Women's Round 16 v Melbourne Uni (Anna Broomhall)

Item by Anna Broomhall on 4/03/2010 12:05:39 PM EST
Well! After last week�s Cocko-sized match report, I�m sure I�ll think up plenty to say today... so make yourself a coffee, sit back and make room in your schedule today Gryphons... Round 16 this week and the last week as we knew finals weren�t an option. We were facing Melbourne Uni again but this time on our turf (well our syntho at least) so more confident that we could put on a show after a rather dismal performance against Darebin. Keeping in line with the majority of the season, I finished 2009/10 with a loss of the toss but Melbourne Uni chose to bat first anyway so I was a happy Captain. With Scooby off and about the country, it felt very strange setting a field without her in it! We had 12 however with Kate coming down for her first game. After watching them smack it through the offside last game, I threw the ball to Maddi and X and asked them to keep it on off and left only 2 fielders on legside. And did they respond... they both opened up bloody magnificently and Cat, Jo and I were licking our lips in the slips cordon as ball after ball slipped past the edge and into the waiting gloves of our Jaffa. A couple of boundaries off the first few overs but both very streaky; a French cut and an edge that was very close to being within Jo�s �Zone of Ease� (belated warning: I�ve been in Brisbane for 2 days and both days been close to 18 hours long so this match report may very well be more full of rubbish than usual!). The run rate had been kept very low with only stolen singles and the aforementioned boundaries sneaking through. KB came on and yet again was on the mark straight away and Cat and I were fighting over who would get to the take the catch that we were positive was coming, while Jaffa was doing a brilliant job up at the stumps and watching in delight as they tried to dance down the pitch. Unfortunately Rowdy stole our spotlight as KB pulled out a ripper nut; pitched up, moving across and swinging away, finally broke through the concentration and was spooned delightfully to Rowdy at shortish cover. While it was brilliant bowling from KB, it is yet another example of partnership bowling... the pressure was put on by X and Maddi and unfortunate that they weren�t the ones that got a wicket in their figures! That was the last wicket for a long time as they started to increase the run rate... the bowlers maintained a good line outside off but they were good enough to pierce very few gaps and occasionally mis-time a shot over them. Jo came on and was frustrating them with her bouncy stuff, finally got a VERY thick glove with a VERY thick noise that Jaffa swallowed, we all went up in a �we know it�s out so we don�t have to really appeal but oh well we�re supposed to so HOWZAT!� kind of way and Terry just stood there. Jo and I both actually asked him �are you going to give that out?� and got donuts, Jo following it up with a �now Terry, this is the time where you give them out� and still got nothing. The batsman freely admitted that it was glove (although apparently she wasn�t aware that you can get given out), the non-striker tried to give her a nod to walk and Terry apologised to Jo at the end of the over as he wasn�t watching that ball. Wasn�t watching! Two weeks ago an edge wasn�t given out because it wasn�t heard and that was bad enough, but I have NEVER heard �sorry wasn�t watching�. So Jo, consider yourself an honorary wicket taker for the weekend. Cat took the opportunity to get angry and her pace picked up and finally broke through, Maz taking a good catch at mid-off. Not long after that, Cat was on the end of yet another runout as Ella scooped it up and piffed it in and despite a terrible position from our official, managed to actually watch what was happening and sent her on her way. That finished the innings and Melbourne Uni had made 190 � a massive total but still under 5 an over and a great effort in the field against two in-form batsmen. Steve took control of the batting order again this week and so Rowdy and Maddi made their way in to open our innings. From the start both looked in control against the opening bowlers... from one end a bowler with a long runup, a strange hop and floaty kind of deliveries, from the other a deceptively quick slinger working off 3 steps. Rowdy was unfortunate to find a fielder after she had raced to 15 with 3 boundaries and Jaffa headed in to join Maddi. They knocked it around for a while, Jaffa being nice and loud and running well with our young �un. Jaffa fell to a ripper nut that nailed her in front and even Terry (apparently watching that ball) had to agree it was going to hit the stumps. Janice had a crack up the order this week and looked in control before an unfortunate runout sent Maz into the middle. Maz also looked good and it seemed we Gryphons were going to enjoy ourselves in our last week! She managed to smash a few around while Mads continued on her merry way and between the two of them, they put together a great 31 run partnership before Maz nicked one through to the keeper... well Terry (again watching and even listening this time) and Melbourne Uni appealed for the nick that Terry �heard clear as day� but both Maddi at the non-strikers end, Jaffa at square leg and Maz who actually was the closest of all declared there was nothing on it. Cat was determined to have a crack today and looked good, yet again getting off the mark with her first ball, watching it closely and running well with Maddi who was racing along. After smacking a 2 through the infield, it was looking like her day and when she rocked onto her back foot in traditional Cat fashion and walloped one behind square it was racing to the boundary... except a pesky fielder was in the way and bobbled it around for a second before finally snatching it with the help of her satin-clad legs. I joined Mads in the middle who immediately asked permission to go the slog... I asked for five overs before then knowing she was in her late 30�s and looking fantastic at around a run a ball. She responded by belting a ball to the loooong boundary on the Dandenong Road side of the ground, a ball that never even looked like pulling up and walloped into the fence. Picking the bad balls to play her shots and defending what she needed to, it was great to watch from the non-strikers end. I was feeling good with a new wider stance and determined to have some fun. Unlike Cat, I usually take a while to get off the mark and that didn�t change on Sunday. The bowling was coming nicely onto the bat and the slower loopy bowling was slow enough to get into position on the offside edge of the pitch and pick where abouts behind square we wanted to hit it. Maddi passed her 50 in great time (with Katie and I both explaining that she needs to raise the bat and acknowledge the crowd) and I finally gave her permission to go the tonk if she would like to do so. I kind of ruined that for her when I made the fatal error of calling a run from the non-strikers end and Maddi was runout at the bowlers end, ending her innings on 56 off 66 balls. Fantastic innings and one we�ve all known was in you Maddi! Unfortunately during one of very few running efforts by me in the field, I tweaked my right groin and batting and running between wickets wasn�t helping. I tried to stick it out for a while but realised it was possibly costing us runs so spoke to Katie who was more than willing for a runner to join us in the middle (gee they�re lovely compared to others... *cough* North Ringwood *cough*) so Maz strapped her pads back on and Ella, Maz and I had a conference mid-pitch to discuss the arrangement. Ella looked great and got a couple of good runs before being caught at gully and Jo also needed a conference to get her head around the runner thing. I was getting sorer but starting to hit the ball harder and without needing to save my breath for running, my calls were VERY loud... Maz wisely decided to ignore a no call and scramble through and I decided to pull my head in and restrict myself to calls I was supposed to make. Standing at square leg while Jo was on strike, with the fielders creeping in as timid little Jo faced up, I think everyone was shocked when she rocked onto the back foot and walloped one through backwards square that positively RACED to the boundary... brilliant shot. Knowing that I was nowhere near the dreaded 26 number, I toddled a single off the last over and Jo brought our season to a close, and we ended on 7/135... a fair way short of the 190 but a fantastic effort given no Scooby, and 15 runs from Rowdy. A fantastic team effort all round, everyone who had a shot contributed and those who didn�t get a chance in the middle made plenty of noise on the sidelines. Steve wandered over to me as we shook hands and asked if I had any idea what score I made... I nearly killed him when he told me I had landed on 26 yet again... that�s 4 times this season (if you include the 27 � when they couldn�t balance the book and so awarded me an extra run). I guess at least this time I have the little asterisk next to it but honestly... I did do a little wrap up at the end of the game but for those who weren�t there, I�ll do it player by player... no particular order I promise... Cat � not really your year with the bat mate, but by god you made up with it in the field and with the ball... 13 catches in 11 rounds is astonishing and unlike Steve, I don�t count the dive where you did your knee as a dropped chance so that�s a clean 13 catches with zero drops against your name, as well as the multiple runout assists. Combine that with your comeback with the ball, 8 wickets at number 4 or 5 going at under 3.7 runs an over... a luxury to have you in our team and one that can�t be underestimated! X � Year number 2 with the Gryphons and great to see your confidence rise from last year. Opening the bowling is definitely a challenge, particularly as opening batsman tend to like a bit of pace onto their bat, and 15 wickets at 3.7 an over is an exceptional return. Don�t despair at your ducks mate, you are a natural tonker and ducks are part of the tonking game. So take your duck award and revel in it! You�re keen to improve and your work with Steve t his year has certainly done that. Congratulations on a fantastic season. Jaffa � also your second year with the Mighty Gryphons and another player that has come along nicely... your work behind the stumps gets better every game and that training session with the A grade keeper has done wonders so can�t wait to see you next year... we�ll get you that stumping damn it! Always willing when I (or Steve) throw you up the order, and your help before and after games doesn�t go unnoticed. Thanks mate. KB � your contribution to our bowling attack has been invaluable as you continually improve and realise how dangerous your lefties can be... 5 wickets at 3.5 for the season is a great return, your fielding efforts this year have improved out of sight and your innings against Melbourne Uni in Round 13 show that you have something to offer with the bat as well. Looking forward to next season! Ella � First Ball Bandit! I don�t know how you do it, whether batsman underestimate you because you look so friendly, but somehow you�ve managed to snare that wicket off your first ball a number of times this season and it�s fantastic to watch. 5 wickets at 3.4 plus 3 catches and 2 runouts and you�ve got a great year by anyone�s standards. Congratulations mate. Hannah � Gryphons Six-Hitter! I know it was only one, but it�s one more than anyone else managed this year. Your love of being out there is infectious and increases everyone else�s enjoyment while you�re at it. Come along in leaps and bounds with your batting, and 4 catches with 3 runouts is a brilliant effort. As we�ve seen in the nets, you�re also coming along nicely with your deceptively quick bowling so can�t wait to see you terrorising batsmen next season! Scooby � another fantastic year from our Number 1 batsman... nearly 400 runs for the season, it is definitely a weight off my mind when I get to write your name on the team sheet each week. Your willingness to fill any gaps, to offer your assistance and the energy you bring as you bound around the field lifts us all and an unbelievable tally of 10 catches and 3 runouts is recognition for your work. Rowdy � welcome to the Gryphons! I know you were around last year, but we have definitely benefited massively from you playing with us this season and hopefully you have enjoyed yourself as much as we�ve enjoyed having you. With the obvious highlight of the brilliant century against North Ringwood, your season has been consistently reliable as your willingness to bat or field (or bowl on occasions) wherever you�re needed is a captain�s dream come true� an average of over 35, 2 catches and 3 runouts from 7 matches doesn�t hurt my dream either! Congratulations on a great season. Maz � what a great presence to have in any team. Like Hannah, you are incredibly excited about the game of cricket and work hard to improve your own game, while also taking time to support your team mates. Your willingness to do whatever is required to help out is much appreciated and bring on your legspinners for next season! Woohoo! Jaz � finally you made it through a full game unscathed! No concussions or bruising (although I think you probably still have that lovely shiner from training) is always a bonus from a social game of cricket! Your work at training has been great and it has shown in increased confidence levels with the bat as well as a willingness to roll your arm over and try different things with your bowling. Thanks for coming down! Maddi � our Young Sensation � you would not believe how many times I get the opposition asking me if you�re really �just 13�... not only the opposition actually, every umpire has also been in on the act and cannot believe how advanced you are in the game of cricket. You blew us away in your first game with 3/8 and our levels of wonderment haven�t wavered in your 12 games this season. Breaking the trend of 3-4 economy rate, you smashed through 18 wickets at 2.8 runs per over. I knew batsman would be in trouble early in the preseason when after you watched me skip ever so gracefully over 2 balls aimed at my legs, you came around the wicket and preceded to pepper me with Yorkers designed to smash my delicate tootsies. You think like a fast bowler (even if you don�t yap like one yet) and that is something that every captain appreciates. Even if she doesn�t appreciate you mocking Doc Martins, Grease and Sound of Music! Your batting prowess is beyond your years and it was so great to see you rewarded with a 50 on the weekend. Congratulations Maddi, can�t wait to see you next season. Jo � watching you smash that four on Sunday, it�s hard to believe that you jump out of the way of balls at pre-season! Don�t you love how those pesky self-preservation instincts go away just in time for cricket season to end?? Your innings against Melbourne Uni showed great confidence and maturity with your batting and you controlled that time with Maz and KB and pushed us to a total much higher than we might have thought after we tumbled to 5/47. Your bowling has also come a long way and can�t wait to see that continuing! Last but NEVER least is Lushy/Slushy/Harry/Tank (or in very rare cases, Linda). The rock of the Gryphons team, your commitment to your teammates as well as your effort in smashing your PB in batting (twice in 3 games!) is a fantastic asset to any team. A year that included joining the Committee, those PB�s, getting caught off her own scone against Coburg and always ALWAYS providing support to the Gryphons cause � to the point of doing her back following the 20th year anniversary and missing the last couple of games, but still coming down in our last game to get the drinks and afternoon tea ready. Love your work Lushy! I know I said last at the last point , but Steve isn�t a player (as much as he would like to be somedays) and he certainly deserves a mention; we have all come a long way this season and that doesn�t just happen... it takes countless hours of watching and thinking and scoring and training and occasionally arguing with X when she just doesn�t listen! With a KPI of 7 runouts for the season, we ended with 11 which is a testament to the time you�ve put in with our fielding, and the large number of PB�s we�ve smashed also speaks volumes. Thank you again for your time and your patience! To our other players who have jumped in when asked � Bec Craythorn has played a few games, Hannah�s mate Jacqui for coming down, Kate in the last game, Angie and Kelly racking up her 96th game � thank you all! I have now stretched into 5 pages so I promise this is my last Lastly... but Michael (aka Richie) definitely deserves a mention in here � having the support from the sidelines from you has been great this year and I hope we have provided some adequate entertainment for you! Thank you for coming down and helping out! To sum up, what a year Gryphons, what a season. Bring on 2010/11 where I have a feeling we�ll go a long way... Congratulations on a brilliant season, bring on next season! Cheers Gryphs, Skip

Women's Round 15 v Darebin (Anna Broomhall)

Item by Anna Broomhall on 23/02/2010 12:04:00 PM EST
So Round 15 ended with X taking some spectacular diving catches and one of the opposition batsmen in hospital... but let�s start at the very beginning shall we? A very good place to start! When you read you begin with A-B-C... when you play cricket, you begin with bat-bowl-field. Cocko, are you following this? This is a Cocko-sized match report so you should be able to keep up. Unfortunately our Round 15 wasn�t a great day for the basics as we faced off against Darebin, at Darebin on a warm Saturday. While I won the toss (yay!), we know we�re in for a bad day when Scooby trudges back towards us with a 0 against her name. With finals out of the picture after our 2 runs loss to North Ringwood (sidenote: they were chasing 169 for victory against Coburg on the weekend and fell 1 run short... I think I�m taking more pleasure from that then I should), I put Steve in charge of the batting order so everyone was a bit out of order. Jaz didn�t make it down due to some personal issues so we had 10 on our list. Anyways, I�ll keep this short... Scooby, Jaffa, myself, Exxy and KB all contributed to our end-of-season drinks collections as we fell for duck eggs, while Maz did hit a brilliant shot back over the bowlers head that just held up about 3 feet short of the rope and Rowdy started well, there wasn�t much else of note in our innings. Cat did manage to escape with an asterisk next to her name as she watched Jo, X and KB fall in consecutive balls to Yorkers from their opening bowler whose figures make her look better than Steve was grumbling about... 7/6 off 6 overs. 27, all out after 11 overs. With such a low total to defend, Steve suggested our resident red head open the bowling after her brilliant effort the week before and I thought we�d change it up every over to keep them on their toes. With tailenders in for their first hit of the season, Maddi bowled a bloody ripper her 4th ball and knocked the stumps over. I tried my leggies and funnily enough it was when I tried to bowl normally that the wides came... I�ll blame the skinny pitch. X had a rather eventful one over as her 3rd ball was a bean-ball � and as tailenders go, this one wasn�t the best. She didn�t pick it up until the last second when she tried to get out of the way but it smacked straight into her noggin. As we explained to X, she usually bowls one or two each game but when you bowl them to opening bats, they go BANG and end up on the boundary or they duck and end up in Jaffa�s gloves. If you�re a tailender sent into open against a bowling attack they know from experience contains at least Maddi, wear a helmet or know how to duck. This kind of thing is unfortunate but it happens in cricket and I have to give thanks to the Darebin girls who made an effort to send Steve an email and ask him to reassure X that she is fine, and not to worry about it. They were all good natured about it on the day as well which is something many other teams wouldn�t be. Their captain decided that was enough and spanked the next two balls to the boundary and the game was done by 3pm. Steve and Maz decided it would be hilarious to tip the esky FULL of ice over the changeroom door on top of me and Cat, Jaffa and Maz were all rather disgruntled to find that my water bottle sprays back! Oh and the spectacular diving catches? Jaff, Cat, Maz and X made their way out to the Palace a la Me and we spent the afternoon practicing catches in the pool. Not one to dwell on Gryphons, one week to go so head down, bum up and let�s finish the season on a much higher note! Cheers, Skip

Women's Round 13 v Nth Ringwood (Anna Broomhall)

Item by Anna Broomhall on 15/02/2010 1:17:35 PM EST
Round 14 this week against our new Brighton � the team we love to hate, the team of North Ringwood � their nickname being the most suitable I think I�ve ever heard, the North Ringwood Bulls (for the record, I wasn�t a Bull, I was a Puma! Suitable I think since I�m light footed like a Puma). With the 20th Anniversary celebrations on Saturday night and spending the night in Jaffa�s bed, I entertained Lushy, Jaff and their boys by feeling rather seedy Sunday morning. Despite this, with a full team of 12 this week and knowing we had pushed them ever so close last time before Christmas, we were confident going in. Unfortunately, that 12 didn�t include Maddi who has a crook neck. Take it easy buddy, rest up for next week! Returning to the normal mode of things, I lost the toss again this week but was happy when they chose to bat as I wanted to bowl anyway. After a couple of quiet overs to start, they started to get going as they enjoyed X�s pace off the bat and they just wanted to hit me. While X wasn�t bowling badly, I had a discussion with Cat and thought taking the pace off the ball might work so KB came on for a crack. X and I had both gone for 10 in an over before KB started, and the next four overs between KB and I came out like this: KB � 2, me � wicket maiden, KB � maiden, me � wicket and 2. One of those unfortunate times where a bowler doesn�t get rewarded for her work but KB in a year where you have had limited overs and still bowled well, that was the best you have bowled as long as I�ve been at the club. Those 2 wickets I have against my name should be equally attributed to you. Bloody brilliant. The first of those wickets X took a brilliant lowdown catch that the Bulls complained about all afternoon so you know it�s good... it stayed low and X didn�t think she had a chance but stuck her hands down and just got her fingers under it before it hit grass. Brilliant. The next one was a caught and bowled that I thought should look more impressive than it did so added in a little roll and promptly bumped my already sore head. X came back on for a spell and after the pressure of KB�s bowling, suddenly the batters couldn�t pick the gaps, helped along by some brilliant fielding on the off-side. Finally the other opener leaned back and cracked one which was caught by Scooby � she took it head height at mid-off and it was hit HARD, you wouldn�t know it as Scoobs swallowed it easy as you like, X getting the reward for a quality second spell. Cat came on and kept it tight, only going for 13 in her first 5 overs and unlucky as an edge went unnoticed by our esteemed official. Hannah and Jo came on, Hannah for a couple and bowled really well, and Jo... whew. Back to her annoying best, Jo�s line and length was immaculate and rewarded in her second over when a bouncy one rolled off the bat and Jaffa (welcome back my friend!) was awake to it and they were 4 down. The pressure was kept up in the field, resulting in a 25 run partnership broken by our 8th runout for the season as Hannah, a Gryphons Runout Queen, nabbed one and piffed it to the correct end and Jaffa positively smashed the stumps, they were 5 down and we had snatched our KPI with 2� games to go. With Cat not getting the gully catches she�s accustomed to, she got into the game a different way as she teamed with Scooby (another Runout Queen) and sent the opposition skipper on her way for our 9th runout as I cheerfully informed Steve. Rowdy joined the ranks of Runout Royalty as she got Cat involved again, sending their number 7 back into the shed and not only had we achieved our KPI this game, we SMASHED it! That was the last wicket for the innings and Cat and I closed out, me ripping out a leggie for the last ball of the innings, my old mate going for the big swing and achieving a big miss instead. With Maddi and Michael coming down for the team photo, some of the boys came down to clean up, Tracy was in town, Kelly and Ben brought Rosie down to support and Angie and her girls made it down also � we had quite a crowd behind us as we stared down the barrel at a target of 164 to win. We got off to a flyer and Scooby was taking advantage of their opening bowler bowling short and wide and smacked 7 off the first over. Unfortunately after scoring 9 off 9, there was a mixup and Rowdy was left in the centre watching Scooby walk off. Lushy was startled by a short ball and caught behind, and Cat frustrated by the loopy rubbish from the other end (yes, rubbish � I stand by my comment) and caught at short fine leg. I headed in to join Rowdy who was looking fantastic at the other end. We were 3/33 off 6 overs and looking shaky chasing a significant total. Rowdy took charge as I took my time, determined not to get distracted from some of the comments from my former teammates. We started to turn the singles but some of the bowling was rot and after their opening bowler was called wide (it was a 50/50 call but one we got called for during our bowling innings), she spent 5 minute complaining to the umpire and that was pretty much it for wide calls for the rest of the innings despite Rowdy nearly falling over trying to reach some of them. I wasn�t trying to make any friends out there, giving some stick to the in-close fielder who was trying to get in my face and they reacted by throwing to my end every single time (to be fair, I was trying to get them to do it as I ran as hard as I needed to get the run � I always got home!). They were getting frustrated and the complaining increased to deafening levels � topics complained about included the wides, the �heckling� from the sidelines, me letting the ball hit me when they threw it at me, me wasting time, me kicking the ball away when it dropped out my feet, me pulling out after the bowler dropped the ball in her runup but continued to bowl regardless and then me hitting it one-handed... me doing anything really. They whinged, bitched and moaned their way throughout our 22 over partnership. We got to the 28 over mark and Rowdy was really taking charge and when she hit it, it FLEW to the boundary. The cheering from the sidelines was brilliant and kept us going in humid conditions and we passed the 100 mark in the 26th over, right on target. With me getting tired and robbing Rowds of some two�s, I decided to hit out or get out and unfortunately did the latter, even more unfortunate was the fielder I hit it to. A 75 run partnership and I STILL can�t get past the 26-27 run mark! I swear I�ll make it to 28 one day. Hannah and Rowdy stepped it up for their 8 over partnership, Hannah wisely stealing the singles and allowing a rampant Rowds to go BANG. And go BANG she did, smashing to all parts of the ground including a 4 that raced through for a goal � the first four I think I�ve ever seen on that long part of the ground. For their 8 over partnership, they stepped it up to 5 an over and they kept it together for 39 runs. We were all anxious on the sidelines, cheering every run and every single one of us got to our feet as Rowdy belted her way past her century at better than a run a ball. My voice was ragged after our bowling innings and it wasn�t having a chance to improve. After Hannah fell, Jo headed in and couldn�t get it past all the fielders that had crept in. After she got sick of it and smashed it and was caught, Maz didn�t fare much better and Jaffa headed in to join Rowdy. With 10 required off the last over, 2 dots to start, a 4 that somehow managed to pierce 5 deep fielders on the leg side, a 2 and we needed 4 from 2 � I could barely watch. Unfortunately Rowdy, who had opened the batting, got out on the second last ball of the game as the Rubbish Bowler bowled one at her head and she couldn�t get it off the middle. Jaffa was facing the last ball and needing 4, she belted it but only managed 1 and we were left 2 short. While I physically can�t speak very well at the moment after the noise I made yesterday, I can�t croak highly or loudly enough of our efforts yesterday. Steve asked us to step up and put it all on the line and by god we responded. That is the highest score we�ve made by a long shot all season and of the 161 we scored, Rowdy smacked 108 of them off 99 balls. In a pressure situation after finding ourselves at 3/33 off 6 overs, she took charge and nursed me through our 75 run partnership. After I departed, she took over with Hannah and stepped it up, knowing that Han could keep up with her so 1�s became 2�s, 2�s became 3�s and mis-fields became stolen singles. In that heat, with the noise from the opposition and the pressure of a big score, there wasn�t a single false move until the second last ball of the innings. If for no other reason, I wish we had made it because Rowds deserved to hit the winning runs. So many positives: � Supporters! With a crowd behind us, it made us feel a million bucks in the middle. Thanks for everyone who came down � to steal a line from The Man from Snowy River, you�re all welcome at my camp fire anytime. That pressure from the support also forced a number of mis-fields from the opposition so it wasn�t just noise for the sake of it! � Support for each other out there � we were cheering every stop, every relay throw, every good ball, it was fantastic. And we weren�t obnoxious about it. � Great people, great losers � we never like to lose, and it was heartbreaking getting so close against a team we want to beat so badly, but we still got out there to shake hands and congratulate the opposition and clap Jaffa and X on the back. We didn�t have anyone refuse to shake hands with the opposition, although Rubbish Bowler refused to shake mine (I could say many things but I�ll keep myself to one word... pathetic). Above all else Gryphons, we�re a great team of people. I�ll take that over a team of whingers who win any day of the week. � Runouts! 3 of them in a game, forced by pressure from our bowlers and fielders. We didn�t panic and there was someone at the stumps always, with someone else backing them up. � I don�t think I need to spell it out but just to make it official: Rowdy you were a machine yesterday and Gryph of the Week without a second thought. I believe that�s it for finals now Gryphs but with 2 weeks to go, let�s finish the season off strongly. Thank you to everyone who was out there yesterday, both players and supporters, we nearly did it! Congratulations on a brilliant effort, bring on next week! Cheers Gryphs, Skip

T20 Match Legends vs. All-Stars 2010 (20th Anniversary)

Item by 20th Anniversary on 9/02/2010 2:55:43 PM EST
Saturday 13th February 2010. Twenty20 Match � Legends vs. All-Stars � 3:30pm @ Monash Uni, Clayton The Twenty20 match will follow directly after the Men�s 1st XI match against Reds. The game will be Monash University, Oval No 3, Wellington Rd. Clayton. (Melways ref: 70 G11 � see attached map). Everyone is encouraged to come down and support our current A-Grade Men�s side. The bar will be open at 1:30pm at the usual cheap Gryphon�s prices. The team�s have been announced and are as follows (to be confirmed): Legends XI: Rohan Tennakoon Craig Robinson (c) Don Baulch Mark Hartnell Simon Firth David King Brad Sullivan Jordan Stratford Justin Oliver Ben Lloyd Jim Sosic All-Stars XI: Vivek Trehen Tushar Sharma Abhi Mishra Ruwan Wellalage Raj Balasubamonyam Shawn Thomas Ben Gordon (c) Damien Giles Morgan Cole Sid Bagga Naresh Rajakulendran Please note that both the Legends and All-Stars teams are to be expected to be at the ground at 2:30pm.

Women's Round 13 v Melbourne Uni (Anna Broomhall)

Item by Anna Broomhall on 8/02/2010 11:33:54 AM EST
Round 13 this week and after a dreadful day in the heat last week, I was relieved to see the forecast of 29 degrees for this Sunday � still warm, but a vast improvement on the craziness of late 30�s. With the strange draw this year, we went in to face Melbourne Uni for the first time � while we�ve played Coburg 3 times already. And also for the third time this season, we were playing on turf so training consisted of batting on the outfield as Steve tried to replicate the pace and bounce of a turf pitch. 2 players down this week as Jaz was unwell again and Carmen also unwell for her first game, as we got to the ground, the sun was starting to burn and so after I won the toss for the first time in weeks I thought we�d have a bat. Well that�s not entirely true; I was debating it with Steve who told me without a trace of doubt in his voice that I NEEDED to bat first. Who am I to argue with that? (Well actually I argue/debate with him most weeks about batting/bowling first but the decision has been taken off me for a long time.) I felt almost panicked when the coin fell my way and I had to make a decision! Scooby and Cat made their way into the centre and got off to a cautious start as they watched the unfamiliar opening bowlers � one in particular had a strange slinging action that was hard to pick up as you didn�t see the ball until it was on its way, while the other had a lot of swing and curve on the ball. Cat fell in the 5th over to LBW, and Lushy headed into the middle. While Scoobs was keeping it ticking over and picking the gaps, Lushy held up her end for 5 overs before allowing me to have a crack at the number 4 possie after she let one sneak through and send the bails flying. With only 9 this week, I was determined to hold my end up and watch Scooby do her stuff and could hardly believe my eyes a couple of overs later as a ripper delivery snuck through her defences � you know they�re bowling well when they can hit Scooby�s stumps! Maddi came in and seemed right at home, picking the bad balls and as the field was up, there were plenty of gaps to hit. A ripper pull shot of a shocker of a delivery did what we thought was nearly undoable and raced over the boundary, and she was looking great. The opposition Skipper came on and managed to get under her skin with some loopy rubbish that was lucky to land on the pitch and a legside ball enticed a dance down the pitch but unfortunately the keeper was ready as it bounced between Maddi�s bat and legs and Maz came out for a visit. It was a short visit from my end as for the second week in a row, I announced that we needed to last for a while and then went out 2 balls later. Note to self � stop saying it! That started the single most determined, and from a bowling perspective positively frustrating, innings of 3 from one Jo Moore that I think I�ve ever seen. Maz and Jo�s partnership lasted for 8 overs and while the runs weren�t flowing, the extra�s were keeping the scoreboard ticking and some good sneaking of singles ensured it wasn�t stagnant. Finally Maz had another good one sneak through and X came and went, unlucky as even the Umpire mentioned that the ball that hit her stumps was one of the best he�s seen this year. KB headed in at the 29th over and like Jo, seemed determined for Melbourne Uni to do as much work as possible � Maz and Lushy yelling at me from the sidelines to have a break from square leg but I was loving it from the middle, a much better view from there! KB leant back on one and late cut through point for 2 and in true tail-ender style, stood and enjoyed it for a while before Jo�s delicate bellowing got her moving and they got through for 2. They lasted until the 36th over when KB was also unlucky as a waist-high no-ball bounced off her onto the stumps and was given out in one that could have gone either way, and if it had of been X bowling, I�m sure it would have gone the other! With a lovely healthy & nourishing afternoon tea of chocolate brownies, salt & vinegar chips, carrot cake, lemon slice, one plate of sandwiches and a packet of almonds, none of us were particular heartbroken when we were called into the centre. Seriously, who brings salt & vinegar chips for tea at a cricket game? Just a reminder that after this weekend, Lushy has decided to check everyone�s choices of food to make sure we don�t ever serve anything up remotely as bad! Our time in the field was a hot one as despite the forecast of 29 it reached 35, and we struggled to get rhythm � I know Steve thinks that bowlers in general are a whingy lot, but the uphill onto the pitch even threw me off, me who doesn�t really have a run up. With only 9 against a team that are used to turf, the off-side field were forced to do a lot of running and X & Maddi both tired quickly. While there was some unlucky wide calls, that�s the nature of the game and the Melbourne Uni batters knew from watching us to stay in their position when it was outside off to make them look worse � as opposed to us who tried to get out to them. Some great work in the field, special mentions go to KB and Maz, was offset by some bad lucky � Cat particularly was left frustrated when she caught the edge 3 times and they all flew wide. They got to our target in the 17th over without loss and we walked off glad to be out of the heat. While it�s never pleasant being beaten like that, there were definitely some positives that we can pull from it: Tail-end batting � when we lost Scooby, Cat, Lushy, Maddi and I all within the first 21 overs, things looked grim. For our last 4, Maz, Jo, X and KB, to hold out until the 36th over was a spectacular effort. They gave away 34 extras yesterday, and a lot of those came in the last 10-15 overs of their innings, so even if you can�t hit the runs, it�s important that we stay out there as long as possible to take advantage of those extra runs. While 74 didn�t end up being enough, to get out for 50 would have felt a lot worse and it gave everyone time in the middle. Effort � on a hot day, with 9 players, where we needed a strong off-side field, there was lots of running around yesterday and some great stops when it came near us � shout out to X who put in a couple of great efforts at wide mid-off. Also a massively improved effort from KB in the field which, combined with her determined innings with the bat, was enough to be Gryph of the Week. Great work mate. Next week we have a full team against North Ringwood at home, so as discussed earlier, while I personally would like to feed them gruel and water, Lushy will be making sure we serve up something nice and healthy. Important that if you can get to training you do so, there are some things we need to work on with 3 games to go! Thanks for your efforts yesterday Gryphons, bring on next week! Cheers, Skip

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