Western Suburbs Junior Club Inc.

Season 2014 / 2015

Presentation Booklet

2014/2015 Presidents Report

I would like to thank and congratulate all involved in making the year such a success.

Committee members, Coaches, Players and all parents who contributed in one way or another.

As a club we outlined some goals and objectives last year and given our results and the amount of enjoyment that all involved had it is safe to say we achieved a large amount of what we set out to do.

2014/2015 Main Objectives

* Continue to build support and development for coaches to ensure quality training is available for all players.

*Finalise all building project with the completion of the cricket nets and attempt to reintroduce the Kentish oval No2 .

*Work with and involve the senior club with our training to provide a mutually beneficial program for all junior players and create an environment that would see our players involved in West’s grade cricket for years to come.

Our Objectives for the 2015/2016 season is to continue on the above mentioned path and to set a new five year plan that will see our club continue to grow and improve going forward. One main contributing factor that will enable us to do this is by increasing our committee member base. Please let us know if you would be interested helping out for an hour or so per week during the season

Best Regards

Rob Jones

President

2014/2015 Secretary’s Report

Another very successful season for WSJCC.

Our numbers remained consistent with 156 registered players making up 13 teams - 10 competition teams and 3 modified teams.

We again had very good success on the pitch with 8 teams making the Semi-Finals with the U/12 Greens Minor Premiers. Five of these teams went onto the Grand Final with the U/13 Reds and U/15 Greens taking out the Major Premiership. We also had 17 players achieve representative honours this year, up from 12 last season. Well done to all!!!

Our Milo Cricket programme continues to be very popular for the youngsters and is a great way to introduce kids to the game. We had 45 registered players (ages 5 to 9). Thanks to the volunteer coaches & helpers, especially Ian Harborne for co-ordinating the program.

We also had participants in the new T20 Blast mid-week format. This is a new initiative from Cricket Australia building on the success of the T20 Big Bash and providing a fun and interactive experience for those in between Milo Cricket and Saturday competition or looking for a shorter cricketing experience. Look out for this growing in the coming years.

As always, much of our success would not have been possible without our small, but hard working committee, coaches and managers. Many thanks to all those who helped out in any way this year. Whilst the current team has been doing a great job, we are always looking for more help. Many roles only require only a small commitment of time, an hour or two a week, much of which can be done from home. The roles range from administrative, to hands on coaching roles. Our AGM will be held in July. This is a good chance for parents to come along and get involved. No matter what your skills are we will have a role for you. I would be more than happy to discuss with you areas where you may be able to assist however great or small.

Rob Redpath Secretary

2014/2015 Treasurer’s Report

Wests Junior Cricket Club continues on their strong financial position from last season. Special mention goes to our previous Treasurer, Greg Rose, for ensuring this position whilst also enabling equipment and facility upgrades. Thanks also to Greg for assisting me in the transition period as new Treasurer.

Although responsible management of the club finances have been maintained, registration costs per player were increased this year to offset overall increased costs in running the club (such as official umpiring fees, cricket balls and new cricket gear).

To ensure the Club’s financial position, the Committee undertook a raffle which generated additional revenue for the club of $1,695 (selling a total of 678 out of 1,000 available tickets, receiving half the proceeds). This was a solid effort from the committee and coaches who drove the ticket sales. The club will look at a similar fundraiser next season, with the goal to maximise the sale of all tickets.

We will enter season 2015/2016 in a strong financial position, with the goal of keeping our player registration costs low to attract as many existing and new players to our club as we can. The Committee will also look at opportunities to invest in training, development, and equipment to ensure our young players have every chance to develop their game.

Ian Harborne

Treasurer

Under 9 Red 2014/15

Congratulations to all the children in the Western Reds under 9's team. From our first game of bowling more balls off the pitch and some having never held a bat before, we knew there were going to be some challenges ahead. After a lot of hard work from the boys they soon transformed, and after a lot of practice, they moved from individually playing the game to a passionate cricket team. Forming new friendships, they encouraged each other and enjoyed playing some really good cricket. By the end of the season, seeing the boys taking from their tidy bowling and hitting 4's and 6's was a huge reward for a coach. I would also like to thank our fantastic manager Mel and all of the parents that helped with scoring and training. Well done, you guys make one great team.

Scott Jackson Coach

Under 10 Red 2014/2015

A fantastic season of cricket for the boys in 2014/2015.

We warmly welcomed four new boys to the team and it was great to see them as eager as ever to play Cricket. The new boys fitted straight into the team and wasted no time in getting into the competitive spirit.

Average cricket was played up to the Christmas break with a few very close games, one of which was with our good friends the U10 Wests Green team.

The new year saw the boys step away from average cricket and play under the regular rules. Being put into Div 1 the competition was tough with some very good bowling by our opposition. While I think we had a few nervous boys in the first game, all in all they performed very well. Once again having a couple of very close and exciting games.

It was great to see all of the boys improve so much over the course of the year, especially with their bowling. Look forward to a new season which will be here before we know it.

Ashley Mowbray

Coach

Under 10 Green The U10 Greens came back from their winter break looking like they'd trained for 6 months. They'd all put on at least an inch and the bowling coordination and accuracy was notable. They welcomed Angus, Travis and Hugh who quickly came up to speed and made great contributions throughout the season.

The running between wickets was still a feature of the Greens , which probably took its toll during the average cricket, but was great to watch and helped when 'you're out you're out' scoring started after Christmas: the boys got to experience the pleasure of putting pressure on the fielding team. The Greens experienced their first ever sixes thanks to Bailey Robards late in the season, contrasted with plenty of lessons related to hitting the ball in the air for no benefit. Something that can be improved on next year.

The Greens bowling was a feature of the whole season. The boys well and truly got the hang of smooth line and length rather than over-trying for pace. It was such champagne bowling that the coach kept his promise from last season and allowed 1 or 2 spinners at the end of an accurate over - which usually ended up with more wickets! Herein the wicket-keeping started coming to the fore - stumpings from spinners, it was just getting better and better.

The fielding from the Greens also delightfully improved throughout the season. The basics of backing up fielding throws were complemented by some great catches, some of which would never have been attempted a year ago. There was still some use of the feet for fielding, but coach was put at ease with discussion that it was a warmup/down from off season soccer.

It was a great season overall, with a highlight that the Greens were undefeated after Christmas once 'out you're out' scoring start Well done boys and thanks to the fill-in coaches and parents for your efforts.

Russ Mills Coach

Under 11 Red- Division 2

Congratulations on a great season to- Edward Andrews, Sonny Carpenter, Jackson Frame, Chris Hitchcock, Liam Jackson, Oliver Leacey, Declan Lewis, Cade Mills, Jack Minto, Joseph Nolan and Jack Yates. These are the boys who made up under 11’s Wests Red for 2014-2015. They are all enthusiastic players who showed great commitment to the game of cricket all season.

The boys also had a very successful year of cricket. Our stats reflected accurately the season we had. Our team were the top wicket takers in our competition with a total of 109 wickets. We also had the least number of wickets lost and the least amount of runs scored against us. We did struggle with the bat at times however during the season scored a total of 1240 runs with some memorable innings among those. We finished second in the competition with the minor premiership coming down to the last game between us and Belmont Blue.

I could and would love to have given an award to every player for their improved skills throughout the season. It was wonderful to see each week an improvement on the last with us playing like a polished cricket team towards the end of the season.

Thank you to all of the parents and family members who supported the team and myself. A special thanks to Gillian, our extremely efficient team manager and Warwick who scored each week and entered the boy’s results into ‘My Cricket’. A job well done to all.

Dennis Nolan

Coach

Wests Under 11 Green – 2014-2015

Wests Under 11 Green took to the field for their second year together. The team welcomed some new faces;

 Andrew “The Warrior” Weerasinghe – Batted and bowled superbly all year.  Matthew “Snapper” Banney – Great commitment and enthusiasm, a player who improved tremendously through the year  Daniel “Sneaky” Secomb – Loved being part of the team and developed his contributions both in the field and when bowling. They joined stalwarts;

 Seniru “The Cannon” Basnayake – Bowling just keeps getting better!  “Prince” William Bryant – Bowled really accurately and was making big contributions in the field with placement suggestions and good talk.  “Slippery” Sam Hill – Really improved his bowling and his fielding!  Scott “Hector” Helmers – Scored our first 50, scored runs regularly and bowled with good pace and accuracy. Outstanding season.  Luke “Special K” Kempnich – Batted well and bowling continues to get better!  Declan “Fearless” O’Brien – Continues to bat well, keep well and play with great commitment.  Austin “People’s Policeman” Wicks – Bowled really well and was a rock with the bat.  Ollie “Drac” Wicks – Much improved on last year, and developed his bowling significantly.  Tom “Commando” Williams – Really developed his all-round game, and bowled some fearsome deliveries!  Alex “The Axe” Wood – Keeps getting runs and wickets, and fielded very aggressively!

A big improvement was noticeable in this, our 2nd year. Notable events included our first team victory taking place against Newcastle City, and beating a strong Charlestown side in the last round.

The players all continued to develop their understanding of the complexities of the game, and it was great to see an increase in enthusiasm for fielding and just being out in the field & part of the game. The semis eluded us this year, but it was encouraging to grab a couple of victories and sing the team song!

Again, big thanks to all the parents and family members who assisted during the year, with special mention to;

Scorer of the year: Gina Williams

Manager of the year: Andrew O’Brien.

Team Photographer(s): David and Matthew Banney

Once again, special “thanks” to everyone at the Wests Club for their help and assistance throughout the season.

Graham Hill (Coach)

2014/15 Season Report

Under 12 Red – Division 1

This was the first year we ‘graded’ in this age group and so we were a brand new team. We had a mantra of ensuring every player had equal opportunity during the season. This cost us in some games, however the boys had an enjoyable and rewarding season finishing 3rd and losing our semi-final to eventual winners City.

We scored 1,555 runs, losing 82 wickets and took 110 wickets conceding 1,221 runs.

Our leading run scorer was Jeremy with 241 @ 120.50. Other notable contributions were Daniel with 185 @ 26.43 and Brock with 141 @ 35.25. Jeremy and Brock both posted ‘50’s’ during the season. This pair also recorded our highest partnership of 103 runs.

Our leading wicket taker was Ben Plowman with 13 wickets @ 8.85. All our bowlers took wickets and 7 players took 10 or more for the season. Well done to Dan (12, Ben Standing (11), Tom (11) Jeremy (10), Mevan (10 and Sam (10) all in double figures.

The coach’s award could be handed to every player in the team. Every player improved over the course of the season. Each player made at least one significant contribution with bat or ball during the season. The Coaches award is presented to Dan who finished 2nd in runs scored and wicket taken for the season. I reward for the effort he put into working on his game.

The standard of fielding this year was high and contributed to winning several games. Every player was credited with a dismissal over the course of the season. Notable contributions

were Brock (12 catches and 3 run outs), our keeper with safe hands and constant encouragement behind the stumps. Ben Standing (6 catches and 5 run outs) was always threatening in the field. His direct hits throws were deadly and gave the coaches plenty of heart in throat moments. However, the award goes to Toby Jensen who had the best ‘arm’ in the team. His throws from the boundary were outstanding

Thanks to those parents who assisted with scoring (Marion and Matt), training, warm ups etc. during the season. A special mention to the Montgomery grandparents for excellent morning teas and support of the boys nearly every week. Finally, thankyou to all families for your constant support and encouragement of the boys throughout the season.

Andrew Standing and Rob Redpath

Coaches

Under 12 White – Grand Finalists

What a great year for U12’s White Division 2, finishing Grand Finalists after a solid year of performance. The boys finished 3rd after 15 rounds, and went on to beat 2nd place Toronto Workers in the Semi Final. The Grand Final saw them up against 1st place Wallsend RSL. The boys dug deep in the field, with some tight bowling, giving themselves a strong chance to chase a modest total by Wallsend. The boys faced some tough bowling and unfortunately only fell short of the target by 3 runs, showing fight right to the end.

I’m proud of the boys for showing great team spirit towards each other and their opposition. It was a team effort that saw them make it to the Grand Final, with encouragement and enthusiasm at training and during the game. There was a massive improvement in each player’s game in all areas of batting, bowling and fielding (at total of 55 catches taken during the season).

All boys deserve a special mention; Josh M and Hamish showed us their power hitting with some big boundaries in crucial games, and all-round fielding skills. Jett showed us how to build an innings with some elegant and controlled batting. Jonah, Ben and Paddy displayed their all-round talent with consistent performance with both bat and ball. Braith and Alec were tidy in the field taking catches and assisting in run-outs. Jake and Josh N showed how line and length consistently takes wickets. Special mention to Finn for picking up a hat-trick during the season. Cooper and Jadon played some great cameos with the bat, whilst also chipping in to take wickets.

From a team perspective the boys were very tight in the field with a number of catches and runouts, showing that the practice sessions in the field pay off.

Thanks must also go to the parents who helped throughout the year; Paul for putting his hand up and taking on the Team Manager’s role and scoring; Richard and Steve for providing the additional coaching at training; Matt and Marty for assisting on game day.

Thank you also goes out to all parents of the players who were very supportive throughout the year and always encouraged the boys.

I would like to thank all the boys for playing the game in great spirit as well as encouraging each other regardless of each player’s ability. Keep practising and we look forward to seeing you all play again next year.

Ian Harborne (Coach)

Under 12 Green

Wests U12’s, Division 3, 2014/2015.

What a great privilege it has been to coach these fine young men from Western Suburb Cricket Club. All of who come from the local St Therese Catholic School.

Our team consisted of Max Allen, William Gallagher, Harrison Galvin, Lewis Hawker, Ashley Keen, Oliver Keen, Lauchlan Martin, Jack Morrow, Alec Mowbray, Liam Ptolemy, Lewis Rodd, and Austin Zander.

We were minor premiers making the final against Stockton and deserved to be there after a great session. Unfortunately we were beaten by Stockton in a very close game. Congratulation to Stockton.

While we had a bit to work on at the start of the season. I was so impressed by the way the boys were able to listen to the coaching parents and take on what we were able teach them. Cricket is a sport that does require a lot of practise and effort, but the rewards were obvious

to see in the boys faces not only in the games but at training as well. The greatest joy of the season for me, was to see the delight in their faces after winning a couple of close games. The boys started to realise one of the great things about team sport. It is a team game and once they started supporting each other when things were tight, it was amazing how much better they played.

While we only had limited time to train, we mainly concentrated on bowling and batting, both of which all team member improved on throughout the season. This was evident by the fact that every member of the team contributed with bat or ball at a crucial time during the season. Unfortunately the amount of time spent on fielding practise was limited. However the boys started to realise by themselves, how important fielding is to the team. If you want to enjoy cricket, then it is a good idea to enjoy fielding. The team started to ‘want’ to practise their fielding and when they did train they took it seriously. This was no more evidence than in one young man who was an average fielder at the start of the season. However he worked hard all season and during the last two training sessions he did not drop a catch. Funnily enough he took two very important catches during the final when the pressure was on. There was also some very important run outs during the semi-final as well as some superb catches taken during the games.

The dedication and improvement shown buy all these young men was a pleasure to see. I am sure we have helped develop a good base for them to continue enjoying their cricket.

I would like to thank all the parents who helped throughout the season. Especially Greg Ptolemy who entered the results each week, Simon Zander who scored most weeks, as well as Paul Galvin and Ashley Mowbray who assisted at training.

I look forward to next season as I know the boys do.

Thanks,

David Allen

Coach

Wests Red U13/14 Div 1 Major Premiers

A great season for a great team.

This was our first year as a graded team and the boys performed brilliantly.

The start of the season was steady as they found there feet and we worked out which areas the boys could shine individually. The middle part of season we worked more on finding there hidden talents and how could we use these to strengthen our team.

The final round was were we started to tie all of our strengths together and plan our strategies for our run to the finals.

Having tried to bat first all season to give our boys plenty of time at the crease the plan was to bowl first in the finals and back our bowlers. And they certainly stood up, in both our finals we keep the teams to under 85. Then our top and middle order easily got us home.

With many fine individual performances during the season our strength was the way our boys played for each other and as a team.

I'd like to thank our manager Sallie Scoggin, all our parents, scorers and a special thank you to Dave Carlton our wests seniors coach.

Your proud coach

Scott Lennox

Under 13/3’s End of Season Report

The Wests under 13/3’s cricket team ended the year on a positive note making into the first round of the finals for the division. Their ascendancy in the finals came on the back of a dominant defeat of Newcastle City the week before, the star of the game was Mac Gilligan picking up four wickets and being on a hatrick, other strong performers with the ball included Bryn Bowen, Nathan Parry and Tom Lane. The earlier batting performance with a total of 101 laid the foundation for the boys to perform in the field. Strong contributors with the bat on the day where Nick Robinson, Ben Phillips and Jordan Surjan.

It took the boys a number of games to record their first win in the early stages of the competition, while they were always competitive and keep trying the first win was proving to be elusive but once in came it was a tremendous confidence booster and the team was able to harness this confidence to put a few more together.

The top two teams of the competition, who where the ultimate grand finalists were tough nuts to crack for the boys even though they drove Kotara, eventual premiers, to the 3rd last ball of the innings to get the runs to beat them in a strong contested game played on Kotara’s home ground.

As the season progressed certain boys started to display strong attributes around key positions in the team, Nick Robinson opening bat, Lachie Russel bowler, Bryn Bowen opening pace bowler, Thomas Lane the finisher and on field leader, Mac Gilligan first change bowling specialist and David Elliot first choice wicket keeper. Others in the team Jordan Surjan, Ben Phillips and Angus Wood developed into all rounders.

Fielding was probably the team’s biggest challenge throughout the year, the challenge being to maintain intensity, hold catches and prevent the easy single. Two players whose fielding improved dramatically throughout the year where Sharvil Kesarwani and Joven Bunt.

The teams most memorable win for the year came in round 8 against Charlestown. Charlestown amassed 7/176 on a very fast outfield after their allocated 30 overs. At the innings break the Dads picked up a sense of despair from the boys at the uphill battle that confronted them. After some words of encouragement the boys put in their best batting performance of the year passing the Charlestown total with 2 overs to spare ending with an innings of 4/180.The batting performance of the day went Nick Robinson with 60 supported by Ben Phillips with 27, Jordan Surjan 17 and Tom Lane with some amazing big hitting at the death on 19 not out. The Charlestown team were in shock at being defeated after putting together such a big total. It was an amazing effort and celebrated all round by the team and their supporters.

All in all it was a good year for the boys punctuated by an even spread of wins and near misses. To make the first week of the semi final and to push Toronto to their limits was a great achievement. Each and every player should be proud of their individual achievements, their commitment, the spirit in which they played the game and the camaraderie they develop together as a playing group.I wish each player good luck and success as they pursue their love of cricket into the future.

Thanks to all the parents and Todd Robinson and Antony Surjan for the help throughout the year.

Brett Phillips (Coach)

Under 15 Red – Div 1

Our season was a tough one for the boys with No under 15’s Div 1, they had to play up an age and in some cases 2 years in the 15 / 16’s Div 1. The boys had there up’s and downs, but still turned up every week and gave it there best shot, They were not that far away at times and with a little bit of luck would have won more games.

We welcomed a few new boys into the club / team this year and all fitted in extremely well and enjoyed their season.

Once again it was pleasing to see the boys improve and learn more about the game of cricket and understand how complicated, frustrating but very rewarding and enjoyable the game can be. There commitment and willingness to listen and learn make’s our role as coach a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. Well done boys.

A great big thanks to all our wonderful parents and grand parents who come along to watch the boys, and help out with scoring and cheering.

Team: Charlie Evans, Jed Crump, Nick Bright, Dan Watling, Dan Standing, Nick Standing, Sam Sanderson, Cameron Boyd, Nic Jones, Oliver Hitchcock, Sebastian Lacey, Clayton Beck, Jared Beck. Coach: Layton Hitchcock Brian Sanderson

Quotes

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the team won't be worth a cent.

A cricketer's life is a life of splendid freedom, healthy effort, endless variety, and delightful good fellowship. W.G. Grace

Cricket was my reason for living. Harald Larwood

Reading poetry and watching cricket were the sum of my world, and the two are not so far apart as many aesthetes might believe. Donald Bradman ( Often referred to as 'The Don'. )

Collectively and individually fielding is largely a matter of thoughts and discipline. I. A. R. Peebles

I do not believe so implicitly, as some cricketers and writers upon cricket do, in watching the bowler's hand.I prefer to watch the ball, and not anticipate events. W.G. Grace

Under 15 Green

The year started off very slow with missed opportunities.

We had only two wins before the Christmas break and morale was at an all time low.

The New Year brought a new energy and we had 3 wins out 5 games and made it to the semis by one point.

We had nothing to lose. Our opponents in the semi final were Wallsend and we surprised ourselves and had a convincing win.

Newcastle City were our opponents in the final and were the favourite’s.

Everything fell into place for the boys the day of the final and we had a great win.

We saved our best for last two games of the season with a fantastic team performance.

I am very proud of the entire team. There were some tough times throughout the year but we never gave up.

There has been quite a few great batting, bowling and fielding performances by all the players throughout the season.

Congratulations.

Thank you to all the parents for their assistance throughout the year.

Michael Achurch

Coach

Under 16 Red

Season 2014-2015 was a great season for the boys making the Grand final again, only to go down in a thriller on the last ball.

Most of last year’s team came back for another season with new comers Jack O’Connor, Nick Jovevski and Sam Windus adding some new energy to the team.

All the boys contributed with the bat and the ball or in the field in some way this year and should be proud of their achievements and encouragement of other players regardless of their ability.

On numerous occasions from umpires and other coaches I was told “What a good bunch of kids” I am very proud to have coached such a great bunch of young men throughout the season, they all represented the Club and themselves on all levels, As most of the boys will be moving onto Senior cricket or Part time jobs next year I hope that they look back fondly on their junior cricket days.

Thanks again to Mark Nolan for helping out every week scoring and umpiring it was much appreciated.

Tristan Cheshire Nicolas Gentizon Charlton Lee Thomas Nolan

Jack O’Connor Joshua Taylor William Thompson Patrick Van Der Zwan

Sam Windus Damon White Nick Jovevski Will Dundas

Coach - Jason Taylor