Farewell and thank you

This match sees the retirement of Steve Quanborough (D1 Red) – one of our Club legends. Quan has been a fixture in Seniors since his debut in 1998/99. Steve has played in 187 matches (A1 to D2 Grades), scored 2,740 runs (#60 in our all-time list) and taken 196 wickets (#50 in the all-time-list).

While his on-field performances rank him up there with our best performers it is off the field that Quan has excelled. To put it simply, without people like Quan we don’t have a Club. He has been:

• Seniors Director (2016-17)
• Captained many Senior Teams
• Seniors Registrar
• A highly respected member of the Association’s Seniors Competition Committee that runs the afternoon Competition.

How appropriate is it that his last game is at Greenway Park against another West Penno side in a Sheep Station Trophy.

So what triggered Quan’s interest in cricket?

It all goes back to an Australia Vs NZ game on the 1 February 1980 when he was a Kiwi – not just any game but THE game where Trevor Chappell bowled the underarm delivery. So who said that nothing good came from that moment in history! – The underam delivery.

I am sure we will see Quan around the Club and the occasional game as a spectator so hopefully as the West Penno DNA runs strong.

What better song is there to dedicate to Quan than a double edition of classics:

• Don’t let the sun go down on me
• Time to say goodbye

When you see Quan around the Club, a simple thank you will mean a lot.

Photo:  Steve Quanborough at the Cascade Brewery in Tasmania proudly wearing his West Penno colours – 23 November 2017.

Sheep Station record

The Sheep Station Trophy started on 16^th December 2017 when our A2 Skippers Red (Simon Smyth) & Rick Turner (Blue) decided to kick off the Trophy to add a bit of fun to intra-Club games and remind players that games should still be competitive but with a spirit of respect, friendship and acceptance that sometimes umpires get things wrong.

At the start of this season we have had 43 games. This season we had a record 10 x Teams in 5 x Grades (B1, C2, C3, C4 & D1) playing in the same Grades.

How appropriate is it that Steve Quanborough is playing his last game against a Team from his own Club.

Photo: Simon Smyth (right) with Rick Turner at the first Sheep Station Trophy coin toss – A2 Grade – Dural Park- 16 December 2017.

Space Cadet (#1)

No names here to protect the innocent but a great conversation was overheard last weekend in the D1 game. Some of the boys were chatting about the best batsman to ever play the game. The boys agreed that it had to be Virat Kohli (191 Test innings – 8,848 runs @ 49.15)

When the name Don Bradman (80 Test innings, 6.996 runs @ 99.94) was mentioned as an alternative the boys agreed that The Don didn’t rate as he only played England who were….’a bunch of farmers’.

When it was explained that The Don played against some of the best fast bowlers of all-time on uncovered wickets, without helmets, using gloves with limited protection and the old back foot no-ball rule that meant bowlers could overstep the popping crease it still couldn’t move the boys on Virat being the best ever.

So…while all opinions are respected this one is ‘out there’ and is a worthy nomination for Space Cadet of the year.

Space Cadet (#2)

The prestigious Space Cadet Award was started back on 8^th October 2016 with this famous photo – the great Eric Junkkari (C3 Red) trying to assemble a shade tent at Gilroy College. So after 8 long years the original Space Cadet makes a comeback. To quote Andrew Fiedler:

“Early in the day as Eric was enduring the opening bowlers’ spell, he copped one in the nether regions, and went down like a bag of you-know-what.

 After what seemed like a longer-than-usual recovery time, he trotted to the sideline & asked for a hector. Surely he had one on. But no – he had gone for a pre-innings number 1, and left the hector on the fence post near the mens’ room, forgetting to insert it afterwards.

 We questioned why he wasn’t in critical condition, and it seems it wasn’t flush contact.

 After deep interrogation, it seems that the ball had initially grazed his thigh, then proceeded to ‘kiss’ spherical objects #1 then #2 before falling to safety.

 After thinking about this while umpiring, the only conclusion I could make is that (to use billiards terminology) this was a classic Walter Lindrum ‘cannon off the side cushion’. Eric agreed and wanted 2 points for the effort.

 Amongst all the levity it was hard not to notice the sun beaming off the smirking hector on the fence in the distance…. “

Photo: The Original Space Cadet – Eric Junkkari – trying to assemble a shade tent at Gilroy College. 8th October 2016.

The Cartel

If you haven’t read the weekly Match Reports then have a browse. There is one Match Report, A1 Grade, that is authored by Michael Richards that is the most widely read. It is read not only by our Club Members but also opposition who read the reports regularly to see if they get a mention.

While we have some amazing batters, with none better than Sean ‘Sav’ Clarence it is our bowlers who dominate opposition sides. The Match Reports refer to these blokes as the ‘Cartel’ – give them a target to bowl at and the boys invariably get the job done. So who is the ‘Cartel’?

• Luke Herzog – 313 wickets @ 16.5
• Michael Richards – 241 wickets 13.4. His A1 average of 1.8 / wicket is the 2^nd best of all time
• Cam McBrien (Captain #25) – 196 wickets @ 18.9
• Tis Mistry – 190 wickets @ 17.3
• Tom Hando – 99 wickets @ 15.6
• Tis Mistry – 190 wickets @ 17.3
• Jackson Preedy – 65 wickets @ 20.9

This is an amazing 1,104 combined wickets and explains why the boys manage to defend scores that are below par.

Photo: Some of the A1 bowling ‘Cartel’ – Tis Mistry, Cameron McBrien, Michael Richards & Luke Herzog – March 2020