B Grade Match Reports

Round 7 - Woodville South Away

Howdy again and welcome to another B grade match report, the first for 2010. The B grade had to do a little travelling this week for Round 7, so we made our way down to Woody South for a clash between 2nd & 3rd on the ladder. With a forecast for 41.99999 degrees we all started with our whites on ready to go and field, but alas, Burts managed to win his first toss for the year which put us in the situation of having no idea what to do with a correct call. So we decided to bat first also a first for the year for us.
We opened up again with Josh and James 'Hollywood' Rutter, unfortunately losing Hollywood in the second over, bringing out the newly promoted number 3, Paul 'Mac' Charles to join Josh. Together they started forming a partnership and looked fairly solid together (except for the couple of chances the each gave) adding 73 before Mac chopped on for a well made 31. Burts came out and joined Josh in the middle, playing very defensively both batsmen working to get to the tea break without losing a wicket. Unfortunately they took off for a run and stopped to have their mid pitch talk while the fielder picked up the ball and proceeded to run Josh out for 52, his first B grade 50, leaving the score at 3/92. This started a fall of wickets, leaving us at 7/130. Spargo after making 56 the game before batted though this crucial time of our innings and added a well made 49 before being caught out. With the score at 8/162 and the ever reliable and former B grade captain Michael Lardner still out in the middle, now joined by Alex 'Temo' Matushik, we were hoping to be able to push on towards 200. We weren't able to score a run after that with the last 2 wickets falling quickly and we were bowled out for 162, a disappointing effort after a promising start and good work by Spargo in the middle order. With 4 ducks, and 7 batsmen scoring 30 runs between them it was a very disappointing result for us after we had been batting fairly well coming into this game.
So we were left with 17 overs to bowl and a small target to defend so we knew we had to bowl tight and try to pin some early wickets. We opened the attack with 'Temo' and Swifty and after Swifty's first over the score was 1/1. From then on they proceeded to bat through to the 16th not giving a chance, so we rolled the dice for the last over and Burts took the ball. 5 balls were blocked out,m and with Burts at the top of his mark Stevie Miller told the bastman how bad it would be to get out on the last ball, Burts charged in and the batsman decided to chop it onto his leg and it fell to the ground and rolled backwards onto the stumps and the bails kindly fell off giving us our second wicket and leaving them at 2/51.
We returned the second week, knowing we had a big task ahead of us needing 8 wickets for less than 111 runs. Swifty and Temo started well but were both unlucky with many play and misses and just missing the stumps on many occasions. The ball was thrown to Burts again who managed to get the ball rolling for us with a big hooping innie smashing into the stumps, but not quite knocking them out of the ground. Lards joind Burts and together they bowled tight, with Burts continuing to take wickets and Lards restricting the scoring and also chipping in with a wicket of his own. Burts finished his spell with 4/38 off 10 and had bowled us back into the game, however the two batsman who were in started slogging the ball to all parts of the ground and we were passed with 4 wickets to get. Not much can be said from here as they threw caution to the wind and started swinging at everything, we dropped our bundle a bit and that cost us in the field. All bowlers bowled well Swifty 1/25 off 14, Temo was unlucky and had 0/55 off his 14, Lards who bowled well in tandem with Burts finished with 1/27 off 8 but had 3 catches dropped by Josh keeping up to the stumps. Our two spin twins bowled well Benny whilst moving it at right angles with one ball spinning from off stump past Josh to Lards at slip finished with 2/69 off 10.5 overs and the B grade destroyer Beetle collected 2/36 off his 9 overs. We managed to bowl them out for 253 showing that even when a team is bowling well you can still make runs on the deck if you form partnerships.
We were left with 27 overs to bat and wanting to make amends for the first innings and try to get as many bonus points as possible. Unfortunately this didn't happen as we managed to find as many ways to get out as possible losing wickets consistently. We were 4/26 and looking to be in trouble at 6/65 after Spargo was caught at slip for 24 with about 6 overs left, then when Burts finally got out for a well made 18 after batting well trying to hold our innings together and we were 8/70 with 3 overs to go. Enter Temo and Beetle, who managed to block out the next three overs and save the game from ending outright for us.  In all a very disappointing game for a team that were in the 4 and now have fallen just outside. We need to look past this game now, get it out of our system and get back to playing good cricket and playing like a team that wants to play finals and be successful. On that there is not much more to say other than a few good efforts with the bat for Spargo, Paul Charles and Josh and also Burts taking 4 wickets. So lets hopefully get on with the next game and get this out of our system and push back to get that finals campaign back on the road.
Jwah (aka Burts' chauffeur) out End transmission

Round 6 - Ingle Farm at home

After a month of no cricket due to soggy pitches and also an Adelaide Test match which wielded no result but many hangovers for those who went to watch, we welcomed Ingle farm down to Kingswood for Round 6. It was a different look side this week with only 3 players being over the age of 25, and our top two scoring batsmen going up to the A's, but we welcomed in young Ollie Smith 'Captain Safety' in for his B grade debut.
In typical Unley fashion we lost the toss and were sent out into the field like every other week, but after a solid warm up we were ready to go and on the back of our form from the last couple of games we were confident we could do the job. We opened with Speaky and Swifty who both bowled extremely well, however we were not able to capitalize on the good bowling putting down two early chances off Swifty. In the 16th over Burts made his return to the bowling crease and was instantly successful picking up the first wicket LBW, which got the ball rolling. He finished his 9 over spell with the figures of 3/28. Swifty also followed him after bowling 16 overs straight finishing with 2/48 however he had 3 dropped off his bowling. Spargo came in and did a job making the batsman slash one to Swifty who took a great low catch to his left to leave his figures at 1/28 off 10. Burts chucked the ball to the B grade destroyer Beetle and he didn't disappoint ending up with 3/35 at the end of his 10 over spell including a great stumping by Josh. We took wickets consistently and only was troubled by a small partnership just before tea which was broken shortly after tea, only our catching let us down with 5 spilled for the day which allowed them to push to 165 all out, though we felt we should've had them for under 150.
With Ingle Farm being all out we were left with 21 overs to face out the rest of the day. Toosh in his first game back for the B's (after his exams and schoolies had finished) was given the opportunity to open with Josh and he jumped at the chance, looking very solid before being judged LBW for 6. Paul Charles got a promotion up the order to 3 and he went out to join Josh in the middle, who was slashing and scratching his way through. The 21 overs were faced with Josh and Paul both unbeaten on 22 and 8 respectively, leaving the score at 1/45.
We came back the second week confident that we would have no problems chasing down the required 120 runs to win. We lost 3/21, including Josh on the 3rd ball of the day and Burts for 0. This left the Joker at the crease with Spargo and together they made a stand of 74 before The Joker was caught for a well made 23, with the score at 4/142 we had the box seat to make 13 runs for victory, we then lost two quick wickets including Spargo for an extremely well made and very aggressive 56, to leave us at 6/158. Young Ollie Smith and Swifty saw us across the line just before we were all out for 177, 12 runs in advance still with 40 overs to play.
Disappointed on missing out on an outright earlier in the year we put them in and decided to push for as many bonus points as possible. We gave a few of the younger guys an opportunity with the ball and it paid off when Ingle Farm were 3/5, with Ollie Smith taking his first B grade wickets (2/9 off 6 overs). We kept pushing hard in the second innings taking regular wickets and bowling superbly constantly in the right areas. The younger guys in the team stood up to the challenge and all bowled extremely well, as well as a few of the senior players chipping in, including Burts running someone out from backward square leg going back for a third. Unfortunately we didn't quite finish the job leaving Ingle Farm at 9/104 off 40 overs. Alex Matushik bowled superbly and ended up with 3/24 off 11, including a big diving catch down the leg side by Josh who managed to pluck a catch from nowhere. Ruts chipped in with 1/9 off 3, Speaky opened up well for us (1/32 off 9) and Paul 'Mac' Charles took his first B grade wicket with his unconventional off-spin (1/13 off 6).
In all it was a great performance leading into the Christmas break with everyone chipping in leaving us in a very strong position for the rest of the season.
Jwah out....End transmission

Round 4 - Woodville Rechabites Away

The hottest Saturday of the year so far confronted the B grade this week, who travelled down to Woodville Rechabites four Round 4. As we gathered under the shade of the closest gum tree, we all knew our fate of the Unley coin toss loss and already suspected that we would spend the entire day fielding in the 39 degree heat. Our glorious captain back from his game off didn't disappoint, losing the toss and we headed out to bowl.

Well not much can be said from here on as we proceeded to bowl the opposition out in 23 overs for a very gettable 45. It was an absolute clinic on how to bowl an opposition out and restrict their scoring by bowling consistent lines and also backing up with good fielding (which ultimately cost us the first 2 games). We opened with Tyson (1/13 off 5 overs)and Swifty, who both started superbly each picking up a wicket each within their first couple of overs, with Swifty actually taking 3 wickets in a matter of 2 overs (3/12 off 8 overs)ripping the heart out of the middle order. Tyson finished his spell and Dan took up where Tyson left off and ended up claiming 4/12 off his 5 over spell. We looked around for another option as Swifty after bowling 8 on the trot deserved a break and instead of bowling our leading wicket taker and lead spin bowler Nathan we threw the ball to young Will "Lantern" Spargo who bowled extremely well picking up 2/8 off his 4 overs. We then proceeded to hear all about Burts's great captaincy for losing the toss and bowling the opposition out so quickly.

So we went in to bat, supremely confident of being able to chase down 45. Opening up with Kirky and Josh, we lost Kirky early bringing Tyson in at number three fresh from his 89 the game before. From there these two batted us through to win the game with a 66 run partnership before Josh hit the ball to point for 37. Tyson took up where he and Josh left off and joined by Burts they smashed a quick fire 52 run partnership with Burts being dismissed for a very quick 36. Tyson soon followed after another superb week with the bat making 71. Dan and Paul were left unbeaten on 31* and 28* respectively (Paul did leave the last ball of the day and missing out on the paper by two runs poor kid) leaving the score at 4/219 from our 45 overs. We left the day in an extremely strong position after an incredible bowling display and then following it up with the bat, allowing us to push for an outright in the second week weather permitting. 

Well unfortunately the weather did not permit us to push for an outright victory in the second week. We all arrived keen to play but as any team who was staring down the barrel of an outright loss, they refused to play. So we missed out on the outright and extra valuable points but with nearly all games being washed out we still made points on the rest of the teams continuing our march up the ladder.

Jwah out......End transmission

Round 3 - Golden Grove at home

A beautiful sunny 33 degree day welcomed us for game 3 of the season at Kingswood oval. We were fired up and with a new stand in captain ready to turn around our efforts from the first two games and grab a win here.

So on the first stinking hot day we were keen to win the toss and have a bat, but in true Unley tradition we lost and ended up being sent into the field. We opened up with Robin "Shifty" Swift and Tyson "Iron Chef" Smith both generating some good heat but unable to penetrate through two very disciplined openers. There was a difference in the field this week (not just because Burts wasn't there) with everyone putting in an extra effort to improve on how we fielded for the last 2 games and it showed with not many getting through at all and plenty of backing up. Wickets were falling consistently thanks largely in part to "Beetle" who snared his first 5 wicket haul for the club with 5/ off 12 overs (the figures don't relay how tight we was bowling as his last two overs went for 20 runs late in the day) and his other spin twin Benn "Bazza" Barratt who bowled with the ball on a string and consistant big turn. The pacemen and Spargo also did a good job all bowling tightly and producing opportunities (with only 1 dropped all game). So we went into tea with Golden Grove in trouble at 8/104.

After tea it all fell apart. Two batsmen made a stand and grinded out a 140 run partnership which lasted 30 overs without giving a chance or even a sniff of an opportunity both pushing singles and hitting the odd ball for four showing us how easy it is to play once you get yourself in. This really hurt the team especially in the heat, but the bowlers persisted hitting the right spots and giving us every chance to grab a wicket as the crowd grew on the balcony. "Swifty" finally broke through getting a big edge to "Jwah" behind the stumps to remove the number 10 batsman (47) and then next over Benny bamboozled that batsman with flight, dip and turn as he danced down the pitch with Josh whipping the bails off to finish the innings at 247 ending a very frustrating second half of the day which will make our innings and how we start very important to our success this game after we let a very strong position slip away from us.

Week two saw us prepare for a big chase with everyone feeling confident that we would be able to chase down 247 in 80 overs, providing we didn't do what we did last week. We opened up with "Rutts" and "Jwah" only to welcome back "Rutts" in the second over after receiving an absolute gem of a delivery. Big Tyson Smith walked out to join Josh and they started to form a partnership before Josh was out caught off the gloves trying to hook the ball for 16, leaving the score at 2/40. Enter Dan Ainscough. After making 65 the week before he and Tyson batted beautifully together putting on 139 before Dan was bowled for a well made 62 leaving us at 3/179 and then like last week a quick loss of a few key wickets had the rest of the team feeling a bit worried leaving us at 5/189 after Tyson departed for an extremely well made 89 (which was made better by the fact that the walk out to the crease absolutely buggered him forcing him to run extremely slowly between the wickets all the way through his innings). Steve "The Joker" Miller came in and edged his way around for 16 forming a small partner ship with Benn Barratt, before Will "Lantern" Spargo came headed to the crease and these two steered us to 247 with a 40 run partnership before Benn was out for a quick fire 25 follwed by "Lantern" (who hit the winning runs)  for his highest score of the year a well made 31.

We made the runs with 14 overs to spare in a very good run chase by the team on the back of a tremendous effort with the bat from Dan and Tyson and also disappointing for Golden Grove it isn't often that you hear of a team losing after someone scores 104* and someone chips in with 7 wickets.  Extremely good win for the B grade in what has been a frustrating year so far with the first two games slipping from our grasp both times. Hopefully the team has seen the standard now we would like to play at all year and while we still have a couple of kinks to iron out (like losing quick wickets consecutively) we all gained confidence from this game and heading into the next game it will help a lot of heads remained switched on and hungry for another win.

Jwah out.....End Transmission

Round 2 - Reynella at home

So we head into round 2 disappointed with our efforts from the first game and how we let it slip away. After having our first week given a wash out we were ready for the one dayer and a wicket which looked like there may be a little bit early on for the bowlers but then the typical Kingswood track flat and ready to produce a big score.
Like a good Unley captain Burts lost the toss and we went out for a field. We were very keen on improving on our fielding from the week before as it cost us too many runs and possibly the game. We started well snagging an early wicket before struggling through a 110 run partnership. We finally broke through picking up 5/14 however the tail kept wagging and after having them 6/154 they batted out their overs to make 9/265 which was disappointing as our fielding cost us dearly again with 5 dropped catches and many misfields.
The pick of the bowlers in the middle session was James "Strutter" Rutter who with his slow hooping swing collected 2/17 off his 6 overs.  The other bowler to bag a few was Nathan "Beetlejuice" Crossman who continued with his impressive first game and collected 3/28. With Ainscough (who also threw the ball over the bails from deep mid on for a run out somehow without the aid of a relay throw), Swift and Spargo all picking up one wicket each.
So we went into bat opening with Burts and Josh hoping to get us off to a good start which unfortunately only lasted 3 overs as Josh popped one straight to square leg. This fired up Burts who then proceeded to smash the ball all around the park for a well made very "technical" (agricultural) 40. We then lost two quick wickets leaving us at 3/66 and with Dan and a new player Paul "Blows" Charles. Together they formed a 116 run partnership before Dan played on for a well made 65 leaving us well placed at 4/182. We then unfortunately witnessed one of the great Unley collapses losing the next 6 wickets for 12 runs including "Blows" with a well made 45 in his first game for Unley.
In all another disappointing result for the B grade after being in a good position to be able to win the game but then a classic case of throwing wickets away and not re-stabilizing the innings. Hopefully our fielding can improve and our hunger for a win should help us value our wickets and not throw games away like we did on a very disappointing day.

Jwah out....end transmission.

Round 1 - Flinders Park away

Well the start of yet another cricket season doesn't seem that long ago that we put the creams away for the winter. The first game of the year was headed by the arrival of a new captain in Graham "The Panther" Burton. 
So we headed out to Flinders Park to start our year with most people realizing it was Flinders Park not Flinders Uni as Spargo found out when no one was at the Uni grounds. In typical Unley fashion we lost the toss and decided to bowl on what looked like a well prepared wicket for the first game under a sunny but patchy cloud filled sky. The comedy of errors continued with Tyson forgetting his pants thankfully for the good of the world Robin "Taylor" Swifty had a spare pair in his bag.

We opened up with a youngster coming up from the 17's in Jo "Skippy" Speak (son of Gary) and "Taylor" Swift with the first over lasting for 10 balls as Swifty adjusted his radar. A couple of chances slipped early and that trend unfortunately continued through the day consequently costing us approximately an extra 50 runs. The comedy routine continued through the day with Burts searching towards mid off for a ball that skied over his head towards deep cover and Alex "Toosh" Matushik hitting the batsman in the back of the head when attempting a run out. However the highlight of the fielding display was young "Skippy" hitting the stumps two attempts in a row (the second one hitting Beetles middle stump).  Young Speak was the pick of the bowlers with 3 wickets and a direct hit run out to his name in his first senior game with the rest of the bowlers chipping in with everyone snagging a wicket, leaving Flinders Park all out for 201.

Going into our innings we were very confident of being able to chase down the runs required. We opened with the blonde bombshell James "Ruts" Rutter and Swifty. Poor Swifty cramped up after edging for 4 through the slips and took 5 minutes to stretch it out before returning to the crease. Unfortunately the opening combination didn't last long with Ruts and Swifty  both out within a couple of overs of each other making way for Morris McCarthy-Adams and Burts, who in typical Burts fashion smacked an average looking bowling attack around for 18 before being caught out. Wickets kept falling with Tyson going without troubling the scorers, and Spargo scoring in the 20's with plenty of cut shots and a few cut pulls along the way. Another youngster up from the 17's in Steve "Stu Clarke" Miller came in and looked good before being run out leaving us stranded at 6/118. Josh "Jwah" Stevens came and formed a partnership with Morris before being run out by his partner for 19 with the team needing a further 30 odd runs form 8 overs. Toosh came and went run out as the two wickets before followed by Beetle leaving young Joey Speak and Morris unbeaten but unfortunately 8 runs short.

To lose by 8 runs in the first game which was riddled with errors including 8 dropped catches (EDIT: how many were bythe "keeper" ?) and some poor fielding is disappointing but with Morris making 79* and young Speak taking 3 wickets on debut the rest of the year ahead looks promising if we can put our heads down and work hard on areas we need to improve on we should see success throughout the year for the B grade. 

Jwah out.....end transmission.