 2nd Grade Report vs Blacktown – Day 1
The reserve graders turned up at Joe Macleer Oval knowing we had to keep winning to keep our finals hopes alive.
Jules is certain that he has picked up an early wicket!
On a slightly soft and damp pitch, Nick Dowsley (Digger) won the toss and chose to have a bowl. Jules and Adair "Judge" Durie started off well, beating the bat numerous times before Jules struck twice before drinks.
Our standard of bowling was top notch as the Blacktown batsmen were constantly playing and missing...
After drinks James "JK" Kennedy came on and quickly learnt that bowling short wasn’t his length. After this, he found his line and, like the openers, he beat the bat a lot and showed us why he is becoming a good second grade bowler. The “Praying Mantis” finished with 2/23 from 13 including 8 maidens.
Digger this season has emphasised to get at least one run out a game. A brilliant piece of fielding with a pick up and direct hit from Blair Lindsay saw Blacktown’s best batsmen well short of his ground and this saw the home team struggling at 5-60 at lunch.
After lunch Judgie (4-24) bowled tightly after being frustrated from not getting a wicket in the first session. Along side Judgie was Cheadle (1 wicket) who bowled well and was unlucky not to get more with the lower order batsmen swinging for the hills and getting away with it. At this point in time down came the “Chevans” (Cheadle and Evans) fan club to get some snap shots of both them in action. Good timing Tony.
The only disappointment was that it took an hour to get the last 2 wickets and the last pair added 30 runs.
 A mention has to go to the standard of fielding displayed in the last few games. It has been flawless with all catches being taken, runs being stopped in the ring and we have picked up our goal of a couple of run outs.
A calmer looking Judge after having his efforts rewarded with 4 wickets
After tea Evans and Blair Lindsay came out chasing the score of 136 with 36 overs left till the end of play. The talk was to play normally and let the runs come, and if we got the runs required before the end of play that would be a bonus. Both the openers fell early. However Digger and Ben "BG" Garratt steadied the ship and put us back on track. Digger (16) fell with half an hour to go. Elliot Richtor fell quickly, but Jack Ritchie supported BG well with some classy plonks. Unfortunately he fell with an over to go but Eccles and BG saw the day out.
BG batted superbly, batting the way he normally does by picking the right ball to hit over the top. He has been the stand out 2nd grade bat all year and will continue to add to his runs tally as we look to push for the win and get a lead over Blacktown’s 136.
It was a great day for the reserve graders and they will push for the win next week and 10 points could be there for the taking.
Scores
Gordon 5-127 (Ben Garratt 68*, Nick Dowsley 16) vs Blacktown 136 (Adair Durie 4-24 off 16.2 overs, Julian Stephenson 2-21 off 15 overs, James Kennedy 2-26 off 13 overs).
Elliot Richtor | 
