FLANELLED FOOLS: 06 MARCH 2017

Cricket Round-Up By GREG PRINGLE*

Finals time in Oilsplus cricket

As a long, hot, dry summer draws to an end, so does the Oilsplus cricket season and we enter the finals phase this weekend.

Telegraph finished fourth at the conclusion of the regular season on Saturday and have been automatically eliminated.

This Saturday, the Molong Rec will see third-placed Magpies up against second-placed Cudal in the Preliminary Final.

Minor Premiers Country will have the weekend off and apparently have all enrolled in a bushfire-fighting course.

After the course Joe Clayton will entertain his team mates with a seafood buffet, although apparently Andrew Heath’s invitation has been withdrawn on the insistence of Country’s top-order batsmen.

Country will play the winner of the Cudal—Magpies game in the Grand Final on 18 March.

If Saturday’s game at Hunter Caldwell was any indicator, it will take a minor miracle for Magpies to get anywhere near Cudal.

Batting first, Magpies were bundled out for 67 in what was a good all-round display of inept, careless and miserable batting.

Mitch Christie (20) was the only batsman to salvage any respectability in what was a pathetic effort.

Cudal bowlers Troy Adams (3/17), Tim Kennedy (3/4) and Luke Wood (2/8)  confirmed they no longer need former pin-up boy and now washed-up fast bowler Steve Fairley.

In reply, Cudal passed Magpies’ score in the seventh over, before the storm arrived, without losing a wicket.

Veteran captain Lee Cornish savaged the hapless Magpies’ attack, scoring an unbeaten 43, with Jock Hough (26) the other not-out batsman.

These two teams meet again on Saturday in the Preliminary Final and Cudal will be rightly full of confidence. But cricket is a funny game and Magpies will welcome the return of gun batsmen David Hobbs and Jeremy Middleton.

At the Molong Rec the game between Country and Telegraph was washed out by the late-afternoon storm. No details of any scores have been provided at the time of writing.

Telegraph claim T20 Trophy

Telegraph have claimed their second T20 trophy.

With Cudal not participating, the three Molong team played each other under lights at the Molong Rec.

Country, Magpies and Telegraph all won and and lost a game each.

Having the highest score of the series (165) and the best run rate (7.25 runs per over), Telegraph won the trophy. Congratulations Telegraph.

The recruitment of a handy batsman in the off-season will see them as a very capable team next season.

Over-50s game

Next season will see Orange host the Australian Over-50s Limited-Over National Cricket Championships.

Teams from all over Australia will be in in Orange for the tournament.

As a precursor to selection of the local team, Orange/Molong played Lithgow/Blue Mountains on Sunday in Orange.

Five Molong players were selected — David Hobbs, Scott Oates, Greg Pringle, Joe Clayton and Mark Frazer.

Batting first, Orange/Molong scored 175 and in reply Lithgow/Blue Mountains scored 178, winning with one ball to spare.

David Hobbs and Joe Clayton played very well. Remarkably David wasn’t injured during the match and is good to go for Magpies on Saturday.

*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.