Round #1 Vs Huntly Nth Bendigo
03/10/2009 & 10/10/2009
2009 / 2010 Giraffe Report Round 1 Vs Huntly North Bendigo
1st XI @ Weeroona Oval
Sandhurst kicked off another First XI campaign looking to break a long-standing finals drought with no new faces in the side as coach Scullie went for the tried and true combination against a rejuvenated Huntly North Bendigo who had a new captain coach and string of new recruits looking to impress. New skipper Brenton Jones obviously liked what he saw of the wicket in the morning’s play and having won the toss decided to bat first.
The left handed combination of Turnbull & Scullie opened proceedings and got Sandhurst off to a cautious start moving along at close to 2 runs per over for the first dozen before Simon Turnbull was dismissed with the total on 23. Nick Scullie also made a start before he was dismissed for 20, and when Anthony West fell after a promising start Sandhurst were 3 down at tea for 71 after 46 overs.
Sandhurst were finding batting very difficult against a disciplined Power attack and soon after the tea break lost skipper Jones, (5), and then Tim Rob (22) after a patient knock and Matt Pask in quick succession to be teetering at 6 for 92 with close to 60 overs gone. A respectable target to defend was being wound back and back as the day progressed and when Dylan Gibson fell soon after the team passed the 100 total anything over 150 was looking respectable.
Andrew Sheehan then came to the crease and gave the Dragons great acceleration, ably supported by Joel Schneider who continued to turn over the strike the pair rattled off a 60 run partnership at close to a run a ball before Schneider was dismissed for 41 from 70 deliveries in the 79th over. Second XI skipper Alex Trump then joined “Grizzly” Sheehan at the crease and in the final 6 overs the pair added an astonishing unbeaten stand of 54 with Andy Sheehan finishing unbeaten on 61 from 50 balls and Trump 17no from 20 to give Sandhurst a total of 8/223 a much better proposition than what they had looked like postings at different times during the day.
Watching the third XI on day 2 must have provided those in attendance with a few butterflies, as the ground had transformed in just seven days from a slow lifeless wicket where it was hard to find the boundary into a good batting deck with a much faster outfield. Huntly made a solid start against the new ball pairing of Robertson and Sheehan and progressed the score along to 44 before Quinton Bentley joined the attack in the 13th over and claimed a wicket with just his 4th delivery. Without further addition to the score Brodie Mcrae was back in the pavilion the next over bowled by Tim Robertson as the Dragons looked to gain a foothold in the match.
Brannon Stanford was joined at the crease by skipper Linc Mcrae but made a fatal mistake in ignoring his skippers call and taking on Anthony West who made no mistake and got his man ran out for 17. Ryan Grundy then joined Mcrae at the crease and the pair saw Huntly through to tea without further loss at 3 for 107 from 45 overs.
As so often had been the case last season Andrew Sheehan’s second spell was lethal. He picked up Grundy caught by Bentley at midwicket, Rule caught and bowled and O’Connell LBW to have figures of 3/7 off 8 overs midway through his second spell. The wheels had well and truly fallen off at Huntly having been in a reasonable position at tea the dismissal of Mcrae caught in slips by Pask Off Alex Trump completing a dramatic collapse of 6 for 40 to leave the game as good as over with Huntly 9 for 147.
Whilst it was the pace bowlers who claimed the majority of the wickets it was the spin of Gibson 0/25 off 10 and Pask 1/21 off 13 who more than did their job in building pressure at one end for the pace bowlers to attack from the other.
It was Tim Robertson who was left to claim the final wicket after a flashy 44 run 10th wicket stand to ultimately provide Huntly with a total of 191 in 74 overs 32 runs short of victory. Andy Sheehan 3/40 off 19 was the pick of an even bowling performance in which all six bowlers used played their part.
Match Summary: Sandhurst 8/223 Sheehan 61*, Schneider 41 D Huntly Nth Bendigo 191. A Sheehan 3/40,
Dragon Dream Team Stars: Sheehan 103, Tim Robertson 62, Joel Schneider 51
Man Of The Match: Andrew Sheehan 61no & 3/40:
The Key: Andrew Sheehan’s all-round performance to post a more than competitive total with the bat on day 1 and a devastating spell after tea on day 2 may well have been the difference between the sides
2nd XI @ Strauch Reserve
Having narrowly missed finals last season, Sandhurst second XI again had a string of new faces for Round 1 at Strauch Reserve. Missing from the side that finished sixth last season were, Dylan Gibson & Alex Trump (1st XI), as well as Brock Fletcher who has decided to take time away from cricket and Craig Burn who couldn’t be considered due to injury and the fact Huntly hadn’t named enough 14 year olds in their side for Chooka to sledge. Removing those four players removed a total of over 1000 runs and forty wickets from last seasons side. Into the side came Travis Crouch who was named captain having missed a large chunk of last year and new players Tom Wilson, Justin Hancock, Will Horan, Scott Mills & Tim Mcglone up from under 17s.
Crouchy won the toss and bowled, and the move paid immediate dividends as Elias Bowe taking the new ball knocked over Brett Elvey with just his third ball of the season to provide the bright start required when winning toss and bowling. It could have been double delight for Elias as he had a caught behind put down the very next ball in what would have been an ideal start for the Under 17s skipper. From there, Sandhurst bowled without luck, as the ball rarely went forward of square, however the pressure finally told, as Tim Mcglone took advantage of a mix up in the batsmen’s running between wickets to stroll in and remove the bails at the non-strikers end. Justin Hancock was finally rewarded with his first wicket, to have Huntly 3 for 44.
A change in bowling bought a change in fortune for Sandhurst as Tom Wilson grabbed his first wicket for his new club and when Will Horan had the dangerous Andrew Kleehammer who had torn apart the third XI attack earlier in the morning caught in gully for 11, leaving Sandhurst well in control. Tom Wilson warmed into his work well, after a brief pep talk earlier in the morning from assistant coach Anthony West, and claimed four of the final five wickets to dismiss Huntly for 98 in 33 overs. Tommy finished with 5 for 28 in 10 overs, and was ably supported by Will Horan who claimed 2 for 13 in 5 overs. Despite such an impressive start to the season, with a side that appeared to have more variety to it than attacks of the past, the side had still given up 22 extras which made up close to a quarter of Huntly’s total, the side also put down numerous catching chances and could have made an even more impressive start to the season had it addressed those errors. The side hadn’t even called on young offie Tim Mcglone to bowl as the pace attack got the job done.
With 50 overs still left in the day, Sandhurst had the chance to claim first innings points and build a healthy lead. Trav Crouch & Mark Holland both offered chances, but were able to progress the score along to 79 before Mark Holland was caught at deep mid-wicket for 39 in the 19th over. Scott Mills joined Crouch at the crease and the pair secured Sandhurst six points in the 26th over for the loss of just one wicket.
Once victory had been secured, The Dragons relinquished their stranglehold on the match with some poor batting leading to a collapse of 6 for 53 to finish out the day 7 down for 155 with a 57 run lead. The standout of the innings was Travis Crouch who again appeared destined for a century before he was caught in the deep trying to lift the run rate for 84. The concerning aspect of Sandhurst’s scorecard was a reliance on it’s openers, as none of the other 7 batsmen managed double figures. This left Sandhurst with 7 days to develop a plan of attack for the second days play with six points safely secured.
With another week of preparation, the expectation was the wicket would play that little bit better on day 2 and dismissing Huntly a second time would be all the more difficult. Things started brightly enough for the Dragons with Justin Hancock, who had bowled without luck in the first innings claiming two wickets in his first two overs to reduce Huntly North to 2 for 2. Justin Hancock made it 3 from 3 shortly after Huntly had removed the first innings deficit, and then the man with the figures in the first innings, a well rested Tom Wilson claimed his 1st wicket of the 2nd innings.
Will Horan shook the first day nerves and again claimed skipper Kleehammer caught behind for 13. Tim Mcglone was then introduced for his first bowl in senior cricket for the summer with a dream start prophetically predicted by some visionary on the sidelines. He had Troy Young bowled and a second wicket caught by Mills at Mid -On inside 3.1overs having conceded just one run. Huntly made it through to the tea break at 7 for 129 off 40 overs with a lead of 72. To add to an already concerning extras tally was a signal that was clarified at the tea break as a five run penalty against Sandhurst for failing to advise the umpires a player was returning to the field. No names need be mentioned Mark Holland.
Huntly came out after the tea break with some aggressive intent and added a valuable 50 runs as two run outs and a fourth wicket to Justin Hancock cleaned up the tail for a total of 178 leaving Sandhurst 122 runs to win from approximately 25 overs on a flat deck. The outstanding bowlers for the Dragons were Justin Hancock 4/41, and Tim McGlone 2/26 from 11 overs.
Sandhurst started brightly enough, and thanks largely to Mark Holland progressed the score to 33 in just the fourth over before he picked out a fielder inside the circle on the onside for 23 from 16 balls. Sandhurst’s batting frailties again surfaced as Scott Mills was bowled for a second ball duck soon after leaving Sandhurst 2 for 43 after 6 overs.
The wicket of Travis Crouch for 23 turned the entire course of the match as the scenario soon become murky, was it a run chase?, a chance to spend time in the middle? or time to conserve wickets in hand?. Wickets then began to fall in quick succession as the field closed in closer and closer to add pressure on the inexperienced dragon batsmen. The wickets of Horan, Hancock Mcfarlane to a run out and Botham left Sandhurst 7 for 73 and a grim fight for survival. Sandhurst had lost 5 for 14 in the space of 8 overs and still had 20-25 minutes to negotiate.
Leigh McDonald was joined by Elias Bowe at the crease and the pair weathered the storm for five overs before the 2nd last over of the day when Elias was freakishly dismissed - caught by the bowler off short leg’s boot. Tom Wilson succumbed to the pressure and was dismissed off the final ball of the penultimate over. Leigh Mcdonald would then face a tense final 6 deliveries from skipper Kleehammer to avoid a second innings defeat. Leigh was the calmest man in the crisis as each ball was met with applause from the nervous Dragon entourage. Leigh Mac got the job done as Sandhurst let out a massive sign of relief finish 9 for 80 in it’s second innings.
Whilst happy to walk away with 6 points the match showed there are quite a number of areas the seconds need to work on if they are to be a force this season.
Match Summary: Sandhurst 7/155 (Crouch 84, Holland 39)(Dec) & 9/80 (Crouch 23, Holland 23) defeated Huntly North Bendigo 98 (Wilson 5/28) & 178 (Hancock (4/41).
Dragon Dream Team Stars: T Crouch 107, T Wilson 84, J Hancock 80, M Holland 72
Man Of The Match: Tough to a split a couple of standout performances but Travis Crouch narrowly gets the nod.
Key Moment: Whilst not his finest moment in the field, could Scott Mills dropped catch which delayed the end of Huntly’s 2nd innings chewing up around 10 minutes have saved Sandhurst from defeat?
3rd XI @ Weeroona Oval
Season 2009/10 got off to a start on time for the first time in recent memory just a week after the AFL Grand Final. (Too bad if there was a Grand Final Replay?) with many players part of last seasons side who were denied a finals appearance in the cruellest of fashion. In a repeat of last years fixture Sandhurst were again drawn against Huntly North Bendigo in the season opener at Weeroona Oval with the QEO wicket square unsuitable for play. There was a lot of familiar faces taking the field for the Third XI side with a familiar face in Dean’s Brother Glen Trew returning to the club from Kamarooka.
Skipper Dean Trew won the toss and sent Huntly in on a good looking deck with the theory that with another 7 days of preparation the pitch should play better on day 2. The familiar new ball bowling combination of Matt Felini and Dave Hunter opened proceedings and kept the clamps on Huntly who were contained to just 10 off the first eight and 22 from the first dozen overs. The pressure finally told with Dave Hunter and Glenn Trew combining for the first Dragon Dream Team points of the season Glenn taking a sharp catch in Gully off Dave Hunter’s bowling to have Huntly 1 for 31 in the 14th over.
Dean saw no reason to change things and with Felini in particular causing issues for the batsmen the pair bowled out their 10 over spells with a combined 1 for 53 from 20 overs, The outfield was surprisingly slow and runs hard to come by, so skipper Trew bought himself on to take the pace off the ball as Huntly North Bendigo progressed to 1 for 67 at the drinks interval after 25 overs.
The Power had wickets in hand and not to push the pace, and as a result lost skipper Gary Skeen to his opposing skipper caught and bowled to leave Huntly North 2 for 85 after 30. The Huntly North side was strengthened by up to three second XI players doubling up for their 3rd XI side including 2nd XI skipper Andrew Kleehammer who came to the crease at the fall of the 2nd wicket and dominated the innings from that point on. As runs began to flow, so too did wickets at one end, with Cornell and then specialist death bowler Keith Cloke striking. Thanks to well judged catches from Dave Hunter & Marty McDonnell.
Still Kleehammer went at over a run and a ball and with an ability to control the strike, pushed Huntly’s score beyond 200 and with a six off the last ball pushed Huntly’s total to 8 for 214 from 50 overs.
A total of 200 plus will win you 90% of 3rd XI games so Sandhurst had their work cut out if they were to reign in the required target. Whether it was quiet self confidence or not, based on the 3rd XI’s warm up on the 2nd morning of the game which consisted of a 15 minute group huddle out on the ground and everybody sitting around waiting for Trewy’s mad dash to get the white’s ad pads on in time to face up out in the middle. (Hey whatever works for you hey boys?).
There were some positive signs for Sandhurst early on that batting conditions would be significantly easier, with warmer weather and a much quicker outfield meaning balls that were one’s and two’s a week ago were now racing to the fence. Brothers Trew began well for Sandhurst with Dean the aggressor collecting six boundaries in an innings of 28 before he was caught behind with the score on 50. Huntly North’s experienced campaigners came onto bowl and slowed the run rate down with the further loss of Keith Cloke prior to drinks leaving Sandhurst 2 for 79 from 25.
The experienced pair of Leigh Draper and Glen Trew resumed the battle after drinks and began to lift the run rate, with Leigh Draper scoring 44 from 48 balls in a 70 run 3rd wicket stand before picking out one of only a couple of fielders out on the leg side leading to his dismissal. Matt Felini strode to the crease with the game delicately poised and played superbly with a tiring Glenn Trew at the other end to push Sandhurst towards victory with overs in hand. Just when victory was almost assured, there was one final twist in the tail when Matt Felini was caught behind for 35 with 14 runs still required. Glenn Trew (62no) marked his return to the club by remaining undefeated throughout the innings to guide Sandhurst to a comfortable victory eventually finishing 4 for 226 from 50 overs.
Match Summary : G Trew 72, L Draper 54, D Trew 43, : Sandhurst 4 /226 (50 overs), G Trew 62no, L Draper 44, D Huntly North Bendigo 8/214 (K Cloke 3/21) by 12 runs
Dragon Dream Stars: G Trew 72, L Draper 54, D Trew 43
Man Of The Match: Glen Trew 62no
Key Fact: In a high scoring affair, Sandhurst’s run chase was boosted by 39 extras including 25 byes, in comparison Sandhurst gave up just 15 extras including 1 bye in a 12 run result proved to be crucial to the outcome of the contest.
THE Giraffe’s Goat Of The Round Award:: This week goes to Third XI wicket keeper Leigh Draper, who during the drinks break on the first days play managed to drop his Protector in the toilet. Very sharp start Leigh Roy
The Road Ahead: After wins in all four grades (under 17s included) The Dragons face Eaglehawk in a Saturday Sunday affair for 1sts & 2nds and Saturday-Saturday games for 3rds & Under 17s.
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