ANTHONY BLOOMFIELD
CRICKET
VETERANS By ANTHONY BLOOMFIELD THE Gippsland Goannas Over 50s managed to put together a side that saw regular players join forces with a number of the Goannas over 60s players, making sure that a playing group of 11 made the trip to the fantastic Caulfield Cricket Club to take on last season’s Saxon Shield Premiers – South East Vets on Sunday. The group were able to stretch a few muscles upon departing the bus and complete a warm up while the crowd watched the completion of a junior game, scheduled as the support act to the main event. There were some rumblings among the group that the need to complete a warm up may have actually been counterproductive and ultimately wore out a number of the Goannas key playmakers, subsequently effecting their performance or potentially leading to a number of injuries sustained throughout the day. Goannas skipper Graeme Rankin set the tone for the day, losing the toss and being asked to have a bowl. The Goannas took the field with 10 as they waited on the late arrival of key player Steve Rogers. The early overs proved to be quite productive as the author and Rodney Jones had some early success, dismissing Alan Jones and John Hammond. The Goannas were close to losing Bill Armstrong early when he fielded one at square leg and momentum took him forward in an uncontrollable manner; crisis averted however when the keeper in Chris Anders caught him to slow the momentum and save the day. Unfortunately for Bill, who was playing his first game for around 30 seasons, he did subsequently sustain a hamstring injury a couple of overs later, limiting his impact on the game. Rogers, upon his arrival, was introduced into the attack and had immediate success, finishing with 2/24 from his six overs to be the pick of the bowlers, including a ripping one-handed caught and bowled, and the key wicket of Victorian gun batsman Rohan Pike. From there on it was a tough day at the office for the Goannas, as the star-studded South East Vets side caressed the ball to all parts of the ground. The South East Vets were well served by Matthew Curtain at the top of the order who made a well compiled 32, Andrew Wyver retired for a patient 40, Andrew Sharp feasted on the bowling before retiring on 41 in quick fashion, taking a particular liking to the bowling of Geoff Wells, who was restricted by his fitness levels and inability to stretch out after straining a hamstring early into the match. While David Wright’s 30 not out and Richard Saniga’s 15 not out finished off the innings to complete their 36 overs with the score at 4/206. Fortunately for the Goannas, Wells’ hamstring strain restricted him to just one over, which went for 18; had he bowled a few more the Goanna’s could well have been chasing close to 300. As always, Jones covered plenty of ground in the field, Anders did a good job behind the stumps only missing the one stumping, Murray Moore was exceptional and without a blemish as the ball followed him all day putting on a show for our scorer – Deidre. Bradley McDonald has obviously done some work to improve his fielding since his recent trip to Adelaide; his fielding on that tour left a fair bit to be desired. The Goannas turn to bat and things got off to a pretty ordinary start when Bloomfield couldn’t lay bat on a straight one and then had the long walk back to the sheds for a golden duck, much to the delight of some of his recent Victorian team mates who were today in opposition. Another of the golden boys who failed to fire a shot with the bat was Jones.Maybe these two should stick to bowling. McDonald did everything that he could to keep the Goannas in the game with a solid 27, Steve Rogers was hitting them well, scoring 22 before getting a delivery that rolled and was unplayable. Wells made a miraculous recovery to take the field with the bat and hobble his way from end to end, finishing with 15, while newcomer Andy Parker hit up seven before succumbing to LBW. Wyver was the pick of the bowlers for South East Vets, finishing with 4/22, while Wright picked up 2/3 and the remaining wickets were shared around in an even team display, which was highlighted by some pretty smooth fielding efforts. The highlight of the day for the Goannas was brothers Bill and Jim Armstrong playing their first game of cricket together, Jim coming in from the over 60s side and Bill dusting off his bat, which had not seen the light of day since he last played back in 1991. The contribution by these two gentlemen, Moore and Parker, ensured that we were able to get a team onto the park – a credit to each of them. The Goannas now take a break over Christmas and will no doubt be putting in some intense training sessions ahead of their next hit out on January 15, where they travel to Jubilee Park to take on the newly formed Mornington Peninsula side.
