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UNDER 14 GIRLS REPORT
The Under 14 girls’ competition this season consisted of six teams, Aberfeldie, Kensington 1 and 2, Airport West St. Christopher’s, Moonee Valley and Glenroy. Roxburgh Park participated early in the season but, unfortunately, had to drop out due to a lack of numbers.
The season consisted of 12 rounds and it was decided by the Junior Committee that due to the unevenness of the draw caused by the byes, all teams would have a chance to participate in the finals series. Glenroy (last season’s Premiers) entered the finals undefeated and the club needs to be congratulated for this achievement.
Kensington 1 came in second on the ladder and both teams had the qualifying final off. In the semi- finals, Airport West took eleven wickets against Glenroy which swung the result their way and Aberfeldie had a close win over Kensington 1.
The final was played at Hansen Reserve with Vicky Maulden as umpire. A large crowd of parents and friends saw Aberfeldie successfully chase down Airport West’s score. All girls need to be congratulated on a game played in great spirit and thank you to William Kyriakides for presenting the medallions after the game.
It should be mentioned that the NWCA Under 14 girls’ comp is still the only girls’ comp. for this age group in Melbourne and it is hoped that next season more clubs take the opportunity to tap into the growing interest by girls in cricket.
A number of programmes have been put in place by Cricket Victoria to encourage girls’ cricket. This includes Kanga cricket being played at primary schools and secondary schools.
A successful Cric-Hit programme was hosted by the Moonee Valley club before Christmas targeting 8-12 year old girls. 28 girls attended and it is hoped a number of these girls will join clubs next season.
A number of NWCA girls also had the chance to play for the North West Wizards and the Northern Cowgirls at the Under 14 State Championships held over 3 days in late January. This was certainly enjoyed by all the girls who participated and gave them a chance to experience cricket at the next level.
It should also be noted that a number of girls who have come through the Under 14 competition competed in the Under 17 State Championships in December and went through the tournament undefeated.
Congratulations to all the girls who participated and it certainly demonstrates that the pathway programmes that are in place for girls in the region are bringing outstanding results.
Lastly, many thanks to Gary (Colonel) Sanders who has continually supported the girls’ competition and has encouraged all the girls over the past few years.
Kris Maulden -U14 Girls coordinator
Mark White-Junior Committee
UNDER 16 REPRESENTATIVE MATCH NWCA V GISBORNE
On Sunday 19 February 19, 2006 the NWCA Under 16 squad played against Gisborne District at Gardiner Reserve, Gisborne.
The squad was as follows:
Z Hussain - Doutta Stars (Captain)
A Carlson - West Coburg
P Chand - Gladstone Park
R Collins - Glenroy
D Cribbin - Aberfeldie
B Huckstepp - Doutta Stars
L Hunter -Craigieburn
A Maric - Greenvale
C Spinella - St Bernard’s
J Watson - Strathmore
C Wright - Greenvale
Gisborne won the toss and elected to bat first. They were dismissed for 105 in the 42nd over.
The bowling was very good with Chayse Wight, Adam Maric and Ben Huckstepp taking 2 wickets each. Leigh Hunter bowled 5 overs and took 1 for 3 while Jed Watson, Chris Spinella and Rory Collins each took one wicket. The other bowlers all bowled a good line and length, and this was backed up by some excellent fielding with Damien Cribbin taking the catch of the day in one hand running backwards.
Also Chris Spinella and Rory Collins did a great job behind the stumps.
NWCA in reply made 3 for 106 in the 19th over, with Adam Maric making 52 which included a very big 6 and Damian Cribbin making 17, with Chayse Wright on 18 not out and Ben Huckstepp not out 13.
It was a great day, Gisborne were very good hosts and the boys certainly represented the NWCA very well indeed, and it was a pleasure to coach them.
Femi Ferzulla
Under 16 NWCA Junior Co-ordinator
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KEITH MACKAY SHIELD
NWCA Under 16 team
The selected NWCA squad jelled together effectively on and off the field. However, it was disappointing that there were only four teams in the Competition and three of these were from the other side of Melbourne.
After winning four out of six games, NWCA finished second on the ladder. Unfortunately, NWCA was defeated by Ferntree Gully District CA in the semi-final.
During the Carnival, outstanding batting performances were J Cribbin 100, M Burns 97, C Pipe 91, J Bassi 57 and M Knight 51 with good support from bowlers M Juster, I Kolokithas, M Knight and B Crole.
S Knight
Coach
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RUSSELL ALLEN SHIELD REPORT
The NWCA Under 14 side comprised:
Nick Linton, Captain (Strathmore Heights)
Andrew le Page, VC, (Greenvale)
Aaron Shellie (Avondale Heights)
Jack Bergin (Strathmore)
Will Becker (Strathmore)
Tom Reilly (Kensington-Reds)
Blake Chant (Strathmore Heights)
Stuart Rudge (Strathmore Heights)
Ben Calcagno (Greenvale)
Duan Ziegelaar (Jacana)
Daniel Stavris (Taylors Lakes)
Daniel Sinnott (Tullamarine)
Jesse McVeigh (Airport West)
Team Manager: Terry Rudge
The team registered five wins and two losses, and missed the semis by .4%. Blake Chant was named joint Player of the Carnival, having taken 16 wickets. Other notable performances included Nick Linton (180 runs), Jesse McVeigh (170 runs) and Tom Reilly (11 wickets).
The high quality of the team was due to co-operation of the Sub-District clubs in the area (Broadmeadows, Brunswick and Coburg), who – at the suggestion of Cricket Victoria Regional Manager, Gary Sanders – agreed not to select Under 14 NWCA players in their Under 15 Hatch teams. This meant that the best players who were not selected for the Region 10 team for the Cricket Victorian Under 14 State Championships were available for selection by NWCA.
It is strongly recommended that the support of the Sub-District clubs be sought to continue this policy. In effect, it produces a pathway for Under 14 cricketers to get a full carnival of cricket as preparation for selection by the Sub-District clubs for next year’s Hatch Shield.
Peter Ewer
Coach
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UNDER 12 REPORT
The season for the Under 12s began similarly to last year with development clinics being held in the July and September school holidays. The clinics were enjoyed by all the players attending. However, the second clinic’s attendance was disappointing, considering that all clubs were asked to nominate two players to attend the clinic at Shaun Brown’s Indoor Centre.
Robert Sebbens continued as the Under 12 Representative Coach and the trials for the squad started on Monday 1/10/05 with 62 players attending the second week. The trials continue to be contested with great enthusiasm and in the right spirit.
An internal practice match was played on 6/11/05 involving 44 players, with the final squad of 26 players being chosen. Sixteen clubs were represented which demonstrated the spread of talent in the region. Practice games were held before Christmas with encouraging results.
On the 6th January a game versus the Northern Territory Primary Schools team was held at Westmeadows ground. The team comprised of Mitchell Shield/ Josh Browne team players and was played on the turf wicket. The Westmeadows club did an outstanding job in preparing the pitch in limited time and making their facilities available.
The VMCU Carnival started in January in a positive way for both teams with the Mitchell Shield team winning all round games and the Josh Browne team only being defeated by Ringwood and Ferntree Gully.
In the semi-final the Mitchell Shield team tied with Ringwood but went through to the final due to their higher position on the ladder and the Josh Browne team had an inspirational win over Ringwood.
In the final, the NWCA team batted first. However, Moorabbin’s excellent bowling kept NWCA to a modest total. Moorabbin had to grind out the runs but were the better team on the day. In an amazing finish to the Josh Browne Plate, Eastern had eight overs to score the winning run but, an opportunistic runout saw NWCA take the last wicket with the scores equal, resulting in both teams being named Joint Winners.
It must be said that all players made a valued contribution during the Carnival. The assistance from the parents in providing drinks, lunch and their general support was appreciated by the coaches/managers and the players. Rob Sebbens/ Steve Borg (Mitchell Shield) and Warren Bonello/David Bell (Josh Browne Plate) worked hard in preparing the players and guiding them through two weeks of enjoyable cricket.
A friendly match was played against Gisborne on 19/2/06 and was enjoyed by all. A special mention should be made of Brighde McGrath from Kensington’s 12Bs, who was included in the squad and she certainly was not out of place. Rob Sebbens was very appreciative of Gisborne’s hospitality.
Lastly, Don Hudson’s presence around the Under 12 games was sadly missed and a minute’s silence was held before the Moorabbin practice game, remembering his great contribution to the development of junior players over many years.
Mark White
Under 12 Coordinator
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UNDER 10 REPORT
The Under 10 competition continues to play a valuable role as the first tentative step for hundreds of young players each season on their career path into cricket.
NWCA settled down with 48 Under 10 teams for 2005-2006, which is six more than for the previous season, and three more than we fielded in 2003/04. The growth is pleasing.
Aberfeldie was the pace-setter with four teams on the park each week, followed by Kensington Juniors and Strathmore with three. NWCA fully endorses the commitment of the clubs which work hard to engage schools, parents and other sporting bodies to encourage youngsters to take up junior cricket.
Newcomers to the Under 10 competition in 2005-2006 were St Bernard’s and Coburg, and we are sure this will provide a flow-on to older age groups as these youngsters develop.
It was pleasing to see several other clubs which have not had Under 10s for quite a time trying to get teams on the field. They didn’t succeed, but we should encourage them to work their local primary schools and have another try next season, as numbers coming through the junior ranks are the life-blood of our competition. And it starts at Under 10 level.
It was disappointing to see that Ascot Vale was unable to field an Under 10 side in 2005-2006 after much hard work over the past couple of seasons getting juniors up and running.
Parental involvement is vital – the clubs can’t do all the work, particularly at Under 10 level. It’s hoped that some parents get behind Ascot Vale and get a team back on the park.
NWCA strongly endorses the Milo Have-A-Go program as an ideal introduction to junior cricket, and clubs wanting to develop or expand juniors should seriously think about running a program to boost their future recruiting stocks.
Clubs always closely scrutinise the Under 10 fixtures each season and most of the feedback I received on the draw for 2005-2006 was positive.
It is a complicated procedure, juggling the preferences for clubs to play their Under 10s and Under 14 Girls together where possible; for clubs with multiple Under 10 teams to have them either home or away together; and to minimise the occasions when clubs have to travel from one end of the north-west to the other as the Friday evening traffic peak builds.
Clubs also prefer to have a range of opposition teams over the season, rather than playing the one opponent three or four times over the 16 rounds. I also need to even up home and away games for each team as much as possible.
Given these intricacies, I believe the Under 10 fixture achieved a pass mark in 2005-2006. However, I would always welcome suggestions on further improvements.
Charlie Walker
Under 10 Co-ordinator
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