Monday 3rd February 2014
Since my last update on here, I've played another 2 games. The first was a one dayer against a side called the Imperials, we batted first and made 230-6, with Skipper Stockdale making 101, and other opener Greg Munro making 68! I finished off with 4no batting at number 8! In Reply they made 167, and another great effort from lee stockdale taking 5-6! Saved the day! Our next game was against a side called Cats! The first week of the game, they decided to drop me into B grade to get some overs under my belt or a bat! We ended up bowling, so was not required to bat! I bowled 8 overs for 19 runs and unfortunately didn't pick up a wicket.. Our A grade got into a bit of trouble and got bowled out for 111! The wicket was very wet and a bowling paradise! By the end of the day they had Cats on 52-4, the game could go either way! So we turned up this weekend needing 6 wickets! The wicket was still wet for some reason, a strange move on their part! We ended up bowling them out for 83! A great effort! I wasn't needed to bowl, and for the rest of the day I got to sit back and watch the batsman bat! Stocky made 50+, Greg a good 30 and Rick Batista made 45! So now with two games left, finals day moves closer and hopefully a chance for all 3 grades to win! And its exactly 2 months today til Im back on English soil!!
Wednesday 15th January 2014
First blog of 2014! Hope everyone had a good xmas and new year! Our last game before xmas was against Toongabbie, in a 20/20! We wanted to finish the year on a high and carry the momentum into the new year! We did just that, a very comfortable win where we bowled them out for 87 and then chased them down with lots of overs to spare! We only used 4 batsman so therefore I didn't have to bat! I bowled and finished up with 1-13 off of 3 overs! So for Xmas day, I went to Melbourne with the Gilmores and spent the day with the other members of the family! Was a hot day and we ended up kayaking down along a river! Was a very different xmas to what Im normally used to! So much hotter!! On the 27th, Carl and Susan took the rest of us to a gold class cinema to watch The Hobbit! It was amazing! Sat in Recliner chairs, with food and drink being brought out to you at the push of a button!! Happy Days! The following day, me and Jordy went to the MCG with a few other guys from the club! A very fun day even though England were pretty poor!! Very very big stadium!! New Years Eve I spent how id normally spend it, extremely drunk and with a good bunch of people!! Got in at 10.30am and spent the day hungover!! Our first game of 2014 was against a side called rovers! With normal skipper Lee Stockdale away on Victoria Duties, Warney stood in as Captain! The wicket looked pretty flat when we turned up so we were keen to have a bat! Unfortunately Warney lost the toss and we ended up bowling! We had them at 90-9 at one stage with them going on to get 133! Vossy again the pick of the bowlers with 4-12 off of 9! I took 1-30 off of 7! Opener Greg Munro ended up getting 50+ and Rick Battista getting 45. We chased down the target with 6 wickets to spare! So a good start to 2014 and hopefully a good run from now on in should see us make the finals!!
Wednesday 17th December
Not a lot to say about this weeks game! We were set to chase 179 on an okay wicket! Unfortunately after losing the two openers early, we struggled throughout the innings! Apart from a great contribution from 16 year old Jackson McMahon with 51 and 26 from Jimmy Pryde, no one else really got going! We ended up getting bowled out for around 120! A disappointing day at the office! So some hard training this week and hopefully a win next week in a 20/20 against Toongabbie! Who have Devon player Matt Golding as their Overseas!
Tuesday 10th December 2013
This week, we played against a side called Glengarry! Another nice day, mid 20 degrees and playing at our temporary home ground! When we arrived the pitch was a little soft in places due to rain mid week! So when Lee won the toss he chose to bowl! Vossy and Andy opened up as usual and got us off to a very good start, both bowling good tight areas and with the field that was set runs were hard to come by! Vossy was bowling with very good pace, getting the batsman into all sorts of trouble and soon finding themselves 12 for 3! I came on at the opposite end for a brief spell of 3 overs for 9 runs! Warne Replaces me and stocky replaces Vossy! Stocky takes a wicket in his first over with a very good catch diving low to his left from Warne at slip! Glengarry now 35-4! After a few overs stocky brings back Voss to bowl at the new man and it didn't take long until he got him caught behind off a short ball! 47-5 now! The next batsman came in and put on a partnership of 73, with him making 66 of them! He eventually got out caught and bowled to Stockdale! So they are now 120-6, Voss at one end bowling with good pace and Warne at the other! It wasn't to long before Warne picked up his first wicket of the day! So 141-7 now, I come back on for my second spell which was 7 overs for 14 runs! Bowling at the end of the innings ill take that! The final wicket we picked up was a funny one, the batsman hitting the ball into space, pushing for two, he sets off for his second without looking, runs straight into me and just bounced off, leading to him being run out! Much to his disappointment!! So they finish their innings on 179-8! A very good performance from us, but yet again, the star performer of the day was Voss! Bowling 22 overs, 9 maidens, 4 wickets for 33 runs! I was pleased with my final figures of 10 0vers, 0 for 23.. nearly got one, little snick to Jordy standing up to the stumps got put down! But again everyone that bowled was very economical which lead to the batsman getting themselves out! So we've left ourselves in a very good position again to chase down the runs and hopefully come out with another win!
Wednesday 3rd December 2013
So this week, we had the task of chasing 253 which Churchill got the week before! Woke up to what was a lovely day for batting, nice blue sky, mid 20 degrees and if the pitch played like it did the week before, a nice flat deck! Our two openers both got tons, broke league records and both ended up not out! A fantastic effort and great to watch! Lee ended up on 135 not out and Greg ended up on 112 not out! They broke the leagues opening partnership record and passed the target with 12 overs to go! So they could of gone on a lot further! That's all there is to say really about the cricket! During the last couple weeks, Warney has got me playing golf! For my first ever time, I'm not to bad! Its even better when you're playing on lovely courses, 35 degree heat and no wind! And to top it all off, one of the guys invited us all back to his to cool down in his pool! Happy days! Training last night involved a net session for about an hour, followed by half an hour of fitness, which included hill sprints, normal sprints, sit ups and planking! All made harder in 30 degree heat! Once we had finished we all went for a cool down in Traralgons Outdoor Pool! So next week we play a side called Glengarry! Hopefully another win coming up!
Wednesday 26th November 2013
So after two weeks of having no cricket, we finally got back to playing! Saturday, we had the first innings of our two day game against Churchill, Sunday we had a 20/20 against Gormandale. So, Saturday we turn up, with the odd chance of a shower or to, still quite warm and the wicket looked decent! Stocky lost the toss and we were told to bowl first! This week, Lee gave me the chance to open to see if I could get the ball to swing! Unfortunately I didn't get it to move at all! However, I did manage to pick a wicket up in my 2nd over with the batsman chipping it to one of two guys in short mid wicket position! So after 4 overs, they are 23-1. I only bowled a short spell of 3 overs, then the original opener Andy came on! As we were playing, a lot of big dark clouds started to move towards us, so Lee wanted to get through as many overs as possible! Between him and Warney, they bowled 54 overs, taking 5 wickets for just 148 runs! So very good spells by both of them! Vossy Kept things tight In his second spell, bowling good areas and Churchill ended up on 253-8 after 80 overs! As a team, we think with the depth of our batting line up and the ability of our top 6, we should be able to knock them off on what was a fairly flat wicket! After a few social drinks at the club Saturday night, we all went home knowing we had the game against Gormandale the next day! For anyone to understand the rivalry between the two clubs, they'd have to come and witness it as I don't think we get anywhere close with a team back home! Gormandale have been the best performers in the league for the last decade or so, and now, with ex students progressing like they are, we are the only side that threaten them! Our B Grade side played at 11am, against the same team and got a good win! We played at 2pm with a good crowd of 60 or more people! We got put in on a difficult track, was quite a sticky wicket, not one you could go in and tee up from ball one! Stocky opened the batting and was unfortunately out for 3! Our other opener, Matt Bremner, went on to get a good 20! Wasn't easy to score and with their opener bowling a spell of 4 overs, 3 wickets for 5 runs, it shows how hard it was if you get the balls in the right area! Vossy and Rick went in and both came back pretty soon after! Rory made a very helpful 23, along with Jimmy making only 9 runs but together got a partnership of 30! Jonty goes in and scores a quick nine and then me also going in, getting 7! We finished our innings 87 all out! But we seen how hard it was to score runs and knew if we bowl and field like we can then we'd have a chance of winning! Gormandale came off the pitch expecting to cruise it, right throughout our innings giving us a mouth full confident they were gunna have an easy win! So we come out to bowl and open with Warne and Vossy.. both bowled extremely well! The first wicket fell on 11, shortly the 2nd followed on 21! Stocky was the next bowler and struck immediately, the 3rd wicket also going on 21! Jimmy came on for an over of spin but was then replaced by rory, who bowls good areas and cuts the ball every now and then! Me and him were bowling from different ends, bowling in a good partnership, keeping the runs down! The next wicket falls on 39, their captain, after getting tied down went for a big shot and hit in straight to long on off of my bowling! So at 39-4 they were probably still just ahead! Without scoring, the next wicket falls, a run out.. after this, wickets regularly fell! With our fighting spirit and a few words said between teams, the momentum quickly turned around and we were in the driving seat! Batsman started getting tied down and getting themselves out going for the big shots! The score was on 59, Rory was bowling and the batsman skied one! Straight down Warnes throat! So we did it! After getting a below average score, we won quite comfortably in the end! This was mainly down to the fact everyone worked hard for each other, everyone bowled well and the fielding was brilliant! Everyone bowled very economical spells, Warne 4 overs 2-10, Voss 4 overs 0-15, Stocky 2 overs 2-2, Jim 1 over 0-7, Rory 3.4 overs 2-17 and me with 2 overs 1-7! If we can carry on the season with the same attitude and commitment as that game, I cant see why we cant win the rest of our games! So after a great day of cricket, the chairman made sure the club was open, for both A and B grade to celebrate their wins! All in all a good weekend! Got ourselves in a good position for the two game and beat the next best team in the league! Weather has started getting warmer now! Getting towards the last 20s! Hope you're all enjoying the cold! Speak soon!
Monday 4th November 2013
This week, the first day of our two day game got rained off, so we played a one dayer instead! 45 overs a side, but with red ball and whites! The other team, Yinnar, were the only side to beat the ex students last season, so it wasn't going to be an easy game! Their captain was an ex state player called Brad Knowles, who was a fast bowler I got told by the guys! We started the day off by winning the toss, and electing to bowl! It was a hot day, but Lee said there was still a bit in the wicket for the bowlers! We started off with the normal two openers in Vossy and Andy Matthews, both bowl with good pace, and bowl good areas! Vossy got the first wicket when they were on 15! I came on at the opposite end to replace Andy, I started off well putting the ball on a good length from the start resulting in me getting their number 3 caught behind on a duck! My first wicket for the Ex Students! A very good moment where I got a big celebration from the rest of the team! In came Brad Knowles, my first ball to him was just back of the length, hit his glove... and just dropped short of first slip! A good start for me! In the last over of my first spell, I bowled a ball just short of a driving length, he hit it to mid off who unfortunately dropped the catch! He went on to get another 40+ runs! Would this prove costly...
After I finished, Luke Henderson, an off spinner came on and didn't quite find the right areas, he bowled 3 overs then Stocky, one of the other spinners came on and tightened it up! Warney also kept things tight at the other end, bowling a spell of 9 overs for just 23 runs and taking 1 wicket! We had them at 45-4, but they built a partnership between the middle order taking them to 119 before I picked up my 2nd wicket! A slower ball which the left hander hit straight up, resulting in a catch for Luke Henderson! Vossy Bowled really well with 2 for 17 from 9 overs! Eventually them ending up on 161-9 off of their 45 overs!
After a quick tea, it was our turn to bat, as our skipper and normal opener Lee was suffering from a leg injury, he dropped down to number 4 and Jimmy Pryde Promoted to opener! Him and Greg started off really well, playing Knowles comfortably , who was bowling at good pace with an even quicker bouncer! Unfortunately it was the other opener who picked up the wicket of Pryde, chasing a wide one and getting caught at slip by a very good catch from Knowles! Our number 3, Jackson McMahon, a very talented 16 year old left hand bat only made 2 unfortunately before getting trapped Lbw to the same bowler! In Goes Lee, Him and Greg bat really well together putting on a partnership of 53, taking us from 13-2, to 66-3. Rick Battista went in at 5, another very good left handed batsman, again him and Lee put on a good partnership of 31 before Lee absolutely smashes a pull shot straight at a fielder, a couple metres either side and It would of been 4! Jordy the next man in, unfortunately gets bowled first ball, he's found himself a little bit of bad form but as we all know from back home, he's a good enough player to score big runs, so it'll come soon for him! Rob Voss goes in with Battista at number 7, a partnership of 24 before rick attempts to pull a short one and top edges! I go in at number 8, with 11 overs left and the score on 118-6. There was plenty of time to get the runs, we just needed the batsman to stay there. I start off by facing a spinner who bowled good areas, bowling a maiden. I was still on zero 8 balls in, which the opposite team were so kind to remind me off. They take the spinner off and bring on the quicker bowlers, which suits me a lot better! My 9th ball was a half volley on my legs which I was able to hit through mid wicket for 4! My First runs and very nice to finally get off the mark! I ended up making 26 before top edging a short ball bowled by Knowles, pretty sharp, however a good partnership with Vossy of 33 runs which took the score to 151-7. So we needed 11 runs, from 4 overs, with 3 wickets left. In enters Warne, unfortunately another duck, the whole team sat back getting very nervous! Andy Matthews was next to enter and took the score to 157-9! 5 to win, 1 wicket left and 2 overs to go. Could we do it?! It gets down to needing 3 off of 7 balls.. Vossy takes a single on the last ball of the over! 2 to win, 6 balls left.. The first ball is a single taken by Voss, which leaves Hendo on strike, 1 to win, 5 balls and our number 11 on strike, leaving us all on the edge of our seats! Two dots followed, and then Bang! Hendo hits a wide one over the top of mid off and we win the game by a wicket and two balls to spare! Everyone else jumping up and down cheering! A great Effort from everyone, but the star man of the day was Vossy! Bowled really well and then saw the team through with 14no batting at number 7! The match was followed by a social event down the club, where Nat (bar and Event organiser) Organised a 'Sharks Olympics' night! Everyone dressed up as a their favourite sportsman and there were various drinking games! Very good evening, a lot of fun had by everyone! The next two weekends, we have no game, so probably not a lot to write in the blog over the next couple weeks! But yeah, a very successful weekend for us, and very pleased with my contributions! One last thing, Happy Birthday to my cousin Lauren who turns 22 on the 5th of November! Getting old!! Hope you're all enjoying the weather you're getting!
After I finished, Luke Henderson, an off spinner came on and didn't quite find the right areas, he bowled 3 overs then Stocky, one of the other spinners came on and tightened it up! Warney also kept things tight at the other end, bowling a spell of 9 overs for just 23 runs and taking 1 wicket! We had them at 45-4, but they built a partnership between the middle order taking them to 119 before I picked up my 2nd wicket! A slower ball which the left hander hit straight up, resulting in a catch for Luke Henderson! Vossy Bowled really well with 2 for 17 from 9 overs! Eventually them ending up on 161-9 off of their 45 overs!
After a quick tea, it was our turn to bat, as our skipper and normal opener Lee was suffering from a leg injury, he dropped down to number 4 and Jimmy Pryde Promoted to opener! Him and Greg started off really well, playing Knowles comfortably , who was bowling at good pace with an even quicker bouncer! Unfortunately it was the other opener who picked up the wicket of Pryde, chasing a wide one and getting caught at slip by a very good catch from Knowles! Our number 3, Jackson McMahon, a very talented 16 year old left hand bat only made 2 unfortunately before getting trapped Lbw to the same bowler! In Goes Lee, Him and Greg bat really well together putting on a partnership of 53, taking us from 13-2, to 66-3. Rick Battista went in at 5, another very good left handed batsman, again him and Lee put on a good partnership of 31 before Lee absolutely smashes a pull shot straight at a fielder, a couple metres either side and It would of been 4! Jordy the next man in, unfortunately gets bowled first ball, he's found himself a little bit of bad form but as we all know from back home, he's a good enough player to score big runs, so it'll come soon for him! Rob Voss goes in with Battista at number 7, a partnership of 24 before rick attempts to pull a short one and top edges! I go in at number 8, with 11 overs left and the score on 118-6. There was plenty of time to get the runs, we just needed the batsman to stay there. I start off by facing a spinner who bowled good areas, bowling a maiden. I was still on zero 8 balls in, which the opposite team were so kind to remind me off. They take the spinner off and bring on the quicker bowlers, which suits me a lot better! My 9th ball was a half volley on my legs which I was able to hit through mid wicket for 4! My First runs and very nice to finally get off the mark! I ended up making 26 before top edging a short ball bowled by Knowles, pretty sharp, however a good partnership with Vossy of 33 runs which took the score to 151-7. So we needed 11 runs, from 4 overs, with 3 wickets left. In enters Warne, unfortunately another duck, the whole team sat back getting very nervous! Andy Matthews was next to enter and took the score to 157-9! 5 to win, 1 wicket left and 2 overs to go. Could we do it?! It gets down to needing 3 off of 7 balls.. Vossy takes a single on the last ball of the over! 2 to win, 6 balls left.. The first ball is a single taken by Voss, which leaves Hendo on strike, 1 to win, 5 balls and our number 11 on strike, leaving us all on the edge of our seats! Two dots followed, and then Bang! Hendo hits a wide one over the top of mid off and we win the game by a wicket and two balls to spare! Everyone else jumping up and down cheering! A great Effort from everyone, but the star man of the day was Vossy! Bowled really well and then saw the team through with 14no batting at number 7! The match was followed by a social event down the club, where Nat (bar and Event organiser) Organised a 'Sharks Olympics' night! Everyone dressed up as a their favourite sportsman and there were various drinking games! Very good evening, a lot of fun had by everyone! The next two weekends, we have no game, so probably not a lot to write in the blog over the next couple weeks! But yeah, a very successful weekend for us, and very pleased with my contributions! One last thing, Happy Birthday to my cousin Lauren who turns 22 on the 5th of November! Getting old!! Hope you're all enjoying the weather you're getting!
Tuesday 28th October 2013
This week, the format of our games switched to the two day stuff, unfortunately the weather meant we could not get under way. Mainly the rain we had mid week but some showers on the Saturday! If it was in England, we would have played on it 10 times out of 10 but with the format being the way it was, whoever won the toss would of won the game! As it will more than likely be a much harder track next week! Not a lot else to say apart from that, except my cooking skills are getting pretty impressive, possibility of having my own show after 6 months I reckon!
Take care!
Take care!
Tuesday 21st October 2013
This Week we played a side called Gormandale, the ex students played them in the final of their Playoffs last season and won! So a very good side, who have always been one of the better teams in the League! Unfortunately we didn't turn up with the bat on the day, and could only end up getting 114! Our openers got us off to a good start with a partnership of 39, stocky making 24 and Greg Munro scoring 19, apart from two others, no one else managed double figures! I done the same thing as normal, got through my shot and chipping it straight up to mid off for a duck! Something I have to work on over here! When it came to our bowling, we thought if we can keep it tight and stop the early runs, we could put them under a bit of pressure. However, one of their openers had different ideas and went for it from ball one! He ended up making a quick 50 and probably took the game away. The other opener made 36 and then a couple more scores coming lower down. So a bad day for us, but hopefully a good couple training sessions during the week and we'll be back to winning ways! Training in the previous week was very good again, even when its wet, they think of something we can do and although it was a lot of fitness based things, it was made fun as well! That's all for this week, hope all is well back home!
Monday 14th October 2013
Hi Everyone! Hope the weather is getting nice and cold back home! Been here just over 2 weeks now, all settled in at the Gilmore Home! So to start things off, I better mention the flight! It was the longest 21 hours of my life! The seats were comfy and the food was really good with lots of films to choose from! Getting to Dubai didn't feel to bad, only for jordy to mention that we have to double that duration and put it on top of the 7 hours already gone! Cheers mate! So we left from Dubai, after watching a couple films I thought to myself must be nearly there, only to look at the time to find out we had another 7 hours! But after all that we arrived in Melbourne at half 5 in the morning and met up with susan and carl! It was absolutely hammering down! Lovely! Once we got home, I met jordys sister Madi and her Boyfriend Michael! That night we went to our first training session! It was in an indoor centre, really good facilities and I got to meet most of the team! Really great bunch of people! The training here is taken a lot more seriously and is very well structured by the skipper Lee Stockdale and Warney who is vice! Its a mixture of fielding drills, batting and bowling! Very Enjoyable! Something we Could definitely improve back home! However on the Thursday that just went, it was to wet to do any outdoor training, so instead of going home, we done a gym session instead, which started off with a 2k run and then into the gym for other different exercises! I know
back home that definitely wouldn't happen! Which again is something we could improve on! Anyway, onto the first game... This was a practice match against a team I think was called Latrobe. We fielded first, the outfield was very long so there weren't to many boundaries! The whole teams fielding
is excellent with everyone backing everyone up right til the end! My figures were 2-22 off of 9 overs! Also got one catch and a run out! Then it was our turn to bat! Our openers got us off to a good start, then jordy batted well and got 45ret. I ended up going in with 3 overs to go and ended up skying one to long off! We won the game and was a good performance first up! Before each game, Lee puts together a game plan for each individual, it gives each person an idea of what position we want to be in at each stage of the game! He trusts his players to stick to this and sets the field to that plan! So after the game, me and jordy went over to Mick and Paiges house, where there was a nice big hot tub waiting! Could get very used to one of them! Haha! Jordy took me to one of the beaches on Wednesday, really nice place! Definitely looking forward to it getting hot here! Haha! The Home ground of the ex students is great! Very nice set up with good facilities and a big club house! Its a very social club with a lot of people turning up to training and social events! Every Friday there is something going on and a lot of people there on a Saturday after the game! The team selection is done by a committee and is announced every Thursday after training! The players come in for food and again its a good way to get everyone together socialising! Great food aswell! Chicken parmas and Schnitzels are amazing! I was fortunate enough to get selected for the 1st XI in the A grade for the opening game of the season which I was very happy about! We were playing a team called Centrals who They played in the semi final of their playoffs last season! We won the toss on a very very slow, green wicket and Lee stuck them into bat! We started off really well with the two openers bowling
very tight spells! Rob Voss, ended up with a 5fer and bowled really well! Unfortunately I didn't get a wicket! Apart from one over where I got hit for 14, I bowled quite a tight spell with my final figures being 0-35 off of 7 overs! All in all a good fielding and bowling performance again from everyone! We had a target of 119 to get, the openers again got us off to a good start, with lee making 29! We lost a couple quick wickets, jordy was given out LBW for one, however the decision might of been a bit dubious! The middle order started making partnerships with Dylan spence making 25! The final partnership of 44 between Rory Hare and Jimmy Pryde saw us through and we won by 5 Wickets! A good Start to hopefully a successful season! Now all the cricket has been mentioned, onto the socialising! Since ive been here, warneys taken me out, jordys sister and boyfriend have taken me out, and its been great! Very good nightlife! The cricket team always have a couple of guys keen to go out and are a great bunch! Saturday there was an engagement party for Jonty and Natalie who are members of the club and it was a great evening, where all the team went out! The club has been great, made me feel very welcome from day 1 and already feel as if ive been playing here for ages! Very grateful for the opportunity they have given me! And finally a massive thankyou to The Gilmore Family! Really great family who have made me feel at home from the day I got here! So thankyou
to all of you! So I'll be updating this on a weekly basis now the games have got underway! Hope Everything is all good back home! Hopefully next week will be writing about taking my first league wicket!
Cheers Everyone!
back home that definitely wouldn't happen! Which again is something we could improve on! Anyway, onto the first game... This was a practice match against a team I think was called Latrobe. We fielded first, the outfield was very long so there weren't to many boundaries! The whole teams fielding
is excellent with everyone backing everyone up right til the end! My figures were 2-22 off of 9 overs! Also got one catch and a run out! Then it was our turn to bat! Our openers got us off to a good start, then jordy batted well and got 45ret. I ended up going in with 3 overs to go and ended up skying one to long off! We won the game and was a good performance first up! Before each game, Lee puts together a game plan for each individual, it gives each person an idea of what position we want to be in at each stage of the game! He trusts his players to stick to this and sets the field to that plan! So after the game, me and jordy went over to Mick and Paiges house, where there was a nice big hot tub waiting! Could get very used to one of them! Haha! Jordy took me to one of the beaches on Wednesday, really nice place! Definitely looking forward to it getting hot here! Haha! The Home ground of the ex students is great! Very nice set up with good facilities and a big club house! Its a very social club with a lot of people turning up to training and social events! Every Friday there is something going on and a lot of people there on a Saturday after the game! The team selection is done by a committee and is announced every Thursday after training! The players come in for food and again its a good way to get everyone together socialising! Great food aswell! Chicken parmas and Schnitzels are amazing! I was fortunate enough to get selected for the 1st XI in the A grade for the opening game of the season which I was very happy about! We were playing a team called Centrals who They played in the semi final of their playoffs last season! We won the toss on a very very slow, green wicket and Lee stuck them into bat! We started off really well with the two openers bowling
very tight spells! Rob Voss, ended up with a 5fer and bowled really well! Unfortunately I didn't get a wicket! Apart from one over where I got hit for 14, I bowled quite a tight spell with my final figures being 0-35 off of 7 overs! All in all a good fielding and bowling performance again from everyone! We had a target of 119 to get, the openers again got us off to a good start, with lee making 29! We lost a couple quick wickets, jordy was given out LBW for one, however the decision might of been a bit dubious! The middle order started making partnerships with Dylan spence making 25! The final partnership of 44 between Rory Hare and Jimmy Pryde saw us through and we won by 5 Wickets! A good Start to hopefully a successful season! Now all the cricket has been mentioned, onto the socialising! Since ive been here, warneys taken me out, jordys sister and boyfriend have taken me out, and its been great! Very good nightlife! The cricket team always have a couple of guys keen to go out and are a great bunch! Saturday there was an engagement party for Jonty and Natalie who are members of the club and it was a great evening, where all the team went out! The club has been great, made me feel very welcome from day 1 and already feel as if ive been playing here for ages! Very grateful for the opportunity they have given me! And finally a massive thankyou to The Gilmore Family! Really great family who have made me feel at home from the day I got here! So thankyou
to all of you! So I'll be updating this on a weekly basis now the games have got underway! Hope Everything is all good back home! Hopefully next week will be writing about taking my first league wicket!
Cheers Everyone!