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FTGDCA Country week sides

FTGDCA Melbourne Country Week 2010

The FTGDCA finished in sixth place in Division 2 of Melbourne Country Week after defeating Sunraysia convincingly on day one. A narrow loss to Hamilton by 6 runs and then defeats at the hands of Leongatha & eventual premiers Traralgon showed that the FTGDCA has a long way to go in reaching the top Provincial grade. Manager Craig Wilkinson summarised the weeks cricket, “We were up against some pretty good opposition and our blokes just weren’t mentally tough enough at crucial times throughout the matches, however there were some very good individual performances. We have the foundation of a very good team.”   

Scores 

Ferntree Gully 8/273 (Brittain 99* Gaunt 47 Dunlop 41 Vozzo 25) def Sunraysia 138 (Dignan 2/25 Watson 3/28 Sinclair 3/9) at Footscray.

Hamilton 9/257 (Watson 2/48 Morris 2/41 C.Cosstick 2/47) def Ferntree Gully 9/252 (Brittain 71 Burgman 69 Morris 45 Levell 26) at Yarraville.

Leongatha 7/211 (Anstey 3/35) def Ferntree Gully 172 (Levell 29 Brittain 37 Bradbury 43 Anstey 24*) at Frankston.

Traralgon 225 (Watson 2/27 Daniel 4/42) def Ferntree Gully 109 (Bradbury 46* Burgman 20)at Croydon.

Ladder – Bairnsdale, Traralgon, Warragul, Leongatha, West Gippsland, Ferntree Gully, Hamilton, Sunraysia.      Final – Traralgon def Bairnsdale by 11 runs.   

View the results on MyCricket -Here

Bendigo Country Week

 

Day 1 Sunday 17th at QEO

Ferntree Gully 6/209 defeated Emu Valley 166

Scorecard

Emu Valley won the toss and elected to bat in daylight conditions to be all out in  49.5 overs for 166

Jay Colee 9 Overs 2 Maidens 3/40
Sam Waters 7 Overs 2 Maidens 0/20
Steve Pimm 1 Over for 5
Steve Bowen 13 Overs 2 Maidens 4/38
Ben Carnell 16 Overs 3 Maidens 2/40
Scott McKenzie 3 Overs 1 Maiden 0/5

Their innings ended at 5:54 p.m. and we commenced batting at 6:55 p.m. after the scheduled one hour break between innings, with the lights switched on and beginning to show some effect.

Ben Carnell (BEL) & Adam Burgess (JPK) opened and put on 36 before Ben was run out for 26. Jayden Bradbury (FTG) & Adam combined for 13 before Jayden was caught for 5. One run later Adam who had been joined by Matt Mulcahy (UPW) was dismissed for 10 and we were 3/50 from 19 Overs.

Dain Howe (UPW) joined Matt in a match winning partnership of 86 and took the score to 136 from 38 overs before Dain went LBW for a well compiled 41. Aaron Walter (MON) and Matt combined for the final 31 runs needed to claim a win and pushed the score onto 201 before Aaron was run out for 24 as the two were sacrificing their own games to push the score along.

Blake Walter (MON) came and went a few balls later for 2 and Jay Colee(UFTG) joined Mat and scored 3 runs before the final score was tallied up at 6/209.

The star of the batting innings was Matt Mulcahy who remained unconquered on 86 not out we ended comfortably on top and enjoyed the experience of a Day Night match.

Day 2 Tuesday 19th at White Hills

Northern United 142 off 49 (Aaron Watson 2/22, Steve "Pants down" Pimm 1/22, Jay Colee 3/24, Steve Bowen 1/20, Ben Carnell 2/13 Blake Walter 1/29, Sam Waters 1/4) lost to Ferntree Gully 8/223 (B.Carnell 1, D.Goodger 64, B.Walter 40, M.Mulchay 12, D.Howe 21, A.Walter 41, J.Colee 11, J.Bradbury 16*, S.Bowen 5, S.Pimm 5*)

We lost the toss - and were asked to have a bowl.

A tremendous start by the bowlers to have them 3/21 with Aaron Watson 2 wickets bowled and Steve Pimm a wicket to a magnificent catch by Sam Waters - perhaps the only fit young fellow capable of catching it! With a few changes and 5 bowlers used we managed to get them 7/68 and were well on top at the 27 over mark.

Aaron Walter and the skipper - Dain Howe, combined to bring up the winning runs when Dain went at 161, for the first LBW of the match we were into the bonus scoring overs.
The Final 8 overs were about scoring as many runs as possible against defensive bowling and field positions and we were well served with Aaron Walter compiling a great 41, aided by Jay Colee (11), Jayden Bradbury (16 not out), Steve Bowen (5), Steve Pimm (5 not out), all scoring at about a run a ball.

When our alloted 50 overs had expired we had scored 8/223 and enjoyed a comprehensive victory, made even more sweeter when the realisation set in that we were half a game clear on top of the ladder after just two days - two of our likely finals opponents had played a tied match yesterday and were filling 2nd and 3rd positions on the ladder. The option of an extra days cricket on Friday could well be determined with a victory against Benalla at White Hills on Wednesday.

Day 3 Wednesday 20th at White Hills

Benalla 136 off 42.4 (A.Watson 2/16, S.McKenzie 3/24, J.Colee 3/28, S.Waters 0/18, B Carnell 1/16, S.Bowen 0/20, D.Goodger 1/3) V Ferntree Gully 6/239 off 50 (D.Goodger 34, A.Burgess 109, B.Walter 21, A.Walter 7, J.Colee 23, S.Bowen 22, S.McKenzie 7*, S.Waters 0*)

The day started, against a regular FTGDCA combatant, as normal - Skipper Howe - lost the toss for the third time.

Early wickets at Country week are vital and once again we had an opponent in trouble at 4/42 at the first drinks break - Aaron Watson 2/16 and Scott McKenzie (in the middle of a great spell), 2/22...

After Drinks Scotty continued his form and picked up another wicket to establish a dominant scorecard when he collected his third wicket in three overs without a run scored against him... and ended his spell with 3/28 from 11 overs.

After Aaron was spelled Sticks came on with immediate success, with a wicket in his first and second over to have them 7/48 from 21 overs and the top order was dusted...

As always in Country Week resistance was likely from the tail enders and Benalla didn't dissapoint with their #8 making 45 and the #10 34 not out to bring their score up to 136 with the final three wickets falling to Jay (3/28 off 9 Overs), Ben Carnell (1/16 from 6), and Dave Goodger (1/4 from 4 balls).

Although they had got away from us to some extent, we were confident of chasing the score down and had the knowledge that in dismissing them from 42 overs we also gained valueable bonus points, under the new rules, from the 8 they didn't face. The fielding and catching again was excellent with Adam Burgess (2), Ben Carnell (2) and Matt Mulcahy (3) showing safe hands again, although perhaps we should all enjoy the 6 attempts at a catch that resulted in fines for three players from one ball when Dain, Ben and Jayden Bradbury all got a hand to a hot slips snick at least once only to see the attempt fail and the catch get grassed!!!!

After agreement between the Umpires and Captains an early commencement to the innings saw us come out after 30 minutes in need of a steady start...

Adam Burgess and Yak did exactly that compiling 55 and too the relief of the rest of the order took most of the initial onslaught by ex Melbourne Cricket Club 1st XI opening bowler, Ben Milliken, who was quick and had a brutal short ball which left a mark on both of our bats - Adam in the face grill and 'Yak' in the midriff... They batted through him with Yak first dismissed for 34. Enter the young buck, Blake Walter who was also subjected to some short stuff from the Benalla bowlers but showed his maturity when he put them away a couple of times before losing his wicket for 21 at 98, with Adam still batting steadily.

The remaining runs were peeled off with consistency with Aaron Walter (7), Jay Colee (23), Steve Bowen (22) and Scott McKenzie (7 not out) all supporting Adam Burgess who raised a magnificent century in the 45th over and almost batted through the innings being out off the 48th for a fantastic 109. Given the torrid time he copped from Milliken in his opening burst it was an innings of composure and concentration, just what had been called for from the team and undoubtedly was the highlight of the trip to date (other than Steve Pimm's ball bowled with his pants down).

We ended with 6/239 and had the knowledge that, given the tied result between two opponents on Day 1, matches going our way to date and our three successive victories, we had already established a position in the Final on Friday (at Eaglehawk for those of you interested in coming up)...

The boys have performed brilliantly and the standard of play has been excellent so Friday beckons after another strong day today.

We are playing with confidence and an expectation of winning with all the players contributing well...

Perhaps the only down side was an unfortunate accident to Aaron Walter on the way out to a team meal of Chinese last night when he tripped and damaged his ankle, resulting in a trip to hospital, damaged ligaments and crutches resulting... at least the difficult job of selecting the team is a little easier...

Day 4 Thursday 21st at Kennington

Ferntree Gully 9/194 (A.Burgess 19, D.Goodger 12, B.Walter 36, M.Mulchay 49, D. Howe 14, J.Bradbury 0, B.Carnell 21, S.Pimm 0, S.Bowen 30, S.McKenzie 9*, S.Waters 0*) def Swan Hill 181 (A Watson 6/39, S.McKenzie 2/8, S.Waters 0/20, S.Pimm 0/29, B.Carnell 25, M.Mulchay 0/24, S.Bowen 2/25)

Once again the big fella lost the toss, but in a surprise to all we were sent into bat...

Having lost Aaron Walter and with Sticks a little sore, the squad was down to the bare 12 for the match but Dain asked for all to lift to continue the winning streak.

Adam Burgess (JPK) and Yak (UFTG) opened up and once again got us a steady start before Yak went at 32. All week we had batted well in partnerships so after Adam went at the same score it was important for Blake Walkter (MON) and Matt Mulcahy (UPW) to get us back on top which they did, guiding us to 112 before Matt went for a well made 49, going to an excellent low catch at mid wicket.

Their Captain was in the middle of an excellent spell of turf bowling and slowed the run scoring down while we continued to lose regular wickets, with Jayden Bradbury FTG) 0, Ben Carnell (BEL) 21 and Steve Pimm (EPK) 0, to see us poorly placed at 8/177 in the 47th over. Steve Bowen (JPK) 30 not out and Scott McKenzie (KNF) 9 not out saw a few valuable runs scored off the final few overs and we lifted the score to a competitive although probably below par score of 9/194.

With Swan Hill desperate to gain a victory in a tight competition to be in the mix for Friday's final they were superbly led by their Captain who took 6/55 from 15 Overs and the challenge was on for us to maintain the winning streak - early wickets were critical.

Aaron Watson (UFTG) and Sam Waters (UPW) opened up and although Sam was harshly dealt with Aaron got the early wicket to see us on the way.

Scott McKenzie then chimed in with 2 wickets as 1st change and they were in early trouble at 3/35 off the first 9 overs. Our chase for victory was not helped when Scott, fielding a ball slightly strained his side and was then rested after picking up 2/8 off his 5 overs. Steve Pimm took over but suffered the same fate as Sam Waters as their #4 and #5 really established a strong partnership.

When Dain recalled Aaron and he turned to bowling around the wicket into the footmarks the ball started to assert some dominance again and finally we were rewarded for good fielding and persistance when they were separated at 141, after a century partnership, in the 31st Over. Clearly with just over 50 to get and 6 wickets in hand the job was ahead of us, however given they had lost 6/39 the day before to lose by 11 runs at least we knew they had some demons to overcome if we pushed hard and put them under more pressure.

With the two spinners, Ben Carnell and an unlikely Matt Mulcahy both suffering from some treatment during the big partnership, Scott a little sore and being preserved for the Final on Friday, and Sticks being rested the bowling was a bit thin. Dain called the boys together and asked for a big effort from 'Archie' and Steve Bowen who bowled superbly in tandem for the final 21 Overs

In an excellent fightback we continued to apply pressure and the two bowlers steered us to a fantastic victory with 13 runs to spare as Archie (6/39 from 16) and Steve (2/25 from 10.5) really opened and exposed cracks in their order. The fielding in the final 20 overs was excellent, led by Jayden Bradbury who did a superb job up to the stumps for the final 25 overs, keeping the pressure on all the batsmen. He was rewarded with three catches as was Blake Walter whose big mits took three comfortably in the outfield.

A great win, in a game of controlled 50 over bowling, which showed how keen the guys were to go all the way undefeated.

We've got a few sore players and a couple of non starters so today will be tough.

Its been a good carnival with every one of the players bonding well and sharing in the experience, so a victory today would cap it off brilliantly...

Day 5 Friday 22nd at Eaglehawk