Round #10 Vs Strathdale
16/01/2010
Round #10 Giraffe Report Vs Strathdale Maristians 16/01/2010
1st XI @ Bell Oval
To maintain pace with the top four, Sandhurst needed to rebound from the loss to the Jets in Round 9. A tricky away fixture against Strathdale Maristians awaited Sandhurst who’s record in one day fixtures this season was two wins and three losses. In addition it was over a decade since Sandhurst last tasted victory against the Suns in the First XI. At selection, Andy Sheehan and Scott Harper earned recalls to the side at the expense of Justin Hancock and Joel Schneider.
Strathdale won the toss and elected to bat amidst perfect batting conditions. Despite the return of Sheehan and Harper it was still Tim Robertson and Quinton Bentley who took the new ball and after a circumspect beginning to the innings things livened up in the 5th over, where an attempted run out from Anthony West led to a bonus 4 overthrows to the Suns. This placed Linton Jacobs on strike and Tim Robertson drew a false stroke from Jacobs caught by Westy to leave Strathdale 1 for 19.
Scott Harper was introduced in the eleventh over and the left arm variation did the trick picking up Cam Taylor caught by Mark Keck for 20. Dom Taylor and Craig Howard then combined for a 53 run 3rd wicket partnership before Mark Keck picked up Dom Taylor caught Tim Robertson for 26. Another 50 run partnership between John Davidson and Howard developed for the 4th wicket before Kecky claimed his second catch of the game to hand Pasky his first wicket. Brenton Jones then chimed in with the wicket of Brad Rowe run out without score and when Tim Robertson picked up the key wicket of Craig Howard for 46, Strath were 6 for 149 after 39.
Finishing off opposition innings had proven troublesome for the Dragons 1st XI this season and again on the small confines of Bell Oval Sandhurst coughed up 2 for 59 from the final 6 overs to finish Strath dale’s innings at 8/208. Tim Robertson claimed the final two wickets to finish with 4/42 from his 9 overs. Scott Harper 6 overs 1 for 16, and whilst not managing a wicket, Andy Sheehan negotiated 5 overs with the ball as a further positive sign for the Dragons.
Sandhurst’s record batting second was two wins, three losses, and a positive start would be required to gain some momentum for the remainder of the chase. That positive momentum lasted all of 12 balls as with the final ball of the second over Brett Polson was dismissed by Hocking for 2. Anthony West and Nick Scullie were again joined together for a key 2nd wicket partnership but when Westy was run out, Nick (9) followed caught behind and Mark Holland fell soon after for just one, Sandhurst’s innings was heading down a path of demise at 4 for 22 after 14 overs.
Matt Pask joined skipper Brenton Jones at the crease and the pair added 24 for the 5th wicket before the blistering pace of Michael Prowse bowled a peach of a delivery that would have got any batsman out, Pasky the unfortunate victim this time for 12. Jacob Dearaugo chimed in with his second wicket to dismiss Kecky soon after and Sandhurst were 6 for 64 with less than 20 overs remaining.
Tim Robertson batting down the order then joined Jonesy at the crease and the pair added 44 for the 7th wicket before both fell with the score on 108 with Brenton contributing 39 and Timmy 27. From 8 for 108 in the 38th over Sandhurst were able to save some face thanks to an unbeaten 56 run stand between Andy Sheehan and Quinton Bentley. The only highlight for the Dragons was Andrew Sheehan who scored 29 from 19 balls including torching Craig Howard for four successive sixes in the 39th over, but it was far too little too late as the Dragons had finished at 8 for 164 from 45 overs and 44 runs short of the target to hand the Suns a 2-1 win in the battle for the Prowse Cup.
Match Summary: Strathdale 8 for 208 (T Robertson 4/42, S Harper 1/16) defeated Sandhurst 8/164 (A Sheehan 39no, B Jones 39) by 44 runs.
The Key: Sandhurst’s batsmen had again faltered batting second. Sandhurst had dug themselves into a hole, from which they were unable to extract themselves.
Man of The Match: Tim Robertson had a solid all round performance with 4/42 with the ball and 27 from 31 with the bat to claim Man of the Match honours.
2nd XI @ Weeroona Oval (By Request Will Be Written In Poetry Form)
The Seconds were coming off a massive win against the Jets last week,
A win, which had been built on the back of Andrew Sheehan being a freak.
At the selection table, out went Sheehan plus Harper In came Hancock and Joel.
Time in the middle, batting up the order, was his goal.
Down came the coin toss, which Alex had won,
win the toss and bat was the call under the blazing Sun.
Trouble struck without 5 overs having passed,
Dylan Gibson LBW off the middle of the bat, left Midget Aghast.
Crouch and Schneider would need to consolidate,
Crouch smashed one to the keeper, given not out, thought well “That’s absolutely great.”
85 unbeaten the partnership between the two at drinks.
Maybe it was Crowy’s Cordial that would prove to be a jinx.
Straight away Crouch would fall, Tipper would follow.
Burn out too, and Schneider for 30 had Sandhurst beginning to wallow.
Maristians slow bowlers were doing the trick,
Sandhurst’s run rate of 3 an over post drinks – not so slick.
The final damage from the 45 overs was 7 for 163.
Top score for the innings was 60 to Crouchie.
Throughout the season, fielding and bowling had been our strength,
giving our body to the cause, and immaculate line and length.
Early wickets with the new ball would apply the necessary heat,
Then take the pace off the ball and make the batsmen use their feet.
The first over in, and Trumpy got the snick, or was it the middle of the bat?
Down the leg-side caught by Leigh Mac, given not out, the Dragons fell flat.
Maristians Andrew Gaul came out, all guns blazing,
Maristians 6 and a half runs over without loss after 10, simply amazing.
61 from 39, 30 more from Ben Smith and the damage was done,
The steadiness of Price, and Sandhurst’s chances of winning were virtually none.
It was Dylan Gibson who had 2 wickets, Crouchy had One.
A seven wicket win to Maristians, inside 35 overs left the Dragons feeling glum.
The contest was over, things hadn’t gone our way
It was left to the motivational words of Claude Critchley to round out the day.
The game was over, the boys had been thrashed
“Time to head to the Lake View” was the call, “Let’s go and get smashed!”
Match Summary: Sandhurst 7/163 (Crouch 60, Schneider 30) lost to Strathdale 3/165 (D Gibson 2/48 Crouch 1/19) by 7 wickets.
The Key: The slow bowlers had turned the game for the Suns, and in our own bowling effort no Sandhurst bowler was able to tie down the Suns batsmen as had occurred in our innings.
Man of the Match: Not hard to work out that with 60 from 70 balls and a wicket that Travis Crouch, who had used some divine intervention to dodge two bullets early in his innings would claim Man of the Match.
3rd XI @ Bell Oval
Sandhurst had suffered a heart-breaking six run loss to Strathfieldsaye in Round 9 and in dropping that game, cost themselves a spot in the top 2. Therefore a win was imperative to maintain touch with the leaders in a congested Third XI ladder. Strathdale won the toss and elected to bat first.
Skipper Dean changed things up, handing the new ball to Trav Russell instead of Matt Felini and after a wayward start, Trav Russell clean bowled ex-Dragon Kiel Fraser to give Sandhurst their first wicket. Dave Hunter continued his fine recent bowling and was rewarded with the wicket of Metherell caught behind for eight.
The Suns most experienced and in-form batsmen Darren Hocking and Rob Murrell then combined for a damaging 67 run partnership taking particular advantage of bowlers Botham and Horan who combined for 5 overs 0 for 47. At 2 for 82 from 15 overs, Sandhurst were about to find out if their gamble of saving strike bowlers Cloke and Felini for the death overs would pay off. Keith Cloke broke the partnership when Dean Trew took the catch to remove the dangerous Hocking. Sandhurst did well to hold their catches with Cloke finishing with 3 for 18 from 5 overs Sandhurst had restricted Strathdale to 3 for 46 from the final 10 overs leaving them 129 runs required for victory at a tick over 5 runs per over.
“Trew Squared” opened up for the Dragons and made a solid start courtesy of some charity wides before in the 6th over with the score on 20 Dean Trew fell caught behind off the bowling of Tim Dean. Pat Brophy began promisingly and added another 20 for the second wicket with “Junior” Trew before he got a pearler of a delivery and became the 2nd casualty of the innings. Glenn Trew had made a cautious beginning to his innings, but realised that the gas needed to be stepped on finding the fence on one occasion before he became Lachy Shawyer’s first victim to leave Sandhurst 3 for 48 after 13, needing 80 runs from 72 deliveries.
The linchpin’s in Sandhurst’s middle-order Leigh Draper & Matt Felini would again be required to score heavily, and score quickly to enable Sandhurst a chance at victory. The partnership got off to a flyer with a three to “Fingers” and then a six to Draper the following ball generating some momentum for the pair. The run rate required hovered between 6 and 7 an over through until the end of the 20th over with the Dragons requiring 31 from 30 balls to win.
The pair seemed to have the situation in hand, but as often occurs, one wicket gives the opposition a boost, and when Draper fell in the 21st over for 37 from 36 balls there was still plenty of work for the Dragons to do. Felini would prove to be the key to the outcome of the contest, the established batsman would need to be there at the end and score the majority of the runs, whilst the remainder of the batting line up would be required to rotate the strike.
Wickets continued to fall, with Trav Russell run out, Will Horan caught and Keith Cloke bowled from the final delivery of the 24th over but with Matt Felini there, Sandhurst always appeared to hold the upper hand. With 4 required from the final over with 3 wickets in hand, Strathdale had bowled out their front line bowlers and after singles from the first three balls, it was “Beefy” Botham who got bat on ball and scampered through for a single to hand Sandhurst the all important win with two balls remaining. Sandhurst finishing 7/133 from their 25 overs with Matt Felini 35 not out from 30 balls. Unfortunately for the Dragons prospects in the Prowse Cup this would be Sandhurst’s only success for the day in a 2-1 loss.
Match Summary: Strathdale 5/128 (K Cloke 3/18, D Hunter 1/12) lost to Sandhurst 7/133 (Draper 37, Felini 35) by 3 wickets.
The Key: In a very even contest that wasn’t decided until the 4th ball of the final over of the match, it may literally have been a toss of the coin that allowed Sandhurst to bat 2nd and know exactly what was required for their run chase. Sandhurst scoring 73 from the final 10 overs as opposed to Strathdale’s 46 was also crucial to the result.
Man of the Match: Whilst he went wicket less with the ball, Matt Felini proved the difference with the bat coming to the crease at 3 for 48, he was there at the end when the winning runs were scored with 35no from 30 balls.
Goat Of The Round: Not often you find yourself here two reports in a row, well congratulations Terry Scullie you’re the first. In an attempt to make a key point on the training track Thursday night, poor Timmy Mcglones bat paid the price when Terry bashed it against a metal stump in his enthusiasm to get a particularly important point across to the boys.
The Road Ahead: Four games to go, and the last of the one dayers against Golden Square who top the table in both the First and Second XI with Sandhurst’s 1sts and 3rds set to play at the QEO in front of the Past Players and attendee’s at Sandhurst 30 year premiership reunion dinner. The seconds travel away from Weeroona Oval to Wade Street for the first time since Round 4.
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