5th Grade vs Sydney - Round 2 - 2011/12

After a washout in Round 1 I arrived at the picturesque Birchgrove Oval at 11.15 and strolled out to inspect the wicket. A few blokes in Gordon gear were chatting near the cut strip. I didn’t recognize or know any of them except for Joel (Dave Monaghan) who had his back turned as he had spotted a couple of Rhodesian ridgebacks off their leashes heading towards him. He loves his dogs does Joel.

Tristan Cooper hits out down the ground

I thought I better introduce myself to the lads, it seemed the right thing to do. First off I shook hands with Chilli (Mike Perry). Chilli is a thick set unit with tats all over him & when he spoke, although I sensed a Kiwi accent, he seemed a good bloke.

Next off I met the Gobbler (Sahill Turki) who looked remarkably similar to Avendano. He is a nice, polite young lad who will fit in well. I then saw the terrible twosome from Grammar arrive in Coops (Tristan Cooper) & Goochy (Tom Gooch). Coops was feeling a bit tired so it was nice of Goochy to carry both his & Coops kit to the sheds. Shaft (Tom Cockburn) was the next to arrive & had a serious face on by his usual standards.

He had a steely look & seemed really pumped at the prospect of taking the captaincy reigns for the next few rounds while Jules is away. The rest of the lads arrived & I knew none of them. My thoughts instantly turned to me old mate Moth as it just didn’t seem the same without him, I didn’t know half the blokes & the culture seemed so different. I missed him & I also wondered with curiosity what pub he may be at?

Dave "Joel" Monaghan continues his early season form at Birchgrove Oval

Unlike Moth, Shaft opted for a warm-up prior to tossing. As an old bloke I wasn’t so sure but went along for the ride. The Gobbler & Joel highlighted the touch footy match played on a field so small it made scoring impossible. The game finished nil all.

Shaft then tossed & we were batting. James Partridge & Chilli went out to bat but James nicked out early and that was pretty much the last I saw or heard from him as he retreated to listening to his iPod for the rest of the day. Chilli & Shaft then combined for a decent partnership before Shaft nicked one to slips. Max, our new keeper bat & an absolute clone of Elton, then came & went pretty quickly & it was left to Chilli & Coops to firstly settle things & then take charge to get the score past 100. Chilli was then bowled for 65, a pretty good knock from a really talented cricketer, which ended a pretty entertaining partnership.

The Gobbler & Coops continued batting during periods of extended rain delays, & on the resumption of one of these delays Coops was clean bowled. So there we were, 5/140 at stumps.

Matt Todd and Max Newman combine to effect a stumping

Quick runs were the order of the day when play resumed on Day 2 with a target of 50 or so more runs in about 10 overs. We started cautiously, lost a couple of wickets & I was promoted to number 10 to get things moving. I obliged & smashed 5 delightful boundaries & a two (with one run short) in the one over I faced to finish on 21no, a fine innings by any standards! With batting like this I am a must for any fantasy team & those who didn’t pick me up for a miserly 100k should be very disappointed.

Shaft then called me & Sahill in as we declared at 8/206. Sahill looked very composed for his 34no & will score heavily this year. The skipper then summoned the troops into the dressing room & stressed good line & length & the building of pressure, not a bad maiden speech from this extremely gifted leader.

Joel & Goochy started things off & would probably agree that they were a tad wayward as the Tigers openers pumped them to all parts of the ground. At 0/50 I must admit I was a bit concerned as the Tigers batsman seemed well in control. Shaft summoned me to the bowling crease & I soon knocked one of the openers over to a neat stumping from Max.

Chilli was introduced from the southern end & claimed two quick wickets to have the tigers 3/60 at the tea break. After tea the game ebbed & flowed with each team having the upper hand at various times.

Tom Gooch provides plenty of issues for the Tigers' batsmen

Alex Jackson, who is in desperate need of a haircut resorted to bowling in his cap much to my delight. With his mop of blonde hair now out of his eyes he could focus on where he wanted to land the ball & almost instantly he found a great zone with good turn & great dip on the ball.

Shaft rotated the bowlers well, even giving himself a trundle, in an attempt to keep the Tigers in the game as the required run rate was approaching 9 an over. The Tigers obliged by pumping him for about 20 off his only over! At the end of his over, the Tigers need about 70 off 10 overs with 5 wickets in hand.

I picked up 2 quick wickets to have theTtigers now 7 out with about 66 to get. A small Pakistani chap named Waqas then strolled to the crease & started smoking balls to all parts of Birchgrove. When Goochy finally got the little dynamo out they needed 20 odd with 2 wickets left & about 4 overs to go. Chilli & I continued bowling, a few catches went down & ultimately the Tigers fell about 4 short. In the end it was dropped catches that prevented us winning the game & the lads will be better for the run.

Matthew "Fester" Todd

Michael 'Chilli' Perry takes his first wicket for the Stags.