2nd Grade Report vs Fairfield-Liverpool - Round 13 |
The two days of Round 13 against Fairfield-Liverpool consisted of two very different days of weather. The first day was cloudy with intermittent showers. The second day was sunny and warm. The pitch on the first day was also wet with a consistent covering of green grass. As such, Parrot decided to bowl after winning the toss. Will Sweeney takes a different approach after an off day with the ball To the credit of Fairfield, the first day ended for rain after 64 overs at 4-170. That said, Gordon bowled without luck. All 5 seamers bowled good persistent lines and lengths, with many balls beating the bat. The fielding was also near faultless. James 'Ninja' Campbell snared the first wicket, 'Donkey Kong' Durie the second (Cashy), 'Parrot' Garratt the third (1/17 off 1) and 'Queenslander' Sadler the fourth. Of additional note was the even greater than usual verbal garbage resonating from the slip cordon. Justin 'SuperStar' Avendano arguing with Jordan 'MiniMissy' Liddle and Craig 'Bus Boy' Thornborough that one lands on their heels when they run was ridiculous!
Beau Sadler, ever proud of his average, hits down the ground Gordon bowled 32.1 overs on the second day. The bowling highlight of the morning was Ninja's 14 overs straight reaping an additional 3 wickets (4/72 off 32), with the left-handers being his preferred meal as usual. It has been satisfying seeing the consistent, accurate, swing bowling that Ninja has performed for us all-throughout the season starting to have better results. However, a Michelle would have more appropriate this round. 'Queenslander' Sadler didn't bowl the consistency of the first day, but sporadically generated good pace and picked up another wicket (2/51 off 23). Will 'Manatee' Sweeney had an unusual off day, thrown off line by the lefties, but his figures didn't reflect his pressure bowling on the first day (0/50 off 13). 'Donkey Kong' Durie only bowled 4.1 overs on the second day due to a stomach virus, having lost 6kgs in the 24 hours before the morning's play, but still sneakily picked up 2 wickets, the 10 and 11 of course. This left Gordon requiring 271 to win off 87 overs on the extended second day. Cam 'X' Eccles and MiniMissy opened as usual. These two batsmen are giving the team more and more confidence as the season is progressing. Today was no different, until MiniMissy was out caught down legside for 20, the score at 25. Despite undoubtedly having the most complete technique in the team, MiniMissy has a tendency to get out in unusual ways.
Snapped!!! - Jordan Liddle's blonde is not impressed by the action on the field Parrot was back at his team's favourite position for him, No. 3. He was looking good until he lazily drove one to short cover on 11. X and SuperStar took the score from 63 to 166, with SuperStar out after tea off a full-toss on 41, caught at mid-wicket. He once again looked comfortable, his innings being typically offensive and laden with glorious drives on the ground and in the air. X unfortunately fell not long after on 96, providing slips practice off a wide full delivery from an off-spinner. X is obviously in good form. His innings was flawless, only getting a little loose just before tea on 74 and again on 75. His drives and cuts were scintillating. Of greater note was:
Cargo joined Harry 'Hooch' Turner on 174 but was out lbw on 4 with the score at 188. While making his way to his cricket kit, Cargo rather aggressively asked the green plastic chair next to the change-room door, "Is there any danger of a good decision?" Whilst cringing in pain, I am sure I heard the sore plastic green chair say, "I thought you smashed it as well".
Harry 'Hooch' Turner shows the rest of them how it's done during his masterclass Manatee joined Hooch on 188 and left on 215, out lbw to a full-toss for 13. His innings was highlighted by two lofted 4's over the off-side. Bus Boy helped Hooch take the score to 247 when he was bowled by the very slow-medium bowler. His innings consisting of his usual, busy running between wickets and occasional successful cross-bat swipe. As expected, the game was soon over when Queenslander joined Hooch. His 14 not out consisted of 3 powerful 4's including the match-winning runs. This now takes his average to 121 and it is likely his new bat is going to stay in his kit until next season! Hooch ended on 61 not out. His innings was chanceless. Hooch has brought a significant level of maturity to our middle order. At no time did Hooch seem pressured by the fact he was holding our innings together, as well as our chance of 6 points. His cuts and drives were very precise. His attentive running between wickets gained a few pressure-relieving runs (that is, pressure off the spectators) and he always put pressure on the fielders, some time too much! So another 6 points, keeping us second on the ladder, 9 points ahead of third. Unfortunately, the 1st place North Sydney achieved an outright, moving them 8 points ahead of us. The draw has reasonably meant that we would need to have an outright win against the 16th placed Sutherland and North Sydney would need to lose against the 5th placed St George in the next and penultimate round for us to achieve an unlikely 1st place. I'll go to bed now to dream about similarly likely things! Adair 'Donkey Kong' Durie |
2nd Grade Report laden with nicknames and great individual performances
It is worth noting that MiniMissy was absent at subsequent team talks once dismissed, preferring the more consoling and intimate company of a certain blond. Ian 'Cargo' Higgins in defence of his prot'g' said, "Fair enough!"
