May as well get this one started for the upcoming season. Only 6 weeks until Round 1 is with us. Been training indoors the last 3 weeks but today was our first session in the nets at the club. We have new club rooms under construction and the old rooms got demolished in April, so it looks strange at the moment and we will be using temporary rooms for the season. The weather was great, so nice to get a solid session under the belt. Got a couple of new lads join us and they looked very handy and should push for the 1st XI. Iāll continue in the B Grade team. Will put my hand up to captain if there is a vacancy there.
Did anyone in Melbourne get a full day in? We were pretty lucky that the rain mainly went around us and we lost about 45 minutes. We batted first and when the rain came were 9/140 off 30 overs. I made a solid 6.
We held them about 20 short. It was a goof effort with a wet ball especially when they got off to a good start.
Hopefully there is better weather next weekend
Not a full day. Played a T20 today. Captain of the B Grade, won the toss and sent the opposition in. Had a bowling team a bit light on, 6/152 off their 20, we were 1/32 after 6 overs when the heavens opened up and we didnāt get back on. I batted 3 and made 11*.
A much better day weather wise than last week. We bowled first and took wickets regularly. We got one on the first ball of the match. They had a 50 run last wicket partnership and ended up 130 when there overs were up.
We chased it down reasonably comfortably in the end. Passed them 3 down with 3 overs to go. I really struggled early but found a groove and started seeing them well. Got 58 so was happy with that. 2-0 to start the season.
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We lost yesterday. I lost the toss and the opposition correctly decided to bat first on a very flat surface. We did an OK job with a slightly under strength attack to keep them to 9/205 off their 45 overs. We were that hard up I decided to bring myself on for a few overs as a filler so my opening bowler could close out the innings. The pitch took a great deal of turn and I managed to snag a wicket, my first for the club and probably 7 years since I last took a wicket in a game (thatās how rarely I bowl!).
Batting and we were very light on and really only had 3 bats that are of the standard. Unfortunately 2 of them failed to trouble the scorers, so that put us on the back foot from the start. They bowled well and kept the pressure on us. I managed to get 44, got bowled trying to pull a ball and it kept low. In the end we were well short, 9/139 off our 45. The boys did well to make sure we werenāt all out. Beaten but not disgraced, especially given we were playing a 1st XI and we are the 3rd XI of our club.
Unfortunately I think Iāve injured my knee. Felt it go at training Thursday and it was quite sore Friday but bearable. Was fine in the field but after batting I was limping around and today really struggling to move.
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Had an amusing few moments at Port Fairy. I wasnāt available to umpire yesterday due to after-effects of a severe virus, possibly COVID.
Sitting upstairs, the club pres (and local postie) was manning the Frogbox, chinwagging with a few of his old mates about times theyād been given out to shockers by teammates.
The pres mentioned one bloke, and 5 seconds later his phone ringsā¦Ohā¦itās old mate I just mentioned. He says he didnāt give me out because of this or that, it was because Iām a prick (the pres, not me, although thatās arguable)
Just perfect timing all round. That sitting around having a natter while youāre waiting to bat is one of the great pleasures of cricket.
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Back at it this weekend after the previous Saturday was off due to rain, we got our first win of the season. Hadnāt played against this team before (all 3 occasions we were scheduled to play them last season we got rained off!) but they finished bottom last season and looking at their scores from the first 2 games I didnāt think theyād be much chop. And so it proved, I won the toss and sent them in and we routed them for 62 all out. Fantastic performance with the ball, ruthless, took all the chances that came our way. We made the runs 3 down in 14 overs. I decided to slide myself down the list given the paltry total and give some of the others a go, especially as my knee is giving me serious grief, and was not needed to bat. Iām booked in for an MRI scan Wednesday so fingers crossed, but my physio seems to think I may not play much more cricket before the year is outā¦
It was the first of the 2 day games and we had a bye. Good timing on Cox Plate day and Derby Day.
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āHeās a proper cricket tragicā: AFL footballer makes runs for country club
November 3 2024 - 12:15pm
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Bookaar life member Brian āBomberā Fitzgerald with Essendon footballer Zach Merrett after the Pelicansā win against South West Cricket rival Woorndoo. Picture supplied
HE might have been listed as āfill inā but Bookaarās inclusion needed no introduction.
Essendon captain Zach Merrett - a five-time Bombersā best and fairest winner - swapped his football boots for a cricket bat on Saturday, November 2.
The Cobden-raised athlete played his part in the Pelicansā 126-run win against South West Cricket rival Woorndoo, making a quickfire 42 off 41 balls.
His innings included five fours and a six.
āHe went and got himself a brand new bat on Wednesday, didnāt hit it in or anything and just walked straight out,ā Bookaar captain Lachie Green told The Standard.
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āHeās a class player. He played a lot of rep stuff growing up. I always thought if I was going to watch Zach play professional sport at the MCG it would be Boxing Day (for the Test) not on Anzac Day.ā
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Green, who missed the game with commitments in Melbourne, said Zach was a chance to play two more matches for Bookaar before Essendon pre-season training took priority.
āHeās a proper cricket tragic and has been hassling me since about August for a game of cricket and he was in America on a training camp a couple of weeks ago and couldnāt play round one and then had his girlfriendās birthday last weekend,ā he said.
āHis sporting fortunes turned when he turned 17 or 18 and he chose the footy path but cricket was always his number one sport and number one passion.ā
Green said Bookaar loved having the AFL star midfielder in its green and gold uniform.
āHeās not looked upon as the Essendon captain when heās amongst the boys. He definitely cops his fair amount of stick and heās not put up on a pedestal thatās for sure,ā he said.
āI think itās enjoyable for him that he comes back and is just treated as one of the boys. Heās a really good person and thatās what we want, we want good people playing at our club.ā
Bookaar players, including Essendon captain Zach Merrett (back, second from left), after defeating Woorndoo. Picture supplied
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Cobden are in the South West comp too, so not 100% sure why he doesnāt play for them.
South West CA is struggling. Mortlake, Noorat and Terang have all defected to Warrnambool Moyne and District over the past 3 or 4 years, and power club Pomborneit got knocked back recently in their attempt to move to the Colac comp.
I think Simpson just defected to Colac too.
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We had a good win yesterday. Opposition won the toss and correctly chose to bat on a very flat pitch. We struggled a bit early but then dragged the run rate back with some tight bowling, but we struggled to make inroads in terms of wickets. At 1/91 at drinks (23 overs), I told the boys to keep persisting and that if we got one wicket and opened up an end, the game would turn in our favour. And so it proved. We took 9/40 after the drinks break and rolled them for 131, a fantastic response.
We passed their score 6 down with 10 overs left. There was only one substantial partnership, the 3rd wicket put on 80-odd after we lost both owners early on. We had a late wobble but got there in the end. I failed to trouble the scorers, chopped one on trying to drive through cover. Happy to win regardless, but I wonāt be playing for a while. Had an MRI scan on my knee during the week and have patella tendon damage as well as a ruptured cyst at the back of my knee. Will miss roughly 6 weeks. Very frustratingā¦
The side I usually play in had the bye but I played in the one day grade yesterday. We bowled first and took 2 wickets in the first over. We had them 5/30 and they bated really well after that and ended up with 160 off 35 overs. We had one of our batsman play really well but the rest were no good and we fell 10 runs short. Disappointing result
Four games in and Iāve had 3 scores under 10 and a 60 so Iām not sure how my form is. I feel good when Iām out there but keep playing stupid shots. Iāll,get there.
No doubt the local paper will be all over Nirranda export, Brody Couch, taking a first-class hat-trick for WA.
Any relation to Paul (RIP) and his kin from Boggy Creek?
Down that way. Heading down towards the GOR, east and south of Allansford.