 4th Grade retain Mal Hall Memorial Trophy
After an excellent outright victory against Blacktown last weekend, the 4ths arrived at Killara with the knowledge that victory against Manly would secure a place in the semi-finals. The removal of the covers took up much of the pre-match action and left enough time for a standard run and stretch. After what appeared to be a tactical late arrival by Jack Hammond, Iqbal discovered that he does in fact have a job.
Cubbage finishes off the innings
Once Effeney’s groin powder had been liberally applied, ‘Wacko Jacko’ realised that it was not a two-day game and a pale Cubbage had come to grips with the fact that it was shaping up to be one of the hottest Saturdays of the season, Gordon took to the field. Iqbal was so surprised by the outcome of the toss that he decided to send Manly in.
The Gordon quicks bowled well early but with little luck. Chad Soper found the only breakthrough with a great ball that clipped off-stump.
"Inzie" Ahmed threw down his leg-breaks on an unusually grassy Killara pitch that wasn’t offering much for the spinners, bowling out his 10 overs for a very tight 2-33. Cubby also left his mark (in more ways than one), taking 2 wickets and increasing the moisture content of the Killara outfield on a few occasions.
With Manly lifting the tempo, courtesy of some powerful blows by their captain late in the innings, Jimmy Campbell and Pat Effeney responded with some great stump-to-stump bowling. The last five Manly wickets fell quickly, and the Stags' aim of restricting their run chase to fewer than 200 was accomplished. Jimmy finished with what could only be described as the disappointing figures of 3-21, a far cry of what he is capable of producing. (He is on a hat-trick though)
 The loss of two early wickets in the Gordon innings didn’t faze Cubby and Guy "Hicksy" Hicks, who punished the loose Manly bowling from the outset with a great display of controlled hitting. Both reached their half centuries in rapid time and combined for a hundred-plus partnership that ensured the Mal Hall Memorial Trophy would proudly remain in Gordon hands for the ninth consecutive year.
A typically dominating Guy Hicks dispatches another to the fence
Consecutive wides ended the game in the 30th over and saw the Stags into the finals. It also brought Manly’s total sundries to 27, a figure their captain felt could bring him to an early (or earlier) retirement.
The 4ths take on first place finishers Randwick-Petersham next weekend.
Admission to the ground is free.
Gordon 3-199 (Guy Hicks 76*, Adam Cubbage 62, Harry Turner 21*) defeated Manly 198 (Jimmy Campbell 3-21, Pat Effeney 2-33, Iqbal Ahmed 2-33, Adam Cubbage 2-62, Chad Soper 1-37) with one bonus point
Harry Turner | 
