Round 1 vs Campbelltown at Raby

Campbelltown 206 Def NDCC 9/198

 

Anyway, not sure whether we won or lost the toss (I think we won it),

however, we bowled first to kick off the 2004/05 campaign at the scenic

Raby Sports Complex.

 

We dismissed the Ghosts' for 206 (48 overs) which was a very good

effort in a limited-overs fixture. The bowlers did their job quite well

- DT was the pick with 3-11 (6 overs) and he received good support from

Bert Eddy (2-63), Rodney Gaykin (2-31), Evil (1-40) and Peebs (0-23 off

10) who bowled very well without reward. As a whole, the side fielded at

a pretty high standard considering it was the opening match of the

season on a fairly rough outfield - Benny Davis in particular was in

fine form creating a couple of run outs and nearly pulling off what

would have been the greatest catch in the history of the game.

 

Chasing 206 wasn't going to be the easiest of targets to chase and to

their credit, the oppsosition did bowl a fairly disciplined line and

length and conceded very few boundaries, however, to finish our innings

at 9/198 from our allotted 50 overs was extremely disappointing to say

the least.

 

A good side with premiership ambitions should be able to knock over

such totals with overs and wickets to spare and our inability to do so

is not a good sign early in the season. I think it's fair to say our

innings lacked intent and our inability to form any sort of significant

partnerships meant that our innings never had any momentum as we left

our chase too late. DT (54 not out) - coming in at number seven due to a

hip flexor injury that restricted his movement - was the pick of the

batsmen after his earlier efforts with the ball. Hammer made 46 opening

the batting and no-one else made over 20.

 

Let's put this game behind us, learn from the mistakes and get back on

track this weekend with some tough cricket and a good result against the

Tigers.

 

Round 2 vs Balmain at Drummoyne

NDCC 3/119 def Balmain 118

 

After our loss the previous week and heavy rain in the week leading up to this game, all signs pointed to a massive game for ND’s vs the tigers. Unfortunately for the large crowd ND’s dominated the match from very early on, taking advantage of a seaming deck and claiming wickets regularly throughout the innings. The quicks bowled brilliantly, with DT the pick taking something like 4/20 and Eve taking 3. Some sharp work in the field saw us claim a run out and take some good snares.

The chase was not going to be easy with Nathan Bracken taking the new ball on a deck still doing plenty, but Hammer and Witty stuck it well and got us off to the solid start we needed. Hammer was dismissed with the score on about 90 odd for about 30. Witty batted the house down, even after a grade 1 (that’s the best) tear in his hamstring forced him to use a runner. He was dismissed with only a few runs left to win for an outstanding 70 odd. Overall a very pleasing day after the disappointment of round 1.