VMCU Shld Update 09
Mitchell Shield Diary 2009
Week 2:
January 12. NWCA v NMCA at Boeing Reserve.
Northern Metro made 7 for 99. We reached 100 for the loss of 6 wickets.
We won the toss and decided to bowl, to give us an opportunity to chase down a total for the first time in the tournament. It was another good bowling and fielding performance in which every eligible bowler got at least 2 overs each. Though the fact that we didn’t come close to bowling them out suggested we lacked a little in terms of penetration. Tom C took 2 wickets and Ben M 1 from 3 very tight overs. Sam was given a turn with the ball for a change and came up with 1 for 3 from 3 overs.
A rejigged batting order started the chase well. Tom R (14) and Matt (15) put on 30 runs for the second wicket to put us in a comfortable position after 10 overs. Ben D scored a good, if uncharacteristically slow, 20. For a while it seemed as if the pressure of chasing started to affect our batting, which slowed down to a snail’s pace. Xavier’s request for a rate of 4 or 5 an over wasn’t met and so when we reached the target the group feeling was not one of emphatic victory but of a struggle to meet what was a relatively easy goal.
January 14. NWCA v MPCA at Boeing Reserve (qualifying final).
Mornington were all out for 100 at the end of their 30 overs. We were all out for 97 and out of the competition.
The match was reduced to 30 overs each because of the predicted maximum (39). We won the toss and decided to bowl to take advantage of the expected conditions.
The first blow of the day was the change which came through after about 15 minutes of play (4 hours before anticipated) shifting the wind from the north to the south and cooling us down significantly. Nonetheless the boys responded well tactically, adjusting their bowling ends accordingly. But we seemed flat. Despite the 3 run outs we were not as sharp in the field as we had been and, probably for the first time, we were playing a team that ran well between wickets, taking sharp singles and making them look quite easy. Tom C took another 2 wickets and Jarryd took 1 for 7 from a tidy 3 overs.
Our turn to bat: we needed 101 to win but a tie would have taken us through to the semi. We started brilliantly, scoring 9 off the first over. We were racing along until Sam (17) was caught brilliantly at square leg. Dan came in and hit the ball well keeping up the tempo until he was out for 11 in the ninth over with the score on 38. We lost two more quick wickets (both Bens) but with Tom C batting well in partnership with Peter we were still well placed at 4 for 55 after 14 overs. Tom C was out for 15 to yet another good catch, in the gully.
Peter and Jarryd then consolidated, keeping out the good balls and hitting the bad ones to the boundary and taking us to within sight of victory. Peter was run out for 18 with the score on 83. We then lost a further two wickets to be 8 for 88, Tom R to yet another brilliant catch. Nick and Matt then took us to 97 with a four each. With three overs left and only 3 needed to tie we looked home. Unfortunately Nick was out LBW and Jacob who came on after having retired hurt earlier in the innings scooped a catch to point two balls later and our tournament was over.
In the end we came up against a team that played particularly well. A telling statistic is that they only scored 2 fours from the bat while we hit 13 of them. The story of the game is told, however, by how each team performed when it wasn’t hitting fours. On that basis Mornington achieved a thoroughly deserved victory.
While all of the group are disappointed to have gone out of the competition at the first hurdle we will get over it . . . eventually! While the pain of losing is there, there is more disappointment at the loss of opportunity. It’s been a real privilege for boys and parents to be involved in this team under the leadership of two excellent coaches in Gerard and Xavier. Their generosity of spirit and time has helped each of our boys grow as cricketers and people. It’s been a terrific ride and it was just a shame that we had to get off at the first stop.
Week 1:
After a long and frustrating process of trials and washed out practices and practice matches the 2009 NWCA Keith Mitchell Shield/Cup squad was selected from an original field of over 70 boys. The coaches, Gerard Laffan and Xavier Dimattina named the following squad of 13 from clubs across the NWCA region:
Jacob Austin
Jarryd Clements
Tom Condon
Ben Dimattina
Samuel Laffan
Liam Molloy
Benjamin Moss
Jack Rennex
Thomas Riordan
Matthew Sherlock
Dan Syson
Peter Wright
Nicholas Wurm
From this squad, Gerard and Xavier appointed a leadership group of Dan, Liam and Sam who were to take turns captaining the team.
We started the competition confident that we had a team that could take us all the way if it played to its potential. After all, we had beaten arch-rival Moorabbin in a practice match . . . but not for the first time!
5 January. NWCA v WDCA at Boeing Reserve.
The boys had a good win first up, scoring 4 for 197 from their 40 overs. Williamstown were all out for 91 from 31 overs.
We won the toss and elected to bat.
Sam got us off to a flyer, taking real advantage of the short pitched bowling. His square shots were very impressive and he seemed to get to his 40 in no time at all. At first drop Dan was relatively more sedate, taking a back seat in a partnership with Tom C, who scored a good 36 before holing out at mid-on. Dan retired on a well-compiled 40. Jacob contributed a solid 24 and Peter showed promise of things to come when he got on in the last over scoring a windy 7 from 4 balls (2,2,2,1). After the lightning start we were slightly disappointed that we didn’t post a mammoth total. However 200 runs in this competition is always gong to be a very difficult total to chase.
The bowling and fielding effort was very good. All the fast/medium bowlers got onto a good line and length and were pretty stingy – aside from the odd stray leg side delivery and a few short balls. Our bowlers seemed to take the lesson from Williamstown’s sometimes ordinary bowling. The two run outs were an indication of the effort in the field – though as Gerard pointed out, there might have been two more if fielders had concentrated on attacking the ball rather than worrying about where they were going to throw it before they got it.
A good sign was the willingness of our slow bowlers to give the ball some air, which suggests that they were feeling confident in themselves and their teammates. Liam led the way as our best performed bowler and his 3 for 10 was extracted from some fairly bamboozled batters.
For those boys new to rep cricket, the presence of good umpiring seemed to be one of the highlights of the day. The umpires reflected that the day was a real pleasure for them, especially after umpiring senior cricket. Both teams displayed great sportsmanship and were there to play cricket.
The boys seemed to bond pretty well – especially considering they have only played one game together previously – and a real spirit of equality and comradeship was there to be built upon.
6 January. MJCA v NWCA at Melton South Recreation Reserve.
This performance was even more commanding than the previous day’s. We scored a massive 268 for the loss of only five wickets. In reply Melton were all out for 105.
Melton won the toss and sent us in to bat on a lightning fast ground – perhaps with an eye on the thermometer which was going to climb into the afternoon. Whatever the reasoning, it quickly became apparent that we were nonetheless going to set a big score.
Sam got off to another whirlwind start, ably partnered by Ben D who came in at first drop. After Sam retired on 43, Ben and Tom C kept up the tempo. Both retired on 40. Unlike the previous day, the run rate did not drop, staying around or above 6 all innings.
Other good performances with the bat were from Peter, who scored a good 30 before holing out at long off, Nick with 17 (caught off the very next ball) and Tom Riordan who remained not out 18.
Melton got off to a slow start with some careful batting from their openers. It was not until the 12th over that we took a wicket – a terrific slips catch by Liam off Dan’s bowling. A slow procession followed in which Nick, Ben D, Tom R, Ben M and Liam each took one wicket.
In what might yet become a trend the leading wicket taker was again a spinner who gave the ball a lot of air. Jacob’s looping off-spin reaped the tremendous figures of 4 for 18 from 4 overs. One of these was a very smart stumping by Jack. The leadership group showed good initiative by giving our four spin bowlers 4 overs each and were duly rewarded.
Gerard and Xavier, while delighted with the overall performance (especially the batting), were keen to drive home the message that our fielding was occasionally a little ragged and we need to improve in that area.
Having said that, Matt Sherlock (13th man on the day) demonstrated the kind of concentration and skill in the field that would please the coaches, taking a good low slips catch from Ben M’s bowling to conclude the Melton innings.
January 8. WMJCA v NWCA at JT Gray Reserve.
After a stumbling start we made 8 for 217. In reply Western Metro made 9 for 100 from their 40 overs.
We lost the toss and were sent in to bat (again!). In contrast to the previous games we started slowly and a couple of poor run outs and some bad shot selection saw us dither to what some saw as a precarious 8 for 150 from 30 overs. Ben M and Nick, however, batted out the overs and guided us to 217 with some intelligent and at times forceful batting.
Earlier, Jarryd the opener made a steady 31 and Peter made a good 19 that stabilised the middle order to some extent. Most of the boys got a start (with 4 being out in the teens). This was a batting performance that demonstrated two things: a smidgen of over-confidence, and the fact that we really can bat all the way down to number 11.
When it came our turn to bowl the Altona Doctor had really stepped up. Those bowling from the bay end had a near gale in their backs while those bowling into it had to struggle against the wind and the tendency of the ball to swing viciously (we did well to bowl only 6 wides).
Again the boys in the leadership group got things right, bowling the spinners into the wind and most of the fast/medium pacers with it – though Nick bowled a terrific opening spell into the wind. Given the conditions the team performed magnificently in the field. Three run outs are a testimony to that. No particular bowler stood out from the solid team effort, with Ben D the only multiple wicket taker with 2.
Some of the boys ended up with very stingy bowling figures. Jack took a very tight 0 for 1 from 3 overs to back up his 13 runs. Jarryd took 1 for 2 from 3 overs.
Of particular note was the final 10 overs which saw us concede only 7 runs (helped along by a 5 consecutive maidens between Dan and Liam) – well within Gerard’s request to keep them to 25 or so. As a team we demonstrated the commitment and the capacity to bowl in pressure situations required to win finals.
A farcical moment on the final ball was a bit of a worry. The batter popped up a simple catch and the boys seemed to compete for the catch rather than allow the player in the most advantageous position to take it. As a result it was spilled, allowing the opposition to get to 100 and preventing us from bowling them out.
January 9. NWCA v GDCA at Boeing Reserve.
Against a much better opposition we did well to reach 189 for the loss of 4 wickets. We restricted the Gisborne side to 9 for 164.
Batting first again. This time we won the toss and elected to bat. It only took a few overs for us to realise that we were up against a good bowling team who performed with great purpose and skill. Nonetheless Jacob and Tom C (at first drop) batted well, respecting the good balls and dispatching the inevitable odd loose one. At the 15-over mark we had lost one wicket for 75 runs. Both boys soon retired in close succession, each having made 40. This brought on two fresh batters which, typically, slowed down the scoring rate. Dan also reached 40 and retired, having picked up his pace in the second half of his innings. While Liam’s 13 might not look impressive in the scorebook, his cameo was exemplary in the way he ran between wickets and supported the batter at the other end. Nick made 15 and Peter another selfless and quickfire 10.
189 was our lowest total to date but it is fair to say that it was probably also our best innings so far given the quality of the opposition.
In the lunch break Gerard again emphasised the importance of aggressive and committed fielding and asked for two run outs (which he duly received). Indeed, the very first wicket was a run out, a setback from which Gisborne never quite seemed to recover. The two opening bowlers, Peter (with the gale) and Dan (swinging the ball into it) stymied the scoring to the extent that they were a mere 14 for the loss of 2 wickets from the first nine overs. From this point the opposition were always trying to attain a run rate they were less than comfortable with.
Despite a relatively low scoring rate and the steady loss of wickets, the odd expensive over did raise the spectre of Gisborne having a crack at winning. At the end of the 30th over they needed 7.5 an over to win but just weren’t able to achieve it. For those of us having heart flutters, Tom Condon saw us home with 3 wickets at the death, giving him the special personal milestone of a 5 wicket haul and a 40 with the bat.
Ian Syson, manager NWCA Mitchell Shield team 2009
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