Tossers

Simon ‘Couldn’t toss a salad’ Smyth (A2 Red pictured right) and Rick ‘Couldn’t call a cab’ Turner (A2 Blue) rank up there with the most unsuccessful tossers in our history – coin tossers that is. Anyway, the boys played each other in Round 1 and the challenge was to see who would win the toss. Both Captains dressed the part with Simon resplendent in his Naval Captains cap and blazer and Rick in his dress jacket – not a bad effort considering it was 40 degrees in the shade.

Ladbrokes put out special odds and had them both at $1.05 favourites to both lose the toss for the Sheep Station Trophy.

Rick won the toss but lost the game so it looks like Ladbrokes got the odds pretty right.

Like father, like son

The Morris boys (Andrew and Zac) had a day to remember. In the morning Zac, who plays in the U16 Blues scored his first ton – 100 retired, beating his previous best of 83 in the U15s. Not to be outdone, his dad, Andrew was playing for the B2 Reds and scored 101. So a father and son ton on the same day is very rare and one for the records. While our records on this type of achievement are not available, long term memory sees it as being a first. Anyway, it will now be recorded as the first known combined ton – great stuff boys.

Space Cadets

Cameron McBrien

Cam (A1) is rapidly taking over from Lachlan Vile as the Space Cadet champion in A1. When the boys were taking off the covers after rain during Round 4 Cam commented how dry the wicket was. The big fella had to be reminded that the covers had been on since Thursday and they are actually meant to protect the wicket.

Eric Junkkari (B2)

What would a season be if Eric didn’t figure in the Space Cadet entries and he didn’t disappoint. With our boys in the field with temperatures around 40 degrees the fielding started to struggle. Enter Eric. With 10 overs to go, Eric offered his encouragement “…we need to improve our fielding for the rest of the year”. The only problem was that there were only 10 overs to go in 2017.

Ray Khamis

Ray Khamis was umpiring at the bowlers end when Andrew Morris was stumped. The only problem was that when Andrew was out stumped it was Ray who gave him out rather than the square leg umpire. Unfortunately for the big fella we have lost count of the number of times he has won this prestigious Award but well deserved on this occasion.

B2 Blue

This is a story of a Team (B2 Blue) who all figure in some capacity in the case of the ‘Heinz & Lows’. Ollie Maybury apparently comes to games with not one but 2 cans of Baked Beans for substance. The problems started when Ollie managed to pull-off the ring tabs off both cans. Now, how to open the cans?

Ollie tried first to open the cans by bashing it with a stump – no joy other than a battered can.

Next Rocket scientist was Jayson Smart (Smart of name and Smart by nature) who worked out that using a fork to leverage open the can would work – success. The boys now had 1 of 2 cans open.

The best came last. After seeing that a fork can work, Nikki O’Meara then devised a better method. He got a key and started belting it with a stump mallet. As expected he got a small puncture in the can and nothing else. Jayson decide not to use the fork again but just drank the tomato sauce from the small hole in the lid.

History repeating itself

Tony Mandile (B2 and pictured left) was umpiring in the C1 game when Brent Larkham (200*) and Eric Junkkari (57*) put on their new Association 6^th wicket record partnership of 248* runs.

What makes this amazing is that Tony was also umpiring the C1 game in 1991/92 when Rob Gailey scored 205 along with Eric Junkkari who was also playing in that game. In Tony’s case it was Umpiring both matches. In Eric’s case it was being a key partner in the record that was set last week.

To think that only 6 players have scored double tons in our 87 year History and that 2 players who were involved in that game 26 years ago were actively involved again is amazing.

“…..ask the Leyland brothers”

We all complain about the traffic along Pennant Hills Road and the time taken sitting in traffic. But complaining too much, think about those committed players who play each week who travel a long way to play for our great Club. How about this for starters:

• Taki Manolelis (B1) – travels each game from Scone in the Hunter Valley – a short 516 kilometre round trip from Scone to the Sports Club
• Dan Costigan (A2 and pictured right with Tim Leyshon and Justin Edwards) – lives at Magenta on the central Coast. This is a ‘quick’ 180 kilometre round trip down the M1
• Simon Smyth (A2 Skipper) – lives at San Remo – 182 kilometres return down the M1
• Bill Peterkin (A1 & A2 fill-in) – Maroota just a simple 72 kilometre round trip from the upper Hawkesbury

A Duck – through the eyes of an U12

Last season, Eamon Boyle, one of our then U12 players wrote a great poem about the emotions of going into bat and looking down the barrel of a 4^th consecutive duck. The poem came 2nd out of 9,000 entries in the in the Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Competition for Primary School children.

Eamon ended up scoring 3 runs before he was run-out. This is a great story and is will bring a smile to the face of every cricketer who has scored a Duck.

“Pad up Eamon!” The coach hollers like a bull to me.

I can hear the cheers and jeers of our enemy.

Another one of our wickets has just fallen,

It’s my turn soon, but my batting is appallin’.

 

My thoughts keep going back to my last match

And how I was dismissed by a stupendous catch.

I imagine being at the crease and smashing a six,

But I know that I cannot do those kinds of tricks.

 

Another wicket tumbles in the blink of an eye,

It’s my turn now and I want to cry.

I whisper to myself “do not get out,”

But in my heart there is a tonne of doubt.

 

I crave for my teammates to look at me as a hero

Not the kid who constantly scores a duck – ZERO!

So I take my time to mark middle stump

And all I can hear is my palpitating heart – THUMP!

 

The umpire’s arm comes down to his side.

The bowler, like a lion, takes his first stride.

He launches the ball at a rocketing pace;

My helmet is hiding the panic cemented on my face.

 

The ball comes and I take a big swing,

But to my disappointment, there is no ding.

My coach yells out “have a go!”

But I wonder, can I beat this foe?

 

Unbelievably, the second ball is bowled even faster,

But it’s time to teach the bowler who is his master.

I hit the ball hard and score a run,

It’s only one, but it’s way better than none.

Sleeping Beauty

After Richard Hughes (C1 and pictured in a Sixers jersey) lost 28 kilos in the off season his batting has gone from strength to strength scoring a ton last match and 33 this week. The problem is that the big fella isn’t used to batting so long. Anyway, the once big fella got out and then for the next 40 overs sat bolt upright with the Team with a cap over his eyes and fast asleep – oblivious to the game around him. After Hughesy eventually woke up he was wired and keen to know everything that happened in the preceding overs.

B2 Association and Club record

Brent Larkham (200* pictured right) and Eric Junkkari (57*, left) put on a record 248* for B2 Red Vs Lankan Islanders in Round 4 (4/11/2017) at Annangrove Park. Coming in at 5/65 they left at 6/313. Some facts on this partnership:

• Brent’s 200 is just the 6^th double in our history and sits behind:

• 1. 225 – Ken Smith (B1) – 1951/52
  2. 223 – Russel Ingram (C2) – 5/12/2009
  3. 215 – John Chadwick (C1) – 1952/53
  4. 211 – Russel Ingram (C2) – 1/11/2009
  5. 205 – Rob Gailey (C1) – 1991/92

• Brent is the youngest player in our long history to score 200 at 17 years and 10 months of age
• Included in his 200 were 29 x 4s and 5 x 6s = 146 runs in boundaries. The Club record in boundaries is held by Russel Ingram (C2 – 5/12/2009) when he scored 32 x 4s and 9 x 6s = 182 runs in boundaries.
• The 6^th wicket partnership of 248* has smashed the Association and Club records:
  • Association:
    • 183 runs set in 1991/92
  • Club:
    • 156 runs set by Eric Joiner (69) and Scott Roderick (50) Vs Mt Colah in 1984/85
• Eric’s 57* brought up his 5,000 career runs and became just the 7^th player to reach this milestone.

A big day out

How about the performance of Dylan Bish (U16 Blue & D1, pictured right) in Round 5. In the morning, Dylan took 5/9 off 9.5 overs for the U16 Blues. He then backed up for D1 in the morning and scored his first ton – a massive 149. Great stuff Dylan.

Family members playing record

In Round 12 we had a record with 5 Hando family members playing in the same Round:

• A2 – Tom and Jack
• B2 – Phil, Sam and Harry (13 yrs old).

Pictured are: (left to right) Jack 16, Tom 18, Phill ( proud Dad), Sam 19, Harry 13.

Our previous family members playing record are the 5 Donaldson’s (Don Snr, Don Jnr, Jim and the twins John & Ken) who played in the 1960s, 70s & early 80s, and the 4 Creais family members (David, Marcus, Chris, James) who played in the same Round on 17 January 2009. This latest achievement is exactly 9 years after the previous record of the Creais family was set.

This still has a long way to go from the early teams of the Association though. The South Colah Cricket Club had the 18 sons of Patrick Duffy (Duffy Ave) of Thornleigh, Dural CC had the 7 sons of Thomas Best, Pennant Hills CC had the 10 sons of Arthur Thompson (Thompson’s Corner) and Castle Hill CC the 11 sons of John James.

Neatness

For those of us with teenage kids to be kind, they are generally slobs – at best. Rooms are a mess, cricket gear is left in kits from the week(s) before and they never put clothes away. Not our U16 Blues. This photo taken by Jane Bish of our U16 Blues at training during the Round 12 proves that this Team is one of a kind with all the neat kids in the District playing in the one Team.

Convoy

Spare a thought for Ryan Gunn (B2 & pictured right) on the Australia Day long weekend. Coming back in convoy with the Team from Mt. Ku-ring-gai Oval with his Green P’s Gunny was the lead car heading back to the Club after the game.

With all the roadwork, the speed limit in a small stretch dropped from 80 to 50 klms and Gunny was doing 70 along with the rest of the boys. Unfortunately he got caught and with double demerits lost his Ps for 3 months. To make it worse, Zac Morris was in the passenger seat and filmed the exchange with the Policeman. By the time the ‘transaction’ was done it was on social media and the world knew.

Go the Girls

Our politically incorrect U16 Blue Mums or “Mummagers”/cheer squad” are the best group of parent supporters going around. These legends have turned up to most of the games the boys have played since the U10s. They have a couple of T-shirts that are brilliant:

“All I care about is

 CRICKET

and like 3 friends

and food”

They have another T-Shirt:

“Why would I not be at the

CRICKET

I’d be at home

doing the cooking & ironing”

These fabulous Mums are: Wendy Paton, Jane Bish, Nicole Kirkegard, Kate Brock. You are dead set legends.

 

Most dismissals

Nick Bennet (A2) broke the long standing record for the most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in our History. There are 3 ‘Holy Grail’ records – Highest run scorer, Highest wicket-taker and most dismissals so this has broken one of our top 3 records.

During the Semi Final Vs Berowra at Storey Park Nick broke the previous record of 190 set by Dale ‘Merv’ Armstrong (1984/85 to 2000/01) with a best of 36 in the 1993/94 season. Dale is pictured left, or is it right, with Merv Hughes during the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.

Starting the season at 169 dismissals, Nick passed the record with his 2^nd catch in the Berowra innings. Nick’s best season was for A1 in 2012/13 when he took 25 for the season.

 

#Awkward

Eric Junkkari is the gift who keeps on giving. Picture this. Last season Eric was playing C1 in the Grand Final win against Normanhurst-Warrawee. After mentioning that this game was his last before retirement, the Normo Captain arranged for his players to form a tunnel for Eric to walk through on his way to the wicket. Fast forward 12 months to the 2017/18 Grand Final. Eric is not only still playing, this time in B2 Grade but the B2 Grand Final was against the same Normo side with the same Captain.