 2nd Grade Annual Report
Cricket, like most sports, is a rollercoaster ride. There are ups and downs within each over, each match and over the whole season. In 5th position with one match to go and an undefeated run going back until before Christmas, 2nd grade was very much at the peak of the ride, sitting pretty and ready to take the finals head on. Unfortunately, a poor performance at the last hurdle, playing Manly at Chatswood, sent us plummeting downhill, finishing one place out of the finals in 7th. Ironically, the team who replaced us in the top 6, Sydney University, went on to win the competition.
The 2nd Grade skipper in action for the club
Nevertheless, looking back on the season, one can only smile with pride at the performance and maturity the team showed throughout the year. The make-up of the team was remarkably different from the perhaps underachieving second graders of previous seasons, as many experienced players left for trips around the world or new clubs. In round 1 versus Penrith, there was only 1 player who had played in the final game of the previous season, the young captain, Nick Dowsley. The influx of youth, the young captain and significantly less high grade experience had many expecting the season to be one of 'development' or 'rebuilding'. In the end, I believe the youthful exuberance and self confidence of the team was what helped us reach the heights and success that we did.
The remarkable achievement for a team full of inexperience was the performance against the top sides. We played four out of the six teams who played finals, winning against Mosman, Easts and Campbelltown-Camden and drawing in a strong position against Randwick-Petersham.
We began the season win, loss, win, loss. Comprehensive wins against Penrith and North Sydney were contrasted by the comprehensive defeats against Fairfield-Liverpool and Northern Districts. Highlights were Ben Garratt’s 100 against North Sydney, his first in 2nd Grade. After this he was coined the ‘new BG’ for his style of batting. Some of his youthful bravado was replaced by a newer, more mature batsman with a broader range of shots and much more patience. His 122 came off 231 balls, a feat the 'new BG' called 'boring', but to the rest of us this illustrated the maturity of a young player. He was ably supplrted by Elliott Richtor who scored 85 in one of his many impressive and composed innings for the season. Adair Durie’s 7 wickets against North Sydney and an economical 2 wickets against Penrith were also highlights. His performances throughout the year belied his age as he made a successful return to the higher grades.
The topsy turvy form in early games was the sign of a young team getting to know each other and their roles. From this point on, we were much more consistent. After a wash out in round 5, we recorded a comprehensive win in round 6 against Campbelltown-Camden. Stand-in skipper Julian Stephenson led the way with 4 wickets as we dismissed Campbelltown for 77. Then, in a rain affected match against the strong Easts side, we recorded a fantastic win after having our backs to the wall. Matt Jones was the hero, pulling us from the brink at 6-86 to chase down the total of 191 in a 33-over game with 2 balls to spare. His undefeated 58 off 48 balls showed great composure and maturity (as much as his “hoicks” on the leg side showed class). He followed this up with another fine performance against Parramatta, scoring 68 in a somewhat tumultuous affair. Along with 58 from Elliott Richtor, we were easily able to chase down a target of 158. The performance of the two quicks, Julian Stephenson and Gareth Wright was penonenal in restricting Parramatta to this total. They took 6 and 4 wickets respectively and bowled 50 out of the 71 overs bowled in the innings.
Our final game before Christmas was against St George. Bowling first on a flat wicket at Chatswood is never easy, but thanks to a fine performance from Chris Archer, who took 5-68, we restricted them to 321. He showed his full potential after many promising signs in early games. His accuracy and variation was combined with new-found drift and proved too troublesome. Unfortunately despite similar batting conditions on Day 2, we fell 60 runs short. Nick Dowsley (74) was the last batsman dismissed and anchored the team, but unfortunately wasn’t provided enough support to reach the target.
 Post Christmas began a great run of form. The match against Wests was abandoned when we were in a winnable position thanks to a huge wet patch on a good length on day two. Next, we played a strong Randwick-Petersham side and posted 394. An impressive performance from new opening pair Harry Evans and Blair Lindsay saw us score 148 before losing the first wicket. Ben Garratt and Reece Bombas then continued the run scoring in the afternoon sessions. Ben scored his second century of the season (106no) and Reece fell just short. Unfortunately, despite the hard toil on Day 2, we were only able to take 7 wickets and the game ended a draw. Ben Garratt undid much of his fine effort on the previous week by locking the team out of the changerooms at lunch – the 20 or so minutes of play lost could well have proven decisive!
Recent recruit, Blair Lindsay, with willow in hand
Next we had three straight wins against Sydney, Mosman and Blacktown. Harry Evans' 49* to anchor the team against Sydney in tough conditions showed maturity beyond his years and augurs well for the future, especially combined with his very impressive wicket keeping throughout the season. In an innings of class and timing against a strong bowling attack, Reece Bombas scored his first century (109) in grade cricket against top of the table Mosman. Thanks to a season-best all round bowling performance we were able to defend our total of 244 - Adair Durie, Gareth Wright, James Kennedy and Chris Archer were the only four bowlers required and all bowled a perfect mix of aggression and containment to never allow Mosman into the game. Worthy of special note is the vast improvement shown by James Kennedy during the season - as his confidence grows he will no doubt be a greater force in this grade and higher. In the next match against Blacktown, Ben Garratt scored 78* whilst other batsman were dismissed around him in chasing down a small target. The small target was thanks to 4 wickets from Adair Durie.
And then came the final game against Manly... A win would guarantee a finals berth, a loss and we would be very much reliant on other results. The decision to bat first may well have been a decisive factor in the game, as after the start of 3/3 it was always going to be difficult to recover. Nevertheless, it was disappointing that we weren't able to be competitive even in the tough conditions.
Overall, it was great to see Ben Garratt, Elliott Richtor, Chris Archer and Reece Bombas mature as cricketers after a few years in the system, while the three-pronged pace attack of Adair Durie, Gareth Wright and Julian Stephenson was lethal, when fit, and frequently mixed it with the best that the competition had to offer. Harry Evans and Matt Jones excelled in their first season with the Club and Blair Lindsay, James Kennedy and Jack Ritchie, all players with limited experience in the higher grades, made valuable contributions to the team.
As usual, there are many to thank for their assistance and support throughout the season. Bob Archer was the twelfth member of the team this year with his impeccable scoring. Jim Cattlin also deserves special mention for his work behind the scenes, his help with the covers and support on match day. To Geoff Hickman and the other selectors, thank you again for the time and effort you put into the club. I think we can be proud of how the young team all worked together this season. To Paul Stephenson, thank you, you always knew when the covers were being put on, even when it was two hours earlier than the previous week, and you were always there to lend a hand. Dickie Huey was a constant on match days keeping the scoreboard up to date, ball by ball. Finally, all the parents, Marcus and other supporters, thanks for the encouragement throughout the year.
Congratulations to first grade for the great finish to the season that fell oh so close.
The performance from a maturing, developing group of players really does augur well, so boys, let's aim higher next season.
Nick Dowsley |
