Welcome back Axel – A solid round for the Stags

Quite a solid round for the Stags. First Grade got back into the winners’ circle while 4ths, 5ths and Colts also got the points. 2nds needed a few more runs and 3rds couldn’t capitalise on a good start.

The innings of the week came from Axel Cahlin, whose century in 1st Grade ensured their win.

1st Grade

Blacktown won the toss and batted at Chatswood. They got off to a good start and despite losing one wicket, moved very effectively to 99 before the key partnership was broken, giving Charlie Stobo his second wicket. Another followed straight away, but a handy half century partnership followed before three wickets fell quickly.

From there, wickets fell as runs came and the innings finished at 248. Charlie was the best of the bowlers with four wickets while Nathan Doyle and Glenn Winsor both took a brace.

Axel Cahlin and Cam Eccles got the Stags off to a great start, adding 44 in a very short time. Two wickets fell quickly but Axel and Tym Crawford shared an excellent partnership of 94 before the latter was dismissed. Axel and Charlie Stobo then added 57 and it was 5-4 in the final set and on serve. However, both were dismissed with the finish line in sight (sorry, mixing metaphors here) and Blacktown were given a sniff. Fortunately, Glenn Winsor decided that a fast game is a good game as he and Scott O’Brien carried the side through for a top win with plenty of overs to spare. Well done, particularly to Axel, whose 111 from 87 balls with fourteen 4s and four 6s was a brilliant dig.

Gordon 5-249 (Axel Cahlin 111, Tym Crawford 38, Charlie Stobo 27, Glenn Winsor 25*) defeated Blacktown 248 (Charlie Stobo 4-43, Glenn Winsor 2-43, Nathan Doyle 2-70).

2nd Grade

Seconds batted first at Joe McAleer and got off to the worst start, losing two wickets immediately. Ryan Tullia and Lachlan Barnsley got together to take the score to 82 before the latter was out for a good 40. A couple more wickets fell but Ryan hung in there. He shared an important 56 run partnership with Matt Wright before being dismissed for a most valuable 75. Austyn Nugent and Dan Stickland made handy contributions but the final Gordon total of 8-227 was a few short.
In contrast to the Stags’ start, Blacktown got off brilliantly.

The first wicket didn’t fall until the score was 80. For the next hour or so, Gordon took a few wickets but the score rose. The bowling was quite tight and Blacktown needed 64 from the last ten overs, but with plenty of wickets remaining. It was nip and tuck, but there were always wickets in hand. With 10 to win from the final over, the score was attained from the second last ball. Unlucky, and a really good fightback from the Gordon side.

Gordon 8-227 (Ryan Tullia 75, Lachlan Barnsley 40) lost to Blacktown 6-229 (Austyn Nugent 2-26, Nick Miller 2-33).

3rd Grade

A great start for the Gordon bowlers, notably Lachie Burrows, as Blacktown slumped to 4-25. However, several strong partnerships followed as the Gordon bowling became a little ragged. The score mounted and what had started as a good day started to turn sour. The run rate couldn’t be stemmed and Blacktown finished on 7-249.

In response, Gordon got a fair start before losing two wickets. A handy partnership between Darren Jayasekera and Michael Fletcher took the score over the 100 mark but wickets began to fall regularly and, at 8-157, things were looking lost. Manus Chauhan and Vikrant Nehru added a further 51 but it was a bridge too far and the Stags’ chase finished 40 short. A disappointing result and the side’s first loss for the season.

Gordon 209 (Darren Jayasekera 57, Manus Chauhan 37, Michael Fletcher 29, Vikrant Nehru 21) lost to Blacktown 9-249 (Lachie Burrows 3-18, Dan Chillingworth 2-39).

4th Grade

Mitch Kleem and Nick Astridge got the Stags off to a solid start with an opening partnership of 52. Wickets fell at regular intervals with only Jayden Gray and Stuart Bromley managing to make worthwhile contributions. They took the score up to 7-203 – a competitive score but the bowling would have to be good.

The early Gordon bowling was tight although the first wicket didn’t fall until the 14th over with the score on 35. A couple more wickets were then taken, with Karan Tiwari snaring three, and at 5-91, the match was anyone’s.

A good partnership followed, taking the score to 134. 70 were now needed from 13 overs with five wickets remaining. Another wicket was taken but a handy partnership took the score to 173 before Rahul Krishna took a vital pole. From there it was nail-biting stuff as Callum Bladen took one and then, with the game on a knife’s edge, Shiv Rana took the remaining two wickets to see Gordon through by 10 runs.

A terrific, exciting win.

Gordon 7-203 (Stuart Bromley 45, Mitch Kleem 37, Jayden Gray 30, Nick Astridge 23) defeated Blacktown 193 (Shiv Rana 4-36, Karan Tiwari 3-31).

5th Grade

Fifths won the toss at Beauchamp and inserted Blacktown. Dave Monaghan took an early wicket but the run rate was pretty good as each partnership was handy without totally dominating. At 7-152, it looked very positive for Gordon (despite some very average fielding) but there was one batsman who was going very well and dealing most effectively with anything loose. Sene Seneviratne had taken a handy three wickets but a more than useful score was on the cards. Luckily, the last three wickets fell quickly and Blacktown finished on 213 – what sh

Should have been a fairly straightforward chase for the Stags.

An early wicket fell before Nick Woodward and Felix Barbeler got the score to 50. Both were then dismissed without further score and more wickets fell as the batsmen played some most injudicious shots. A couple of handy partnerships followed but it appeared that the batsmen didn’t have any plan as the Stags slumped to 6-125. At this point, Dave Monaghan and Steve Bristow came together. I hope the young guys in the team not only watched the way they batted but understood it! There was no panic, no slogging. They just batted normally, hitting the poor ball and blocking the good one. They added 89, passed the Blacktown total, and walked off with a lot of overs to spare.

A good win in the end, but the Stags will need to play with a lot more thought in future games.

Gordon 6-214 (Dave Monaghan 50*, Steve Bristow 37*, Felix Barbeler 22, Dillon Amjad 20, Nick Woodward 19) defeated Blacktown 213 (Sene Seneviratne 3-42, Dave Monaghan 2-41).

Colts

Gordon lost a couple of early wickets but Alex Dolling-Cook and Felix Booth consolidated and took the score to 128 before the former was dismissed. A couple more wickets fell and it appeared the total might fall short of par before Tom Armstrong, for the second week in a row, made a most valuable contribution, seeing the total through to 9-228 from the 50 overs.

In response, Blacktown came out with a purpose and the first wicket didn’t fall until the score had reached 75. 25 overs had been used up, however, and the Gordon spinners continued to make inroads into the Blacktown batting. Eventually, the innings finished at 9-182, with Michael Loong, Conor Clift and Michael Ford all doing well with the ball.

Another very good win for the Colts.

Gordon 9-228 (Alex Dolling-Cook 49, Felix Booth 47, Tom Armstrong 43*) d

efeated Blacktown 9-182 (Michael Loong 3-33, Conor Clift 2-36, Michael Ford 2-39).

Poidevin Gray

The PG’s had a horror start of 2 down for 5 after being sent in on a good grassy deck at Chatswood on Sunday. Then Lachlan Barnsley (60) and Josh Claridge dug in and toughed it out until Josh fell with the score on 59. Lachlan deserves much credit for a brilliant innings in tough conditions. He had great support also from our 18yo English import, Josh Porter who worked the ball to all areas of the ground for a devastating 51 in only 42 balls.

Nathan Doyle the skip then also played a smart support role to them both. Gordon were dismissed on the last ball of our 50th over for a very competitive 237, which should be enough if we bowled well.

The bowlers did not let us down. They were all on top of their game with the pick of a good attack, being that man Ryan Meppem (4-18). He bowled his lovely flighted 10 overs of offies with immaculate line and length and is improving with every challenge thrown at him. Vikrant Nehru (2-34 off 6) chimed in at the right time to keep Sydney behind the required run rate. It was then so good to see Daniel Chillingworth bowl 10 overs straight of immaculate leggies and he apparently is not far away from full fitness.

Scores: Gordon 237 in 50 overs (Lachlan Barnsley 60 in 110 balls with 4 fours; Josh Porter 51 in 42 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes; Nathan Doyle 42 in 63 balls with 2 fours; Glenn Winsor 21 in 22 balls; Josh Claridge 14 in 35 balls with 2 fours) defeated Sydney 8-208 off 50 overs (Ryan Meppem 4-18 off 10; Vikrant Nehru 2-34 off 7; Daniel Chillingworth 0-30 off 10; Matt Wright 0-6 33 off 6; Glenn Winsor 0-34 off 9; Nathan Doyle 0-39 off 6).

The GDCC Communications team