5th Grade vs Hawkesbury - Round 9 - 2011/12

Following on from a marathon of runs in 3rd grade on what seemed a fairly flat Killara deck, 5th Grade, especially Toddy, were as pumped as ever to have a crack at the Hawks.

Reagan Klemt plays a pivotal role with the bat, guiding the Stags home

It all started with Toddy losing the toss and the Stags were sent out to have a shot at knocking the opposition over for a cheap total which judging by the previous game, there was still confidence to chase down 200.

The Hawks however seemed to come out with the same sort of confidence and all guns blazing. Although Ricko made the early breakthrough and with Charlie bowled tight lines, the batsman took a hint from their 3rd grade counterparts and went hard at the ball early and ended up hitting boundaries to all areas of the ground through some rather cheeky slog shots.

After an 82 run 2nd wicket stand which left the Hawks at 1-93 in the 10th, enter Toddy who immediately ripped through both of the batsman at the crease whilst conceeding no runs to put the Stags right back in the mix. He bowled brilliantly throughout his spell to end up with 3-9 off his 4 overs, not a bad feat in a T20 match.

From then, Gordon started to gain momentum in the final overs through some accurate bowling by Monaghan, Armstrong, and Carruthers. Despite a few missed chances in the field, Regan managed to hold on to his third chance in his fingertips to put an end to the Hawk’s innings. It was a solid comeback from the home side, particularly as we came back to take the final 9 wickets for just 42 extra, leaving us with the total of 135 to claim in our 20 overs.

This total wasn’t looking too promising for the Hawks with Corbin and Jack both opening the batting brilliantly to immediately put Gordon right on top. Jack’s powerful hitting and Corbin’s elegant stroke play pushed the Stags to reach 50 in the 4th over. Things at this time were pretty relaxed in the sheds, however this was short lived with Gordon losing their next 5 wickets for only 26 more runs on the board to sit at 6-82. However when things seemed to turn slightly in favour of the away side, Regan Klemt came in hoping to perform a bit better with the bat than in the field, if he could hold onto it off course…

Matt Todd, in trademark Stags' cap, takes 3/9 (4) - an amazing effort!!

Luckily for us, it was the Hawks who started to loose grip, and Regan batted brilliantly and was joined by Tom Beverley to add a crucial 30 run partnership to make the game interesting again. Despite losing Tom, Regan powered on and combined with Charlie who together added another 21 runs onto the total to make for what would be a frantic last couple of overs. With 9 to win and 7 balls left, Reagan let loose and sent the ball flying over the trees to put the Stags in the box seat - 3 to win from the final over. Unfortunately second ball of the over Charlie fell to an excellent catch, then Armstrong came and went for a quacker- 3 balls, 3 runs, 1 wicket in hand.

Despite Toddy pulling out the quote of the day when he admitted “I’ll be happy with a tie”, flashing his shiny unused bat around he managed to glove a full toss to midwicket for a quick single - 2 off 2 required. The Hawks bowler felt the pressure and sprayed the ball down the leg side and gave us a wide, plus a bye! Too easy!

A special mention should go to Regan, who managed to come in in a difficult situation and bat quickly but sensibly to guide the Stags home with a solid 30 not out. His effort along with the rest of the team allowed 5th Grade to maintain position at top of the table and go into the following one dayers with a great confidence to take out the competition.

Ben Armstrong