Light Pass Cricket Club

Gilbert Valley won the toss and elected to bat first.  Sam Schmidt and Dimi Camilleri open the bowling and were tight from the first over, aided by some solid fielding the lads slowly applied pressure to the opposition batsmen and were rewarded with regular wickets.
Wade Gripton entered the attack with the innings finely balanced and combined with keeper Andy Davidson to turn the match in Light Pass’s favour with a devastating spell that yielded 3 wickets (2 catches and a stumping to Andy) taking out Gilberts middle order.
The fielders were doing their part with many sharp saves in the infield denying the batsmen runs and 2 sharp runouts by Sean Schrapel adding to the wicket tally.  Two wickets to Sam Schmidt combined with miserly spells by Tim Taylor and Dimi Camilleri ensured the tail did not wag to hard while Dick Mattner popped up with a cameo 1/8 late in the innings.  In the end the boys in the baggy green restricted Gilbert Valley to 9/168.
Steve Hill and Dimi Camilleri got the chase off to a great start with a 53 run opening stand before Dimi feathered one and was caught for 24, Hilly followed soon after for 17 and when the next wicket fell cheaply there were some nerves fraying in the clubrooms.  Dick Mattner and Nathan Koch combined to wrestle back control with a disciplined partnership that saw the side to drinks with out further loss.
After the break the pair were more aggressive showing more of the stroke play that both are well know for and sending any loose deliveries to the fence.  The match winning 122 run partnership between the two ended with Nathan’s wicket for 36 after the game was won.  Dick continued to attack until he was dismissed with 2 balls remaining for a brilliant 85 run innings.  The final score was 6/208 handing the A1’s their first win of the season.  The Man of the match was Wade Gripton.

A2’s – The Wanderers traveled to Saddleworth to take on Gilbert Valley in a reduced overs fixture after the weather cut short play last week.   Light Pass bowled and were in a strong position at the start of play but some poor fielding allowed Gilbert Valley to post a much more competitive total than had been expected.  That said the lads were confident they could chase down the 155 run total set for them in the 43 overs they had allotted to them.  Brad Hunter was the star with the ball taking 3/19 in 11 overs to put any under performing A1 bowlers on notice, while Skipper Simon Davies also contributed well with the ball taking 3/34.
The batting plan was simple, aggression from one end and control from the other and it worked like a charm.  Paul Braunack played a patient innings batting the full 43 overs for 59 runs and handing the strike to the other batsmen as often as possible. Chris Allen’s run rate was high but his innings short as he was the first wicket out for 13, Simon Davies joined Paul and the pair put on 93 runs for the next wicket putting the win firmly within grasp, that partnership ended when Simon was trapped LBW for 59 runs.  A quick wicket after that partnership was the only hiccup of the innings as Tim Rowbottom joined Paul and together the steered the side to victory with an undefeated 60 run stand in which Tim scored 27n/o.  The win moves the “Wanderers” into the top four for the first time this season.  The Man of the match was Simon Davies.

A4’s – The A4’s played their match against the competition leaders Nuriootpa at Nuri No.2 on the weekend.
Ellbourn’s 11 bowled first and got off to a handy start when Syd Miller took the first wicket early in the innings.  Unfortunately Nigel Koop suffered a reoccurrence of his hamstring injury and without one of the sides strike bowlers functioning the next partnership pushed the score along as the boys in the baggie green struggled to produce a wicket.
The Bowlers managed to keep the run rate modest but Nuri’s batsmen were in control of the game and it took the introduction of the skipper himself Brad Ellbourn to get a result with the ball, Brad delivered a great 6 over spell that yielded 3 wickets for only 16 runs and prevented the oppositions score from blowing out.  Ryan Schiller also bowled well taking 1/28 from his 8 overs, while Syd’s 1/18 was also an important contribution.
Sadly the run chase was a disaster with early wickets snuffing out much hope of victory as the lads slumped to 5/30 under the pressure of Nuri’s experienced bowling line up.  Justin Sparks show some fight, producing one of his best inning’s to restore some respectability to the innings with a 41 run effort before he was caught out.  The other highlight of the day was Syd Millers 21 run innings late in the day that help get the score to 89 before the last wicket fell.
The A4’s will need to keep focusing on the positives each week and look forward to a day soon when it all comes together.  The man of the match was Justin Sparks.

Subs – Subs for the season have been set at $140 before Christmas and $160 after Christmas (same as last year), this includes a ticket to the presentation dinner at the end of the season.  If you need to make arrangements regarding payment of subs please contact Tim Taylor (Treasurer).

Social – The Clubs upcoming social event is the Rump and Red Dinner, which will be held on the 20th of November, tickets are now available from committee members.  As always it will be a great night for the clubs players and supporters with a 3 course meal, door prizes, raffles and of course the famous Wine and Goods Auction which is always a highlight.

100 Club – Tickets are now available from committee members, get yours now to avoid missing your favorite numbers!