Third Grade End Of Season 05/06 Report

The season began well with an impressive victory over Mudgeeraba Nerang Blue. Batting first we reached a total of 247 with Andrew Stinson scoring 48, Andrew Nairn 43 and Hadyn Kitchener 33. Mudgeeraba’s batting was then systematically taken apart for 76 by what was to become our pace spearhead of Andrew Stinson 5/25, Craig Werb 2/4, and Cameron Davey 2/35. Unfortunately, we were unable to clinch the outright victory and ended with a respectable first innings points.

 In round two we managed to achieve the outright win that eluded us in the first round. Once again we batted first, and after putting 314 on the board, bowled Helensvale out for 76 and 69. The stars with the bat this week were Hadyn Kitchener 89 and Corey Blakemore 80, who came together with the score at 4 for 33, and compiled a partnership of 159 for the 5^th wicket. The wickets were again shared mainly between Craig Werb 3/14 and 1/38 and Cameron Davey 3/32 and 2/6, with Shane Harris contributing with 3/10 in the second innings. 

 Our next victory came at the expense of Queens. After compiling another formidable total of 231, we bowled the opposition out for 172. Elevated to first drop, Craig Werb converted his early good form, by scoring 62 from 59 deliveries, supported by 3^rd grade debutant Anthony Touzell with 53, this was followed by some lusty hitting down the order from Matt O’Donnell 36. Unlike the previous matches, it was a spinner in Tony Williams who took the honours with a spell of 4/34, supported once again by Craig Werb with another 2/37.

 Round four signalled our first loss.  After being bowled out for 106, with only Jeff Hill making any impression with a score of  27, Mudgeeraba Nerang Red reached a total of 221, despite being 5 for 60 early on. On his return from a stint in 2^nd grade, Andrew Stinson once again dominated with 4/59, supported by Craig Werb with figures of 3/57, and Andrew Nairn 2/33. The loss was compounded when we found ourselves bowled out in the second innings for 71, falling short of their 1^st innings total, and losing outright.

 We then regrouped to again taste victory with a hard fought win over Redlands. Needing 146 for victory, we were reeling at 5 for 42 before Craig Werb 85 and Andrew Stinson 58, put together a 6^th wicket partnership of 146, helping us to reach a total of 232. Earlier the star with the ball was Cameron Davey with 4/28, along with Andrew Stinson 3/46, helping to restrict Redlands to 146.

 Next we took on pacesetters Palm Beach, and taking the field two players short, were punished for 319 runs. Once again Tony Williams performed with the ball taking 4/48, with Craig Werb 2/70, being the only other multiple wicket taker. With ten men, we were bowled out for 186 and forced to follow on, finishing the game at 1 for 64. Jeff Hill, playing against his old club, scored a magnificent 69, with Andrew Stinson 37, and Craig Werb 32 also scoring well. In the second innings both Andrew Nairn and Hadyn Kitchener were undefeated on 20 and 22 respectively.

 After the Christmas break we once again found ourselves in winning form, downing Helensvale once again, this time in a one day match. Bowling first we restricted Helensvale to 82, before passing their score easily for the loss of only one wicket.  All five bowlers took wickets, Andrew Stinson 2/18, Craig Werb 2/13 and Cameron Davey 2/17, were joined by Wicketkeeper Corey Blakemore in his first bowl of the year, taking an impressive 3/3. The target of 82 was reached in the 16^th over with Jeff Hill 54no and Ben Kennan 24no finishing off the hapless Helensvale.

 Unfortunately the victory against Helensvale was to be the last until the final round some weeks later. The first defeat was at the hands of Mudgeeraba Nerang Blue, a team we had almost beaten outright in the first round.  Batting first in the one day match, we struggled and ended with the paltry total of 129.  The only scorers of note were Sam Watton 25 and Jeff Hill 16.  With such a small total to defend we struggled greatly, finally succumbing in the 32^nd over and only taking 6 wickets.  On his third grade debut, Dale White was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/25 off 8 overs.

The following week we took on another of the top four sides in Runaway Bay.  As with the Palm Beach game, we once again had a player fail to show up and two arrive late, putting us on the back foot right from the start of the game. Bowling first we missed a couple of early chances, and with no official umpire, were the recipients of some very dubious decisions. With both opening batsmen being dropped twice, and dismissed several times without being given out, runaway bay amassed a total of 6 Dec 325. The only bowler of note was Andrew Stinson, who toiled for 18 backbreaking overs, finishing with figures of  2/62.  Faced with such a formidable total we once again capitulated, reaching a total of only103, but avoiding an outright loss after being asked to follow on, finishing at 9 for 134. The only batsmen of note in the first innings were Tony Williams 28 and Hayden Kitchener 26, whilst in the second innings Jeff Hill 35, Sam Watton 36, and Andrew Stinson 47no, were the main contributors.