Round 10 Vs Strathfieldsaye
18th January 2009
1st XI @ Strathfieldsaye
Sandhurst faced a must win contest against arch rivals Strathfieldsaye at the new Tannery Lane complex. The Sandhurst side remained unchanged from the side that went 1 and 1 the previous weekend against Eaglehawk and White Hills. Sandhurst were given first opportunity to exploit another sub standard pitch at Strathfieldsaye with plenty on offer for the bowlers which had been the sides strength in the season to date. There was a late selection change for the opposition when Anthony Walshe was the unfortunate victim of a broken nose after training drill mishap.
Andrew Sheehan picked up the key wicket of Ben Gunn cheaply for the second time this season with the total just on six in the third over. Tim Robertson followed up with the wicket of Tim Wood who was caught behind for 1 in the sixth over to reduce Strathfieldsaye to 2 for 8 in the sixth over. The pressure on the batting side was enormous and clearly became too much as a horrendous mix up between the wickets between Steve Brown and Ben Devanny led to a simple run out for Andy Sheehan to complete and remove the dangerous Devanny with the total still only 13.
Tim Robertson bowling the fifth over of his opening spell then claimed Greg Lyon for just one as Sandhurst continued to strengthen their stranglehold on the game. Despite the carnage at the other end opening batsman Steve Brown had managed to survive and started rebuilding the Jets innings with a circumspect 46 run partnership before Quinton Bentley disturbed Jack Kennedy’s woodwork with the total on 71 in the 28th over.
Needing to find the bowling options to complete the 45 over allotment the ball was thrown to Matt Pask in what turned to be a masterstroke from those in charge. Pasky landed them on the spot from the first ball and was finally rewarded with the big scalp of Brown LBW to reduce Strathfieldsaye to 6 for 73. Pasky was racing through his overs and his fine spell of bowling was again rewarded with a straight forward caught and bowled to remove Andrew Stove with the total now 7 for 93. Pask finished his destructive spell claiming a 3rd wicket in the eight over caught by mark Holland finished with figures of 3 for 13 from 9 overs which included four maidens.
The task of taking the pace off the ball was working a treat as Brenton Jones was also in the middle of a fine spell of bowling and he was rewarded with a wicket in the last of his 9 overs to finish with 1 for 19. Andrew Sheehan returned to finish off the innings and with final ball of his 6th over wrapped up the Strathfieldsaye innings when he had Dale Ashby bowled in the 44th over and restricting Strathfieldsaye to just 111 all out. Tim Robertson 2 for 18, Andy Sheehan 2 for 19 along with Pasky’s 3 for 13 were the multiple wicket takers for the Dragons.
Sandhurst were in a similar position against the same opposition earlier in the season chasing a modest total and failed to get near the runs required, lightning could surely not strike twice could it? There was no doubt from both camps that this match was still well and truly alive as the wicket was still offering plenty for the bowlers to exploit and proving most challenging for batsmen to get themselves in.
Strathfieldsaye made the perfect start when captain Mark Keck was bowled by Ben Devanny from the first ball of the innings. Daniel Francis opening the bowling from the other end then threatened to be the match winner for the Jets and had he not been limited to nine overs may well have been as he tore through the Dragons top order. He claimed Scullie LBW for 0, Holland in his following over for 2, then completed his spell with the wickets of Jones in 8th over with the total on 30 and opener Simon Turnbull and Anthony West with consecutive deliveries to begin his final over, finishing with the figures of 5 for 19 from 9 overs.
Sandhurst had been reduced to 6 for 31 in 18 overs as word filtered around Bendigo that Strathfieldsaye were in a strong position to cement their spot in the top four. Matt Pask then came to the crease and along with Tim Robertson the pair read conditions perfectly to get themselves in and attempt to resurrect the Dragons Innings. Tim Robertson anchored the innings whilst Matt Pask provided the aggression at the other end. After 25 overs the Dragons had begun the long road back into the match to be 6 for 44 still needing a further 68 runs from 20 overs. Pask was taking full toll on anything lose and spared no bowler as they all had deliveries dispatched to the fence from “The Chief”.
The runs started flow more freely as Robertson and Pask grew in confidence drawing ever closer to a much needed victory scoring at close to 4 an over as it became apparent that Strathfieldsaye would still have to bowl Sandhurst out to claim victory. Robertson and Pask bought up the 100 in the 39th over coinciding with Pask bringing up his half century and it was unfortunate that with victory nearly assured Tim Robertson fell victim to Andrew Stove’s second delivery with just 3 runs required to win, ending a match winning 78 run 7th wicket partnership between the pair.
It was left to Jason Marr to strike the winning blow with a massive six to get off the mark and score the winning runs by 3 wickets in the 41st over. Unbeaten at the other end was Matt Pask who completed a superb double of 3 for 13 and 52 not out (three fours and two sixes.) from 83 balls which was more than enough to give him man of the match honours.
2nd XI @ Weeroona Oval
Sandhurst had split the two one dayers the previous weekend against Eaglehawk and White Hills and were in need of a victory to push them right up amongst the top 4 of the 2nd XI competition. The side was able to retain Dylan Gibson and Joel Schneider but were without either Brock Fletcher and Dean Trew who were both unavailable. After Trump won the toss and elected to bat Trav Crouch and Dylan Gibson again set about laying a solid platform for the side to build a competitive total.
Facing the side who sat second on the ladder going in, the game was an opportunity for the young Dragons to show how far they had improved and could match it with the top sides of the grade. Crouch and Gibson proceeded with relative ease in good batting conditions and the pair bought up a 50 run opening partnership in the 15th over. Travis was again the aggressor as he was particularly punishing on anything lose as he paced the innings with his run a ball knock pushed beyond 50 as Sandhurst progressed to drinks at 0 for 99 from 23 overs.
Trav Crouch pushed on after drinks looking to lift the run rate including 5 from Luke Millard’s one over spell and his aggression would eventually be his undoing caught on the mid wicket fence for 76 from just 74 balls to further extend his lead as the division’s leading run scorer. Just two overs later it was Brian Hansen who again struck with a putrid Leg Before decision given against Joel Schneider and placing the clamps back on the Dragon Innings. Strathfieldsaye knew they had got away with one and took the opportunity to race through some overs as Gibson and Kinniburgh re-settled the innings. Only 30 runs were scored in between overs 25 and 35 and left Sandhurst 2 for 149 with just 10 overs remaining.
In the need to bolster the run rate the Dragons lost wickets as Kinniburgh fell for 16. Craig Burn’s elevation up the order failed to pay dividends as he too was bowled for just 5 and when Bryden Mcfarlane was caught and bowled 3 runs later Sandhurst were in danger of undoing the top orders good work sitting at 5 for 169 from 6 overs remaining.
Alex Trump joined Dylan at the crease and the pair went for everything eventually leading to Dylans downfall for a well made 63 in a great anchoring role for the side. Trump fell soon after with the total 7 for 200 with just one over remaining. That final over was something special from Leigh McDonald, after Beefy pushed a single off the first ball to get Leigh on strike Leigh was ruthless on everything scoring 18 from the next 4 balls including two sixes and a four one of which had to be seen to be appreciated. Jumping on a full delivery angled in at his pads Leigh scooped the full ball back behind him over the wicket keepers head and over the cones just short of the fence through the football behinds at the City end for a magnificent 6. Leigh’s innings was ended on 23 from just 9 balls when a scooped a ball to the covers. Leigh’s last over of destruction had given Sandhurst a big boost and left them defending their total of 8 for 219 from 45 overs.
Sandhurst got off to a fantastic start when Luke Millard a man who had provided his share of heartache to the Dragons over the last couple of years was caught behind for 0 in the first over proving that there is karma in the world following his straight forward edge to the keeper when on 0 when the sides met earlier in the year.
Strathfieldsaye had structured their batting order around some aggressive hitters whilst he field restrictions were in place and were doing their part to keep up with the required rate. Mark Nilon somehow escaped a very confident caught behind appeal off the bowling of Trump whilst in the twenties and to everybody’s surprise umpire Cole didn’t hear the edge everyone else heard. Craig Burn who was bowling his 9 overs straight up in the hunt for early wickets was rewarded with the dismissal of Corey Devanny for 27 to finish with figures of 2 for 38 from his 9 overs.
Mark Nilon’s stroke making bought about his downfall as he skied an attempted pull shot from Elias Bowe and with a plethora of fielders under the ball it was Leigh McDonald ho camped himself under it and held onto the catch low to the ground having bobbled the ball at the first attempt. Strathfieldsaye were 3 for 62 from 14 overs.
Rhys Crapper joined Matt Cameron at the crease and the pair set about building a partnership. The game continued on with Bowe and Botham unable to make further inroads to the Jets middle order as the runs required continued to diminish and Sandhurst unable to restrict runs. Dylan Gibson was introduced in the 24th over and continued the fine season he was having with the ball with a superb spell of spin bowling drying up the runs at one end.
Feeling the pressure to hit out Dylan finally drew a big stroke from Crapper and Travis Crouch which Travis Crouch moved to and timed his dive to perfection to take a breath-taking catch every bit the equal of his one handed gem the previous week. The Sandhurst boys were elated to grab their first wicket for 18 overs and as was drummed into them at the team huddle one wicket brings two and it was Trav Crouch who deceived Brian Hansen shouldering arms to his first ball bowled to being Sandhurst right back into the contest Strathfieldsaye 5 for 144 in the 33rd over.
It was game on as both sides felt they could win the game and the intensity rose to finals like atmosphere with both sides desperate for the win. Dylan Gibson completed his spell of 1 for 29 from 9 overs to be clearly the most economical bowler of the match for either side conceding just two boundaries in batsman friendly conditions.
Trav crouch was also in the midst of a fine spell of bowling and with the run rate required ever increasing drew a false stroke out of Tom Kuhne which Elias parked himself under and held onto under great pressure to give the Dragons more hope. Steve Rainey came to the crease and felt the need to push things along, similar to Leigh McDonalds cameo at the end of the Dragons innings Rainey was ruthless on everything racing to 22 from just 9 balls before he picked out Dylan Gibson who jumped to take an Aussie Rules type grab at deep mid-wicket which sparked an angry confrontation between the outgoing batsman and the Dragons group. The situation was soon defused and the game continued. The wicket had come from just the second ball of Garth Tamblyns spell as he had been saved to bowl at the death.
Tossing up who to bowl at the death Trav Crouch continued on with the ball as he had proven effective in claiming two wickets, picking up his 3rd with the first ball of the 43rd over to reduce Strath to 8 for 196 requiring 24 from 17 balls. Unfortunately that was the last joy the Dragons were to see as Matt Cameron who had paced the innings from the 14th over enabled Strathfieldsaye to get home with a leg bye from the 3rd ball of the final over in the 2nd heart stopping loss the Dragons had suffered this season.
The boys were left inconsolable after the games and in the rooms and were quickly shaken out of the sombre mood by a fearful spray from coach Scullie who was wrapped with the effort but disappointed the boys had been baited into a slanging match and distracting them from the real goal of winning the game. This was the 3rd time in 3 years this had occurred and the boys were left to further ponder the events of the last 6 hours. Despite the result the match was still one of the sides best efforts particularly in the field where the side fielded well and held onto their catches, something which had been costing them dearly all season.
In a two way tussle for man of the match Dylan Gibson narrowly saw off Trav Crouch for Man of the match with a fine spell of spin bowling to drag his side back into the contest and also for being the backbone of the innings with a gritty 63 in 43 overs.
3rd XI @ Strathfieldsaye
The third XI were given their first chance to redeem themselves from their deplorable bowling performance in the previous game conceding 160 runs in just 16 overs and were bolstered by the return of Paul Stingel and the inclusion of Brock Fletcher unavailable for afternoon cricket. Trewy won the toss and looking to exploit the early life in the wicket chose to send Strathfieldsaye into bat.
The decision paid dividends straight away as inside the first over Matt Felini drew a regulation edge straight through to wicket keeper Draper and opening batsman Wayne Tobin was on his way for 0. Wrong - somehow umpire Crawford was the only one at the ground who didn’t hear the edge and Tobin was given a life. Matt Felini decided to take matters into his own hands in his next over and picked up opener Dundas LBW with the score on 4. In his 3rd over he had Brent Yates bowled, his 4th he picked up the dangerous Kristian Rogers for 7, his 5th saw him trap Tim Rodda LBW for no score and eventually finish with stand out figures of 4 for 12 from 6 overs.
From 4 for 20 in the 9th Strathfieldsaye attempted to rebuild, Trewy bought himself into the attack in the 14th over with instant reward ending the charmed existence of Wayne Tobin caught by Matt Felini for 28. From 5 for 40 in the 14th Strathfieldsaye’s innings was rebuilt by Boromeo and Bilsborow adding 70 for the 6th wicket in quick time before Courtney Cornell enhanced his reputation as the partnership breaker claiming wickets with the last ball of his 1st over and the first ball of his second over and along with Stingel who proved hard to get away with 1 for 15 in 3 overs bowling at the death restricted Strathfieldsaye to 8 for 116 from 27 overs of the allotted time.
Sandhurst had capitulated in a similar run chase against Strathfieldsaye earlier in the year failing to surpass 50 runs as a team with the bat. Things didn’t start any better for the Dragons this time when Paul Stingel elevated up the order to try and pick up some quick runs was bowled for a golden duck with the first ball of the second over.
If the runs were going to be made it was going to be the top 5 who would have to get them and Trew and Fletcher looked relatively comfortable despite the life in the wicket in taking the team total past 50 in the 13th over before Trew was bowled for 16. Leigh Draper then joined Fletcher at the crease but he was unable to contribute with the bat dismissed for just 3 and when Felini fell LBW for 0 Sandhurst had slumped to 4 for 62 after 15.
The pressure was continuing to build on Fletcher as the sides last recognised batsman, and with the remaining batsman only able to offer support Brock picked up the aggression in his stroke play as partners and balls remaining disappeared. Losing Russell after a partnership of 20 for the 5th wicket and Joe Gardiner one run later Derek Robertson joined Fletcher at the crease in a make or break partnership. Brock had done such a stellar job controlling the innings he had made his way to 72 from just 84 balls and the equation down to 7 to win from 7 balls.
Feeling the vibe, Brock danced spinner Greg Toomey attempting to find another boundary but was deceived by the spin and bowled leaving 7 to win with 6 balls remaining. The last over was a cliff-hanger with a large crowd having built up as the game ran beyond 12pm and held up the preparations of the 1st XI. From the 1st ball of the final over Derek Robertson was able to secure a single. 6 to win from 5. Next ball Martyn McDonnell was wrapped on the pads and run out at the non strikers end attempting a leg bye. 6 off 4. Derek Robertson was on strike and played a masterful cover drive all the way to the outfield and agonisingly short of the boundary for 3 runs. 3 to win from 3. Courtney Cornell was beaten all ends up by a fine delivery and bowled for 0 leaving 3 to win for Tm Knapman with 2 balls remaining and 1 wicket in hand. The first ball resulted in an air swing through to the keeper and a dot ball meaning Tim required 3 runs to win or two for a tie from the final ball. Unfortunately he was only able to dig out a yorker and allowed to scamper through for a single as bowler Andrew McGregor held onto the ball and secured Strathfieldsaye a heart stopping one run victory.
It was a cruel defeat for the Dragons and places the sides finals chances in jeopardy with a tough run home. In a toss of the coin job for man of the match Brock Fletchers 72 from 85 balls narrowly pipped Matt Felini’s 4 for 12 for Man of the Match.
This round sees Sandhurst face must win games in all 3 grades against QEO co tenants Bendigo if they are to see any finals action this season.
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