Arriving at Chatswood Oval for the last time in the regular season the Stags reserve graders were met with a surprisingly good looking ground considering the considerable amount of rain we endured during the week causing flash flooding in several areas of Sydney. Credit must go to the Gordon groundsmen and all of the officials who helped with the repairing of the covers. Your time and effort was much appreciated!

Adair Durie midflight!

Every single Gordon player knows the intense rivalry between the Bears and the Stags, and this game was going to be particularly significant, not only was it the rematch of last year’s grand final, but we knew we had to win to assure a place in the semi finals with Parramatta breathing down our neck just two points behind us.

BG lost the toss, which turned out to be a good result for the Stags, with the Bears captain choosing to bat first on a hard and green looking Chatswood wicket. The return of Jules Stephenson proved vital for us as he opened up and bowled an agressive and fantastic spell of fast bowling taking 1 for 13 off 7. However, the whole bowling attack deserves recognition; every one of them bowling fantastic spells. Adair "Teddy" Durie and Ben "the bowling allrounder" Garratt took three wickets a piece. Els "Emo" Richtor and Kurt "Roughers" Roughley finished off what was a ruthless and complete bowling performance with 2 and 1 wickets respectively.

A special mention must go to Craig "Thorny" Thornborough who put on a virtually flawless display of wicket keeping with some onlookers in search of a better term for "hangers" when describing his efforts behind the stumps. 

North Sydney was all out for a miserly 100 from 29.1 overs.

Ben Garratt chipped in with 3 wickets

Although it was a score well and truly under par you just never know in a game like this so application and patience would be needed with the bat. With yours truly feeling under the weather, Brett and Blair opened up the Stags’ innings and both played terrific knocks getting us off to the perfect start. They put on 79 for the first wicket, both being particularly punishing on the short ball before Brett was dismissed for a well made 43.

Brett Rosen cutting on his way to 43

Blair continued through the entire innings carrying his bat for 40, with some support from the inform Richtor, making a quick fire 15 to cap off what was an all-round performance from the Gordon 2nd Graders, giving us plenty of momentum heading in to the semi finals this week against Sydney Uni. We have been here last year and I think with the self belief and confidence around this group we can do it again. Except one better this time.

Until next time, up the Stags!!

Jordan Liddle

While the rain conspired to leave the Stags clinging to sixth spot after a day-two drown-out, the B-Graders will proceed with a spring in their step after their round 15 clash with the Whales. 

Elliot Richtor raises his bat to his teammates, celebrating a fantastic century 

Winning the toss and batting on a flat, brown Rawson track, the Stags were quickly brought back to earth, plunging to 4/37 as a result of some stray strokes played before coming to grips with the slowish pace and sporadic variable bounce of the wicket.

The Whales were sky high with four wickets before drinks. Understandable. Yet, they were not to know that the fifth wicket would not fall for the next four hours.

While for long periods the off-field chat (discovered bongs, JC’s date options for the team dinner, Shortbus reviews) was undoubtedly more interesting than the on-field action (head down, shouldering arms, “fighting hard”), the side’s two bowling all-rounders ground away, over after over, to resurrect the Stags’ innings. 

Other than ten-minutes of Richtor (105) madness and two-overs of Garratt (79) forearm cramps the pair controlled the game, until deep in the last session the second new-ball split the pair six runs from a double-century partnership.

Benny Garratt plays himself in before forcing the pace and lifting the run rate

Richtor’s doing, but congrats none-the-less on a supreme debut second-grade ton. Either side of this partnership the Stags lost 4/37 and 5/52, however with the team objectives of 1x 80+ partnership and 1x 80+ individual score met, a defendable total was on the board.

And then it rained.

The equation for the twos is simple. Win and stay sixth (or best case, fifth) or lose and be at the mercy of results elsewhere. All this on top of a score to settle with the Bears.

Ben Garratt 

Round 14 saw the Stags take on Parramatta in a Saturday-Sunday 2-dayer. With Parramatta only a few points behind us, it was important to take 6 points from the weekend. This round saw new faces James Kidd and Pat Effeney join the squad, in place of the injured James Campbell and the captain/triathlete Ben Garratt, with Blair Lindsay taking over the role of captain. 

Superstar Justin Avendano cashes in on a great deck to notch up a century for the Stags 

After winning the toss, Blair decided to let the batsmen loose on what looked to be a good batting deck. While the pitch was quite hard, it wasn't exactly easy for the batsmen, with some variable bounce, and the ball not quite coming on to the bat. Another solid start from Jordie Liddle and Brett Rosen saw us reach 59 before Jordie was dismissed after making a good start for 28. From there Bretty continued the form with some excellent stroke making, and was joined by skipper Blair in forming another solid partnership. Brett was next to be dismissed after notching up a very handy 69, bringing Justin ‘JA’ Avendano to the crease. 

From there the mix of calculated strokes from Blair and and some hard hitting from JA seemed to be perfectly coupled, as the two put on a 100+ run partnership which was vital in ensuring we posted a competitive total. Blair played sensibly, waiting for the bad ball, and ensuring it was adequately punished, and JA showed great control in playing the ball along the ground, while picking the right ball to send out of the ground, and frequently down the street to the mandarin centre as well. 

JA brought up the 100 at more than a run a ball, and in great fashion, mousing one over the ropes, and clearing the fence by a long way. Both batsmen were well supported by the crowd, which consisted of a mix of the old faithfuls, along with the finest youth Chatswood has to offer. This partnership really took the scoring to the next level. They took the team score to just under 350 before Blair was dismissed, followed soon after by Justin. With Justin being dismissed, the local youth decided the entertainment was over, and left in search of a fight down at the skate park. 

Wickets then fell steadily through the last session, with an important contribution made by Elliott Richtor adding 42 to push the total toward the 400 mark. Some incredible late hitting from the recently promoted No.9 batting all-rounder Adair Durie, including a huge another huge 6, took the score to just below 400 before being dismissed. Some late assistance from Patty and Kiddy ensured we passed the 400 mark before the end of the day. It was great to see batsmen at the crease in the last session, and the solid platform laid by the top order batsmen really enabled us to dominate the game from the outset.

On arrival for day 2, the team was confident of defending 400+ on the small ground, even with a lightning fast outfield, we felt our bowling and fielding, and out-enthusing could bring us home. From the start, we bowled a both sides of the wicket, making it difficult to set fields. The Parramatta batsmen cashed in, and ran rampant in the first session, going to lunch at 1/158, with James Kidd picking up the only wicket. 

Els Richtor bats well with the lower order to continue accumulating runs for the Gordon side 

While this wasn't an ideal start, we tightened our game in the second session with some tight bowling, in particular from the captain, Blair, and Els Richtor. It was this pressure that changed the game, and it was only a matter of time before wickets came. Ramped on by the support of the returning youths (Logan's mates) Els snicked off one of the batsmen, and second string spinner Kurt Roughley managed to catch the danger man off his own bowling, taking him just short of his 100. The tight bowling continued with Blair back in the attack, taking a much deserved wicket.

Roughers then picked up 2 wickets in 2 overs. In this session, we really stuck to the plans of building pressure, and we really brought the game back into our own hands. Going to lunch at around 6/240 meant that we had to the stronghold on the game. To come back from the first session of 1/160, and take 5/70 odd in the second session is a real testament to the whole team, with some solid fielding and bowling, and overall resilience.

Going into the 3rd and final session needing 4 wickets, the team was again confident that sticking to our plans, we could close out the game. More of the same resulted in great pressure heaped on the opposition. Forced to score runs, Justin's mate from cricket superstar looked to take quick singles.

While this was effective in the short term, some incredible fielding from the Stags, mixed with some terrible calls from Justin's pal resulted in 2 run outs in quick succession, one from “the best JK at Gordon”, over the top of the stumps, and a direct hit at the bowlers end from backward point, from the injured shoulder of Avendano.

James Kidd's perfect throw catches a Parramatta batsman short of his ground 

Justin followed this up with some terrible chat to his mate, who was close to becoming the leading wicket taker for the innings, which he was reminded of every ball. The pressure all became too much, with the batsmen leaving the ground with 2/55.

The entertainment kept coming all day from the Chatswood locals, namely the spectator having a casual stroll down at long off, and the local youth back to try and score some speed from Logan out at deep point. With one wicket left, the opposition really didn't have a chance, but to their credit, they never played for the draw. Roughley took the last wicket to finish with 4, with 2 to Richtor, 2 to Potter (Justin’s mate from Parramatta), and 1 a piece to Lindsay and Kiddy.

With a tough, ground out 2 day win this week, and only 2 rounds to go, we are looking to be real contenders. With rumours that Lindsay is offering a spot to Garratt back in his side as an all rounder, this should strengthen the squad for the following 2 dayer against Mosman, and the final 1 dayer against your mates North Sydney.

Let’s make these last 2 games count, and take that momentum into the finals. It’s what men do.

Kurt Roughley

I am not greatly motivated to write this match report. I know the limit of my abilities and they can’t compete with the two greatest match reports ever written, those of 3rd and 2nd Grade last round. On the other hand, maybe if I miraculously write a masterpiece, I will find myself in 1st Grade…. which makes me wonder why Missy doesn’t find himself in 2nd Grade. Let’s face it, I would rather be reading a report written by him as well.

The purpose of this manuscript is to document for the future generations Gordon’s 2nd Grade’s effort and success against Randwick-Petersham, so I shall do so with the ideal of relevance being paramount.

The match was originally meant to be held over 2 days, and 2 weekends. Rain forced the SCA to make this a 1-day, 50-over match on the second weekend.

The pre-match hype was more animated than usual by the Randwick-Petersham website stating that Gordon 2nd Grade hadn’t beaten them for a decade. Such short memories…. we nailed them outright in last’s year’s semi-final! They were always destined to lose after publishing such absurdity.

Benny misses outie 

R-P won the toss and elected to bowl. We probably would have done the same as the tinge of green was enticing, although the wicket played very true. Any movement was due to the humidity and a touch of seam.

Jordie and Brett are becoming an imposing opening partnership. Jordie (488 at 34.86 in 2nd Grade this season) just needs a hint more focus to become an innings rock. His 38 was as comfortable as it was commanding until he was bowled by a pitched up offie.

Blair (462 at 38.50) played a much more subdued than usual innings for his 9, providing a base for Brett’s exuberance. His captaincy next week is no doubt in part a reward for the maturity he displays with the bat. I just missed Blair’s dismissal, but heard his wicket fall as I was returning from Chatswood Westfield’s food court.

With Justin at the crease, the pressure to push the scoring was not as great for Brett (256 at 36.57), but a “yes-no-wait” resulted in Brett being run out for 66. Excellent innings. Great natural batsman!

BG came and went quickly for 1. I long for the days when the foundation of Ben’s batting philosophy was that any delivery in the driving zone was carelessly lofted over cover or mid-off for 4 or 6. Ben missed a mildly out-swinging yorker, not for the first time this year. His season (305 at 23.46) is better than expected thanks to three half-centuries. Tough but true.

Justin played a typically aggressive innings. He made the impressive left-handed R-P opening bowler look very pedestrian, dispatching him to the boundary on numerous occasions.

Blair Lindsay looks to improve his bowling stocks 

The following over, after his batting partner crafted 5 runs off the first 3 balls, Justin (153 at 21.86) attempted to hit the offie for 6 on the last ball with the field spread out on the boundary. Justin always looks to be in a rush to dominate the bowlers, as opposed to accumulating runs at a slower pace in order to lower the risk of being dismissed. He was caught in the outfield.

Like most of the top-order, Logan (272 at 20.92) is continuing to improve as the season progresses. With 9 scores between 19 and 37, his 34 was his second top score of the season. Logan always looks to be in control… until he gets out!

Craig was run out by a freaky direct hit from the outfield, his 15 runs taking the team from 185 to 223, while Kurt was not able to chime in as we have come to expect, out for 2. Julian, on the other hand, ended the innings with great momentum, his 14 came mostly off the last over, out caught off the last ball of the innings. Credit must be paid to JC who ran like the wind during the last over, 0 not out. The final score of 9/236 seemed likely to be enough.

Only 4 overs were bowled to R-P before the rain, then thunder and lightning, stopped play for 90 or so minutes. During the break, R-P were most likely thinking that they were in trouble after two superb overs each from JC (26 at 17.5) and Adair (25 at 18.92). Unfortunately Adair bowled his worst 3 overs in the last 5 years after the break, giving R-P some hope.

However, this was quickly ended by JC, who continued with his mesmerising swing, and Julian, who replaced Adair. It is a pleasure watching a man with 91 1st Grade wickets on the comeback trail after working so hard to get there. Julian’s presence definitely raised the aura and the potency of the Wolf Pack.

Logan Weston guides one behind point 

JC finished with 2/11, Adair with 2/39 and Julian with the totally unflattering figures of 0/44, after being touched up by the R-P No. 10 when the game was virtually over.

Unlike BG’s batting, his bowling has improved to superlative levels of maturity, awareness and skill. His new level of triathlon fitness has provided him with an extra yard of pace. His skill and maturity has enabled him to bowl with both consistency, in terms of line and length, and variation, in terms of speed and spin. His awareness and maturity has enabled him to bowl this variation at the right times and without fear. His match figures of 2/17 are in no way due to luck, and neither are his season figures of 28 at 13.43.

Kurt only bowled one over in this match, for 17 runs! The club’s premier leg spinner openly admits he is not bowling at the phenomenal level shown in 1st grade earlier in the year. This is unfortunate as I am told he is bowling with exceptional consistency and spin in the nets. However, excellent form is only a spell away. Fortunately his gutsy batting and enthusiastic fielding provide significant contribution to the team’s success.

The 5th of the weekend’s bowlers, Blair, once again displayed his all-round cricketing prowess. His left-arm orthodox bowling was handy last year but has moved to consistently dangerous this year. Confidence and maturity seem to be the key ingredients to his 3/30 and season figures of 7 at 17.71. His flight and spin constantly tests the batsman’s nerve and skill.

Justin Avendano hits out

It is also important to mention that Craig once again displayed his consistent prowess with a faultless display behind the stumps, this round’s highlight being his swift stumping off Blair’s bowling.

So that is my brief summary of the situation in 2nd grade, in the context of primarily the last round and also of the season. Looking forward, a win against Parramatta virtually assures our place in the finals. A loss virtually assures our place out of the finals.

Adair Durie

The round us ‘quicks’ fear the most. The Saturday/ Sunday double header. And there are two this season! There had been a bit of rain around during the week, which gave me a little inspiration for the upcoming round. I was, however, rearing to go after a cheeky Friday night/Saturday morning team meeting at ‘Cargo.’ ‘Cargo’ apparently is sponsoring this match report and every time I get the name ‘Cargo’ into it, there’s a free drink for our next team meeting.

Blair Lindsay askes some questions of the Bankstown batsmen

So after realizing the time, we all left ‘Cargo’ and went straight to the game. Turns out when we got there, we had to sit around and wait for the pitch to dry. Now, I don’t understand why this happens? And I can say this now because we did win the toss. However it is widely known that my best batting is done on a grassy top <insert picture of James Campbell batting> Oh, we don’t have one. Who’s running this club’?

But I didn’t have to think about my batting till later. And this morning it would be Adair and my opportunity to make the ball talk. Adair was so excited that we were bowling he had polished a whole bottle of Savignon just as the Umpires said they were heading out. With a blood alcohol level of about 80% wine, 20% silliness, Adair marched out to the crease, leaving a fresh bottle down at the fine leg boundary.

Adair finished the innings with 5/13. His deliveries were a combination of the ‘spinning Kong, hand slap, head butt, giant punch, and Konga beat,’ which we know and love of Adair. For those that haven’t played as the character DK in Smash Brothers don’t worry. But don’t read on. The innings lasted 27 overs. Adair was still drunk when we came off.

He walked off the field and hopped onto his exercise bike. He has a deep connection with his bike. Ask Justin Avendano. Adair had lost 20 kilos some years back in an extremely intense exercise regime. Don’t picture K-Fed doing star-jumps to Kylie Minogue’s ‘Let’s Get Physical’.

Not only did we not get a photo of James Campbell batting, but with their demolition of the Bulldogs, we didn't get a photo of him or Adair bowling! Here is the skipper instead.

What a farce these weight loss programs are. Instead get inspiration from Adair who, with a whole lot of grape squashing, extreme scootering and barrel rolling can now fit into those boat shoes he so wanted for Christmas. Don’t pretend that you don’t know the ones I’m talking about. They have bells connected to their amazing tassels. And yes shoes, he had chubby feet.

But his feet he could rest for awhile. We were batting. ‘JA’ Avendano was the only promising sign from the top order. He really showed that he could score runs on a problematic wicket. There was one other scorer that reached double figures but that was from an old timer and he will not be mentioned. He continually gets my name wrong and he never goes out of his way to pick me up even when he’s playing in a different team. Speaking of lifts, you don’t understand how great it is having Elliot Richtor back in the team.

Enter the lower order. This is where the story should really begin. Because these guys really have talent. Pure talent. Not the kind of stuff moulded by hundreds of throw downs. We don’t need to study videos of correct batting techniques. No. We are ‘thoroughbreds.’ Yes there are some glitches in our techniques, but that’s why we are inconsistent. And that’s why when we are at the crease, everyone is on the edge of their seats. Anything can happen. Yes I am talking about Craig, Kurt and yours truly. We made it look easy. Did I mention it was on a green deck.

Special mention must be given to Roughly. It’s tough to say it I know. I mean he lives out west and he sometimes goes to the Flinders, but he loves to share. And we all know about the culture here at Gordon. Sharing is what we do best. Why do you think me and Jordan Liddle are having such a great time on a team full of ‘in a relationship’ type guys. And we get the full age spectrum as well, starting with JA and through to Craig.

But I was talking about that sort of sharing with Roughly I was talking about his ability to share stories. I mean a story is usually followed with someone retorting ‘classic Roughly.’ Each story contains a deeper meaning, and Roughers will tell the story to you over and over until you finally understand it. I dare you to ask him about his story about his socks.

Speaking of socks, a man who loves Capri pants and showing a great deal of sock on the cricket field, Adair Durie. It was after his demise that the pitch had flattened up. This was as soon as he got out, because I had definitely batted on a green deck. And obviously it was easier to score runs on this wicket now. We were back in the field and bowling again. The bowlers all toiled hard but wickets were slow coming. My mind began drifting...

At some point I was imagining being at Killara, I had heard ‘Missy’ Higgins and Harry ‘Turntables’ Turner were batting together. When those two meet at the crease a conch is sounded. A subtle sound to some, yet for others, they know what’s up; that two incredible males have come together, and will dominate the ball in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible.

Lucky Missy is great talisman of words, his imagery has spoilt me. But seeing that partnership in the flesh. Words cannot describe.

Where was I, were we talking about cricket?

Not a whole lot happened in the end. They sent us in with a late declaration. Jordan Liddle did very well bludgeoning a quick 70 odd. This almost put us in with a chance, which would have been embarrassing for the Bankstown captain who had left us chasing 160 off 19 around 8 an over to get. Overall good win, we are back in the top 6! Bring on 4 free drinks at ‘Cargo’ this Friday, I mean 5. And bring on Randwick this Saturday.

James Campbell

The second grade report is sponsored by:

At Chatswood Headquarters, spectators and supporters from various parts: local, deep south, distant north, and far west, arrived looking forward to a relaxing day of socialising, as well as some entertaining cricket action, were disappointed that the only action was Gordon’s skipper, Ben Garratt, winning the toss.

Adair Durie continues to lead the attack for his skipper

Instead of willow and leather colliding on the pitch, it was thunder and lightning from above, and rain pelting down.

Possibly the supporters from the far western regions were not too disappointed, as their team holds the upper hand on the competition table. Prospects of play were not looking too positive as Chatswood Oval became water-logged, but after four hours of dressing room games and spectator ramblings of suicide like exploits on the F3, the rain finally eased.

A start to play still seemed unlikely, but with Adair quietly encouraging the umpires to reluctantly leave their slumbering in the lounge area, and with the probable next curator at the SCG, Logan Weston, working magnificently on the super sopper, the umpires kindly deemed play to start at 2.45 pm with a 25 over aside game. Finally, the action we had all been waiting for was about to unfold.

Campbelltown is sent in to bat and what a start, with Adair “Any One For Red” Durie snaring a wicket with the third ball of the innings. The Gordon bowlers kept it very tight, with accurate bowling backed up by energetic fielding and some top catching behind the wicket. The Campbelltown innings, with wickets falling regularly, was never allowed to get into full stride. The Captain rotated his bowlers well and Blair “AB” Lindsay helped out with some tidy overs. However, at 6 for 107 after 21 overs on a wet outfield, the Ghosts had runs on the board and wickets in hand for a final onslaught. Captain Ben “the bowler of the moment” Garratt had other ideas.

Benny Garratt, Craig Thornborough and James Campbell & Logan Weston all contributed heavily

After bowling three tight overs, B.G. had a wicket with the first ball of his fourth over, thanks to an outstanding running catch on the boundary by James “it’s all in the technique” Campbell. Next ball, Campbelltown’s top scorer got an edge and was caught behind by a smart catch to Craig “keeper” Thornborough, to bring his tally to two after his brilliant first diving catch off Adair.

Two balls, two wickets. The pressure is on.

Ben bowls and the ball is hit hard back high to Ben’s left: a return chance; Ben dives: juggles three times, finally snaring the catch. A hat trick!! Congratulations. The skipper has now taken 15 wickets from his last 17.2 overs. This is from a skipper who regularly needed encouragement to bowl himself in games. A great effort. Next over, Elliot Richtor bowls the final Campbelltown batsman. All out for 112. All bowlers contributed with fine spells with Adair Durie 3 for 22, James Campbell 3 for 13, Ben “hat-trick” Garratt 3 for 12, and Elliot Richtor 1 for 18, sharing the honours.

A small total to get, a top batting line-up, get a good start and a win should not be a big problem, but with a wet outfield, dodgy batting conditions against a good bowling line-up, and Gordon 2’s penchant for the dramatic, nothing is certain.

Gordon got off to a good start with Jordan Liddle and Brett “The Flasher” Rosen building steadily against tight bowling. An opening partnership of 31 off 6 when Brett falls. A solid start. Blair “Cuddles” Lindsay has a rare failure with the bat. No worries. Plenty in reserve. Justin Avendano, B.G. and Jordan after a well compiled 29, soon follow victims of good bowling and a pitch that is obviously bowler friendly.

5 for 73, no need to panic. Elliot Richtor is still there and batting well, and Logan “The Curator” Weston is coming in. Oh crap! Elliot is out. 6 for 77.

The far westerners are starting to smile. Could be a long trip home south for others, Harbour Bridge closed, tunnel clogged, bugger it. Experience needed. Keeper in. A partnership please. Logan plays out a maiden. 5 overs left, 36 runs to get. Tension and runs steadily mount.

James Campbell partners with Adair Durie to cause a top-order collapse

Andrew Falk, a steady hand on the scoreboard, but I think I detect a slight quiver in the fingers though. A partnership at last, we reach 100. Sit still Manuel. Craig falls. Oh, why do they do it to us old blokes?

Kurt is run out: 8 for 104.

Mark “The Paparazzi” Weston is having trouble staying focused while, at the table, tiny pearls of sweat stain the scorebook as Dickie’s grip on his pencil tightens.

J.C. comes in, a level head and a technique to match. Logan pulls, a certain boundary. Oh no! He has punctured the square leg umpire. One run instead of four. The umpire claims he has never been hit in 40 years of umpiring. Why now? 8 for 105.

One over left. Curator, it is up to you. First ball: 4. Second ball: 2. Third ball: Logan skies it, fielder runs back and drops it. 2 runs and it is all over. A win that was never in doubt. Well played Logan. Congratulations again skipper. Well played Gordon 2’s. Can’t wait until next Saturday.

The Spectator

Benny Garratt celebrates his hat-trick!! Congratulations!!

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We headed out west to Blacktown for round 10 of the competition. With the Team coming off a good win last week against Hawkesbury with both batting and bowling performing well we were confident that we could pull off another win.

Skipper, Ben Garratt - "Double 'R', Double 'T', Two 'A's" - takes six wickets for his side  

With a pointless 5km warm up run around Joe Mcaleer we were sent into bat on what looked to be a good wicket. Jordan got off the mark 1st ball but 3 balls later Justin hit one to short mid wicket for 0. Blair batted beautifully with Jordan and put on a good partnership of 73, both Batsmen looked solid at the crease playing lovely cover drives for 4 and putting away the loose ball.

Jordon fell on 27 and soon after Blair 40 and Ben 7 and Logan 8 all fell cheaply and at 5 for 134 we needed someone in the middle order to get us a total to defend and henry batted well for 33. 

Losing 9 for 83 there’s not much to talk about with most batsman falling cheaply hitting the ball in the air in front of the wicket. The deck was a bit slow and we didn’t play to the conditions.

With the bowlers feeling confident after last week’s performance, defending 158 was going to be hard work. 

Henry Carmichael shows his worth as an all-rounder 

Early wickets were going to be key and JC did this by picking up the opening bat to a good catch in the slips by Jordan. Adair and James bowled very tight and were not leaking runs. Ben and Henry took over from the openers and were brilliant.

Ben 6 for 28 bowled good lines and changed his pace to claim the Blacktown wickets. Henry 1 for 20 built up a lot of pressure and was unlucky not to pick up more wickets. Blair again bowling his handy spin in the middle of the innings picking up 1 for 18 did a great job. Once again all the bowlers put in a big effort to defend 158 to bowl out Blacktown for 133.

Big mention must go to BG picking up another 6fa. He has assessed the wicket in both games and his clever change of pace working perfectly on the slow wickets.

We have to keep performing when we get back to the longer format of the game to have a chance of making finals again.

Justin "Superstar" Avendano

Isn’t it great to be back in the winner’s circle!!!  

After a near miss against our neighbours Northern Districts before Christmas, the Gordon 2nd XI boys regrouped and produced a comprehensive win against the Hawks in the shorter form of the game.

Ben Garratt - Hardest man in the club?

With Captain Garratt “2 ayyyy’s, 2 arrrrr’s and 2 teeee’s pleeeease” winning the toss, the boys sent the opposition in on a good looking deck. With our warm up complete (which now includes a full lap because it’s what men do) the boys were underway with a top start by Adair and JC (1/17off 4) bowling tight which saw an early wicket to Jimmy.

A partnership threatened to ruin our plans but a double bowling change by the skip bringing himself and the 20/20 specialist spinner Blair Lindsay on, saw a double breakthrough. Ben "BG" Garratt provided his team with a 20/20 bowling master class with a mixture of cutters and yorkers and even turning a few leggies much to the delight of our fluorescent haired spinner now known as “Big Wheels” (Kurt Roughley) who also must be commended for his strong performance with 1-22).

Another wicket to BG and the Hawkesbury bats continued to struggle against some economical bowling by the Stags. Regular wickets fell in clumps which as we learnt in our previous 20/20 encounter, put the bowling side on the offensive. Here the boys were able to capitalise on some poor shot selection by the opposition and with more poles going towards the swing king Garratt in the last over and strong out fielding performances by Logan “Gus Logie” Weston and Henry “I drive to Richmond to field” Carmichael, the Hawks were dismissed for 103.

Special mention to Benny finishing with the amazing figures of 6 for 13 off 4 overs and debutant Max Newman behind the stumps in his first 2nd grade game, who was not overawed by the jump in the grades and showed us that he can mix it with the best at this level with a tidy performance.

The job was only half finished... or so we thought. Justin Avendano (27) opened with Jordan Liddle (48*) and both played with such confidence and power that yours truly began to purchase paddle pops ‘on tap’ from the lovely Hawkesbury tuckshop lady, what a vixen! The boys made the most of the fielding restrictions in the first 6 overs with the cricket superstar campaigner showing some favouritism to the Hawkesbury spinner. A well rounded partnership of 55 in just 8 overs set the foundation and when Justin was dismissed going hard at the ball, the left handed Missy lookalike (Jordan Liddle) and Blair “Afridi” Lindsay (31*) brought the boys home in the 16th over with an easy victory.

Lets continue this form boys!!!

Chad Soper

Match report from Brett Rosen

Being the first 20/20 match for yours truly this was an interesting game for me. Only three hours of play with a one hour warm up. Excessive?? Probably not as it turns out. It seemed to me that the plans would be simple. Bowl 20 overs for as few runs as possible in the first innings or if we bat the belt hell out of the thing until we have as many runs as we could possible cram in to 20 overs. One of those proved to be correct. 

Blair Lindsay hits out during his 30.

We bowled better than I could have hoped with all bowlers excelling and possible only Adair to be singled out for yet another 3 wickets. Field placings were astute and the fielding some our best since I joined the team. All in all bowling Northern Districts out for 102 in 19.3 Ii thought was brilliant and as good as you could hope for. In retrospect I should have hoped for better. We started our run chase without doing anything crazy against one of the better bowling attacks going around 2nd grade.

The top five batsmen stayed composed and being about 3 for 60 after about 11 overs we looked to be in exactly the position we wanted. Blair Lindsay was comfortably the pick of the bats. It took a good catch from their keeper to get rid of him. Unfortunately this is where it fell apart for the Stags. Between some good bowling and a middle order unable to keep out the good balls and take advantage of the first half of the innings we were soon dismissed almost 20 runs short in what should have been a relatively simple run chase.  

 

Blair Lindsay, Ed Howitt and Jordan Liddle in action against ND's

One more of these games to get through then bring on the real cricket as us older blokes know it. Many more points to come for seconds after Chrissy. Time for a break before we really get stuck in at the start of 2012.   

Second Grade scores

Northern Districts 102 (Blair Lindsay 2 for 13, Ed Howitt 2 for 15) defeated Gordon 83 (Blair Lindsay 30)

Brett Rosen

Round 7 against Penrith was a must-win game if GDCC 2^nd Grade were to have any realistic chance of emulating or improving upon last year's achievement. To the team's credit, both the bowling and batting were to the task.

The wicket was clearly to the batsmen's advantage but the morning humidity made the decision to bowl easy.

Brett Rosen hits one through cover

Accurate off-side and good length bowling of James “Els, can you take this catch” Campbell, Adair “I don’t catch well on my left” Durie, Chad “My pectorals are sore from benching” Soper, Ben “My last year’s bowling figures are better than yours” Garratt and Ed “508,next...” Howitt forced Penrith to 6/113 after 35 overs, heading for a score of around 160-170. Ed’s off-spin was a harmonious addition to the usual pressure exerted by the 2^nd Grade “Wolf Pack”.

However, fine hitting from Penrith’s Number 8 (Betros - 70 from 39) and Number 7 (Pradhan – 45 from 49) taught us the difference between half-volley and block-hole / yorker. All bowlers except James “I’m the more accurate but a tad slower” Campbell were hit over the boundary during Penrith’s flurry to 7/218 in the 47^th over. More typical scoring resumed for the final overs after the Betros dismissal as Penrith finished at 9/237 off 50 overs. It is worth noting the 3 catches by Craig “Who cares about a few broken fingers” Thornborough including one caught behind up at the stumps off Ben.

GDCC’s innings began with Logan “What comes after the 20’s” Weston and Jordie “Thanks selectors, now how do I know when to shave” Liddle looking extremely comfortable. The first ball that seemed to trouble either of them removed Logan for 19 off 25, caught in the slips. For whatever it is worth, there was a pleasing aspect of control to Logan’s innings. Jordie too continued with control and authority, also disappointing both himself and all spectators when out lbw for 32 off 41. Both these batsmen have improved significantly over the past few rounds and a much larger score is nearby.

Brett “I have given up thinking when I am batting” Rosen again was the star of the innings. His power without needing to take to the air was impressive.

Chad Soper in action on Saturday

Being bowling by a straight one on 72 off 66 was not so impressive, but his partnership of 81 with Ben “I still actually can loft over the off” Garratt, taking the score from 70 to 151, was the foundation of GDCC’s victory. However we were not able to complete the task without raising the blood pressure of the lower order.

Ben “All these old people are diminishing my authority” Garratt was joined only briefly by Harry “I can talk as much silliness as Kong” Turner and then formed a 39-run partnership with Henry “These second graders are an unusual bunch” Carmichael, the partnership taking the score from 165 to 204, until Ben skyed a rank full-toss, out for 58 off 83.

With 7 overs remaining and requiring 5 runs per over for victory, Henry and Chad quickly but clinically finished the game in the next 4 overs, Henry finishing with 27 off 29 and Chad 22 off 17, and their partnership 36 not out.

This was a critical yet satisfying win after last round’s debacle. It places us 6 points out of the Top 6, although with a serious quotient deficiency.

This game was also a timely segue to the next 2 matches with both of these being 20/20s. Although both the batting and the bowling have improved, the batmen still need to keep concentration to extend their innings and craft more damaging partnerships, while the bowlers need to more readily consider the slower ball against premeditated big-hitting and bowl the yorker with more precision if it is going to be attempted. Bring on the Hit & Giggle!

Ben Garratt, Chad Soper and Henry Carmichael helped to get us a win on the weekend 

Adair Durie

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