100 Club Raffle - Three Prizes - Win up to $5,000

To all of the players, supporters and friends of the Gordon District Cricket Club, the 100 Club Raffle is a fundraising initiative to help finance the running of our Club.

There are 100 tickets at $100 each to be sold and there is a chance of winning up to $5000, whilst at the same time supporting your club.

First Prize is $3,500 - Second Prize is $1,000 - Third Prize is $500

Not bad prizes, at pretty good odds! Far better than backing a rank outsider at the races. You could purchase multiple tickets to improve your odds of winning. Or even get a group of friends together to share a ticket between them - say 5 friends at $20 each - and stand to win $700 each!

To get your ticket(s), it is a simple two step process:

1) Download the "GDCC 100 Club Ticket Request Form" and fill in the details - return by:

• Email - president@gordoncricket.com
• Fax - 02 9983 0875
• Mail - GDCC, PO Box 379, Roseville, NSW, 2069

 

2) Choose on a form of payment that suits you:

• Credit Card - Via our secure online payment process, with the Ticket Request Form returned as per above
• Cheque (made out to GDCC) - Mailed with the Ticket Request Form to GDCC, PO Box 379, Roseville, NSW, 2069
• Direct Deposit - Include "100C - Your Name" in the details -
  BSB: 032 090 A/C: 411 845 - with the Ticket Request Form returned as per above
• Contact Andy Falk - 0418 208 532

Your tickets will be posted to the mailing address provided immediately on processing of your payment.

If all tickets are sold, the 100 Club Raffle Draw will take place at the Club's Golf Day and Dinner at Killara Golf Club on 16th February 2012.

We look forward to your continued support of our Club.

Andy Falk - on behalf of the Gordon District Cricket Club Inc.

The GDCC selectors have announced the teams for this weekend’s Grand Finals.

The matches are as follows:

• Fifth Grade vs Sydney Uni at University No. 1 from 10am
• Colts vs Penrith at Chatswood Oval from 10am

In fifths, unfortunately keeper and highest run scorer Max Newman is unavailable for selection, so Reagan Klemt has been selected to play in the Grand Final. The Colts side looks strong with plenty of bowling options available to the skipper and James Dedman remaining in the 12 and ready to take up a spot if we have a drop out.

 

5th Grade	Colts
.v. Sydney Uni	.v. Penrith
University No. 1	Chatswood Oval
Start 10:00 am	Start 10:00 am
Tom Cockburn (c)	Dave Millar (c)
Tom Bangs	Adam Aarons
Tom Carruthers	Iqbal Ahmed
Tristan Cooper	Ben Armstrong
Andrew Crosland	Andrew Coleman
Carl Kinghorne	Mark Fonseka
Reagan Klemt	David Leiboff
Dave Monaghan	Jason Leiboff
Dan Richtor	Deva Nirthankumaran
Matt Todd	Dan Stickland
Saahil Turki	Tim Van Zuylen
	James Dedman (12th)
Match Report	Match Report
Dave Monaghan	Mark Fonseka

5th Grade and Colts have both won their Grand Finals with outright victories 

Until more stories are posted, visit our Facebook page for plenty of photos from the two days.

Fifth  Grade and Colts agree that 297 was enough runs  

You might think the webmaster is seeing double but both the Fifth Grade and Colts teams batted first in their matches and came away with 297 and their opposition were both none for about 30 at the end of the first day.  

This was enough to see both teams progress to the final next week.

The stars of the weekend were Dave Monaghan (79), Max Newman (45) and Matt Todd (40 not out and 4 for 23) for 5th Grade and James Dedman (80), Dave Millar (49), Deva Nirthanakumaran, David Leiboff and Iqbal Ahemd all taking 3 wickets for the Colts.

Dave Monaghan in action during his 79.

Fifth Grade

Gordon were invited to bat at Blacktown 2 Olympic Park in a game they had to win to continue through to the final. Sutherland struck early, taking 2 wickets and putting the Stags on the back foot.  Max Newman and Tom Carruthers added 30 to stem the tide a little and then Max and Andrew Crosland took the score to 90 just after lunch.  However, just as they started to get on top, Andrew was dismissed.  Two more wickets fell with Max’s 45 another excellent example of concentration and playing the ball on its merits.  Dan Richtor also made an important contribution, keeping the runs ticking over but unfortunately getting out when in control.  7-150 was a worry but Carl Kinghorne and Dave Monaghan batted very sensibly, choosing the right ball to hit, and the Stags moved to 211. 

Celebrations ensue after Newman snaffles a catch behind the wicket 

Two more wickets and 9-217 was not great on such an excellent wicket.  However, Dave Monaghan, who played a wonderful innings, and Matt Todd, who continued his form with the bat, added 80 for the last wicket, and this was incredibly important.  297 was an imposing total, even if Sutherland didn’t need to win the game to progress.  The last overs on Saturday saw no wickets for the Stags and it was going to be hard work to take 10 wickets.  

Max Newman, Andrew Crosland and Tom Bangs during the semi final

Sunday morning’s play began with no joy for a period of time.  When Tom Bangs finally dismissed one of the openers with the score on 62 it still looked like there was a much to do. However, when Tom Carruthers took the second wicket on 90, things started to happen. Andrew Crosland took another two quickly while Matt Todd also snared one to have the Sharks reeling at 5-105.  The score moved along for a while until Toddy struck again and it was nearing the end.  The two Toms each took another but it was left to Matt to take the final two and see Sutherland dismissed for179.  This was a great result for the Stags and a great way to bounce back after their loss in the preliminary semi last week.

A wicket to Toddy

Fifth Grade scores

Gordon 297 (Dave Monaghan 79,Max Newman 45, Matt Todd 40*, Dan Richtor 28, Carl Kinghorne 26, Andrew Crosland 19) defeated Sutherland 179(Matt Todd 4-23, Andrew Crosland 2-28, Tom Carruthers 2-30, Tom Bangs 2-69).  

Colts

Colts had first use of the Chatswood wicket against Minor Premiers Sydney University who hadfaltered in the preliminary semi final last week.  An early wicket was disappointing but Mark Fonseka and Andrew Coleman added 44 before both were dismissed. 

It is not often the webmaster gets to show a Deva cover drive...so here it is

James Dedman played a vital innings, hitting the ball really well, and, with Iqbal Ahmed and Dave Leiboff making excellent contributions, took the score to 150.  A couple of quick wickets and the Colts were in a little trouble.  However, Jason Leiboff and Dave Millar, whose 49 was particularly aggressive and decisive, added an invaluable 74 for the 8th wicket and tea came with 300 on the radar.  Two quick wickets after the new ball was taken shortly after tea threatened again to leave Gordon just below par, but Deva Nirthankumaran and Dan Stickland added a determined 25 for the last wicket and the final score of 297 looked good.

The Sydney University openers saw off the final 11 overs of the day and showed that they were quite capable of scoring good runs.  However, it all changed in the first over on Sunday when Deva Nirthankumaran removed one of the openers and, two balls later, the no.3 batsmen with the score still on the overnight 32. In the first hour, another 4 wickets fell with Dave Leiboff also chipping in with a couple. 6-69 had the Stags well on top when the next two batsmen decided to really dig in and try to survive for a period.  

 

Dan Stickland and Iqbal Ahmed doing a job for their skipper at Chatswood Oval

They batted for almost two hours, only adding 47 but showing good resolve.  Finally, Iqbal Ahmed broke the partnership and the last 3 wickets fell reasonably quickly.  A really good performance from the bowlers, particularly Deva, Dave and Iqbal and, overall, a very satisfying and convincing win.  Now for the final!>

Colts scores

Gordon 297 (James Dedman 80, Dave Millar 49, Jason Leiboff 33, Mark Fonseka 23, Andrew Coleman 22, Dave Leiboff 19) defeated Sydney University 145 (Deva Nirthankumaran 3-14, Iqbal Ahmed 3-32, Dave Leiboff 3-34, Jason Leiboff 1-11).

So we have two teams in the finals next week. Our 5ths will play Sydney University at Sydney University No. 1 in the Grade competition and the Colts will play either Penrith at Chatswood Oval - the home of Gordon Cricket. 

The webmaster.

The GDCC selectors have announced the teams for this weekend’s Semi Finals.

The matches are as follows:

• Fifth Grade vs Sutherland at Glenn McGrath Oval from 10am
• Colts vs Sydney Uni at Chatswood Oval from 10am

In fifths, Carl Kinghorne has been included in the side to strengthen their batting, with Dan Stickland the unfortunate bowler to make way. With Dan in Colts, the side looks strong with plenty of bowling options available to the skipper. With Sam Mart unavailable, James Dedman has been called into the 11, with Ben Leighton in the 12 and ready to take up a spot if we have a drop out.

 

5th Grade	Colts
.v. Sutherland	.v. Sydney Uni
Glenn McGrath Oval	Chatswood Oval
Start 10:00 am	Start 10:00 am
Tom Cockburn (c)	Dave Millar (c)
Tom Bangs	Iqbal Ahmed
Tom Carruthers	Ben Armstrong
Tristan Cooper	Andrew Coleman
Andrew Crosland	James Dedman
Carl Kinghorne	Mark Fonseka
Dave Monaghan	David Leiboff
Max Newman	Jason Leiboff
Dan Richtor	Deva Nirthankumaran
Matt Todd	Dan Stickland
Saahil Turki	Tim Van Zuylen
	Ben Leighton (12th)
Match Report	Match Report
Andrew Crosland	Andrew Coleman

At a presentation evening last Saturday night, Matt Todd was awarded the club’s prestigious Player of the Year Award.

Toddy has been a great player for the club over a long period of time taking over 400 wickets. This season has been one of his best having taken 50 wickets (49 in 5ths and 1 in Colts) and helping his beloved 5^th grade side win the minor premiership. Toddy noted in his acceptance speech how much he has enjoyed playing in the 5^th Grade side this year and thanked the younger players he has had the opportunity to play with this season.

Matt Todd in action.

In the long history of this award, there have been very few “bowlers” who have won the award. It is an award dominated by the “all-rounders” with the point scoring system tending to favour these players. The fact that Matt has won the award as a “bowler” is a testament to the outstanding performance this year.

Ironically, it was Matt Todd the batsmen that sealed the award on the last Saturday of the season. Toddy was sent in as a pinch hitter in 5^th grade’s game against North Sydney. He scored 38 very quickly, completing his role to perfection. He finished up winning this year’s award by 36 points. The fact he also took 3 wickets also helped. Well done Toddy, well deserved.

The runner-up this year was last year’s winner, Ed Howitt who went so close to being the first player in the club’s history to win the award three times. In fact going into the last round Hoppa was definitely the favourite and was only passed by Toddy’s pinch-hitting at Tunks Park. Hoppa has been an absolute legend for our club and this year celebrated the amazing feat of scoring 5000 runs and taking 500 wickets for the club. Hoppa has had a great season taking 38 wickets and scoring over 300 runs as well as being the club coach and captaining his 3^rd grade side into the semis.

Ed Howitt, Ben Garratt and Adam Cubbage took out the minor placings.

In 3^rd place this year was another captain, our second grade captain, Ben Garratt. Ben has been a great contributor to our club having come to the club as a fresh faced 18 year old from the Central Coast to join our Academy. Ben this season scored 386 runs at 25.7 as well as taking 31 wickets at 14.8 in a great all-round performance.

In 4^th place was another great clubman and all-rounder in Adam Cubbage. Following a good off-season in England Cubby has backed it up with a solid all-round performance in 3^rd and 4^th grade. Cubby scored 221 runs at 22.1 as well as taking 26 wickets at 18.2. His opportunities were a little limited in the second half of the season with T20’s and wet weather. One wonders where he would have finished with further opportunities towards the back half of the season.

In 5th, 6th and 7th were Harry Evans, Iqbal Ahmed and Blair Lindsay

Rounding out the top 5, in 5^th place was 1^st grade batsman Harry Evans. Harry had a stellar year in 1^st grade scoring 664 runs at 47.4 and finishing in the top 10 of 1^st grade bats in the whole competition. He also tried valiantly to enter the “all-rounder” status with a sneaky 9 wickets at 22.9; the jury is still out on that one! Harry topped off a great season by playing in the NSW 2^nd XI side against Victoria last week.

Other players in the top 10 were Iqbal Ahmed, Blair Lindsay, Dave Monaghan, Dan Smith & Shayne Lin all with great performances.

Rounding out the top ten were Dave Monaghan, Dan Smith and Shayne Lin

The awards this year were donated by Hickman & Ritchard Financial Planning and awards were presented to the winner Matt Todd, and runners-up Ed Howitt and Ben Garratt last Saturday.

As well as this award Hickman & Ritchard also sponsor the club’s Player of the Month awards, voted on a 3-2-1 basis by the club selectors and presented at club trainings throughout the season. This year’s winners were:

• October - James Kennedy
• November - Matt Todd
• December - Reagan Klemt
• January - Chad Soper
• February - Alex Lines

 

The final points table for the year was as follows:

Position	Player	Net Points
1	Todd, Matt	1158
2	Howitt, Ed	1122
3	Garratt, Ben	1079
4	Cubbage, Adam	921
5	Evans, Harry	911
6	Ahmed, Iqbal	869
7	Lindsay, Blair	848
8	Monaghan, David	843
9	Smith, Daniel	821
10	Lin, Shayne	821
11	Soper, Chad	792
12	Lewis, Greg	781
13	Perry, Michael	780
14	Newman, Max A	771
15	Liddle, Jordan	729
16	Turner, Harry	724
17	Coleman, Andrew	702
18	Lines, Alex	695
19	Kidd, James	673
20	Stephenson, Julian	665
21	Rosen, Brett	659
22	Durie, Adair	653
23	Carruthers, Thomas	652
24	Campbell, James	651
25	Avendano, Justin	619
26	Richtor, Elliot	610
27	Colley, Steve	609
28	Livermore, Damon	605
29	Tait, Tjaard	601
30	Bangs, Charlie	600
31	Roughley, Kurt	599
32	Heaney, Scott M	581
33	Kennedy, James	580
34	Gooch, Tom	559
35	Beverley, Thomas	551
36	Leiboff, David	523
39	Beverley, Iain	504
37	Thornborough, Craig	501
38	Packman, James	500
40	Sherman, Anthony	498
41	Bangs, Thomas	496
42	Eccles, Cameron	477
43	Aarons, Adam	470
44	Effeney, Patrick	455
45	Armstrong, Ben	448
46	Cooper, Tristan	422
47	Kinghorne, Carl	420
48	Bombas, Reece	409
49	Higgins, Ian	401
50	Retallick, Christopher	400
51	Weston, Logan	399
52	Colley, Jack	399
53	Carmichael, Henry	395
54	Turki, Saahil	390
55	Millar, David	387
56	Fonseka, Mark	381
57	Fleming, Adam G	366
58	Klemt, Reagan	336
59	Kleem, Mitchell	320
60	Richtor, Dan	311
61	Nirthanakumaran, Deva	303
62	Colley, Kris	299
63	Dowsley, Nick	288
64	Sadler, Beau	280
65	Jackson, Alex	273
66	Stickland, Daniel	272
67	Edgar, Corbin	249
68	Crosland, Andrew	232
69	Van Zuylen, Timothy	214
70	Sweeney, Will	212
71	Cockburn, Tom J	201
72	Leiboff, Jason	172
73	Bromwich, Clem	142
74	Chapman, Andrew	126
75	Rathnayake, Danuka	120
76	Dalrymple, Michael	116
77	Woodford, Paul	100
78	Leighton, Benjamin I	91
79	Hand, James	88
80	Weragama, Teshan	85
81	Stobo, Charlie	77
82	Partridge, James	70
83	Selby, Hugh	69
84	de l'Epine, Pascal	65
85	Allchurch, Richard	48
86	Falk, Michael	40
87	Kasthuriarachchi, Samira	40
88	Skilbeck, Jack	37
89	Thomson, Dominic	29
90	Gray, Brendan	24
91	Dedman, James	23
92	Jackson, Connor	22
93	Mart, Samuel	22
94	Stobo, Tom	20
95	Ham, Jim	17
96	Middendorf, Ziggy	2
97	Borg, Lachlan	1

Whilst Colts are 1st placed and 5ths are still alive, 3rds are out and poor ground management and weather finishes 2nd's season.

The rain on Friday night was going to be a concern to our 2nds and 3rds teams as they travelled to away games, however with 2nds playing at the neutral Randwick Petersham home ground of Coogee Oval in their preliminary final against Sydney University they were confident a 1st Grade oval would be covered correctly and subject to the weather on the day at least get a start.

Contender for photo of the year. Dave Monaghan bowls the Randwick Petersham opener. Photo by Tony Wilson.

With the rain stopping by mid-morning at Coogee the covers were taken off to reveal a “lake” at one end of the wicket and a road at the other end.  The wicket prepared was the last wicket on the beach side, known by the players as the “social wicket” and at the lowest point of the wicket square. The covers were put down by the ground staff but the wicket cover overlapped the cover on the high side of the wicket so the rain simply flowed under the cover and onto the wicket. “I didn’t think it was going to rain”, the groundsman was heard to say. It had been forecast to rain on Friday night for over a week!! The wicket was so wet at Coogee they couldn’t even get any play on Sunday so with one poor decision the season for the second grade team after 30 or so weeks of practice, playing and planning was over. It is not good enough and someone should be accountable. The decision of Sydney Uni and the SCA to play at a neutral ground with first grade on their No.1 oval was understood, but the performance of the host clubs to provide a wicket was not acceptable.

Ironically at Chatswood Oval, Gordon were hosting Randwick Petersham in 5th grade which was a must win game for the visitors as they were in 6th spot playing the Gordon Minor Premiers. Once the rain stopped the rock hard wicket was uncovered and the ground ready to play an hour or so after the scheduled start. Gordon lost the toss and were sent in on a good wicket in overcast conditions. As detailed later, Randwick Petersham fifth grade got up to progress to the semis and at the same time our second’s season ended. It doesn’t seem fair and it isn’t, but life goes on and our fifths are still in the semis but now will have to win from 4^th position and are subject to the weather and away conditions. 

Max Newman, Matt Todd and Andrew Crosland in action at Chatswood

The weather also created problems for Glenn McGrath Oval at Caringbah covers for the thirds and their first day was lost. They at least got some cricket on Sunday and to the credit of Sutherland they worked hard to get the ground playable and outplayed us on the day.

With Colts having a good win at Beauchamp against Wests we are now left with Fifths and Colts to play in the semis next week.  

Second Grade

No play on eitherday and a good team with a chance to do one better than their final appearance last year has now been snuffed out. 

Third grade

Thirds travelled to Glenn McGrath Oval on Saturday to find the rain had got under the covers and efforts were being made to get us on later in the afternoon.  

Ian Higgins, Ed Howitt and Will Sweeney at Glenn McGrath Oval

Just when a start was being contemplated a few more showers came through and it was decided to start afresh on Sunday.

The match got underway at 10.30am on Sunday with the toss lost and being sent by Sutherland.

The combination of very good line and length bowling by the Sutherland openers and a wicket with some juice as too much for our bats and wickets fell at an alarming rate. Generally when this happens someone holds up an end and a recovery is made. This wasn’t to be and we were all out for 58 in the 27^th over.

With the wicket improving and the penetration of our bowlers not being the same, the Sutherland openers scored the necessary runs and our season was over.

Well done to the thirds on a good year where a win in either of our last two rounds would have meant a minor premiership, but it wasn’t to be and at least we got to play in thirds and were beaten by the better side.

Third Grade Scores

Gordon 58 (Tom Beverley 11 not out) were defeated by Sutherland 0 for 59

Fifth grade  

After a long delay, the game at Chatswood finally got started on a good wicket and a damp outfield.  Randwick-Petersham won the toss and put the Stags in.  Tom Cockburn and Saahil Turki got off to a good start of 32 before Tom was dismissed.  Saahil followed soon after and, with another quick wicket, Gordon needed consolidation.  Andrew Crosland and Max Newman added 44 before the former was dismissed.  Max and Tristan Cooper then added 56 and assumed the ascendancy.  Unfortunately, at Tristan’s dismissal, things went awry.   

Andrew Crosland and Saahil Turki with the bat and Tom Bangs with the ball at Chatswood

The remaining wickets fell quickly and no decent partnerships were possible.  Max’s 60 was an excellent innings and an invaluable contribution to the final Gordon total of 168.  In the remaining few overs, Dave Monaghan snared a wicket and left the game in an intriguing position going into the second day.Sunday morning began under grey skies and Gordon got right on top.  Randwick were desperate to survive but good bowling from Tom Bangs and Andrew Crosland, followed by a wicket in his first over by Tom Carruthers, saw them struggling at 5-34 from 32 overs. 

At this point the game changed, with the new batsman playing some aggressive strokes and the Stags bowlers struggling a little to bowl the correct line.  The sun came out and the wicket, which had offered some assistance to the bowlers, began to be far more batsman-friendly.  A 70 odd partnership followed and Randy-Petes were right back in the game.  Tom Bangs finally struck but runs were still coming freely. 

Max it is behind you!!

Just when it looked like Gordon had got into a position from which they couldn’t extricate themselves, Matt Todd struck twice and the pendulum swung back.  Another wicket to Toddy and it was one pole left with 15 runs to win. 

The usual sweaty palms, prayers and expletives followed but unfortunately the last two batsmen saw their side through to an exciting victory.  Really disappointing for the Stags but well played to the Randy Pete’s team and our boys live to fight another day next weekend.

Congratulations also to the Randwick Petersham 5ths captain and players who helped on both days with covers, even at the close of play when they had to be put away. A beer was shared with both teams (for those old enough), the way it should be.

With the 5ths loss they now move to 4th and will play Sutherland next weekend at a ground to be advised.

Fifth grade scores

Randwick-Petersham 9-171 (Matt Todd 3-40, Andrew Crosland 2-32,  Tom Bangs 2-45) defeated Gordon 168 (Max Newman 60, Andrew Crosland 32, Tom Cockburn 20, Dave Monaghan 15).

Colts

Beauchamp displayed a fantastic, hard wicket and a sloppy, boggy outfield on Saturday.  It was a fairly 'off and on' affair for a while but eventually Wests started batting after being sent in. Survival was the main aim and a tight couple of hours saw them 2-57 from 35 overs with Adam Aarons and Deva Nirthankumaran picking up a wicket each.

Tim Van Zuylen celebrates his hundred at Beauchamp

Honours were shared, although the Colts felt comfortable that Wests were eating into their bowling time, and wickets needed early on Sunday for the Stags to get right on top.The next day, Wests continued to make steady progress. There was no real attempt to accelerate the rate as rain again caused brief interruptions. Wickets also fell with Dave Leiboff, Deva Nirthankumaran and Iqbal Ahmed particularly bowling well - whilst Adam Aarons had one of the unluckiest spells of bowling this year. 

Several runouts also proved vital - as Wests went in search of runs - and, despite a brief flourish at the end of the innings, Wests were restricted to 194 from their 77.1 overs.This left Gordon 59 overs to either pass the score or to survive.  An early wicket put a little pressure on, but Tim Van Zuylen and Andrew Coleman added 40 runs in good time and it was clear that the draw was not an option. Following Andrew’s dismissal, Carl Kinghorne joined Tim, who was scoring freely, and their partnership proved pivotal.  They added 119 with some sparkling shots and took the game completely away from the Magpies.  Carl was out for a very sensible 33 but Tim went on and completed a fantastic century with a clubbing boundary.  Iqbal Ahmed joined him to see the side through to a convincing win and a spot in the semi next week.  A great dig by Tim and a well organised victory by the Colts. 

News filtered through late in the day that North Sydney had beaten the 1st placed Sydney University, with a 6 from the 3rd last ball of the day. This favour by our neighbouring club means that the Colts take over 1st place going into the semi-finals and will host Sydney University at home.

Deva Nirthankumaran and Tim Van Zuylen in action at Beauchamp

Colts scores    

Gordon 4-195 (Tim Van Zuylen 109*, Carl Kinghorne 33, Iqbal Ahmed 11*) defeated Western Suburbs 194 (Iqbal Ahmed 2-27, Dave Leiboff 2-47, Deva Nirthankumaran 2-56, Adam Aarons 1-37).

The Webmaster

The GDCC selectors have announced the teams for this weekend’s Preliminary semi-finals.

The matches are as follows:

• Second Grade vs Sydney University at Coogee Oval from 10am
• Third Grade vs Sutherland at Glenn McGrath Oval from 10am
• Fifth Grade vs Randwick Petersham at Chatswood from 10am
• Colts vs Western Suburbs at Beauchamp Park from 10am

James Campbell returns to seconds for semis

The second grade side sees one change with the return of James Campbell from his match last round in first grade, with Logan Weston making way and moving into thirds. In thirds Henry Carmichael is unavailable and Logan moves into his spot.

In fifths unfortunately Tom Gooch was deemed ineligible due to matches played in a higher grade and his place is taken by Dan Stickland. The Colts side looks strong with James Dedman returning to the 12 and ready to take up a spot if we have a drop out. 

2nd Grade	3rd Grade
.v. Sydney Uni	.v. Sutherland
Coogee Oval	Glenn McGrath Oval
Start 10:00 am	Start 10:00 am
Ben Garratt (c)	Ed Howitt (c)
Justin Avendano	Tom Beverley
James Campbell	Kris Colley
Adair Durie	Ian Higgins
Jordan Liddle	James Kidd
Blair Lindsay	Damon Livermore
Elliot Richtor	Beau Sadler
Brett Rosen	Will Sweeney
Kurt Roughley	Tjaard Tait
Julian Stephenson	Harry Turner
Craig Thornborough	Logan Weston
	Pat Effeney (12th)
Match Report	Match Report
Blair Lindsay	Ed Howitt

 

5th Grade	Colts
.v. Randwick-Petersham	.v. Western Suburbs
Chatswood Oval	Beauchamp Park
Start 10:00 am	Start 10:00 am
Tom Cockburn (c)	Dave Millar (c)
Tom Bangs	Adam Aarons
Tom Carruthers	Iqbal Ahmed
Tristan Cooper	Ben Armstrong
Andrew Crosland	Andrew Coleman
Dave Monaghan	Mark Fonseka
Max Newman	Carl Kinghorne
Dan Richtor	Dave Leiboff
Dan Stickland	Sam Mart
Matt Todd	Deva Nirthankumaran
Saahil Turki	Tim Van Zuylen
	James Dedman (12th)
Match Report	Match Report
Tom Cockburn	Ben Armstrong

Unavailable: Nick Dowsley, Jason Leiboff, Henry Carmichael, Corbin Edgar

Train On: Jack Colley, Adam Cubbage, Alex Lines

Matt Todd takes his 50th wicket for the season and wins the Player of the Year

In a tough round of matches against our local derby opponents Norths, we had wins in seconds and fifths and Colts, while Firsts, Thirds and Fourths couldn’t finish on a high note.

Matt Todd "pinch hitting" in Fifths

At the end our second grade side made the semis in fifths position and will play Sydney University at Uni No. 2 Oval, and Thirds also finished fifth and will play Sutherland at Glen McGrath Oval when a win in either of the last two matches would have put us in first spot. Fifths had an excellent win with a bonus point and pushed them back to the top of the table and they will play Randwick Petersham at Chatswood, while Colts finished just one point from first spot (after having been penalised 6 points for an earlier season forfeit) with their opponent yet to be confirmed.

There will be another story later in the week; however Matt Todd has won the Hickman and Ritchard Player of the Year award for the first time in his illustrious 18 years of grade cricket. Toddy was 40 points behind last year’s winner Ed Howitt at the start of the last round, however in a classic tactical move came in as a “pinch hitter” at No. 3 and scored 38 runs with 3 sixes and then took three wickets in the Norths innings. Ed was only able to pick up 1 run and 1 wicket during the thirds match and in the end Matt won by 36 points.

Matt received a framed photo collage of his season so far at a club function on Saturday night, congratulated Ed on his excellent season and said it was the best thing that had happened to him in his career and was enjoying tremendously playing with a great group of respectful young players. Toddy’s target now is to help the fifths to a premiership.

Harry Evans hits out during his 59.

The best performers of the day were Harry Evans with 59 runs and 2 for 25 wickets, Iqbal Ahmed with 5 for 32, James Kidd with 5 for 49 and Henry Carmichael also with 59.

First Grade

In Firsts Gordon bowled first on a good North Sydney wicket and at 1 for 100 it was looking like we would be chasing a high score. Our bowlers kept persisting however as the while the Norths bats were getting starts wickets started to fall and before long Norths were 7 for 166 with the wickets shared between the bowlers. A thirty run partnership saw the Bears reach 203 and we felt this was a below par score for our bats to chase.

The batting started well with a 34 run partnership, however like in the Norths innings wickets kept falling and we were unable to get a partnership going. Virtually every 20 runs a wicket fell as our bats were confused by the spin of the Aitken brothers Rob and Glenn, who had their doosra’s going with great effect.

Harry Evans held the innings together with a fine 59 runs with excellent ball placement however with no partners staying with him, Norths got on top and the innings finished at 9 for 194 and only 9 runs behind. 

Dan Smith, Chad Soper and James Campbell during the Norths innings.

In the end Firsts finished in 10^th spot, however were always close to making the semis during the season and juts a couple more wins would have got them there.

First Grade Scores

Norths 203 (Dan Smith 3 for 41, Harry Evans 2 for 25, Greg Lewis 2 for 37, James Campbell 2 for 52, Chad Soper 1 for 14) defeated Gordon 9 for 194 (Harry Evans 59, Greg Lewis 41, Chad Soper 30)   

One of the stumps appears to be missing!!

Second Grade

Gordon bowled first on a green but hard Chatswood deck and Adair Durie took his customary early wicket.  The North Sydney innings never really got going and with Adair, Ben Garratt (two wickets in two balls), Julian Stephenson, Elliot Richtor and Kurt Roughley all bowling well, as well as some excellent catching, particularly from Craig Thornborough (3) and Jordan Liddle (2), the Bears were all out for100. 

Brett Rosen, Ben Garratt and Adair Durie played well in the win against the Bears

A bonus point wasn’t going to harm Gordon’s chances of reaching the semis and Brett Rosen was a man on a mission.  He hit 43 of the first 60 and, well supported by Blair Lindsay, who once again showed great common sense, and a brisk cameo from Eliot Richtor, the target was attained in 18 overs.  A very strong and well-structured win as the 2nds go into next week’s semis.

Second Grade Scores

Gordon 3-101 (Brett Rosen 43,Blair Lindsay 40*, Eliot Richtor 15) defeated North Sydney 100 (Adair Durie 3-32, Ben Garratt 3-35, Elliot Richtor 2-17, Kurt Roughley 1-2, Julian Stephenson 1-17) with a bonus point.

Third Grade

Another toss win to the skipper and Ed thought he would take advantage and set the Bears a good target, however the innings didn’t go to plan and at about 6 for 50 we were looking like we wouldn’t make the century.

Henry Carmichael during his 59

Henry Carmichael (59) and Beau Sadler (38) however steadied the ship and with some fine batting pushed the score to a respectable level.  

The Norths team needed a bonus point to give them a chance of making the semis so their target was to the 170 runs needed in 30 overs. While our bowlers started loosely they straightened their line and James Kidd hit a purple patch taking the first five wickets in an inspired spell. While Norths were losing wickets they were still scoring runs quickly and a partnership with some lusty hitting got the Bears close to the target. A few more wickets as the hitting continued and at 7 down we were a chance. In the end it was a case of a catch going either way and another boundary catch was a turning point. Their high scorer hit a long high drive to mid-on where Ian Higgins positioned himself right on the fence. An excellent catch was taken however he couldn’t avoid brushing the fence as he took it and immediately signalled a six. Some days they go your way and some they don’t!!! 

James Kidd, Ed Howitt and Henry Carmichael tried hard to dismiss the Bears bats

Third Grade Scores

Gordon 169 (Henry Carmichael 59, Beau Sadler 38) were defeated by Norths 7 for 173 (James Kidd 5 for 49)

Fourth Grade

Gordon bowled first on a very dry Killara deck and the North Sydney openers added a brisk 73 before Alex Jackson broke the partnership.  Wickets then fell consistently with the deck taking a lot of spin.  Adam Cubbage bowled really well and Pat Effeney, Charlie Bangs and Michael Perry also contributed well.  Norths were finally dismissed for 140 (the last 10 wickets falling for 67) and Gordon were right in it for a good result.

Adam Cubbage against Norths at KIllara

They didn’t get it.  Wickets fell immediately.  With the score at 8-26, (with Mitch Kleem scoring 15 of those runs), it was game over and, despite Pat Effeney, Alex Jackson and Charlie Bangs trying to show the earlier batsmen that it wasn’t an absolute minefield, the final wicket fell on 67.

Not much else to say except a really disappointing end to the season. The only consolation was that even a bonus point win wouldn’t have got us to the semis and close losses during the season left us behind in the run home.

Fourth Grade Scores

North Sydney 140 (Adam Cubbage 3-46, Pat Effeney 2-24,Alex Jackson 2-28, Michael Perry 1-10, Charlie Bangs 1-28) defeated Gordon 67(Pat Effeney 16*, Mitch Kleem15).

Fifth Grade

With Player of the Year points to be allocated this was going to be the Toddy (Fester) day and with Gordon winning the toss the plan was to bat and get enough to allow our bowlers to defend. The batsman did just that with the top order scoring well.

Max Newman pulls off an excellent stumping off matt Todd

To the surprise of everyone (including the skipper) Matt Todd arrived at the crease as a pinch hitter and quickly scored 38 runs with 3 sixes to rally set our innings alight. Tom Cockburn batted very well to score 49, while Max Newman (35), Dan Richtor (24) and Andrew Crosland (21) all contributed to get our score to 7 for 216 and a chance for a bonus point if we bowled well.

The bowlers then did a great job with Tom Carruthers bowling very well to take 4 wickets while Toddy picked up three to take him to 50 wickets for the season (so far) at an average of 7.78. Tom Gooch and Dave Monaghan also took wickets to help Gordon dismiss the Bears for 87 and collect a bonus point.

The win took us to the top of the table and as the highest team to have a home semi, the option of playing next week at Chatswood.

 

Skipper Tom Cockburn called it a “clinical win” with a good foundation made for a score of over 200 and some excellent fielding with no dropped catches and some polished ground fielding. This will need to be continued as we move into the serious end of the season next week.    

 

Tom Carruthers and Tom Cockburn in action at Tunks

Fifth Grade Scores

Gordon 8 for 216 (Tom Cockburn 49, Matt Todd 38, Max Newman 35, Dan Richtor 24, Andrew Crosland 21) defeated Norths 87 (Dan Carruthers 4 for 19, Matt Todd 3 for 19, Tom Gooch 2 for 3, Dave Monaghan 1 for 12)

Colts

The Beauchamp deck had a little bit of juice in it early on and the Gordon batsmen had to bat tough against Parramatta.  After an early wicket, Mark Fonseka and Andrew Coleman added 62 but it was still hard work and, despite a good hand from Carl Kinghorne, wickets fell. 

Ben Armstrong smashes a four past point at Beauchamp

With the slow outfield, 200 was going to be an excellent score.  7-130 was a struggle and the 8^th wicket partnership of 37 between Dave Leiboff and Ben Armstrong was invaluable.  The Stags finished on 9-169 from their 50 overs – about par.

Dave Leiboff struck in the first over but the following Parramatta pair batted most resolutely and threatened to spoil the party for Gordon. Corbin Edgar came on early and struck twice and the pendulum swung towards the Stags.  Iqbal Ahmed then continued his strong form with the ball and tore the heart out of the Parramatta middle order.  Despite a number of dropped catches off his bowling, he still managed the excellent figures of 5-32 from his 10 overs. Good contributions from most of the bowlers, plus five catches by Ben Armstrong, saw the innings fold at 119 – a bonus point win and good form going into the semis next weekend.

Colts Scores

Gordon 9-169 (Carl Kinghorne 32, Andrew Coleman 29, Mark Fonseka21, Ben Armstrong 20*, Dave Leiboff 20) defeated Parramatta 119 (Iqbal Ahmed 5-32, Corbin Edgar 2-4, Deva Nirthankumaran 1-16, Dan Stickland 1-16, Dave Leiboff1-33).

The Webmaster

With Mosman 7 down and still 60 runs behind a wicket was important for both sides.

Pat Effeney was fielding in the deep at Killara near the maintenance shed...I will let Bernie Smith from the Mosman club tell the rest of the story below in his email to Gordon President Andrew Falk and Ian Field at the SCA. 

Pat Effeney in action

Quote:

Andrew,

After watching last Saturday's thrilling 3rd grade match between Gordon and Mosman, I wanted to say thanks to your club on a couple of fronts.

Firstly, the commitment to be able to produce a wicket that was playable last Saturday was a credit to your grounds team. With so many games called on the day, this was a huge effort.

With both teams so keen to play, and with the tense and tight nature of the game throughout the day it was good to see the game played in a positive spirit throughout. As the cliche goes, sometimes it is a pity that one team wins and one loses - both sides played well and with a positive attitude throughout.

Ian, on that note we should also pass on our thanks to the umpires for taking such a positive attitude towards keeping the game going when both teams were keen to do so.

Andrew, the second point I wanted to make a specific mention of was the exemplary conduct of one of your fielders late in the afternoon.  As you know, with the wet area near the equipment gate being deemed unplayable, a small garden hose was put on the ground to denote the temporary boundary area.  This was hard to see for anyone more than a few metres away, and the umpires were reliant on the fielders call on this boundary.

It was a close match...Not out

When your young player took a catch on the long off boundary late in the afternoon when Mosman was 7 down and 60 behind, we thought that was a game changing moment. For him to then put his hands up and advise the umpires that his foot was over the hose for a boundary  was a credit to him and to everyone involved in Gordon Cricket. The fact that this was his first and automatic reaction is a refreshing example of why Cricket is such a great game when it is played hard and fair.

Could you please pass on our thanks on behalf of Mosman Cricket Club for this, and for the efforts of the grounds staff last week. I didnt get the young fellow's name - I think you may be aware of who he was.

Best  Regards

Bernie Smith

Mosman Cricket Club