What it is all about
Blast Cricket (boys & girls aged 5 & 6 years) is where it all begins for our Club.
Kanga (the origin of Blast) was first started in 1992/93. Since then we have registered 3,314 boys & girls with many of these players going on to play Juniors Mixed & Girls and then Seniors.
Last weekend two of our Blast Graduates, Malinda Dissanayake and Direin Ratnasiva batted together in C4 Grade in yet another chapter of their shared cricketing journey. This example is not isolated with many boys & girls experiencing the same opportunities of playing with our Club that offers a pathway for our youngest players through to decades in the future.
Well done guys.
Our 1st All-Age Women’s Team
We have offered Girls cricket since 1996/97 to 1,400 Girls.
Last Sunday our All-Age Women had their first game in the CNSW Metropolitan Competition.
We played Castle Hill RSL and had a big win (3/94 in 18 overs) chasing 8/93 (28 overs). A win is good but the cover story is much bigger.
The CNSW Metropolitan Cup is the first time that a pathway has been available for women over 17 years other than Premier Cricket. We are one of the Foundation Clubs along with Castle Hill, Lindfield, Cromer & Burwood Briars. So this is a significant milestone in our History and well done to Kapil who had the Vision to make this happen.
We have Bye this weekend but our Round 3 game (Sunday 15/2) is at Greenway Park so it would be worth popping on down at some stage to show our support.
A new A1 Grade batting record
Lock it in – we have a new A1 Grade Club batting record.
Unfortunately, Jackson Preedy (A1) suffered a Season ending knee injury in the Round 7 game against Berowra. If there is a positive from this it is that at the time of injuring himself, Jackson had scored 267 runs @ 133.5 with a top score of 131*.
To qualify for a Club record there is a minimum requirement of 250 runs. For the Association the threshold is 400 runs.
This means that Jackson now holds the highest A1 Batting average in our History.
The previous records were:
| Name | Season | Runs | Innings played | Average |
| Jackson Preedy | 2025/26 | 267 | 5 | 133.50 |
| Matt Barr | 1999/2000 | 405 | 7 | 101.25 |
| Laurie Tuckerman | 1951/52 | 1,361 | 20 | 85.06 |
Matt Barr continues to hold the Association record of 101.25 as he has met the 400 run threshold.
Well done Jackson – a silver lining to a disappointing season.
What would your Decision be? Questions
Question 1
(a) The batter ducks a short-pitched delivery that strikes the helmet directly, knocking it off the striker’s head. The helmet falls onto the wicket and removes the bails. On appeal, what is the decision of the striker’s end umpire?
(b) The batter plays a sweep shot to a fair delivery. The ball takes the top edge of the bat and goes straight into the striker’s cap, knocking it off and onto the wicket where it removes a bail. On appeal, what is the decision of the striker’s end umpire?
Question 2
The wicket-keeper attempts a stumping and correctly removes the bails, but the striker remains in her ground. After the bails have been removed, the wicket-keeper loses control of the ball, allowing the batters to attempt a run. The batters cross before the wicket-keeper regains control of the ball and pushes the stumps out of the vertical; however, the stumps remain in the ground. On appeal, what is the decision of the striker’s end umpire?
Question 3
As a fielder is running after the ball, he deliberately removes his hat, throwing it to the ground. The hat is blown by the wind and lands a fair distance from the fielder. The fielder picks the ball up, however, it is a wayward throw and the ball bounces and contacts the discarded hat. When the ball touches the hat, the batters have completed two runs and already crossed on but not completed the third. What happens now?
Question 4
A right-handed batter plays a switch hit and misses. The ball first pitches and strikes the front pad outside the line of the original leg stump, and then deviates and strikes the back pad which is in line with middle stump. But for the second impact, the ball would have hit the wicket. On appeal, what is the umpire’s decision?
Question 5
A batter plays forward to a fast delivery which clips the off stump without dislodging the bail. The wicket-keeper misfields the ball and it runs toward the boundary. One run is completed and the batters have crossed for a second when a bail subsequently falls from the wicket, with no fielder in contact with it. On appeal, what is the umpire’s decision?
What would your Decision be? The Answers
Question 1
- Striker’s end umpire shall answer the appeal, Not out. Law 29.2.1.4 is clear in the fact that the striker is protected from being Out, Hit wicket, should the helmet or any part of it, become detached and break the wicket.
- Striker’s end umpire shall answer the appeal, Out, Hit wicket. Law 35.1
Question 2
Striker’s end umpire shall answer the appeal, Not out. The wicket has not been broken fairly on the second attempt. Law 29
Question 3
The ball becomes dead when the ball in play contacts the fielder’s discarded hat. Good practice would recommend either or both umpires calling and signalling Dead ball to inform the players. 8 runs are scored to the batting side. They are the two completed runs, plus the run in progress because the batters have crossed, and 5 Penalty runs. The ball shall not count as one of the over. Law 28.2
Question 4
Bowler’s end umpire shall answer the appeal, Not out. The ball has pitched outside the line of the striker’s leg stump. The off and leg sides are determined by the striker’s stance at the instant the ball comes into play for that delivery. When answering an appeal for LBW, only the first interception is relevant, and any subsequent interception with the striker’s person shall be disregarded. Law 36
Question 5
Bowler’s end umpire shall answer the appeal, Out, Bowled, but only if satisfied that the wicket has been fairly broken by the ball alone. Laws 29, 31, and 32
