2006/2007 SEASON REVIEW

Premiers S16A S14A S12A S12C East

Grand Finalists 2nd XI (Woolnough)

Preliminary Finalists 4th XI (E Grade) 5th XI (F Grade)

Semi Finalists 6th XI (I Grade) S12D East Ladies Softball Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRESIDENT’S REPORT ...... 2 Our Coach 2006/07...... 2 Coaching 2007/08 ...... 2 2007 Committee...... 3 Junior Coaches...... 4 SENIOR TEAM REPORTS ...... 6 Longmuir Shield – by Tim Malane (Club Captain)...... 6 Woolnough Shield – by Rudi Valentini...... 7 C Grade – 3rds – by Vince Micalizzi...... 8 E Grade – 4ths – by Marty Lyons...... 9 F Grade – 5ths – by Paul Upchurch...... 10 I Grade – 6ths – by Earl Wanless...... 11 One-Day Grade – By Greg Valles ...... 12 JUNIOR CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT – by Mal Lay ...... 13 JUNIOR TEAM REPORTS ...... 14 S16AReport – by Bruce Mitchell ...... 14 S16B Report – by John Smith...... 16 T16B Report – by Phil Miller ...... 17 S14A Report – by Craig Feather (Coached by Peter Boyle) ...... 18 T14B Report – by Bill Fiddler...... 20 T14C Report – by Brett Morton...... 21 S12A Report – by Dion Lucas and Mal Lay...... 23 S12C Report – by Steve Laskos...... 24 S12D Report – by Paul McGaw & Chris Ryan ...... 27 S12E Report – by Michael Bridges (coached by Darren Haw) ...... 27 LADIES’ SOFTBALL REPORT – by Marilyn...... 29 REPRESENTATIVE TEAM REPORTS ...... 30 CMCA Senior Representatives...... 30 CMCA U21 Representatives...... 30 Junior Representatives ...... 31 CLUB TEAM AWARDS ...... 32 Senior Awards...... 32 Junior Awards ...... 32 CMCA AWARDS ...... 34 Championship Club ...... 34 Knights Awards ...... 34 Team of the Year ...... 34 Player of the Year (Senior) ...... 34 Player of the Year (Junior)...... 34 CMCA Batting & Bowling Awards...... 34 CMCA Best Player in Grand Final Awards...... 35 Umpire’s Association Awards ...... 35 CLUB AWARDS...... 36 Outstanding Performances...... 36 PHOTO GALLERY...... 37

1 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

A huge welcome to players, family and friends to the Omega Cricket Clubs 2007 Presentation Night.

Tonight is an opportunity to recognise our on field performances and thank the numerous people that make Omega a success. There are so many people that contribute to the success of Omega that I only hope I manage to thank everyone.

Our Coach 2006/07

Firstly I would like to thank Kathy Hack for her support of both the club and Stefan. Without Kathy and Melanie’s support Stef would not have been able to put in the time and effort that the coaching role requires – thanks Kathy and Melanie.

Thank you Stefan for taking on the coaching role in 2006/07. You brought a level of professionalism and coordination to the club’s coaching that saw us have a very successful year. We finished with 4 out of 6 senior teams in the finals (2 day grades), a remarkable effort when you consider Omega is represented in 4 of the top 5 CMCA grades. Each week you would spend up to 15 hours a week selecting sides, running training and just generally thinking about how we could improve. Your innovative training schedule ensured that the players maintained motivation and interest throughout the year. The pre-season training regime was such a positive motivation to some players that it has improved not only their cricket, but their health and well being in general.

Stefan’s meticulous planning and his general approach allowed for selections to be made on statistics, form, attitude and training – not just gut feel. Throughout the year there were a number of very positive selections that will in the end result in Omega being a formidable strength for many years to come.

The thing that I will remember most from this year was the way in which Stefan challenged all players to perform at their best. As a non-playing coach he gave up his time and energy to help Omega become a force within the CMCA. The job of head coach can be at times a thankless task – in the end we should be very grateful for Stefan’s work and dedication to the role.

Thanks Stefan

Coaching 2007/08

In the next couple of weeks I will be sitting down with a number of the senior players to review our coaching methodology and plans for 2007/08 and beyond.

I would encourage and welcome feedback from all club members on how we can continue to improve.

2 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

PRESIDENT’S REPORT (continued)

2007 Committee

I thank our 2 Vice Presidents Roshan Rodrigo and Chris Ryan for their efforts throughout the year. Roshi has done a fantastic job this year on the Bar, with the support of a number of people the Bar in 2007 has greatly contributed to club’s financial position.

Thanks to Jacob Slucki who worked very closely with Rosh, ordering stock, doing stocktakes and working on the bar throughout the year.

Thanks also to all those club members that throughout the year worked on the bar – In particular Marky, Vernon, Vinnie and Ilya – who I could always rely upon to do the late shift with Evil and the Muppets.

Chris Ryan has decided to step down as Vice President, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris for his efforts over the last 4 years. Chris has been a tremendous support to me as president in the last 2 years and the club for many years. Chris can always be relied upon to lend a hand and support the club, whether it is a working bee, or just general fix it duties around the rooms. Thanks again for your support and time that you dedicate to Omega.

Peter Barton – Barts has completed another tremendous year as Treasurer. We should all be grateful for the work Barts does to keep our finances in order. Unfortunately Barts is overseas and not with us on Presentation night.

Tracey Fletcher - What can I say other than the club could not run so efficiently and effectively without Tracey’s hard work. The work that Tracey has done throughout the year has been enormous, remembering that we only see a tenth of it. Tracey is constantly talking to the CMCA, working on player registrations and updating scores on the CMCA website. Not a day goes past without an email or some valuable information going out to the club. We have a computerised player database and most of our information is now documented – All this is due to Tracey’s efforts.

I would also like to again thank Tracey for scoring throughout the finals series for the 2nd XI and for scoring throughout the year when and wherever Michael/Greg were playing. You could always be guaranteed that when Tracey was scoring you were in safe hands.

Mal Lay – another sensational year from Mal as Junior Coordinator, our junior program continues to grow from strength to strength. To win the 12 A and 12C, 14A and 16A grade Grand Finals is a credit to Mal and his work with the Juniors.

To the other committee members, Ivan Delac, Graham Wilson, Josh Krull, Marcus O’Brien, Ilya and Chris Clement. Thanks for your involvement in committee meetings and supporting the club in general – BBQs, Working Bees etc.

3 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

PRESIDENT’S REPORT (continued)

Junior Coaches

We have had an unprecedented year of success in the juniors wining the 12A and 12C, 14A and 16A Grand Finals. This is an outstanding effort and one that is likely to be difficult to repeat.

• Under 12 – Dion Lucas, Mal Lay, Darren Haw, Bluey, Cliffy, Steve Laskos and Michael Bridges • Under 14 – Brett Moreton, Peter Boyle, Craig Feather, Bill Fiddler • Under 16 – John Smith, Phil Miller, Bruce Mitchell, Marty Lyons

In savouring our victories though we have also maintained our focus on providing ALL our juniors with the opportunity to play cricket and be involved. Ultimately this is our number one goal for all club members.

Congratulations and Thanks to the Following

• Congratulations to our premiership coaches and players – 12A, 12C, 14A and 16A. • Noelene Tulley and Dizzy Smith for their coordination of the Richmond Day. Another outstanding day. • Noelene Tulley – Thanks for your support and efforts with the canteen and in general around the club, being the first lady has meant lots of vacuuming and dish washing on Sundays at the club. • The ladies who helped on the canteen (or made sandwiches) throughout the year and do a fantastic (and thankless) job. Thanks to Sharon Lay, Jo Malane, Margret Ryan, Joyce McGaw, Sandra McGaw, Monica Bodas, Colleen McGaw, Marilyn McGaw, Merella Curtis, Kerry Epsall-Tyas, Trish Wighton, Bernie Lyons, Rambo’s Mum, Cassie and Nicky Tulley, Brie McGaw and the ladies that supported our One Day team (Greg please thank them). • Michael Fletcher, AD, Jarrod Lyons, Matt Gillard, Brett Rogers, Steve Mitchell, Glenn Beckett, Ant Ticker, Tim Mason and the senior club members who helped – thank you for your work with the Milo program, we again had a very successful Milo program this year. • Leon and Sandra McGaw - for running the Cup Eve night. • Noel McGaw – thanks for the support and coordination of the tickets for presentation night. • Noelene and Colleen for their work on the ladies’ luncheon, which was a raging success again. Greg Fletcher, Craig Feather & John Smith - for their help on the bar for the ladies’ day luncheon. • Vernon – Thanks for your support on various things throughout the year – working bees, Milo, generally being one of the responsible guys on Saturday night to lock up and look after the bar.

4 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

PRESIDENT’S REPORT (continued)

• Vinnie – Thanks for organising the trivia night, providing bread for the BBQs and cakes/quiches for many of the functions throughout the year. You do a lot of work for the club and it’s greatly appreciated. • Michael Bridges - for his support with the website and this year’s annual report. Thank you Michael, many hands make light work.

Once again, welcome to the 2007 Omega Cricket Club Presentation Night and I hope you have a great night.

Donny

5 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

SENIOR TEAM REPORTS

Longmuir Shield – by Tim Malane (Club Captain)

With the appointment of Stefan Hack as Senior Coach for the 2006/07 season, there was a knowledge we were in for a physically challenging pre-season, and it did not disappoint!

With weekly Personal Training sessions provided by Josh Bartlett at Move It Personal Training, the squad was becoming a close unit by hard work on the track. Leon McGaw, John Almiento, Charlie Yanni and Marcus O’Brien were all outstanding in this area, helping team mates through the demanding pre-season.

The season got off to a good start with wins against Brighton Union and Aspendale/Edithvale, with solid batting performances in these games we had the start that we desperately needed.

Unfortunately, with consecutive losses to Bentleigh Uniting (who were the eventual premiers) and Hampton Central, we had won only two from four games, which left us with a lot of work to do if we wanted to play finals this season.

We did however re-group and with wins after Christmas against Carnegie South, Mackie, Elwood and Washington Park. Unfortunately, this left us a solitary point (and percentage) out of the finals race.

There were a number of positives to be taken out of this season, mainly the introduction of three very talented prospects being Steve Mitchell, Glenn Beckett and Dion Lucas. Also the introduction of Matt (Moochy) Burns to the Club certainly added some spark to our Team.

Finally, thanks must go the following people for their assistance throughout the season: Don Tulley and the Committee, Stef Hack (Coach), Bruce Mitchell (Team Manager), Cal Wilkinson & Ivan Delac (Vice Captains), Tracey Fletcher (Secretary Extraordinaire) and Josh Bartlett (Move It Personal Training), apologies to all I have forgotten!!

Batting Highlights: Tim Malane 80 (Rd 1) Ivan Delac 53 (Rd 5) Matt Burns 60 (Rd 1) Tim Malane 73 (Rd 7) Leon McGaw 113 (Rd 2) Leon McGaw 74 (Rd 8) Tim Malane 53 (Rd 2) Ivan Delac 75 (Rd 9) Ivan Delac 51 (Rd 2) Tim Malane 161 (Rd 10) Ivan Delac 107 (Rd 4) Tris Reimers 77 (Rd 11) Rej Sawaya 50 (Rd 4) Ivan Delac 58 (Rd 11) Leon McGaw 121 (Rd 5)

Bowling Highlights: Matt Burns 4/68 (Rd 1) Steve Mitchell 5/48 (Rd 7) Tris Reimers 4/23 (Rd 2) Tris Reimers 4/65 (Rd 10) Steve Mitchell 4/21 (Rd 5)

6 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

SENIOR TEAM REPORTS (continued)

Woolnough Shield – by Rudi Valentini

Firstly some thank yous. To Tracey Fletcher for her work on the scorebook, to the great man, Billy Cruwys, for being the best drink waiter and supporter in the competition and to Dizzy for …. well we’re not sure what he actually did but he went to a helluva lot of our matches!

At the start of the year, most at the club would have been happy just to see the 2s survive their first year back in Woolnough Shield. For the team to make the Grand Final should be looked at as an outstanding performance, though the comprehensive loss in the Grand Final was extremely disappointing.

The team, a mix of youth (Clement, Lucas, Lyons), experience (Yanni, Almiento, O’Brien) and just plain old age (Valentini, Tulley, Ryan, Cruwys, Barton) had no real stars or outstanding performances, just an evenness of contributions throughout the year. Seb Draga’s stylish ton in the crucial last match of the home and away season probably the stand out performance.

The highlight for the year was the number of talented youngsters who made their debuts in the Magoos. The under 18 brigade was lead by Jarryd Lyons & Michael Fletcher, both of whom played much of the year in the side and very much looked the part, and cameos from Matt Gillard, Anthony D’Amico & Michael ‘Crackers’ Soldatos. Add to these youngsters the ‘young veterans’ such as Clemmo (whose re- appearance in the 2s coincided with the opening of The Drink discotheque), Dion Lucas and Normie Abdullah (the best Lebanese keeper in Woolnough) all of whom have played in the 1s, and the future is exciting.

Finally, it should not be assumed that the team will be able to just turn up and stroll into next season’s Grand Final. We got lucky and snuck into the finals in the last round and made the most of that luck with 2 excellent finals wins against more favoured opposition. However the spanking we got in the GF indicates the great level of improvement required to go one better and win the flag, in what is a very even competition. I’m sure that with hard, focused work the team has what it takes to make that improvement and bring home the bacon (mmmm bacon).

7 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

SENIOR TEAM REPORTS (continued)

C Grade – 3rds – by Vince Micalizzi

This season the 3rds faced a new challenge of stepping up to C Grade, a grade where we would be the only 3rds team and have to face up to 3 first XI sides and 8 Second XI sides.

At the year’s end we finished with 6 wins, a tie and 4 losses to finish a respectable 5th and just miss out on playing finals.

Over the duration of the year we blooded a number of juniors, kids who are the future of our club. All of them managed to step up and during the year and get promoted to higher grades.

Highlights of the year were: • Round 1 where our new opening bowlers Fletch and Gilly combined to take 7 wickets and rip through the Washington Park batsmen. • Cliffy Ryan’s century against Bentleigh Uniting. • Steve Mitchell taking 4/35 and making 37 against Cluden 1sts in what was the stepping stone to a Longmuir berth. • Don Tulley’s amazing century in 40+ degree heat against Melbourne Wanderers. • The heroics of Jacob Slucki and Mark Casey to chase down an improbable target against St Kilda City. • Daniel ‘Tiger’ Bourne’s incredible day out against Carnegie South taking 7/23 in 40 degree heat! • The Snake’s second century after the break against a quality Brighton Union attack. • The emergence of Steve Mitchell, Jarryd Lyons, Mick Soldatos, Michael Fletcher and Matt Gillard, who all played a part during the season.

With so many quality juniors and the club being as strong and stable as ever before, next season is promising to be our best year yet!

I would just like to thank Stefan Hack for giving me the opportunity of captaining the 3rds once Donny was needed in the 2nds. He was a constant support for myself and for all the Captains, and his knowledge and preparation were second to none. The club as a whole has benefited from his time as coach.

Finally I’d like to thank Don Tulley for his continued support during the year. (You really aren’t that bad of a bloke Donny!!)

8 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

SENIOR TEAM REPORTS (continued)

E Grade – 4ths – by Marty Lyons

Our season started badly with a loss to Bentleigh ANA but we lifted to perform very well in the rest of the home and away series. Nine wins, one tie and one loss gave us the double chance. Unfortunately we did not play our best cricket in our two finals matches and we failed to make the grand final. This was disappointing because we had a very talented side. On the positive side we did see the fourth eleven finish much higher on the ladder this year.

Twenty-two players played in the fourths during the season and what started out as a side of young players ended up being a side of very experienced cricketers.

Most of the young players were quickly promoted to higher grades and it is very pleasing to see many succeed at higher levels.

Team highlights for the year were Michael Soldatos making 102* against Dingley, Paul McGaw making 120 against Mackie at Bailey Park, Graham Wilson taking eight wickets against Brighton District and George Sawaya taking seven wickets against Bentleigh Uniting.

Early in the season when we had four or five junior players we were outstanding in the field. Some highlights were Bradford Wilson’s catch at short mid-wicket against Southside East Caulfield, the out fielding by Jarryd Lyons against Highett West which included 3 catches and the in fielding from Michael Soldatos against many teams. The older players did contribute with Paul McGaw taking two blinders in slips against Brighton Central and Andy Stewart also taking some fine catches in the slips area.

In the finals the best knock with the bat was Andy McGaw’s 52 against Brighton Union while Brett Rogers was the next best all round performer.

9 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

SENIOR TEAM REPORTS (continued)

F Grade – 5ths – by Paul Upchurch

This was a very interesting season for everyone involved with the fifths. Early on in the season the number of players available for selection at the club was low. This gave a lot of our very good junior players a chance to play seniors. Two such juniors I would like to give special mention to are, Ben Boyle (otherwise known as “Junior”) and Jamie Duell, (otherwise known as “Pistol”). Junior kept wicket for us all year and did a fantastic job. He also batted very well and has the talent and temperament to go very far with his cricket. Pistol was thrown into the deep end this year in terms of opening the bowling quite often against some very good batting. He toiled tirelessly every week and was always asking for another bowl when taken off. (Yes, he’s a typical fast bowler!) Pistol was also twelfth man for us in the finals and fielded a lot. Well done Junior and Pistol and good luck for next year and beyond.

Heaps of other juniors played, and did very well and I think it’s a credit to our junior program and coaches that we have so many talented and able young men ready and willing to play senior cricket. The future looks good!

Many players did very well this year. Jarryd Bloink had an outstanding year as a bowler, is a great fielder and, with a bit of work on his batting, can become a great all rounder for the club in much higher grades. Stefan Krull also did well with the bat and will play higher. He also finally hit the stumps for a run out when it counted, in the finals! (Mind you he missed a lot before that!!) Nathan Flynn was fantastic for us late in the season. We were obviously lucky to have him in our grade. However Flynny wins the award for sledger of the year! That Selwood fellow in Perth has nothing on our Flynny! Pat Clark batted really well early on in the season before a bit of a form slump towards the end. When he’s in form though he times the ball beautifully. Beau Flanders was with us at the start and returned for the finals and bowled brilliantly. Brett Rogers was with us for most of the year and, of course, did a fantastic job with both bat and ball and his experience on the field was invaluable to the team and myself.

There were many “cameo” performances of merit from people such as Ramsey Yacoub who came down and hit a quick 94 against Mackie and was batting well in the preliminary final before going out LBW. Mal “The Don” Lay, popped in and hit 50 runs. All in a day’s work for the Don! Ilya Fridman was there for a bit and was a great contributor with bat, ball and fielding and there is no one more enthusiastic than Ilya! Graham Wilson was with us very early on and had re-invented himself as an opener when criminally taken up to the fourths! Phil Taranto even played the preliminary final with us! John Smith had the highlight of taking the catch, which was the first senior wicket of his son, Kerrod!

The list goes on. If I’ve left anyone out I’m very sorry but I thank each and every player, whether they be Senior or Junior, who put on the whites and played for me in the fifths this year. Thanks a lot guys!

Ben Ianello was Vice-Captain for me this year and did a great job. On the field he was worried about his batting form but he came right towards the end of the season

10 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

SENIOR TEAM REPORTS (continued)

F Grade – 5ths (continued) culminating with his 89 against Mackie. He was a great help to me and I thank him a lot. I did all right with the bat too this year and enjoyed being Captain very much.

It’s pretty easy though when you have such good people to work with like Omega people. It’s a great club. Special thanks to Stefan Hack for his coaching. Great job Steff. Also to Tracey Fletcher who is the best “nag” in the business. Every club needs someone like her though. Lots of stuff gets left undone without her. So Thanks Tracey.

We didn’t make the grand final this year, falling short in the preliminary final. I thought we were the best team in the finals. Certainly we went in with the best form at the time. However we didn’t perform when it counted and that’s how it goes. We learn and go away and try and get better and be ready to suit up in the Omega colours for another damn good crack at it next year!

I Grade – 6ths – by Earl Wanless

After a year of superior captaincy consisting of excellent field settings, brilliant bowling changes and positive batting line ups saw us finish 3rd with an 8 win 3 loss record making the second semi final and going down by 30 runs.

A great year was had with the bat with Phil Taranto (424 Runs) Mal Lay (352 runs) and Andrew Ryan (376 Runs) and contributions by all players at various times of the season saw us set and chase some challenging totals. With the ball all the bowlers had a good consistent year with PT taking 8/54 in round 10 the highlight.

After another year in the seniors our younger players Tom Brown and Michael McHugh came along in leaps and bounds and were major assets for our side in all aspects of the game. Jack Drummond playing his first year in the seniors opened the bowling for us from the second game of the season right through to the semi and his improvement throughout the season was remarkable and hopefully he has a long future at our club. Some great cameos were also given by our juniors with Alex Bychkov and James Feather also lending us their time and abilities throughout the season.

As I am not at presentation night (shock utter horror) I would like to take the opportunity to thank Don and the committee for the chance to captain again, also Stef Hack for coaching the club over the season. Club coach is always a difficult job to undertake because you can’t make everyone happy but you should feel very satisfied with the season the club has had. One final thank you goes to all the players who played in the side this season I hope you all had a great time and enjoyed it also.

PS Mal thanks for all your help as my Sunday to Friday Captain 11 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

SENIOR TEAM REPORTS (continued)

One-Day Grade – By Greg Valles

The team had yet another successful year, we finished an honorable 5th, missing out on the finals by a very small percentage.

Over 20 players represented our team throughout the year, the team spirit, competitive nature and good humor make this team a pleasure to be in.

Darren Haw’s experience and all round ability demonstrated he still hasn’t lost much on his reputation. His success with the bat (winning the batting average on 38.20) was a shear delight to watch. He also rotated wicketkeeping, and was a handy bowler.

Jason Cloke’s bowling was awesome. Believe me it was not at all comfortable fielding in slips waiting for a rocket to come to your head. Jason is also capable of playing any standard of cricket and his bowling average of 9.07 has won him our bowling averages and the competition’s.

Mick Bridges, whether in slips or in the outfield, would pull out the miraculous catch. The show stopper, the one that wins matches. He is deceptively quick with his reflexes in the fielding arena. He was a worthy winner of our fielding award.

Thank you to all players for their giving nature and team-orientated perspective throughout the year. Thank you to Tracey Fletcher, Don Tully and committee for their help and support during the year. Thank you to all the Omega captains and players and general supporters for their genuine interest and support in our team.

12 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

JUNIOR CO-ORDINATOR’S REPORT – by Mal Lay

Season 2006/2007 could not have been any better for the junior section of the Omega CC.

Fielding an incredible 10 sides consisting of three U16s, three U14s and four U12s we were going to have our work cut out getting ready for the first Saturday in October. As usual, I was extremely fortunate to have the great support of our President Don Tulley, the committee, senior players, parents and the unbelievable amount of time and effort put in by Tracey Fletcher and John Smith.

It was great to see new players and families not only in our U12s but also in our U14s. Our program strives to give all a fair and even go, and I believe we go close to achieving this considering we are playing limited overs cricket.

Our U16Bs, U16T and our two U14 twilight sides did a great job fighting hard against strong opposition. We realise we still have some fine tuning to do to get our teams evenly matched.

The mighty U12Es had a great year with plenty of personal milestones being broken each week.

We had plenty of milestones during the year with an amazing 13 of our players being selected to play for representative sides in various competitions.

Steve Mitchell (U16A bowling), Ben Boyle (U14A Batting) and James Howard (U12A Bowling) all winning the competition average and Steve Mitchell taking out the Knights Sportsgoods Outstanding U16 Player Award.

Our U12Ds made the preliminary final, the U12Cs capped of a great year defeating a side that had not been defeated all year to take out the Grand Final and we really hit the ceiling when we became the first club in the history of the CMCA to take out the U16A, U14A & the U12A Grand Finals.

I would like to thank all of our Coaches and helpers who worked hard and gave up their time to make this the most successful year we have had with our juniors.

To our junior players, congratulations on an unbelievable year and thank you for your terrific representation of our great club.

13 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

JUNIOR TEAM REPORTS

S16AReport – by Bruce Mitchell

Well, what a year it has been in cricket. The U16As have taken out the premiership for the 06/07 season for the first time in the club’s history. A fine achievement for those that played, and those that also helped get us there, throughout the year.

The captaincy of the side was rotated this year. Glenn Beckett started out as captain in the first 4 games, and was made captain for the final series. Anthony D’Amico and Steven Mitchell also captained for 3 games each. All did a great job of leading the side, which I believe will hold all of them in good stead for the future.

As for the results; well they speak for themselves. We ended up the season on top of the ladder having won 9 of the 10 games, only losing to Dingley in round 6. The team on average made 160 runs per innings, but also took an average of nearly 9 wickets per game. This just showed our strength and ability to apply pressure with both bat and ball.

To win a grand final though requires talented cricketers to operate as a team. Everyone who played for this team contributed to its success in some way. I would like to thank Jon Gillard who started with the team, and was able to come into the side at short notice for the second semi. Making 31 in a late order run fest and taking a handy 3/29 from 6 overs was a great contribution. I would also like to thank Craig Jolly for helping out in the ANA game taking 1/5 off 2 overs. Also a big thank you to Jack Drummond who filled in on the last game of the year and was our 12th man throughout the final series.

In terms of batting, the highlights of the season included Glenn Beckett’s maiden ton (not out) against Moorabbin West and 60 in the Grand Final, Steve Mitchell’s 82 against Moorabbin, 55 against Kingston Heath and 53 in the second semi against Dingley. AD started the season on fire with 3 scores of 50 in the first 4 games; James Feather made 45 and Michael Soldatos made 49 not out against Moorabbin West in the same game. While we rolled Bentleigh Uniting relatively cheaply, it was Tom Brown and Michael McHugh who batted solidly together to seal victory with only 2 wickets down. Jarryd Lyons was another consistent performer reaching the 20s more often than not, but his 30 not out in the GF sealed the win, and man of the match award.

In order to win games, you also have to restrict the other side to less runs than yourself. Our bowling depth was equally a major strength to our side where not only did every player who played take a wicket, but with such a versatile attack, that also included our keepers. It all starts with our openers. AD bowled his usual steady best although without taking many wickets (7) but was well supported by both Jamie Duell (11 wkts) and Pat McMahon (8 wkts). Jamie further showed his versatility in the second semi coming on late to mop up the tail with 3/6 from just 2 overs.

Steven Mitchell took the most wickets with 21 (3 times getting 3 in an innings) bowling his ‘sneaky’ leg spins. Jarryd Lyons, in between keeping, took 14 and his

14 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S16A Report (continued)

3/21 off 10 in the Granny proved more than useful. Michael Soldatos took 9 (best of 3/11), closely followed by Nick Helmore with 8 (best of 3/26, and all 3 in the one over) and James Feather with 7. This just showed our bowling didn’t drop off down the list.

Our fielding proved to be a big differentiator in how to restrict the opposition from making big scores. It was also crucial in the grand final and really showed that taking catches does win matches. Michael McHugh made backward square leg his own taking some great ‘chest marks’. Tom Brown also showed his agility in the field with some great fielding and throwing for run outs. Jarryd Lyons (also kept) took the most catches (7), mainly in slips. Glenn Beckett kept exceptionally well, especially in the ANA games when he took 4 stumpings, 2 down the leg side.

Most of the side has also played senior cricket this year, ranging from the 6ths to our 1sts. To have both Glenn and Steven from this side playing in the 1sts in Longmuir this year was a fantastic achievement and reward for both boys. As most of this side has now finished their junior cricketing days I hope they stay on to continue to play in the seniors next season, and beyond.

I can’t run this team on my own. Thanks parents for taking the time to bring the boys to training, to matches, and for just supporting your boys. Thanks also to John Smith and others who help out at training. Being allowed to train with the seniors during finals really helped – thanks Stefan Hack. To those of you who have helped to score, or organise things on a Saturday morning, or bring cordial, choc chip cookies, etc – thank you. I’d like to thank Mal Lay and Don Tulley for giving me the opportunity and Tracey on the admin side. Finally, a big thanks to Marty Lyons for his guidance and support. It was invaluable and a learning experience for me as well.

Overall it’s been a very successful season. Not only in terms of winning games, including the Grand Final, but more importantly, how I believe each player has progressed and matured as cricketers throughout the year. Thank you all for contributing to a great year.

15 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S16B Report – by John Smith

The season was a relatively short one including two byes. The boys ended up just one win away from playing finals. Looking back we lost two close games against Highett West and Dingley which we probably should have won. It was pleasing to defeat both these teams second time around, suggesting that we were improving faster than our opposition.

The boys were a delight to coach teaming well together having lots of fun even when we were doing it tough. Antony Forato, Kerrod Smith, Jarryd Wilson and Chris Nash all undertook the pace bowling program at Cricket Victoria toward the end of their season and will all benefit from this program next year.

Highlights throughout the season included:

• The improvement of Simon Hall’s bowling taking four wickets in round 4 and finishing with 9 wickets for the season. This was the team’s only four wicket hall for the year. • Kerrod Smith, Jaryd Wines and Jack Drummond all breaking through for their maiden half centuries in rounds 1, 3 and 10 respectively. • The improvement of James Amerena’s batting and averaging over 19. • Kerrod Smith two hundred runs for the second year in a row averaging 28 whilst most of the time opening the batting. • Bryce Bell’s consistent season with the bat making double figures on seven occasions batting in the top order with a high score of 34 in round 8. • Jack Drummond’s improvement as an opening bat averaging 19 and taking 3 for 22 against Kingston Heath off 7 excellent overs. • Jaryd Wilson’s match winning inning cameos of 36* against Highett West in round 3, 22 against Bentleigh in round 7 and 3 for 15 against Dingley in round 10. • Aidan Miller’s fantastic all round performance with the bat and ball taking 11 wickets at 10.6 and averaging 16 with the bat. • Chris Nash’s leadership and outstanding fielding, topping the most catches for the season and taking a couple of blinders. His 2 for 15 against Dingley in round 10 was crucial to our win. • Jaryd Wines’ aggressive fielding and 50 with the bat in round 3. • Antony Forato’s never say die attitude in the field and improvement with the bat making 16 and second top score against Dingley in round 5. I expect Antony’s bowling to take a big step next year following his participation in the Pace Bowling program. • Paul Azar and Marcus Dyt both had injury interrupted seasons and will both be big improvers next year. Paul did well with the bat top scoring against premiers McKinnon in round 2 but was unable to bowl for much of the year. If we can get Marcus to have a little patience with his leg spin bowling he could be a deadly weapon next year.

Good luck for the future boys. I hope you enjoy your cricket and the friendships you are making whilst you play at our great club.

16 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

T16B Report – by Phil Miller

The season started off with a whimper against Brighton 1 in round one, all out for 14 runs chasing 137 in a disappointing effort. Tim Howard the only shining light with the bat, top scoring for the side. Many of the players had not played together before and with some new faces amongst the side it took a while for things to settle in. The poor start to the season was a wake up call for the guys with improvement coming with every game.

After a few games things started to settle with all the guys becoming more familiar with each other’s skills and capabilities. Captain Lachlan Simpson was bowling good line and length, setting his fielding side with more confidence and we started to post some better scores, making us a lot more competitive. By the time we played Brighton 1 for the second time the guys had it all together and took it right up to the opposition. Tristan Brideson was in fine form bowling at blistering pace worrying all the batsmen in the Top order. Brighton had expected an easy victory against some bunnies and in the end only salvaged a draw (Brighton 6 for 209 Vs Omega 5 for 117) thanks to some serious rain developing late in the game. The guys realized that they were not the easy beats that had started the season a couple of months earlier; they had come together as a team.

Daniel Catley showed good form with both the bat and the ball, proving very dangerous with a sweet left arm action, the introduction of the classy Jon Gillard into the team was a boost with his great line and length bowling and steady solid batting (high score for the year 72 not out Vs South Melbourne). Harley Sheedy proved his worth in some match winning partnerships when keeping his wicket was paramount, and some fine bowling spells. Jake Miller’s bowling improved greatly as the season progressed, some fine spells late in the season returning some excellent figures. Jack Vincent was solid with his batting, and has the ability to play some very big shots. Stef Matton turned his hand to bowling spin with some excellent spells and very decent figures, as well as being confidently aggressive with the bat. Craig Jolly worked hard when he bowled, was always on his toes in the field and contributed well with the bat. Michael Wynd’s season built slowly, finding form with the bat as the season progressed and he finished the year with a fine innings in the last game. Tate Griffin had bowled without reward early in the season, but when given his chances, really improved his line and length. Tristan Brideson batted consistently throughout the season (high score 41 not out Vs Washington Park) and was the Mainstay wicket keeper for the season. Tim Howard tuned his spin bowling over the season and took some well earned wickets; Tim also got his body behind a lot of shots and saved many a run deep in the outfield. Lachlan Simpson gained valuable experience as team captain and lead from the front (high score for the season 43 Vs Brighton 1) Lachlan bowled tirelessly and consistently all season until struck down by a heel injury. Even then he showed plenty of character by taking on some scoring duties and supporting his team mates.

A great game against South Melbourne saw the guys finish the season with a well deserved win posting a solid total of 156, South Melbourne falling short all out for 105. The game saw the guys bat extremely well, then follow it up with a great performance in the field. Tight bowling and aggressive fielding putting pressure on the opposition. A victory enjoyed by all team members and supporters.

17 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

T16B Report (continued)

I would like to thank all the guys who stood in when we were short of players – Alex Bychkov, Aidan Miller, and James Howard.

Thanks also to Greg Matton and Dave Gillard who helped with the umpiring duties over the season.

Thanks to the Howards for helping out with lifts for many of the team and for helping with the barbies during the season.

Special Thanks to Steve (Simmo) Simpson for his hard work as the team manager and official scorer. Plenty of work done behind the scenes and after hours, kept things running like a well oiled machine.

S14A Report – by Craig Feather (Coached by Peter Boyle)

2007 will be a year etched in the clubs history. The U14As were undefeated for the entire season; which was a fantastic performance. Our team thoroughly deserved to go on and win the premiership. Here's a brief summary of how everyone performed.

Amay Nagar started slowly but his bowling gradually improved and he took multiple bags of wickets on a couple of occasions.

Ben Wighton bowled superbly throughout the year, but without luck early in the season. He showed what an excellent competitor he is by bowling and batting so well during the finals.

Ben Boyle had yet another stellar year with the bat by averaging 153.50 (out twice). He has a tremendous technique and can wicket keep and bowl very admirably.

Brad Wilson was our co captain with Ben Boyle and his leadership and handling of the team was fantastic. Brad made runs with the bat and took wickets regularly.

Luke Barda had a great season with both bat and ball and was an integral member of our successful team.

Nick Feather had an excellent season with the ball and was very talkative in the field. It was disheartening to see him fracture his collar bone in the semi final against Dingley, which meant he couldn't play in the grand final.

Mitchell Strahan had a great season for a first year U14 player and his contribution with his all round ability was significant.

Alex Bychkov was also a first year U14 player and he was either making runs or taking wickets and he also assisted regularly with wicket keeping duties.

18 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S14A Report (continued)

Shojeeb Alam was another member of our team with terrific all round ability. He took wickets, made quick runs in the lower order and his fielding was first class.

Grant Valles gradually improved with both bat and ball as the year progressed and he also fielded well.

Lucas Forato showed huge potential as an all-rounder and had an excellent season for a first year U14 player.

Both Nathan Morton and Mitchell Empsall-Tyas filled in most admirably for us in the finals series. Their commitment to the team and their efforts were terrific and both coaches were most appreciative. Well done boys.

In concluding I wish to thank all parents who assisted with scoring, morning tea, training and just supporting their kids on game days. Overall a wonderful and most satisfying year for all concerned.

19 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

T14B Report – by Bill Fiddler

Some highlights from each round this season:

Best

During s Season Tom Jack Jack Elliot Tya Eddy Trent Peter Nagar Nagar Brown Clarke Clarke James James Dawes Dawes Patrick Fiddler Fiddler Sanket Johnny Mitchell Pastura Mulcahy Empsall- Amerena Amerena Podaridis Podaridis McMahon McMahon

Batting 23* 47 22 15* 34 23* 51* 6* 42* 13* 36* Bowling 3/6 5/15 2/38 1/14 2/13 2/6 2/8 1/6 1/8 1/17 1/17

Round 1 down at Albert Park saw our first win for the season with James taking 2/6 and a catch in the outfield, followed by strong batting from Peter (20*) and Patrick (19*).

Round 2 saw a loss but magnificent bowling by Mitchell taking 5/15, Peter 21*, James 15*.

Round 3, a loss by 17 runs could have easily been another win. Starring with the bat Peter (51*), Sanket (22), Patrick (22), Elliot 2/18, Johnny 1/17, Tom 1/14, Eddy 1/15, Sanket 1/6 and 2 catches for James and 1 for Trent and Eddy in the field.

Round 4 a loss by 4 runs, this should have been a win. Great contributions by Tom and Patrick behind the stumps, Peter (31), Jack 1/6 and Trent 1/13 and the unlucky Johnny who had a great spell for 0/11.

Round 5 a great win down at Elwood Beach with many stars shining, Patrick (36*), Eddy (23*), Trent (42*), Mitchell 4/2, catches to James, Patrick and Trent. We scored 216 runs, our highest score for the year.

Round 6 a loss to the top side Brighton Union by 23 runs, a game we could have won but did not get enough runs on the score board (93). We managed to put a scare in the opposite having them at 6 for 56 at one stage. Best performer for the game Patrick (24), Mitchell (19*), and Sanket an entertaining 10. Bowlers: Peter’s best 2/8, Jack 1/7, James 1/7 and once again unlucky Tom McMahon who bowled well 0/10 but had a few catches put down. Excellent keeping by Elliot during this game.

Round 7 Xmas and Round 8 forfeit from South Melbourne.

Round 9 a loss to South Caulfield where we bowled extremely well, only 15 extras our best result. James taking season best 3/6, Eddy’s season best of 2/6, one reflex caught and bowled. Batting first up, the only one to shine was Johnny Dawes (12) a third of our score. We were put back in and they were looking for an outright, but in 20 overs we scored 149 runs in calypso style Peter (47, 4 sixes), Johnny (13*), Sanket (14*). WHY COULD WE NOT DO IT IN THE FIRST INNINGS??

20 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

T14B Report (continued)

Round 10 a loss, chasing 253 we fell 15 runs short, our highest score for the year of 238.

Trent (40), Elliot season highest (34), Mitchell’s season highest (47), James’ season highest (23*), Patrick (19). Our bowling was a little short earlier on but improved, Peter 1/13, Jack 1/29, Tom 1/24, Sanket 2/38.

Congratulations to the boys on a very competitive year, even though we had 3 wins from nine games, we were extremely unlucky not to have had a few more wins with three defeats under 20 runs, one by 4 runs.

It was very tight with the awards seeing Mitchell with 11 wickets, followed by James with 7 and Elliot, Eddy and Peter with 5 wickets a piece.

The closest finish was in the batting with only an average of 1 run the difference between the top two, Mitchell with 31.2, Peter with 30.2 and Patrick a fine 24.5.

At the start of the year each player was ask for their best two players on each game at training and the Special Player’s Award (voted each match by the players) goes to Peter Podaridis.

T14C Report – by Brett Morton

The T14C kids did well this year considering we had a few new players that had never set eyes on a cricket ball before this season. This is a rough summary of how the boys went.

Mark had a consistent year all round with the bat and ball and took an exceptional catch on the boundary line early in the season.

Matt Dance came from nowhere to help rescue the side when the numbers were down and finished the year with sensational fielding in the last game.

Nick also came to our rescue regarding numbers and turned out to be a sensational wicket keeper with several catches and stumpings in his first season.

Gonar really improved as the season went on and showed us his courage in one match by continuing on with the bat after being hit by three fast deliveries.

Mitchell had a great season taking 6 wickets and had 2 not outs. He also delivered in the field by taking 4 catches.

Steve had a terrific year with the bat having a top score of 28 and on occasions dabbled with spin bowling.

21 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

T14C Report (continued)

Cameron hit his highest score this year with 15 runs including 5 off one ball much to the delight of the parents and coach.

Nathan withstood the pressures from the coach and managed to keep us all amused with his on field chatter.

Alex had a terrific year all round and showed us his mental toughness by going through the pain barrier in the last match for his team mates.

Dylan had a very consistent season and took 3 for 18 off 4 overs and put in a great effort with his fielding.

Matt Taranto was a surprise package being all of 4ft 7” taking on some bowlers that were bigger than the umpires and also had his best bowling figures of 3 for 29.

I would like to thank the following people who helped during the season: Mary-Anne for her exceptional skills as Team Manager; Phil for sharing his cricket knowledge and umpiring skills; Wayne for scoring and helping out at training; John for helping at training; Tim for scoring and Andrew for scoring and umpiring. Without their help I wouldn’t have made it through the season. Many thanks to Murray for supplying his BBQ and for his fantastic cooking skills every week. Thanks also to Corey, Brayden, James and Jarryd for filling in on those weeks we were short. Last but not least I would like to thank all the parents for their fantastic support.

22 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S12A Report – by Dion Lucas and Mal Lay

Steve Lay (Captain) – a great year with both bat and ball. Aggressive positive batting and first class bowling display in finals. HS 43*, BB 4-6.

Brayden O’Toole (VC) – batting mainly as an opener showed his class as one of the hardest batsmen in the competition to get out. Bowled well, took wickets most games. HS 34, BB 2-5.

Kev Harris (VC) – turned himself into an opening bat and had a great finals series. Team spinner who took wickets when needed. HS 30*, BB 2-14.

Tim Wighton – scoring fast with powerful batting saw him devastate most opposition attacks. Great consistent year with both bat & ball. HS 36*, BB 2-13.

Jono Curtis – a fantastic year batting with positive aggression saw him score heavily. Bowled tight taking crucial wickets when needed. HS 52*, BB 2-7.

Matt Caia – no doubt the best wicket keeper in the competition. His keeping was worth 30 runs to us each week. Solid bat who scores heavily on his day HS 32*.

Ben Wilson – man of the match in a Grand final. What bigger honour is there? Genuine all rounder and class fieldsman. HS 30*, BB 2-11.

James Howard – tremendous year with the ball saw him take out the U12A competition bowling averages. Bowling stump to stump made scoring off him hard. Capable bat on his day. HS 28, BB 2-8.

George Young – Improvement throughout the season was fantastic. Became a top order bat and his bowling improved each week. Class Fieldsman. HS 31*, BB 2-9.

Tim McGaw – our go to bowler. When wickets were needed or runs needed containing he was called on. Built good partnerships with the bat. HS 18, BB 2-15.

James Peterson – outstanding first year of cricket. Bowled consistent and built great partnerships with the bat. A fantastic year in the field. HS 26*, BB 1-4.

I think it would be fair to say that with such an even playing group we were always going to give the premiership a fair shake. Every week someone would put their hand up to perform so when it came to finals we were always going to have something in the tank if it got tight. (And it got tight.) We lost 2 games for the season, unfortunately one of those was the lightning premiership. At the end of the day all we wanted was Omega CC’s 1st U12A premiership and in doing that we became part of history by becoming the first club to win the U16A, U14A & the U12A G/Fs all in the same year.

We would like to thank all the families for their help and support throughout the year.

We would also like to congratulate James Howard on winning the U12A comp bowling averages, Brayden O’Toole, Matt Caia and Steve Lay on representing us

23 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S12A Report (continued) in the Mitchell Shield and Ben Wilson on being awarded Man of the Match in the Grand Final.

To Steve, Bray, Kev, Tim W, Jono, Matt, James H, Tim M, George, James P and Ben you could not have represented our club or yourself any better than you did.

We are extremely proud of you.

S12C Report – by Steve Laskos

This season has been very challenging and enjoyable for our team. We finished the home and away season winning eight games and losing two. The two teams that beat us were the teams we faced in the finals. At the start of the finals we were underdogs, by the end we were champions.

Our side has a terrific mix of players giving us depth and confidence to tackle any opponent.

Our first four games against Moorabbin Park, Bentleigh Uniting, Beaumaris Red and McKinnon were solid victories. We thrashed McKinnon by 179 runs; Liam Feather smashed 40 runs and hit 8 fours. Matt Modica made 42* including three sixes. On this day we scored our highest total for the season, 4 for 256. We were 4 wins and 0 losses, we felt invincible.

Next up was Le Page Park and our bubble burst. They beat us quite convincingly. One positive from the match was a season best bowling performance by Kosta

24 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S12C Report (continued)

Walker-Laskos, 5 for 19. We came back to earth with a thud but our team spirit could not and would not be suppressed.

The following week we bounced back with a terrific win against Mackie. Omega 2 for 227 Mackie all out 164. Sam Bridges, Liam Feather and Luke Jones each took 2 wickets. Harry Russo 40*.

By the conclusion of the home and away season we had won eight games and lost two, ending up second on the ladder behind Moorabbin West. Reality had set in and although we knew we were in with a chance to go all the way, we also knew it was going to be tough.

The first semi final was played against Moorabbin West, one of only two teams that had beaten us during the home and away season. Again they proved too strong and they earned the first spot into the grand final. One of the few shining lights for our team was Harry Russo who opened the batting and was undefeated on 24.

Having finished second on the ladder and gaining the double chance, we then faced Le Page Park in the preliminary final. Le Page was our other nemesis and the pressure was immense. This was an extremely tough match played with tremendous spirit from both clubs. We won the toss and batted eventually scoring 10 for 129. Michael Lee starred with the bat scoring 49* hitting 3 fours and 4 sixes.

Le Page fought bravely and the middle order was piling on runs, we needed a break through. A bowling change bringing Sam Bridges and Michael Lee reaped instant results. Le Page plunged from 4 for 108 to be all out for 109 within three overs. Six wickets fell for one run, both Sam and Michael almost pulled off hat-tricks. Although no individual hat-tricks were achieved the boys did get a team hat-trick. Luke Jones bowled well taking 1 for 6 in 3 overs, as did Loukas Kakogiannis who bowled 4 overs and took 1 for 4. It was a remarkable win, one of the best all round performances of the year, and one which earned us a grand final berth.

We entered the grand final as massive underdogs, Moorabbin West had beaten us twice and they thought the silverware was already theirs, but our boys had other ideas. Saturday was washed out and we agreed to play a one day game on Sunday for the title.

Sunday arrived and thankfully the skies were clear. Moorabbin West won the toss and decided to bat. Our bowling and fielding was tight, Liam Feather opened and kept the pressure on right from the start. Soon wickets fell, Chris Silvers and Kosta taking 2 each. Matt Modica kept wickets beautifully and contributed to a vital run out. After 25 overs Moorabbin West scored 8 for 71 and we knew we had a good chance to win the match. All the bowlers had done their job and the fielders provided excellent support. The final series was bringing out the best from our team.

If we could score 72 runs from 25 overs the premiership would be ours. Moorabbin West was digging in; they weren’t going to hand over the shield without a fight. Their bowlers always made scoring difficult and soon they had us on the back foot.

25 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S12C Report (continued)

Suddenly we were 2 for 5 in the seventh over and things looked grim. Kosta Walker-Laskos then joined Harry Russo in the middle and formed a steadying partnership until Harry was run out. The score was 3 for 22 and we were now half way through our overs. Soon it was 4 for 25 then 5 for 25. The pressure was building.

Enter Matt Modica. Matt cut loose and started smacking them all around the park scoring 18 runs in no time. Next Kosta retired on 22 and it was anyone’s game. Soon after, Matt was bowled as he selflessly tried to push up the run rate and the emotional roller-coaster took another nerve racking turn.

Disaster struck again. Two more batsmen were run out as we desperately chased fast runs. We still had a few wickets left but the overs were running out. We needed the tail to wag. Loukas Kakogiannis was bravely fighting on but he could not slam the runs we needed. Enter Tate Blackman. Every spectator was wired, the atmosphere electric. We needed three runs from the last over. Everyone was yelling and cheering uncontrollably. The bowler ran in and bowled a wide. Still an over left and now two runs to win. Tate was looking cool and relaxed. The next one was fairly straight; Tate swung and connected smacking it out to deep mid wicket. The fielders were in hot pursuit desperately trying to run it down but it trickled over the boundary for four. The crowd went nuts, spewing onto the field yelling, cheering and hugging one another. The shield was ours.

Man of the match as voted by the umpires was Kosta Walker-Laskos. Kosta scored 22*, his bowling figures were 2 for 7 from 4 overs and he took one catch.

Special thanks to Nick Bridges, Tim Ryan and Jacob McGaw for being part of our team.

26 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S12D Report – by Paul McGaw & Chris Ryan

After last season, our expectations were high as we started with both first and second year players. The new boys Tom, Andrew and the Matheson twins quickly settled into the team with Tom making over 100 runs, Andrew solid with the bat – but very impressive with the ball, and Trent and Justin’s consistent improvement over the year especially Justin’s Semi Final innings. The old boys, Jack, Tim, Jacob, Corey, Adam and Matty continued their development highlighted by Matty’s improved bowling and fantastic fielding, Corey’s outstanding bowling, Adam’s wicketkeeping and improved batting, Tim’s huge improvement with the bat, Jack’s batting and bowling just got better and Jacob became a bit of an all-rounder – improving his batting, bowling and wicketkeeping.

Overall, a very positive year for the boys and a very enjoyable one. Making finals was a tremendous effort and we look forward to seeing these guys step up.

Thanks again to all the parents for their help, and a special mention to Mal Lay for his great support of the kids.

S12E Report – by Michael Bridges (coached by Darren Haw)

We started off the season with a win from a forfeit, so Coach Darren Haw decided to take the boys down to the Tucker Road ground to give them a feel of being out in the middle. This proved to be a great idea as only two of the boys had played cricket competitively before. The pitch was missed quite a few times and wickets came tumbling down a few times as well, but it was a great introduction for the boys who had only previously batted and bowled in the nets at Bricker.

Unfortunately we then had a bye which left the boys champing at the bit to get a game of cricket. Finally, in week 4 of the season, our team got to play a game of cricket.

Our early games before Xmas brought no joy in terms of wins, but were a good grounding for the rest of the season. The boys were batting well, treasuring their wickets – they just didn’t have the confidence to take on the bowling and play their shots and the running between wickets needed a bit of work. The bowling was getting better with the “extras” scoring less and less each week. Brent, Matty, Patrick, Cameron, Nick, Adam, Sean and Zac all picked up wickets before Xmas, with Connor, Joshua and Tom all picking up wickets after the break. Up until Xmas, all players had at least one “not out” which showed they were concentrating on not losing their wickets.

After Xmas, we played a one-dayer in near-torrential rain against a much stronger and older side. Next up was Bentleigh Uniting. Darren told our batsmen to go for their shots more and even if they went out the first week they would still bat the following week. This proved a master-stroke as all of our boys played their shots,

27 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

S12E Report (continued) and in the end, there were 2 runs to win off one ball. A great shot backward of square destined for the boundary was cruelly cut off and caught leaving us short by one run. The boys now realised they could match it with these other sides and looked to future games with renewed confidence. We kept Highett down to 80 runs in the next game and scored 147 to record our first win for the season. The drought had been broken. The next game saw us tied with Dingley on 80 after the first week, although we had only lost 3 wickets to their 7. This proved to be the difference as our boys scored a 98 the next week in a fantastic display, whilst dismissing Dingley for only 109 all up. Another great win! Our last game was against Moorabbin Park and we were short of 3 players (who were helping our other Omega sides), again the game went down to wire with the opposition getting the required runs in the last over.

It is a credit to the persistence of these boys and to the dedication of the coaching staff to finish the season off with two great wins and very close losses. The improvement in all of these boys from kids who played pretty good backyard cricketers to very reasonable park cricketers was a pleasure to watch. Darren Haw did a great job as Coach and was ably assisted by Mark Kelly, Dion Freeman, Graham Wilson and Neil Vorbach. Another pleasing aspect for the boys was the high attendance of parents each week to support the team.

Best During Zac Nick Matt Tom Sion Josh Cam Brent Adam Patrick Season Connor

Batting 7* 14 4* 14* 38* 13* 21* 22 7* 21* 6*

Bowling 1/6 1/1 1/7 1/7 1/2 1/10 1/1 2/14 1/10 1/5 2/4

Batting 15.5 42.5 1.50 20.00 22.83 6.57 10.80 11.67 2.71 21.00 7.00 Average

Bowling 48.0 49.5 54.5 52.50 6.63 43.00 21.50 32.33 98.00 35.67 14.0 Average

28 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

LADIES’ SOFTBALL REPORT – by Marilyn

Well, another enjoyable season is over and whilst we were not as successful on the field as we would like to have been, we certainly were the best looking team in our new uniforms.

Some the highlights this year were Julie and Kerry's home runs and the game where we beat the “Young Guns” (a team of girls aged 14-21 who won the flag) 12 – 5, and we were lucky enough to have the 4ths on the ground next to us watching.

Overall we have enjoyed the season and will be back to do it all again, but till then we are off to the Masters in June on the Queens Birthday weekend at Jells Park where we won the silver last year, so wish us luck.

29 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

REPRESENTATIVE TEAM REPORTS

CMCA Senior Representatives

The CMCA Senior Team only played one game this season and it was against Southern League on 10th December 2007.

Omega had two Representatives in the team; they were Tim Malane (who was named Captain but was unable to play due to injury) and opening batsman Leon McGaw.

The CMCA side bowled first and dismissed Southern for a very low score of 130. Leon McGaw opened the batting for the CMCA and made a scintillating 30 before being dismissed to what can only be described as a brilliant delivery.

The CMCA then went on to pass Southern only two wickets down. It was an excellent performance by the CMCA Team as it was able to turn the tables on last year’s result that saw Southern defeat the CMCA easily.

Congratulations to both Leon McGaw and Tim Malane for their selection in the side.

CMCA U21 Representatives

Congratulations to the following players from Omega who represented the CMCA U21 Squad, they are as follows:

• Chris Clement • Zac Hailstone • Michael Fletcher

Unfortunately, the CMCA U21s did not make the finals due to winning only one of their three games. However, it is a great sign for Omega that we have young players that are capable of making and contributing to this squad.

We look forward to next year when we can hopefully have a number of players push for selection for the CMCA U21 Team.

Again, congratulations to Chris, Zac and Michael for their achievements this year.

The results of the team were as follows:

• CMCA Defeated Dandenong District • CMCA Lost to VTCA South • CMCA Lost to Diamond Valley CA

30 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

REPRESENTATIVE TEAM REPORTS (continued)

Junior Representatives

Omega CC had 13 junior players represent the club and CMCA in various representative competitions across all age groups over the summer. This included:

Mitchell Shield (U12): Steve Lay, Brayden O’Toole, Matt Caia Russell Alan Shield (U14): Alex Bychkov, Mitchell Strahan, Ben Wighton Jim Bietzel Shield (U16): Steve Mitchell (captain), Anthony D’Amico Elsternwick Hatch (U15): Jarryd Lyons (captain), Michael Soldatos, Jonathon Gillard Southern Seagulls (U14): Bradford Wilson, Ben Boyle

Back Row (L to R): Jonathon Gillard, Jarryd Lyons, Bradford Wilson, Michael Soldatos, Anthony D’Amico, Steve Mitchell, Ben Boyle Front Row (L to R): Steven Lay, Matt Caia, Brayden O’Toole, Mitchell Strahan, Alex Bychkov, Ben Wighton

31 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

CLUB TEAM AWARDS Senior Awards Longmuir Awards: Batting: Tim Malane – 51.2 Bowling: Steve Mitchell – 17.0 Fielding: Glenn Beckett Woolnough Awards: Batting: Marcus O’Brien – 41.2 Bowling: Marcus O’Brien – 13.53 Fielding: Dion Lucas C Grade (3rds) Awards: Batting: Don Tulley - 97 Bowling: Vernon Rozario – 26.8 Fielding: Nick Bloink E Grade (4ths) Awards: Batting: Andrew Stewart – 75.3 Bowling: Anthony D’Amico & Graham Wilson Fielding: Michael Soldatos F Grade (5ths) Awards: Batting: Brett Rogers – 39.2 Bowling: Brett Rogers – 16.3 Fielding: Ben Boyle I Grade (6ths) Awards: Batting: Phil Taranto – 80.75 Bowling: Phil Taranto – 10.94 Fielding: Tom Brown One Day Awards: Batting: Darren Haw – 38.2 Bowling: Jason Cloke – 9.07 Fielding: Michael Bridges Junior Awards S16A (Saturday Morning): Batting: Anthony D’Amico – 50.17 Bowling: Jarryd Lyons – 7.9 Fielding: Glenn Beckett Coach’s Award: Jamie Duell S16B (Saturday Morning): Batting: Kerrod Smith – 27.9 Bowling: Aidan Miller – 10.6 Fielding: Chris Nash Coach’s Award: James Amerena

32 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

Junior Awards (continued) T16B (Twilight): Batting: Jonathon Gillard – 39.7 Bowling: Lachlan Simpson – 11.6 Fielding: Stefan Matton Coach’s Award: Jake Miller S14A (Saturday Morning): Batting: Ben Boyle – 153.5 Bowling: Luke Barda 7.72 Fielding: Shojeeb Alam Coach’s Award: Ben Wighton T14B (Twilight): Batting: Mitchell Empsall-Tyas – 31.2 Bowling: Mitchell Empsall-Tyas – 6.9 Fielding: James Fiddler including 5 catches and 1 run out Coach’s Award: Trent Pastura T14C (Twilight): Batting: Nathan Morton - 24 Bowling: Dylan Smith – 16.44 Fielding: Matthew Dance Coach’s Award: Nick Evans

S12A (Saturday Morning): Batting: Brayden O’Toole & Kevin Harris – 60.3 Bowling: James Howard – 5.8 Fielding: Matt Caia Coach’s Award: George Young S12C (Saturday Morning): Batting: Kosta Walker-Laskos – 49 Bowling: Kosta Walker-Laskos – 6.73 Fielding: Sam Bridges Coach’s Award: Michael Lee S12D (Saturday Morning): Batting: Jack Vorbach – 45 Bowling: Corey Smith – 6.42 Fielding: Adam Tonkin Coach’s Award: Matthew Drummond S12E (Saturday Morning): Batting: Brent Kelly – 42.5 Bowling: Patrick Burnell – 6.63 Fielding: Nicholas Bridges Coach’s Award: Tom Rendall

33 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

CMCA AWARDS Championship Club Omega won this award for the second year in a row. This is awarded to the club which accumulates the most number of points after the home and away season for both senior and junior teams. Points are weighted against the grade of each team and then totalled for each club. Knights Awards

Team of the Year Congratulations to Tim Malane and Ivan Delac who were both included in the team. Tim was also named ‘Captain of the Year’.

Player of the Year (Senior) Votes of 3, 2, and 1 were allocated at each Longmuir match for the ‘Player of the Year’. The winner was Stacey Brown of West Bentleigh with 14 votes. Omega’s placings were:

Rd Rd Rd Rd Rd Rd Rd Rd Rd Rd Rd Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Votes Leon McGaw (5th) 3 1 3 3 10 Tim Malane 1 3 3 7 Ivan Delac 1 1 3 1 6 Tristan Reimers 1 3 4 Matthew Burns 2 2 Steve Mitchell 2 2 Rodney Sawaya 1 1 Glenn Beckett 1 1

Player of the Year (Junior) Steve Mitchell – Under 16

CMCA Batting & Bowling Awards E Grade Batting: Andrew Stewart – 75.3 One Day Bowling: Jason Cloke – 9.07 S16A Bowling: Steve Mitchell – 10.94 S14A Batting: Ben Boyle – 153.5 S12A Bowling: James Howard – 5.8

34 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

CMCA AWARDS (continued) CMCA Best Player in Grand Final Awards S16A: Jarryd Lyons S14A: Alex Bychkov S12A: Ben Wilson S12C East: Kosta Walker-Laskos Umpire’s Association Awards Most Hospitable Club Award

35 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

CLUB AWARDS Outstanding Performances 7+ Wickets

C Grade: Daniel Bourne – 7/23 Rd 10 vs Carnegie South

E Grade: George Sawaya – 7/43 Rd 9 vs Bentleigh East Graham Wilson – 8/52 Rd 10 vs Brighton District

I Grade: Phil Taranto – 8/54 Rd 10 vs Kingston Heath

Centuries

U16A Glenn Beckett – 100* Rd 10 vs Moorabbin West

Longmuir: Leon McGaw – 113 Rd 2 vs Asp Edithvale RSL Ivan Delac – 107 Rd 4 vs Hampton Central Leon McGaw – 121 Rd 5 vs Bentleigh ANA Tim Malane – 161 Rd 10 vs Elwood

Woolnough: Seb Draga – 116 Rd 11 vs Hampton United

C Grade: Chris Ryan – 111 (Ret Hurt) Rd 2 vs Bentleigh Uniting Don Tulley – 125 Rd 5 vs Melbourne Wanderers Jacob Slucki – 127 Rd 8 vs St Kilda City Jacob Slucki – 105 Rd 11 vs Brighton Union

E Grade: Michael Soldatos – 102 Rd 5 vs Dingley Paul McGaw – 120 Rd 11 vs Mackie

I Grade: Andrew McGaw – 106* Rd 4 vs Highett West Mal Lay – 152* Rd 5 vs North Caulfield Phil Taranto – 131* Rd 5 vs North Caulfield Milestones 300 Games Andy McGaw Mark Valentini

250 Games Andy Stewart Mal Lay Tim Malane

150 Games John Almiento Calvin Wilkinson

100 Games Glenn Beckett Nick Bloink Anthony D’Amico Zack Hailstone

36 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

CLUB AWARDS (continued)

Club Champion Ivan Delac

Outstanding Services Vern Rozario

Aggregate Runs Paul McGaw – 506 Runs

Aggregate Wickets Daniel Bourne – 34 Wickets Steve Cruwys – 34 Wickets

Best Under 21 Player Dion Lucas

Most Promising Junior* Glenn Beckett & Steve Mitchell

Best Clubman Tracey Fletcher

Life Membership Stefan Hack Margaret Ryan Noelene Tulley

*The Most Promising Junior shield was named the Mal Lay Award in honor of Mal’s tireless work and achievement with the junior program.

PHOTO GALLERY

Pictured with our four junior premiership shields: Steven Lay (S12A); Ben Boyle & Bradford Wilson (S14A); Glenn Beckett (S16A) and Kosta Walker-Laskos (S12C)

37 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

PHOTO GALLERY (continued)

CMCA Award recipients: Steve Mitchell (S16A Bowling); Ben Boyle (S14A Batting); James Howard (S12A Bowling)

Accepting the Premiership Pennants on behalf of Omega: Steven Lay (S12A); Jarryd Lyons and Steve Mitchell (S16A); Ben Boyle (S14A) & Kosta Walker-Laskos (S12C)

38 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

PHOTO GALLERY (continued)

CMCA Award recipients: Jarryd Lyons (Best Player in Grand Final – S16A) and Steve Mitchell (U16 Junior Player of the Year – Knights Award)

Our new Life Members: Margaret Ryan, Stefan Hack and Noelene Tulley were welcomed as Life Members of the Club.

39 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

PHOTO GALLERY (continued)

Margaret Ryan is surrounded by family as she celebrates her Life Membership.

Don Tulley ‘congratulates’ Paul (Bluey) McGaw on his 350th game with Omega.

40 Omega Cricket Club (CMCA) 2006/07 Season Review

PHOTO GALLERY (continued)

The MIKE SMITH CUP was held Sunday, 26 November. Representing Omega CC were Chris Clement, Ivan Delac, Jason Cloke, Marcus O’Brien, Mathew Burns, Josh Krull, Vernon Rozario, Ramsey Yacoub, Calvin Wilkinson, Rodney Sawaya, Zack Hailstone, Glenn Becket and, Roshan Rodrigo. Representing Richmond FC were Patrick Bowden, Adam Pattison, Joel Bowden, Bent Hartigan, Matthew Richardson, Angus Graham, Grahem Polak, Matthew White, Daniel Jackson, Will Thusfield and Chris Smith. Also pictured far left – Don Tulley (Omega CC President)

Chris Smith (organiser of the Mike Smith Cup) with Joel Bowden.

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