It was my pleasure to captain the BCC D1 team for this 2023/24 season. On reflection, we had a balanced squad in terms of experience and youth with plenty of talent. However, due to the greater majority of squad members playing together for the first time it took a while for all of us to gel together as a team.
We started off with what we thought was a tense 1 run win against Kissing Point in round 1 after bad light stopped play in our 1 dayer. Our very competitive total was on the back of an impressive 107, debut century, from veteran Chris Ebbs. Regular wicket curtailed the run chase and after the run/rate equation had been calculated most of the BCC team left the ground thinking we had secured a tight win. However, a recount in total darkness, between those still at the ground, saw the result finally agreed as a tie. Then after some furious text messages being swapped between the team reps and a quick check with the Association’s Senior Competition Coordinator, we somehow ended with a 1 run loss (I still don’t understand where that extra bye in the sundries column came from).
This disappointing result was similar story for our first few rounds as we had some impressive individual contributions, but just could not manage the team victory.
Competitive losses to Thornleigh and WPHC Blue, was followed by a frustrating draw against Beecroft after we just could not get their last wicket (their elderly opener carried his bat through 89 overs for just 37 runs). We then had to endure more close losses to ARL and Hornsby before we cracked a win.
This fist up victory was against a cocky WPHC Red and we smashed them by nine wickets at Warrina. This win coincided with the arrival of Luke Ebbs to our team who filled the obvious gap in our bowling attack, that was a genuine quick opening bowler.
We celebrated our victory with a beer and happy team photo on the veranda of the clubhouse, as we went into the Christmas break optimistic our season was starting to come together.
We returned to the field only to be spanked by Glenorie by 8 wickets away (that one hurt) followed by a close loss to Beecroft.
Our second win came in a very competitive match against ARL. We rolled them for 112 with L. Ebbs returning the unbelievable figures of 3 wickets for just 1 run off 5.1 overs. This included a screamer catch at first slip from his dad. Ebbs Junior followed up his efforts with the ball to win us the game with the bat. Coming in down the order with just a few overs left, but plenty of runs to make, Luke calmly cracked two massive sixes, in the same spot, on successive balls to secure us victory over a disbelieving opposition.
The following round we faced a strong WPHC Blue (the eventual Premiers) with a decimated squad as almost all our senior players were unavailable through injuries, engagement parties and holidays. We were patched up with a group of enthusiastic and capable U/17s juniors. We made a very good account of ourselves against a superior opposition, who only took four of our wickets and we made work until the very end.
The penultimate round was back at Warrina and we took a hard fought first inning victory over Kissing Point, only to lose outright after a horrible second innings collapse. Nevertheless, it counted as our third win for the summer and was delivered through a terrific all-round performance from U/17 fill-in Archie Robinson.
The final round against Thornleigh at Foxglove provided some highlights with the most memorable being the Goris brothers, Ollie and Eddie, putting on an impressive 56 run partnership to get us a competitive total. Thornleigh ran us down, which they had to do to qualify for the semis, but not before we made them work for it in damp conditions.
By far our best batsman for the year was Josh Foley who was consistently our main run scorer in all games except those we actually won. He hit 344 runs with a top score of 89 not out. In addition, Josh bowled some tidy spells with the ball and was a “wall” in the covers when supporting the other bowlers. For me, he was clearly our outstanding overall performer.
We struggled to consistently support Josh with the bat. However, myself, Marty O’Brien, Fitzy and C. Ebbs all had our moments with the bat throughout the season.
With the ball we had several consistent stars. Luke Ebbs was a welcome addition when he joined the squad and absolutely frightened some opposing batsmen. His arrival lifted us to a competitive team and he played a key role in all three of our victories.
James Booth had many batsmen bamboozled with his “boothballs”, bowling tight at key moments and picking up key wickets in tight moments.
Ollie Goris was consistently good all year and pulled out an impressive unplayable yorker on several occasions.
Nas Malabari got some good batsmen out with some terrible deliveries and bowled some superb deliveries that were simply unplayable for batsmen in our grade. In addition, his fielding was top class.
Steve Fitzpatrick was a partnership breaker and took some spectacular caught and bowled chances. Along with Ebbsy, his leadership support was very valuable.
Eddie Goris was very tight with his bowling that, many opposition batsmen agreed, was associated with a much more experienced bowler than the 14-year-old. We could have benefitted with a few more games from Eddie, but his talents had to be shared with other grades and his junior team.
For me, the pick of our bowlers was Manish Kulkarni who was always outstanding. New to the club, he possessed “white line fever” making him the ultimate competitor that a captain loves. But off the field Manish is the nicest bloke. It was also handy having him to translate the oppositions’ occasional sledges that came my way in Hindi. I certainly hope Manish returns next summer as he is an outstanding bowler and fierce contributor that is so valuable in any team. He took 15 wickets at 19.2 with an impressive economy rate of 2.67 per over. Every ball he bowled was with thoughtful skill and passion!
An honourable mention to Steve Johnston who chipped in with both bat and ball. He found his groove with the ball in our win over ARL, returning 3 for 20 and hitting valuable runs in a pressure period. Steve was the only one of us “older” guys to stretch up pre-match. He performed impressive calisthenics the rest of us would have no hope of even attempting. However, I also note he was also the only player to pull a hamstring which prevented him playing the last three rounds.
The bowlers were well supported by Kumar Ponnanpalam who was coaxed out of retirement to be our wicketkeeper. His skills seemed to improve considerably when he blew a sole on his heritage listed Dunlops and had to visit Rebel for a brand-new pair of shoes.
It was an absolute pleasure to play the players mentioned above. Personally, after 10 years away from the game, I achieved a few unlikely goals of not dropping a catch, not running myself or a team mate out (despite the many many opportunities provided) and scoring a few runs, including my highest ever score of 98. That hot day at Tom Richmond Oval took me a few weeks to fully recover from but, putting on 85 with Fitzy (who hit 46) and 152 with Luke Foley (89*) against St Ives, in our team total of 288, was highly enjoyable and made the considerable post-innings pain well worth it. It was a tragedy for us all that day 2 was completely washed out.
Overall, it was not a very successful season on the field in terms of results, but we were always competitive. We all individually had our bright moments and it was a highly enjoyable summer.
A special mention and thanks to Chris Ebbs who did all the work behind the scenes that usually falls to the skipper. Being under pressure with other commitments and time constraints, as I was, Chris’ work took the pressure of myself and meant the team was always ready and organized with everything required. I sincerely thank Chris for his generous support.
A big thanks to our Senior Grade Coordinator, Geoff Silver, who had the difficult job of always making sure we had a competitive team and even filled in himself with us for a few games.
Finally, a huge thank you to senior club coordinator Geoff Silver and the endless supply of U/17s cricketers that were rotated up to fill our ever-present gaps. All these young men were all-rounders and provided positive contributors to our cause. They enthusiastically did everything asked of them and were a genuine pleasure to play with. I hope they enjoyed their experience with us and that they stick with the club by moving through to full-time senior cricket. If they do, I am very confident that they will continue develop into talented cricketers and fine young men.
I am hoping to have another hit next year but it all depends on my other commitments. After a year of getting to know year other’s game, I am certain we can give the competition a real shake if we all decide to return for another crack in 2024/25.
Nathan Tilbury
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