ball where they wanted to develop enough pressure and force a mistake. 

Blaize bowled well in patches and fielded well diving around getting himself dirty. It was a tough debut but you’ll be better for the experience. Back yourself because you got here through consistent performances and there is no reason why you can’t continue that. 

Josh bowled well for no reward in the scorebook and Harold rolled out some off spin picking up a stumping and removing their centurion. Smithy was the pick of the bowlers running in all day and ended with another wicket to his tally, and could have been more. 

Sutherland were the better team and were able to bat for long periods without losing wickets, making batting towards the end of the day a lot easier and past our score 5 wickets down. We should learn from the oppositions’ ability to keep wickets in the shed for later in the day where the batsmen can take the advantage of tiring bowlers. 

Sparky, here is where you stop reading.

Bombas rocks back and makes light work of this one 

Match of the day was on when we challenged the locals to a game of soccer. The Guzzler joined the group to match the numbers of the opposition and the game was on, football boots and all. The Onions, plus the top 5 got off to the ideal start with an early goal to show our intent. Our tactics of hoofing it to Harry and see what happens differed a lot from our counterparts who played the Barcelona like passing game. 

The Guzzler thought we were playing Rugby League at some points and ran through a couple of blokes, in similar style to Jason Taumalolo and the football boots became a problem when they met with the unprotected Nike shoe, so fair was fair.

Such a particularly classy player, Elliot Richtor is due for a big score in these final two rounds of the competition 

There was also some friendly fire when Evans’ head met with the Guzzler’s right eye. Evans 1 Guzzler 0. 

The Guzzler was rattled. After being ahead, early on the locals managed to sneak away with victory 7-6. It was a tough day!

Tym Crawford

After a disappointing season so far, our side was keen to show the rest of the club, our supporters and our opposition that we still have some fight and pride in our performances.

Shayne won the toss and elected to bowl against a Parramatta outfit that was still in finals contention.

Sam Watts takes wickets when needed for the boys 

It has been discussed within the senior player group that we were losing large clunks of wickets on pitches that were doing a bit early on. 

Some of our best batting performances have been on wickets that were flattening out later in the day as was the case at Killara against Randwick-Petersham. However when you put the opposition in you can't afford to drop two silly catches early on at crucial moments, which was the case on day one.

Parramatta's first wicket came courtesy of a bad mix up between their openers, with both stranded at the non-strikers end. A terrible feeling for any batsman.

In the bowling ranks Matt Keane was developing some good rhythm and chimed in with a wicket to make the score 2/23. Matt has the potential like all of the bowlers, to go up the grades if he can hit the top of off stump each ball. There is nothing more annoying as a batsman than not getting enough half volleys to feast on. 

On top of that us batsman are always on the look out for short ball that we can get inside of and pull and balls that we can free our arms and late cut or cut through point. This is part of what Steve Waugh described as '' mental disintegration '' with a few choice words thrown in on top of that. 

Tim Ferrero rocks back and punishes the Eels bowlers 

Back to the match and the Parramatta progressed to 106 when Sam Watts broke through. Sam is a real lion hearted performer and ended with 3/40. At 6/156 the games was ours for the taking, but the Eels managed to take the score to 236 with some lusty blows at the end of day 1.

We all knew that if we batted like we did against Randy Petes the match was winnable, however like any struggling young side doubts linger.

Kleem and Gaynor put on 63 for the first wicket in good style before Kleem was dismissed for 44. He'll be looking to address his inability to convert good starts this season. Saahil Turki who is developing into a fine player was out early. He was philosophical about his dismissal telling me '' hey look it happens ''.

Stan was also dismissed soon after for 37. The man from Moree is working hard on his game including ball where he plays around his front pad, a bit like Shane Watson. Stan is trying to come more down the ground, so balls that he plays to square leg, should be on drives. Some technical advice from Sparky should do the trick and some concentration techniques that can be used when your set.

Kleem also take note.

Enter Michael Strauss (The Marshes we call him for similar traits possessed by Mitch and Shaun). At the start of the match Straussy asked the side in warm up. “So tell me if we get the runs today, do we win the match?” Hello!! Hello!!

Benny Leighton is looking good for Shayne's side 

Anyway Michael is a very gifted cricketer and is fun to have around. He also wants to be chartered accountant. His insights into the political turmoil facing his homeland are invaluable.

In the game he was dismissed for 19, but watch this space, if he can screw his head on he could be something very special. From there we just crumbled and 6/164 we were hoping for some resolute batting.

One good thing that came out of the game is the emergence of Tim Ferrero who's had some great success in Greenies. For a young bloke Tim showed plenty of aggression and was prepared to back himself. He has a good head on him and will hopefully do well in third grade this weekend.

He was unfortunately dismissed for a well-made 63 and our side ended up being bowled out for 212.

The side will be hoping for a change of fortune when they take on Sutherland at Sutherland this weekend. They are usually very strong and well led around the park.

We will have to be on our game to get the biscuits.

Mitchell Kleem 

"It’s a numbers game.” These are words from the mouth of a Gordon player who may one day compose a novel about the disadvantages of stretching before and after games and how delayed onset of muscle soreness is all a big lie. 

Although these words rang true in many ways for the Gordon 1st Graders against a determined Parramatta outfit set on disrupting any plans of progressing into the finals.

Reece "Facebook legend" Bombas skips down the track 

Our day began with a slight scare, no this was not the victory of the “Onions VI” in the pre-warmup/pre-stretch soccer game because in the eyes of the writer this was “a given” but rather after the toss of the coin and electing to bat, our skipper Evans and our veteran Richtor both succumb to injuries that left some “Onions” feeling a little nervous in our decision to bat first.

The openers Possum and Squirrel (Eccles and Beverley) saw off the new ball with Beverley (38) in particular showing his improved shape and aggressive running between wickets to take our score to 29 before Eccles (13) was unfortunately adjudged LBW. 

Squirrel... we think... Beverley at the very least 

Beverley then formed a sturdy partnership with Bombas (37), the mastermind behind infamous facebook statuses and the quote above, moving our score to 85 and taking the shine off the new turf ball before Beverley was caught trying to find the boundary rope before the lunch (Prego) break. 

With Evans suffering as mentioned above, the batting order was adjusted with Colley joining Bombas, which was only short lived as Reece was dismissed soon after lunch chipping to mid off also in his 30’s. Richtor and Colley both continued their strong season of batting performances sharing an excellent partnership of 99 before Elliott was out for a well-made 59. 

Steve also went on to score a dominant 59 reminding us where not to bowl to him with 6 boundaries and one large 6 before being undone by a tough period of pressure from the Parramatta bowlers, who were clearly sensing a chance of a middle order collapse and with Soper following soon after leaving the Stags score reading 6-233 this looked highly likely.

Harry "Thank" Evans! continues to score through mid-wicket 

Unbeknown to the Parramatta supporters and bowlers but Gordon possessed possibly the best No. 8 batsmen in the grade and Thank Evans we did! 

Tym Crawford combined with our captain and together they blasted 102 runs before Bombas figured out what he could take to the moon! 

Tym was eventually dismissed for 59 (“it’s a numbers game”) and Harry scored a quickfire 63 from only 49 balls and despite a few wickets at the end Gordon finished the day with a total of 347. A competitive score, highlighted by a consistent batting effort but in the eyes of captain hindsight possibly 50 runs short. 

Crawford  punches one through the point region 

Another win to the Onions VI on Day 2 saw plenty of energy amongst the bowling unit in particular a vocal Poysden, who was reportedly heard singing victory songs about driving a bus prior to the first goal that was scored. Onions VI 3 - Top 5 - nil.

The early Gordon bowling was tight and although the score of 1-66 at lunch confirmed this, the Onion VI would have to apply more pressure to ensure wickets continued to fall.
In the second session, the Stags bowlers toiled hard on a flat wicket but failed to make a breakthrough and when the tea break came around the score was 1-183 with the Affleck brothers showcasing contrasting innings to the Stag batsmen the previous week. 

The final session could’ve resulted in multiple outcomes but despite a few wickets falling the runs continued to flow and were eventually accumulated in the 2nd last over of the days play leaving the Gordon players without 6 vital points and a lot left to be desired. 

Soper charges in on Day 2 to grab the Eels wickets 

A disappointing end to a tough day in the field for the Stag bowlers with captain hindsight speaking volumes about grassed chances and no one going on to score greater than 59 but all in all, the team with the most number of wickets and runs wins the contest. Cricket is a numbers game indeed. 

Chad Soper

The 4th Graders made the long trek out to Sutherland with the aim of playing some good cricket and get a win under our belts. 

Another toss lost and Sutherland elected to bat on a typical slow Sutherland wicket. We knew anything under 200 would put us in a good position to chase down.

Corbin provided the boys hope down the order 

The medium pacers got us of to a solid start picking up an early wicket. Spin was on early however the rains came down making it difficult for them to grip the ball. With the score at 3/100 after 28 overs, we were off for rain. 

I must point out that the attitude of the Gordon boys was fantastic during this period with one end of the bowling crease very wet not one complaint was made on our part. 

Whilst the Sutherland batsmen seemed to have something to say after every delivery about the conditions. The attitude from the 11 Stags players was screw it, just a bit of rain let’s play, which is great to see after a tough year.

Once we got back on wicket fell regularly with Sam Watts again being the pick of the bowlers. Fielding let us down as it has so often with a couple of catches going down again. Not even the threat of post round 15 fines could stop a couple of costly chances going down and an attempted defense of he smashed it at me was not well received by the boys. 170 was the total and it was our turn to bat.

After losing Stan early we were going along reasonably well then as it seems to every week disaster struck. Two run outs cost us the game. A word of advice for all young cricketers, when the ball is smashed to short fine leg there is generally not a run! With Corbin still at the crease there was hope but alas it was no to be falling about 40 runs short and another disappointing loss.

So another loss for the 4th graders but we look forward to taking on the Panthers in round 14 and taking the points. To sing the song a couple of times over the next three weeks is what keep this team motivated.

Nice

Shayne Lin