5th Grade Report vs Fairfield-Liverpool - Round 13

Many thoughts and inspiration words came to the forefront during our match against Fairfield-Liverpool, including;

'A game influences by a couple of key moments'

'A bump in the road'

'A game of two halves'

'A loss to keep us focused on the goals'

Josh Goldsmith makes his photographic debut on the Gordon website

Coming into this match with just one loss in 12 rounds, confidence was obviously high and when Fairfield won the toss and sent us into bat, we were looking for a good start and the creation of partnerships.

Cricket however being 'the great equaliser' it is, after 35 overs we found ourselves red-faced and all out for 74, with number 11 Matt Todd top scoring with 24. With a hint of shock, a cup of poor batting and a pinch of low bounce, this is one recipe I would not like to dish up.

With finals cricket looming and the 3 team goals embedded in our minds, we went about our defence/attack with clear and cohesive plans. An early wicket rallied the stags only to be dampened by the rain, which set in for the remainder of play.

Day 2, 120 overs of play ahead and the message for the day, 'grit'. This seemed to resonate amongst the lads producing effective bowling partnerships, plenty of energy in the field and a reward of 8 wickets in 35 overs with only 54 runs conceded. With only one wicket required to secure first innings, Fairfield's tail wagged and to their credit played smart cricket strokes under high pressure.  

Matt Todd, Dave Monaghan and Tom Gooch test out the Lions' batsmen

All out for 116 after 49 overs, it was a valiant effort by all Stags but as in the case in other matches, the final wicket(s) proved to be as, if not more, important that the first. Wickets taken by Monaghan (3), Dietz (2), Todd (2), Gooch (1) and Cockburn (1) supported by catches from Coleman (3), Packman (1), Goldsmith (1) and Cockburn (1).

With approx 80 overs remaining, we had the belief we could turn this game in our favour. This positive thinking translated into a declaration at 3 down for 207 runs in 50 overs and a great partnership of 139 between Cockburn (64no) and Coleman (80no).

This set a target for the home team of 165 runs in 24 overs. Unfortunately, their 'test-match' application was made clear early and after 14 overs, 1 for 21, the ball was thrown to Coleman (who has not bowled since under 10s just in time for the game to be concluded.

We played great cricket for all except 30 overs in the match and despite losing the game, we can draw a lot of positives as a team and as individuals. We will take our lessons learned and momentum into our next match at the fortress.

Dave Monaghan