Anecdotes – Round 5 (Day 1) – 9 November 2025

200 Club

Luke Tabone (C4 Blue) scored 200* on Saturday that included 30 x 4’s and 5 x 6’s (150 runs in boundaries) playing at Montview Oval West.

This is an exclusive Club that only has just 8 Members in our 95 years as a Club. It is useful to look at our record holders and to see where Luke sits in our History:

1. 225                 Kevin Smith 1956/57 (B1)
2. 223                 Russel Ingram (C2) Vs Normanhurst-Warrawee @c Mimosa Oval 31/10/2009
3. 215                 John Chadwick 1952/53 (C1)
4. 211                 Russel Ingram (C2) Vs Mt Colah @ Holland Reserve 5/12/2009
5. 209*               Lachlan Edwards C3 Blue) Vs Kissing Point @ Campbell Park 26/11/2022
6. 205                 Rob Gailey (C2) 1991/92
7. 200*               Brent Larkham B2 Vs Lankan Islanders @ Annangrove Oval 4/11/2017
8. 200*               Luke Tabone (C4 Blue) Vs Berowra @ Montview Oval West – 8/11/2025

Our double centurions: 1) Russel Ingram 223 & 211; 2) Lachlan Edwards (our youngest double century scrorer; 3) Brent Larkham

Big Brother is watching

A little while ago we used a photo of a dog, in China, wearing a face mask in our Yearbook to provide a photographic record of Covid.

So far so good.

Unfortunately, we were sprung by the search engines of the legal departments of the photo owner and were fined $300 for unauthorised use of a photo at risk of being dragged before legal tribunals.

Anyway, in a case of the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ we created our own A1 generated image to get the same message across.

Best of the Best

Batting

The following players have set the pace with ‘Bradmanesque’ batting performances:

• Luke Tabone (C4 Red) – 449 runs @ 449.0
• Billy Gaunt (A1) – 162 runs @ 162.0
• Ramil De Silva (D2) – 120 runs @ 120.0

Bowling

The following players are setting the pace with outstanding bowling averages:

• Manraj Singh (C3 Blue) – 8 wickets @ 5.3
• Shankar Ravi (B2) – 8 wickets @ 7.1
• Oliver Makin (A1) – 8 wickets @ 8.8

Wicket-keeping

Our best performed w/k so far are:

• Sandeep Pathak- 7 dismissals (4  x catches & 3 x stumpings)
• Vishnu Rajesh – 7 dismissals (4 catches & 3 x stumpings)
• Aden Hanich (B1) – 6 dismissals (5 catches & 1 stumping)

Separated at birth

Dale played between 1984/85 & 2001/02. Dale, who now lives in Tasmania, once went to a Shield game at Bellerive Oval and was approached by Darren Berry, Tasmanian wicket-keeper who started chatting to Dale and had no idea it was Merv.

So, if you have any suggestions then send them through.

Check out the following photo taken at the ICC World Cup in the West Indies in 2007.

Hat-tricks – our best ever

So far, we have highlighted the record for each Grade in batting, bowling & wicket-keeping. This week we list our most prolific hat-trick bowlers.

• Andrew Driscoll (1987/88 to 2018/19) – 3 x hat-tricks
• Val Smyth (1967/68 to 1970/71) – 2
• Eric Junkkari (1991/92 to 2024/25) – 2
• Dean Carlin (2013/14  to current) – 2

What would your decision be?

Questions

Question 1

The wicket-keeper misjudges a fast-swinging delivery and is subsequently struck in the face and forced from the field for treatment. The fielding side requests a substitute fielder which the umpires approve. As the substitute is coming onto the field, the captain of the fielding side asks the umpires if the substitute can act as the wicket-keeper. How shall the umpires respond to this request?

Question 2

The striker hits a fair delivery into the outfield and towards the boundary. The batters have completed one run and started a second run, but not crossed, when the fielder deliberately kicks the ball into the boundary.

a) How many runs are scored?

b) How are the runs recorded?

c) Who faces the next delivery?

Question 3

A No ball which is missed by the striker, contacts her pad as she is attempting to play the ball with her bat. The ball is also missed by the wicket-keeper and runs into the outfield. The batters begin to run and have completed one run when the ball rolls into the boundary rope. What shall the umpire do now?

What would your decision be?

Answers

Question 1

If the umpires together agree, they shall uphold the request from the fielding captain and allow the substitute to act as wicket-keeper. Law 24.1.2

Tom Smith’s page 224:

If a wicket-keeper is injured, a captain may ask for the umpire’s consent for a substitute to keep wicket – this will be a decision for the umpires, and the umpires alone, to make. There is nothing to stop them saying yes, but they should not be swayed by the pleas, or complaints, of either captain. There is, however, provision for the umpires to refuse consent. If, for example, a fielder – not the wicketkeeper – picks up an injury, and is replaced by a substitute, but that substitute is a more competent wicketkeeper than the original wicket-keeper, the umpires should not give consent for the substitute to keep wicket. The wicket-keeper himself/herself is not injured, and a substitute fielder is not a tactical tool. If, on the other hand, the wicket-keeper picks up an injury that is enough to prevent him/her from keeping, but does not necessarily force him/her off the field, a substitute who had already come on for a different fielder should be allowed to take over the gloves. Once again, this is a decision for the umpires to make based on the facts, and is not always black and white, but in general, the principle should be that consent must only be given if the original wicket-keeper has a genuine injury. It should be noted, however, that if the wicketkeeper has been suspended under Law 42 then only a nominated player can act as wicket-keeper – even if there is another substitute on the field already.

Question 2

a) How many runs are scored? 5 runs are scored. Law 19.8

b) How are the runs recorded? 5 runs are credited to the striker. The BE umpire shall, when the ball reaches the boundary, signal Boundary 4 to the scorers. The completed run, plus the boundary allowance is credited to the striker.

c) Who faces the next delivery? If this was not the last delivery in the over, the non-striker for that delivery would face the next ball. On the other hand, if it was the last delivery for the over, the striker for that delivery would face the first ball of the next over. I.e. the batters shall remain at the ends they were closest to at the moment the ball was kicked, not where they were when the ball reached the boundary.

Tom Smith’s page 176 – Wilful act of fielder:

It is rare for a fielder wilfully to kick the ball over the boundary in the mistaken belief that by giving away a boundary he/she can dictate which batter will take next strike. Nevertheless, if he/she does so, then it counts as a boundary overthrow exactly as above. The words wilful and act are both significant. It will not count as a boundary overthrow if the fielder accidentally pushes the ball over, nor if he/she deliberately refrains from stopping the ball to let it cross the boundary under its own impetus.