The previous weekend Brunswick Cricket Club had six wins from six finals. This weekend we had another six finals - four grand finals and two matches to get us into grand finals the following week. The end result was three wins from the six matches - one from two in the grand finals and the other two teams going on to grand finals next weekend. So the summary is 1 premiership, 3 runners ups, and 2 teams looking for premierships next weekend. Let's check out some details...
Womens T20 7/64 v Sydenham Hillside 1/69
Indigo Rodger 21
Allanah Sander 1/22
A great performance from our women's team to make it to the grand final. Well done! Carn the Wicks!!
Seconds 6/133 v St Bernards 129
O Price 25, E Smith 22
M Jackman 4/27, H Travers 2/17, A Halls 2/29, O Price 2/19
Grand Final this Saturday & Sunday at Werribee. Carn the Wicks!!
Thirds 130 v Werribee 102
V Sandhu 41, P Holly 38
E Sivak 4/32, T Burn 2/29, J McDonald 2/21, L Giblett 2/16
Congratulations to our Thirds who are Premiers!
The 3s Grand Final saw the two standout teams in the league go head to head. After the regular season there was not much to split the teams with both games earlier in the year going down to the wire. We entered the weekend 1-1 with Werribee, and arguably slight underdogs having finished a few points behind them in the league campaign.
Ecca won the first mini battle of the weekend by calling correctly at the toss. Without any hesitation he chose to bat first on a very good looking wicket. Eric and Akshay opened up and were very watchful against the new ball, seeing off the first 10 overs for no loss. Akshay was the first wicket to fall with the score at 17, flirting at a wide one and the Werribee gully fielder taking a one handed reaction catch to get their final underway. Eric fell in similar fashion a few overs later after having a lapse in concentration. Caught behind. Giri quickly followed after a stiff umpiring decision. Caught behind (allegedly). We found ourselves 20-3 and in dire straights.
Pat and Vansh came together in the middle looking to rebuild the innings for a second week in a row. Vansh played his usual brand of fearless cricket and looked to put pressure back on the bowlers. Pat had a contrasting style and backed his technique and defence playing a more risk free game. Vansh’s free-flowing stroke play got our innings moving in the right direction but just as it looked as though we were wrestling back momentum in the game Vansh skyed one and was caught for a well made 41. 74-4.
We subsequently lost 2 further wickets for 7 runs. JMac got a ball that popped off a length and gloved one to the slip corden. Sanj, returning from injury, was bowled trying to work one into the leg side. 81-6. Pat was digging in deep at the other end and just needed a partner to hang around with him. Meady walked out at number 8 and navigated a nervy passage of play to bring us into tea with no further loss of wickets. 85-6 at Tea.
Post tea, Meady looked to be positive and started to look good before playing one shot too many and cutting one straight to point. 97-7. Ed Sivak joined Pat and we knew this was probably our last hope of trying to creep up to anything competitive with two genuine number 11s to come. There was a glimmer of hope as the pair put on 25 for the 8th wicket, mostly off the blade of Pat Holly. After grinding it out for most of the day, Pat eventually fell just as he was starting to threaten to open up. Inside edge onto his pads, the ball ballooned up for a fairly straightforward catch to the keeper. 122-8. Pat finished 38 off 113 rocks, a crucial knock under huge amounts of pressure.
The last 2 wickets fell pretty quickly after that. Ed was caught at cover trying to clear the infield and then Tom Burn was caught having a swipe off the spinner.
130 all out on a beautiful batting deck.
Werribe were delighted with their efforts and we knew we had to be almost perfect with the ball and in the field to try and pull off something special. All we could cling onto was knowing we had put some sort of score on the board and our strong bowling unit had something to work with.
We had to bowl 13 overs at Werribee before close of play to complete Day 1 of the Grand Final. Realistically we needed to take 2 or 3 to have a chance at victory on Day 2. Ed opened up for us and with his first legal delivery of the innings struck the Werribee skipper on the pads. Massive appeal, umpire straight up. Perfect start. Game on!
A few overs later Ed found the edge of their number 3 bat, Healy. Juggled at 3rd slip, ball ends up in front of JMac at 2nd. Dives on top of the ball, we try to claim the catch. Umpires confer, batter unmoved - not out.
The remaining overs were fairly uneventful with Ecca chopping and changing the bowlers in the search for wickets. Werribee finished the day 27-1.
Tommy Burn and Gibbo started off Day 2 for us with the ball. We needed early wickets and these two delivered. Tom bowled an absolute jaffer to Healy, squared him up hit top of off stump. What a way to start the day! Gibbo then removed the other opening bat. Just a build up of pressure and good bowling produced a loose shot. Catch at cover. Pretty much straight away Gibbo had another. Snicked off Knight, sharp catch at slip by Eric. 35-4. Wicks on a roll. Werribee’s two main batters Healy and Knight in the sheds. Werribee now under serious pressure. Their young number 4 bat came out positively. Looked all at sea against Tom Burn. However, Gibbo, after bowling 4 overs for about 2 runs dropped a couple short and the young Gill climbed into him. 14 off Gibbo’s 5th over. Werribee were fighting back. Eric rang the changes. JMac replaced Gibbo and a few overs later Ed replaced Tom Burn. Both settled into their spells and bowled tight areas. Gill was batting pretty well and threatening to put the game to bed. We got to the first drinks break and the score was 74-4.
Post drinks Gill continued to try and move the game along but Ed and JMac made it hard work with their immaculate lines and lengths. Then the half chance came, Gill smoked one to the right of Pat at extra cover. Pat got a hand to it but was only able to parry it up. Luckily Hammer came charging in from mid off and dived forward to claim the rebound. Another swing in the game, Wicks back in with a chance. 78-5
From that moment on it was pretty much all Brunswick. Ed and JMac bowled marathon spells, more than 10 each on the bounce, taking 2 wickets apiece as Werribee faltered to 85-9. One of those wickets was an excellent slip catch by JMac, diving forward at 2nd.
We were one away from pulling off an unbelievable win. But the game still wasn’t done. Werribee’s 10th wicket pair started to build a little partnership and kept the scoreboard ticking over. Eric finally decided to put an end to Ed’s epic spell. Step up Tommy Burn. He started off proceedings on Day 2 and he put an end to them. Batsman tried to carve him away. In the air, Giri takes a good grab low to his right at gully.
BRUNSWICK ARE THE CHAMPIONS!! Win by 28 runs. The celebrations will be going all week.
Fourths 137 v Werribee 142 & 6/126
H Butt 5/31( inc hat tick ), F Mahmud 1/17, R Magar 2/38, E Nolte 1/10, D Smith 1/8
R Anderson 22, R Magar 21, C Rowe 33, H Butt 22
R Magar 4/32, Z Welsh 1/22, A Potter 1/13
What a match - so close!
Saturday B 8/199 v Reds 180
S Kumar 21, J Anderson 49, D Booth 23, C West 40
A Martin 4/29, A Read 1/32, J Nolte 1/33, M Emu 1/12, Harley 2/23
MCA B Grade Semi-Final
Brunswick v Reds
In Cormac McCarthy’s seminal novel ‘Blood Meridian’ The Judge issued an address to his followers on the subject of war. It read as follows:
“Suppose two men at cards with nothing to wager save their lives. Who has not heard such a tale? A turn of the card. The whole universe for such a player has labored clanking to this moment which will tell if he is to die at that man’s hand or that man at his. What more certain validation of a man’s worth could there be? This enhancement of the game to its ultimate state admits no argument concerning the notion of fate. The selection of one man over another is a preference absolute and irrevocable and it is a dull man indeed who could reckon so profound a decision without agency or significance either one. In such games as have for their stake the annihilation of the defeated the decisions are quite clear. This man holding this particular arrangement of cards in his hand is thereby removed from existence. This is the nature of war, whose stake is at once the game and the authority and the justification. Seen so, war is the truest form of divination. It is the testing of one’s will and the will of another within that larger will which because it binds them is therefore forced to select. War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence. War is god.”
…and thus is the stake set in March, whereby all other successes, failures, all personal accomplishments, statistics and performances are subjugated to the condition of war. But one team will progress through to the final. The winner vindicated in all matters of morality, and the loser removed from competition. The same condition had been applied to Chopper’s men for the previous 2 weeks, faced with sudden death in the last round of the home and away season as well as a qualifying final in order to reach the stage that was set for the 16th of March. They overcame all in their path to eliminate both Maribyrnong Park and Indigos from the running for a flag. Just 3 teams remained in competition as the preliminary final began at high-noon on Saturday.
Chopper’s men took the field unchanged from their victory the week prior. As if guided through divine premonition Chopper again won the toss, giving Brunswick the pick of conditions. Choosing to bat first, Brunswick’s plan was to set a total and an imposing one at that. This was the approach taken by the opening batters Sid Kumar and Mickey Singh. Sid nailed the first ball of the day for four with a dominant pull-shot, ensuring the Reds understood that he meant business. Intent was clear and Mickey decided he’d try to do the same, and continued to play a truly dismal attempted slog first ball which resulted in him walking back to his team mates sooner than they could take their seats. What had begun as an imperious start was soon a hard-fought effort of application as Sid was joined at the crease by Chopper. The two battled away against a quality bowling attack going at a strike rate of 50. Sid continued to back his pull shot with mixed success until he eventually holed out to a fielder on the ring for 21. At this stage the experience of Chopper at the crease was matched by Jeremy Anderson and the seasoned Brunswick veterans seemed to take control of the situation with a 30-run partnership. Just as things seemed to be in complete control for the pair, Chopper did what his named suggested and chopped onto his stumps for 17.
At 3-68 the game was in the balance, our top 3 all back in the sheds and a lot of work still to do from the middle order. It just so happens that the two men in were the same two who guided us to victory the previous week against Indigos. Once Booth and Anderson were at the crease, Brunswick again took control. It was a partnership of dominance and elegance as Mr Anderson dispatched what now appeared to be a hapless bowling attack to all parts of Walker East. Mr Anderson raced to 49 off 61 rocks, including 5 4s and 2 6s as he looked to be batting on a different pitch and facing different bowlers to those who came before him. His Partner Booth, while never quite finding the free-flowing dominance held up his end and supported Mr Anderson as they put on a 53-run stand that set up the rest of the innings. Boothy ran Mr Anderson into the ground, and insisted the pair take on fielders to maintain pressure. While Mr Anderson may have once been a renowned sprinter, he was struggling to keep up with this marathon effort and was starting to fade in the sun. Just as it seemed Mr Anderson was going to raise his bat for 50, he found a fielder off the blade of his bat and departed the field just 1 run shy of the half century milestone. The score was 4 -121, not yet a match winning total. Thus entered the better West. What followed was an innings that was as short as it was impactful. Booth and the better West combined to put on 50 runs in the space of 5 overs. In these 5 overs the ball travelled to the boundary 4 times and over it twice, with nearly every ball between resulting in a hard run 2. The two took on fielders and forced errors while rapidly pushing the score to something dominant. However, he who lives by the sword dies by the sword and as it seemed the better West would also soon raise the bat after being at the crease for only a matter of minutes, Boothy decided it was time to fire up the BoothBQ. After taking an easy single, the better West stood at the edge of his crease awaiting a call from his partner, which only came after his partner had already run ¾ of the length of the pitch, apparently in an attempt to steal a run without the fielder realising. By this stage, the better West was a mere sacrificial lamb, running with nothing but the outside chance that the fielder would fumble the ball, which let’s face it is a genuine possibility in MCA B grade. However, the damage had been done and the score was now sitting at a significantly stronger 170. The next stage of the game saw Boothy joined at the crease by the flightless bird, who fittingly asked Boothy “are you ready to run?”. A question that excited Boothy more than any other combination of words in the English language. However, this excitement was short lived as Boothy, seemingly racked with guilt over his brutal runout of the better West, missed a straight one and was too sent back to the “pavilion” (editor’s note – a shady tree) ending a vitally important innings of 23 which anchored his side through much of the afternoon. The flightless bird was then joined at the crease by Jack ‘L’Assassino’ Nolte, who was unable to make an impact, bunting his second ball back to the bowler for a regulation catch. With a sudden shift of momentum, brought on by 3-2 in the space of 2 overs, it seemed like the impregnable total which was on the cards only a few minutes ago was lost. However, the big bird had other ideas. Joined by Luka, the two put on 27 runs in the last few overs to take Brunswick’s score to 7-199. A score that put Chopper’s men in a dominant position at the halfway point of the game. But not before receiving one final blow as Luka tried to kick a yorker and ruled himself out of the entire second innings of the game with a potentially broken toe.
As the second innings commenced a certain calm fell over the Brunswick players taking the field with the knowledge that the Reds batsmen were now under pressure to score quickly more than the Brunswick bowlers were under pressure to take wickets. Chopper’s men knew that if they played even close to their best game of cricket we would be booking ourselves in for a date in the grand final. Harls Barkley opened the innings with a very tidy over, which increased the confidence of the rest the players as it was clear he was unaffected by the paralysing nerves sometimes associated with playing in a final. This was a sign of things to come as Hector’s Deli would go on to be our most economical bowler for the day. From the other end, Chopper turned to none other than the flightless bird, but not before sending a fielder on the fence at deep mid-wicket. What seemed like an oddly defensive field from the captain resulted in a stroke of brilliance as just a couple of balls later, the Big Bird dragged one down short and it was nailed towards the midwicket boundary only to be caught a metre from the rope by the fast-bowling saxophonist. Coming in at 3 for Reds was Sambath Kumar. A man who singlehandedly handed Chopper’s men defeat earlier in the season with a run-a-ball hundred. This was a big moment in the game, and Chopper’s men couldn’t let him get away. Seemingly inspired, a la John Coltrane during the recording of Giant Steps, Harls Barkley bowled what may have been the ball of the day and had Kumar snicking to gully, a catch held by the safe hands of Aiden Martin. At this stage in the game, right as Brunswick began to flex their dominance, the Reds dug in. The game was soon to embark on a bitter tug-of-war in what would ultimately be an epic finish. Reds Captain Mani settled at the crease, and battled his way to a gritty 50, the only player for the day who had the opportunity to raise his bat, accompanied by Koppala, the two put on 60 runs and forced Chopper to try different plans. It wasn’t until after the first drinks break and a period of grinding in the field did the silent assassin, Jack Nolte find the breakthrough. Jack forced the error which allowed the ever-green Geoff Sez to take a diving catch in the circle. It is worth noting that this catch did not require Geoff to dive, other than his insistence of always catching the ball with his fingers pointing up, even in the ball is 20 cm from the ground. Regardless, an impressive catch broke a crucial partnership. The sledging of the Reds captain intensified “one lusty blow here and he throws it all away”, “one false shot and that’s the game mate” and without need of any further invitation, Mani, the one man holding the innings together for the Reds decided to try to bomb Chopper down the ground, before landing in the safe hands of Geoff Senz. This time taking a much more comfortable catch, yet still making a point that fingers up is the safest way to catch a ball. With two new batsmen at the crease Brunswick felt well and truly back in control of this game. However, Reds did not want to fold their hand, with the prospect of elimination at hand each wicket taken from here on would come at a significant cost. The incoming pair fought hard and defended their way to moments before the drinks break, when Kollapuri holed out to the deep only to be dropped on the boundary by the better West in what would have been a very difficult catch running and diving around the rope. However, this drop invited Reds back into the game on the call of drinks.
With the game drawing towards its zenith in the last session of play, the equation was simple for the Reds. 92 runs needed off 90 balls with 6 wickets in hand. And this equation soon became harder as Kollapuri, seemingly wanting to let .Mr West off the hook for having dropped him the previous over, tried to bomb Aiden for 6 and hit the ball straight up and was easily caught by the tidiest wicket keeper to ever play 5th XI cricket. A wave of relief flooded the team, especially .Mr West who was let off the hook by a batsman that only added 1 run to the score after being dropped. As Chopper’s men felt as though they had just wrestled the game back into their advantage, a moment of chaos ensued and the Reds put on 35 runs in rapid succession. M Rafi, hit 29 off 20 balls including 3 4s and a 6 hitting Geoff Senz and Chopper out of the attack in a disrespectful fashion. At 5 for 143, there was just a moment of panic that began to set in across the ground as the prospect of the Reds chasing down the score started to set in. Cometh the hour, cometh the men. In dual clutch performances at the death of the game Aidan Martin and Sid Kumar stood tall and wrestled the game back into Brunswick’s favour. Aiden, continuing to attack, forced the stumping of Rafi, taken cleanly and clinically by the best gloveman in the league to leave the score at 6-143, and it felt like only a moment later Sid stood tall again and landed a direct hit run out at the non-strikers end, stealing the wickets of the 2 set batsmen and leaving the tail of the Reds with a mountain to climb. But climb they did, as Pachaiappan continued to match the run rate of a run per ball. Again Sid and Aiden combined for a stumping, Leaving the score at 8-171. The pressure started to mount on both teams as there were less than 30 runs remaining. Enter Hector’s Deli who tried to lure the incoming A Brar into a false shot as if dangling a freshly made pastrami sandwich on a length, A Brar decided he was hungry and in attempting to receive the freshly made sandwich was fooled by the meat chef and skied the ball allowing Hector’s Deli to take the catch himself. Just 1 wicket remained, and 24 runs left to defend. Advantage Brunswick.
The final moments of the game were buoyed by the arrival of Brunswick’s 4th XI, having just completed the first day of their grand final and a string of other Brunswick and Reds stalwarts watching on from the boundary. The atmosphere was Palpable, and no team was yet ready to concede defeat. In one final play Pachaiappan attempted to pull off the impossible and win the game singlehandedly. Aiden Martin was his adversary and the over started with a boundary. Now just 20 runs on the board. Aiden continued to back his skills and toss the ball up hoping for the edge, but as Aiden found the edge, it became clear that it was a serious edge, the ball was flying towards the cover point boundary on a trajectory to add 6 runs to the total. On the boundary, the better West stood waiting, with one attempt, he plucked the ball out of the air and landed precariously close to the boundary cones. As he stood, nervously trying to assess whether or not he had remained within the field of play, a massive cheer erupted from Bman and his men, who shouted “He was in! He was in! It’s out!” And with that ended the season of the Reds. Without further analysis of the catch, Brunswick shook hands with the Reds and sang the song. As per the condition of war, only two teams continue on in the hunt for the flag. All matters of morality vindicated as the loser finds a new hobby for the next 6 months.
Grand Final this Saturday v Royal Park Reds @ Walker East. Carn the Wicks!
Sunday D 127 v Parkville District 166
T Varley 40no
A Saunders 3/6, M Varley 3/43, L Anderson 2/18, B Powell 1/12, R Rahman 1/28
Okay, here it is, the Grand Final match, and we're up against Parkville District (who knocked over the home and away leaders the previous week), away at their home ground - Brens Oval, Parkville.
Parkville D won the toss and chose to bat, so, we proceeded to do our regular warmups and fielding drills and took to the field, ready to battle it out for the premiership. Romi Rahman and Osgar Bryant toiled hard early and we soon picked up our first wicket, putting an end to the opening partnership of 31 runs. Wickets then began to fall fairly regularly, through excellent bowling from Max Varley 3/43 (9) (including a bowled off his first ball - great stuff Max), Lachlan Anderson 2/18 (5), Romi R 1/28 (7) and then a top-shelf finishing spell from Alastair Saunders 3/6 (3) (terrific work Al). Superb catching from Ruben P with 2 (mid on and long off - having run from mid on to take a wonderful AFL-style-mark catch - well done Ruben) and Tom Varley (behind the stumps), Osgar B (gully) and Lachlan A (short 3rd man), each taking 1. We were a bit sloppy in the field, but, thankfully, the dropped catches didn't hurt us too much, however, we did still bowl too many wides. A solid team effort in the field though, overall, getting Parkville D all out for 166 runs, after 39 overs.
Next, it was our turn to bat and knock over, what seemed to be, a modest target, of 167 runs from our 45 overs. We set off with high hopes of carrying on our good form, from the previous few weeks, but, unfortunately, it wasn't to be and we soon found ourselves really struggling, at 3/15, in our 12th over. Sadly, things didn't really improve from there, until Tom Varley and Alastair Saunders, gave us a glimmer of hope, battling out a 40-run final wicket partnership (Tom V finishing on 40* (68) - great work Tom), but it wasn't enough and, once Al fell, we were all out for 127, after 42 overs, and the premiership was gone.
A tough loss to take and, yes, it's still pretty raw and painful, I must say, but, it wasn't to be, with Parkville District proving to be the better team on the day. They bowled and fielded really well, mindful of a couple of flukes thrown in (who could believe the direct hit from the boundary run out!?) and they took all their chances, with not one dropped catch (including the guy falling over backwards, with his hand out, that caught Ruben - unbelievable!!). Let's hold our heads up high, though, as everyone contributed so well to the week to week success across the season - really well done everyone - hopefully we'll be able to take it all the way, past that final step, next season. Carn the Wicks!