Albion Park Under 13's: Round 7 vs Shellharbour White at Con O'Keefe Oval

The Albion Park JCC Under 13 team has started to hit its straps after a tough start to the season against some strong and older teams, and notched their third win of the season on Saturday with an emphatic victory over the Shellharbour White team at Con O’Keefe Oval.

Batting first in tough conditions for cricket, the Albion Park kids all did a great job in advancing the score at a good rate. Lucas Brown was unfortunate to face a delivery that looked for all money to be directed at his head but then died to fall below waist height. The damage had been done as Lucas had flinched away from the ball that then harmlessly fell onto his stumps to be bowled for 1. Very unfortunate. Liam Cergovski replaced him at the crease and showed the value from his practice over the past two weeks, forcing the issue with the bat to go with his already sound defence. He had made two runs before he was beaten by an excellent delivery that clipped the top of off stump. Meanwhile, Will Schofield continued on his merry way with the bat, hitting four boundaries and looking like a huge score was in the offing, before he fell for the two card trick and hit the ball straight down deep square leg’s throat where the catch was taken. Will was dismissed for 17 and he will be ruing his missed opportunity.

The Albion Park middle order took control of the match, but not without some good fortune as a number of chances were spilled by their opponents. Aiden Campion played a terrific innings, especially effective in punching the ball into the gaps and taking the easy singles on offer, while still dispatching the loose ball to the boundary. He retired after his 35 deliveries had brought four boundaries and 36 runs. Owen Pickering went harder and higher, initially retiring after his 35 deliveries had expired, and returning at the end of the innings and chasing a half century. Such a feat would have earned him a promised pizza from his older sister who was in attendance, and his final few deliveries were full of enticing and exhilarating strokeplay. Sadly for Owen he finished just short on 48 not out – but surely Hails will have relented and forked out for that pizza anyway…

Tom Denyer started off very composed and like Will looked as though a big score was coming, but he soon became impatient for bigger hits to add to his five boundaries, and in trying to take a ball from off stump to the leg side boundary instead lost said off stump to be bowled for 28. Both he and Will would have been disappointed not to have gone on with the job. Jack Couley on the other hand was once again immensely entertaining, showing off his wide variety of strokes, both orthodox and unorthodox. He better than anyone took advantage of the lack of fielders straight behind the bowler, and most of his seven boundaries came in that direction. He retired after his 35 deliveries had brought him 40 not out.

Josh Peters looked to get on the front foot early, and though he aimed a forward defensive stroke at the return of the opening bowler, he played around the delivery to be bowled for one, while Blake Ison held up his end nicely, once again working the ball around the field to finish on 16 not out when the innings mercifully came to an end. Albion Park’s final total after their 30 overs was an imposing 5/240, which compensated the crowd somewhat for the 130 minutes it took to bowl those overs.

Sometimes you can tell just how an innings is going to proceed from the first delivery. In this case Blake opened up, bowled a rank half tracker that was pulled with impunity – straight to Will at mid-wicket, who took a terrific catch. 1/0 off one ball. Good start. As it turned out, the Shellharbour team was not going to fold so easily, and started to build the innings well. Blake bowled well in his two overs to finish with 1/9, while opening partner Jack seemed a little over excited from his batting effort and was perhaps a bit wayward, finishing with 0/10 from his two overs. Josh kept the batsmen guessing again with his legspin, and indeed brought out the Peters Family wicket delivery, bowling a long hop that was again hit straight to Will at mid-wicket for his second catch. Both father and grandfather used this delivery often to their advantage. Josh finished with ¼ from his two overs. Tom bowled a really good spell this week, much straighter and fuller than in recent games and without trying to bowl too fast. He enticed a return catch from the number four batsmen which he gleefully accepted, and finished with 1/3 from his two overs.

Aiden once again bowled his excellent line and length making the batsmen play every delivery. He bowled a beauty to clean bowl the new batsman which was a reward for his great spell. He conceded two boundaries in his final over which hurt his overall figures, which he finished with 1/12 from three overs. Liam bowled a spell that contained both gems and allsorts. He conceded some no balls, but also bowled an unplayable delivery that bowled the unsuspecting batsman cold, and finished with 1/9 from his two overs.
Like Aiden, Will bowled a solid spell of bowling based around good line and length and making the batsmen play every delivery. He was unfortunate not to pick up a wicket and finished with 0/6 from his two overs. Lucas was once again excellent and appears to have shaken off his early season rust. Though his first over went for nine runs it was through good shots and not poor bowling. He fixed this in his second over, drawing a top edge first ball that was tracked down by keeper Aiden to take a great catch. Lucas followed this up with a beauty that beat the batsman for pace in demolishing his stumps, and he finished with 2/10 from his two overs. The innings was completed with Owen’s first and last delivery, which was flicked to short fine leg when Tom took the catch, leaving Shellharbour White being bowled out for 76, and a victory of 164 runs. Well done to all the boys who all contributed to the win.

Today’s photo tells half the story. Behind the photographer three batsmen are all being thrown balls by their parents on the outfield. Here however is an Albion Park legend deciding on his own way of giving his son a pre-innings hit.

Albion Park JCC Under 13’s: Match 6 vs Kiama Gold at Con O'Keefe Oval

A good all round effort this morning by the Albion Park Eagles Under 13 team saw them notch their second victory for the season with a solid showing over the Kiama Gold team at Con O'Keefe Oval.

Sent in to bat under cloudy skies and dewy outfield, the Albion Park boys did exceptionally well against a tidy bowling attack to rack up 5/171 off their 30 overs.
Kane Rex opened up the batting and played some promising shots, one in particular against a short ball, before he was beaten by an excellent length delivery and bowled. Here followed a great partnership between Kasey Barton and Blake Ison. It was particularly pleasing to see Kasey get going, hitting the ball sweetly through the off side and along the ground, as well as two wonderful leg glances.He was all class today, and eventually retired not out for 37, a great knock. Blake knocked the ball around in his unflappable way, though was dropped once by the bowler. He managed 9 runs before being caught. Josh Peters came in and had the tough ask of facing his cousin Jett for an over, and the battle within a battle was a great sideline of the game. Josh managed 3 before being bowled trying to hit a short ball into the pool. Another lesson learned.
Tom Denyer continued his good season with the bat, scoring 21 before retiring not out, and looked better today in not trying to hit the ball so hard. Liam Cergovski stuck around with his partners and made a good fist of his innings, scoring 5 runs before being bowled by an excellent delivery. Owen Pickering also followed up his good recent form with another innings that took advantage of some of the looser bowling, finally falling off his final delivery for 33 runs. His wristy drives are a highlight for me every week. Rob Denny and Aiden Campion closed out the innings, Rob finishing on 4 not out and 'Wacky' on 5 not out.

With an huge total to defend, the Eagles then went out and put their best foot forward with the ball and in the field. With the risk of rain coming to ruin a potential victory it was imperative that they took every chance that was offered them. The Kiama batters did well in holding onto their wickets, but the drying up of runs on offer meant they were behind the eight ball.
Will Schofield and Kynan Barton bowled the opening four overs and conceded not one run off the bat between them, Will bowling two maidens for 0/0 and Kynan bowling the opener to finish wih 1/0. Both were excellent with full, straight bowling. Rob Denny bwled two good overs following this, and picked up a wicket with another of his perfect deliveries, the left arm over just fading back in to the right hander and taking the stumps. he finished with 1/0 from two overs. Aiden Campion was his usual metronomic self, bowling one maiden in finishing with 0/4 from his two overs. Liam Cergovski showed great improvement after some coaching tips from Anthony Pickering at training on Wednesday, and bowled two excellent overs in finishing with 0/6, while Tom denyer was again consistent and economical in bowling his two overs for 0/2.
After 12 overs only two Kiama wickets had fallen, but then all hell broke loose and carnage erupted. Josh Peters bowled good lines and beat the bat, and finally keeper Adien Campion found the batsman out of his ground and completed a great stumping.The next ball Josh found the edge that was well fielded by Kynan at slip, and as the batsmen tried to sneak a single he threw down the wickets direct for a run out. This was followed by another great piece of fielding from Kynan in the next over which produced another run out. In Josh's next over a pull shot was beautifully fielded by Will Schofield whose throw was pefect to 'Wacky' who took the bails off for a third run out. Blake Ison bowled the next over, and bowled a beauty to beat the bat and hit the stumps for his own wicket.Five wickets had fallen in four overs through good bowling and superb fielding. Josh finished with figures of 1/1 from his two overs, and Blake 1/8 from his two overs.
Kane Rex was only able to squeeze one over in, before Kasey Barton picked up the final wicket of the innings with his first ball, and left Kiama Gold all out for 46.

A great performance in the field would have been satisfying for coach Anthony Pickering who has been drilling the kids in their fielding in recent weeks, and it is pleasing to see results come from that work. The team will be looking to continue their improvement in next week's clash against Shellharbour White.

World Cup Defense Slipping Through Australia's Fingers

The three match ODI series just completed against South Africa only confirmed what everyone had suspected before it started. That being, that South Africa have a handy squad once again with a bowling attack full of speed and a batting line up that will only improve with the return of the injured Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, and Australia has a mixed bits and pieces batting order that would be terrific if it fired at the same time but has rarely done so along with a bowling attack relying on the ‘big three’ pacemen to destroy opposition batting if it is to progress. Given Australia’s inability to put a good score on the board, a 1-2 series loss is almost a win given that 0-3 felt much more likely to most in the lead-up.

Since the 2015 World Cup, England has become the benchmark with their aggressive batting from the first ball being seen to be the new way to take on the one day game. Pakistan has tried to utilise a similar strategy, while India has dominated mainly through a fast start and then Virat Kohli controlling the remainder of the innings. Australia is caught in its inability to keep wickets intact for long enough to decide what method they wish to use. Early wickets in Perth meant Chris Lynn and Alex Carey had to hold back their natural instincts to try and mount a rescue, something that England has eschewed and continued to attack in such situations. As a result Australia’s batting, which appears as though it has been selected for all-out assaults such as shown by England, looks confused as to whether they should continue in that way as wickets keep falling. Such is the problem when teams aren’t winning, and the leadership has changed. The game plan doesn’t look set, so that everyone knows what page they are on. Poor shot selection has been the major cause of Australia’s batting downfall, certainly in these three games and also last summer. 

Australia’s pace attack has been well and truly out-bowled by the South African pace attack. In home conditions none of Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins looked as venomous or dangerous as Steyn, Rabada and Ngini. 

Australia has toyed with Andrew Tye, Kane and Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Billy Stanlake in the last twelve months, but are more comfortable in picking the ’big three’ and hoping they will dispatch the opposition with fire and pace and brutality. They worked perfectly in 2015, but if they are not on song and taking wickets it leaves a lot of work for the rest of the bowling attack. On England pitches it would have to be considered unlikely that Australia can continue to place so much trust in all three of these bowlers in the same team. 

What is Australia’s best spin option? Adam Zampa’s two matches were lukewarm, as was the back up from Glenn Maxwell. Australia have to decide if a defensive spin option in Ashton Agar is what will work best in England, given his explosive batting prowess that would be ideal at number eight, or an attacking spin option such that a leg spinner provides will work in English conditions, and if so is Zampa the best option in that way? (cue my renewed push for Fawad Ahmed to get his chance again). 

Alex Carey showed great promise with the bat in all three games, but his pivotal moment was when he dropped Faf du Plessis when he was only 20-odd in Sunday’s third game. It was a costly miss, and though his glove work has been solid standing back, he doesn’t look as assured up to the stumps as Tim Paine. Missed chances like that do change the outcome of matches, and even tournaments. 

There are a plethora of other questions raised going forward. Has the D’Arcy Short experiment run its course? Is Chris Lynn’s exposure at international level a possible turning point in his career? Where should Travis Head bat to utilise him best? Is Glenn Maxwell at seven a finisher worth pursuing in the ODI team? Is Usman Khawaja the batsman required at the top of the order to provide a stable opening partnership? How do Smith and Warner possibly fit back into this mix if they are considered worthy of selection once their suspensions have been served? What bowling attack is going to work in English conditions if they are to succeed at the World Cup? Is Mitch Marsh a better chance of making the team as a bowler and lower order batter? If wrist spin is so important in every other country’s ODI team, why is our best exponent in Fawad Ahmed still not sighted in green and gold? 

Stuart Clark was pretty right on Fox News two weeks ago when he said quite simply “These players are who we have. There is no one else up to playing at this level”. Which means the selectors have to squeeze the best out of the players they have if they are to mount a challenge to retain the World Cup trophy. There is little time for experimentation. Australia’s domestic one day tournament has come and gone. Australia has so few ODI matches before the start of the World Cup that it Is imperative that anyone they consider an essential ingredient in their squad must play every game to assess their form and judge if they are the right fit. It means that the selectors, coach and captain have to have a game plan for how they are going to approach the tournament, and that each member of the squad knows exactly what their role in that is. 

In essence… it will take a miracle…

Bailey Leads PM XI to Victory over SA

The last time George Bailey captained an Australian Team, he not only played an innings that halted a middle order collapse to score a half century, he also lead the team to a victory over England at the MCG. It was Australia’s first match of the 2015 World Cup, and it also proved to be his last of the tournament as he was well and truly shafted by the selectors. Yesterday in Canberra Bailey led his young charges in the PM XI to victory in the same calm manner against a full strength South African team, that lopsided smile as prevalent as ever as he captained and batted like someone who should still be doing the job at the highest level. 

People laugh snidely whenever Bailey’s name is mentioned in such ways. It still amazes me. Bailey has always captained in a positive fashion without getting into hysterics. He still has that smile on his face despite almost every situation that he faces. He mightn’t be the most brilliant batsmen in the country but he does a job, he fights for his wicket, and he does it all in the right manner. He also has the respect of his team and the opposition, and he is successful as a captain. 

When Bailey was chosen for the Test team for the Ashes series in 2013/14, there were some eyebrows raised as his form had been in ODI cricket rather than first class cricket. When he was dropped after that series despite being a part of a 5-0 drubbing of England, fewer eyebrows were raised. Bailey himself said his form wasn’t good enough to be retained. Given the revolving door of selections of some and the overprotection with form worse than his was in the years since, one wonders if his release from the Test team – in the same way he was cast aside from the World Cup team when acting captain – was not only premature but extremely short sighted. 

Yesterday his young bowling attack did a number of the South Africans, but it was Bailey pulling the strings, calmly changing the attack around, utilising his spinners well through the middle of the order, placing his fields in an attacking fashion. When it came time to bat he came to the crease with three cheap wickets and held the innings together, remaining unbeaten while encouraging his young charges in Philippe and Sangha as they both made runs. He was the perfect leader for this team, and the victory is a credit to his leadership. 

On the other side of the coin, South Africa will be disappointed not to have had their batsmen get more time in the middle before the short ODI series that awaits them. Along with Australia they have some decisions to make in regards to their team for the upcoming World Cup, and they will want everyone to be at their best. The bowling attack of Steyn, Rabada and Ngini looked sharp, and Tahir will be a handful with his leg spinners. But they will need runs to defend, and de Kock, du Plessis and Behardian will need more than they produced yesterday to be a threat. 

The intensity will much more in evidence come Sunday when the first ODI is played in Perth, but for all of the firepower in the chosen Australian batting lineup, one wonders if a level-headed George Bailey is the element that may be missed the most come the end of this short series.