Team performances
11 Teams, 6 semi finalists, 3 Finalists - our own Survivor!

Congratulations to B2 Blue, C1 and D1. As for A2, B1 and C2 - read on - 3 teams losing by a combined margin of 16 runs!

A2 – lost a thriller. After dismissing Galston-Glenorie for 120 we got to 9/116 overnight. Finishing at 131 they knocked up a quick 170 leaving us 45 overs to bat to win the game. After being 4/6 and then 9 for after 19 overs it looked bleak. A last wicket partnership between Stewart Newman and Bryan Wilden all but got us there - see the comments below for more detail. Well done to Dave Collits who took 9 wickets for the match!

B1 – what a way to go down! After winning on the first innings (starting to sound like A2 already!), we rolled Berowra for 40 runs behind us. We then crashed to be out for 87 with unfortunate umpiring contributing to a number of bad decisions. After having Berowra 6/39 chasing 136 to win we should have wrapped it up but 5 dropped catches from a side who rarely drops them was the decider. Berowra got the runs with 3 balls to go!

B2 – a big win. Chasing 113 on a very slow Galston Oval we struggled past them with 8 wickets down. Michael McGregor bowled with sustained pace and hostility to get 6 wickets. Apart from Michael everyone contributed to some extent – a real team effort as has been the case all year. That man Hadley just keeps doing it. At a crucial time in the game he scored 20 – worth 80+ on a normal ground.

C1 – will update when scores come to hand but looking good.

C2 – bad luck fellas. After scoring 437 the week before they were out for 165 chasing 190 – painful. Well done to Shannon Hinkley who scored a fabulous 55 under pressure with wickets falling.

D1 – a good win – chasing 75 and being 7/57 overnight, Scott Jobson and Aaron Rezek put on 60 to set up good win – under great pressure. Well done folks. How about Skipper, Roger Friend with 3/1 of superb spin bowling – at least that’s what the scorebook says!

The Finals are played next Saturday and Sunday so try make an effort to come along. Watch this spot for all the details.

Club Championship
We have won the Club Championship for the first time since 1997/98. A fantastic effort that shows the depth in the Club across all Grades. The final standings are:

The top 4 standings are:
• WPHC 1,962
• Kissing Point 1,701
• Normanhurst 1,507.

Personal achievements
Well done to Chris Rae who took 3/22 of 12 overs in the C2 Semi. This was Chris’ 150th wicket for the Club– putting him in the top 50 bowlers of all time. Well done Chris!

Not losers – winners
Spare a thought for A2’s. After beating the minor premiers on the first innings they lost outright. At one stage we were 4/6 with 45 overs to bat. After 19 overs we were 9 wickets down. Enter Stewart Newman (17 years old) and Bryan Wilden (much more than 17 years old). They batted for 26 overs before Stewart was unfortunately out with 3 overs to go! Stewart top scored with 31 in the first innings and got 12 in the second innings. In my book the end was a shame but the journey was character making – well done Stew and Bryan!

Nine wicket record
It is not often someone gets 9 wickets in a Semi but this weekend we set a new Club record - 2 of them. Well done to Dave Collits (A2) who took 9/59 in 2 innings and Matt Spalding in C1 with 9/68 - well done fellas!

Umpires for the Finals
If anyone is interested in umpiring the Finals then just drop Geoff Hasler a note on gjh1946@hotmail.com

Presentation Night
Just a reminder that details are:
• Date: Saturday 8th May
• Venue: WPH Sports Club
• Cost: $35 per head, unchanged for 3 years.

A fine season
Entrepreneurship is alive and well in the West Penno Blues Club. A2 and C2 Blue introduced fines for individual fines for players for things like dropped catches, saying a batsman was going well and then getting out and so on to fund their end of season trips.

C2 ended up raising $3,000 and A2 $1,500! Some holiday

No nuts, no glory, no sense!
What about Chris Sharkey – star No 11 bat in B2 Blue who came in to bat in a tight situation. After about 5 overs Chris realised he wasn’t wearing a box against the new ball. Chris being the shy retiring type didn’t go off the field to get one because he was too embarrassed. Good one Chris.

Speed scoring
Galston – the scene of the B2 semi final was played at Galston Oval – too big, too slow, and just plain sub-standard. It took 174 overs for the first boundary to be scored by either side! The man – Booney ended up scoring it – it went over the boundary fence on the full - it had to!

Posted by Ross Anderson on March 14, 2004 06:23 PM