CRICKET
CLV
By LIAM DURKIN
THE first day of red ball cricket in Cricket Latrobe Valley was tinged with sadness at the weekend.
Usual gamesmanship synonymous with club cricket was momentarily shelved, as players and officials paused to pay respect to Melbourne teenager Ben Austin, who was tragically killed after being struck by a ball during a training drill gone fatally wrong.
A minute’s silence was observed before play at games across the state, reminiscent of the feeling the nation felt following the death of Phillip Hughes.
While both were freakish incidents, the importance of cricket safety was again thrust into public consciousness.
Those who have played for a while will attest to the countless close calls seen in games and at training.
It is also a minor miracle the game hasn’t seen more injuries, especially in the days before helmets.
Senior batsmen are, and should always be, free to bat without a lid if they choose, but by the same token, other measures can be taken to decrease the risk of injury.
How many nuffies get on a bowling machine and start slogging, meaning those bowling in the next net are constantly worried about balls flying everywhere? Or how many want to show-off by facing speeds they never will in a game?
Councils and sporting bodies can also come in to help provide safer training environments.
Many clubs still have old-school caged nets, which, when the ball hits the metal poles at speed, ricochet off in unpredictable fashion.
Most teams found the adjustment from short form cricket difficult at the weekend, and as a result, second innings results are on the cards across Premier A and A Grade.
Rain however is forecast for all of this week, meaning there is every chance of a Day 2 washout.
Should that happen, a few teams will surely only have one song to play inside the sheds: ‘If I could escape, and recreate a place as my own world … ‘
Premier A
TON or seven fa?
Porque no los dos? (Why don’t we have both?)
Lee Stockdale once again proved the calibre of player he is, putting together one of the most prolific solo efforts of not only his career, but in recent Gippsland cricket history.
The Ex Students all rounder started by running through the Morwell middle and lower order, finishing with figures of 7/14, then going on to torch an unbeaten 100 off 102 balls, before ending his day with two more wickets at stumps.
His work has virtually ensured the Sharks will secure outright points.
The Tigers are six down, and need to score another 57 runs just to make Ex Students bat again.
In what would have to be Morwell’s worst performance in some time, the Tigers were knocked over for 65 in their first dig after winning the toss at Keegan Street.
The scorecard appeared like a duck shooting range with five in total, including four in a row from numbers eight down.
A further three were added in the second innings, after the Sharks declared with 186 on the board.
Stockdale’s exploits perhaps overshadowed the work of Matt Dyke at the top of the order, who made 57 in a second wicket stand of 119.
Stockdale’s performance with the bat (11 fours and two sixes) was elevated further by the fact two of his teammates also failed to trouble the scorers.
On a day when hardly anyone could hit it off the square, Stockdale made what appeared 22 yards of wet cement to some, 22 yards of concrete to him.
Tim Ford had some joy with the ball for Morwell, nabbing 2/49, and Joel Mason scored 39 in a second innings that saw Mitch Harris end the day with 2/17 for the Sharks.
WHO would you rather be?
Churchill is 4/16 chasing 141 against Imperials at Andrews Park West.
The Cobras sent the visitors in, who negotiated 78 overs at a breathtaking run rate of 1.8 before being dismissed for 141.
Some lower order resistance followed Dilshan Thilakarathne and Brett Chapman, who scored 37 and 29 respectively further up.
The defensive tactics meant Churchill’s bowlers all returned economical figures, with spinner Matt Harvey the only to go at more than two runs an over.
Harvey got the key wicket of Chapman, one of his two, while Ryan Ayres snared 4/38 and Ross Whelpdale 3/25.
The Cobras then showed exactly how not to survive until stumps, losing four wickets in 14 overs.
Speedster Todd Mann’s post-match darts would have been all the more satisfying after taking 2/7, and he will look to make further inroads should play resume this weekend.
As a result of the game hardly moving, a ridiculous total of 92 overs were bowled in the day.
Under current rules, teams play to time, meaning there is no real incentive to push through overs.
Talk of bringing in compulsory close has done the rounds for years, and has surely already resurfaced again after the first two dayer of the new season.
After being in the field for 78 overs, there is little to no doubt Churchill and Imps players would have been quite happy to have a beer after the first innings.
THE most typical Moe scorecard.
Bat first, bat all day, make 200 plus.
The Lions did exactly that against Glengarry (didn’t they just play each other?), ending Day 1 with 5/237 on the board after 89 overs at Burrage Reserve.
The top five allowed the rest of the team to rotate square leg duties without the need to rush off and get padded up, as all got among the runs.
In a bizarre sense, such a safe innings was a welcome sight given the respective town’s football ties, where one league is seemingly trying to outdo the other.
Moe opener Callum Grant top-scored with 65, putting on 50 for the first wicket with Rob Phoenix in his first game for the season.
Phoenix went against the flow of what the game ended up, making 27 off 33 balls.
Andrew Phillip then contributed 28 before picking out a fielder on the legside. Never one to dwell too much on a mistake, the Bradman of the bush walked off as soon as the shot was made, just like the famous namesake.
Runs continued from the next generation, that of Benn Zomer (49) and skipper Matt Hibbs (43).
As previously reported, the Burrage wicket (disused for more than a year) would take some time to mature, and it appears that time has come.
IF you lose 8/109, you probably don’t deserve to win.
That is the equation facing Toongabbie against Centrals.
Both teams are chasing their first win of the season, and will be looking for any possible advantage should play resume on Day 2.
The Lions decided to have a hit batting first at Apex Park, cautiously getting to 144 after 73 overs.
Opener Jaxon Murdoch negotiated a tricky opening, making 39 off more than 100 rocks, while Tye Hourigan played a similar hand.
The Centrals skipper was adjudged lbw to Gayashan Munasinghe, and slapped his pad with his bat in frustration as he walked off.
Humorously, the comment of “well f**k, that’s not good” was picked up on the FrogBox audio from someone on the sidelines.
While some clubs have FrogBox on mute, it does add to the viewing experience hearing background chatter. You hear some absolute classics, especially if the camera is near where blokes are waiting to bat.
Munasinghe bent his back for 20 overs and took 4/31, while Amal Athulathmudali bowled just as many and took 3/38.
Toongabbie lost two poles before stumps, to the father-and-son duo of Tyron and Nethul Gamage.
Athulathmudali is still at the crease however, and players on both sides know full well he will be a huge wicket if play resumes.
A Grade
GORMANDALE is in a strong position at stumps against Mirboo North.
The Traralgon-based Tigers made 248 batting first against the team sharing the same nickname.
Yohan Soyza stood out with a superb 92 off 137 balls, cracking nine fours and two bombs on the Mirboo North turf.
A number of others made handy contributions, in a scorecard that saw eight players reach double figures.
Nimesh Soyza (27) chipped in, while some late runs from Budath Karunasingha (29) took the score near 250.
Mirboo North kept their energy in the field, with the very tall FrogBox stand picking up some great commentary.
George Fairbairn took 3/56 off 22 overs, while Frankie Ingram (2/24), Nila Thillekarathna (2/38) and Dale Banks (2/50) also made inroads.
The home side survived six balls, which may well have felt like 60 before stumps without losing a wicket.
CATS feel they have enough.
The team from Traralgon South declared with 163 on the board against Rovers.
CATS only batted 51 overs at Duncan Cameron, before having a 10-over go at their opponents.
Rovers shut up shop with the stick, seeing the scoreboard read 0/16 at stumps.
Veteran Paul McGill did most of the heavy lifting for CATS earlier in the day, scoring 74 against the new ball.
His Rovers counterpart Simon Duff also showed his vast experience, taking 4/66 off 24 overs.
Another veteran made an appearance – journeyman cricketer Rory Hare, who came out of first grade retirement to help CATS.
CATS skipper Nathan Harrup meanwhile made an unbeaten 30, setting up his declaration.
LATROBE has Raiders by the jugular at 2/18 chasing 203.
The Sharks used most resources to compile their score, led by treasurer-extraordinaire Jamie Coltman who podged 66 in a marathon 192-ball stay.
Wickets were shared among the Raiders camp. Harri McColl, Harvey Rogers-Collen and Tom Robertson each picked up three.
Latrobe’s Rhys Noble scored 29, before unleashing a devastating three over burst with the new ball.
He knocked Barney Webber’s off pole out of the ground, and trapped Jack Daddo in front, sending both openers back to the pavilion for globes.
MAYBE it’s a good thing not every club has FrogBox.
In a scorecard reminiscent of pre-WW1 cricket when games were played in paddocks and bats likely carved out of fenceposts, Traralgon West and Willow Grove (without sounding too harsh) did the reputation of the league no great service.
In years to come when people say ‘the standard was better back then’, one look at this game may quickly disprove any such notion.
The Wolves were bowled out for 36 chasing a grand total of 45 at Jack Canavan.
More than 20 wickets fell across three scarcely believable innings, which started with former Eagle Ben Edebohls taking 6/11 off 13 overs.
Luke Tumino had to make do with 2/19, as the procession continued.
The procession didn’t stop at the change of innings though. Willow Grove was in an ‘okay’ position at 4/31 (okay in the context of chasing 45), and then lost its last six wickets for five runs.
Ben Fleming (5/3) and Connor Hughes (4/19) each returned insane figures across 26 overs of velcro doing and undoing.
Traralgon West then made a mockery of what had happened across the first two innings, going to stumps 1/71 after 24 overs.
Hayden Kimpton remains not out on 43, and amazingly, the Eagles could come out of this round as the only A Grade team with first innings points.
