EDCC Match Reports

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RESULT: DRAGONS   5/135   defeated   ST.PATRICKS  10/113.

2011/12  MINOR PREMIERS & PREMIERS.

Batting Highlights: Matt Russell 60, Jamie Wood 24, Jaryd Duncan 22no & Greg Ings 17.

Bowling Highlights: Ben White 5/35, Greg Ings 2/25 & Jordan Duncan 2/30.

Day One;   Egg elected to toss the coin,  St.Pats called wrongly &  Egg wisely chose to bat first as the weather was threatening to close in again.   Matty (60) & Egg (17) opened slowly with the early bowling being difficult to score off.   The Dragons looked in deep trouble at 3/34 after only 24 overs & it wasn’t until Woody (24) joined Matty in the middle that the score began to  accelerate.   Two interuptions for rain breaks certainly didn’t help either, as the batsmen had to restart their innings again twice.   However, the rain did assist in taking some of the “sting” from the ball & Matty & Woody were able to see out the day to stumps, with the score at 3/101 off 40 0vers & due to the rain there are still 11 more overs to face on day two.   Matty was on 58no & Woody on 22no with the prospects of adding a few more runs to the score & setting a defendable total with wickets in hand.

Day Two;   Arriving at the ground in bright sunshine, but with more rain in the offing, the Dragons were anticipating a reasonable total to enable the bowlers to gain the advantage.   Once again it was slow going & Matty unfortunately “copped a straight one” through the gate with the addition of only 2 more runs to the score,   Woody suffered the same fate shortly after & the score was at 5/112.   Jaryd (22no) & Gav (7no) were able to finish the permitted 51 overs to see the Dragons score at 5/135.    Not a high score, but one that could be defended with sensible cricket.

The St.Pats’ openers were in deep strife with Kurtles & Junior moving the ball around a fair bit & with Junior having their “Gun batsman” out 3rd ball of the 2nd over (1/2) & the extremely tight lines that they were employing, saw the 2nd wicket fall in the 17th over with only 38 runs on the board & the other opener only on 3.    Incidentally this bloke did hang around for 28 overs for his 9 runs which was great for the Dragons.   There was a bit of a recovery when the 5th wicket managed to add 46 runs between the 28th & 39th overs.   Once this partnership was broken it was all down hill for the St. Pats’  team & no matter how much they stalled & wasted time it was always going to be a Dragon’s victory.   The Minor Premiers always get it if the overs run out fellas.  Once again though the Dragons’ attack were of the opinion that Premierships shouldn’t be won that way & cleaned up the last 5 wickets for 15 runs to have them AO113 just before the 5.30pm close of play.

Benny (5/35 off 15.2 overs) was the best figures ably supported by Egg (2/25 off 8 overs), Junior (2/30 off 15 overs) & Kurtles (0/19 off 8 overs) & was unlucky not to take wickets.   Catches to Egg, Junior, Kurtles, Matty, Benny & Woody with a great runout (we think) to Benny.    

There was one highlight that has not ben mentioned yet & that is the enormous “6″ that Jaryd hoisted off the St. Pats opener on day 2 that was hit from the northern end of the Gwawley North ground that travelled over the top of the trees between the north & east grounds & landed about 10 metres past them into the eastern field.

All in all it was an extremely tough game, what with the weather that wrecked the ball, a very slow outfield & a pitch that played at various heights throughout the game, but both teams gave it their all & in the end the right result was achieved.

The nucleus of this team have now achieved 3 Premierships in the space of the last 7 seasons & in those seasons have not finished lower than 3rd on the ladder & can be extremely proud of their achievements in this time.

GO THE DRAGONS!!!!

Lofty.

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Dragons 6/155 defeated Como-Jannali 7/154.

Highlites: Jordan Duncan 58, Greg Ings 37, Jamie wood 32no, Kurt Mitchell 5/41.

Once again the atrocious weather has seen another game affected as the 1st week was totally washed out when Scylla Bay Oval was inundated after a torrid storm hit the ground before we could get on.  This facilitated a 30 over per side game being played on week 2.

Egg lost the toss & the Dragons were invited to bat 1st on a hot, humid but (surprise) sunny afternoon.   The Dragons needed at least 1st innings’ points from this final round game to gain the “Minor Premiership”.   The start was somewhat cautious with couple of early wickets down after only 6 overs.   Egg (37) & Junior (58) put on a 42 run partnership that saw the team to 3/63 in the 14th over.   Junior & Woody (32no) carried on their good form after a further couple went cheaply, to see us at 4/121 with 6 overs to go.   Woody, Gav & Kurtles saw us to 6/155 off the 30 overs.

Needing quick wickets early against the team at the bottom of the ladder saw Kurtles (5/41) have them in dire straights at 4/39 after 13 overs & the Dragons looking good.   However, the Como-Jannali middle order made a great recovery to see them at 5/108 in the 24th over & the Dragons staring to lose their composure as they were hitting out.    We dropped far too many catches & made way too many errors in the field that virtually allowed them back into the game.   Theyneeded 8 runs per over in the last 6 overs & all that was needed was some accuratte bowling & sensible fielding to see us home.   We almost let that fail to happen as C-J came hhome with a “wet sail” in those overs & just failed by 2 runs in running us down, being 7/154 at the last ball of the 30 overs.   Phew that was close!!!     Wickets to Kurtles, Junior (1/37) & Gav (1/32) with catches going to Junior, Egg & Matty.

Your score has said “that this sort of game is not good for her heart & she wishes that you would not do that to her again please”.

Anyhow we have secured the Minor Premiership & can have a week’s rest this coming weekend, a good practice on Saturday fellas, & we can await the winners of the Preliminary Semi-Final the following weekend all refreshed & rearing to go.

Congrats & Good Luck to the B1′s, B6′s, C1′s & C2′s in their coming Semi-Finals or Finals should they make it.

Lofty.

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DRAGONS 5/161 def GYMEA BAY 10/147.

Highlights; Colin Kidd 3/32, Gavin Scott 3/50, Kurt Mitchell 2/19, Jordan Duncan 57, Ben White 35, Greg Ings 30no.

Day 1; Back to the traditional 2 Day Games for the last two rounds saw the B5 Dragons team sitting on top of the ladder & needing two more good wins to maintain this position.

Egg lost the toss, & with the grorse rorther long (apologies to Tony G.) from the ongoing crook weather, it was a good toss to lose & be asked to bowl first.   The start was our usual economical effort with Kurtles (2/19 off 10 overs) Ooey (3/35 off 12.3 overs) using the new pill to great advantage.   Whilst wickets weren’t abundant in the early overs, them being only 2/60 in the 28th over, the run rate & the slow out field were always going to build pressure on such a young team.   The remaining overs were to see them try to hit “over the top” to try to up the run rate & whilst they did achieve some success, it was to the detriment of lost wickets.  Gav Scott (3/50 off 11 overs) & Egg (1/36 off  8 overs), both bowled in those overs whereby their top scorer managed to plunder a bit of a recovery, but it was only a matter of time as wickets were falling regularly at the other end & once he was out the capitulation was rather quick, with the last 4 wickets only costing 22 runs.   Catches went to Junior, Matty, Paul D, who also had a great run-out, Tim & wicket keeper Jaryd, who also added to his already impressive season’s tally, with another sharp stumping off a Gav Scott “wrong-un”.    They are certainly building a good combination there with the “leggies” reaping the benefit.   With just over an hour to play left on day 1, Matty (10) & Benny (35) went about erasing some of the deficit.   Unfortunately Matty was 1st to go, run-out, with the score at 11.   Benny & Junior (57) then put together a strong 54 run partnership until Benny was also run-out trying to push the score on as he wasn’t available next week.   Junior & Tim (3) managed to see out the day with the Dragons at 2-71 at stumps & after 19 overs bowled.

Day 2:    With the whole week of miserable, rainy weather threatening to put a damper on the team’s quest for at least 1st innings points, we turned up on the 2nd Saturday armed with the brooms & buckets expecting to have a bit of work to do to get a game in   At least Dane was happy we got rid of the duck excrement off the putch!!  (Apoligies to the N. Z. commentators).    As it turned out the ground wasn’t too bad & while the outfield was a bit soggy, the grass had been cut & the pitch didn’t take too long to clean off enough to begin play.   Timmy was first to go at 81 on the board, when he got a straight one that had him LBW, although he claimed an inside edge.   Junior & Egg (30n.o.) then put on a further 52 partnership to almost see the Dragons home.   With 12 runs needed Egg & Woody (14) saw us finish at 5-161 after the Gymea Bay team asked if a couple of their younger players could have a bowl & saw us comfortably take the 6 points & maintain our lead on the ladder.    

The Gymea Bay team should be congratulated for their general good sportsmanship & for ensuring that both teams could get a game in on such a day considering the conditions.   The game was played in really great spirit & the young SSCUA Umpire, Dylan Martin & his dad Dean, should also be commended for ensuring that the game got underway & for the way the game was handled.    These are the games that make it all worthwhile.   With one to go the B5 Dragons need to be on their toes,  play Round 14 right out to the end & finish the season on a really high note & we could possibly see us finish with the prestigeous Minor-Premiership & a weeks rest.   The “quotient” says we can, yes fellas the all important quotient says we can do it!

Lofty

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Dragons 2/116  defeated  St.John Bosco  8(AO) 110 by 8 wickets.

Highlights: Kurt Mitchell 3/14, Greg Ings 3/12, 10 runs & 1 catch,  Jordan Duncan 41 NO.

After the 4 week Christmas break & the Rd 11 duty, the Dragons were on the “Road to Revenge” against the local rivals Bosco & were keen to get back into the game.  Egg lost the toss & Bosco decided to bat first to Eggs delight, as the lads had had a couple of warm up sessions in the nets at Anzac.   Kurtles opened the attack & as is his want, he soon had the Bosco openers in the “Corridor to Chaos” being 1/5 in his first over.   Then he proceeded to have the next 2 batsmen (3 & 4) travelling along the “Pathway to the Pavillion”, (actually it was a clump of trees next to the nets) & at 3/22 inside the 7th over.   Ooey (2/55) came on to replace Junior (0/11 who’s back was a bit sore) & although it took him a while to get into his rhythm, he was bowling when the 2 best Bosco bats were in & it was he who skittled their skipper’s “castle” & sent  them on the “Driveway to Despair”, & 4/91 in the 18th.   Egg (3/12) managed to clean up the tail & see them 8(AO)110 in the 23rd over.   Benny (0/17) also had them in the “Avenue of Apprehension” although not taking a wicket.

Catches went to Egg who started the ball rolling, & keeper Jaryd, who once again showed his liking for Scylla Bay by taking another sharp stumping, along with his catch to add to his already impressive wicket keeping stats for the season in the B5′s.

Egg & Matty (25NO) opened the Dragons innings & at 1/15 in the 4th over with Egg’s demise caught at mid on & the score 2/56 after Benny (27) getting caught in similar fashion as Egg in the 12th over.   The Dragons were hoping for & got a welcome response from Junior, who along with Matty settled down to avenge the first round debacle against Bosco.   They both played each ball they faced with care & pushed them around for 1′s & 2′s, only hitting the bad ones to the boundary, when they could, that was until the 18th when Junior said to himself “enough is enough, let’s finish this” & proceeded to pummel 6 boundary 4′s (along with 2 no balls), yes that’s 26 runs off the one over & Bosco were on the “Roadway to Ruin” after Matty’s single in the next Junior put away a big 6 onto the high road (just missed a red 4WD driving past – driver not happy), that made his big brother jealous also, & along with a further single to Matty in this 19th & final over, the Dragons were home & hosed with 2/116 in the book & second place on the ladder confirmed (actually first for a short while).     Now we are looking like we could be on the “Street to Success” with 2 games to go.      “Go the Dragons B5′s”.   !!!!!!

Apologies & thanks to Fox Sports Cricket commentator Damien Fleming, for the use of his somewhat anecdotal comments we’ve enjoyed throughout the KFC T20 Big Bash League.    “Go the Sydney 6′s”.   !!!!!

Lofty.

The winning run continues..

B6 – Rd12 Engadine Dragons 9/229 beat Cronulla Seagulls 8/75

Top Performances:
- Andrew Hyde:  66 runs & 3/27
- Tim Russell:  92 runs
- Stewart Lumsden:  3/22

Info:
Every game in 2012 is a must win for the B6′s if we have any chance of making the finals. Losing the toss and being sent into bat always gives this team confidence. With runs on the board this team can beat any other team in the comp. Unfortunately at 6/18 at the 13th over mark runs on the board were definitely looking shaky. Tim Russell coming in at 4 watched the opposition opening bowler rip through the middle order picking up 3 wickets in the one over. Although Timmy was lucky to be there, whilst still on 0 he blocked a ball onto his pads and then back onto the stumps with out the bails coming off. The dragons needed a partnership urgently. Enter Andrew ‘M.E WAUGH’ Hyde and the game changed on its head.

The opposition decided to bowl there strike opening bowlers for the maximum 8 allotted overs, knowing they did not have much after Timmy and Hydey did there best the see out the rest of their overs. By being patient the boys then reaped the rewards and with out to many dangerous shots both batters made it past fifty. Congratulations to Hydey making his first ever half century. A partnership of 143 runs in 22 overs which was ended with Hydey edging to the keeper. Timmy continued on with the remaining batters making his way to the last over. At 92 he needed 8 off this final over, first ball he miss hit one over mid off’s head with the fielder somehow holding onto the ball one handed facing the other way. The century was not to be which is disappointing but the satisfaction of the teams finals hopes still being alive made up for this. A total of 229 was more than enough runs for a team as full of bowling talent as this one.

Again Hydey and Stew Lumsden bowled brilliantly both picking up 3 wickets. Deano came on and picked up the 2 remaining wickets.

A great effort by the boys, although we dodged a bullet this time the winning streak continues and with every win the confidence grows.

Keep it up boys..

B5 Match Report V’s Caringbah Inn Sports.

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Dragons 8/168 defeated Caringbah Inn Sports 10/65.

Highlites: Jaryd Duncan 31 1 catch & 3 stumpings, Ben White 30,  Gavin Scott 25NO & 4/1,  Kurt Mitchell 4/15.

WOW, what was that funny yellow orb in the sky?   It wasn’t the sun was it?

Against the new Comp. leaders Egg won another toss & the Dragons batted first with Matty (20) & Egg (21) putting on an opening stand of 50 that set the innings up for a good score if the 40 overs could be seen out.   The fall of Egg’s wicket saw a bit of passion come into the game as the catcher, an “EX” Dragons’ A1 player of past seasons, thought that he’d give Egg a bit of a verbal send off, to which Egg replied in kind & this set the Dragons up for a much better frame of mind than was evident in last week’s game.    The “FIRE” was back.   The Dragons were 2/50 in the 9th over, & as usually occurs, there was the customary bit of a middle order slump.   However, Benny (30), Jaryd (31), & Gav (25NO) with the assistance of Paul D (10NO) managed to push the score to a defendable total of 8/168 off the 40 0vers.   It was good to see that there were no “Daddles the Ducks” in the innings.

The passion carried over into the bowling with Kurtles  (who appeared to be a bit off colour or tired on the day, must be the night shifts Kurt) having CIS 3/9 in the 4th over & everyone was fired up for a big effort,  Too much at times, with a couple of over eager returns almost causing over-throws, but they settled down to the task.

Although Benny (0/22 off his 8 overs) didn’t take a wicket, his fiery spell set up the batsmen for the other bowlers.   Kurtles (4/15 off 6 overs),  Ooey (2/13 off 4 overs) had them all at sea at 6/45 in the 17th over.    Then on came the Dragons’ own “Wild Thing” (no not Charlie Sheen) to the mound, namely Gavin Scott,  who totally mesmerised the CIS tail-enders with his “leggies”, “toppies” & “googlies” to clean them up for 65 at the end of 23 overs.   Gav’s extremely impressive figures of 2 overs, 1 maiden, 4 wickets (2 caught, 2 stumped) for just 1 run was a sight for sore eyes for an “old leggie” sitting on the sidelines scoring.

Catches went to Egg (2), Tim, Benny ( a real finger stinger that one) & ‘ keeper Jaryd who took a great leg side catch off the batsman’s glove in Kurtles 1st over & then had 3 very impressive stumpings, the 1st off Ooey’s left arm medium pace bowling to dismiss the “motor mouth” for less than Egg’s score which, incidently was enjoyed by everyone in the Dragons’ camp, & finally 2 more stumpings off Gav’s bowling.   These 4 ‘keeper dismissals add to Jaryd’s already grand total of ‘keeper dismals for the season now being 14 catches & 6 stumpings for a total of 20.

Thanks must also go to Mark Mitchell from the Dragons’ A1 team who filled in as a “sub” fielder for the team during the game.  This was greatly appreciated by the team.

Judy, Katie & myself would like to wish the team & all of the Dragons’ Club a Very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year for 2012 & hope those teams that can make the Finals’ games success in their endeavours to win the Grand Final.

Cheers,

Lofty.

Rd9 B5 Match Report V’s Miranda Magpies.

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Result:   Dragons AO 63 lost to Miranda Magpies 6/141,

Highlights:  Kurt Mitchell 3/17.

After last weeks good result we all turned up for Rd9 against Miranda Magpies perhaps a bit too cocky considering the “outright” drubbing we gave them in the 2nd round game.    This we definitely cannot do in this very close competition.    We all know that there is life after cricket but a team cannot win if it is playing short & don’t have the strongest players on the field for the whole game.

Back to the game.   We won the toss & bowled 1st & had the Magpies at 3/58 at the 22 over mark just after the drinks break.  However their 4th wicket stand of 76 runs was the back-breaker & virtually let them off the hook.   The Magpies saw out the 40 overs, finishing at 6/141.    Wicket takers were Paul D 1/37, Benny 1/24, Ooey 1/37 & the consistent Kurtles 3/17 off their 8 overs each.   Junior was extremely unlucky with o/21 off his 8 that should have had at least 2 wickets.    Catchers were Egg & Ooey in the field & Jaryd also had another ‘ keeper catch to add to his already impressive tally of 16 dismissals.

The batting got away to a disastrous start at 2/14 in the 4th over & never really got going & with 5 catches in the slips cordon & 2 caught & bowled dismissals in the innings  the scorebook doesn’t look pretty.   Jaryd (17), Woody (14) & Paul D. (10) & Kurtles (11) managed double figures in a very disappointing AO63 score line, that has seen the B5 Dragons drop to 5th on the ladder.   Batting “One Short” also knocks a hole in the all important quotient & sees that drop to 2nd best with others gaining ground, that could see the Dragons miss a Final spot for the 1st time in about 6 years.   One game to go before the Xmas break could see the Dragons back in it, it is that close in this Comp.

Lofty

Result: Engadine 5/244 beat Gymea Bay 10/113

Highlights:
- Stewart Lumsden 153
- Stuart Dibb 49
- Andrew Hyde 3/13
- Chris Jackson 3/8

Always good to win a toss and bat first.. Again Stew Lumsden dominated at Port Hacking High School. Backing up from an 85 hear the other week he smoked a massive 153 runs this week.. A good partnership of 100+ with Stu Dibb who made a lucky 49. Andrew Hyde chipped in with 9 out the 50 partnership with Stew. The boys together got us to the best score this season of 244.

The boys needed little time to roll the opposition. Hydey again bowling well with great assistance from Chris Jackson both Picking up 3 wickets.. Gav Lumsden again showed his fielding talent with three awesome catches.

Well done boys, keep the wins coming

Stew Lumsden would have the be the unluckiest bloke going around to miss out on player of the round this week after being pipped at the post a few rounds back.  Congratulations again on your 153..

Rd8 B5 Match Report Sunday 3rd Dec.

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Result;  Dragons 6/128 defeated St.Patricks AO104.

Highlites:  Jamie Wood 53NO, Ben White 3/32 & 1 Run-out & Greg Ings 2 Catches & 1 Run-out.

My goodness, is this summer?    Here we are 3 days into December & the second week in a row wondering if we were going to get another game in due to the crappy weather that has befallen us.    However, & thanks to a benevolent Official Umpire, we were able to manage a reduced 30 overs per side game against the current comp. leaders, St.Pats.    Heathcote Oval on a wet Sunday must be the worst ground in the Shire when there is wind & rain about & the pitch ain’t that much good either considering it’s supposed to be one of the so called “Premier” grounds.

Anyhow, getting back to the game, Egg won the toss & because it was so cold, decided that St.Pats could use the Kookaburra first.    Mind you it was the only Kooka that was  flying around that field on Sunday.   Any birds in the air yesterday were flying backwards in that wind & only heading north.

The Dragons opened with Matty (16) & Egg (19) putting on an opening stand of 28 in 7 overs & the stage was set for a competitive score if the run-rate could be maintained & wickets were in hand at the end of the 30 overs.   The weather made the batting & the bowling rather difficult, but once Woody (53NO) & Kurtles (11NO) got together at the crease the score started to look respectable, being 6/128 at the close of the innings.

After losing 41 minutes at the start & a further 40 minutes during the 1st innings due to the inclement weather, the 2nd innings commenced at 4.45 pm & the Dragons had just over 2 hours to complete the 30 overs allowed or get the required result.   Never in doubt was it, fellas.

The bowling & fielding got back on track once again after a couple of “down” games & last week’s draw.      With 2 bowled, 4 great catches (in that wind any catch was great) & 2 fantastic run-outs in the scorebook summary  St.Pats were AO104 in the 28th over & with them having their best bat “retired out”  (Judy was never so glad to see a bloke leave early during a game due to him having to go to work) & being 1 short (their best bowler) in the lists.

Best bowling was by Benny 3/32, Junior 2/22, & Kurtles 1/19.   Sorry Ooey o/26 don’t rate a mention.   He bowled well though in his 6 overs.

Catches went to Egg (2), Dano (1) & Dicko (1) with both Egg & Benny having the run-outs in the innings.    Considering the weather it was great to see.

Once again the B5 Dragons are back in the race & showed that they can do the job against the top teams, but why Oh why do we drop points to the lower rated teams then??

Judy, Allan & Aunty Katie would like to announce the safe arrival of their new Grand-daughter & Niece  who arrived on 23rd November in the “Olde Dart”.     Mother, Danielle, Baby, Loen Theel, & Father, ex Dragons’ player Brendan Lofthouse are all doing well.   A baby sister for Rhudy & Xander.   Don’t worry, the names do grow on you after a while.

Lofty.

Due to the bad weather conditions on week one, this round was reduced to a 30 over per side match on week two. Illawong won the toss and asked us to bat with Tim (7) and Nathan (32) getting us off to a good start followed by all the top order chipping in with handy runs – Dane (19), Brendan (26) and Alex G (17no), with Jackson, Alex R and Brayden all unselfishly sacrificing their wickets in the later overs to post a defendable score of 7 for 114. With the ball Alex R (2-23) was at the stumps, Brayden (1-7) was hard to get away and Brendan (2-21), Dane (1-13) and Alex G (1-16) all among the wickets. The star in the field was Alex G with two great catches and a side on run out, catches to Nathan and Jackson and a run out to Brayden saw Illawong fall short of the target, all out 92 in the 29th over. Although stats while sub fielding for the opposition don’t count, but for the record, Brayden and Dylan took catches with Tim knocking out middle stump for a run out.

Rd 6 B5 Match Report

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Dragons 10-130 lost to Gymea Bay 10-150.

Highlites: Gavin Scott 5/33,  Ben White 65.

Into the new format for the One Dayers saw us lose another toss & have first use of the Kookaburra & the Dragons had Gymea Bay at 1-11 in the 5th Over, when Kurtles (2-25) had the opener bowled.   Unfortunately the fielding early on was a bit below our usual standard & we managed to put about 4 catches down that would have seen them in serious trouble.   The bowlers toiled hard with Junior (2-20), Ooey (1-29) being the early wicket takers.   It wasn’t untill Gav (5-33) came on with his leggies, that we really started to get some results & the fielding really picked up & catches started to come our way.  Catches went to Matty, Marshy, 2 to Benny, Gav a caught & bowled, Jaryd (another 2 as keeper) & the most spectacular one to Timmy at short cover off one of Gav’s big turners that was absolutely clubbed.   Timmy was only about 8 metres off the bat & took a screamer beside his left ear, that would have been close to a six if he’d missed it.   Great reflex catch that!!   Even the other Gymea Bay batsman went & patted Tim on the back, which I thought was a great gesture.   We managed to have them AO150 with one ball of the 40 overs remaining.

The batting got away to a stready start but being 3-20 in the 5th over really put a damper on the score.  While the run rate was maintained at a good rate, the fall of wickets at too regular intervals & no one able to support the top scorer & #3 bat Ben White (65) who was the last man out at AO130 in the 29th over.   Once again there were two dismal LBW decisions against 2 of the better batsmen, that had a strong bearing on the result. Crikey!  If it’s off the middle of the bat, how can it be out LBW???

We need to get back on track in this Comp or we could find us missing out on enough points to get to the all important final 2 games.

Lofty

NB:    It was good to see one of the Grandpa’s of the team supporting Ben in the dying 17 minutes of the game helping him to farm the strike, only to see Ben dismissed 21 runs short of the target. Judy.

We won the toss and batted first with all the top order getting starts – Tim (67), Brayden (10), Dane (10), Alex R/Y (29), Matt (30), Brendan (26) and Nathan (45no). It is hard to single out any one batsman as everyone played their part in our total of 6 for 239, but Matt’s performance in his first hit of the season needs special mention as does Nathan’s 45no of 17 balls.
Week two in the field was started with a brilliant thirty minute cameo from Trent S who carted our bowlers to the far corners of Waratah, thank god for grade cricket? St. Pats battled hard and batted sensibly holding out some very good bowling especially the spinners who were getting plenty of bounce and spin. The bowling honours were shared evenly among Nathan, Jacob, Dane, Dylan, Matt and Brayden who all picked up a wicket each, Brendan with a run out and Tim two stumpings.
Congratulations to St. Pats for the effort they put in on both Saturdays, for an inexperienced team that were playing short they never gave up and I’m sure a win isn’t too far away.

A tough two weeks for our boys against Como Jannali. In the field Phoenix was impressive bowling 4 overs with 1/16.  All our bowlers worked hard with the final bowling figures: Ben 4 overs 0/22, Callum H 4 overs 0/24, Lachlan B 3 overs 0/11, Lachlam M 3 overs 0/22, Mark 3 overs 0/16 , Aden 3 overs 0/16, Callum Y 3 overs 0/16 and Jacob 3 overs 0/17. Our fielders did manage to get 4 runouts which shows some great skills in the field.

Mark and Ben produced 23 runs as our opening batsmen. Jacob and Callum Y were our top scoring partnership with a total of 28. Jacob was our top scorer for this match with 18 runs. Aden and Phoenix teamed up to put a further 17 runs on the board while Lachlan B and Callum H finished our batting with a 17 run partnership. While we didn’t win this match the boys again continue to learn and improve all the time against some tough opposition.

Result: Engadine Dragons 8/154 & 1/72 outright win over Cronulla Seagulls 10/54 & 9/154.

Highlights:
- Stewart Lumsden: 5/24   &   6/59   &   85 runs
- Andrew Hyde: 5/25 (including a hatrick)
- Adam Turvey: 55*

Top effort from the boys to record the first win . Stew and Hydey came out and wiped Cronulla out of the game with a sensational opening spell. Hydey picking up his a hatrick and both getting 5 wickets. The boys came out and batted well with Stew again contributing with 85 runs with some good back up from Deano.
2nd innings and Stew again was the destroyer picking up 6 wickets with Tim lucky to pick up 3.
Adam came out and blasted the outright win with 55 runs off about 20 balls. Well done boys getting some runs on the board always makes the game more competitive. Congrats to stew for his great match figures and the Hatrick Hero Hyde.

Stew would have to come close to player of the round with his performances with both bat and ball.

B5 Rd5 Match Report.

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Dragons 10/71 & 4/70 lost 1st Inns to St. John Bosco 10/100 & 10/182.

Highlights: Greg Ings 31.  Kurt Mitchell 3/32 & 1/15, Ben White 3/27 & 3/49, Paul Dixon 3/13, Jordan Duncan 4/27, Matt Russell 49no (sorry Matt but we added it up wrong, in all the excitement of salvaging the 1 point).

Day 1.   Greg lost the toss & Bosco batted 1st on a pitch that had very little synthetic surface left on it (might as well have played on bare concrete) that didn’t offer any assistance to the bowlers.   Kurtles & Junior had a torrid opening spell, whereby, 56 runs were scored before Kurtles got a straight one on the stumps for an LBW.   They then all realised that this was the way to go, bowl at the sticks & let them make the mistakes.  Ben & Paul D. carried on the good work to see them AO 100 in the 27th over.  Wickets to Kurtles 3/32, Ben 3/27 & Paul D. 3/13, catches to Kurtles & Jaryd (w/k) 1.

The Dragons opened with Egg (31) & Matty & unfortunately the Bosco bowlers followed the Dragons example by bowling at the stumps & apart from a couple of very dubious LBW decisions ( HELLOOOOO, how wide are the stumps   fellas???)  the Dragons didn’t offer much resistance being AO71 in 20 overs.    Kurtles & Ben had them at 2/25 at stumps on Day 1 & hoping to chase an outright or salvage the point for the 1st innings loss.   That’s 22 wickets in a day’s play, nearly as good as the Test in South Africa.

Day 2.   With a somewhat depleted attack (due to work commitments) the Dragons started the second day with a real rush of quick wickets, having Bosco at 6/52 in the 12th over.   Then the wheels fell of .  Bosco didn’t lose another wicket until the 20th over , 7/162 & things didn’t look so rosey.    There was a bit of a rally at the end that saw them AO182 in the 25th over.     Funny things happen on cricket fields & when Jaryd & Lofty got surrounded by a swarm of bees & they both took off for the boundary.   Everyone had a good laugh.

The Dragons’ 4th dig began at 3.15pm & with 212 runs to achieve the outright, things looked grim.   Oh well, 1 point is better than nothing!!!     The start wasn’t so good being 1/3 off the 1st ball of the 2nd over.    Being 4/70 when drinks were called at 4.39pm , Bosco decided it was “Beer O’clock” & called it off.    The only bright light was Matty’s 49no in a pretty dismal display.    Wickets to Junior 4/27 & Ben 3/49 with a catch to Junior & Dane had a great runout from about 30 metres from  point & with only 1 stump to look at.

Why, Oh why do we do this?   Whenever we play the team on or near the bottom of the ladder, we seem to play down to their level, instead of up to this teams ability.    Maybe we don’t like sitting on top this early in the season.

Then again we are still in 2nd spot & with the 1 Day games coming up we hope that we can maintain some form in these games as we did last season & if we can get our strongest players on the field.    Here’s hoping.

Lofty.

Lost the toss and were asked to bowl first. Gymea posted a very competitive score of 150 with wickets going to Nathan, Brendan, Dane and Jacob all picking up one wicket apiece and both Alex R and Brayden bagging three each. Fielding honours went to Tim with two stumpings and a catch each to Alex R and Brendan. Week two saw us bat very sensibly with the top order all making a contribution with Tim (13), Brayden (21), Dane (33), Alex R (17) among the runs followed by Nathan (46) and Brendan (15no) combining well in a 50 run partnership to post the win. The good news is that we are now coming first, the better news is that we will finally have 11 players available for the remainder of the season. Late breaking news – We are back to 10 players again, Alex G has flown out to London to trial for Fulham, what a great opportunity and we all wish him the very best.