Anza III vs SIA 2

ANZA III signed off the season with a big win on Friday. Winning the toss and batting saw us well-positioned at 4/80 at drinks with Tony Edmondstone unbeaten on 40. The second session brought us 100+ runs with the highlight being an unbroken 8th wicket partnership of 57. Rohan ended with 8 not out while Tony accelerated with his last 45 runs coming off 22 balls. Tony finished on 95 not out, a serious fine for 100 avoidance. ANZA finished on 7/183 our highest score of the season.

We started well in the field with Clive picking up a wicket in the first over. With James Howlett bowling tightly and Clive picking up wickets, SIA 2 raced to 4/77 after 11 overs. James picked up a wicket thanks to a tremendous diving catch by Rohan in slips. At drinks they were 6/106 with Tony and Rohan both taking wickets. Their number 4 bat was hitting the ball cleanly and they were well ahead of the run rate. It would come down to whether they could keep up the run rate without losing wickets too quickly. Tony then picked up 3 wickets in his next two overs to settle the issue. Their number 4 was held by James Howlett at point and John Dick completed an acrobatic diving catch at square leg to remove their number 9. Rohan then bowled their number 10 bat to end the match, ANZA III winning by 65 runs.

Batting
Tony Edmondstone 95*
Chiro 15
Mark Cordiner 12

Bowling
Tony 4-0-18-4
Clive 6-0-51-3
Rohan 3.4-0-23-2
James Howlett 5-1-22-1

Champs had their first win of the season

4.57pm....as I was walking back to the pavilion, the Champs seemed to have self destructed again. Chasing 145, we were 73 for 3 at drinks and with Geoff seeing the ball like a watermelon we should have polished this one off easily....but in true Champs fashion before you could say .....faaaark....we were 96 for 6.

4.58pm in walks Tony.....his signature white helmet glowing in what otherwise seemed like another dark hole for the champs to climb out off. As he passed me, all I remember saying is "Geoff is on fire....support him....bring it home mate"

5.00pm.... after 1hr 40min at the crease, 54 balls faced and 56 priceless runs, solid as a rock Geoff once again as predictable as mohammad amir, pulled. The sound of bat on ball was as clear as Times of the World sound editing and somehow the umpire only saw the ball hit pad.....Out. Was this once again God telling us something.

Geoff walks off the ground with another fantastic innings but I'm sure feeling something missing..next walks in fearless klaus.

5.07pm....with champs on 97 for 7, 22.1 overs gone, 48 left to get in 8 overs. This is where the Champs comeback story starts. Tony dispatches the ball to the boundary and then klaus and tony run a few quick singles. Just when it looked like some momentum was building.... in an effort to get the runs klaus skies one.....champs 108 for 8.

5.08pm... Disco walks into the cauldron. Tony awaits. 23.5 overs are gone and 37 runs are required off 6 overs.

Champs are still not accepting a comeback in the making. How dare we wish it....hadn't we wished before only to be disappointed. The boys were too scared to dream it seems....

25th over saw tony hit 2 beautiful fours and some great running with disco saw champs reach 125. 20 runs left to get in 4 overs. We are back!!!!! I thought as I sat next to the scorers. From there I started counting down the runs, 19, 18, 17,........4 runs....u beauty.....13 to go, another 4 ....u ripper....9. Tony was on fire. Disco running like never before. These Champs weren't giving up.

The sidelined Champs had walked out of the water logged Anza dressing room and sat cheering at the boundary next to the side screen. A few more quick runs 1,2,1,2 and champs were down to 3 runs to win in 2 overs. We could taste it, we could smell it.....hadnt we been this close before...maybe not.

5.24pm....24 mins after his arrival and 30 runs later in 22 balls....our knight in white helmet faulted to a good ball and the stumps fell. The sound while sweet harmony to the bowlers ears....rattled the Champs.

Yours truly walked in slow motion into the pavilion to see how lord gibb was faring. Never before have I seen him speechless....but not scared. Out he walked... padded up, with gloves on BUT no bat. Has he lost it I thought...I did't blame him. We were all in lady gaga land. Thankfully he crossed Tony in time and took his bat.

Lord Gibb ....delivery 1....comes forward..well played into covers.

Delivery 2...wide ball.....2 runs to go.

Delivery 3....wide ball....a tie...

Delivery 4....I'm standing behind the pavilion like a little child half seeing the action as if its a horror movie.

The ball strikes his pads...the whole team is up in the air appealing....What a tied game? No no no...this can't happen to the Champs....no bloddy rain wash outs for us...no bloody wins and the only tied game in the bloody season...and its us...no,no,no....

The champs watched the ump....but no movement. We are still in it boys!

5.27pm......delivery 5....lord gibb goes forward and plays the ball into covers.....he runs as does disco....as do the champs onto the field... The rest is history.

The half hour I described was the end of what was a true Champs performance. In the field the bowlers performed great. Lord gibb leading the way with only 22 runs off 6 overs and great support from klaus with 20 of 5 and 2 wkts...who also delivered (I believe) our first wkt maiden. Howard also delivered two quick wkts in his three overs. Some very smart bowling by phil who was unlucky. Jim and yours truly also grabbed a wkt each,for the stats.

Fielding was good...with only life threatening catches being dropped.
Ben seems to be in the firing line, they couldn't get past him so they tried to go through him. Chiro once again put his body on the line only to suffer some damage to his thumb...nothing serious I hope chiro. Tony's efforts in the field were as impressive as his batting...as sub keeper he took 4 catches and a stumping...he had already paid his keep even before he went out to bat.

Total of 144 runs conceded with the champs giving their usual 33 wides....otherwise the bowlers were unplayable.

Amongst the batsmen,other than tony's heroics, disco/klaus support and Geoffs batting which has been consistent thru the year.....Lord GIBBS winning run will be remembered by all.....as we left the ground I'm sure I heard him say....
"That was fun".

Well deserved Champs.

Signing off......

Mm

Match Report :: Anza Div II vs Mucc Knights

Another hot start and things went well from the beginning with MUCC skipper calling wrong and thus allowing us to choose to bat first.
Richie and Corbon laid in a solid start on a very wet outfield coming in to drinks at 73-0 after 13. Both fell early in the next session bringing Chris Walker and Pat together. The two most productive batsmen in the side added 60 runs together to bring the total to 156 before Pat wandered far enough down the wicket to give the keeper time to collapse onto the stumps from several paces back. Another few wickets fell in relatively short time before Tony provided good support to Chris. After a big straight six to the long boundary Chris was well caught trying to repeat the shot for 55. Tony kept the scoring moving and we went into the last over 222/6 hoping to reach mid-230s. However a hat-trick of boundary catches and a last ball stumping saw the final score of 224 all out off 40 overs (and one of the weakest and most expensive 7-fors you'll ever see - but still, a 7- is a 7-!
224 on a very slow outfield was pretty competitive total until out stepped a Jayasuriya bat-alike. Same stance, body shape, backlift, aggression, shots, etc. Both Clive and Chris Sweet took some stick, although Clive winkled out the other opener with a top edge taken well on the run by Chris at shortish fine leg. Pat came on after just 4 overs to try and break through Jaya-clone, but it looked like more of the same with 2 wides and 2 slapped boundaries until a corker yorker did the batsman completely (34 including 8 4s). 2-45 off six overs! Clive induced a little nick, well taken by Robert standing up to the stumps in the next over (and another couple that didn't reach Pat at slip) and with Pat bowling to 2 slips, 2 gullys and a backward point the batsmen were intent purely on survival. Pat struck again in his third over to make the score 66-4 after 10 overs. Chris returned to dry things up completely and Corbon came on for one over before drinks which only lasted 3 balls before the batsman ignored the turn to see his off stump rattled. 5-73 at drinks was a matchwinning session.
Our good friend Nara was the new batsman after drinks and with his partner fashioned a 51 run partnership at a fairly careful pace before a couple of failed bowling changes cost double figure overs. Corbon came back for a second spell and broke the partnership, and the next one first ball, while Tony came on at the other end and bowled his usual tight stuff picking up a couple of wickets.
MUCC finished with 143 all out so a 9-1 win to Anza by 81 runs.
Highlights were many:
40 from Richie and 39 from Corbon - opening partnership of 78 in under 15 overs.
55 from Chris W and 31 from Pat - partnership of 60 in less than 10 overs.
26 from Tony.
Tony, Ash and Chris S caught in consecutive balls in the last over, all on the boundary!
2-48 from Clive
8-0-22-0 from Chris S
2-30 from Pat
8-1-21-4 from Corbon
2-10 from Tony
No byes, a catch and no missed chances (and a lot of good saves down leg) from Robert

Anza Champs Stats: Champs vs Phoenix

Just a quick note on the stats this week as I'm off to the airport shortly.

4 catches down put down in the first 8 overs. A certain stumping made uncertain by a certain umpire. It was also going to a tough day for the Champs.

It's never great to hear the batsman running down the wicket laughing at us and telling each other that we "are not catching anything today". I asked one of the batsman about this and he explained the comment away because he was "from Sydney.". As baffling as his batting.

Yes and that made me a little ticked off cause only we are allowed to laugh at ourselves. We don't need to outsource this particular pleasure.

Anyway as to the stats. An excellent 4 20 for for the Disco was only marred by his 6 over avoidance. Having our most productive and economical bowler bowl one short seems a little profligate on our part. The Disco pole vaults into the leading wicket taker this year after what was a very slow start. Anyway, enough praise in this direction because he can manage this chore well enough himself so suffice to end it on an upbeat note that the Disco still remains the wearer of the Dumbo cap into the next match.

The trunk on that cap went through more hands yesterday than Suzie's Phuket on a Saturday night.

With his two wickets the skip finally overtakes the Rev in second position on the leading wicket takers with 58 scalps now to the good. I was mistaken about MM bowling his 200th wide though and I apologise for that. It was of course his 300th.

I checked to see if Flynny was next in line on this score but let's just say, give the lad time.

There was very little of note on the batting side except to point out a fine Champs debut for Howie P who blazed his way to 32 off 60 balls which shot him straight to number 31 on the batting table in just one innings.

Ben Leonidas Dunn took a further 5 runs off his 300 run guarantee target for the season. Only 267 to go or, on current averages, in 33 matches time. The Spartan 300 may have had better odds.

Interesting to note just how much the skip has to do in bowler planning. Only 3 bowlers have bowled more than 26 overs this year with most bowling well below their quota. In fact only Gibby, Vishal and Lawrence have averaged 5 overs a game. It's hard work being a captain and having to juggle that many bowlers.

In fact this is by far the biggest transition year in Champs history with 11 new caps being handed out. The Skip had done an excellent job of keeping us competitive despite the need to gel the new team after losing several of our best performing players. Get behind him and as MM stressed, get to nets if you can. I certainly need to.

Kit packer this week went to Mark Wotif Flynn which I admit was a little tough given how outstanding he was in the field. Best on ground all day and jolly neat job on the kit as well.

Ashes Cup game next lads against the Brits on the 4th Sep so please try and make yourself available for this.

Match report :: Anza Div III vs Marina, 24 Jul 2010

On a fine but damp Turf City B, ANZA III resumed their season following 2 washouts. With debutantes in Mark Cordiner and Robert Williams and a return to 3rd grade for Jodie Wachter our prospects were looking good.

Clive won the toss with his Australian 50 cent piece and elected to bat. Garry Hawker had been ill all morning but strode out with Shubham to get us started. Unfortunately Shubham was soon striding back having been bowled. James Bostock batted well for 16 whilst Garry had to retire hurt with double vision after scoring 13. Tony and Mark Cordiner took us to drinks on 2/53. Both batted well for a partnership of 47 being dismissed in their teens. Jodie and Clive put on 42 for the 6th wicket raising our total to 138, probably 20 below par.

The skipper was confident that if we bowled and fielded well we could restrict Marina 2 to less than this. Unfortunately we let ourselves down with several catches being dropped. Clive and James started solidly but Tony was the pick of bowlers with 2/22. Rohan also picked up 2 wickets and Clive one wicket. Howie led the way in the field with a direct hit runout and Robert Williams gave an excellent performance behind the stumps. Also notable were Tony's catch at point and Rohan's effort as he slipped on the turf, smashed his head on the ground and still held on to the catch. Marina were 6 down when they passed our score with 5 overs to go.

Fortunately we have this Sunday morning to redeem ourselves.

ANZA III 7/138 in 30 overs
Clive 39 no
Mark Cordiner 19
James Bostock 16
Tony 15
Garry 13 retired hurt

Marina 2 6/141 in 25 overs
Tony 6-0-22-2
Rohan 6-0-42-2
Clive 6-1-25-1
James 4-0-29-0
Shubham 3.3-0-21-0

Match report :: Anza Div II vs Island CC, 25 Jul 2010

History was made on Sunday...and without a ball being bowled. Mark won the toss and took ANZA Div 2's coin toss season average above .500 for the first time in living memory. It was also the first fine afternoon for what seemed like weeks, so why not make the opposition sweat it out in the field. The Turf City outfield was still soggy and anything north of 200 would be challenging.

Richie & Corbon again led us off, and again Corbon was in a hurry. He let his intentions be known early by lofting his first ball down the ground and soon followed with a glorious flick off the legs that sailed over the Turf City grandstand. Both opening bowlers were copping some stick but got a measure of revenge when Corbs tried to swat a fuller one and was bowled for 22. Chris Walker came in at #3 and he and Richie took the total to 72 at the first drinks break. We were cruising along nicely at almost 6/over with only 1 wicket down. Richie was happy to turn the strike over and Chris was starting to find the boundary. The second session proved a lot toughter than the first as Island brought on their spinners and slow-mediums to really take the pace off the ball. The boundaries dried up on the slow outfield but we had wickets up our sleeve. Richie fell for 23 just after the break but Chris & Dave Jacq batted steadily and took us through until the 23rd over when Chris was unlucky to be run out 5 short of his half century. DJ (24) was even unluckier, given out lbw attempting to glance one that would have missed leg stump by a mile. Four for 128 in the 27th. The run rate had slowed due to the constant barrage of nude balls, hand grenades and dippers but the outfield showed little signs of quickening and we were still on track for a 200+ target. A few quick wickets brought Ash & Mark to the crease and the pair put on a rapid fire 65 in 8 overs, mixing quick singles and twos with a handful of sixes. Mark fell for 40 off 25 and Ash finished undefeated on 28. Our total of 9 for 226 looked pretty adequate given the slow ground.

And so it proved to be. The Island top order was pinned down by Mark & Clive early and were 1 for 22 after 10 overs - Clive claiming the wicket with a nasty outswinger that the batsman played all around. Clive again bowled his 8 overs straight and finished with a fine 2 for 31. After the drinks break Ash & Tony bowled non-stop for the next 16 overs and, aided by some watertight fielding, they effectively took the game away from Island. Their batsman couldn't get any partnerships going as wickets fell consistently. Ash bagged three of their middle order and Tony picked up 1 while only going for 28 off his 8 overs. Our ground fielding was sharp and though a couple of difficult chances went to ground the batsmen were made to work for everything. We picked up 2 runs out including a superb one handed pick-up, spin and throw from Ash at short cover. Chris Sweet came back to snare their last man and Island were dismissed for 146.

Nine points to the good guys!

Andhra CC up next this Sunday at TC A.

MC

Match Report :: Anza Div IV vs SCC

When I woke up this morning the signs were there for a great day’s cricket.  After a week of storms and the Singapore meteorologist telling up there was going to be typhoon tail storms from China hitting over the weekend, it was great to see in the paper that these had blown away.  Clearly the meteorologist had not been at Dempsey Fields.

I arrived late but was met by black clouds and 21 players standing out in the middle.  The umpires didn’t like the water on the ground!  Having convinced the umpires that the water on the ground was fine, it then began to rain, or rather sprinkle and threaten to rain.  So it was a deferred decision until 8.30.

Now we could have thought that an abandoned game would give us 5 points and push us up the ladder but that sort of thinking isn’t in the Champs’ psyche.  We are a bit like the “300”, never retreat, never call a draw, never surrender and go down fighting.  Maybe we should practice not being like the 300, because I’m not really into this dying thing!

However, the umpires decided that the game would be reduced to 25 overs per side – how we lost 10 overs in a half hour delay was a bit unclear.  After the dilemma of choice last weekend it was reassuring that the captain returned to usual form by losing the toss.  “I would have batted first anyway” he said.  So bat it was.
And bat they did.  Homi and particularly Ashwin got us off to a flying start, scoring 30 off the first 5 overs before Homi was caught.  In strode Geoff, confident after strong batting performances over the past few games (a sure sign!).  The next over he was back in the pavilion having scored 3.  “3” he cried, “will I avoid kit packing?”  “It was only 2” calls out Lorraine.

Ashwin and Chiro then proceeded to put on 18 before Ashwin fell to the first of 2 dodgy decisions of the day.  LBW on the outside of the roll playing a ball that if he had left it was a wide!  Ashwin, looking good, gone for 29.

Feroze joined Chiro in the middle and they proceeded to add 32 for the next partnership before Chiro fell to the second dodgy decision, a snick (more like a clunk) onto the pads given out LBW.  Even their opening bowler down on the boundary shook his head.  Chiro had found some form too, out for 23.

A 56 partnership between Feroze and Tony Waters put us in great shape at 141 off 21.3 overs which brought the gun blazing Munib to the crease.  Averaging over 40 this season, Geoff’s only comment was “had Munib left himself too late in the batting order”.  Perhaps he had but 1 ball later he was back, bowled going for the tonk (Geoff didn’t know whether to commiserate with Munib or punch the air for joy at avoiding kit packing duties).  The next 3 wickets went to runouts as the team tried to grab every run before the umpires declared over 1 ball short in the last over.  Finishing score 162, very defendable on the soggy Dempsey ground.

Captain Munib didn’t give his “Just have fun” speech.  He was far more serious and determined today.  In fact there weren’t the usual laughs as we went out to bowl.  We smelt a win.  Both openers, Lawrence and Vishal opened solidly and looked threatening.  And we didn’t have to wait long before Lawrence in his second over took the first wicket with a catch to Tony and the SCC captain was gone.

We had to wait until over 9 before Ashwin picked up his first wicket, a juggling catch to Disco at first slip.  47 after 9 was keeping us on track.  Next over Munib trapped the batsman LBW, a beautiful ball, before putting one down just before drinks off his own bowling.  The batsman works with Disco, so he wasn’t keen to see the catch go down.  Fortunately Munib redeemed himself after drinks with the batsman facing one 1 more ball before he took a fine 3rd slips catch for Ashwin’s second.  End of the first over after drinks and the SCC were 4/66.  The number 3 batsman troubled us all day scoring 60 until Disco took out his middle stump with a well flighted ball.  5/119 after 21.  SCC needed 44 off 4.

Lawrence and Disco were down to bowl the last 4 overs.  An interesting combination - opening bowler and slow 3rd change.  Although each of the next 2 overs were reasonable tight 1 lose ball in each left the equation at 22 off 2 overs.  Still the pressure was on SCC.  SCC’s number 7 was playing in his first game for the SCC Jaguars.  He’d scored 5 singles from the first 6 balls he faced.  He faced up to the first ball and smashed it straight down the ground for 6, then another 6, two singles and another six.  20 off the over, leaving 2 to be scored for an unlikely SCC victory.

Disco came on to bowl and his first thoughts were “don’t bowl any wides!”  The first ball was a repeat of the early wicket ball and the SCC batsman was gone LBW.  A great start – was the impossible possible?  Next ball a single into the gap and then another single off the 3rd ball delivered victory to SCC and another loss to the Champs. 

The team took the loss pretty hard, the Skip even harder.  He had strategically played the game well, but the win slipped through our fingers.  We had been in control for 23 overs.  Cricket can be such a harsh game.
I blame Clarky – calling us the Chumps all season has put the hex on us!
This is now twice this season that SCC has snatched victory from an ANZA side.  Is Dempsey a hoodoo ground for ANZACC?

At least ANZACC had one victory for the morning.  Disco and Geoff’s boys rolled up fresh from the Under 10s Howzat Cricket Sixes Competition, where they had played in the ANZACC sponsored team, with gold medals around their necks and proceeded to present an extra medal to the ANZACC President.  At least that’s one bit of silverware (gold) for the ANZACC cabinet this season.

Results:  25 overs a side game
ANZA batting first scored 9/162.  Feroze 44, Ashwin 29, Chiro 23, Tony W 17 (GF 2)
SCC scored 6/163 winning with 3 balls to spare.  Disco 2/24 off 4.3, Ashwin 2/26