Stobo Salute v Sutherland
Sorry for no Salute last round; been away. Doing adventure travel! Papua New Guinea and the Solomons.
Which leads me to a brief history lesson, so pay attention.
 Among other things, we were able to visit the graves of the first two Australians killed in the Great War – Able Seaman Billy Williams (pictured right) and Captain Brian Pockley (pictured left), a doctor, raised in Killara. Both are buried at the Bita Paka war cemetery, about 50km from Rabaul, in New Britain.
 They were both part of the Australian Expeditionary Force sent to New Guinea to deal with a German wireless station at Herbertshoe, in September 1914, seven months before the ANZAC’s landing at Gallipoli.
A little known action, but very significant in Australia’s military history.
But a long way from cricket matches against Sutherland.
I always enjoyed playing Sutherland. They had some very fine players, but we seemed to have good success against them over the years.
 However, more importantly, they were one of the most social clubs that we used to come across, despite being from a long way over the Bridge. Justin Kenny, Mark Chapman, Johnny Dyson, Mark Gardner, Kevin Tuite, Len Pascoe, Steve Rixon, Dave ‘The Doc’ Givney (is he still playing???)… always good value both on and off the field.
John Dyson in his role with Sri Lankan cricket
It was also a club that I seemed to have some lucky days against, but none moreso than a particular Saturday in November 1988, when we were playing them at Chatswood.
Sutherland, with a strong batting line-up (including Kenny, Dyson, Davison, Weatherall and Rixon), batted first on a wicket that was a little damp, and reached 2-50 or so.
 I then began an over from the southern end that was the most remarkable of my entire cricket career.
The first ball, to Rod Davison – a left-handed batsman who I regarded very highly – was a dot. The second was short, and Rod hooked it towards the visitors’ changing rooms.
By every measure it should have been a four, and only just shy of six.
Rod Davidson mis-timing another hook shot - its was a clever Stobo plan all along
But for Jamie Bray.
Fielding at fine leg, he ran a reasonable distance, and dived full length, along the gutter line, to hold on to a gutsy, fabulous catch.
Rather than 0-4, the over was now 1-0.
 The third ball, to Phil Weatherall, was fended to Michael Cant in close, and he held the catch.
Steve Rixon faced the fourth ball, and played all around it, to be bowled for the hat trick.
Happy days.
Steve Rixon - How could you? A hat-trick for Stobo?
Then ‘Jack’ Horner came in, left the fifth ball, but fended the last ball of the over to Canty, once again at short leg. Four wickets in the last five balls of the over.
It was extraordinary.
Jamie Bray’s effort illustrates how little difference there can be between success and failure in cricket.
I imagine that there was pandemonium in the Sutherland rooms, with pads and bats going everywhere, and not long afterwards John Dyson declared Sutherland’s innings closed, with the score on 7-70 odd.
I never understood it. But then I never really understood Dyso.
We passed the score without much of a problem, and went to build a large first innings lead. And I got very drunk that night.
We also played Sutherland in one of the two games played in Sydney Grade with an orange ball – which rapidly became a gungy brown colour – at Caringbah Oval. We held on to win, nine wickets down, in fading light. Mark Aldridge saw us home, I think.
Caringbah was always a terrific place to bowl; fast and bouncy but evenly paced. You felt the keeper stood further back at Caringbah than most other places.
A memorable weekend at down at Sutherland saw Michael Falk, Emery, Bruce Adlam and me stay at the Cronulla Workers’ Club in the middle of a Saturday/Sunday game.
 It was 1983-84 season and, as the older statesman, Falkie was in charge.
He didn’t do much of a job.
An even older statesman but still in the creams for Gordon (24* this week in the spritely Colts team)
My memories of the night are very hazy, mainly because of the enormous amount of alcohol that we consumed, but I do seem to remember that Bruce lost his ATM card (only a new invention in those days) as he repeatedly tried to punch his telephone number in, and the machine eventually said that enough was enough, and ate it.
Somehow we managed to turn up the next morning, survive the day in the field, and win on first innings.
God knows how.
We did get on very well with the Sutherland boys, but we also did a bastard of a thing to them one season at Killara. Having been in a bit of trouble early on, Steve Day and Kevin Roberts put together a massive unbroken partnership of nearly 300 to see us strongly placed at the end of the first day.
We turned up on Day 2, and couldn’t help but notice that Sutherland’s entire warm up consisted of throw downs to the top order batsmen. We put our heads together, and worked out that they probably expected us to declare.
So we didn’t.
How angry were they?! Steve and Kevin batted on for another 15 or 20 minutes.
And then we declared.
The Sutherland boys were ropeable. And understandably.
But it did the trick.
Justin Kenny tried to smash the first ball of the innings as hard as he could through point, only to be caught behind. And so it went. Six points to the Stags.
 Many years later, after playing a 3rd Grade game against Sutherland at Killara, I was having a drink with JK and his brother, Gavin, when they reminded me of the day ‘…that Gordon batted on …’
Clearly the scars ran deep.
Good luck on Day 2 lads, after a great first day in 1st Grade on Day 1. Well done, Dylan, on the six wicket haul; a great return, well deserved.
The modern day workhorse in action
Now keep your heads down, and finish the job in style.
Stobo | 
