Vets Match Report #5
“Is there a pitch out there?” … Now that’s a question you don’t want to hear before the start of the game on a turf pitch. Don’t get me wrong, it was a fair question as the pitch in question was green, very green. The same green as the grass surrounding it. And how magnificent was the outfield? After playing paddocks and minefields the past few games, the sight of the carpet-like turf in the outfield was truly magnificent. No helmets for fielding are required. The telltale sign there was a pitch was the shorter length of the very green grass. Rain over the previous few days had left the pitch a little underdone and the possibility of no game was a real possibility until we got the thumbs up from the groundskeeper earlier that day.
Ahhhhh… it was so nice to be back on home turf, literally. The sky was overcast and grey, the Chapel stood magnificent and proud on the hill, and the new Kostka centre (nearing completion) looked on in amazement. The returfed Chapel oval looked inviting and bodes well for season three. The sound of leather on willow reverberated around the grounds of Xavier as all three teams from the OXCC did battle at home. Yellow armbands on all to celebrate and highlight the battle of Jon Catania against that most horrible disease, MND. Fight4Jon 3.0 was happening and at only 23 Jon needs all the help he can get and anything to beat the Beast is welcome.
It must be said that the mid-season break could not come quickly enough for the OXCC Vets. The injury list was long, the unavailability list lengthy (silly season and Christmas events taking their toll- and where the bloody hell is Moorehead this week????) and so we had the bare minimum eleven including the “retired” Paul Clarke plus another cameo from Ollie to bring us up to 12. Toss decided and we are in the field.
The green pitch had Sammy excited and the batters nervous. Sammy’s first over went for seven and we thought this could be interesting. Bernie followed with a maiden and opinions changed again. The first three were tight and not much happening. Sammy bowled without luck and Bernie was tight as…It was not until a freak piece of fielding in the covers by Boothy (my story, I’ll tell it my way) that bought about the first wicket with a run out. The ball appeared to be past Boothy, who as his custom only fields with one hand (see report from last match and his catch) sticks out his left, manages to make it stick (how??) and return the ball to Michael behind the stumps with the batter short of his ground. Out!! Easy decision for square leg. The fielding must have been good because even the 12th man ran on the field to congratulate Boothy (thanks, Jerome). One for not many at the end of the 4th.
It is an unspoken and unwritten rule in Vets cricket that you don’t give your players out LBW unless they are plumb, and it would lead to a lynching if it wasn’t given. So, you can imagine our surprise when the Northcote United umpire raised the finger in the next over for LBW when the player had clearly smacked the cover off it. Fielders near the batter didn’t even appeal it was so obvious. Two for… bit of momentum here.
Going through the ball-by-ball description on the app, and I can see a lot, and I mean a lot, of “no run”. Didn’t matter who was bowling- MacIsaac (R or D), Clarke, Whelan, Heaphy, Nunan. But it was the inspired bowling change of B Ceresa to the crease to bring about the next wicket- a nice bit of work from Michael (is he having a B&F type of season behind the stumps and with the bat??) to bring about a stumping of Brian’s first ball.
Not to be outdone, Sammy chips in for his second after yet more dots from the bowlers. And so, at the drinks break, we have the bad guys four for about 50. What’s going on here? The pitch isn’t a minefield so why are the scores so low? The debate begins about what’s a good score. More than that says Clarkie.
Boothy and Brian bowl the next six in tandem without fuss, fanfare, and many runs but unfortunately also no wickets. Jerome does owe Boothy two beers for dropped catches- both near impossible but still. We are still looking for Jerome’s missing finger somewhere near the Barkers Rd fence after he attempted to catch an absolute scorcher only to get a fingertip on it. The other swirling loopy over-the-shoulder running back attempt was far safer and more comical to watch (almost as comical as his completely mistimed jump to take a caught and bowled a few overs later- sorry, Jerome, couldn’t resist).
Things were starting to look grim from Northcote and pleasing for the vets. Not many runs a few wickets down and the overs running out. While Jerome’s catching early left a little to be desired, Huw’s was worthy of a berth in Tony Grieg’s Classic Catches segment. An absolute blinder- one-handed (who needs two? - Boothy) diving and complete with a roll. Nice. Dave of course grabbed one- is that his third for the year? Jerome finally got one, as did Clarkie, and Rob ended up with three for… West Ivanhoe 8-136 at the end of 36.
“The best afternoon tea so far”- John Harden, OXCC Vets, 10/12/2023. IJ think that summarises the afternoon tea perfectly, although special mention must be made of Brian’s BBC… (big black cherries, jeez, get your mind out of the gutter!). Export quality and plum and juicy. (Seriously, CHERRIES people, cherries, nothing else. Filthy, filthy minds)
136…below par according to some, although the old adage of you can’t tell what the pitch is like until both teams have batted on it was thrown around as well. We’ll see how that stacks up. With Clarke, Harden, Whelan and Meehan in the side, we had a wealth of quality openers, and the skipper went with the trusted pair of Clarke and Harden. When I say “trusted” I mean they had batter together before- once- this year. We noticed early on that John was not the quickest between the wickets (who is?) and possibly carrying an injury. We also noticed that the West Ivanhoe opening bowler was the quickest we had seen, and they were employing a quite short-pitched bowling approach.
A steady, but slow start turned sharply down in the fifth over. The giant of the West Ivanhoe attack wreaking havoc on the OXCC batting order. Taking three very quick wickets- missing a hat trick by one ball. Rob continuing the three for plague- 3 for and a golden duck (started by Boothy a few games back). What was that about 136 being below par? Then four for a couple of overs later- Banovac the wrecker yet again. By this stage, Harden, Clarke, MacIsaac R, and Meehan were all back in the sheds. The bottom three who hadn’t even decided their order started looking for pads. A decent partnership was required. And Huw and Jerome provided it. Not huge runs, or quick runs but they stayed in! After the four quick wickets, the worm had taken a sharp downward turn and Huw and Jerome at least had it heading in the right direction. Jerome finally fell in the 24th over for a well-earned 25. Some respectability added to the score, and pride restored to the crest. It was a shame that Huw decided to join him back in the shed in the same over… 27 (top score) to his name. 6 for 75 in the 24th over. Not impossible but becoming increasingly unlikely. New batting pair: MacIsaac D, Nunan S. Three overs later Sammy gets a belter that jags back and takes his stumps. Things get a bit desperate, even more so when the skipper gets out a couple of overs later. Heads drop and thoughts of… “if only….??”. as it becomes more and more obvious that a game, we should have won is slipping away.
The “winner” of the bottom three raffle, Bernie is already there as Brian, strides to the crease. And two balls later strides back. Leaving Boothy and Bernie to try and pull a rabbit out of the hat/ a miracle out of their arse/ or…. you get the drift. Unfortunately, it was not to be the case as Bernie falls in the 32nd over, leaving Boothy stranded on a well-made one.
So, children, what did we learn today?
· The Xavier grounds are the best in the comp. Carpet for an outfield and a pitch that keeps things…. interesting.
· Never judge a pitch off one batting performance
· Confidence can quickly dissipate when you lose a few quick wickets
· Catches win matches: Huw’s was a screamer, and the West Ivanhoe slips catch was a miracle (how did such a big guy move so quick and get so low??)
· We will be better for the break when backs, hammy, calves, groins, knees etc. etc. etc. recover and people stop travelling the globe
· With this loss, we are, unfortunately, out of finals contention. A bitter pill. Does make the last two games of the season interesting.
Finally, all this and more will be discussed, dissected and analysed to within an inch of its life at the upcoming Christmas Dinner- on 21st December at The Wharf Hotel.
