Anthony Lark Archive

Jak ‘Better than my Dad’ Willcox opening spell

Aditya ‘The Ditch’ Thumma bending his back

Woj smashing a pull shot for 4

Chris smashes first ball faced for 4

Anthony ‘Polo’ Lark forehand topspinner

After a long hiatus it’s good to be back reporting on some GCC cricket. And what quality cricket I was blessed with witnessing by this (mostly) young Tigers second grade side kick off the new calendar year in style!

In full coloured kits the Tigers took to the field first, and it was up to a couple of young pups in Aditya ‘The Ditch’ Thumma and Jak ‘Better than my Dad’ Willcox to get the ball rolling…or massively hooping in Jak’s case.

With some early pressure, some smart skippery by Garry ‘The Cat’ Stephenson, playing on the openers patience (or lack thereof), and Jak placing the ball on a dime time and time again, it wasn’t a surprise when he managed to snare an early breakthrough, with the opener trying to hit him out of the park and missing altogether…his frustration could be heard for miles when he got back to the sheds!

At the other end Ditch was making the other opener look like a chump. I lost count of the amount of times he beat the edge, in another display of tight controlled bowling.

With age restriction rules coming into effect to halt the opening spells, Tom ‘Punter’ Ffrench and ‘Postman’ Pat Jackson came into the attack. Punter started his spell a little inconsistently, mixing a couple of wides with some absolutely unplayable jaffa’s, and it was one of those which brought about the important wicket of the Northies number 3, with the middle peg knocked back. At the other end Postman Pat was taking a little while to get into his spell (ask him about how he managed to go for 9 off one ball…a special effort!), but after the drinks break he settled into a great spell of bowling, picking up a couple of wickets, including bowling the opposition skipper for a very handy first 2nd grade scalp.

By this stage Punter had settled into a groove at the other end and was working his way through a fantastic spell, and being the only one of the opening four quicks over 15 (and therefore allowed to bowl more than a 6 over spell) he ended up bowling his 10 straight, picking up another wicket along the way, and unlucky not to grab a couple more.

At the other end Cat had introduced himself and immediately kept things quiet, which also led to wickets. Bowling with good flight and drop he bamboozled 4 Northies in total to claim the great figures of 4/20odd off his full quota. All he needs now is Warney to put in a good word for him, and we may see him donning a baggy green come August.

Jak came back into the attack after Punter had finished his spell and bowled well, again hitting great areas and making scoring difficult. Coxy also rolled the arm over and picked up a scalp as a result of some tight and deceptive tweakers.

All in all is was a great display in the field by the Tigers, including a run-out by the returning Kieren ‘Sonic’ Ferns, and they managed to bowl out the opposition for 187, a very gettable target at Kippax 2!

After enjoying the spread put on by Mr.’s Wood and Coate, the Tigers were keen for a good start to the chase, and Woj and Chris Nicoladis got them off to an absolute cracker. Chris crunched the first ball he faced over the bowlers head for 4, and Woj was putting away all the bad balls at the other end as well. They were 25 after 2, and continued in fine form to be about 70 after 10, still no wickets down, with Chris looking like he was trying to hit the leather of the ball, and Woj happy placing the ball superbly, including taking one ball from well outside off to hit a boundary to a vacant fine-leg.

Chris eventually fell for a well made 36, which brought Clunesy to the crease. He played some nice shots, particularly a couple of boundaries off his pads, before falling to a screamer of a catch at cover when he had crunched a drive.

At the other end Woj was having an interesting battle with one of the Northies spinners. The bowler was seeing how much flight he could put on the ball in an attempt to get Woj to hit straight, as Woj seemed to be testing out how fine he could he hit it…and he was willing to try either side of the wicket with paddles, and reverse paddles and some other shots no-one else has ever witnessed. He managed to pass 50, for, I think, the third time this season, and was forming a good partnership with his skipper, who had replaced Clunesy at the other end, before he eventually fell for an excellent 64.

It didn’t take long for Cat to find his timing, and with the help of a quick outfield and some good support from Anthony ‘Polo’ Lark, he had the Tigers racing along at a good rate, and closing in on the total with a bonus point in mind. After playing a couple of glorious cover drives Gaz eventually fell for a vital 42 as he tried to moose one into his parent’s back yard chasing the bonus point.

His dismissal gave Fernsey the chance to come to the crease and hit the winning runs, well within 40 overs bringing not only the 6points for a win, but a bonus point as well, making the victory, and the song, even sweeter!

This victory gives this second grade side a 2 from 2 record in the one-dayers, and they’ll be keen to continue that form to secure a finals birth to go along with their 20/20 final in a couple of weeks, and considering a bunch of players that were missing today, the depth and skill on display today indicates that a finals spot is a realistic goal and well within reach.

Overall it was a great performance, and a pleasure to watch.

Until next time,
Joanne Beagle

House of Hounds
Sheridan, Wyoming