4th Grade Report vs UNSW - Round 6 |
Day 1 began with 'Shane-o' Lin being a little cranky at a few certain somebodies arriving slightly later than expected. Whether or not this mood influenced Shayne's decision to call heads instead of tails we'll never know, but it worked and we won the toss and chose to bat on a road accompanied by small boundaries with a quick outfield. Kris Colley blasts the students' attack to all parts of the ground Mitch Kleem opened his account with 4 boundaries in the first over getting us off to a blazing start whilst Tom 'Sizzle Dick' Cockburn watched on in awe from the other end and me and my team mates did so from the sideline. However the run fest for Mitch was short lived after he spooned one straight to a fielder, who was shortly followed off the field by 'Coach' Cockburn bringing Nic Franklin and Kris Colley to the crease. These two formed a good partnership with Franklin blasting a decent 30 with good running between the wickets supported by the lightning fast outfield. Nick was unlucky not to go on with his innings however after his wicket fell Andrew 'Alberts Tavern' Crosland waltzed out to the crease. At 3/80 odd we still weren't in any trouble as the run rate was still ticking over nicely.
Crosland soaks up the moment of his grade hundred against UNSW By tea it was obvious that the opposition didn't want to be there and Shayne set us a target of 350 to get before the 65th over. With both batsmen on surpassing triple figures a further punishing of the bowling figures of the students was accelerated. Both Colley and Crosland didn't feel like being out in the middle any longer so decided to let some of our other batsmen enjoy some time at the middle' Colley finished his innings on 144 and Crosland on 104 after their record breaking 4th wicket partnership. Shayne came in to hit a few fours before he was dismissed bringing Andrew Chapman in who put us past the 350 mark and beyond a couple more wickets fell and we declared after 65 overs for a modest 7 for 376 with 13 overs left in the day for us to have a crack and try to get a couple of cheeky wickets before the end of the day.
Cubbage takes a catch off his own bowling - why would he bother off anyone else? Deva 'Hustler' Nirthanakumaran bowled extremely well supported by Adam 'Frodo' Cubbage unlucky not to be given another wicked. No more wickets fell on the first day but we had achieved what our captain had asked us to do and the students went home with their spirits crushed as they were 2 for 36 at the end of play knowing they had a lot of work to do next week. Day two saw some punctuality being exercised' in most cases. Mitch had some car troubles and Nic Franklin just had some trouble. Before we set foot on the field we were given a stern speech by the Captain to not go through the motions and to be energetic in the field. An early wicket came our way after Dan Lake took the 3rd wicket on his first ball clean bowling the batsman. However, after that we found ourselves watching a partnership unfold and before we knew it the students were getting themselves back in the game with the score at 3 for 150 and plenty of overs to spare. Deva again bowled well but went unrewarded for his efforts and Adam Cubbage also going unrewarded. For the most part of the session the fielding was rather flat and the energy was lacking but a run out was taking before tea bringing the score to 4 for 220. A stern talking to from the captain at tea was sure to rouse the spirits of the Stags, as we were in a position in which we could potentially let the game slip. We didn't, the fielding improved after tea and a fiery intensity was felt amongst the boys.
Nic Franklin using his tongue-out approach effectively The students were now on the back foot and the Stags had taken the reigns once again. Adam 'I only take catches off my own bowling' Cubbage was brought back on to extinguish any hopes the students might have still had of winning, taking two wickets in his final over. One of which was a brilliant diving caught and bowled. The students were bowled out for 284, a great game from Gordon, the second day proving a bit tougher than we had thought, a good fight back from UNSW with some good batting and a few mishaps in the field gave them a sniff back into the game but we were able to re-establish our dominance in the match and the competition. A great win for the stags. Get fah you bah! James 'Billy' Kidd |
Match Report 4th grade vs UNSW
The next wicket took 234 runs to come and the students did not look like they were the best time in the field having to chase the ball over the boundary and under fences at least once an over. Colley showed his class playing every shot in the book, off the front and back foot, proving to be impossible for the young bowlers to tie down. The fielders' heads were down and at the other end was Crosland casually smashing boundaries here there and everywhere further upsetting the boys on the opposition. 
The pitch still had a bit of life in it for the two opening bowlers Dan 'Disco' Lake and James Kidd with the new ball testing out the two opening batsmen with some short deliveries. A few exciting runs came off the edges but Lakey proved the winner with a decent short ball at the head of the batsman being hit straight to the fieldsman at midwicket for the first wicket. The second wicket came only the next over and as the students were having trouble playing anything short it was another bouncer that saw the ball being skied straight above his head proving an easy catch for Shayne.
A bowling change after tea saw Nic 'Fumbles' Franklin come into the attack, the apparent part time bowled extremely well and aggressively and took a well deserved 2/20 in his spell , a small partnership was brought about as another of our part time bowlers Andrew 'what the hell are you doing bowling' Chapman was brought into the attack, unlucky not to get a wicket he did bowl well and he was supported by Deva bowling straight and full at the other end ending up with good rhythm taking 2 wickets finishing with the figures of 2/25.
