I know how you feel on the fielding bit. I can still move around ok, and i still have an “arm”, which seems exceedingly rare for veterans. With aerobic fitness though, im cooked after a few chases to the boundary. Lol.
Came in chasing quick runs to set up an outright on Saturday. Had three balls to face, and I walked in to face a hat-trick ball - so I belted it for 6 to cow corner. Cop that.Or so I thought.
The ball landed inside the boundary, the fielder knocked it back - and I took a jogged single to finish 1 not out. We then had 34 overs to bowl opposition out for the second time - had them 6/30 but couldn’t finish them off - they ended up 9/138 chasing 148 for victory.
Cricket is more fun when wickets fall - though I wouldn’t advocate rolling out wickets like we had to play on. Enormous cracks, bare patches, bumps in the turf - and it already slopes anyway. I stumped a bloke after he went up the pitch to one, and it hit the pitch and rolled past him. Probably could have been called a no ball…
Just as long as it isn’t unsafe, a sporting wicket produces better cricket. For most of the day the wicket at Flemington played OK, it was just late in our innings it got more variable in bounce, balls pitching outside leg hitting cracks and passing off stump. When we bowled a 2nd time their opener got hit in the head going forward to a good length delivery so good job we finished up without any further incident.
How many actual pitches are there across the state vs the Astro turf kind?
Reckon itd be 80% synthetic now. Closer to 100% in individual comps if you exclude the VTCA. I know that in the Ferntree Gully district comp, only Bayswater still has a turf pitch.
Surprisingly, some small country towns still run on turf.
Mates of mine play up near the border around Yarrawonga, etc, that is all turf. It is an additional cost to employ a curator to look after it, unless you have someone at the club who will do it on a voluntary basis. Our nets are all synthetic, which makes preparation more difficult. Train on hard decks, play on turf wickets that do a bit. It can be easy to become a flat-track bully and be used to the true and consistent bounce in the nets, pretty sure that was part of the reason why my timing was so bad Saturday.
Up here - there are 19 clubs that make up Cricket Albury Wodonga - split into Provincial and District, based loosely on area. For example, Provinicial is a 10 team comp, mostly made up of teams from Albury/Wodonga, but includes Tallangatta (reigning premiers)
District is mostly smaller country towns, though Wodonga are choosing to field their 2nd grade team in District First Grade this year. That also means District is a 10 team comp.
There are also 3 divisions of 3rd grade, which encompass both Provincial and District clubs, only plays on synthetic pitches, and only plays one-day matches. Some sides choose to field a couple of 3rd grade teams if they have the numbers.
District 2nds is also only one-day cricket. Provincial 1sts and 2nds, as well as District 1sts play 2 day cricket, 80 overs per day. All on turf wickets - even the small country towns like Dederang (population 422) manage to produce really nice, even turf wickets.
As a general rule - most of the wickets around here are pretty good. Early season can be slow wickets - but after Christmas, you can see some big scores on some nice flat pitches and immaculate outfields.
So, yeah - there’s at least 19 turf wickets around the Border region, and that’s not including Wangaratta, Benalla, Wagga etc.
Reckon itd be 80% synthetic now. Closer to 100% in individual comps if you exclude the VTCA. I know that in the Ferntree Gully district comp, only Bayswater still has a turf pitch.Surprisingly, some small country towns still run on turf.
Fair enough
I’d never seen a turf pitch outside a state/district ground (admittedly mostly from glances when driving)
If I’d known there were turf pitches about I might have taken up my friends offer to fill in all those years ago!
Channelled my best South African non scoring performance on Saturday. Took me about 40 balls to get off the mark. When I arrived at the wicket we were 7 down needing another 30 to win on a wicket which was starting to keep very low. Having not played much cricket over the last few years due to a young family I was struggling big time. My previous two hits for the year were a duck and 12 not out of which 11 were nicks through the vacant slip region. Anyway I managed to stick it out and was 5 not out when we passed their total. Scoring got easier as we batted the day out. The 25 not out should be a good confidence boaster to go with a couple of wickets last week.
I’m playing my first year of VTCA this year after mainly having played lower grade premier cricket previously. It good quality cricket and I’m really enjoying getting back into it.
Regarding turf wickets a number of inner city clubs are still on turf. The Mercantile competition has over 70 teams across a number of divisions all of which are on turf. I would have thought that turf wickets still are the most common.
The WDCA and NWCA have Turf grade competitions as well as matting grades.
Channelled my best South African non scoring performance on Saturday. Took me about 40 balls to get off the mark. When I arrived at the wicket we were 7 down needing another 30 to win on a wicket which was starting to keep very low. Having not played much cricket over the last few years due to a young family I was struggling big time. My previous two hits for the year were a duck and 12 not out of which 11 were nicks through the vacant slip region. Anyway I managed to stick it out and was 5 not out when we passed their total. Scoring got easier as we batted the day out. The 25 not out should be a good confidence boaster to go with a couple of wickets last week.I’m playing my first year of VTCA this year after mainly having played lower grade premier cricket previously. It good quality cricket and I’m really enjoying getting back into it.
Regarding turf wickets a number of inner city clubs are still on turf. The Mercantile competition has over 70 teams across a number of divisions all of which are on turf. I would have thought that turf wickets still are the most common.
VTCA and EDCA cover the majority of metropolitan area of Melbourne. EDCA north of Dandenong Rd, and VTCA covers south of there, and pretty much everything west of Sydney Rd.
VTCA is exclusively turf. I know they’ve absorbed the further eastern bayside suburbs (Federal) and the Essendon-Broadmeadows-Keilor turf clubs in the last 25 years.
20-25 years ago the councils were trying to get rid of lower-level turf wickets and the VCA, with Bill Lawry as their spokesman, were aiding and abetting them.
We (North Caulfield Glenhuntly) pretty much died 5 years ago just because we couldn’t get juniors for many years. When I started there, Glenhuntly was an ageing area with few kids, having expanded post-war, and later when the old codgers started dropping off the twig, G-Unit’s mates started moving in and their kids wanted to play with the Jewish clubs.
Ironically, the area is now full of sub-continentals who are cricket mad, but by that time, the old-timers on the committee didn’t have the energy to start everything back up. We had heaps of Indians playing, but not the kids. Nice and close to Monash Caulfield too.
Channelled my best South African non scoring performance on Saturday. Took me about 40 balls to get off the mark. When I arrived at the wicket we were 7 down needing another 30 to win on a wicket which was starting to keep very low. Having not played much cricket over the last few years due to a young family I was struggling big time. My previous two hits for the year were a duck and 12 not out of which 11 were nicks through the vacant slip region. Anyway I managed to stick it out and was 5 not out when we passed their total. Scoring got easier as we batted the day out. The 25 not out should be a good confidence boaster to go with a couple of wickets last week.I’m playing my first year of VTCA this year after mainly having played lower grade premier cricket previously. It good quality cricket and I’m really enjoying getting back into it.
Regarding turf wickets a number of inner city clubs are still on turf. The Mercantile competition has over 70 teams across a number of divisions all of which are on turf. I would have thought that turf wickets still are the most common.
VTCA and EDCA cover the majority of metropolitan area of Melbourne. EDCA north of Dandenong Rd, and VTCA covers south of there, and pretty much everything west of Sydney Rd.
VTCA is exclusively turf. I know they’ve absorbed the further eastern bayside suburbs (Federal) and the Essendon-Broadmeadows-Keilor turf clubs in the last 25 years.
20-25 years ago the councils were trying to get rid of lower-level turf wickets and the VCA, with Bill Lawry as their spokesman, were aiding and abetting them.
We (North Caulfield Glenhuntly) pretty much died 5 years ago just because we couldn’t get juniors for many years. When I started there, Glenhuntly was an ageing area with few kids, having expanded post-war, and later when the old codgers started dropping off the twig, G-Unit’s mates started moving in and their kids wanted to play with the Jewish clubs.
Ironically, the area is now full of sub-continentals who are cricket mad, but by that time, the old-timers on the committee didn’t have the energy to start everything back up. We had heaps of Indians playing, but not the kids. Nice and close to Monash Caulfield too.
Funnily enough I’m playing at Carnegie and a few of the players spent some time at NCG. Carnegie is going gangbusters with 6 senior teams all on turf (4 in Mercantile and 2 in VTCA) plus many junior teams and a huge milo for kids program. This is the first season we have had a girls team.
In the 6 senior teams I would think about 50% are of sub cotentential origins. So the club has well and truly captured that market. As wel as the international influx Carnegie itself is going through a baby boom so it will be it will be interesting to see how many decent cricketers come through over the next 10 years.
A couple of Carnegie players played for a long time at NCG.
Good to hear you’ve got back involved rb!! This is my first season in the VTCA as well and even though we are in the North Bs the standard is pretty decent. I’d say it wouldn’t be too dissimilar to WASTCA 2nd XI in Perth however you’re more likely to get a good overseas player in North B1, which can make all the difference. Really liking how little I have to travel in this comp as well!
Reckon itd be 80% synthetic now. Closer to 100% in individual comps if you exclude the VTCA. I know that in the Ferntree Gully district comp, only Bayswater still has a turf pitch.Surprisingly, some small country towns still run on turf.
Fair enough
I’d never seen a turf pitch outside a state/district ground (admittedly mostly from glances when driving)
If I’d known there were turf pitches about I might have taken up my friends offer to fill in all those years ago!
Private schools all have them. Some of the fields I played on at school were comparable to some FC wickets you see around the world.
Outside of that though, for me it’s more hassle than it’s worth. Know a few guys who play turf (mostly VTCA, couple in lower grades of district) and they miss more games for weather reasons - and half the time the pitches are shocking.
Channelled my best South African non scoring performance on Saturday. Took me about 40 balls to get off the mark. When I arrived at the wicket we were 7 down needing another 30 to win on a wicket which was starting to keep very low. Having not played much cricket over the last few years due to a young family I was struggling big time. My previous two hits for the year were a duck and 12 not out of which 11 were nicks through the vacant slip region. Anyway I managed to stick it out and was 5 not out when we passed their total. Scoring got easier as we batted the day out. The 25 not out should be a good confidence boaster to go with a couple of wickets last week.I’m playing my first year of VTCA this year after mainly having played lower grade premier cricket previously. It good quality cricket and I’m really enjoying getting back into it.
Regarding turf wickets a number of inner city clubs are still on turf. The Mercantile competition has over 70 teams across a number of divisions all of which are on turf. I would have thought that turf wickets still are the most common.
VTCA and EDCA cover the majority of metropolitan area of Melbourne. EDCA north of Dandenong Rd, and VTCA covers south of there, and pretty much everything west of Sydney Rd.
VTCA is exclusively turf. I know they’ve absorbed the further eastern bayside suburbs (Federal) and the Essendon-Broadmeadows-Keilor turf clubs in the last 25 years.
20-25 years ago the councils were trying to get rid of lower-level turf wickets and the VCA, with Bill Lawry as their spokesman, were aiding and abetting them.
We (North Caulfield Glenhuntly) pretty much died 5 years ago just because we couldn’t get juniors for many years. When I started there, Glenhuntly was an ageing area with few kids, having expanded post-war, and later when the old codgers started dropping off the twig, G-Unit’s mates started moving in and their kids wanted to play with the Jewish clubs.
Ironically, the area is now full of sub-continentals who are cricket mad, but by that time, the old-timers on the committee didn’t have the energy to start everything back up. We had heaps of Indians playing, but not the kids. Nice and close to Monash Caulfield too.
Funnily enough I’m playing at Carnegie and a few of the players spent some time at NCG. Carnegie is going gangbusters with 6 senior teams all on turf (4 in Mercantile and 2 in VTCA) plus many junior teams and a huge milo for kids program. This is the first season we have had a girls team.
In the 6 senior teams I would think about 50% are of sub cotentential origins. So the club has well and truly captured that market. As wel as the international influx Carnegie itself is going through a baby boom so it will be it will be interesting to see how many decent cricketers come through over the next 10 years.
I think there’s 5 “new” clubs in our comp that have been started by bunches of mates from sub-continental backgrounds. Russell Arnold (played about 30 Tests for SL and hit a few tons!) has been having a run around. Handy player, even though he’d be 40 now.
Got dropped to 2s, opened the batting yesterday against Flemington again at their ground. Pitch was very green due to the rain Friday. Did a bit early, we were 2/6 but put on 60 for the 3rd wicket to steady. Copped a few on the arm and the odd one kept low as well, but got through it and made 50. 2 balls after raising the bat I was out lbw to the spinner, caught on crease, fair enough call. After I got out we collapsed to be all out 131. Had 26 overs to bowl before the close, Flemington 6/46. Really good fightback, great team effort in the field. Hopefully we can close it out and have another hit!
What if anything is your comps heat policy? We will get called off if the forecast is 40 or over at 11am tomorrow morning.
Yeah along those lines. Might be 38.
99% chance it’ll be called off, pity as I give us a good chance. 240 to get, on a super quick ground, against a team with average age about 35 so I don’t think they’ll be super quick out there
Yeah called off without a ball being bowled. Temp never dipped below 38, got canned at 1.30 so back to the clubrooms for a few. The girls were playing on their ground at Aberfeldie Park, so it made us think we were a bit weak if the chics were out there, but when we saw 2 Ambulances rock up we realised it may have been for the better…
What if anything is your comps heat policy? We will get called off if the forecast is 40 or over at 11am tomorrow morning.
Cricket Albury Wodonga A and B grade is not called off until it hits 43.1
At 41, C Grade is called off and 2nd innings in A and B are called off.