 |
| Match Details |
| Round |
Round 7 |
| Opposition |
India Avenue Sports Club 2 |
| Date |
12-Nov-2016 |
| Ground |
Morrison Bay Park 5 |
| Match Summary |
| Result |
LOSS on 1st innings by 105 runs |
| Central 1st innings |
7 wickets, 233 runs
|
| Kurrajong Gypsies 1st innings |
all out, 128 runs
|
| Match Report |
Season 25, Number 7
The Gypsies v India Avenue Sports Club
Considering the calamitous events unfolding in the Hobart Test, it was surprising even by Gypsies standards how few put their hand up to play this week. The eventual side, henceforth to be known as “The Gypsy 6” proved just how true the famous line is: We are a club in crisis! Some had good excuses “It’s my kid’s birthday” others not so convincing excuses “I’m in hospital hooked up to multiple intravenous lines after being rushed for intestinal surgery yesterday”. Never was a squad more in need of drinking from the collective cup of concrete..
Your correspondent wasn’t at the game but did try valiantly to make it. Hooked up to an IV he tricked the nurse into putting the IV bags onto a moving trolley and headed for the door. The trolley was very stable with 5 wheels but being a public hospital they couldn’t afford 5 wheels that turned so it was slow progress dragging the trolley one step and then kicking it along with the next step. Especially dressed as a nurse - Cilla was right - those heels are damn hard to run in. Two things combined to stop your correspondent making it to the ground:
1) The words of Tony Masters in the availability email; “Players must wear whites.” So I changed into one of those beautiful hospital gowns that open at the back to try and meet the criteria. However these gowns are a 1 size fits all arrangement, which for a gent of my size is more an aspirational statement than a promise, and so exposed my red undies to all behind me. That doesn’t count as whites.
2) Just as I was about to execute my escape, I heard the student nurse call “wash time!” Now I had a horn of a dilemma: the pleasure of a bed bath from a young maiden in uniform or five hours at Morrison Bay watching nude balls being propelled into the Parramatta river?
With Chopper losing the toss the IASC decided to bat (how was that not a fine for form avoidance?) With Ganesh unable to bowl with a shoulder injury we were left with just 5 players who could bowl, making the skipper’s job even easier than usual. Field placings were only complicated by him not knowing the names of the two blokes they lent us.
The opening bowlers of Chopper and V only managed 1 wicket between them in their 14 overs, so it was left to the minnows to take wickets which they each did Hugh (2), Tappy (2) and Daryl (2). The selectors might need to have to look at our opening pair.
But all bowlers showed a very tidy line, even if that was down leg side as a run-saving measure, with the sundries hardly getting a mention. 1 Bye, 1 LB, 3 Wides. Just the 1 Bye even with 3 players sharing the duties behind the stumps. And in a startling achievement with only 8 fielders no one conceded more than 13 in an over.
An opening partnership of 90 hurt us but satisfying to see both openers crumble mentally and fail to make their 50’s. IASC finished their 35 overs with what must have been a disappointing total against an under strength team of just 233.
Chopper said something at halftime again. I have an excuse for not listening this time as I wasn’t there. But reports were that it was one of his better speeches, and featured lines such as “don’t be as shit as Voges” and “Joe Mennie proves anyone can do anything no matter how little talent you have.” Really he could have just said “ton up and you’ll probably play for Australia next week” without fear of contradiction.
Tappy and Daryl opened the batting and scared the IASC bowlers into error with the first over producing 2 No Balls against our total of just 3 Wides for the innings. Both opened their accounts with 4s and took to the bowling, forcing them to bowl wide and continue to add to their sundries. 24 runs off the first 3 overs put the Gypsies on track for an unlikely victory.
Tappy (11) was the first to go and was rightly fined for the worst shot since Callum Ferguson, and then followed quickly after by V (4), whose one scoring shot was a boundary. When queried on his shot selection, he just said “I play like David Warner – when its there I hit it, and when it isn’t I hit even harder!” Ganesh (0) didn’t trouble the scorers and despite a late start is making a play for the Duck Tie.
A captain’s knock was required to restore some credibility to the score and obviously channelling Steve Smith, Chopper was unable to conjure one up and went for a paltry 6.
This left just the last two, with Daryl looking to carry his bat with Hugh. Averaging just 13 and 1 consecutively for the season so far all hope seemed lost. Daryl having no confidence in his partner and Hugh likewise both looked to farm the strike and score runs quickly before their partner was dismissed. In the 30th over the score was on 128 – requiring a mere 21 runs/over before Hugh (36) made a false stroke and left Daryl stranded on 53, proving he was right to have no confidence in Hugh’s ability.
A season high score for both Hugh and Daryl and also setting the season high partnership of 91 it would have been a Gypsies record for the last wicket if the other 5 players had been present. While the IASC will take the points it is the Gypsies who will take the moral victory in this game. We definitely won the fines with all absent squad members fined for avoidance as the after game pub session more resembled a date rather than a team bonding session - with only 2 making it along.
|
|
|
| Central 1st innings |
| Singh, Varinder |
7 overs, 0 for 43 |
| Shanahan, Jim |
7 overs, 1 for 54 |
| Ross, Hugh |
7 overs, 2 for 41 |
| Colman, Dave |
7 overs, 2 for 44 |
| Tan, Daryl |
7 overs, 2 for 49 |
|
| Kurrajong Gypsies 1st innings |
| Colman, Dave |
11 |
| Tan, Daryl |
53* |
| Singh, Varinder |
4 |
| Balasubramanian, Ganesh |
0 |
| Shanahan, Jim |
6 |
| Ross, Hugh |
36 |
|
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