After a big loss to UNSW last week, the 5ths were looking to bounce back in a big way against the Saints in the first one-day fixture. We got off to the perfect start with ‘Coops’ Cooper winning the toss and batting on a belter Beauchamp wicket on a belter Sydney day. 

Tim Fulton hurries up the Saints batsmen

Carruthers and Kleem opened the innings, with Tom hitting a beautiful boundary over square leg before being dismissed to a great overhead catch. Kleem and Gaynor then came together and settled things until the score reached 60 with Mitch falling for 15. 

Connor Jackson then arrived to the crease to begin what would become a magnificent one-day innings. Connor and Stan added a further 72 runs, with an emphasis being placed on staying patient and working the gaps present in the field, while being helped out by the extras column, which finished on 35. 

Stan was dismissed for 47 with the score at 132, bringing ‘JOF’ O’Neil-Fuller into the game. Connor soon passed 50 and, after having a good look at the spin attack from both ends, began to score quickly and move towards 100. This all happened while the middle order batsman Beverley, Barker and Cooper batted around him and contributed more runs to the rapidly building total. 

The loudest cheer of the day definitely coming from Tristan’s first run for a few weeks, which was replied to with a cheeky raise of the bat. 

Connor eventually brought up his century, following some scoring confusions in the pavilion, and with plenty of time to spare really started to take apart the bowling, with numerous sixes ending up in the carpark, on the hill and in the pavilion, one straight six of the opening bowler was a particular highlight. 

Connor Jackson makes the St George fielders earn their stripes on the way to an unbeaten century

He ended the innings unbeaten on a prolific 133 not out, setting up the game perfectly for Gordon. 

The opening bowlers Fulton and Keevers began with promise, with Fulton having most of his first over snicked into and through the slip region for no reward. Clearly his pace and accuracy surprised the St. George bats. 

Matt Keevers picked up the first wicket in his first over, and following consecutive wickets to Fulton in the following over, including a great catch by Carruthers at slip, St. George were 3/12. 

After being urged to “do it for Lez” in reference to his new boyfriend, Keevers picked up 2 more wickets in his 2 final overs to finish with 3/17 off his 5. 

Deva and Rob Barker came on and continued to pressure the Saints bats, giving few scoring opportunities, while Tristan reaped the rewards of this pressure, picking up 2 wickets in his first over. After some late runs, Fulton finished off the innings with 2 wickets to finish with figures of 4-62 off his 10. 

Tim will also be on a hat trick with his first delivery next week. The saints finishing all out for 111. 

Overall, it was a convincing bonus point win and an early song and beer for the Stags, who will be looking to replicate this sort of performance next week. 

Stan Gaynor

We turned up to Cammeray for the first one-dayer of the season to what looked to be a very flat Tunks Park deck. After winning the toss it was decided that the Stags would have the first use of the wicket. 

Saahil Turki and James Robertson opened the batting looking to see off the swinging new ball, only for Robbo to receive a pearler of a delivery to be dismissed early on.

The skipper, and century maker, Stu Bromley, punches one through cover point 

In came the skipper to combine with Turki for an 80 run partnership. Coleman survived a fortunate no-ball wicket to go on to make a well-earned fifty, taking full advantage of any loose deliveries. 

After Turki (39) and Coleman (50) were dismissed, we felt we were still in a very strong position, which was re-enforced after Stuart Bromley came to the crease. Through very smart and aggressive batting Bromley took full control of the game.

Andrew Coleman looks to go over the top on a flat Tunks Park deck 

He put the North Sydney bowlers on the back foot, taking good balls and dispatching them to the boundary. After being joined by Tim Van Zuylen, the pair never looked back and continued their destructive batting right through to the end of the 50 overs with an unbeaten 130 run stand. 

Bromley played an excellent innings to finish with a massive unbeaten century of 129*, while Van Zuylen unselfishly continued to take every run to add to the teams total and finished on 49*, another great batting performance. Although this was going to become a high scoring game, 300 was going to be a very difficult score to chase down. 

After an enjoyable lunch break, the Stags returned to game composure and then looked to push for a big win. Richard Armour and Matt Keane opened the bowling hoping to make use of the new ball. It was not to be as North Sydney managed to creep up to 1/63 from the first 14 overs. It was after this that the Gordon side made inroads. 

Adrian Craig picks up his best figures, of 4/43, to assist his side to a win 

Good tight bowling from all three Matts and great fielding from George Read off his own bowling led to the opposition losing 4 wickets for 4 runs. 

Despite some good batting from one of the North Sydney middle-order batsmen, it did not phase the Stags as we continued to push for more wickets. Some excellent bowling from Adrian Craig followed to wrap up the tail, finishing with figures of 4/43. Norths were all out for 160 after 39 overs. After a great performance from the Stags and a dominant bonus point win, the side has now moved to first position in the season’s standings. 

Gordon Colts 3-305 (Stuart Bromley 129*, Andrew Coleman 50, Tim Van Zuylen 49*, Saahil Turki 39) defeated North Sydney 160 (Adrian Craig 4-43, Matt Page 2-28, Matt Keane 2-36, Matt Selby 1-24). 

Matt Keane

Particular thanks to John Craig who supplied these photos 

A sunny day dawned and fours arrived promptly at Harold Fraser for what they anticipated was going to be a traditionally hard-fought day against the Saints.

Upon glancing on a road, Michael ‘Chilli’ Perry decided that should the coin fall in his favour the Stags would be in the field. My spies also tell me that the Saints skipper would have batted, making the formality in the middle seem all rather pointless.

Michael 'Chilli' Perry is rewarded for good work by Stickland 

If you wanted to know which way the coin fell… well, you’ll have to read the whole report. I’ll slide it in there somewhere, to satiate your information cravings.

As it was anointed, the Stags bowled, with brand spanking new ball pairing Adam Fleming and yours truly given the honour.

After serving up some initial tripe, the author and Fleming began to get into their stride and had that cherry moving around some. 'Flemdawg' had worked up a good level of rage pre-match, so had good stoke for relentlessly bouncing the opening bats, softening one of them up just enough for the author to snag him in front early on. Thanks Adam.

A requested hooking after five overs saw me banished to mid on, the perfect vantage point from which to witness one of the finest bowling partnerships you’re likely to see in fourth grade one day cricket at Harold Fraser. While the sample size might be small, the effort was large, magnanimous, awe inspiring. 

That'll play. Axel Cahlin rescues the top order and completes the win over the Saints with 79* 

For so it was that Chilli and his worthy accomplice Daniel ‘Just outside off, back of a length’ Stickland managed to halt the slow but steady progress of the Saints’ bats to the merest of trickles.

Perry captured three wickets in this time, but importantly both he and Stickland allowed two fifths of a tenth of diddly squat runs in their 10 and seven-over spells respectively. And don’t worry Sticky, as I must have told you 13 times on the day, you were a crucial part of those wickets. In a way, they’re also your wickets.

But in a much more real and tangible way, they’re not yours, they’re Chilli’s. So hands off!

Take nothing away from Sticky’s work soaking up the runs though. The pressure gage was exploding, so much so that the batsmen sought relief in the form of a quick single to Pic at midoff. Anyone who’s played with Pic knows that’s a shocking idea, for the wily one knows when to fox and when to box. The gauntlet thrown down to the father of two, Pic gladly accepted. His bullet throw over the top of the bails allowed my newest mate Max Papworth, who apparently can play a bit, to whip them off and send another Saint packing.

More pressure was incoming, for after the master partnership from the men with the golden arms had ceased 'Flemdawg' picked up the attack from Sticky’s end.

'Flemdawg' asks plenty of questions of the Saints batsmen 

As he commonly does, Fleming uttered to me in his husky, masculine tones that he was desperate for a wicket. I nodded and gave some trite encouragement, while considering how much fun a three-way interview with Adam, Darren Lockyer and Geoff Toovey would be.

As it turned out, the former occurred, and two wickets in two balls saw the Saints seven down for just 80. With two more experienced campaigners still at the crease, the Staggies took the foot off the throat somewhat, and combined with some good batting in the final overs St George managed to scramble to 170, with Chilli enjoying the cool figures of 3/35.

The toss-winning captain certainly would have taken that at the start of the day, and it was up to the willow wielders to show their mettle and track down the runs not too many wickets down.

Well, as with all things 4th Grade in my more years than I care to remember at the club, brilliance often goes hand in hand with spectacular failure. This often comes in the form of a batting collapse, and I was tempted to pull the creams on early when a slew of early poles saw us at 4/23.

'Retro' Retallick out in the first over, Coleman and Papworth following him, Jayasekera with a flurry of boundaries then getting trapped in front. I was an unhappy bowler who was full of Red Rooster. 

But 4th Grade are specialists at brilliance, as I mentioned, and a steadying partnership between Andrew ‘Crosly’ Crosland and Axel ‘His name is like that bit of a car’ Cahlin steadied the ship, that at an hour ago might as well have been jettisoning vomiting passengers and praying for Poseidon’s mercy.

Unfortunately Crossy hit one of his finest shots of his 14 straight to mid wicket, and a good catch left him with no choice but to trudge back to the sheds, introducing one A. Sherman to the wicket.

I’ve seen Pic bowled early in his innings more than my fair share of times. I’ve also seen him play some of the best counter-attacking cricket in my grade career. Fortunately, this was one of those times.

Taking to the spinners like a pregnant woman to pancake mix, Pic showed the young buck down the other end how to bat your team out of a sticky situation. Cahlin, the young buck, probably didn’t need too much instruction though, for he was playing a very handy dig down the other end. 

The Saints best bowlers out of overs, and the lesser lights (and that’s being generous) on with an aging ball, Cahlin dispersed the seed to all parts of the oval. He made an undefeated 79, which included at least four towering sixes, three of them over the very long boundary on the far side. It was the first time this author had seen him bat in the middle, and he looked the goods. Quality work Axe.

With Pic also playing a gem down the other end, the momentum was heimlicked out of the Saints, who lost their bubbling enthusiasm faster than a kid unwrapping a pair of socks at Christmas time.

41 not out to the run out master and Cahlin saw the Stags over the line with 6.1 overs to spare and five wickets in hand. In the smallest dressing room in grade cricket the song was sung with much passion and some quizzical looks from those who thought winning was something unique to Charlie Sheen. Maybe some word sheets might be good for next week.

Well, that will do for this spinning of tall tales. Until next week, or next year, you take it easy Gordon.

Patrick Effeney

The inaugrual Twenty20 competition commenced this year, with an Illawara and a Newcastle side competing against the other 20 grade sides. All the matches happened pretty early in the season, with the Stags progressing to the quarter finals.

Great 'all-round' value, Chad Soper picks up consistent points in the first few rounds 

The results shown in the tables below take into account the three T20 matches that 1st Grade played, as well as round 3. As you can see, the additional matches that 1st Grade play have had a shake up on the initial leaders. Consistancy throughout those matches, including wickets to Soper, runs to a number of batsmen and Evans continuing his good form has seen a number of teams rise up through the leaderboard.

After a number of years competing, Michael Donnelly's sides are making a strong showing at this point.

Check out the current points table below in the aggregate competition, as well as the player performances to see who you should be trading over Christmas.

As we said at the start of the season, we will be running a secondary competition from round 9 (the round after the Christmas trade period) until round 15. This will be a knockout competition, similar to a tennis grand slam competition. The bottom 30 teams (so teams ranked 50 and below) at the end of round 8 will be paired up and the highest point scorer from each pair in round 9 will progress to a final 64. Each week, the teams will be paired up and the highest point scorer in each pair will progress until round 15, where the final two owners will compete in the final.

There are a small handful of players that haven't paid at this point. Unless payment is received before the end of Round 8, these teams will be struck from the league.

Please note: If your team doesn't appear here, but you've submitted a team, please contact us at webmaster@gordoncricket.com and we'll get your team in there quick smart.

 

 

Rank	Team Name	Team Owner	Points
1	Donuts XI	Dave Millar	3169
2	JS 3rd XI	Jack Skilbeck & Stan Gaynor	3074
3	Scared Shotless	Adam Cubbage	3013
4	Beat the Bears	Michael Donnelly	2990
5	Corndogs XI (3)	Connor Jackson	2989
6	Tiddles Ultimates	Tony Wilson	2988
7	Why do they have to grow up	Iqbal Ahmed	2984
8	Brian Thompson XI	Michael Donnelly	2972
9	Sid Carroll XI	Michael Donnelly	2941
10	Hoppa Waardys II	Ed Howitt (Jnr)	2930
11	The Dodgy Vindaloos	Anand Verma	2924
12	PC2	Pete Colley	2924
13	JS 1st XI	Jack Skilbeck & Stan Gaynor	2918
14	McElduffs Marauders	Sean McElduff	2900
15	Praying Mantis	James Kennedy	2886
16	Ryans XI	Ryan McElduff	2858
17	Mish Mash	Stuart Bromley	2825
18	AJs 11	Adrian Craig	2795
19	PC3	Pete Colley	2771
20	Blown the Budget	Michael Perry	2768
21	Hoppa Waardys IV	Ed Howitt (Jnr)	2734
22	Keevers XI	Matthew Keevers	2734
23	BromRob CC	Stu Bromley & James Robertson	2712
24	Hoppa Waardys I	Ed Howitt (Jnr)	2709
25	Big Waz XI (2)	Warren Jackson	2700
26	Frogans Heroes 2	Michael Falk	2691
27	A team captained by Harrold!!	Liam McElduff	2664
28	Pickets	Mal Coleman	2609
29	We don't like cricket - We love it	Chris Spratt	2591
30	PC1	Pete Colley	2581
31	Location Location	Ed Howitt Snr	2577
32	Big Waz XI (1)	Warren Jackson	2532
33	Hoppa Waardys III	Ed Howitt (Jnr)	2521
34	Leading Edge	Jack Clinton	2520
35	TC 3	Tim Cubbage	2500
36	The Boys for Poys	Josh Poysden	2498
37	Tarbucks	Mal Coleman	2469
38	Hickos - You never know	Geoff Hickman	2452
39	Tiddles Loose Ones	Tony Wilson	2420
40	JS 2nd XI	Jack Skilbeck & Stan Gaynor	2396
41	Gordon Goannas	Stuart Bromley	2358
42	Heavey Hitters	Michael Perry	2357
43	Hickos Fast Start	Geoff Hickman	2296
44	BJB	John Barker	2293
45	Debbies Demons	Matt Page	2286
46	99 Problems but the Pitch Aint One	Tym Crawford	2274
47	Summertime Madness	Adam Cubbage	2271
48	The Untouchables	George Read	2260
49	Hickos No Horses Thanks	Geoff Hickman	2245
50	Frogans Heroes 1	Michael Falk	2212
51	Wesley Black Raiders	Matt Page	2172
52	Iqbals Fantasy	Iqbal Ahmed	2146
53	Corndogs XI (1)	Connor Jackson	2135
54	Big Waz XI (3)	Warren Jackson	2119
55	JOF 2	John ONeill-Fuller	2114
56	The General is Back 2	Paul Stephenson	2066
57	Roseburn Warriors	Matt Page	2055
58	TC 1	Tim Cubbage	2048
59	Tiddles Stuyvos	Tony Wilson	2048
60	Ninjas XI	Michael Roberts	2013
61	Dream Run Again	Glen Spratt	2010
62	The General is Back 1	Paul Stephenson	2007
63	Big Time Wonders	Ed Howitt Snr	1984
64	TC 2	Tim Cubbage	1976
65	Tinder XI	Tjaard Tait	1970
66	#420BLAIZEITFGT	Blaize Irving-Holliday	1959
67	The Rubylouis	Ed Howitt Snr	1955
68	JOF1	John ONeill-Fuller	1864
69	Corndogs XI (2)	Connor Jackson	1798
70	Ninja Chicken	Rob Barker	1794
71	Dream Run	Glen Spratt	1793
72	Frogans Heroes 3	Michael Falk	1750
73	All Fired Up	Ed Howitt Snr	1703
74	Captains XI	Michael Perry	1647
75	REKRAB	John & Rob Barker	1627
76	JOF3	John ONeill-Fuller	1558
77	I can't believe Higgins captains 3s	Iqbal Ahmed	1514
78	Hermits	Mal Coleman	1493
79	Sons Of Pitches	Adam Cubbage	1411

 

 

Name	Before Transfer	After Transfer	Total Points
Harry Evans	621	0	621
Chad Soper	398	0	398
Mark Atkinson	311	0	311
Steve Colley	257	0	257
Lachlan Stewart	241	0	241
Iain Beverley	231	0	231
Cameron Eccles	225	0	225
Josh Poysden	222	0	222
Max Papworth	218	0	218
Damon Livermore	201	0	201
George Read	192	0	192
Iqbal Ahmed	191	0	191
Tjaard Tait	190	0	190
James Packman	189	0	189
Andrew Crosland	181	0	181
Reece Bombas	180	0	180
Brett Rosen	178	0	178
Michael Perry	176	0	176
Tristan Cooper	175	0	175
Els Richtor	168	0	168
Tom Carruthers	167	0	167
Matthew Keevers	164	0	164
Dan Stickland	161	0	161
Richard Armour	158	0	158
Jack Skilbeck	155	0	155
Liam McElduff	153	0	153
Tym Crawford	149	0	149
Anand Verma	148	0	148
James Kennedy	141	0	141
Stan Gaynor	139	0	139
Tom Beverley	139	0	139
Alex Wright	138	0	138
Adrian Craig	138	0	138
Tim Fulton	135	0	135
Dan Smith	134	0	134
Nick Miller	133	0	133
Nick Coleman	133	0	133
Darren Jayasekara	132	0	132
Jack Colley	132	0	132
Deva Nirthanakumaran	129	0	129
Greg Lewis	128	0	128
Chris Spratt	127	0	127
Adam Cubbage	125	0	125
John O'Neill Fuller	121	0	121
Tim Van Zuylen	116	0	116
Andrew Coleman	115	0	115
Kris Colley	113	0	113
Rob Barker	93	0	93
Axel Cahlin	91	0	91
Connor Jackson	90	0	90
Blaize Irving-Holliday	88	0	88
Ben Leighton	88	0	88
Reagan Klemt	83	0	83
Pat Effeney	75	0	75
James Robertson	75	0	75
Chris Retallick	72	0	72
Julian Stephenson	63	0	63
James Campbell	60	0	60
Matt Page	60	0	60
Ian Higgins	55	0	55
Shayne Lin	52	0	52
Anthony Sherman	46	0	46
James Kidd	40	0	40
Stuart Bromley	39	0	39
Mitchell Kleem	21	0	21
Aaron Chamberlain	21	0	21
Adam Fleming	20	0	20
Matt Keane	15	0	15
Dom Thomson	14	0	14
Daniel Chamberlain	12	0	12
Jordan Farrell	10	0	10
Matthew Todd	0	0	0
Scott Heaney	0	0	0
Charlie Stobo	0	0	0
Puru Rathore	0	0	0
Ben Garratt	0	0	0
Corbin Edgar	0	0	0
Harry Turner	0	0	0
Saahil Turki	0	0	0
Dasith Dangalle	0	0	0

 

 

Five Gordon bats score centuries in clean sweep against St. George

The headline is the same as last year, but the result was even better with wins in all grades against St. George which puts all of our teams in the frame for end of season games. The Colts also had a strong win against North Sydney at Tunks to make it a 100% weekend.

The ball of the season so far. Dan Smith gets through the gate of Moises Henriques at Chatswood.

Last season with wins in the top three grades and a tie in fourths, I wrote that the win was the first in first grade for some 8 seasons. The dominance had been the same in the 90’s even when we won two premierships and Murray Bennett made that famous statement after a rare win to Gordon at Killara “I heard somewhere you guys had a song”.

Murray was at Chatswood yesterday following his beloved club like so many of his fellow legends that are seen around the grounds every match. It is always a pleasure to play Saints. They play the game hard but fair and always appreciate your hospitality as we do theirs.

It would be true to say that we may have got Saints on a bad day yesterday with three representative players not available and others missing from their lower grades, but there was no complaining on their part as they got on with the game.

The value their players put on their club was shown by Moises Henriques playing in the match on Saturday knowing the following day was the start of a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG and also coming back from injury. It reminded me of Matt Nicholson catching a 6am flight after a Shield win in Brisbane to get to a Gordon one day match starting early that day. Grade cricket needs players like this and we are fortunate there are a number around.

Well played Reg. Damon Livermore is congratulated by his skipper for his first century in first grade for lets say ... a long while...

Yes, it was wins in all grades as firsts gained first innings and tried hard for the outright, seconds played very well at Hurstville to come back from a fast start by Saints, thirds bowled very well on a good wicket at Killara to restrict their opponents, fourths had a remarkable win at Harold Fraser and fifths had a dominant win against their final opponent of last season. Colts who played Norths in the Metro Cup had a dominant win to stay near the top of their competition.

The stars of the weekend were the five century makers, (yes 5) Harry Evans with 130 in firsts, Damon Livermore who is truly showing his class in his return to first grade with 110 not out, Tym Crawford with 100 not out at Hurstville, Connor Jackson with an exhilarating 131 not out at Beauchamp, and finally Stuart Bromley who clouted 129 not out in Colts.

Other bats to do well were Axel Cahlin with a very mature 79 not out under the pressure of holding the innings together, Chris Spratt with 58 in thirds, Andrew Coleman with 50 in Colts and some good forty’s from Tim Van Zuylen, Jack Colley, Anthony Sherman , Greg Lewis and Stan Gaynor.

In the bowling the hero was Josh Poysden who now has 16 first grade wickets and five T20 wickets after his five wicket haul at Chatswood, while Tim Fulton collected 4 wickets for fifths.

Josh Poysden leads the team off after his five wicket haul

Incredibly Josh was on a hat trick twice in the one session, exactly when Mitchell Johnson was doing the same thing at Adelaide. It was riveting watching with one eye on the Pavilion TV and one eye on Josh. I think Josh was probably pleased to be on Chatswood Oval and not watching his compatriots.

First Grade

St George won the toss and started steadily, the two openers adding 29 before Dan Smith struck twice, dismissing Stu McCabe and then Moises Henriques, who had survived a big LBW in Dan’s previous over from an almost identical ball. With the ball cutting back as shown by the photo sequence below, the ump probably got the close call right with it hitting the pad just outside off stump. A handy partnership followed but then Chad Soper struck once and then again 29 runs later to halt the momentum.  

Harry's 130 in first grade at Chatswood which now takes him to 453 runs at 90.6 and the leading run scorer in Sydney First Grade cricket 

Josh Poysden then got into the act, dismissing his fellow countryman Adam Rossington who had made an aggressive 55 with a beauty. The next ball saw another wicket and the Saints were teetering at 6-128. A few overs later, James Kennedy picked one up, courtesy of a brilliant Iain Beverley catch and then, once again Josh took two in two balls to have the opposition at 9-153. A handy last wicket partnership moved the total to 181 before Josh took his fifth to finish with the outstanding figures of 5-51 from 20 overs – a great performance on a good batting wicket!  

Not to be outdone, Damon Livermore played an excellent innings for his 110 not out

Special mention should also be made of the fielding of Steve Colley. Steve was absolutely everywhere cutting off certain boundaries and threatening run outs with clean pick-ups. Steve’s effort went a long way to lifting the bowlers just in the way he gave them his 100% support. It is amazing what a good fielding performance can do for a team and he led the way. 

The sequence of frames shows how the ball to get Moises cut back from outside off stump.

With 24 overs remaining in the day, the coach told the batsmen to be positive and Damon Livermore obliged, smashing three boundaries in the first over off Moises Henriques all to the point boundary. He and Steve Colley were outstanding and their opening partnership before Steve got a nick. Cam Eccles added another 22 with Damon before he was dismissed but the score was moving along very briskly. While Cam only made 6, he played under difficulty after collecting a fast one on the shoulder and stayed with Damon to take the shine off the new ball. Harry Evans came to the crease and immediately began to attack the bowling. He played some great shots and with Damon bringing up his so well controlled half century, they added an unbeaten 67, with Harry smashing eight fours and a six in his 45 not out at the end of Saturday’s play.  

Another frame sequence when Stu McCabe gets the edge to Dan Smith and Iain Beverley gleefully takes the catch

With the first grade match a two day Saturday/Sunday fixture the players were back again at Chatswood on Sunday to finish off proceedings.

The new day was just a continuation of the day before except that Harry Evans was even more commanding as he progressed from his 48 not out to score 130 and be dismissed just before lunch. Harry faced only 109 balls for his 130 with 15 fours and 5 sixes. His innings was a masterpiece of precision hitting to all parts of the ground.

At the other end Damon Livermore was playing his part as a solid opener supporting Harry with every shot. Damon was passed by Harry but it didn’t matter as he progressed to a fantastic 110 not out when Harry decided to have a go at bowling out Saints again. Damon had shown with his opening boundaries in the first over that he would be a hard nut to crack and he showed this with a very pleasing innings. Their partnership of 206 was the fourth highest 3rd wicket partnership in first grade as this particular wicket is greedily held by Mark O’Neill and Phil Emery with 326 which is the clubs overall highest. Mark and Phil also hold the third highest of 216 for the third wicket. 

Chad Soper who took 5 wickets for the match in action against Saints

The bowlers then through everything at Saints and wickets started to fall with James Kennedy and Josh Poysden picking up one each while Chad Soper collected three wickets to have Saints 5 for 82 and in need of a rescue. Unfortunately we were unable to keep the momentum going and Saints finished on 6 for 209 when play was stopped in the late afternoon.

First Grade Scores

Gordon 3 dec for 277 (Harry Evans 130, Damon Livermore 110 not out) defeated St George 181 (Josh Poysden 5-51, Chad Soper 2-28, Dan Smith 2-40) and 6 for 209 ( Chad Soper 3 for 38, James Kennedy 1 for 25, Josh Poysden 1 for 77).  

Josh Poysden during his five wickets at Chatswood

Second Grade

Brett Rosen won the toss and decided to give Saints the first go at batting on a wicket that he thought would give his quicks an advantage but at 0 for 80 off 15 overs, he was certainly getting worried. The early bowlers weren’t able to get the breakthrough or restrict the Saints bats and it wasn’t until Jack Skilbeck put the brakes on the scoring and also took a wicket to have 1 for 15 off 7 overs.  

Tym Crawford during his 100 not out at Hurstville

This spell seemed to inspire the other bowlers and soon wickets started to fall and within a blink of an eye Saints were 6 for 114 and the Stags were well on top. During this time Scott Heaney has come back for a good spell and James Campbell and Tym Crawford also got on top with some fine bowling. Kris Colley also helped the cause by running out Nathan Catalano for only 2 during this period.

Our good friend Craig Thornborough, who is captaining the Saints seconds, started to recover the position and got the score to 160 before he was out to a great stumping from Brett Rosen off Greg Lewis. The Saints tail then contributed a few more runs and they were all out for 207 off 48.4 overs.

Another wicket through the lens of the GDCC photographic team. Craig Thornborough is stumped by Brett Rosen. Might be some emails reporting this one.

The stags batting didn’t start well with Kris Colley out early with the score on 3 after about 5 overs. The  momentum changed quickly however when Tym Crawford arrived on the scene to start his innings in normal aggressive form with a run a ball effort to get to 40. Greg Lewis also started to come along for the ride and picked up the scoring rate.

The difference to this innings for Tym however was that when he reached 40 or so he started to hit the ball conservatively along the ground in singles and really consolidated his innings. At the same time Greg Lewis, James Packman and Brett Rosen were soon back in the Pavilion and he was in need of a partner to get us home.

Jack Skilbeck who got the stags back on track with his tight bowling

That partner came in the form of Jack Colley who was in punishing form and together they took the score to near the 207 for victory with some fine batting by both players.

With Tym now getting close to his century and Jack hitting them well and only a couple of runs needed for victory, Jack played out a maiden to enable Tym to face at the other end to get to his 100 before the winning run was scored. With the 100 celebrated by Tym, Jack then hit a massive six to win the match and finish on 48 not out himself.

A big win for the seconds to take them to third position and only 34 points from the lead.

Second Grade Scores

Gordon 4 for 211 (Tym Crawford 100 no, Jack Colley 48 no, Greg Lewis 44) defeated St. George 207 (Jack Skilbeck 2 for 26, Greg Lewis 2 for 22, Scott Heaney 2 for 35, Tym Crawford 2 for 35, James Campbell 1 for 35)

Third Grade

It was bound to happen eventually, but Missy lost the toss and St George chose to bat first on a very good wicket at Killara.

Chris Spratt during his 58 at Killara

The young opening pair of Charlie Stobo and Nick Miller bowled with good control in the opening passages but without luck and it wasn't until the (dare I say) more experienced pair of Blaize Irving-Holliday and James Kidd that game really began to break open for the third graders. The score went from 0-30 to 3-35 in the space of 18 balls thanks to good bowling from Blaize and James and catching from the fielders and Shayne behind the stumps. A small partnership ensued, but the spin twins of Anand Verma and Tjaard Tait completely controlled the game and their combined 20 overs went for 3 for 50. Gordon managed to keep the score to a meagre 7 for 159 thanks to good fielding and exceptional bowling from all 6 bowlers used. 

It was now up to the batsmen to reward the bowlers for their hard work and execution and Liam McElduff and Chris Spratt combined power with precision as the two put on a majestic partnership of punishing, lofted blows and delicate late-cuts. The innings had started with a friendly jibe from a saints fielder “Let’s go boys, this guy is just back from Schoolies” as Chris returned a stare back at the mid-wicket fielder. On investigation the player was just back from Schoolies himself so it was definitely friendly. At 0 for 82 the game was all but won for the home side, but a collapse of 5 for 40 gave St George a sniff - largely thanks to some rather ordinary batting and shot selection.  

All the action at Killara with Blaize Irving Holiday, Liam McElduff and Nick Miller strutting their stuff

Tjaard Tait and Nick Miller - not for the first time - guided the ship home with Nick playing some spectacular shots, piercing the field with precision and one unbelievable six over mid- off from the opening bowler that sailed into the trees at the southern end.

Another excellent team win for the third graders which takes them to second on the ladder going into the penultimate round before Christmas. 

Third Grade Scores

Gordon 5 for 161 (Chris Spratt 58, Liam McElduff 32, Nick Miller 25 not out) defeated St. George 7 for 159 James Kidd 2 for 13 (7), Blaize Irving Holiday 2 for 28 (10), Anand Verma 2 for 28 (10), Tjaard Tait 1 for 33, (10)

Fourth Grade 

When asked about the plan after winning the toss and electing to bowl, fourths skipper Michael Perry (Chilli) was refreshingly and brutally frank: "Win."  

Chilli bowls an outie and Darren Jayasekera obliges

Chilli had earlier chosen to bowl on what looked a good batting wicket. With anything above 200 being par, the fours enjoyed a middling start via openers Adam Fleming and Patrick Effeney, but really started to put the pressure on when the skipper and Dan Stickland came on after the 12th over. These two bowled for 12 overs together, with Chilli bowling out his 10 in one spell, and picking up three vital wickets while slowing the Saints early progress to a snail's pace. 

Although Chilli had the three wickets to his name, credit must also go to Dan who bowled a tight spell that displayed great control of length. Chilli had his outswinger working, and Darren Jayasekera snared two fantastic grabs at first slip as the Stags took control.

Axel Cahlin in action

Anthony Sherman also played his part with a brilliant run out after the batsman thought the “40 something” fielder didn’t have a show of moving quickly to the ball. Pic has been around a while and is one of the best anticipators in the field. He knows when not to chase! After receiving a text from Ed Howitt after the match congratulating him on his score and partnership with Axel (see later) Pic’s response was: “Got a run out today”. Enough said! 

Adam Fleming was reintroduced with immediate and profound impact, snagging two wickets and keeping it tight. With Gordon well on top at 7 for71 it was looking very ugly for the Saints. 

A good partnership between two experienced players, however, saw the Saints reach 7 for 170 after their 50 overs as the bowlers were unable to break through on the good wicket. 

Asked for a batting plan in the dressing room, Chilli revised his manifesto to “get the runs”. This is the new “Kaisen” approach to game plans. Keep it to three words and under. 

A solid start was what the Stags were hoping for, but as ever in cricket it wasn't to be. At 4 for 23, with Coleman, Retallick, Papworth and Jayasekera back in the hutch and the new ball swinging around a bit, it was looking distinctly dicey for the fours. But a fighting partnership of 35 between Andrew Crosland and Axel Cahlin swung the game back into the balance. 

Adam Fleming bowled well against Saints

After losing Andrew, but with the shine off the ball, Axel and Anthony Sherman took to the Saints bowling on a flat deck to notch a partnership of over 100. Axel in particular took a certain liking to the opposition spinners, belting several sixes on his way 79 not out. Pic showed all his experience on his way to 41 not out, guiding his 15 year old partner to victory, or was it Axel guiding Pic to victory?. Either way they showed how matches are never over particularly when the shine has gone off the new ball on a good wicket. 

A fantastic win for the fours, and the road to the finals begins now!

Fourth Grade Scores

Gordon 5 for 172 (Axel Cahlin 79 not out, Anthony Sherman 41 not out) defeated St. George (7 for 170 (Michael Perry 3 for 35, Adam Fleming 2 for 21, Pic one run out!!)

Fifth Grade

Beauchamp looked an absolute picture and Gordon batted first on an excellent deck in a rematch of the remarkable 5th Grade Grand Final last season. Even last season’s victorious captain from that game, Dave Monaghan, came down for a look! After losing an early wicket, Mitch Kleem and Connor Jackson took the score to 60 before the former lost his wicket.  

Connor Jackson in action during his 131 not out at Beauchamp

Connor and Stan Gaynor then added 72 with both of them batting really well. Stan was unfortunately run out for 47 but Connor continued to dominate the attack. He added 50 with Tom Beverley and just piled on the runs, dispatching the loose deliveries to, and over, the fence. Once he reached his century he kept going, finishing the 50 overs with two sixes from the final two balls. A fantastic innings, great to watch and so good to see Connor converting a start.

8 for 271 was a fair mountain to climb and when Matt Keevers and Tim Fulton struck early to have St George 3-10, they needed more help than Sir Edmund Hillary. An aggressive partnership followed but wickets continued to tumble and the desired total got further and further away. Matt took a couple more, as did skipper Tristan Cooper and it was left to Tim to take the last two wickets with successive deliveries and complete a huge bonus point victory. Well done fifths!

Tim Fulton during his 4 wickets at Beauchamp

Fifth Grade Scores

Gordon 8-271 (Connor Jackson 131*, Stan Gaynor 47) defeated St George 111 (Tim Fulton 4-62, Matt Keevers 3-17, Tristan Cooper 2-5).

Colts

The Colts batted first in their Sunday fixture against North Sydney at Tunks Park. Saahil Turki and Andrew Coleman shared an excellent 80 run partnership, both hitting the ball well. Stuart Bromley then came to the wicket and, along with Tim Van Zuylen, added 132 from the final 15 overs. Both were very destructive with Stuart particularly hitting the bowlers to all part of the local area. He finished with a fine 129* while Tim scored 49*. The Stags’ total of 3-305 from their 50 overs was going to be very difficult to chase down.

North Sydney started quite well and were 1-63 from the first 14 overs. However, at this point the wheels fell off, losing 4 wickets for four runs, thanks to good bowling from our selection of floor coverings - Matt Page, Matt Keane and Matt Selby. A couple of fair partnerships followed but the Gordon score was never threatened. Adrian Craig bowled very effectively, collecting 4-43 from eight overs – his best figures for the club so far - as Norths were all out for 160 after 39 overs. A most comprehensive bonus point win for the Colts with a number of younger players really showing their abilities.

Stuart Bromley who scored a massive 129 not out for Colts at Tunks, leaves the field with Tim Van Zuylen

Colts Scores

Gordon Colts 3-305 (Stuart Bromley 129*, Andrew Coleman 50, Tim Van Zuylen 49*, Saahil Turki 39) defeated North Sydney 160 (Adrian Craig 4-43, Matt Page 2-28, Matt Keane 2-36, Matt Selby 1-24).
So a good weekend and one to store in the archives. We got on top of Saints today, but we know what a great club they are and they will be back and we will need to be ready.

The webmaster

Photos courtesy of the webmaster, Steve Smith, Mark O'Neill and Tony Wilson...Well done team 

 

The Stags rocked up to Chatswood Oval to find yet another flatty prepared. As we have done so often, we won the toss and chose to bowl. This raised a few eyebrows in the St George camp, who must’ve thought we were looking at a green seamer.

Chad Soper continues his solid early season form (Note: More photos to be added this evening) 

Fortunately for us, Evans’ gamble paid off, and we were quickly on top at 2-40 with both Stu McCabe and Moises Henriques departing early. Up the other end, Chad Soper continued his good form, picking up two wickets either side of the lunch break. Chad had the ball on a string for the duration of his spell, and looked like taking a wicket just about every ball. He has really matured as a bowler over the last two seasons, with great control and the ability to kiss the wicket.

On a flat deck, a big partnership is always likely to occur. Fortunately for the Stags, Josh “mulcher” Poysden ensured that the pressure was maintained and that wickets kept falling. Poysden kicked things off by ripping one past the outside edge of his fellow countryman, before a number of the Saints’ batsmen kicked things on by kicking the ball in front of middle.

James Kennedy got into the action by finding the inside edge of Chu, which was well taken behind the stumps by Beverley, before Poysden finished the innings off by collecting his 5th pole.

Chasing 182 runs for victory, our innings got off to a flyer, with Reg Livermore finding the point boundary three times in the first over.

The author, Dan Smith, takes a very important Saints wicket 

Colley and Eccles provided valuable support, but both found themselves in the sheds prematurely after copping a couple of good prunes from Magin and Henriques respectively.

This brought Harry Evans to the crease. After a (#cute) couple of deliveries, it was clear Harry was seeing the ball Meg-nificently, adding a quick 45 runs before the end of the day’s play.

Livermore and Evans picked up where they left off the previous day, taking the attack to all of the Saints bowlers. Livermore was particularly dominant on the short ball (shock me), while Evans was scoring freely to all parts of the ground.

The pair was going at around 6 runs an over for the entirety of their partnership. Evans was eventually dismissed for a bullish 130 runs off just 109 deliveries, while Livermore ended the innings with a stylish 110 not out. At the other end, Beverley smoked his first two deliveries straight to the fielder. But for our impending declaration, you would have also penciled him in for a century. 

After lunch, the bowlers threw everything at the Saints on a pitch that was now offering the seamers nothing. James “Mr” Kennedy was the first to make the breakthrough, before the Super Soper once again got in the act, picking up three wickets and giving the grippers their first catch of the season in the process. Fortunately for the Saints, Simon Chu played a valuable innings and Chu-d up over 20 overs in the process.

And... another! A great catch by the photo journalist 

As the day drew to a close, Evans decided to throw Reece “Anthony Tupou” Bombas the ball. What followed next was one of the funniest moments you’ll experience on the cricket field, but we’ll leave it on the field. Shock me that the Toucan was the subject of it.

And so concluded a very successful weekend for the Stags, with 5 grades getting up against a strong club in St George.

This weekend, we face Fairfield on another likely flatty. It will be a good test for us, with the bowlers wanting to back up their strong performance and the batsmen looking to cash in on the favourable conditions.

Reg and Harry celebrate their achievements 

But as the great man Nelson Mandela once said, after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. It will be a tought task, but the time is ripe to back up last week’s performance and assert ourselves as a very real threat in the SCA competition.

In other news, Mark O’Neil is quitting his job as a cricket coach to run for politics, in a desperate attempt to overhaul certain changes in ACT’s marital laws. Watch this space.

Texas Forever,

Dan Smith