SHORT COVER MWDCC NEWS 2nd EDITION – MARCH 2013/2014

Welcome to the 2nd edition of Short Cover for the 2013/14 season.

It’s been an interesting post Christmas section of the season, with some great performances mixed in with some sub-standard ones…... our season continues to be very up and down. Our consistency hasn’t quite been there this season and it is defintley something that our coaching staff are working on, not just for this season but for the next few season.

However, 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade are all in the top 6. We have some really, really www.manlycricket.com/gold-membership/manly-mates-rates good premiership chances this season, especially with our 4th and 5th grade sides. Both have a very good blend of youth and experience which has been a feature of our lower grades this year. They are expertly led by Warren Evans in 4th grade and Dave Farell in 5th grade, both who are hopefuly of finishing the season offf with a bang, as are all our teams

Unfortunatley our 2nd grade side, PG’s side and Green Shield sides have really struggled. Our 2nd grade side has won only one game since the beginning of November, and our PG’s side won only 2 of 6 matches, as did our Green Shield side. Defintley some room for improvement there and something for our coaching crew and playing group to work on. As a result we are sitting 9th in the CC race.

It’s an interesting time of season. The captains and selectors are busy trying to determine their best sides, and players need to qualify for their respective grades. Due to so many changes through injury and absences throughout the season, it’s never an easy thing to do for our selection committee. However it does give players an opportunity to stay in the same grade for an extended period of time and for teams to sure up their connections.

So good luck to all our teams in the posts season. Premierships is the name of the game from here on in. Lets hope we can bring back a few flags.

Adam Crosthwaite has been solid as usual with the bat in 1st grade

SHORT COVER MWDCC NEWS 2nd EDITION – MARCH 2013/2014

Hamman Hammers Opposition Coming back to the Waratahs after a 6 year absence, Rowan Hamman is having one of those seasons we all dream about.

One of the strategies the club had during the off-season was to bring back a core of www.manlycricket.com/gold-membership/manly-mates-rates experienced players to help out our young players. This has always been a goal of ours as young players don’t learn from each other, they learn from the experienced Gold Member players in their side with years of Profile behind them. This has worked a treat in 4th Matthew grade with Rowan and his best mate Josh Suttling Peterson returning to the club to lead them to the semi-finals. Josh has had a huge

impact on the side, however it’s Rowan who Career Stats: has really been the star. 79 Innings, 705 runs, 14.1 Avg – 169 Rowan hits out against Sydney , Avg 22.70

Part of our strategy was to give our older Junior Club? players in the lower grades the chance to play grade cricket without needing to be Terry Hills available every round. Rowan has had weddings and work trips throughout a lot of Grades played? Debuted in 3rds found a way up to 1s the season, resulting in only being able to play 6 games out of 13 so far this and finished up in 4s with Russell Pearce season. It’s a great way to get certain players to continue at the club who just First at Manly? can’t commit to playing grade full-time. At the time of writing, Rowan has scored Ken Pitcher was 3rd grade captain in my first game where Gainsford, Tucker and 491 runs for the season at an average of 81.83. His scores have been 116, 108, led the bowling attack.

54, 27, 104 and 82. For his part, Rowan absolutely loves being back involved. Who was your best Manly captain? Greg Hill, a wonderful man who gave “It’s been nothing short of amazing coming back” said Rowan. “I was in Hong you the confidence to believe you Kong for 3 years so kept in touch with our great club, but after coming back to belonged and together with Anthony Dignan led a strong second grade team. Sydney just over two years ago, JP and I talked a lot about needing something in If you could be anyone at Manly for our lives away from work and the endless walking around shopping centres with a day, who would it be? our wives. Out of that came the brainchild to come back and play again with some Rowley Alexander great bloke with a of the older guys in lower grades.” cover drive Chappell would be proud of and God Father to my daughter Izabella.

Who was the loosest person that you played with at Manly? A number of guys spring to mind Barnaby Wilson, Cameron Lawes even Andrew Fraser had their moments but there was only one Glen Evans!

Thoughts on sledging? For or against? Talented players in all sports will always seek an advantage - I have no problems with sledging but there’s a line where players and officials need to tread warily.

What was your greatest team Ryan Bonnor is proudly sponsored by Brays IGA for 2013/14. Located at moment on the field at Manly? Allambie Heights, they provide top quality produce at great prices. Visit them Definitely it was winning the Club at 15 Grigor Place and make sure you take advantage of the 10% discount Championship while Club Captain and leading the club onto the ground for the on presentation of your club card – Click here Ryan’s Player Profile. traditional nude lap of honour.

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SHORT COVER MWDCC NEWS 2nd EDITION – MARCH 2013/2014

While he has had a great season so far, Rowan actually feels like he can improve.

“I think I have hit the ball better in the past. Every innings is different and because of my lack of practice each week it feels like I have to concentrate really hard to start every innings fresh, watching the ball onto the bat and making sure I don’t get carried away with any rash shots. It sounds so cliché but if you work out the conditions (as they’re never the same), build an innings and play accordingly you’re giving yourself the best opportunity to succeed.” www.manlycricket.com/gold-membership/manly-mates-rates We haven’t been able to go back across our entire history yet, but we can confirm that back until 1978 only 3 people who have played more than 5 innings in the Gold Member Profile (Cont’d) year have averaged higher than Rowan across the season. Michael Bevan (now coach of Easts for those that didn’t know) averaged 103.3 from 5 innings in the Matthew Suttling

1995/96 season. A little surprisingly, Jason Pollock average 84.8 in the same year What is the funniest thing you saw after 12 innings with 7 not outs and Andrew Lindsay was the 3rd with an average on the field during your time at of 106.75 from 8 innings. Both were good bats (Lindsay continues to be) but were Manly? I always saw the funny side of players more all-rounders. attempting to a catch a skyed ball only to see it crash into their melon – unless It’s been a pleasure to have Rowan back at the club. His experience is there for all of course if I was bowling. Off the field I to see through his numbers, but it’s his experience that really helps out our stars still have nightmares of Shawn Bradstreet ‘wondering’ why we were late of the future like the Hole’s, McCallum-Toomey’s, Cole’s and Wilson’s. and whether I would pay his fines…

We will leave Rowan with the final words. Who was the best cricketer you played with at Manly? “Go the Tahs, be strong, back your ability and play courageously in the finals”. Michael Bevan, watching Bev score 200 against Balmain in partnership with Richard Fry who scored a hundred it was incredible.

What was your greatest individual moment on the field at Manly? My greatest individual moment on the field was taking a 5 for in First grade against Sutherland, Geoff Rogers has re- written the score card for me which was superb. I have great pride and honour in twice being asked to undertake the position of Club Captain.

You came through a very non- traditional route to grade cricket, via park cricket. How did you come about ending up at Manly? Adam Crosthwaite is sponsored by Device Technology for 2013/14. They As a young cricketer not involved in the have been a distributor of quality medical equipment and consumables since rep scene we didn’t know much about 1992. Click here for Adam’s player profile. Grade cricket although we could hear the wickets at Grahams from Kierle Park and wondered… I came to Manly when Bob Brenner recognised my surname and Green Shield raises questions approached my father about my joining Manly after I topped the Manly The evolution in the personal and working life of an average Australian has been Warringah district tally. well documented over recent years, with society getting busier and busier and What are you doing now? Personally and professionally? having less time for social and extra-curricular activities. Cricket has been Personally we live in Newport, with my impacted substantially by this changing landscape, especially as a sport that lends wonderful wife Lucia and daughters Sofia itself to high amounts of time away from work and family. and Izabella. Professionally in 2004 I decided to commence a Chartered Green Shield is the Sydney Grade competition for U/16’s, and is commonly seen as Accountancy business which is ongoing and proving to be rewarding and one of the best junior competitions in the World, most definitely Australia. It is the successful venture.

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SHORT COVER MWDCC NEWS 2nd EDITION – MARCH 2013/2014

breeding ground for 1st grade cricket and beyond and plays an important role in the development of Australian cricketers.

We thought we would take a look at if Green Shield providing the transition to Grade Cricket that it should be? Is it providing the transition to 1st grade cricket that it should be? What impact does the fact that older players are retiring earlier than ever have on this transition.

What we found was quite amazing. 15 years ago saw a boom period for our Green www.manlycricket.com/gold-membership/manly-mates-rates Shield side. The 1998-99 side, captained by Cameron Merchant, lost the Grand Final to Bankstown. They produced an amazing 8 first grade players – Merchant, Butterworth, Cameron, S Cleary, Cosentino, King, Cox and A Lindsay. A huge array of talent.

Since then though, the first graders graduating from our Green Shield side have gradually decreased, as can be seen by the below graph. Obviously the last 3-4 years of Green Shield players are still finding their feet in grade cricket, and we have even removed the last 2 years from the stats. Undoubtedly their numbers will rise in all areas, however even before their time there has been an amazing decrease in the first grade players produced from our juniors.

Conversely, the number of Green Shield players transitioning to Grade Cricket has continued to rise. After an average of about 8 players transitioning from Green Shield to Grade Cricket in the period from 98-99 to 04-05, this has now risen to 13 and 14 over the last 4 years, a dramatic increase. So what are the reasons?

Firstly, we have had a great group of players come through the ranks in recent seasons. The Green Shield squad from 2009-10 has already had 12 players play 3rd Grade or higher in the last 3 years, which is a great stat. But with the calibre of players such as Rawlings, Badyari, Beatty and Virdi, it’s not hard to see why.

Secondly, there is no doubt that there are more opportunities for young players in grade cricket. The demands on peoples time is getting greater and greater. Older players are retiring earlier than ever, so spots obviously need to be filled. These spots are going to our best youngsters.

SHORT COVER MWDCC NEWS 2nd EDITION – MARCH 2013/2014

Thirdly, it also proof that our pathway program is working, keeping kids in top level cricket for longer than what has traditionally been the case. Top kids are identified at an early age and earmarked for Grade cricket. The opportunities on offer do help keep them involved no doubt, however the coaching and guidance provided by people such as David Gainsford and Greg Boyer are the key reasons for this.

But what about the decrease in 1st grade players you ask? We don’t have an www.manlycricket.com/gold-membership/manly-mates-rates answer for this at the moment. There have been very few times in the life of MWDCC where the club has put in as much effort into our juniors as we are now. So the answer is most likely a cyclical thing, but as always it is open for interpretation.

So what does this all means for the Manly Club, Grade cricket, and Australian cricket in general? While it is great that the youth of today are getting opportunities that they haven’t had previously, there is no doubt that experience is a leading factor in winning games of cricket. Not having the older statesman in 5th grade right through to 1st grade, teaching the young kids how to play cricket, has no doubt had an impact on the quality of cricket being played in general. This feeds all the way to the top. Australian cricket has had a lean few years, and you cannot be strong at the top without the right practices at the bottom of the chain. The talent is there, cricket just needs the right strategies to move forward into the future.

Mickey Edwards is sponsored by Westfield Warringah Mall for 2013/14. Located at Brookvale, Warringah Mall is an iconic landmark of the Northern Beaches, the shopping hub of the Peninsula, and a great supporter of local sporting clubs in the area. Click here for Mickey’s player profile.

U/14s rep side slays all in its path What a 2013/14 season our Manly Warringah U14s side have had. A team who came so close to winning the competition last year has now completed the three- peat for the season by winning the Sydney Metropolitan title, the Harold Moore Shield, the U/14 carnival in Newcastle and the State Challenge, which is played between the winners of the Kookaburra Cup (Country competition) and the Harold Moore Shield.

SHORT COVER MWDCC NEWS 2nd EDITION – MARCH 2013/2014

Coaches Paul O’Sullivan and Roy Vumbaca should be very proud of the team they have lead over the last few years. To overcome the disappointment of losing the metro final last year and produce the cricket the fellas have produced this year has been amazing. This particular www.manlycricket.com/gold-membership/manly-mates-rates author is hopefully that they will go onto lead the boys in the Green Shield campaign in the next few years.

But ultimately it’s about the junior coming through. Keeper/batsman Aidan Bariol has already made his grade debut at the tender age of 13 and is a member of the NSW U/5 squad despite being a year too young, while Jack Edwards, younger brother of our own beloved Mickey, has talent to burn. Isaiah Vumbaca seems to win all the Man of the Match awards, while players like Osborn and Moran are players of the future.

Just speak to Greg Boyer and David Gainsford about what this talent will do for our club in the future and you will be stuck for hours. The Waratahs are very much looking forward to having these kids step up from the pathway program that they are all part of and become Waratahs in the next 2-3 years.

Congratulations again boys on a fantastic season.

Ahillen Beadle is sponsored by the Italian Pasta Company for 2013/14. Located next to Woolworths at Dee Why in Oaks Avenue, TIPC has the best pizza on the Northern Beaches, even better when you eat in and it’s fresh. Click here to view Ahillen’s Player Profile.

Stats don’t lie Lies, damn lies and statistics – Mark Twain

Mark Twains famous quote certainly has its place in history. It’s well known as a quote people use when stats are used to try and bolster weak arguments, and it relevant to many things in life. Cricket is no different, where stats don’t always tell the whole story.

SHORT COVER MWDCC NEWS 2nd EDITION – MARCH 2013/2014

However, in our recent case we beg to differ. Many players at the Tahs have racked up some fantastic milestone in recent times. The top of the list was Jeanie Little with his 5,000 runs and 300 wickets, which we have covered previously. Joel Mason also passed the magical 5,000 run mark recently. Both players have been great servants to the club and it is a great feat from both players. www.manlycricket.com/gold-membership/manly-mates-rates

But we have had a large number of other players pass some great milestones. Well on their way to also making 5,000 runs are Aidan Baker and Cameron Merchant, who have both passed 4,000 runs for the club this season. Both players have fantastic records with Cameron averaging over 35 and Aidan averaging over 30.

Ryan Bonner also passed a great double by going past 3,000 runs and also 250 wickets within a game of each other. “The Dootchman”, as he is affectionately known is one of our best all-rounders of recent times. Hopefully in the next year or 2 he can join the 300 wicket club.

Next has been Rowan Hamman who passed 2,000 runs just after Christmas. These runs have been made up of 6 hundreds which is a great achievement. He is also just about to be joined by Adam Gummer in reaching 2,000 runs.

The great Ahillen Beadle just passed 1,000 runs also for the Tahs, as has young gun Jordan Daley, Corrie Boss, Luke Grant and Danny Reynolds.

Pete Lindsay also squeaked over the 100 wicket mark along with Aidan ‘Flat’ Baker. Cameron starts a family Congratulations to one of our favourite Manly Cricketers, Luke “Schmacko’s Cameron and his wife Ashley, on the birth of Beau Leo Cameron on the 11th of February. Both Ash and Leo are doing well.

Beau weighed in at 4.09kg with a height of 54cm.

It’s just amazing to be a father” Luke told us. “Seeing him grow each day and seeing his personality begin to develop has been as rewarding as I could have expected.”

“The whole process of childbirth is amazing, probably the best thing I have experienced in my life.

“Also good luck to all of the Waratahs in the upcoming Semi Finals”.

Schmacko’s played 8 years at the Tahs including winning the 3rd grade premiership back in 2004/05, scoring 3,212 runs at 26.99.

SHORT COVER MWDCC NEWS 2nd EDITION – MARCH 2013/2014

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