FLANELLED FOOLS: 17 JANUARY 2017

Cricket Round-Up By GREG PRINGLE*

Senior cricket returns, Cudal win, Country burnt

The Molong Oilsplus Senior Cricket Competition resumed on the weekend after a four-week hiatus over the Christmas/New Year period.

The big game at the Molong Rec saw equal-second Cudal and Magpies play. This was an important game in the jostle for the all-important second position as we head into the downhill run into the finals.

Winning the toss and electing to bat on a green wicket backfired big time for Cudal. They found it very difficult to post runs against some very accurate Magpies bowling led by Captain Jacob Evans who is having a great season.

They slumped to be 6- 58 before drinks and appeared to need a miracle just to get their total to triple figures, but after the drinks break things turned around dramatically. 

It appears Cudal spiked Magpies drinks. Their tight bowling in the first session disappeared in the second stanza and was replaced by short wide and at times just wide deliveries.

Additionally the robust energetic fielding on display early in the game faded away as they dropped no fewer than seven catches and missed basic fielding opportunities that resulted in many singles going for four. Magpies’ fielders were suddenly impersonating sloths!

Cudal veterans Lee Cornish and Andrew Smith capitalised on the pathetic Magpies fielding. In particular Cornish was brutal, scoring 72 in nine overs, with Smith as his backup scoring a patient 43.

Cudal, after the horror start, finished with the incredible total of 191 all out in the 40th over.

Such an important game was gifted to Cudal by Magpies. Jacob Evans (4-25) and Mitch Christie (3-54) were the only positives in an all-round poor effort by Magpies.

Unless they can somehow address their lethargic late-stage fielding, they are simply making up the numbers in this competition.

Chasing the big total was never going to be easy and Magpies batsmen struggled from the outset, particularly when gun batsman Jim Gavin went first ball he faced.

From there on it was pretty much downhill for Magpies, with three ducks (Gavin, Pringle and Osborn) adding to their woes.

Very old veteran Brett Johnson turned back the clock to when he smoked a pipe just out of school, top scoring with 42. The 12th man for Magpies had to run an oxygen mask out to Brett at the end of each over, but he toiled away in a gallant effort to try and get Magpies over the line.

He was ably assisted by Jacob Evans who capped off a great game with a handy 25.

Magpies’ other batsmen came and went in quick succession and were bowled out in the 35th over for 133. Chris Gosper was the best bowler for Cudal with the impressive figures of 3-21.

Chris is lucky he doesn’t bowl like he fields. He obviously studied Magpies fielding and dropped Brett Johnson in consecutive balls in the same spot to what would normally be regulation catches.

At Hunter Caldwell Oval it was first versus last, as Country went up against Telegraph.

Telegraph were struggling to post a team during the week, with many of their stars away on important stuff.

Batting first, Country got off to a solid start with Trent Frazer (23) and Andrew Heath opening.

Heath continued his sublime form over the past two seasons and whilst giving a couple of chances cruised to his first century scoring, 104 not out.

But at about the 30-over mark and cruising at 3- 171, the game suddenly stopped when news came through that the Claytons’ holiday resort at Kerrs Creek was ablaze.

Andrew Heath wanted to keep batting, telling everyone that Joe left the BBQ going after cooking lobster for breakfast.

But the players had a quick meeting and Country decided to forfeit the game and head off to Kerrs Creek to have some lobster, I mean fight the fire.

So in the face of almost not playing and receiving zero points, Telegraph walked away with seven points to come right back into finals contention.

As a footnote, there are some nasty rumours doing the rounds that will no doubt be investigated.

The first is Country’s top-order batsmen are so sick and tired of Andrew Heath hogging all the publicity and batting awards that they paid a fire hitman to sneak onto Joe Clayton’s property in an effort to get Andrew away from the batting crease.

The second has more merit. Telegraph Captain Coach Ben Brown was unusually missing from the game.

Independent witnesses have identified Ben at the side of the road at Kerrs Creek at the time of the fire starting, smoking a cigarette that he borrowed from Brett Johnson. The butt of that cigarette has never been found.

Ben was later seen at the Telegraph Hotel high-fiving his team mates, claiming it was the easiest seven points they ever had.

Next week is a general bye before the comp resumes on the 28th for the run home to the finals.

*Greg Pringle is Secretary/Treasurer of Molong District Cricket. He plays for Molong Magpies but swears he is as hard, if not harder, on his own guys as the opposition.