ROUND 11
Results
‘A’ Grade
OSCA 61 &9/122 ( John Clifford 26 ) lost to Pulteney OS 7/303 ( Jordan Schmidt 3/81 & Jarrad Eden 3/95 )
‘B’ Grade
OSCA 8/269 ( David Kidman 78, Michael Braendler 61 & Andrew Smith 37 ) lost to Marion 276 ( Henry Bourne 3/47 )
‘C’ Grade
OSCA 7/141 ( Emmett 30, Cox 30 ) defeated Adelaide Uni 140 ( Ash Smith 3/30, Cox 2/24, Ralph 2/27 & Ashforth 2/30 )
‘A’ GRADE v PULTENEY @ MORGAN OVAL -- Day One
After a brilliant win last week we were confident for a good performance against the premiership favourites. After winning the toss on a grassy, but generally good deck, things went from bad to worse very quickly. In short they bowled well and we batted very poorly and were all out in 22 overs for only 61. Not many highlights or even amusing moments can be found as we were 7/30 in around an hour. A brief 22 run stand between top scorer Eden (14) and Schmidt (9) was the only partnership of note.
Taking the field we were pretty much shell shocked and both Harvey and Rogers could not get a breakthrough as Pulteney cruised to victory before tea. The day did not improve as we struggled for wickets. Jordan Schmidt and Jarred Eden bowled in tandem well but with no runs to defend it was all in vain, as Pulteney ended the day at 5 for 210.
‘A’ GRADE v PULTENEY @ MORGAN OVAL -- Day Two
After last week we thought things could not get much worse, but the wheels well and truly came off our season in the final week with nothing to play for. With one of our opening batsman in Alice Springs, taking on a tour of duty with “Bones” and “Wildes”, we took the field with 10. It was almost 9 as at 12.45pm we were still looking around for a missing player. With “Sleeping Beauty” Jo Schmidt deciding the comfort of his bed was a better option than fronting the second week, it was up to Schmidt Snr to drive over to Hyde Park, wake him up and drive him back to the game, luckily, we were not at Pooraka!
It made little difference, as Pulteney batted on for 15 overs and declared at 7/303, with “J-Train” Schmidt and “Garden Of” Eden taking a wicket each.
Our second effort with the bat was only marginally better than our first as were dismissed for 122. “Bomber” Clifford and “Jay-lo” Eden were the only real contributors, with 26 and 37 runs respectively. We could only bat for 28 overs, taking our total overs faced in the match to 50, which was extremely disappointing.
Luckily we could all look forward to the fines dinner that night. A much improved effort eventuated with stand out performances from “G W” Cox, “Bucket and Mop” Hick & Botham, “Tuxedo” Kidman, “The Debutant” Lavis and “Corky” Rogers. And for those that care OSKA also could not muster a win at Cannington on Saturday night.
‘B’ GRADE v MARION @ SCOTCH -- Day One
Great start to this game by the B’s, putting on 8/269 in this must win game. Considering much raping & pillaging of the C’s team has to occur to field a team the B’s put together a good score in the hope of a finals berth.
‘Parvo’ Virus Kidman making a season high 78 & retiring ‘all-rounder’ Reg Braendler finding a final few sweet spots in his well worn bat to make 61. Reg also left the boys a little reminder of another of his ‘assets’ running out AB Fuller Jnr for the first time in his career!.
‘B’ GRADE v MARION @ SCOTCH -- Day Two
“The mathematicians were rushing for their abacuses, as they attempted to calculate what was required for OSCA junior to make the finals. Put simply, a win and a few results falling the right way, would be the difference between late March action for our heroes.
Chasing 270 seemed to be an unlikely ask, although with a friendly Scotch No.2 wicket, anything was possible. A good opening partnership by the visitors was broken by pop gun Fuller.
Battling glandular fever, whooping cough, diphtheria, and a serious case of ricketts, David Kidman dismissed the Marion captain, and was shortly thereafter admitted to intensive care at RoyalAdelaideHospital.
The visitors were well-placed at 2/135, when Tom Kidman's Perryman's pies were released to the masses in the pavilion.
Andy "licorice all sorts" Fuller got the all-important break after tea, at 3/157. Henry "haven't bowled off spin since year seven" Bourne (3/40) was then introduced into the attack and was both attacking and managed to put the brakes on Marion's attack. Breakthroughs to Smith and Allan Miller saw Osca in the box seat at 9/235.
However, the final wicket partnership amassed 39 to get home with a win, ably assisted by a couple of dropped catches, including one by the stand in skipper, Ryder ("I swear that it was moving pretty fast") (Ed. “yeah, you wish”).
The final wicket was taken by Michael Braendler, for his first wicket for Scotch, in his final game.
The news that OSCA had squandered its final hopes, was toasted that evening at the Imperial room.”
‘C’ GRADE v WOODVILLE SOUTH @ FAWK OVAL
In OSCA’s first visit to the former home of West Croydon since OSCA A grades lowest score of 38 the C grade were in early trouble ( on Friday ) with only 5 players available due to Clipsal & other events!. Thankfully a few ‘ring-ins’ were found. Hamish Archibald, James Trumble & Marcus Perry on debut, while Guy Hume returned from a self imposed exile & the player only know as ‘Shawn’ helped form a make shift team.
OSCa did well in the field, restricting the Southerners to 7/182 off the 40 overs. Archibald even claiming a wicket!. Chasing the total OSCA didn’t help themselves giving 3 LBW’s!, only Willy McGregor with 47 making any sort of score. OSCA dismissed for 109 in the 25th over.
‘C’ GRADE v ADELAIDEUNI @ UNI No. 2 OVAL
The C’s needed a huge win to push their way past Glenunga’s B Grade side! & make the finals. The inclusions of Ralphy boy, ‘Long Son’ Emmett, Big Cox, Robinson Capurso & the wisdomless Ashforth helped OSCA’s chances.
Once again the toss didn’t go OSCA’s way, Uni batting for 36 overs to make 140. Ralph taking 2/27, Cox 2/24, Ashforth 2/30 & skipper Smith 3/30.
Emmett started well making 30 in very few balls, before losing his castle attempting to win the game in one hit!. Steady fall of wickets didn’t help OSCA’s cause, but Cox (30) & Tom Bourne 17 not out helped OSCA get home 7 down in the 28th over.
The win wasn’t enough to see OSCA make finals. Missing out by % only. Overall a good result for the C’s promoted from LOC last season.
ROUND 10
Results
‘A’ Grade
OSCA 241 ( Tom Emmett 50, Chris Rogers 39 & Angus Hogben 29 ) defeated Pooraka 231 ( Chris Rogers 3/38, Sean MacGregor 3/38 & Peter Harvey 2/65 )
‘B’ Grade
OSCA 231 ( Andrew Fuller 42, Gavin Cox 30, Jared Schmidt 29, Kym Ryder 29 & John Clifford 28 ) defeated Brighton 223 ( David Kidman 2/25, Andy Fuller 2/20 & Michael Ashforth 2/38 )
‘C’ Grade
OSCA 202 ( Will McGregor 77, Cam Nelson 49 & Henry Bourne 38 ) lost to Glenunga 220 ( Wellington 5/41 )
‘A’ GRADE v POORAKA @ SCOTCH -- Day One
Returning home is always good, but when the rest of the turf competition is cancelled due to the ATCA “Heat Policy” it was going to be a crucial toss of the coin. With the temperature hovering at a ridiculous 40 degrees, our warm up was limited to shuffling the two sight screens and ensuring the post match beers had sufficient ice. To the delight of the rest of the team the news form the toss was good and we were having a bat on a very dry looking pitch. The curator was oblivious to the current drought as the outfield have several “moist” spots from leaking sprinklers.
Tom “I Love You More” Emmett and Nick “The Firm” Kidman were back in the side following solid B grade efforts replacing the absent Travis ”Benny” Hill and the injured John “Black Caps” Clifford.
Despite loosing his opening partner earlier “Emmerton” set about making runs (through the covers of course) and building a good partnership with Angus ”Shot Selection” Hogben. They were both batting very well and Emmo brought up his first A Grade 50, before trying to flay one to many through the covers and was caught, at point.
We lost our way slightly in the next 20 overs and slid from 1/85 to 6/135. A combination of the heat, a very poor LBW decision and some good bowling meant we had a fair bit of work to do to post a good score. Most of our batsman got starts (Hogben 29, Kidman 24 and MacGregor 14) but could not go on with it. Unlike the Pooraka scorer who had poor Larissa bailed up all afternoon with a range of stories from the history of Footrot Flats to D grade turf cricket to animal proctology.
Chris “Jolly” Rogers and Peter “Good Toss to Win” Harvey steadied with a 50 run partnership and pushed to score up to 185 before Harvey offered catching practice to deep long on, when on 21. Soon after Rogers was dismissed for a well compiled 39 and we were 8/203. That brought Jordan “Dancing With The Stars” Schmidt and Jarred “Black Eye” Eden together and we wanted some quick runs. They put on 30 in only 4 overs and a big score was still possible with 3 overs remaining. But our last two wickets fell quickly after this and we were dismissed for 241. Schmidt ended up with 31 at better than a run a ball. It is competitive total and one we will look forward to defending in front of plenty of support from the legends and sponsors attending next weeks function.
Also, for the record OSKA (our “adopted” greyhound) ran second on Saturday night on his home track at Cannington WA, had a dream run but was not quite good enough, hopefully there are no omens in that!
‘A’ GRADE v POORAKA @ SCOTCH -- Day Two
With a defendable score on the board, we were keen to have a win in front of a large crowd. Things started off well, for Pooraka, as the two openers batted well and had some luck with a tough chance dropped and a few edges finding the boundary rather than the “cordon”. It was left to cracking piece of fielding by “Jonty” Eden as he hit the middle stump directly to run out the opener who was looking dangerous.
Wickets were hard to come by on a lifeless deck, but the game was never out of our reach. “Poles” to “Injury time” Bourne and Chris “Star Jump” Rogers in the session before tea left the game delicately poised at 3/133 off 42.
After tea, the game started to drift away, as the score quickly progressed to 3/164 off 54 overs. Enter Sean “Bowling Allrounder” MacGregor who, in a match turning spell, ripped through the middle order taking three wickets in 15 balls, including a brilliant leg side stumping by “Lenny” Pascoe. With The Skipper also picking up the dangerous former Bradman medallist, we had taken 4 for 9 and the “Bulls” were in trouble at 7/173.
With the 8th wicket partnership looking dangerous, taking the score to 227, Rogers came back into the attack with immediate success. He combined with Harvey to clean up the last three wickets for only 3 runs. It was a thrilling climax for the gathered sponsors and legends, with OSCA getting up in the 80th over by 10 runs. Rogers 3/38, MacGregor 3/38, Harvey 2/65 and Bourne 1/31 were the wicket takers.
A rare win in a tough season was a great reason to celebrate long and hard in the pavilion that night!
‘B’ GRADE v BRIGHTON @ BRIGHTON -- Day One
Heat policy saw the B’s have a weekend off.
‘B’ GRADE v BRIGHTON @ BRIGHTON -- Day Two
OSCA headed to Jetty jumping territory to take on Brighton in a 50 over limited overs clash. Things didn’t start well as a very large man decided to ruin Jared Schmidt’s return from injury, Brighton flying to 0/60 off 5 overs!. Thankfully David Kidman, Andy Fuller & the improving Ashforth settled things down, each taking 2 poles, restricting the Jumpers to 223.
Steady start to the chase with young tyro Clifford & Ryder each falling short of the Sunday mail. Fuller chimed in with 42 but OSCA looked in trouble requiring 30 odd off the last 5 overs & only 2 wickets in hand. Enter the erratic Jared Schmidt who attempted to redeem his early efforts with the ball. Schmidty made 29 including 4 massive ‘zac’s & with the help over the closer Gavin Cox helped OSCA get over the line for a fantastic victory.
‘C’ GRADE v WOODVILLE SOUTH @ MONTROSE
Heat policy saw the C’s also have a weekend off.
‘C’ GRADE v GLENUNGA @ MONTROSE
In a pivotal game for finals participation OSCA didn’t start well, once again losing the toss. Glenunga were 2/144 before the sparingly used during the season Sam ‘beefy’ Wellington was introduced to the attack. Like a lean piece of rump, Wello cut a swathe through the visiting side taking 5/41 off 7 overs. Glenunga eventually making 220. The in form McGregor & Henry Bourne started well making 38 & 77 respectively, but only Cam Nelson (49) batting at 5 was able to make any other contribution. OSCA going down by 18 runs, finally dismissed for 202 in the 39th over.
ROUND 9
Results
‘A’ Grade
OSCA 166 ( Jarrad Eden 43 & James Pascoe 37 ) & 3/33 lost to Walkerville 255 ( Eden 4/42, Harvey 2/46 & Rogers 2/45 )
‘B’ Grade
OSCA 205 ( Nick Kidman 44 & Andrew Fuller 45 ) defeated Hectorville 198 ( Ryder 2/3, Cox 4/45, Miller 2/60 & Ashforth 2/40 )
‘C’ Grade -- Day One
OSCA 247 ( Will McGregor 66, Andrew Smith 55 & Henry Bourne 37 ) defeated Pembroke OS 225 ( Henry Bourne 3/45, Andrew Smith 3/65 & Phil Lavis 2/29 )
‘C’ Grade -- Day Two
OSCA 4/183 ( Will McGregor 71 & Henry Bourne 37 n.o. ) defeated Gepps Cross 179 (Phil Lavis 4/32 )
"A" Grade v Walkerville @ Walkerville -- Day One
After the agonising 7 run loss last game, OSCA Senior ventured to take on the Walkerville Cats at Pussy Park in a must win game. The skipper finally won a toss and despite a grassy pitch we elected to bat first on a day where the mercury was expected to hit 38 degrees.
Our pre match warm up was not inspired by the signs in the change room that read "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail", obviously installed pre match by Andrew "Football is now my game' Cosh, as we were soon in an all too familiar position. Despite the blistering scoring pace of 1.20 runs per over, we were soon in trouble as Sean "Loving cricket" McGregor snicked one to second slip with the score on 12 in the 10th over. This triggered another A grade collapse as we lost "Hong Kong Dong" Hogben, "Boycott" Tucker (19 off 84!), "Mr T" Clifford and then "Maybe 7 is my spot" Rogers to be in major trouble at 5/47 after 31 overs. To be fair the Cats bowled well, but we lost concentration at the wrong stages.
"Benny" Hill and "Lenny" Pascoe managed to see us through to tea and were looking comfortable at the break as we pushed up to 5/86. Unfortunately, "Benny" departed two overs after tea for a rapid 23. The Skipper and "Lenny" took the score to 113 before the drinks break again resulted in wickets, as "Canberra" spooned first ball after the break to mid on and the next over Pascoe missed a straight one to be dismissed for a patient 37.
At 8/116, things were looking grim, enter Jarred "The Biggest Looser" Eden, the new improved Edo set about smashing the tiring cats and tried to make a few friends in the process. Edo pulled, cut and slogged his way to 43 off 47 and in the process managed to rub the opposing left arm "spinner" the wrong way. Edo endured a lot of chest beating and insults, before despatching, the "Penorkil" of the year candidate's next ball for six, much to the amusement of our illustrious Football Club President. Unfortunately, the bowler had the last laugh, dismissing Edo with the score on 166. Luckily for the Cats, the time was 5.31pm and they would not have to bat out the day.
In the end we have a defendable total and after dismissing the opposition for under 125 in our last two starts we are confident of a win.
"A" Grade v Walkerville @ Walkerville -- Day Two
Fresh from a date with Geoff Heard's camera the boys arrived on mass at Walkerville, with the exception of Messrs Eden and Schmidt who had decided the ideal warm up consisted of two Whopper's with Cheese, large fries and a couple of cokes. With good bowling and fielding performances in the past three outings the score of 166 was defendable.
Lady luck deserted us early, with "Jason" Bourne finding the edge on several occasions but the ball only flew over or wide of our slips to the boundary and several "draw" shots just missed the stumps. The Skipper made the early break through clean bowling the "Penorkil" of the year candidate much to the delight of the new look and angry "Romper Stomper" Tucker. Then a change in the bowling brought a wicket with Chris "Ginger" Rogers' second ball and we were right back in the game at 2/39 after 13.
Unfortunately, we could not make the next breakthrough until the 37th over and some less than impressive fielding left the Captain and the whole team rather frustrated and grumpy. Unfortunately, one of the more costly chances was off Bournie. Brought back into the attack to try and get the important 3rd wicket, the batsman played uppishly straight to point and we grassed a relatively easy chance. The batsman was on about 10 at the time and was finally dismissed some 2 hours and 98 runs later for 108. It was a rather costly miss and one that gave the fines a significant boost.
Wickets to Jay "Garden of" Eden and a second pole for Captain Grumpy just before the break gave us some hope with the score at 4 for 112 off 44 overs at tea.
Despite Sean "Tea is the Only reason I still Play" MacGregor taking the field after the break with whipped cream on his face after devouring a huge slice of "beesting" cake and Edo with a Red Ice Pole in the "sky rocket" we still had a chance if we could pick up quick wickets. But Walkerville batted well for the next 10 overs and quickly reached the target only 4 down.
Jarred Eden came back into the attack and bowled very well to finish off the middle and lower order ending up with 4/43 off 14 overs. The innings was wrapped up in bizarre circumstances with Tom "Bloodshed" Bourne felling the number 11 with a not so vicious bouncer which struck the batsman on the body. A short time later the number 11 decided that he was coughing up blood and had to depart retired hurt.
The other wickets were shared between Harvey 2/43, Rogers 2/45 and Bourne 1/71 in a solid but not spectacular bowling effort. Jordan "DD Cup" Schmidt also bowled well.
With 7 overs to bat, we wanted some runs and much needed bonus points, unfortunately as is the case so often, we were soon 2 for 2 after 2 overs, with Hogben and MacGregor earning the kit packing honours, at the finish we were 3/30. Overall it was a disappointing day and one that leaves us in relegation territory.
‘B’ Grade v Hectorville @ Scotch -- Day One
OSCA B's arrived at Number 2 bright and early at 12.48pm to take on league leaders Hectorville in a do or die clash. Captain Emmett continued his post Christmas form with the coin winning the toss and having no hesitation to bat on what looked to be a typical No 2 wicket.
Scotch opened up solidly and were 'none for' at drinks until Emmett and Ryder both fell in quick succession. Add David 'Naughts' Kidman to the casualties and things were looking shaky. Fortunately Nick Kidman and Andy 'Calender Girl' Fuller were able to steady the ship with a fine partnership.
Just when things were going along very smoothly, Kidman obviously realised that he was somewhere in the 40's and decided to end his fine innings prior to reaching 50. Mr Fuller also ended his inning in the mid 40's after suffering a sudden bout of Fullerism or Fulleritis, a terrible infectious disease that suddenly see's a batsmen's eyes suddenly enlarge to the size of tennis balls.
This is followed by the batsmen frothing at the mouth and loosing all ability or desire to keep the ball on the ground. It usually ends with the batsmen intentionally lofting the ball down the ground and into the hands of a waiting fieldsman who is fully aware of the batsmen's condition. Andy's sudden bout of Fulleritis incredibly coincided with Hectorville introducing an alleged slow off spin bowler into the attack.
After some handy contributions by the lower order batsmen, OSCA were able to reach 205 which when considering scoring was difficult on the low bouncing pitch would take some beating the following week.
‘B’ Grade v Hectorville @ Scotch -- Day Two
Day 2 started very well for Hectorville or very badly for OSCA B and it looked as if the game might draw to a close before first drinks, however a very tight spell of bowling for G.W. Cox 'is my Jeweller' put Scotch back in the game. Combined with a superb effort from Michael 'Bomber can you move out and move your sister in' Ashforth who ended up with 2/40 from 13 overs and the game was even.
In this situation who does one call upon to bust a game wide open? Well there was no sight of Shane Warne or Curtly Ambrose so captain Emmett decided upon introducing Kym 'Man for all occasions' Ryder into the attack. Ryder's short, but devastatingly deadly spell of 2/3 off 3 super charged overs swung the game well into Scotch's favour. This paved the way for Mr 'Big Hard' Cox to demolish the tailenders on his way to bowling Scotch to a very tight but well deserved victory. Cox ended the game with the 'Gold Goblets' with a superb effort of 4/45 off 19 overs.
Scotch were provided with some batting practice in there first second innings for nearly 2 season and finished at 2/82 with Emmett making 63.
Scotch are still a big chance for finals provided they win all remaining games.
‘C’ Grade v Pembroke OS @ Montrose
Traditional inter-coll rivals Pembroke OS arrived at Montrose to face a youthful OSCA side. ‘Fabulous’ Phil Lavis was on debut while many ‘long-weekenders’ returned to the side this week.
Batting first, Andrew ‘Reno’ Smith continued his rich vein of form making 55 at the top of the order, but it was his younger partner Wee ‘Willy’ McGregor who stole the show making a blistering 66 including first 4 scoring shots of 6,4,5 & 6!.
At 3/226 with 7 overs to go a huge score was one the cards thanks to 27 in short time from no 5 “batsmen?” J-rod Schmidt and 37 from ‘H’ Bourne. Bourney’s run-out triggering a mini collapse & the side being dismissed for 247. Al Hickinbotham’s innings containing more swings than PuzzlePark but only 1 duck!.
Thanks to the ‘go-slow’ approach adopted by the visitors the 2nd innings didn’t commence until 4pm and threatened to eat into valuable ‘Ed time’. The ‘Kings’ began well and looked like they may steal the points at 3/148 and still 15 overs to go. Debutant & 2006 School leaver Phil Lavis (2/29) then claimed 2 vital wickets, including the top scorer via a great diving catch from McGregor behind the stumps.
Andrew ‘I can do everything’ Smith (3/65) & Bourney (3/45) mopped up the tail to see OSCA home by 22 runs in the 39th over. Ash Smith & Keen ‘as’ taking the other wickets to fall.
A return bout with Gepps Cross, this time at Montrose beckons this week.
‘C’ Grade v Gepps Cross @ Montrose
Needing a win against Gepps Cross OSCA bowled 1st & dismissed the visitors for a mere 179 at Montrose. Young gun Fabulous Phil Lavis taking 4/32 off his 8 overs. In reply OSCA cruised to 0/94 & 3/179 before Cam Nelson hit his first ball for four to seal to win in the 30th over. Will Mcgregor’s fine form continued making 71 & the Lighthouse, Henry Bourne made 42 not out.
ROUND 8
Results
'A' Grade
OSCA 118 ( Chris Rogers 36 ) lost to Gepps Cross 125 ( Peter Harvey 4/25, Tom Bourne 2/11, Chris Rogers 2/22 & Jordan Schmidt 2/42 )
'B' Grade
OSCA 260 ( Jarrad Eden 87, Tom Emmett 66 & Tom Kidman 28 ) defeated Hope Valley 147 ( Jarrad Eden 4/18, Allan Miller 3/45 & Gavin Cox 2/35 )
'C' Grade
OSCA 188 ( Andrew Smith 98 n.o. & Joe Lenthall 22 ) lost to Gepps Cross 195 ( Toby Rogers 3/34 & Andrew Smith 3/39 )
'A' GRADE v GEPPS CROSS @ SCOTCH
Rains from the previous week had cleared but most of the OSCA Snr players seemed to be suffering a bout of 'Adelaide Ovalitis' judging by the tardy arrivals for this much anticipated clash. Once sausage rolls were heated, sight screens battened down & 90c in the $ dividends distributed from 'TAB finance investors', skipper Harvey once again offered to have a bat -- after them.
Tight early bowling from Tom 'Address Book' Bourne & Peter 'OSKA' Harvey saw OSCA right on top, reducing the Geppies to 5/44 off about 20 overs. In fact if it had not been for the bridge building efforts of Bourne, Macgregor and the standard waist high snick between keeper & 1st slip, OSCA could have had the visitors really struggling. Adding to the OSCA fielding woes was the crucial dropped catch of Gepps captain, Chillingworth which would have seen the visitors reduced to 6/44!. As it was some good bowling continued & OSCA were set to chase a small total of 125, of which the last wicket put on 12. Harvey returned to form snaring 4/25, while Chris 'Star Jump' Rogers, Jordan 'Headband' Schmidt & Bourne claiming 2 poles each. James 'Rex Hunt' Pascoe claim 5 catches behind the stumps.
Halfway though the fielding stint OSCA also lost the 'J-train' Schmidt, from what appeared to be a sniper attack from Torrens park house. No-one was quite sure what happened but mention must be made of his brave effort to continue with major 'shrapnel' wounds.
Chasing small totals is always difficult, but OSCA snr made this one look far more difficult than it should have been. Perhaps the downfall began when comments such as "it's only 10, 12 run partnerships" were being thrown around. 0/21 soon became 7/71, with 3 of the first 4 wickets falling to LBW's once again!. A mini-fightback from 'Kev' Rogers & Harvey saw the score go to 7/110 until Harv's was dismissed 'smashed' wicket. When Rogers was dismissed with 7 runs to win the game was pretty much over. OSCA snr all out for 118, Rogers 36 the only real innings of substance.
To rub salt into the wounds Gepps then decided to bat for 8 overs, making a quick fire 19! In those overs to show why that rule should be abolished!.
Still lots to play for & if the batting can start to match the bowling performances OSCA is still a chance of winning the last 3 games.
'B' GRADE v HOPE VALLEY @ HOPE VALLEY
The visitors could not believe their luck. Not only were they lucky enough to take in the emotional sayings in the visitors' change rooms at the Hope Valley Oval ("go hard or go home" , "Davies must die" (hopefully not for salty chop reasons) etc), but for once they were actually putting the pads on following captain Emmett's successful coin toss -- only the second win with the coin in the last 15. There was talk that the Casino may seek the return of Tom's gold card, following that result.
The visitors were shortly after even more surprised to be enjoying the fruits of Mr Emmett's labour, while studying the windmill on the other side of the Oval. Emmett, in a fine performance, smashed the new ball to all parts of the Hope Valley Oval, to amass 66 in an opening partnership of 89 with Ryder (23). The fact that Emmett's innings was over in approximately 1 hour, made his effort all the more exciting -- except for the people that had to drive home with him that night.
After not capitalising on the fine start, and once again employing the classic B Grade collapse, with a run out and a few snicks behind, the sixth wicket partnership of Tom "I'm going to the Caymans to open a bank account" Kidman (28) and Jarrad "How did Adelaide Confidential miss me" Eden (87) decided to fill the middle "dead" overs with lusty hitting and good running. Off one particular over, a rather unlucky Hope Valley bowler got a very long walk in the "Garden of Eden", with - 6 6 . 6 1. . Lucky that there was no no-ball.
The visitors completed their innings against the second placed Hope Valley, with some sexy hitting from "Big Hard" Cox (19) taking the total to an excellent 260 off (almost) all of the allotted overs.
Chasing a target of that size was always going to be difficult, although the Hope Valley Demons made a reasonable fist of it. The chase was made even more difficult with early wickets to Miller (3/45) and tight bowling by Cox (2/35). One of Miller's wickets was completed with a fantastic catch by "so now you want to win" Eden, deep in the outfield, off of a skyer that threatened to damage the Povey motors signage.
Not satisfied to just take the gold goblet set away for the game as player of the match, Eden completed a superb all-round performance, by ending with (4/eight and) from his overs. Special mention should also be made of the excellent keeping effort by "Duck and" Weaver, and the all around fielding which saw no dropped catches or misfields.
Oscar Junior hosts top placed Hectorville Hounds at Scotch number two on February 3 and 10. Make sure you get your tickets early, to avoid disappointment.
'C' GRADE v GEPPS CROSS @ GEPPS CROSS
The biggest challenge facing OSCA this week was where to find 11 players for this match!. Thankfully a few phone calls ensured OSCA fielded 11 players, including 15 y.o. Rogers jnr, Ashforth's 50 something leg spinning dad, Asha's sisters boyfriend, a 1st XI recruit & Jo-Lo Lenthall out of hiding!.
Things started poorly when sent into the field. OSCA dismissing the home side for 195 off only 31 overs!. Young 'Toby mate' Rogers took 3 poles on debut, while Andrew Smith & 'H' Bourne getting the other wickets. Ashforth's 2 overs cost 35 runs and had his Old man chasing balls into the next suburb.
OSCA's chase started OK, with the score at 3/108 until Lenthall was dismissed for 22. Andrew Smith, opening the innings was still batting well & at 8/188 with 4 overs to go it looked as though Smithy would guide OSCA to a great win. Unfortunately OSCA again 'helped' the opposition with No. 10 'Westover' given out LBW!, when Asha's dad was run-out backing up OSCA were still 7 runs short & Smith undefeated on 98.
A great effort & the boys look forward to returning to Montrose next weekend.
ROUND 7
Results
‘A’ Grade
OSCA 9/156 ( Sean MacGregor 48, John Clifford 32 & James Pascoe 29 ) defeated SHOC 115 ( Jordan Schmidt 4/26 & Chris Rogers 3/15 )
‘B’ Grade
OSCA 8/165 ( Cam Thomas 35*, Reg Braendler 28, Nick Kidman 24 & Gavin Cox 20* ) TIED with PAOC 9/165 ( David Kidman 3/14 & Allan Miller 3/34 )
‘C’ Grade
OSCA 198 ( Cam Nelson 55 & Jarrad Eden 35 ) lost to Elders/USA 204 ( Jarrad Eden 5/30 )
‘A’ GRADE v SHOC @ SHOC -- ONE DAY GAME
A one-day game to ease into the season after Xmas & a short road trip to the SHOC Middle School for 10 of the 11 players, while Tom Bourne took the scenic route via Port Fairy ( Many thanks to driver/Dad Loopy )
Once the critical details of beer, esky & ice were sorted Peta’ Harvey called incorrectly for the 3rd time in a row & we took to the field in hope of good form in 2007. Tom ‘Falls’ Bourne didn’t take long to get into the mosh pit knocking over one of the openers early. The slowness of the pitch was soon shown up as a TB bouncer was dispatched into a nearby residence. As a local spectator put his hand under the fence to retrieve the dispatched kooka’ all hell broke loose & what appeared to be a wild boar attempted to swallow the stray limb!. At this stage Tucker was doing his best to avoid going anywhere near the fence & decided a diversion tactic would be the best approach. Unbelievably this worked & the ball was returned with the loss of only a finger or two!.
Back to the cricket, Bourney soon had his 2nd & when Hogben dived in the gully for the first time in many seasons to juggle a great catch off the skipper OSCA were well on top 3/30 off 15. A partnership steadied the shockers, at drinks the score was 3/75.
The break seemed to do the trick & Rogers picked p the vital wicket of ‘Trigga’ caught at cover by Bomber. On a wicket that was ‘turning square’ Jordan ‘knee op’ Schmidt was causing all sorts of trouble and soon had 2 quick wickets. Rogers then claimed the SHOC skipper who was not impressed with his send-off after being bowled attempting a huge slog into next week!, go figure!. Schmidt & Chrus’ then finished off the tail dismissing the home team for a very gettable 115, albeit on a pitch that was offering good assistance for bowlers.
Schmidt was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/26 off 7 overs, while Rogers bowled brilliantly to claim 3/15 off 7. Bourne 2/25 off 7 & Harvs 1/14 off 8 also bowled well.
The run chase began in the worst possible way when ‘Benny’ Hill toed his first ball to mid-off and was shortly followed by Tucker for a globe as well, 2/2 and we needed damage control.
Hogben was joined by Clifford & the pair crawled to 30 until Hoggy, obviously thinking about his trip to ‘Nam’ left one & was knocked over ala Matty Hayden!.
Returning for his 2nd game of the season James Pascoe the started the revival, showing positive intent & with support from the patient Clifford took the score to 70 odd at drinks. Soon after though ‘Bomber’ was stumped off a medium pacer for 32 & when Pascoe (29) received a ‘shocking’ LBW decision things were looking a little wobbly. Rogers was then bowled for a duck & at 6/90 ish some work still had to be done.
Jordan Schmidt batting with the ‘hangover of a lifetime’ & MacGregor managed to put on a partnership to take the score to a reasonably safe 109. OSCA getting home 7 down in the 46th over. MacGregor making 48 including a couple of zac’s after the game was won, while J-Rod ‘SS’ Schmidt entertained the boys with 17* batting at 10.
A great result & we now look forward to Gepps Cross in a replay of last seasons Semi.
‘B’ GRADE v PAOC @ SCOTCH -- ONE DAY GAME
OSCA Junior lined up against the PAOC’s at the traditionally low and slow (at least in recent times) pitch at Scotch No 2. Skipper Tom Emmett went through his normal routine, sans vomit, and let the PAOC captain choose to bat first on what at least looked like a good batting wicket.
The typical home ground warm-up was completed which included cordial mixing, precise boundary marking, stump placement and sight-screen manoeuvring.
G.W. Cox opened the bowling from the pavilion end off the short-run. Being charged 4 times in the over probably came as a bit of a surprise to the Jeweller. Allan Miller started his spell with the usual maiden and in his second over took the wicket of the more placid opening batsmen caught at mid-off by David Kidman.
In the next over Cox dropped a difficult chance off his own bowling but deftly deflected the ball to the swift Kym Ryder at mid-on. Ryder took the run-out chance with a direct hit and a diamond duck for PAOCs first drop was the result. The next dropped catch Ryder was involved in only resulted in over throws.
Cox picked up the wicket of the opener soon after with his displeased team mate still trying to flush the openers gear down the toilet – well at least that was the talk out on the field. With the score 3 for 40 after 13 overs and with the 2 recognised bowlers only having 7 overs left between them, skipper Emmett through the ball to whoever was next to him. That player happened to be David Kidman and after 2 balls he was on a hat-trick after bowling out both number 4 & 6. With more laughter than celebration PAOC were now struggling at 5 for 40. The hat-trick ball did hit the pads but was sliding down leg, this did not stop Virender Emmett charging the umpire in conjunction to his appeal. No report was made against the OSCA Junior captain.
Soon after PAOC were in further trouble at 7 for 73 after D. Kidman had picked another to get his name amongst the Le Cornu ads. This wicket was caught by the claw like Tom Kidman in gully, with both hands in pockets at the time bat made contact with ball the only movement required being an outstretched arm. Cameron Thomas grabbed the other wicket combining with Ed Weaver for a stumping.
Kym Ryder completed 2 overs of 1 bounce bowling and then it was time for Tom Emmett from the Broken Fence end. After 35 overs Tom Emmett thought the ball was in too good a condition so requested the batsmen dispatch the ball over the fence with a low full toss. The batsmen obliged and after 15 minutes of scavenger hunting a suitable 85 over old, Pembroke swimming pool enhanced ball was located.
At this time a match saving partnership was being formed by the PAOC batsmen and after 41 overs Miller was asked to complete his allotment of overs. Miller ended the partnership of 48 runs bowling Sean Tanner who had compiled a solid 54 himself.
For the remaining overs the PAOC batsmen opened their shoulders and finished with 165 after their 50 overs. Miller finished his spell with another wicket ending up with three.
The tea break was spent resurrecting the sight screen at the ‘broken-fence’ end.
Messrs Emmett & Ryder opened the batting for OSCA Junior but were soon in trouble after Ryder played for movement off the pitch and was bowled by a straight one. Not long after Andy Fuller played on and OSCA Junior were 2 for 17 from 6 overs.
Emmett was looking good on 20 but played the first change bowler towards gully and was caught by a rather good catch. A few minutes later Emmett walked off No 2 hitting his cap into a tree and then throwing his gloves at the cap trying to retrieve it. Luckily no children were around for his English lesson.
David Kidman joined Nick Kidman at the crease but was soon required for baby sitting duties after Lisa & Annabel arrived and holed out at slip for 8. Nick Kidman was the next batsmen out for a scratchy but patient 24, and Tom Kidman fell for a duck next ball.
At 6 for 79 Reg Braendler & Cameron Thomas set about steadying the ship. Braendler made a well compiled 28 before being bowled by the one of the openers returning to the attack. Thomas continued the run chase with Weaver from then on needing just under 5 an over.
Whilst Weaver was doing well handing the strike over to Thomas as much as possible, the next in batsmen Cox remarked that when he’s in he’ll just hit a few boundaries and the target will be in sight. Weaver then lobbed an easy catch to cover and Cox went about carrying out what he had confidently predicted.
After Cox hitting 4 fours and Thomas kept finding the gaps there was now 1 over remaining with 3 runs to win. A ring field was employed by PAOC and a tie was the result after only 2 runs were registered in the last over.
A good performance by Thomas being the main stay of the innings with 35no along with his 1 for 25 off 10 overs. Cox’s cameo making 20no and back with a bit of form with the ball was good to see.
‘C’ GRADE v ELDERS/USA @ MONTROSE
The C’s were at home to Elders/USA and Ash Smith did the right thing, winning the toss & batting. OSCA making a ‘par’ score of 198. Cam Nelson’s fine form continued making 55 before being one of 3 OSCA run outs. Jarrad Eden made 35 of the first 41 runs dismissed in the 6th over, while Andrew Smith (23), Sam Wellington (23) & Andrew ‘Coach’ Cosh (20) all got starts.
The bowling effort started well with the visitors 3/99 after 20 overs. Eden the stamped his class on the game taking 5/30 off his 9 overs & the visitors were 9/163 with 6 overs to go. However in a reversal of fortunes for the C’s the last pair put on 40 runs in only 4 overs to win by 1 wicket!. Coshy coping the most punishment with his 6 overs going for 50!. Ralphy took 1/38 off 9, Nelson 1/30 off 6 & Asha 1/26 off 4.
Bad luck but the C’s still sit on top of the table & will be looking to beat Brighton this week at Montrose again.
ROUND 6
Results
‘A’ Grade
OSCA 175 ( Tucker 68 & Hogben 39 ) lost to Pembroke OS 218 ( Jared Schmidt 3/54, Chris Rogers 3/44, Peter Harvey 2/25 & Tom Bourne 2/40 ) & 0/51
‘B’ Grade
OSCA drew with Pembroke OS 294 ( Cam Thomas 3/41 & David Kidman 3/29 )
‘C’ Grade
Washed Out
'A' GRADE v PEMBROKE OS @ SCOTCH -- DAY TWO
With only 218 to chase at Scotch the rain that has stayed away all season arrived Thursday & Friday to present Pembroke with the first ‘greentop’ seen on No. 2 for about 3 seasons!.
The chase didn’t begin well when Andy Fuller padded up to former SACA bowler Brett Swain and the ensuing 2 chorus appeal saw Fullsy on his way. Antone’ Tucker & Angus Hogben then combined to get through the new ball, with the pitch improving these 2 batted well to tea, although somewhat slow at 1/70 odd.
After tea the chase continued until Hogben holed out trying to force the pace. Clifford & Tucker reduced the deficit to under a 100 until another poor shot selection cost Clifford his wicket. MacGregor & Hill both went in the next 3 balls, both LBW & the collapse ‘was on’. Steady wickets followed & OSCA were eventually dismissed for 175, 43 runs shy of the target.
Tucker batted well for his 68 while Hogben contributed 39. A disappointing result, which we will looking to erase in 2007!.
'A' GRADE v PEMBROKE OS @ SCOTCH -- DAY ONE
The final round before a break for turkey, beer and the Boxing Day test saw us take on traditional rivals Pembroke. Our pitch looked like a traditional, "Number 2" deck......in Islamabad. At the toss, the coin narrowly missed a deep crack (in the pitch) and rolled on to heads, which was a good result for the absent Pembroke captain Mr Singh, who was otherwise occupied in Kensington Gardens moving his grand piano and Chesterfield lounge, and the stand in Pembroke captain elected to bat.
The skipper for the first time in recent and not so recent memory handed over the new ball, the young pairing of Bourne and Schmidt would start off the bowling duties. After a couple of early and lucky boundaries, it was Jarrad "J-Train" Schmidt who got the initial breakthrough, with an excellent bouncer which took the opener's gloves on the way to Ed "Parafield" Weaver who managed to hold on to the catch between his knees. With further early poles to Bournie and then Harvey, we had the "Queens" in trouble at 3/41. With "Willsy's" younger brother at the crease, the opposition steadied and the game was evenly poised at tea with 3/110, with Scotch nemesis Mr Singh still at the crease.
The J-Train must have been watching Simon O'Donnell's "Master Class" during the main break rather than tucking into the buffet, as first ball after tea "Willsy" drove him straight to Bourne at mid on, who managed to throw his half eaten sausage roll to the ground just in time to hold onto the catch. It was an important breakthrough.
Clearly the boys were inspired by the presence of club legends, Parsons, Leonard, Davis, Knox, Weaver and co, as the standard of fielding and bowling continued to be high and we built the pressure well. Wickets fell steadily between overs 51 and 74, with Chris "Silent Assassin" Rogers chiming in with three poles and we managed to bowl them out for a competitive but very gettable 218.
The wickets were shared in an even bowling performance, Rogers 3/44, Schmidt 3/54, Harvey 2/25 and Bourne 2/40 all bowled well in a much improved effort on previous weeks.
With the Christmas "party" on this week, we hope to see you all at the Pav this Saturday afternoon/night for a BBQ and drink or three.
Merry Christmas to all.
'B' GRADE v PEMBROKE OS @ PEMBROKE -- DAY TWO
Play was abandoned due to the wet pitch & the boys headed off for an early Xmas.
'B' GRADE v PEMBROKE OS @ PEMBROKE -- DAY ONE
After Old Scotch B grade ventured up the Parade to take on archrivals, the Pembroke Kings at the traditionally batsman friendly Haslam oval.
As usual skipper Tom "Destinations for men" Emmett lost the toss again and the B's were resigned to spend another day in the field. Surprisingly, Scotch's Skipper then announced he would have fielded anyway if he happened to win the toss -- little chance of that occurring. "Models inc" Emmo obviously isn't familiar with the cricketing rule, 9 times out of 10 if you win the toss you bat, the 10th time you think about it but you still bat (especially on away games).
The B grade took to the field confidently thinking we had the firepower to knock over the kings. The additions of Gavin "GW Cox is my jeweller" and the promotion of B grade (and local Gay) icon Alby "Vijay Singh" Miller to the bowling stocks gave the fielding side some confidence of a successful day. This confidence didn't last too long, though, with the first ball of the day a wide. The 2 opening bowlers toiled away with little luck. The Pembroke Kings Golden Oldies Openers played very straight and sensible to start with in the first session to get the upper hand.
The second session saw the boys fight back by taking a few quick wickets to put us back in the game. Miller, Kym "yes, i am trying to bowl like Stewy Blister" Ryder and Cam "two dogs" Thomas all bowled line and length for short spells taking a wicket each and taking the game to an even situation come tea time.
After the afternoon tea break of 4 varieties of sandwiches (no Jarrad Eden chicken specials though) and no varieties of cake, Pembroke Kings took the upper hand. 2 Dropped catches shortly early after tea cost the Scotchies as Pembroke started scoring freely from a number of cross bat slogs in between a few delightful shots.
The Kings strong 4th wicket partnership really took charge mid afternoon. During this period the bowling did slip a bit and it was only Alan "did you know i bowled 24 overs" Miller showing any glimpse of troubling the batsman. Alby "Kidd" at one stage beat the bat 5 times out of six during an over, the wicket keepers appeal for 3 strikes and your out was not agreed to by the umpires.
All bowlers started well but then it all went a bit pear shaped on one of those pitches that becomes a batsman's paradise after tea. No bowler went more pear shaped than Kymmie " did you know now I am a bowling allrounder" Ryder whose first spell of dibbly dobblies provided a fine mix of sliders, seamers and late cut, including one of those Steve Waughesque balls that initially looks like a full toss only to dip in late yorking the batsman and knocking off peg out of the ground. This was one the days highlights as Jars celebrated Andrew Symonds like. This though was short lived as Jars ended up bowling late in the day one of the worst overs in modern turf cricket, and which made one of our favourites Stewy blister's attempts at bowling look like Sir Richard Hadlee. The over started with 2 full tossers, a wide, 2 half trackers followed by 3 in a row grubbers and ending in another full toss. Amazingly only 3 runs were scored in this over. Jars has been quoted since as saying he is now a drink making allrounder. Murray Tippett was heard to be saying he will no longer get into Stewy about his bowling.
The other highlights besides keeping the Kings under 300, would be the fielding of the 3 youngsters of the side, Nick Kidman, Henry Bourne and Cam Thomas, their mobility and ability contributed to a not so bad fielding performance. It was difficult to hide the pace of Alby Miller, TK , Reggie and Chris Arnold with a hamstring injury + DK with a finger all at back stop but these 3 sure helped out a little. 2DOGS Cams direct hit for a run out gave us some excitement, and his bowling was also rewarding finishing with 3 for, late in the day.
The keeper David " Did you know where I now Live?" Kidman deliberately busted a finger during the day so that he could take off the gloves, take the ball and knock over the tail, also finishing with 3 .
Next week is a big test for the boys, chasing 295. After fielding for 200 overs straight, the lads will be raring to bat all day. What better place to do it than at Haslam where you always get your value for shots. The skipper declared late on the w/end that he will contribute 150 of the runs next week, we will have to wait and see about that prediction.
'C' GRADE v ELDERS/ UNI SA @ UNI SA
A rare road trip for the C grade who headed north to 'Mosquito Lakes' to take on Elders / USA ( no not the north American Indian cricket team ).
Jarrad Eden returned to cricket following his one week retirement while Crazy Al Hickinbotham drew straws for the final position, with Nick 'Roster' Blight assuming 12th man duties.
The epidemic of 'toss losing' sweeping the club saw the Chiefs take the field for the first 40 overs. The home team started well & things were looking grim for OSCA until Michael 'Smashforth' Ashforth entered the attack. Bowling with a crook back, Asha regained the magic taking 5/36 off 8 overs. Three victims were bowled & a fourth stumped in a great return to form for the young leggie. Eden, Brewer & nelson each taking 1 wicket each to restrict the 'Yanks' to 8/178 off the allotted 40 overs.
OSCA's run chase began badly when Michael 'Journeyman' Wood was once again given out LBW, this time for a golden!. Eden was obviously relishing the familiar surroundings of Mawson Lakes and made a quick fire 44. Catford, Wellington & Will McGregor all contributing 20's while the other 'fanta pants' Nick Brewer made a solid 33. Crusiing with 3 runs to win & 3 wickets in hand OSCA lost 2/0 to set-up another fairytale scenario for Al Hickinbotham who was still smarting for having his phone stolen from the changerooms!. This time it wasn't Als' day and 'hero of the day' Ashforth calmly made the required runs for victory.
Another great win for the C's who now sit a game clear on top of the ladder.
Back to the Eastern suburbs this week, Glenunga at Glenunga.
ROUND 5 -- ONE DAY GAME
'A' GRADE v GRANGE @ GRANGE
After spending the previous weekend in the Chappell Bar, we returned to the field for a one day match at a Grange CC, a ground holding fond memories from last years GF. It also coincided with one of the more anticipated social events, the annual bus trip. As we loaded up the bus, our illustrious driver Angus "Bundy and Winnies" BC noted in passing, "it's a bit warm today", an apt comment with a balmy forecast of 41 degrees.
A hard flat deck greeted the skipper for the toss and we were soon reapplying the cream as the Grange Dolphins decided to bat. Conditions were rather batsman friendly early with the ball regularly hitting the fence harder than Bomber's head some six months ago and despite two early poles from Tom "I Play Better Hungover" Bourne, the run rate hit 5 per over.
For the second match in a row, our attack struggled to maintain a good line and length and the "one day" wides were starting to hurt us, by the end of the day the wide count grew to sizeable, 26 wides. As, John "Is that a Tent or a Pair of Shorts" Forbes did his best to keep the players hydrated, Jordan "3 Votes" Schmidt (2/38 off 10) bowled a good spell in the middle overs to somewhat peg back the run rate. A couple of grassed chances by the Skipper and Hoggy didn't help our cause and we finally bowled Grange out for 254. Tom "Hello Ladies" Bourne was again the best of the bowlers, and despite 7 wides, picked up 4/50 of his ten overs.
The world famous Grange arrogance was on display at the tea interval our gracious hosts planted themselves around the tea table and devoured all but a lamington or two before the OSCA side could get off the field. Unfortunately, this failed to fire us up and we were quickly in trouble, at 3/23 off 11 and when Sean "OSKA" MacGregor was dismissed by a freakish outfield catch we were up that creek again, at 4/64 off 18. Hopes of a miraculous win were dashed when Andrew "Pickles" Fuller was out five overs later off a Shoaib Akhtar "no ball". Not for the fist time this year Tucks (68 in 168 minutes) and Rogers (38) held the innings together and put on 71 for the 6th wicket, but it was never going to be enough as the required run rate got out of reach. We were finally bowled out for 171 in the penultimate over and the 83 run loss reflected our performance.
As ABC steered the bus home, via back streets of Grange and Henley, stopping at several good and some not so good establishments, the boys manage to find some spirit, or beer, at least.
It was our last stop on the mystery pub crawl that provided the highlight of the day. Fines were in progress at the quality Lockleys Hotel, when The Pres, out the corner of his eye saw something. It was race 3 at the Cannington Dogs and number 1 happened to be called "OSKA".
Cries of "get on him" rung out, as a frantic rush was made to load up on the hound. With memories of "Todd's Gift" still in the minds of some senior team members, a huge roar went up from the empty Lockleys Hotel as the barriers opened. OSKA was boxed in early but held on bravely and then made his move in the in the back straight. He ran strongly through the final bend and powered home to win by a length. Initial excitement turned to mayhem when we found out OSKA would be paying $10.50 for the win! Hopefully, "OSKA" signals a change of luck for our season.
ROUND 4 -- DAY 2
'A' GRADE v FLINDERS PARK @ SCOTCH
With 214 runs to defend OCSA senior were surprised to see a mown outfield & reasonably prepared wicket despite the absence of a curator for the week leading up to the game! Early signs were good for OSCA, as the first two flinders Park batters crumbled like a Tucker fruit cake. The Jarrad 'J-train' Schmidt claiming his first two A grade wickets within the first 8 overs and at 2/18 the day seemed to be going to plan. Schmidt then managed to find the edge of the No. 4 batsmen 2nd ball however the edge eluded all & sundry in the cordon in a frustrating preview to the rest of the afternoon.
During the next 30 overs OSCA were unable to stem the tide of steady runs mainly due to some poor bowling & lack lustre fielding. The ball looked like it had been plucked from the depths of the practice kit and when Schmidt of the Jordan variety was hit to Belair Road, many players were questioning the merit of MacGregor's search & retrieve efforts. Flinders Park progressed to 2/138 until the J-Rod retuned to the attack & picked up a key wicket 1 over before tea, having the opener caught at deep backward square by "Joe Smith" aka brother Jordan.
3 wickets in the first 15 overs after tea had OSCA back in the contest, reducing the red caps to 6/167. However with only 45 runs required from the last 25 overs & the key batsmen still at the crease Flinders Park were always under limited pressure, eventually getting the runs in the 76th over.
Jarrad Schmidt's lion hearted debut of 3/51 off 19 overs a positive while the 'developing' offie Jordan Schmidt was also impressive in his return to OSCA A grade ranks.
With a weekend at the test to ponder the one-dayer against Grange OSCA will be looking to bounce back and claim a win at the venue of last seasons GF victory.
'B' GRADE v GOODWOOD @ GOODWOOD
We still made 130, they made quite a few more!.
'C' GRADE v WOODVILLE RECHABITES @ MONTROSE
An all-star line-up fronted for the Chiefs at Montrose. 'Dimples' Bourne, G.W.Cox the jeweller and 'Collins Wood' in the side to take on an unsuspecting United Districts.
Losing the toss & fielding gave Bourne a chance to un-unite a few of the districts boys, however his 'just short of a length line' was proving difficult to get wickets as the opposition couldn't lay bat on ball. Once TB removed the opener with the score on 20, it was the experience of Miller, C grade knowledge of skipper Smith & guile of Nelson that helped reduce the visitors to 5/80. Gavin Cox & Bourne finishing off the lower half of the order to be set a small total of 118.
Michael 'Smash-forth' not required at the bowling crease but contributing in the field with 4 catches.
'Graeme' Wood opening the innings with Thomas and the total looked decidedly gettable, after Woody hit the 2nd delivery of the innings into the next suburb & 15 minutes elapsed as the opposition searched for the wayward Kookaburra.
The break in play wasn't kind to OSCA & Wood was hit on the pad next ball only to be given out LBW! by Mike "no-one told me the C grade rules" Keen. When Blight was run-out (again) for 4 and Wello went shortly after OSCA were spluttering at 3/26. A couple of mini-partnerships helped the cause with Thomas (29), Smith (14), Nelson (17) & "all-rounder" Cox (20) all contributing. Finally it was left to the big Fella "Alby" (10*) & Ashforth (6*) to guide the boys home 7 wickets down in the 39th over.
The C's now sit one game clear atop the LOB table & could move further ahead with a win at Brighton next game.
FULL SCORECARDS OF ALL MATCHES ( UNDER RESULTS ) & UPDATED PREMIERSHIP TABLES ARE AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT www.turfcricket.com.au
Results
'A' Grade
OSCA 214 ( Chris Rogers 51, Angus Hogben 49 & Sean MacGregor 33 ) lost to Flinders Park 7/238 ( Jarrad Schmidt 3/51 & Sean MacGregor 2/30 )
'B' Grade
OSCA 130 ( Nick Kidman 43, Chris Arnold 23 & Jared Eden 21 ) lost to Goodwood 501 (David Kidman 3/69, Kym Ryder 2/28, Scott Roberts 2/74 & Jared Eden 2/136)
'C' Grade
OSCA 7/121 ( Cam Thomas 29 & Gavin Cox 20 ) defeated United Districts 118 ( Tom Bourne 3/19, Gavin Cox 2/11, Cam Nelson 2/28, Ash Smith 2/15 )
'A' Grade v Flinders Park @ SCOTCH
In a welcome return home following an unsuccessful venture to Woodville, OSCA took to the main oval at Scotch for the vital encounter against Flinders Park. With only one win from a combined six matches, it was without doubt the proverbial "must win" clash for both teams. Through Gavin "Wedding Crasher" Cox, James Pascoe and Tom Bourne all being occupied elsewhere, a series of changes were necessary. Into the side came Angus "My Car Goes Fast" Hogben and, in an attempt to increase the looseness of the XI, the brothers Schmidt -- Jordan and Jared.
Skipper Peter "Greg Louganis" Harvey, who was quick to decline the offer of a hit during the pre-game warm up, called correctly and had no hesitation in batting first. Attempting to find the boundary proved immediately difficult on an outfield that could conservatively be labelled lush, but Anthony "Media Commitments" Tucker and Andy "Floater" Fuller got off to a steady start. Unfortunately, when Fuller attempted a lofted drive and holed out to mid off for 17, a
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