5th Grade Report vs Northern Districts - Round 11 |
Day One On a scorching day at Somerville the Pupae quickly secured first innings points against an inexperienced Northern Districts side. After our now traditional pre-game banter session, the Stags took the field confident of maintaining their good run of form in the New Year. Tim 'Moth' Packman's tactical loss of the toss on a wicket that looked a good deal better than it played, allowed our opening bowlers to get off to a great start. The pick of the bowlers was a fiery Deva, who executed a relentless spell of seam bowling at good pace to finish with figures of 4-25 off 10 overs. Dave 'Joel' Monaghan also bowled a strong uphill spell, breaking through the ND's top order with two more wickets. Tristan Cooper fires with the bat against the Rangers With ND's now 6/36 the first hour had set the tone for the entire match, however the opposition total could have been even less had we held onto several early chances. Josh Goldsmith complemented his off-field form down the road at Tracks with two very sharp catches in the slips ' setting the standard for the team. Tommy 'Side-bar Shaft' Cockburn made a great cameo with the ball, floating a full toss to catch the back of the No.7's bat and land in the outstretched arms of Fester. After a well disguised wrong-un by Toddy and a clean run-out by Joel took care of the tail, the Stags were back in the sheds with 69 to chase for the win. Despite some early attacking play we soon found ourselves two wickets down with Jack and Tristan coming in to steady the ship. Jack wasted no time in getting on with the chase, unleashing a brutally aggressive 23 on the ND's medium pacers before coming unstuck with the score at 37. Tristan 'So upright its almost a gee-up' Cooper showed no signs of frustration after his dry tour of Japan, combining powerful hitting with a calm temperament to make an impressive 86 that secured the win and set up a possible outright on the second day. He was well supported by 'Elton' Coleman, whose aerial drives down the ground were a highlight of the afternoon. Meanwhile on the sidelines' An innocent questioning of Jack's sandwich choice caused Mrs Colley to exclaim 'Aw, he's just my precious little number 3 batsmen!' Moth and Fester's eyes lit up instantly, and the ensuing quips caused Jack to quickly return to the change room. A new nickname was born' A strong 54 by Paul 'Don't bother running' Campbell finished off the day with the Stags 7/231 at the close of play.
The second day began with the author dismayed at the decision to declare overnight, robbing him of his maiden grade half century. Spirits were soon lifted however by a vocal Dietzy on the sidelines and the possibility of claiming an outright win. Paul Campbell makes light work of the ND's bowlers The task was ahead was a tough one however, with fresh resolve from the ND's batsmen, who were watchful and patient on a very solid batting deck, and worked hard for their opening partnership of 131. It just wasn't the Pupae's day unfortunately, as the bowling was consistent but chances often flew wide or short of the fieldsmen. Toddy once again led the way with the ball, combining with Elton for two clinical stumpings before the game was called with ND's 4/181. 5's should be encouraged by last weekend's performance, as although the outright escaped us, we were able to put together a patient, consistent effort. Moth, Fester and Elton continue to provide valuable leadership to the more junior players and keep spirits high in what is turning out to be a very successful season for fifth grade. The pupae march on. Tom Gooch |
5th Grade defeat the Rangers inside Day 1 
Day Two
