Round #7 Vs Bendigo
05/12/2009
Round #7 Giraffe Report Vs Bendigo November 27th & December 5th
First XI @ QEO
After the Giraffe conveniently had day 1 of Round 7 cancelled due to his own unavailability, all three grades reverted to one day matches against QEO co-tenants Bendigo. Brenton Jones returned to the side for Brett Polson, whilst there were two late changes to the side with Dylan Gibson and Craig Burn earning late call ups with Joel Schneider below 100%, Mark Keck, and Andy Sheehan not quite coming up in his return from injury.
Sandhurst won the toss and elected to bat, skipper Brenton Jones was elevated to open alongside Nick Scullie, and the man with the average of 209 against Bendigo set the tone early moving the score beyond 50 in the 15th over before the introduction of opposing skipper Tim Edwards bought about his down fall LBW for 32.
Anthony West came and went dismissed by Mark Ryan for 2 with the total on 69. Tim Edwards had changed the momentum of the match, in a fine spell of spin bowling he not only completely dried runs up at one end he was generating wickets as well, as Sandhurst relented under the pressure. After a solid platform Nick Scullie was dismissed for 38, and when Tim Robertson followed 2 runs later caught and bowled Edwards Sandhurst had lost 4 for 23 in the space of ten overs.
This bought Matt Pask and Dutchy Holland to the crease and after seeing off Edwards, set about bolstering the run rate. Pasky and Holland were brutal on the Bendigo bowlers, the pair found the fence with regularity and added 84 for the 5th wicket before Pask was dismissed for 42 from 42 balls. Mark Holland then took over with his innings of 55 not out coming off 53 balls with three sixes and one four enabling Sandhurst to add 110 from the final 14 overs and post a competitive 5 for 196 from 45 overs.
Needing 4.35 runs per over, Sandhurst needed to stand up and defend the target like their season depended on it. Again the decision to open Bentley and Wilson ahead of Tim Rob was made and didn’t pay immediate dividends. Being introduced first change Tiim Robertson claimed the first wicket – that of the very dangerous Glenn Franzi bowled with the total on 40 in just the seventh over.
Opening batsmen Darren Peterson had gotten Bendigo off to a flyer until his innings was ended, ran out by Travis Crouch from mid off after a mix up with Nick Scullie cluttering into all three stumps for 42 from 34 balls with 65 on the board in the 11th over. This paired the experienced Mark Ryan with Hayden Polglaise and after a consolidation period the pair moved the score along to 130 in the 29th over before Matt Pask had Polglaise caught by Crouchy at mid-off for 36, but with just 66 required from 17 overs with 7 wickets in hand, the Goers were still ahead in the game.
That said, Sandhurst had sensed a momentum shift, and the pressure was slowly beginning to build and when Pasky claimed his second wicket in the following over caught and bowled, Sandhurst were back in the game. Sandhurst felt they could smother the Bendigo batsmen, but whilst Mark Ryan was at the crease, Bendigo were always likely to win. Enter Travis Crouch, his slow mediums had proven most effective on the QEO wicket and he didn’t disappoint claiming the crucial wicket of Ryan caught by Jonesy at mid-wicket for 43 to leave the game evenly poised at 5 for 150 with 10 overs remaining.
Running out of bowling options, Dylan Gibson was finally thrown the ball and the small man with the blonde locks turned it on. He claimed three wickets in his first 7 deliveries to leave Bendigo reeling at 8 for 158.
Still with Tim Edwards and Michael Winzar at the crease, both more than capable batsman the game was up for grabs, the pair added 29 for the 9th wicket and got the runs required down to just 8 from 10 deliveries when run outs from consecutive deliveries to Gibson and then a direct hit run out from Anthony West demonstrating a surgeons precision that ended the match and handed Sandhurst a 7 run victory. In all Sandhurst had sparked a collapse of 8 for 59 in the final 16 overs. With their season on the line, desperate times had bought out the best in the Dragons and kept the dream alive with a nail-biting victory as Sandhurst had pinched victory like Peter Crow over a box of chocolates. Dylan Gibson 3/15, Matt Pask 2/24 and Travis Crouch 1/27 being the pick of the bowlers.
Match Summary : Sandhurst 5/196 (Holland 55, Pask 42, Scullie 38) Defeated Bendigo 189 (Gibson 3/15, Pask 2/24).
The Key: With both sides needing a win to keep their season alive, the final 15 overs of the respective innings told the story, Sandhurst posted 1 for 110 from the final 14 overs, whilst Bendigo stumbled to lose 7 for 54 from the final 15 overs enabling Sandhurst to claim victory.
Man of the Match: Another Fine all-round performance from Matt Pask gave him a second Man of the Match with 42 from 42 balls and 2/24 from 9 overs.
Second XI @ Weeroona Oval
After consecutive losses in disappointing fashion chasing modest totals, Sandhurst faced bottom of the ladder Bendigo at Weeroona Oval needing a victory to take their season off life-support. Some late changes may have ended up assisting the strength of the Second XI, acquiring first XI batsmen Joel Schneider who bravely agreed to double up after originally being unavailable recovering from cosmetic surgery. The side also regained Elias Bowe but lost Craig Burn and Dylan Gibson to the First XI.
Sandhurst won the toss and for the first time this season batted first. Unfortunately it was a poor start for the Dragons when Will Horan shouldered arms and was struck on the pad in the second over adjudged LBW for no score. Joel Schneider came to the crease and after an early morning tune up in third XI looked at ease in ticking the scoreboard over before one loose stroke bought about his down fall caught sharply low down at cover for 20 from 25 deliveries.
Simon Turnbull came to the crease, and after a promising start he played a shot as elegant as a giraffe in a leg cast and chopped on for 13 with the total 52 in the 13th over. Skipper Trump then joined Brophy at the crease and the pair was unable to remove the tourniquet being applied by the Goer’s attack . The pair could add just 26 in the following 15 overs as both batsmen struggled to get on top of the bowlers. Patrick’s innings whilst important in seeing off the new ball, might well be described at times as painful as a patient suffering from 2 weeks of constipation, as try as he might he just had more plays and misses (Mrs) than Tiger Woods.
In the 28th over Alex aggressively cover drove a ball back past spinner Cook, or so he thought, non-striker Brophy realising the ball had not passed the bowler dived back into his crease to make his ground, whilst Alex continued on to complete the run and make his ground at the non-strikers end. The only issue being that bowler Cook had lobbed the ball to the strikers end and somebody had to go. The question was who? In a decision as confusing as the patient who turned up to hospital having fallen off an elephant, it was Brophy who was instructed to leave much to his and Alex’s bemusement. Harsh critics may suggest it was a pleasant release to euthanize Brophy’s innings.
From their Sandhurst’s innings stymied, wickets continued to fall as Sandhurst proved unable to get any momentum in their innings. In fact, had it not been for a bonus 18 free runs in the form of wides gifted to the Dragons and a number of dropped catches which were not taken advantage of, Sandhurst’s 9/129 would have been even more paltry. Top scorer for the innings was skipper Trump who battled manfully for 29 to be 8th man out in the 44th over. Following the dismissal of Turnbull in the 13th over Sandhurst were able to add just 6 for 77 from the final 33 overs. Sandhurst 2nds obviously have a long way to go with their batting like a patient at the bottom of the elective surgery waiting list if they are to remain competitive for the remainder of the season with some tough matches coming up.
Still, as the previous two rounds had shown, any runs on the board were runs that had to be made by the team batting second and taking wickets may just send a scare through the Goer’s line up. Sandhurst finally had their first choice new ball pairing back together with Trump and Hancock applying plenty of pressure early on. The pressure finally told with Trump knocking over opener Sheean for 1.
This bought Bendigo skipper Brett Andrews to the crease, and those with a memory would remember he had taken the game away from the Dragons in the corresponding one day fixture last season compiling close to 90 at over a run a ball, and again he came out aggressively. He took advantage of the fielding restrictions in place and boosted the score to 60 in the 17th over before Justin Hancock who was bowling his spell right through at the top of the innings had him trapped in front for 30.
Tim Mcglone came into the attack and again produced a fine spell of spin bowling picking up the wicket of Wust caught by Hancock at mid-on for 12. Elias Bowe who had been held back to bowl later in the innings soon after claimed the wicket of opener Craig Pearce for 46 who had anchored the innings and had provided Bendigo with a prescription for victory.
Despite half a sniff of victory for the Dragons, the experienced Steve Graham guided Bendigo to victory in the 43rd over by 6 wickets to finish 4 for 130. For Sandhurst Alex Trump 1/20 and Tim Mcglone 1/21 were the most economical of the bowlers.
Match Summary: Sandhurst 9/129 (Trump 29, Brophy 24) lost to Bendigo 4/130 (Trump 1/20, Mcglone 1/21 Bowe 1/24) by 6 wickets in 42.1 overs.
The Key: Bendigo had outperformed Sandhurst in almost every area, their bowlers had been excellent in tying down the Dragons, whilst they had a more even spread of runs from their top and middle order batsmen.
Man of the Match: Skipper Alex Trump was the sides top scorer and had the pick of the bowling figures in a sub-par team performance.
Third XI @ QEO –
These two sides had a recent history of final over finishes in the Third XI, with Sandhurst having prevailed in the last handful including a final ball thriller, a mammoth run chase in the “Smoked out Saturday” game amongst others. After the day one wash out, it was just your regulation, run of the mill third xi 25 over a side hit and giggle game at the home of Bendigo cricket the QEO. Just one slight change, both sides were bolstered by a couple of First XI players to bolster the excitement factor for the building crowd. Sandhurst was bolstered by the inclusion of Joel Schneider and Brett Polson whilst Bendigo had a couple of key inclusions Brian Brasher and Jayden Mcarthur.
Skipper Dean Trew won the toss and sent Bendigo into bat hoping to extract some juice out of the track early in the morning. The new ball pairing of Matt Felini and Dave Hunter were initially able to keep things tight, with Matt Felini rewarded with the key scalp of regular First XI opening batsmen Jayden Mcarthur LBW for two in the 3rd over. It should have been double delight for Felini who had a simple chance to remove Brasher before he had scored put down by wicket-keeper Leigh Draper in a mistake that was sure to prove costly and looked as a clumsy as a night staff nurse attempting to take blood in the dark.
Instead of his usual 25 over a side match policy to bowl his opening bowlers through their spell Deano changed things up and the introduction of change bowlers Knapman and Moyle saw a spike in Bendigo’s run rate. Batsmen Shanahan and Brasher had several big overs before Shanahan slashed at one outside off stump and found the ball lodged in Joel Schneider’s stomach at gully, as he managed to hold onto a very sharp chance in Moyle’s first over with the total 44 in the eigth over.
Brett Polson’s off-spin was then introduced into the attack and after some early nerves in which his first over went for a dozen, he then locked in on a plan of attack and did a fine job of restricting the runs and keeping key batsman Brasher away from the strike. His pressure in conjunction with some tighter bowling from Moyle and Cloke bought about the dismissal of Kirkwood bowled by Polson in his final over to finish with figures of 5 overs 1/21.
Dean Trew became the seventh bowler used by the Dragons and his spell could barely be accused of being dull. After a wide and a boundary early in his first over a brilliant piece of deceptive spin bowling had key batsman and innings top score Brasher caught in the deep by Dave Hunter. Dean’s second over was just as exciting after disappearing over the leg side boundary for six from the first ball of his over, Trewy had his revenge claiming Gaskell LBW for 21.
One thing that was baffling most on-lookers was Trewy’s decision not to re-introduce strike bowler Felini back into the attack given his spell to that point was 1/9 from 3 overs. Was it a need to race through the overs in the allotted time? Dean’s knack for taking wickets or merely an oversight that led to the skipper bowling the final over which disappeared for 14 runs providing Bendigo with a total of 6 for 162 from 25 overs. Trew 2/32 from 3, Felini 1/9 from 3 and Polson 1/21 from 5 were the pick of the Dragons attack.
This left Sandhurst with a big task ahead of it, requiring 6.5 runs per over for victory. However, with an experienced batting line up that included Polson, Trew, Schneider, Draper and Felini it was certainly game on. Polson in particular showed scant regard for the Bendigo bowlers, swinging freely from the get- go in an attempt to get Sandhurst off to a flyer.
Sandhurst were able to score at close to 6 runs an over from very early on through Polson who hurtled towards a half century before he was sharply caught low down for 41 from 31 deliveries. This bought Joel Schneider to the crease and he and Trewy added a spritely 57 run partnership for the second wicket before Dean was caught for 39 with the majority of the work done at 2/116 in the 19th over leaving 47 runs required from 38 deliveries. The scene was set up for Leigh Draper to see Sandhurst home but after one boundary he too fell in the 21st over with 28 runs required.
Matt Felini then joined Schneider at the crease and the pair used a combination of stroke play, placement and smart running between the wicket to get Sandhurst within sight of victory before Schneider was caught for 39 from 36 balls. This left just 5 runs required for victory from the final over of the game to be bowled by Tim Shanahan.
Bryden Mcfarlane came to the crease and did the right thing by turning the strike over to the established Matt Felini with a single from the first ball. Matt Felini then eased the pressure and tied the scores with a well placed three into the vast expanses of the QEO leaving 4 balls for Bryden Mcfarlane to score the one run required. All didn’t go exactly to plan as the attempt at a cheeky match winning single off the 3rd ball of the over resulted in Felini being ran out at the strikers end. The pressure rose that little bit more, so it was left to the cool and calm Jayden Saunders to push the winning single into the covers and claim a tense victory. The win has placed Sandhurst inside the four with back to back wins.
Match Summary: Bendigo 6/162 (Trew 2/32 Felini 1/9 Polson 1/21 defeated by Sandhurst 5/163 (Polson 41, Trew 39, Schneider 39)
The Key: With so little between the two teams, it could have been as simple the toss of the coin allowing Sandhurst a little more life in the track and the knowledge of the target required or the even contribution from Sandhurst’s top order with the bat.
Man of the Match: It was a close match and a close call for Man of the Match with Dean Trew’s 2 wickets, a run out and ability to pace the run chase earning him the nod ahead of a raft of other players.
Goat of The Round: For the second consecutive round goes to a new recruit – Will Horan. Who after an exhaustive innings of 2 balls, sauntered over to skipper Alex Trump in the field and requested a rest off the field after less than 20 overs of Bendigo’s innings. No doubt saving himself for the Mystery Bus Tour that night.
The Road Ahead: Only one game remaining before the Christmas break and what a key match it is, particularly for the first XI away to Kangaroo Flat at Dower Park.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all at the club for their calls cards, messages and visits during my recent hospital stay and the impromptu visit from those who took a detour to include my house as a stop on their bus route from the weekends Mystery Bus Tour.
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