STAFF WRITERS
CRICKET
TDCA THE Traralgon District Cricket Association witnessed some mixed results at the weekend. Matches went as predicted, although some could have finished a lot different. MATCH of the round between Toongabbie and Yarram District, played at Roger Ries Oval, was all about Jason Veneman in the lead up as he was set to play his 250th A Grade game for his beloved Rams. Veneman is an unassuming cricketer who has shown lots of fight across his very successful career, being a two-time premiership player to go with his many awards and individual achievements. Veneman was asked to write something in celebration of his 250th match for this article and select the greatest team he’s ever played against as a way of looking back on his career, but considering how humble he is he declined the invitation saying it would be incredibly self serving and cringe to partake in such an activity. Yarram won the toss and decided to bat, but were in trouble on the first ball of the day as Keenan Hughes ran straight through Jack Moore for a ruby duck (first ball of the innings) to get the Rams up and about. With the score on 12 Hughes then went bang again and ripped through the in form Anthony Scott for 12, while up the other end Matt Barry and Kev Stoddart were getting it done as well, dismissing Dylan Rash, Jarryd Swift and Ben Layton to have the Pelicans reeling at 5/38. Luckily for Yarram, the cool head of Daniel O’Keefe was holding his end together as he worked incredibly hard on his way to making a very good 78, before being dismissed by Sam Moran. The tail also helped the score along for the Pelicans as Michael Lush (24) and Jeremy Babb (27 not out) helped the score to 200. Hughes was superb for his team, claiming 4/22, while Kev Stoddart took two wickets of his own. The Rams had a tough task ahead, and things certainly didn’t start the way Toongabbie wanted as they found themselves 5/28 in quick time. Kev Stoddart tried his best but could only manage 18, while Tim Dunn was by far the best Rams batsman, making 32 from 72 balls. O’Keefe wasn’t satisfied with top-scoring for the match, so he went about taking four wickets as well to round out a brilliant all-round performance, while Jack Collins took three wickets of his own as Toongabbie were bowled out for 104 in the 42nd over. Yarram District have shown that they are the real deal in this match, having proved that even if the big hitters don’t have an impact they can still make a big score and bat well under pressure. Toongabbie has now lost two games in a row, but will be looking forward to this week when they take on a win-less Gormandale. IN what was tipped to be a one-sided affair, Ex Students travelled to Stoddart Oval to take on Gormandale. Winning the toss, the Sharks lost Matt Dyke and Lee Stockdale with the score on 35, with Mitch Membrey and Mitch Harris falling as well with the score on 69. Jimmy Pryde was batting well at the other end though and made a fine 55, with Daniel Trease up the other end also getting 51 of his own. The Gormandale bowlers toiled hard and were able to take late wickets, but the damage had been done, and although Ex Students were bowled out they still made 199 in the process. Yohan Soyza has been in incredible form at the moment, and claimed 4/19 from his 10 overs, as Adam Brady and Campbell Peavey both took two wickets each. On form there wouldn’t have been anyone thinking Gormandale had a chance to chase this total down, but when Chris Lehner and Matt Hibbs came together in the middle at 2/24, they put on a partnership of 79 to take the total to 103. A drinks break broke the concentration of Lehner who made a good 34, but Soyza then came to the crease and kept the scoring going as Gormandale were making Ex Students nervous by batting well. The Tigers then lost wickets in clumps, and although they still had a chance it was becoming slimmer and slimmer, especially when Hibbs was dismissed for 58 with the score on 167. The Sharks then closed out the game taking the last three wickets for eight runs, smashing the hopes of the Tigers and securing a 24-run win in what was the closest match for the day in A Grade. Pryde would have certainly walked away with the maximum votes for the match, as he claimed 3/31 to go with his 55. Ex Students got the job done but certainly had pressure applied to them for parts of the game. The Sharks still sit second on the ladder but have shown early wickets can cause them concerns. Gormandale still haven’t won a match for the season, but would have been pleased to push a very good Ex Students outfit. This game may just set the Tigers up for the rest of the season. IMPERIALS travelled to Fred King Oval to take on Glengarry. The visitors were sent in to bat after Glengarry won the toss. The in form Ryan Morley lead the way for Imperials, as he and Tom Starkey put on 33 for the first wicket before Starkey was removed for 10. It fell apart for Imps after that though, as wickets fell at a steady pace while Morley was trying his best to score up the other end. Five Imperials batsmen got ducks, and as Morley continued to carry the bat he could only do so much as he was the second-last wicket to fall, having made a very good 58 out of Imperials’ total of 91. Cam Graham continued his top form as he claimed 4/30, while only Max Merton missed out on getting a wicket for Glengarry, with all others joining in the carnage. If Morley had his time over again he probably would have opened the bowling with his most credentialed wicket takers Brad Sizeland or Joel Randall. Tom Starkey and Scott Aitken have been in good touch lately and took the new ball, but Sizeland knows the Glengarry wicket well and Randall has X factor, and with only 91 runs to play with Imperials needed something special that those two players have the ability of producing. A lesson learnt perhaps as Glengarry cruised to victory in just 19 overs, losing one wicket in the process to the bowling of Sizeland. Al Jenkin was not out on 43 at the close of play, while Nat Freitag made 36 from 40 balls himself. Glengarry continue to go from strength to strength, while Imperials have the bye this week so will enjoy a long Christmas break. ROVERS had the bye.
