Gordon Colts get back-to-back Metropolitan Cup premierships 

We rocked up to the home of Gordon cricket for our second week in a row, getting use to the large change room and all the history posted on the walls. 

Iqbal Ahmed celebrates retaining the Metropolitan Cup 

After our ground staff (and starting XI) packed the covers away we were told we were going to be chasing leather all day. I knew it was going to be a painful day when I heard the sound of a cougar coming from the bushes followed by a big “cooommmmmeeee onnnnn Peeeennnnnrrrrriiiiiiffffffffffffffffffffffffff” looking up I saw this sound coming from a Penrith player’s mother. This noise was heard at least once an over for the entirety for the day. 

A few early drives by the Penrith openers (And some YEEHAAS by the supporters) showed how good the deck was and should have been a day to cash in for all batsman! Tight lines from Dave “the favourite son” Leiboff (2/3 from 9 overs including 7 maidens) and Deva “The Mumbai Millionaire” Nirthanakumaranaranranaran (0/12 from 7) saw us get a couple of early poles and Penrith 2/10. ‘The Boff’ once again getting reward for bowling in the right areas. 

We had talked about bowling in partnerships in the sheds and this was a clear example of it. This was backed up in the field with everyone pulling their weight, special mentions to Tim “the VuVu” Van Zylen and Ben “the ball magnet” Armstrong.

The team goes up after Coleman takes off the bails - the final wicket and victory was ours 

Following up from the openers Captain Millar and Daniel “Partridge Junior” Stickland kept the pressure on. Stickland was rewarded with 3 wickets and a bump on the head. (3/8 from 8). After a diving catch from Andy Coleman, he proceeded to throw the ball in the air which caught Sticky just above the eye as he ran through to celebrate. 

Millar is not a man to be kept waiting as a Penrith batsmen found out, taking a bit longer between overs. He made it a point to make him have a restful day knocking his castle over on the next ball. At this point Penrith were 6/not to many before lunch on day 1. ‘Ronald McDonald’ Armstrong kept the pressure on with Adam “never trust a bloke with two first names” Aarons just before lunch, which came at a handy time, with the Penrith number 7 looking dangerous and playing a few big strokes. 

6/48 at lunch.

Dave Leiboff, Dave Millar and Mark Fonseka make hay on a great batting deck 

Lunch was good, I’m quite happy with the Subway provided during times when we are fielding, but I’m still craving the Fogo chicken burger. 

Back onto the field a loud cheer went up as Iqbal “the people’s champion” Ahmed. He bowled okay. Getting extra bounce on this Chatswood track. Excited by this extra bounce, Iqbal attempted to bounce the batsman with a vicious ball that got up to his shoulder…very very slowly. The people’s champion picked up the wicket of the hard hitting Penrith number 7 with a sharp catch by Jason Leiboff at first slip. Adam Aarons then bowled a batsman who didn’t offer a shot and we were 2 wickets away from cleaning up Penrith cheaply. 

We stayed patient and were rewarded with the two last wickets Iqbal claiming both. I must mention a sharp catch at second slip from Dave Millar off Iqbal to remove the last batsman. I must mention it because if I don’t, Dave will remind me about it about 50 times before next season! Penrith finishing up with 97 runs and an equal number of cougar noises.

Adam Aarons takes a key wicket, Dan Stickland bags a few and Iqbal Ahmed cleans up the tail 

With 40 minutes before tea, Tim and I were given instructions to bat till tea. Clearly I didn’t pay attention and neither did Coleman and we were 2/20 after not long. Vu Vu and Ronald stuck around and were building a good partnership before Vu Vu was judged LBW of a non-turning spinner. The number one son, Dave Leiboff, and Benjamin Armstrong steadied the ship until tea. The partnership grew after tea and until Ben was looking to clear the fence and was bowled. 

Let’s not talk about Iqbal’s ball, or Adam’s leave (which meant he was involved in both wickets where a shot was not offered).

The number two brother entered and joined the first and put together a very decent partnership which helped us pass the total. Dave playing some powerful pulls and some delicate “Fonzy’s- you know that shot behind point” and Jason following his form from last week driving the ball comfortably. 

Jason lost his wicket in the pursuit of runs with about 10 overs left. Skipper Millar joined Dave at the crease and saw out the reminding overs. 7/115 at the end of the day’s play.

We knew that with a lead of 20 runs that the first hour was so important. Survive that, capitalise in the second hour, then we would be home and on the way to the Orchard to celebrate a premiership. If we failed, Penrith, and its cougar noise, would throw everything at us in a bid for quick runs and then apply the pressure again with the ball.

Dave and Dave started off decently before Millar cut a ball hard to second slip. This brought our no.10 to the crease Daniel Stickland. He stuck around with Dave Leiboff and had a very handy 40 run partnership. Dave continued to strike the ball well on his way to 69. Sticky (11) has come up with the goods with the bat in the last two digs and built partnerships with whoever he is batting with. When Sticky got out we were 9/162 with plenty of time left in the day. Deva was all geared up for a big innings and felt in form after his decent knock last week.

The team celebrate a man-of-the-match performance by Dave Leiboff - a great all-round display 

Unfortunately Dave got out soon after, a well played innings but he would have definitely wanted more. With plenty of time still left in the day Penrith knew if they came out and batted aggressively they could be in for something later on.

The Slumdog Millionaire had other ideas (3/31) picking up the first 3 wickets. Dave Leiboff bowled steadily again without reward and the Penrith side began to mount a rear-guard attack, pushing to 100 for the loss of 3 wickets at the mid-point of the day.

To be honest, our fielding was a bit sloppy, but the pressure remained and we knew that it would continue to build on the Penrith side as the overs ticked away and they weren’t getting as many runs as they would have liked.

The peoples champion had been tossed the ball just before the drinks break, but it was just after that he began to weave his magic, firstly with an LBW, then bowling a bloke, enticing a lofted stroke for a catch and then finishing off the innings with a stumping. 4wickets. Standard.

However, the moment of the game was just after Iqbal struck first, breaking the decent partnership. 

Dave Millar leads the song after clinching another premiership as captain 

The following over the ball was played to Dave Millar and the batsman set of for a run. Well kind of. The new batsman sold his in-form partner a dummy, as the skipper pounced, still on the ground and threw down the stumps. Side on. Just the one stump to aim at. Gus Logie, eat your heart out!

Two new batsman were in and that was pretty much the game.

Chasing 64 for victory, a nasty little target, the Vu Vu had casually mentioned he was going to score 63 and let Fonzy get 1. He started off with the right mentality punishing the ball to all parts and before long we were 27 after 4 overs. Vu Vu 26, Fonzy on 1. Fonzy had only faced one ball. The Vu Vu fell on 26. Coleman and Fonseka finished off the chased and eased to a 9 wicket victory in front of the victorious 5th Grade side and many club officials and supporters.

Back-to-back premiers for the Colts boys.

The song was sung, with a changeroom full of supporters and beers were consumed - with the opposition and our supporters.

Thanks to everyone from Gordon who came down and supported us over the last weeks and throughout the season; there are countless names to mention. However, I would especially like to thank Jim Cattlin and Michael Michael for their assistance over the past couple of weeks.

A special mention to Mrs Leiboff for making my day after Dave Millar took a catch. She just wanted to clarify whether it was Iqbal who took the catch? Admittedly a mistake anyone could have made.

Finally, a quick mention to Ed Howitt Snr, who has now scored the Colts to 3 of their 4 premierships in recent years. Thanks good sir!

Until the next drink is consumed from the Metropolitan Cup… Up Gordon, Get Fah You Bah.

Mark Fonseka

The winning side - Deva, Ben Dave, Jason, Mark, Iqbal, Ed Snr (Scorer)

Adam, Dan, Dave (c), Andrew, Tim

The Stags teach the Students a lesson 

The team in Colts is filled with some of the best blokes in the club, giving the team a great camaraderie which, when it comes to finals cricket, is often the telling factor - especially as after Sydney University’s shock loss to North Sydney, the mighty Colts found themselves in a one verse two match up down ol’ Chatswood way. 

Iqbal Ahmed continues to contribute to the success of the side 

The grass was damp and the pitch promised some early life, so having lost the toss and been sent into bat the Colts would have been excused for some pre-match jitters.

Luckily for Gordon, the boys in the Gordon Colts don’t do fear, even after losing last week’s hero Tim Van Zuylan second ball. Some conservative batting (by their standards) saw Gordon move strongly to 1-44 off the first 13 overs before first Andrew Coleman and then Mark Fonseka threw away good starts to leave the Stags in some trouble at 3-52.

Now, those who don’t know James Dedman might be excused for thinking that a year off from the sport would leave a bit of rust. They of course would be wrong – but you can’t hold that against them. After a year away, James graciously decided to help out his old team in the semi-finals (“its not worth playing unless there is a trophy on the line”) and proceeded to start exactly where he left off with some lovely drives and the students were left reeling. James was ably supported by the rest of the middle order and his 80 formed the bedrock of the innings.

After the loss of James, David Leiboff (22), Iqbal Ahmed (19) and Ben Armstrong (0) the Colts were looking at reaching what I had proudly proclaimed was par, a score of 200 being fair on the slower than usual Chatswood outfield. 

Thankfully my prophesying wasn’t put to the test as Jason Leiboff (33) and the captain David Millar (49) had other ideas, leaving the Stags at a respectable 9/270.

With Dan “James Junior” Stickland and Deva “Jemal” Nirthanakumaran at the crease it was time to put the whites on. The students seemed to have the same idea and were left cursing when the two tail-enders consistently “left” anything wide of, over, and possibly even through, the stumps. After a number of picturesque cover drives a foot wide of the ball, Dan and Deva got their eyes in and put on a magnificent 27 for the last wicket, leaving the Stags jubilant and the students heartbroken as they finally walked off the field with 297 to chase.

Eleven overs were left on day one and the Stags set about attempting to claim an early wicket. The students’ openers (the ‘brothers’ Barwick) put up a good fight and managed to move the score along to 0/29 at the close of play. While it would have been great to get a wicket at the end of day one, the Stags knew that the first hour at Chatswood on day two would be the real clincher as the deck found some life again.

Day two loomed and the match was evenly poised. The Stags took the field, so did the umpires. The crowd took their seats… and waited. 

Unfortunately the batsmen didn’t seem to get the memo and when they finally did decide to play some cricket they were greeted with a muted cheer (and perhaps some sledging).

Deva Nirthanakumaran keeps the students in the field for much longer than they wished 

Now it must be said that even playing on the closest pitch, the walk from the stands to the field at Chatswood can feel like a long one. For the University openers it must have felt like a mile as the students’ season top scorer decided to guide a wide second ball to the waiting cover fieldsman. Jemal had struck and the Stags were fired up but still cautious – after all, the number three had put on quite a few runs and had made a match winning 70 last time the two sides had met.

First ball was a lovely delivery from Deva that jagged back and was watched carefully through to the keeper. So was the second, except this time the off stump got in the way. 2/29 in the first over back and it was game on.

Some tight bowling from the “speed demon” David Leiboff kept the batsman guessing and soon the Students were in serious trouble at 6 for very few at the first drinks break. That first hour at Chatswood offers some life for the bowlers and the Students had no answer to the great lines bowled.

They were beaten already and they knew it (even if the Stags didn’t). Clearly playing for the draw, the Students’ captain put up a commendable fight and along with the number 8 managed to last out the next hour without loss… or runs: only about 15 scored in the 20 overs bowled between drinks and lunch.

After lunch the wickets began to fall again, with Jason Leiboff and Iqbal Ahmed claiming the final scalps. Great bowling from the stags leaving the students flunking, all out for less than half the total with the “Peoples Champion” claiming 3, Jemal 3 and the Speed Demon 3 more on what, to be fair, was a beautiful wicket.

On to the final and the chance to defend the Metro Cup!

Andrew Coleman 

On an early Saturday morning, a fairly standard Sydney summer day for the start of the Qualifying Finals, there wasn’t quite the need to bolt down to Beauchamp with plenty of rain falling down overnight. Although the ground was completely covered in puddles, which the players worked hard on all day (only to have to re-do a couple of times!), the pitch was as hard as ever. 

Deva Nirthanakumaran puts in a great spell to restrict the Wests' batsmen 

With the pitch bound to stay as flat as it’s been all year, and the field only getting drier, it made sense for the Stags to send Wests into bat, knowing they had to bowl us out to win.

This was short lived however, with the prediction of heavy rain to come by the umpires we were called off after only a few overs of play into what would be a long day hanging around watching the opposition take turns on the super-soper, mopping up the field. The day was not to go without controversy however.

When on the way to the shops, Mark Fonseka assured us how good all Sri Lankan’s are at driving. Despite this assurance, he wasn’t the greatest ambassador for this, managing to roll into the back of a Lexus in the Westfield car park. Although there were initially a few arms and other things raised at Fonz in the middle of a packed car park, a pat on the back later, they both drove off having made a new mate.

Play finally got started again in the afternoon with Deva and Adam Aarons taking the first day scalps, leaving Wests at a very slow 2-57 off 35 overs overnight, with a big day ahead of them after some rather conservative batting.

The next day was set to be a big day of cricket with both sides needing to get off to a good start to set a base to work from. It turned out that, after some tight bowling and very long spells from Leiboff and Deva, as well as a run out (that although the ball went through four pairs of hands, Fonsey was happy to claim), the Stags were on top with Wests at 5-95.

Despite some persistent lower order batting, Iqbal helped clean up the tail along with a few more woeful run outs to leave us 194 to chase with plenty of time left in the day, and Wests needing to bowl us out to progress.

Tim van Zuylen muscles the ball back down the ground 

Gordon didn’t get off to the greatest start, with Mark still clearly shaken up by the incident the day prior, falling early. This brought Tim and Andrew ‘2nd placed’ Coleman to the crease, whom together had previously scored over 300 runs in two games against Wests.

Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for Elton, which most likely would’ve put a false hope in their bowlers’ eyes. Pity for them it was Tim’s turn to make a big one, smacking a few early pull shots until he started to get onto his cover drive which he happily sat on for the next 80 odd runs. Tim was striking the ball as clean as many had seen, and he and Carl made sure to put us in the best position for a semi with a strong partnership of 119, of which Carl made 33 and extras following close behind.

Unfortunately the loss of 2 quick wickets close to finish saw Iqbal to the crease, and although he “looked like he was sitting on his bat when he ran” (Anonymous), he managed to get dropped by the poor bloke who had already missed a previous five chances to win us the game and put us into the semi with a good win behind us.

Celebrating a crisp century, Tim van Zuylen raises his bat 

Tim’s innings deserves a good note, he batted brilliantly and saw us through to the end with a very entertaining 109* to boost that average a little bit higher than Coleman’s. Andy’s contribution to the covers should also be noted. Cheers for making new friends with the opposition mate!

As we came off the field, we were greeted with the news that North Sydney had upset Sydney Uni, handing us top spot going into the semi-finals.

Let’s roll through these finals gents.

GET FAH YOU BAH!!

Ben Armstrong

So this is it, last round of the season. The reserve Stags where in high spirits as we had enjoyed a good season and were now eyeing off being possible Minor Premiers. A win would help, but we knew that the game we forfeited would come back to haunt us.

Benny Armstrong - Iqbal 'The People's Champion' Ahmed's favourite 

Skipper Coleman lost the toss and we were sent in on what looked like a good wicket, as it turns out it wasn’t and it was an uphill struggle for all of the batsmen. Special mention to Carl “bats a bit like Brad Haddin” Kinghorne as he edged his way to top score for the Stags. 

The other worthy of a mention is Ben Armstrong, not because of his long flowing red hair but by the way he goes about his cricket. Always enthusiastic and plays with a smile on his face……..Well I guess he has to with the colour of his hair!!!!

Anyway we posted 169 off our allotted overs and then managed to keep the lads from Parramatta to 119. Largely because of me. Let’s not sugar coat it. I took 5 wickets and bowled superbly. 

A lot of people have a problem with talking about themselves or talking themselves up, I don’t and neither does my mate Ian Higgins…….if you haven’t already heard he now has a podcast, it would be strange if you didn’t know this!!!!!

Dave Leiboff looks to paste the bowlers across the line

Oh and Benny also took 5 catches in the field……well done!

So we came second by 1 point. Nevermind. Now to the real stuff.

Congratulations to Matt Todd for helping lead the 5th grade side to Minor Premiers as well as picking up the player of the year award, no Stag has ever deserved it more.

Also congratulations to the other grades that have made it to the play off rounds, I am sure we will all still be in the mix till the end.

NEXT……

Iqbal Ahmed

In 2005, Tim Flannery predicted that Sydney’s dams would never be full again. With the current state of the weather, it looks like he has some explaining to do. The Colts arrived at Snape Park on a bright day, eager to score a victory (hopefully even outright) and continue the charge for the minor premiership. Sitting only 2 points behind Sydney Uni, we knew that a win for us could mean just that. The deck looked the exact opposite from the last time we played, completely flat and hard, a genuine highway, and it was no surprise that Randy-Petes elected to have a bat.

Mark Fonseka on his way out to the middle to open our innings 

Dave Leiboff was his usual metronomic self, angling the ball in before swinging and decking it away late, much to the dismay of the Randwick number one, who nicked off to David “Hands” Millar (the first of four batsmen) in the first over. Dan “James Partridge” Stickland, claiming his new haircut provided him with less wind resistance and therefore allowed him to bowl quicker, seemed to prove his theory correct, troubling the openers with a series of pacy short balls, before uprooting middle stump. 

Dan’s excellent form continued, and soon Randy-Petes were teetering at 4/40. Aiming to capitalise on our momentum, the skipper kept up the pace bowlers, with Adam “I like to run” Aarons and Deva “It’s the long one on the team sheet” Nirthanakumaran keeping things tight. Unfortunately, one of the Randwick batsmen managed to get his eye in, sticking around for an eternity. It wasn’t particularly pretty, but credit to the guy for walking after being given not out caught behind. 

The Stags kept at it, with Iqbal “Goooooo Stags” Ahmed filling his second quota with 3 wickets, giving skipper Millar a couple more slips catches to go with his one wicket, including some especially good low ones. After a good inning filled with tight bowling and some excellent fielding, Gordon bowled Randwick Petersham out for 132, leaving 15 overs to bat.

In reply, Tim van Zuylan and Mark “Chandimal” Fonseka showed how flat the pitch truly was, smashing 70 off the 15 overs, slowing down to give a few maidens and protect their wickets at the end. Both batsmen played superbly, with no chances given and boundaries flayed to all parts of the ground. With Gordon 0/70 at the end of the day, only 63 short of first innings points, a potential outright win seemed on the cards.

Enter the weather, with the disappointing news on Friday that Snape was flooded and the game was off. Despite the obvious disappointment at being unable to gain any well-deserved points, there were very encouraging signs for the Stags heading into the upcoming finals series. A win next week against Parramatta and a loss for Sydney Uni would see the Colts take out the minor premiership for the second year running.

Up Gordon, Get far ya Bah!

Adam Aarons

Colts scores
Randwick Petersham 132 (Dan Stickland 4 for 11, Iqbal Ahmed 3 for 55, Dave Leiboff 1 for 10, Dave Millar 1 for 14, Deva Nirthanakumaran 1 for 14) vs Gordon 0 for 70 (Mark Fonseka 33*, Tim van Zuylen 30*)

Just three rounds out from the finals and the Colts were looking forward to fine-tuning their skills against some good opponents in the final rounds. However, injuries and other commitments meant that we were struggling to field a side for our second match against Wests. Jack Skilbeck and Hugh Selby answered the call for help. As well as Adam Aarons' mate Ziggy Middendorf. However, the cameras turned up to snap Michael Falk turning out once again for the Stags.

One of the many photographers in the area on this occasion submitted this photo amongst hundreds of others for the honour of having their photo of Michael Falk publishd  

We won the toss and sent them in. Deva Nirthanakumaran and Dave Monaghan, who was playing Colts as he was unable to play with 5th Grade on the Sunday, opened the bowling and kept it nice and tight. Deva and Jack Skilbeck snagged a couple of wickets before the Wests' batsmen began to get on top.

Enter Iqbal Ahmed and, more importantly, Michael Falk. 

It was hard for Iqbal to take a back seat. Listening to him in the sheds on a regular basis, you would be given a strong impression that the multitudes of crowds only turn up to see Iqbal play. So with everyone there waving Falk flags, it was an even better performance from Iqbal given the circumstances. 

Fittingly, however, he was upstaged by the non-spinning senior, with Falky bowling his 10 overs for 17 runs and taking 2 wickets. Iqbal ended with the highly commendable figures of 10 overs 2/23. These two put the breaks on the Wests' batsmen, with Dave Monaghan coming back and cleaning up the most of the tail before the 50 overs finished with Wests stumbling to 164.

Monaghan caused the Wests' tail plenty of trouble 

After the break, Van Zuylen and Coleman set about chasing down the target in quick time, taking the willow to anything wide or short. Coleman was particularly savage, finding space down the ground to put us in a great position to pick up two bonus points.

After punishing the Wests bowling to breaking point, the scores were level after 24.5 overs. Coleman needed a single off the final ball of the over to secure the victory and the Wests players were not aware they were about to leak extra bonus points. The scene set, Coleman charged down the deck, looking for glory, and... was caught in the deep.

It was a shame on a team and personal level. Coleman had played so well to get us into that position and it would have been fantastic to see him get us home and him finishing with 'red ink'. 

The batsmen having crossed, Middendorf's maiden runs for the GDCC secured the victory at the beginning of the next over. 

Another good win to the Stags!!

Dave Millar 

Falky leaving the field after a fantastic spell of bowling, and soon after maintaining the pitch during the break

Arriving at Beauchamp Park with a prediction of rain in the forecast the Stags were hoping for a chance to have a bowl first. Captain Dave Millar came up with the goods by winning the toss and electing to bowl. Tight bowling at the beginning by D.Leiboff and D.Nirthanakumaran put immediate pressure on, resulting in a wicket to D.Leiboff in his second over.

Iqbal Ahmed is looking the goods after Christmas 

The Stags were on top and looking good for a repeat of the previous encounter with the Balmain boys. However, some missed chances in the field denied the Stags a quick run through of the Balmain batting order. The Balmain batsmen seemed to getting set at the crease with run chase getting bigger and bigger. Until, I.Ahmed was thrown the ball and took charge taking 6/57 off 10 overs. Wickets from D. Leiboff -1/22, D. Nirthanakumaran - 1/22, D. Millar -1/25, A. Aarons -1/24, I. Ahmed - 6/57

The Stags were in high spirits heading into bat. They needed 4 runs an over to pull off a win and secure six points. A solid opening partnership from S.Turki (29*) and M.Fonseka (42) was in the making. 

Unfortunately, the game was called to a halt due to rain. 

Folks from another world help clear the drains so we can get back on the field.

Once the field was dry and the covers put away the Stags continued the chase, which had now been shortened to 100 off 26 overs. Good bowling from the Balmain side lead the wicket of M.Foneska. The wickets then began to fall quickly and the pressure was on the Stags. A.Aarons then came to the crease and worked nicely with S.Turki to bring us home with powerful shots over the top and quick singles. The Stags had won with one over to spare securing six valuable points.

Well done Stags!

Runs from: M. Foneska - 42, S. Turki -29*, A. Aarons -12*

James Partridge

Editor's Note: Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the sporting nature of the Balmain captain, who brought his team back onto the field, when the odds against them winning were very slim. Secondly, I would like to draw your attention to the author's glaring oversight in his article. After an intensive weights session for rugby, the author arrived to the ground taped up like a mummy having torn a bunch of small muscles in his arms and shoulders. He couldn't move at all around the field, let alone throw!! What a goose!

My promise to you all is that this report will be short and factual. After the entertaining efforts of Dan Stickland's last match report, detailing a day of no play, and our designated author being a late inclusion in the 5th Grade side, no-one else put their hand up to write a report for our match against the second Randwick-Petersham side. 

Dave Leiboff works one to the leg side on his way to 12 

After forfeiting against the other Randwick-Petersham side, we were behind the 8-ball coming into the second half of the season and wanted to take as many points as we could from the other Randwick side.

We won the toss and sent them in, hoping to bowl them out cheaply. However, they had other plans, capitalising on some slightly wayward bowling from Leiboff and Stickland. It wasn't until Millar, Ahmed and Nirthanakumaran had the ball in hand the the Randwick innings came crashing down, bowling them out for 100 at a very sedate pace in just over 40 overs.

Fonseka started the innings well, but Partridge and Coleman departed early, before Mart, Leiboff, Aarons and Brendan Gray - filling in for us - put a few runs on the board in quick succession before all departing quickly and leaving us at 7/85.

Enter Ahmed and Millar. 8 balls later and the side was home, within 21 overs and taking 2 bonus points back old Chatswood way.

Dave Millar

Waking up to overcast conditions, I was not too worried about not being able to play, until I drove 200m down the road and it began to rain. “Oh well” I thought “I’m in Hornsby, could be all right in Chatswood.” Unfortunately I couldn’t have been more wrong...

A wet Beauchamp Park

Arriving at Beauchamp Park, I noticed the sight screens were up and a number of people gathered around the wicket, hope of a match remained... Despite intermittent sprinklings of rain the covers were removed to reveal a green deck, which promised some movement for the bowlers, if the ball didn’t get too wet from what was, at best, a damp outfield.

Dave Millar sent us for a warm up and possibly one of the most intense games of fielding soccer I have witnessed. Dom Thomson’s sliding tackle on Adam Aarons was a highlight…

Unfortunately that was the most exercise we got as the rain decided to come down in bucket loads. With the covers back on and the rain pounding the rooftop we were confined to the change-rooms until conditions improved.

They never did and at 12:30, after removing the covers to inspect the deck, the decision was mutually reached to declare the match as a washout. A great disappointment for all involved.

That wasn’t to say that the Gordon boys couldn’t make the most of things. A game of change-room cricket was just what the doctor ordered to cure the craving the boys had for a game of cricket. Despite Reagan Klemt’s ridiculous one-hand-one bounce rule, which brought upon the demise of many batsmen within their first 6 balls, there were flashes of brilliance: Dom Thomson occupied the crease for a long time, smashing anything full which made the game particularly perilous for those fielding in close.

Dan Stickland watches on before considering how to take each of the boys to the cleaners

Carl Kinghorne’s reverse leaves and Aussie batsmen impressions were exquisite and showed us all how to bat like a clown, yet stay alive! Needless to say, we made the most of what was a pretty grim and frustrating situation, and good times were had by all…except for those who got cleaned out during our poker game (sorry boys!)

So whilst this may be a useless report, as no real cricket was played, I figured I should write something as all the boys in the change-room made the day something, when we all could’ve just sat around staring at the rain or our shoelaces. And besides, it’s better than reading an Andrew Coleman report!

It’s great to be Gordon down Chatswood way….

Dan Stickland

Having played a very strong Blacktown side earlier in the year - providing the skipper with his first ever loss as the Colts captain - this round was a perfect opportunity for the skipper to return to his side to right the wrongs of Round 2. Knowing the rest of the club was playing Blacktown as well, it provided the whole team with the impetus to perform strongly and come away with wins in all grades. 

Adam Aarons continues his mid-season form with the ball 

Losing the toss, we were told we'd be in the field. The massive field that is Whalan 2. Even a half lap warm up would have exhausted most of the team, let alone Iqbal and myself.

Leaving the changerooms at 9:45, we just made it to the middle for the start time at 10am. It is the worst ground to get a first-baller. Such a long walk back.

Stickland and Deva opened the attack and were miserly with the runs, with a couple of chances going down leaving their spells unrewarded. It wasn't until Bangs (4 wickets) and Aarons (2 wickets) came on that we made significant inroads into the Warriors batting line up.

At 7-70, after Iqbal 'Terry' Ahmed (1 wicket) settled into perhaps his most consistent spell this season, the Warriors were looking in deep trouble and might not even reach 100. Leiboff (of the Jason variety) and Millar took 1 each, before the Warriors no. 4 & 11 batted sensibly to get them to 118. We are still puzzled what the no. 11 batsman had done to deserve his spot at the bottom of the order.

After Fonseka dropped a simple skied chance, he made up for it in the next over with a good piece of fielding and a sharp throw over the stumps to affect a runout to end their innings.

Tommy Bangs puts the pressure on the Blacktown batsmen early in their innings 

Lunch followed and then the man of the moment, Fonseka, and James Partridge strode to the crease and immediately began to dominate. The Blacktown bowlers had trouble with their lines and the batsman took full advantage of it, with Fonseka pushing balls into gaps and forcing his partner to run 3s (his small frame just couldn't find the boundary on such a large ground). Whilst the scorebook does show one Fonseka '4', this reporter would like everyone to know that Partridge was forced to run all 4 of these runs.

In fact, with Partridge was dismissed in the 30s (with the only two true 4s of the match), he had run every one of Fonseka's 50-odd runs.

However, it was 'Pup' Fonseka who played the match winning innings, mixing his delicate cuts behind point with a couple of rarely seen drives down the ground. It is easy to tell when he is in form, as runs come in front of the wicket. A great innings, with some red ink to boot!

Although Coleman came and went quickly, the Colts, through Dom Thomson, got home within 25 overs and picked up the 2 bonus points under the old system which the Metropolitan Cup has reverted back to after last season.

After the team song, we stuck around to watch 4th Grade strangle the life out of a Blacktown side that was made up of most of their 6th Grade side from earlier in the year.

I can finish this report without mentioning a short story from Benny Armstrong's old man, who relayed to us how he was watching "Charlie Stobo's dad" (Yes, former 1st Grader, Richard Stobo is now just "Charlie Stobo's dad") hitting golf balls around Whalan Reserve. The crows would circle and swoop down and steal the golf balls before dropping them some distance way. An amusing sight it must have been to see "Charlie's Dad" chasing the crows across the fields - made all the more amusing by our match winning batsman pondering out loud how the crows could possibly fly with golf clubs in their mouths... upstairs for thinking Fonz!

Dave Millar

P.S. I would like to use this match report to thank the club coach, Ed Howitt, for the work that he has done with Adam Aarons in re-constructing his bowling action. The results of Ed and Adam's work speak for themselves with the number of wickets Adam has taken this season. Thanks Ed "recently engaged" Howitt.