 Third Grade journeyed to Cook Park to take on Penrith in Round 7.
Wet creases at both ends of the pitch were a cause of concern for the delivery stride of the bowlers, however, the Stags were keen for a game, considering the RTA profited around $200 in tolls from us. Dylan was the only person pleased about this. Cheers Dyl.
Senior and Missy greeted each other with their usual friendly exchange. After a three hour delay, the ground was fit to play, and both sides would contest for the six points with 42 overs each.
It was strange not having Hoppa skipper the side, however, Damon is a more than competent replacement. Often when there is a long delay prior to a match, it’s hard to keep focused. Reg mentally prepared the team in a positive frame of mind to play cricket, and stamped his authority in regular fashion by stating: “the days of static stretching are over.” Apparently static stretching can be more harm than good, as it causes the muscle to tighten rather than relax. Can someone pass this onto Marcus?
We unfortunately lost a toss that had a major influence on the outcome of the game. Nonetheless, we were sent in on a wicket that had a bit of life to it. Kris “I’m tougher than Steve AND Jack” Colley was impressive. His technique and patience were clearly up to the bowling and conditions that were in front of him. Kris ended up with 14 after batting for 52 minutes, but this was not a true reflection of his contribution. Higgins was subject to yet another great decision. Don’t think he would have reviewed it anyway. Maybe check the no-ball?
 At 4-32, we were in a bit of danger. Taity was joined by Cubbage at the crease, who were both well aware of the situation at hand. They managed to deflate the chests of Lalor and Gott (good blokes) to ‘get’ us back into a decent position through some sensible batting, and some hard fought runs. Tjaard “I played school cricket against Vernon Philander” Tait finished with a well made 25. Cubby was run out soon after on 23, however provided a solid platform in the course of those middle overs, so the lower order could accumulate some vital runs with wickets in hand. We finished on 9-116 off our 42 overs. The slow and large outfield at Cook meant this total was more respectable than it looked, and definitely something to defend.
Jules took the new rock and was threatening until he pulled up a bit tight at the end of his third. James “I got an extra 5 litres of petrol” Kidd put the ball in the right areas, but was unlucky to go wicketless with a couple of decisions not in his favour. At 0-50 we were behind the 8-ball, but we continued to toil away and apply pressure to the Penrith batting line-up. Pat “I can name 10 players in the NRL that wear headgear” Effeney continued where he left off from his second spell against Wests. Pat has been in some good form recently, and is consistently swinging the ball. His figures were 2-18 off 8.
Reg then decided to take the pace off the ball by calling upon Adam “I vote on the Vodafone viewers choice” Cubbage. From his first set, we all new Cubby was on song. 3-100 soon became 7-109. Cubby was backed up by some classy fielding to assist him in taking 4 wickets. Chris “I bat in a long sleeve because I lost my short sleeve in round 1” Retallick was a magnet to the ball, and snared 2 catches. Livermore then took a full stretch cracker at square leg. That’s right everybody. I haven’t seen Reg move this fast since the last time free samples were given out at Lane Cove Fitness First. Julian “take me off your text list” Stephenson then followed suit with a screamer in first slip diving low to his left. At 7-109 the pressure was well and truly on, but we couldn’t manage to finish them off, despite the risky shots from the Panthers lower order. Our total off 116 was passed with 6 overs to spare. The third grade stags found themselves on the wrong side of some decisions, and although we came away with no points, there were plenty of positives to take out of that fixture. Thanks to Senior and Paul Stephenson for scoring and managing the team.
Tom Beverley
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