1st Grade Report vs Manly - Round 8 |
 1st Grade Report v Manly
After a deluge of rain on Friday and overnight it was a testament to the ground-staff and Gordon volunteers that play began only 2 hours late. The Stags were inserted on a wicket which offered the bowlers plenty of side-ways movement. The Gordon top order resisted well before wickets began to fall at regular intervals. Eccles made a valuable 34 before Nicholson (38 not out off 33 balls) showed good intent in the final overs to push the score up to a competitive 7 for 191 off 49 overs. The boys celebrate Chad's first pole In reply Manly struggled early against a formidable attack. Nicholson twice induced an edge to Beverley before Connell struck to remove the dangerous Cruickshank for just 4. The ball was then given to Chad Soper, the fourth youngest debutant in the history of the Club, who announced his arrival with a wicket in his first over. The Sea-Eagles were reeling at 4 for 33.
The young gun in action for 1st Grade With 71 runs needed of the last 14 overs with 5 wickets in hand Will Smith threw down the stumps for a crucial run-out. The captain then showed faith in our 17 year old debutant. Two dot balls followed before another run-out (Brendan 'BMac' McDonald's 1stfor the season'Player of the Year points here we come) and then the wicket of Cleary for 57 next ball. Another couple of wickets followed shortly after before a last wicket partnership created a few nerves in the camp. When Packman under-armed for a direct hit run-out the Stags were home by 21 runs.
It's great to see Buzz Casson back in the fray Good sides however win matches when they don't play well. With tougher matches to come as we close in on the business end of the season we need to start playing with more intent and dominance. It is an exciting prospect for players and supporters that the team currently sitting 2ndin the competition has such substantial room for improvement. We all look forward to seeing this team at its peak. Rocket
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From here the Stags took the foot of the gas and some poor fielding and missed opportunities saw the visitors mount a fightback. A superb three over spell from the captain built pressure and resulted in a crucial wicket to break a dangerous partnership. Meanwhile Casson was deceiving with expert flight and guile. His subtle variation reminded some of Peter McDonald at his best. Despite beating the bat on a number of occasions luck seemed to elude him. 
Behind the stumps Beverley was superb. 5 catches and an outstanding stumping off Casson was just reward for his efforts all season. Overall though, it was a very average performance from our team. All batsmen made starts but we once again failed to convert them into match winning scores. Our fielding was poor with a number of opportunities missed. The 'enthusiometer' was disappointingly low throughout the match. We all have a lot to work on at the training paddock this week.
