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JJUUNNIIOORRSS RREEPPOORRTT PRESIDENT’S REPORT SEASON 2008 - 2009

The 2007/08 season saw Epping District Cricket Club – Juniors field eight teams in total, one team less than the previous season. These comprised two U10 Average teams, two U11 teams, U12, U13, U14 West and U16. As in previous seasons we have also had a strong In2Cricket (previously MILO Cricket) programme for the 5-8 year olds running at Epping Oval.

Two of our teams made it to their Grand Finals - our U14 West and U11 Red teams. While the U11 Red team was defeated by a better side on the day they played fantastic cricket throughout the season and can be proud of their efforts. Our U14 West team turned their form around completely from last season and won their game convincingly with great displays of bowling, fielding and . They went through the season undefeated. Congratulations to both these teams!

I encourage you to read each of the team reports included in this Annual Report. We have some outstanding cricketers in the Club who have put in some great performances and others who are showing great potential.

The U11-U16 statistics in this Annual Report have been downloaded from the NDCA website, which is in line with the alterations to how results were recorded for the season. All teams have been very efficient with their recording of results and their adaptation to the new method. Thanks to all those “authorized web users” who attended the information night and diligently input the scorecards each week. You have done a fantastic job.

This season MILO Cricket underwent a name change and became In2Cricket. Mark and Kristen Henning ran a new Have-a-Game format for the older children, which is a stepping stone up to U10 Average cricket. It went very well this season and was enjoyed by all those who participated.

Michael and Sarah Wise ran our Have-a-Go programme which followed on from the success of previous seasons. I acknowledge all the efforts of the organizers and those of the parents who assisted in making these junior programmes run smoothly and successfully.

Our Committee this season has comprised:

President Peter Tugwell Vice-President - Secretary Peter Dwyer Treasurer Stephen Fry Registrar Samantha McCarthy Equipment Officer Peter Tugwell Stumpings Editor - Shirts Christine Allsopp/Sue Cale Trophies Christine Allsopp/Sue Cale In2Cricket Have-a-Go Michael & Sarah Wise In2Cricket Have-a-Game Mark Henning Annual Report Peter Tugwell

Samantha McCarthy (Registrar) and Stephen Fry (Treasurer) have again been outstanding in their various roles on the Committee and great supporters of the Club and I thank them for their efforts. Samantha will be relinquishing the role of Registrar after this season as she will no longer have a son playing at EDCC-J. Stephen has undertaken the role of Treasurer even though his son moved up to play with the Epping Bulls this season. Thankyou to both of you.

Christine Allsopp has once again been her usual efficient self in organising shirts and trophies for her final time this season. Sue Cale has assisted Chris towards the end of this season and will be taking over this role next season. Thankyou to you both.

Our photo day at Epping Oval in February, combined with a free sausage sizzle and a Bulls game at the oval, was a day for each team to have their photo taken but was also a great opportunity for everyone to mix with other people who play cricket with EDCC-J. The social aspect of being in a Club is very important and I encourage everyone to do all they can to make each Saturday morning an enjoyable time for everyone.

Our Managers, Coaches, Scorers, and Umpires have all made a very worthwhile contribution again this season. They are the ones who make the games happen every week and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.

Once again, I would especially like to thank my wife, Libby, for her support and encouragement during the season.

I hope you all enjoyed the 2008/09 cricket season at Epping District Cricket Club – Juniors.

Peter Tugwell President Epping District Cricket Club – Juniors March 2009

EPPING DISTRICT CRICKET CLUB JUNIORS

2008/2009 MAJOR AWARDS

Senior Club Cricketer of the Year: Mitchell Gerdes U16

Intermediate Club Cricketer of the Year: Tom Alice U14 West

Junior Club Cricketer of the Year: Cameron Court U12

Under 10 Coaches Awards:

Red Zahary Cai Green Charlie Teirney

Spirit of Cricket: Divij Mehra U16

Encouragement Award: Jack Cale U11 Red

Wicket Keeper of the Year: Regan Pinker U14 West (14 dismissals)

Most Catches (Non Keeper): Chris Johnston U11 Red (18 catches)

Five in an innings: Mitchell Gerdes U16 5 for 6 vs Epping YMCA 1-11-08 Shashvat Sharma U14 5 for 20 vs North Ryde RSL 20-9-08 Cameron Court U12 5 for 17 vs Dundas United 1-11-08

Centuries: Cameron Court – U12 West (103)

Hatrick: NIL

Grant Finalists: Under 14 West Premiers Under 11 Red Runners-Up

Senior Cricketer of the Year

Mitchell Gerdes

The recipient of this award, has earned a fitting reputation as an all-rounder for his consistent delivery of results with bat, ball and in the field. Competitive in all aspects of the game, he maintained a perspective and displayed good sportsmanship throughout the season, while offering encouragement to those around him. His statistics (topping the aggregate and average for batting, second most wickets of all bowlers in the team, and most catches by a non wicketkeeper) speak for themselves and also speak of a bright future in "Adult" competition in years to come. Congratulations Mitchell Gerdes.

Intermediate Cricketer of the Year

Tom Alice

In a team of very fine cricketers Tom’s combination of batting and bowling figures was the deciding factor in his winning the Intermediate Cricketer of the year. Despite limited opportunities with the bat he still managed to score 127 runs at a very healthy average of 63.50. With the ball he took 13 wickets at 8.23. Tom’s modesty about his achievements and sense of fair play are also two great qualities he possesses.

Congratulations Tom and well done!

Junior Cricketer of the Year

Cameron Court

You can look at Cameron's statistics for the season and be suitably impressed (I wish they were mine!), but Cameron's dedication and commitment are his greatest achievements. He approached every game with enthusiasm, no matter how bleak the situation was, and encouraged everyone to keep their mind on the game. Cameron is an absolute "natural" with a fast, fluid bowling action and a text book batting technique. It's not often that we come across this sort of skill at this age level and I hope that Cameron keeps at it as he is going to be someone to remember. I sure know I was lucky enough to watch his first century (103) and see him carve up an opposition batting line up (6/17) with bowling most adults would have had trouble playing. Cameron congratulations on this award, it's very well deserved.

Spirit of Cricket Award

Divij Mehra

"C'mon – you can do it" became something of a mantra for the recipient of the Spirit of Cricket award for 2009, throughout his years of junior cricket with EDCC-J.

Divij Mehra has always put the team before himself and given wholeheartedly to the cause, batting, bowling or in the field where his teammates (generally) knew to stay clear of a skied ball when the cry "DIVIJ'S", was heard. Divij never gives up and always looks for the 'silver lining', while maintaining goodwill to his teammates and opponents alike. A most deserving awardee.

Encouragement Award

Jack Cale

Jack’s form with the bat, highest score of 92, Agg 271 runs at 33.88 put him 4th over all for the N.D.C.A. His bowling 58 overs for 102 runs, 18 wickets at 6.67 topped the association averages. This left Jack as a strong contender for the Junior Cricketer of the year. He has many runs left in the tank over the years if he curves his enthusiasm for boundaries and builds his innings. Jack’s stump to stump bowling was great to watch. His help with statistics through the year was invaluable help for the coaches.

U10 Coaches Awards

U10 Green – Charlie Teirney

The Under 10 Green team had many outstanding performances throughout this season, however this year’s Coach’s Award goes to Charlie Teirney. Charlie had an outstanding season with both bat and ball, amassing 105 runs with some hard hitting batting, snaring 22 wickets with some very deceptive leg spinners or medium pacers, latching on to a few catches in the field and even effecting a stumping or two. Not bad when you consider that you only bowl two overs a game and bat for three! Always the experimenter, Charlie would always be trying something new at training where he was an enthusiastic participant. On game days he could usually be relied upon to provide a steadying innings or take a vital wicket. Charlie will certainly be a player to watch in the future and I’m sure will be a thorn in opposition sides in the seasons ahead.

Under 10 Red – Zachary Cai

The Players Player for the U10 Red team is Zachary Cai. All the players voted for three players giving them 1,2 or 3 points. The selection was based on someone they thought had improved during the year and who had played fairly with a sense of team spirit. All players received at least one vote which indicated the level of improvement across the whole team. It also showed that all the players had a great sense of team spirit and encouraged each other during the season. There were 4 players who finished very closely on points, however, Zac Cai came out on top to be Players' Player for U10 Red 2008/09. Congratulations Zac - a well deserved award. During the season Zac made huge improvements in his bowling and batting as well as his fielding. Zac showed a determination to improve and also enjoyed the team spirit and showed an eagerness every week to be involved in all aspects of the game. He is to be congratulated for his efforts and improvement.

TEAM REPORTS

Under 10 Green

Season 2008/9 has been a great season for the Under 10 Green’s. We came together at the start of the season as a mixture of players who played last year and some that were just beginning their time playing cricket.

Right from the first game, the boys showed that they were going to be a force to be reckoned with and throughout the season they showed what a talented bunch they were.

Week to week the boys put in a strong showing of batting, bowling and fielding that saw them dominate most teams both from an average per wicket and total runs made, which gave our enthusiastic supporters much to cheer about. If a result table had been kept I’m sure that they would have been near the top.

This season was my first as a coach despite being around the game for some years and I must say that it gave me much pleasure to be involved with such a great bunch of boys. The spirit and enthusiasm in which they played and practiced is a credit to them.

I’d like to particularly like to thank Ian Farquhar who helped me coach the boys during the season and was our umpire each Saturday, Anna Grigson for her fantastic work as our team manager and those parents that shared scoring duties.

Lastly I would like to thank all the parents for their support throughout the season, for ferrying the kids to and from practice and games and sharing in their improvement throughout the season.

Richard Evans and Ian Farquhar Coaches

Christian D’Aspromonte A hard hitting right hand batsmen and slow medium bowler who bowls a handy inswinger and improved every week. Very much a quiet achiever and a keen student of the game.

Charlie Cale A dynamic all rounder who bats very aggressively and bowls very fast. As one of the younger players of the team Charlie punches well above his weight and had an outstanding season.

Brayden Dilley Brayden is a cricket technician who bats and bowls with very good technique. Whether it’s batting, bowling or wicket keeping he always gives it 100% and with great enthusiasm and commitment.

Will Evans A very enthusiastic cricketer blessed with a good deal of natural ability. His attacking batting, accurate bowling and tidy wicket-keeping yielded very good results for his first year and should stand him in good stead for the seasons ahead.

Under 10 Green - continued

Tom Farquhar In his first year of cricket Tom was a keen learner whose batting and bowling improved markedly during the season. Tom was a real team player who always gave his best effort.

Thomas Grigson Thomas is developing into a fine slow medium bowler who bowls with plenty of variety and picked up some handy wickets and batsman with gritty determination who values his wicket highly.

Joshua Phillips A handy medium fast bowler who bowls a good inswinger and a batsman who bats with determination and a solid defence. Another of our quiet achievers.

Thomas Russell As our only left arm bowler Tom gave our attack some good variety with his looping deliveries that developed nicely as the season went on. In contrast, Tom bats right handed and made some valuable contributions with his hard hitting knocks.

Connor Salmon Connor is another one of our quiet achievers whose batting and bowling showed great improvement throughout the season. He could always be relied upon to value his wicket and bowl very accurately.

Thomas Steele Week in week out Tom batted and bowled with tremendous enthusiasm. He scored some runs, took some wickets. His enjoyment of the game was always evident because of his infectious smile.

Charlie Teirney The was ‘elder statesman’ of the team who displayed powerful hitting with the bat, throwing from the outfield and either bamboozling spin or solid medium pace with the ball. Charlie had an outstanding all- round season and will be a handful for opposition teams in the years ahead.

U10 Green Statistics

Individual Batting - Under 10 Green

Player Batting Innings Runs Out Av. H.S. Catches Charlie Cale 14 157 6 11.2 24 4 Christian D’Aspromonte 13 18 8 1.4 5 Braydon Dilley 15 29 2 1.9 11 2 Will Evans 14 114 6 8.1 22 9 Thomas Farquhar 15 42 6 2.8 10 4 Thomas Grigson 15 31 4 2.1 13 1 Joshua Phillips 15 23 4 1.5 5 Thomas Russell 15 30 9 2 8 1 Connor Salmon 14 45 6 3.2 10 1 Thomas Steele 10 24 4 2.4 6 1 Charlie Tierney 13 105 4 8 17 3

Individual Bowling - Under 10 Green

Player Bowling Overs Wks Runs Av/Wk Av/Over Best Charlie Cale 26 12 90 7.5 3.5 3/3 Christian D’Aspromonte 23 9 85 9.4 3.7 2/7 Braydon Dilley 25 13 23 5.6 2.9 2/0 Will Evans 22 11 43 3.9 1.6 2/2 Thomas Farquhar 25 8 76 9.5 3 2/2 Thomas Grigson 26 8 93 11.6 3.6 2/10 Joshua Phillips 26 4 104 26 4 2/3 Thomas Russell 25 10 96 9.6 3.8 4/8 Connor Salmon 22 15 75 5 3.4 4/1 Thomas Steele 16 6 58 9.7 3.6 3/10 Charlie Tierney 24 22 52 2.4 2.2 4/6

Under 10 Red

The Under 10 Red team has been amazing this year. We started as a team with 11 boys who had not played club cricket before and have ended the year with 11 boys who have all made immense improvements, not only in the level of play but also in their understanding of the game.

Most importantly the players and parents have had a lot of fun throughout the season and all looked forward to the Saturday morning event of U10 Red cricket.

U10 Red is a team of wonderful boys who have been enthusiastic all year and have played with great sportsmanship. They have encouraged each other and developed a fantastic team spirit. They should be very proud of themselves for everything they have achieved this season.

Everyone has learnt so much this year from our coaching team – Nass and Lal – and is very grateful for the time they have put into training the team and providing encouragement every Saturday. In addition, the Grays have managed the scoring for the U10 Reds and the Morrisons have managed and umpired – Many thanks to everyone that contributed this year.

Well done to all the boys and we look forward to another great season of cricket nest year!!

Jane Morrison Manager

Tommy Khodeir Tommy received the Most Consistent Bowler Award for his bowling efforts but has also improved in all other aspects of his game. He also made notable improvements in his fielding throughout the year.

Marco Muranty Marco was noted as one of the most improved players of the season. He received a Classic Catch Award for a sensational catch he took in the outfield – and he held onto it despite the fact it was a finger stinger!

Henry Kirk Henry was another Classic Catch Award recipient. He was also one of the most improved players with significant improvements across his game – bowling, batting and fielding. He partnered up with Hugh for the last few games of the season and they displayed some great new skills – particularly in grabbing any run that was available.

Nathan Stubbs Nathan received the Gilly Award for Keeping. Nathan was always watching the play whether he was fielding or keeping and planning the best way to get someone out. If there was a stumping to be had Nathan was the man! He also showed enormous improvements through the season in his batting and bowling.

Under 10 Red - continued

Amandana Somaratna Aman was a stand out player at the start of the season and remained one of our “go-to” boys for every game. His confidence and reliability with the bat was matched at the bowling end. Aman received the Brett Lee Pace Award.

Johnson Sim Our team was full of huge improvements and Johnson was certainly one of them. Beginning the season struggling to regularly bowl on the pitch Johnson became one of our most reliable bowlers. He increased his run up and put a lot of effort into his bowling which was rewarded by very consistent bowling and a number of wickets, and the Most Improved Bowler Award.

Oscar Sheehan Oscar received an All-rounders Award which was extremely appropriate for a player who started as an All-rounder and ended the season with great improvements in all aspects of his game. He is a reliable player with the bat or ball and can also be depended upon in the field.

Hugh Morrison Hugh is a player dedicated to the game – he loves his cricket and it shows in his enthusiasm every week. Hugh was awarded the Most Consistent Batsman Award and after many weeks struggling with his bowling started to show great improvement late in the season.

Naba Allah Syed Haider Naba was another of our “go-to” players. A reliable and strong player in all aspects of the game he received an All-rounders Award. Naba is dedicated to cricket and was one of our most enthusiastic players.

Michael Gray The Best Wicket Throw-down Award went to Mike Gray for an amazing Ricky Ponting style fielding effort which blew the stumps out of the ground when thrown from the out field. This was one of many incredible fielding feats we witnessed from Mike, a very reliable fielder. Mike also showed great improvements in his batting and bowling with quite a few runs and wickets under his belt.

Zachary Cai Zac was awarded the Players Player Award – voted by all his team mates, in place of a coaches award. Zac has been the most improved player of the season and has played every week with enthusiasm and effort. His batting, bowling and fielding have all improved immensely and he has finished the season a “new” player.

Under 11 Red

It has been a great team effort by the Boy’s. They went through most of the season as competition leaders only to be knocked over in the final by Berala. With this behind them they will be bigger, harder and stronger for the next season.

Congratulations to Oliver, Jack, Jake, Chris and Jared who made the Creak Shield squad.

Many thanks to our Manager Steven Wood, the parents who helped score on game days and to Simon Johnston for your help at training.

Lindsay Every and Mick Dries Coaches

Jack Cale Jack was our team all rounder. His batting and bowling averages topped the teams and he was always keen in the field.

Matthew Davidson Matthew has improved his all round game considerably through the season. Dynamic in the field and he was consistent with the bat and ball.

Jared Dries Jared did his best to lead us to victory as our skipper since Christmas. He bowled consistent and batted well. Jared was always encouraging the boys and did his best to lift the side on the field.

Mitchell Every Mitchell has bowled some brilliant spells of leg spin. He fielded well in close and was solid with the bat in hand.

Gaurav Gholkar Gaurav was a willing opening batsman who gave his all for the team. He was safe in the field and after Christmas turned into a very dangerous off spinner.

Christopher Johnston Chris is a very good quick opening bowler who bowled tight all year. He was brilliant in the field with great hands. Chris batted with skill when in the middle.

Matthew Lim Matthew improved over the season and was solid with the bat. His bowling has improved out of sight and he was switched on in the field.

Oliver Markus Oliver was our number one keeper who has a big future ahead. He batted solid all year. Under 11 Red - continued

Patrick Lane Patrick kept improving through the season. He had some bad luck with a broken wrist which meant we missed his skill in all facets for the final.

Jake Richards Jake bowled some great spells of left arm swing. He always tried hard in the field and batted with plenty of power.

Matthew Salmon Matthew was another player with a fracture after trying to catch a bullet at mid on. His batting was consistent all year, and with the ball he was unplayable at times.

Thomas Wood Thomas was always keen to help the team. He batted with courage all year. His left arm bowling had the opposition guessing and was very consistent in the field.

U11 Red Statistics

Individual Batting - Under 11 Red

# Player Mat Inn N/O High 50s 100s Agg Ave

1 Cale, Jack 13 10 2 92 1 0 271 33.88

2 Davidson, Matthew 13 9 2 9 0 0 21 3.00

3 Dries, Jared 14 12 5 57 1 0 189 27.00

4 Every, Mitchel 12 7 3 12 0 0 25 6.25

5 Gholkar, Gaurav 11 10 3 16 0 0 58 8.29

6 Johnston, Christopher 14 9 4 23 0 0 75 15.00

7 Lane, Patrick 12 7 3 7 0 0 15 3.75

8 Lim, Matthew 12 9 3 3 0 0 7 1.17

9 Markus, Oliver 13 9 1 26 0 0 95 11.88

10 Richards, Jake 13 9 2 42 0 0 75 10.71

11 Salmon, Matthew 12 8 2 10 0 0 18 3.00

12 Wood, Thomas 13 8 1 22 0 0 43 6.14

Individual Bowling - Under 11 Red

# Player Mat Ovrs Mdns Runs W 5/- 10/- Ave Best

1 Cale, Jack 15 58.4 11 140 21 0 0 6.67 4/6

2 Davidson, Matthew 11 25.0 0 164 5 0 0 32.80 2/36

3 Dries, Jared 14 45.0 5 159 9 0 0 17.67 2/19

4 Every, Mitchel 14 41.0 2 180 11 0 0 16.36 4/9

5 Gholkar, Gaurav 10 25.0 3 81 8 0 0 10.13 2/5

6 Johnston, Christopher 15 68.2 12 158 16 0 0 9.88 3/11

7 Lane, Patrick 10 21.0 2 76 1 0 0 76.00 1/14

8 Lim, Matthew 13 24.0 0 143 4 0 0 35.75 2/8

9 Markus, Oliver 5 6.0 0 17 4 0 0 4.25 2/8

10 Richards, Jake 15 59.2 10 153 12 0 0 12.75 3/8

11 Salmon, Matthew 10 24.0 1 112 6 0 0 18.67 2/2

12 Wood, Thomas 14 33.0 2 120 5 0 0 24.00 2/7

U11 Red Statistics

Individual Fielding - Under 11 Red

# Player Mat Caught Run Out Total

1 Cale, Jack 5 6 0 0 6

2 Davidson, Matthew 3 2 0 1 3

3 Dries, Jared 5 4 0 1 5

4 Every, Mitchel 3 4 0 0 4

5 Gholkar, Gaurav 2 1 0 1 2

6 Johnston, Christopher 11 16 0 1 17

7 Lane, Patrick 2 2 0 0 2

8 Lim, Matthew 3 2 0 1 3

9 Markus, Oliver * 7 11 1 1 13

10 Richards, Jake 2 3 0 0 3

11 Salmon, Matthew 1 1 0 1 2

12 Wood, Thomas 2 3 0 0 3

Individual Wicket Keeping - Under 11 Red

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Markus, Oliver 7 6 1 0 7

Under 11 Green

What a season! The boys started slowly with only one win from the first five games. A few of those losses were nail biters that went down to the wire. We struggled in the early games to take wickets and it proved a real challenge to bowl a team out. Gradually we began to bowl more economically and with better accuracy. Such was the improvement that the boys went close to taking an outright win against Carlingford Blue by taking seventeen wickets in a day.

Everyone improved significantly throughout the year due to the hard work they put in at training and their commitment on game day. We finished the season strongly winning our last three games to almost finish in the top four. The most exciting thing for me was to see the boys playing as a team.

Different players stood out on different days but everyone had some ‘special moments’. The team spirit meant that every wicket was celebrated with enthusiasm. Often you would see the boys running in to congratulate the bowler or fieldsmen with a “well done!’ and a ruffle of the hair.

Our best team bowling performance was against Carlingford Red 7/32 (13).

Our best batting performance was against West Ryde 5/199 (40).

Thanks to my Dad (Roger Green) for helping me coach the team and making trainings when I couldn’t.

Thanks to the all the parents that showed up every week & the Dad’s that helped out at training. A big thanks to Scott Pascoe for scoring every week and to John Murray for organising everybody.

Also thanks to the boys for making this year so enjoyable to coach.

Josh Green and Roger Green Coaches

Jim Abignano Jim was a new inclusion in the team this year. Jim fitted in nicely with clever wicket keeping skills and a knack for taking wickets with the ball in hand. Jim was also very handy with the bat knocking up 164 runs in the year with powerful shots off his legs.

Lachlan Carfax Lachlan is a very skilful cricketer with batting strokes that are technically exceptional for his age. Lachlan took 11 wickets and towards the end of the year he found some extra pace to go with his killer accuracy and began to take more wickets.

Sam Gibbons Sam worked very hard throughout the year and began to find a quicker spinner which was harder to be hit by the batsman. Sam had an enthusiastic attitude and his batting improved significantly as the season went on. One of Sam’s highlights for the season was a sizzling throw for a run out. Under 11 Green - continued

Jack Gray It was Jack’s first year with the team and unfortunately was a short one due to private school commitments. Jack developed a very successful skiddy low action which was hard to pick up. Jack was also a resourceful ‘pinch hitter’ if the time came to score quickly.

Nathan Green Nathan had a solid year where he bowled with good speed and accuracy with an impressive economy of 2.38. Nathan was also a very good middle order batsman where he had seven not outs from twelve innings.

Alistair Hancock It was Ali’s first year playing cricket but you wouldn’t have known it. He picked up the fundamentals and skills of the game very quickly. His batting and bowling improved out of sight with a high score of 11 and best bowling figures of 2/16. Alistair’s season with us was also cut short due to private school commitments.

Matt Makinson It was Matt’s first year playing for us and he batted exceptionally well scoring 387 for the year with an average of 38.70. Matt is a big hitter who often times the ball to perfection. An express pace bowler, his thunderbolts often rattled the stumps and if not rattled many an opposition batsmen.

Kyren McIntosh Kyren had another solid year. Everyone will remember his classic catch at fine leg at Roselea. Kyren improved his batting and his defence is now as solid as a brick wall. Kyren was also very handy bowler often extracting extra bounce from the pitch.

Dante Muranty Dante a newcomer to the team and to the sport improved constantly throughout the year. His bowling became increasing accurate and he was close to unplayable in the last game. He was rewarded with two well earned wickets. Dante’s batting also improved as he began to protect his wicket and play some powerful strokes.

Jack Murray Jack is a tenacious cricketer who wears his heart on his sleeve. He loves his cricket and his enthusiasm is infectious. Through the season Jack developed into an accomplished all rounder and could always be relied upon with bat or ball.

Charlie Neil Charlie was a real surprise packet this year. He played some cracking shots with the bat and had the knack of chiming in with a wicket at just the right time with his bowling. Charlie with some more work on his defence has the makings of a solid opening or middle-order batsmen.

Under 11 Green - continued

Cooper Pascoe Cooper had a slow start with the bat this season once he turned the corner he played some great shots. Frequently Cooper would open our bowling attack. His pace and pinpoint accuracy worried many a top order batsmen and brought him a swag of wickets. When he was not bowling Coops enjoyed some time behind the stumps as wicketkeeper.

Josh Stern Josh has a real passion for cricket and a keen cricketing brain. Always thinking in the field he snared a number of good catches and has a deadly arm that rarely misses the stumps. This year Josh accumulated some good scores by placing the ball into the gaps and smart running between the wickets. Josh is also a very useful bowler. His accuracy frustrated many batsmen and landed him a number of wickets.

U11 Green Statistics

Individual Batting - Under 11 Green

# Player Mat Inn N/O High 50s 100s Agg Ave

1 Abignano, Jim 12 12 3 34 0 0 157 17.44

2 Carfax, Lachlan 14 12 1 27 0 0 128 11.64

3 Gibbons, Sam 11 9 1 9 0 0 38 4.75

4 Gray, Jack 6 4 0 5 0 0 8 2.00

5 Green, Nathan 12 11 6 17 0 0 76 15.20

6 Hancock, Alistair 8 7 2 11 0 0 25 5.00

7 Makinson, Matthew 12 11 2 76 1 0 340 37.78

8 McIntosh, Kyren 9 7 2 2 0 0 4 0.80

9 Muranty, Dante 11 9 2 1 0 0 2 0.29

10 Murray, Jack 12 8 0 24 0 0 84 10.50

11 Neil, Charlie 12 10 1 16 0 0 34 3.78

12 Pascoe, Cooper 13 11 3 24 0 0 81 10.13

13 Stern, Joshua 12 12 5 69 1 0 176 25.14

Individual Bowling - Under 11 Green

# Player Mat Ovrs Mdns Runs W 5/- 10/- Ave Best

1 Abignano, Jim 10 20.0 2 69 4 0 0 17.25 1/4

2 Carfax, Lachlan 12 28.4 4 70 5 0 0 14.00 2/2

3 Gibbons, Sam 9 18.0 0 84 2 0 0 42.00 1/10

4 Gray, Jack 7 17.0 0 78 2 0 0 39.00 1/10

5 Green, Nathan 10 28.0 5 71 7 0 0 10.14 3/8

6 Hancock, Alistair 9 22.0 0 132 3 0 0 44.00 2/16

7 Makinson, Matthew 10 28.0 2 91 7 0 0 13.00 2/7

8 McIntosh, Kyren 9 19.0 0 109 3 0 0 36.33 1/3

9 Muranty, Dante 9 19.0 0 158 2 0 0 79.00 1/9

10 Murray, Jack 10 25.0 3 72 5 0 0 14.40 2/4

11 Neil, Charlie 11 20.3 0 108 4 0 0 27.00 1/8

12 Pascoe, Cooper 9 32.0 7 77 11 0 0 7.00 3/17

13 Stern, Joshua 11 27.0 2 76 4 0 0 19.00 2/2

U11 Green Statistics

Individual Fielding - Under 11 Green

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Abignano, Jim * 5 6 0 0 6

2 Carfax, Lachlan 3 2 0 1 3

3 Gibbons, Sam 1 0 0 1 1

4 Gray, Jack 1 1 0 0 1

5 Green, Nathan 3 5 0 0 5

6 Hancock, Alistair 1 1 0 0 1

7 Makinson, Matthew 7 8 0 2 10

8 McIntosh, Kyren 1 1 0 0 1

9 Muranty, Dante 1 1 0 0 1

10 Murray, Jack 1 1 0 0 1

11 Neil, Charlie 1 1 0 0 1

12 Pascoe, Cooper * 5 6 0 0 6

13 Stern, Joshua 7 4 0 4 8

Individual Wicket Keeping - Under 11 Green

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Abignano, Jim 5 4 0 0 4

2 Pascoe, Cooper 5 2 0 0 2

Under 12

As this was my first season as coach it was with much nervousness that I approached our first game. I had no idea what to expect and turning up to the wrong ground was not a good start! (The team got used to these "School Boy Errors” as they happened on a regular basis throughout the season!).

Well I need not have worried as the boys seemed to just take off from where they finished last season. They played this game, and every other game, with a lot of enthusiasm, skill and sportsmanship.

The most pleasing aspect of the season for me was to see all of the boys improve their game in different ways. At every training session I could see them trying new techniques and any advice that was offered was always taken in.

The encouragement they offered each other on the field I believe got them through those bad spots that all sporting teams hit. They never seemed to get downhearted, even when the scoreboard was against them, and were always looking for opportunities.

Our results for the year in my opinion are outstanding and all the team should be very proud of what they have achieved, but we couldn't have done it without a lot of help. Firstly a big thankyou to Uday Shivamurthy, our Manager, who was always there to assist and organise the boys and offer advice.

Another thankyou to Sanjay, Scott, Jon, Brian and Jayanand for their help and advice at training.

Our scorers for the year consisted of Uday, Nicole, Scott, Jayanand, Patrick, and Peter. They all did a great job and thankfully had very legible handwriting.

A thankyou also for our umpires, Peter and Vishal, who did a fantastic job in what can be a thankless task. They had to endure quite hot weather and still managed to concentrate and be fair.

Lastly an apology to Cameron Court for almost retiring him on 49 runs, I did say there were a lot of "School Boy" errors, but this was one of my best.

It was an absolute pleasure to be the "Coach" for the boys. My son Tom and I have made a whole lot of new friends as a result and can't wait for next season to start.

Rob Casey Coach

Under 12 - continued

Patrick Carfax Patrick was easy to spot on the field as he was usually the one taking a catch. Topping our score sheet with 9 catches taken through the season is an impressive result. Patrick is an enthusiastic cricketer and is always thinking of ways to get batsmen out. He enjoys his regular fielding position of first slip and with hands like his no one was going to argue with him. A pleasing aspect for Patrick was the improvement in his bowling, which showed in the two wickets he took through the season.

Shaun Carrington Shaun is a very athletic boy who really enjoyed his cricket this season. He has a never say die attitude and bats as if there is no tomorrow. His highest score of 10 was a match winner and a real highlight of his season. Shaun was great in the field and was a regular backstop for our keepers. Some of the grounds we played on had very short boundaries, behind the batsmen, and Shaun was always on call to make sure the ball didn't go for four. Shaun's bowling improved throughout the year and he snared the wicket of one very good batsmen.

Tom Casey This was Tom's first season playing cricket and he surprised a lot of us with the improvement in his overall game. He unfortunately broke his wrist halfway through the season and had to miss quite a few games. This however did not dampen his spirits and he kept practicing as much as he could. Highlights for Tom this season was the catch he took against Oakhill and his first wicket against Epping YMCA Red. He has put a lot of work into his bowling and batting and we started to see the improvement in his batting during the semi final match against West Ryde Rovers. If he continues this improvement he will be a very valuable player next season.

Adam Clark No one likes being an opening batsmen. It is one of the hardest positions in any cricket team. However for Adam he just took it in his stride and got on with the game. Adam opened many of our innings and always gave his best. His scorecard may not show it, but without his opening efforts we would not have won as many games as we did. Not only was Adam a great batsmen, but he was also a very accurate bowler. He is not the fastest bowler in the team yet he deceived many batsmen with his nagging line and length.

Joshua Collis – Bird I couldn't tell at our first training session that Joshua had not played cricket last season. It was like he hadn't missed a game. Joshua is lucky to have one of those natural actions that just seems to flow. His accuracy and consistency was rewarded with 13 wickets through the season. He also managed to put together 50 runs for the season off his bat and proved to be a valuable fielder, as well, taking 3 catches. The thing that excites me most about Joshua is I know he hasn't used all of his bowling tricks yet and has a lot left up his sleeve. He will be a player to watch out for next season.

Under 12 - continued

Cameron Court They say some people are born gifted and others have to work hard at their talent before it shines. Well Cameron is both gifted and an extremely hard worker at improving his ability. His statistics for this season would be the envy of any cricketer at any age level. A batting average of 60.14, a of 5.95 and 7 catches only tell a small part of his impact in our team. Cameron constantly showed throughout the season that he has a very astute "cricket brain". He could analyse a situation and offer advice and being able to watch him reach his first century and take 6 for 17 in an innings.

Pranay Jha Another hard worker in our team was Pranay. He could always be relied upon to bowl fast and accurately. He took 6 wickets for the year and frightened quite a few good batsmen with his pace and bounce along the way. The highlight for me was Pranay's innings of 24 not out, as he opened for us and held his bat through the whole innings. It was a gritty knock under difficult circumstances and showed that he has the ability for future big scores. He missed most of our early games this year due to an operation, but came back for the Semi Final as if he hadn't missed a game.

Asad Khan Asad was our "Run Out King". He seemed to have a keen eye and threw down the stumps three times in the year. Asad had a great year with the ball taking 13 wickets, best figures of 3 for 8 and an ability to swing the ball. His enthusiasm on the field was always appreciated as he encouraged everyone. The highlight of his season has to be his first innings in our first game of 62. Having never seen any of the boys play before it was a delight to watch Asad knock up his highest score and get his first fifty.

Abhinav Konchery The surprise package of our team has to be Abhinav. He is a quiet boy, but can get quite excited when he takes a wicket or a catch. He got excited quite a lot through the season as he took 6 wickets and followed that up with 4 catches. His best bowling figures of 2 for 8 are very impressive. Abhinav tried hard with his batting and he took on advice that was offered up by everyone. He improved his technique throughout the season and with more practice he will be a capable batsmen next season.

Harry McAuley Harry had a fantastic season and was an important member of the team. His best bowling figures of 1 for 0 shows how economical he was for us. Harry was quite a dangerous bowler as he could make the ball swing one way and then follow it up with a ball that swung the other way. Harry's batting technique is very strong and he displays very good footwork. He scored 14 runs through the season, but this doesn't show how much improvement his batting went through. Harry was always quick with a funny line on the field and encouraged everyone during our games.

Raghav Murthy Raghav enjoyed further improvement in his game this season. He is one of our most avid cricketers and always wants to get out and play. His batting has seen improvement in technique and he was always willing to take on advice and put it into practice. His bowling could be quite effective as he has a loopy style of delivery which makes it difficult to judge the speed and line of the ball. Raghav tried hard in the field and he always gave his best when running after a ball. He showed great sportsmanship throughout the season and a lot of courage when he was our wicketkeeper.

Under 12 - continued

Samir Sharma Samir had a good all round season with 91 runs off the bat and 4 wickets with his bowling. His highest score of 24 was a match winner as he batted for almost 2 hours and his best bowling figures of 1 for 3 is a great achievement. Samir's batting has improved dramatically as the season went on and we found that he was probably the hardest hitter in the team as time went on. Samir was one of the best fielders in the team and could always be relied upon to take a catch or cut off a ball quickly.

Ekaansh Thapa Ekaansh played a few games with us this season and in these games showed us that he has quite a lot of ability. His bowling is his strength and with more practice he will become a handful. His best figures of one for 18 are very respectable. Ekaansh didn't really get a chance to show us his batting ability, but I'm sure that if he'd been able to play more games we would have gone well. Hopefully he'll be able to rejoin us next season.

James Tugwell James had a superb year and was one player who could be relied upon to give his all. Two of his batting innings were truly inspiring to watch as he patiently crafted two great scores. In both games we were behind the eight ball, but with James' innings we were in a much better place. He came very close to cracking a fifty this season and I'm sure next season will see him conquer this feat. James was another of our express bowlers and he enjoyed seeing the stumps go flying. His best bowling figures of 2 for 1 are very impressive. The highlight for me with James' season was the maturity and patience he bought into his game. He was also a strong encourager on the field and helped others with their game.

U12 Statistics Individual Batting - Under 12

# Player Mat Inn N/O High 50s 100s Agg Ave

1 Carfax, Patrick 8 9 2 4 0 0 11 1.57

2 Carrington, Shaun 7 7 1 10 0 0 23 3.83

3 Casey, Thomas 6 6 0 1 0 0 2 0.33

4 Clark, Adam 8 10 1 18 0 0 59 6.56

5 Collis-Bird, Joshua 7 9 1 14 0 0 50 6.25

6 Court, Cameron 9 11 4 103 4 1 421 60.14

7 Jha, Pranay 5 6 2 24 0 0 38 9.50

8 Khan, Asad 9 9 2 62 1 0 105 15.00

9 Konchery, Abhinav 7 8 2 4 0 0 14 2.33

10 McAuley, Harry 8 7 2 6 0 0 14 2.80

11 Murthy, Raghav 5 5 2 1 0 0 1 0.33

12 Sharma, Samir 7 9 2 24 0 0 89 12.71

13 Thapa, Ekaansh 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

14 Tugwell, James 7 8 1 47 0 0 92 13.14

Individual Bowling - Under 12

# Player Mat Ovrs Mdns Runs W 5/- 10/- Ave Best

1 Carfax, Patrick 7 26.0 2 126 2 0 0 63.00 1/7

2 Carrington, Shaun 7 18.0 1 99 1 0 0 99.00 1/18

3 Casey, Thomas 3 5.0 0 33 1 0 0 33.00 1/11

4 Clark, Adam 7 25.0 5 69 6 0 0 11.50 2/4

5 Collis-Bird, Joshua 7 37.0 5 134 13 0 0 10.31 3/38

6 Court, Cameron 9 62.0 13 131 22 1 0 5.95 6/17

7 Jha, Pranay 7 40.0 4 134 6 0 0 22.33 2/29

8 Khan, Asad 9 33.0 1 143 10 0 0 14.30 3/8

9 Konchery, Abhinav 7 28.0 5 109 6 0 0 18.17 2/8

10 McAuley, Harry 7 21.0 4 63 4 0 0 15.75 1/0

11 Murthy, Raghav 3 3.0 0 50 0 0 0 ∞ 0/9

12 Sharma, Samir 6 21.0 0 75 4 0 0 18.75 1/3

13 Thapa, Ekaansh 4 16.0 1 70 1 0 0 70.00 1/18

14 Tugwell, James 8 38.0 3 161 10 0 0 16.10 2/1

U12 Statistics Individual Fielding - Under 12

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Carfax, Patrick 6 9 0 0 9

2 Casey, Thomas 1 1 0 0 1

3 Collis-Bird, Joshua 3 3 0 0 3

4 Court, Cameron 5 7 0 0 7

5 Jha, Pranay 1 1 0 0 1

6 Khan, Asad 2 1 0 1 2

7 Konchery, Abhinav 4 4 0 0 4

8 Sharma, Samir 1 1 0 0 1

9 Thapa, Ekaansh 1 1 0 0 1

10 Tugwell, James 2 2 0 0 2

Under 13

November 28th, 2008 was a sad day. Even with the batting of Total Sundries who scored 50% of our runs we couldn’t chase down the 106 set by an average YMCA side. It was the nadir: an outright loss that saw Nick Dwyer’s 3/3/0/0 as the only promise. Preceding matches had seen an 82 run partnership by Sean Conlon and Sam Cale followed up with another 73 run joint effort with Sean (48) carrying his bat. Navin Abeysinghe took wickets early in the season. Sam Cale and Stephen Veitch fought hard without support. Careful batting by Sunchit Sethi, Nitij Mehra, Sam Parkinson, Navin and Sahan Nanayakkara avoided more disastrous outcomes. Against West Ryde and Gladesville Stephen showed a glimmer of what he was to add to the side’s capacity later in the season. We were promising but not successful.

The fourth round against St Patricks Gold showed what was possible. It provided one of the most exciting finishes for the season. St Pats Gold scored 147 (64 sundries!) Still we took 8 wickets clean bowled. Sean finished 6/3/2/7 and Lahiru 6/1/2/21. St Patricks returned all but one of our sundries. Lahiru and Stephen stepped up and with solid hitting and quick running put us in the race. Despite the best efforts of Alistair Jensen, Sam Parkinson, Sunchit and Navin we were all out for 144.

But the crushing loss to YMCA sparked a renewed vigour among the boys and in the next match (v. Carlingford Blue) they scored 153. Stephen and Lahiru Parera were the top scorers. Overall Stephen had a solid season, with bat (Av 18.6) and ball (7.92), ably taking up the captain’s role in the second half. He took 6 wickets in the final match, 4/25 in the 1st innings and in the second innings scored 53 runs. Lahiru, as well as being one of our quicks became an important run scorer (Av 14.3). Four particularly welcome innings assisted in the avoidance, and achievement, of outrights.

For a period Nick moved into an opening batsman position in the middle of season following efforts in earlier matches that showed he could hold his place and support other batsmen.

But hopes of a win against Carlingford Blue were washed out - an outcome that may have had a major impact on our final ladder position.

The boys took the positive attitude to round 7 in extraordinarily hot weather against a leading side, St Patrick’s Black. A confident declaration at 7/115 by St Pats looking for an outright was misplaced. On day 1 only Nick’s 2/2/2/18 and run out, Stephen’s wicket, catch and Sam Cale’s batting gave us chance. Sam has the ability to read play and as well as being a natural batsman (Av 20.8), he has a will to work at it. He toiled hard to overcome a long pre Christmas slump and built his scores to this innings and to his final innings of 66.

A coach cannot but praise the boys for their determination on an equally hot day 2. The boys fought off an outright defeat with staunch safe batting – again Sam C, Stephen, Sahan, Sunchit, Navin and Sam P. That day set the team’s approach for the rest of season – more steadfast than the coach’s!

The boys went on to win a one day match against the Waratahs with Sam C(25) and Stephen (24) setting the foundation and Nitij Mehra and Turaab Khan a vital unbeaten 10 each. Sean (13.9) who had been a mainstay for the pre- Christmas season returned for this match and his fine fielding and 2/10 was crucial to our first win, as was Sunchit’s 2/10 via catches to Navin and Nitij.

Under 13 - continued

The penultimate match against Holy Cross Crusaders gobsmacked the coach who, after seeing the Crusaders score 2/158 (dec) on Day 1, prepared the side for a defensive approach. But Sam C and Lahiru paid no heed and brutalised the Crusaders bowling. They put on 93, scoring only two boundaries – i.e. great running! Unfortunately following batsmen could not score at the same rate. We were 5/145 when our allotted overs were bowled. A defiant, narrow defeat to a much higher placed team.

In the final round against St Patricks Gold the talent and drive of Epping Districts U13 was unleashed. Albeit on a small ground Sam C, Lahiru and Stephen together scored 146; Sam (66) top scoring for the team, Stephen (53) with his season’s best and Lahiru (37). In the half hour of play remaining on Day 1 Lahiru, Turaab, Sam and Stephen each took a wicket, each clean bowled - between then Turaab and Sam C broke a bail – great length! Week 2 saw our opponents all out for 68 in the 16th over (quick scoring but wickets and bails flying). Nick after an economical but unrewarded season took 2 wickets (one from a great diving catch by Sam C) for 4 runs. As fielder and keeper that day Sam took two catches in each role. Lahiru, after a Trojan season, finished 2/15 and Stephen, after an erratic start finished 3 overs, 4/25. Sent back in our bowlers, as warned, faced a resolved team whose initial resilience was finally broken by a confident Epping team.

Players who had worked hard with little result were rewarded. Sahan had strived to improve his bowling and his results in the second half of the season showed it. His line and length with a slower ball reduced opposition scores and frustrated batsmen. Today he was rewarded with 2/9, the wickets in consecutive balls (alas no hat trick).

Sam Parkinson had often found himself in the unenviable position of being one of the final two batmen holding on to avoid defeat. There was a determination in Sam P’s eagerness to improve and found that at deep fine leg and backstop he saved many a bye and finely cut four (his knees showed it) especially with the short boundaries at this final match. A highlight in this final match was Sam P’s 1/6 – Sam S, bowled Sam Parkinson, caught Sam Cale).

Navin had made an impact in the first match taking a wicket (catch to Lahiru) and again in round 2, against much stronger opposition thanks to a safely taken catch by Alistair. He was one of the few wicket takers in our outright defeat by Epping YMCA and showed his style against a strong St Patricks Black in appallingly hot conditions taking the wicket of a leading batsmen on two. A direct hit from superb line and length in this final match, dismissing a most threatening batsman was preceded in the previous game by a confident catch from the bowling of the wily Sunchit!

Alistair was dogged by illness and had a difficult start to the season. That did not dampen his enthusiasm. While his batting didn’t reach the fluency of previous seasons, and it is batting he loves, he could produce economical bowling (e.g. 5/1/0/4) that was topped off with 2/0/2/2 in this final outing. More regular bowlers also attacked in this match: Turaab, although unwell took 2/12. And Stephen, after 4/25 in the first innings, took 2 more for 9! The team took sixteen wickets in two hours!

Under 13 - continued

All season the importance of the keeper was apparent. The sometimes vicious speed generated by Lahiru and Turaab required sharp perception and intuition. Sunchit, while eager to take on the role was on a learning curve. It was in the final match that Sunchit showed how quickly he could adjust to the quicks. While he was the regular keeper, Sam Cale and Stephen shared the role so that Sunchit was also able to tweak. His deceptive looping balls, earning two wickets against Carlingford Waratahs, showed the surprising effectiveness of his deliveries.

Nitij remains a quiet achiever. Absent for a number of matches through travel and injury he emerged as the bowler with the second best average. While putting in graceful batting displays at training he couldn’t always transfer this to the middle wicket but his apparent languid stretches unexpectedly prevented many certain boundaries – great arms, great feet, great timing.

A final note: Special congratulation to the players and thanks to all who helped out with scoring and umpiring: David Jensen and Greg Conlon and, of course, special mention to Deb and Gary Veitch for their willingness to score and umpire. Much appreciated!

Peter Dwyer Coach

U13 Statistics

Individual Batting - Under 13

# Player Mat Inn N/O High 50s 100s Agg Ave

1 Abeysinghe, Navin 9 9 2 8 0 0 14 2.00

2 Barrow, Edward 4 5 0 3 0 0 6 1.20

3 Cale, Sam 10 13 0 66 2 0 270 20.77

4 Conlon, Sean 7 9 0 48 0 0 125 13.89

5 Dwyer, Nicholas 9 10 1 5 0 0 14 1.56

6 Jensen, Alistair 9 11 2 9 0 0 25 2.78

7 Khan, Turaab 9 11 2 16 0 0 50 5.56

8 Mehra, Nitij 8 9 3 10 0 0 19 3.17

9 Nanayakkara, Sahan 10 9 1 2 0 0 5 0.63

10 Parkinson, Sam 7 9 2 2 0 0 6 0.86

11 Perera, Lahiru 9 12 1 39 0 0 157 14.27

12 Sethi, Suncht 10 12 4 6 0 0 21 2.63

13 Veitch, Stephen 9 10 0 53 1 0 186 18.60

Individual Bowling - Under 13

# Player Mat Ovrs Mdns Runs W 5/- 10/- Ave Best

1 Abeysinghe, Navin 8 29.0 1 159 5 0 0 31.80 1/6

2 Barrow, Edward 3 11.0 1 43 0 0 0 ∞ 0/7

3 Cale, Sam 8 32.0 5 110 6 0 0 18.33 2/22

4 Conlon, Sean 6 28.0 7 64 7 0 0 9.14 2/7

5 Dwyer, Nicholas 7 28.0 7 74 6 0 0 12.33 2/4

6 Jensen, Alistair 7 26.0 2 78 2 0 0 39.00 2/2

7 Khan, Turaab 9 47.0 4 128 8 0 0 16.00 2/12

8 Mehra, Nitij 6 20.2 0 58 7 0 0 8.29 2/9

9 Nanayakkara, Sahan 8 20.0 1 66 3 0 0 22.00 2/9

10 Parkinson, Sam 6 16.0 0 67 1 0 0 67.00 1/6

11 Perera, Lahiru 9 43.0 6 142 6 0 0 23.67 2/15

12 Sethi, Suncht 7 19.0 1 103 6 0 0 17.17 2/8

13 Veitch, Stephen 8 32.3 5 103 13 0 0 7.92 4/25

U13 Statistics

Individual Fielding - Under 13

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Barrow, Edward 1 1 0 0 1

2 Cale, Sam 2 3 0 0 3

3 Conlon, Sean 1 0 0 1 1

4 Dwyer, Nicholas 1 1 0 0 1

5 Jensen, Alistair 2 2 0 0 2

6 Khan, Turaab 1 1 0 0 1

7 Perera, Lahiru 3 3 0 0 3

8 Veitch, Stephen * 1 1 0 0 1

Individual Wicket Keeping - Under 13

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Veitch, Stephen 1 1 0 0 1

U14 West

Undefeated Premiers! - Congratulations boys, well done and well deserved!

While winning the premiership is a great thing in itself it was the manner in which it was won which impressed all those who were there to watch this team in their Final against North Ryde RSL.

Day1 Having lost the toss Epping found themselves bowling against a team which included the 2nd , 3rd and 4th leading batsmen in the competition. Despite this the Epping bowlers stuck to their usual plan of bowling tightly and with great support in the field it wasn’t long before wickets began to fall. At drinks the score stood at 3 for 36 off 20 overs and we were feeling fairly confident. A good partnership between two of their star batsmen looked threatening, but when Will Tugwell took a great catch on the boundary the game began to turn. Needing to lift the run rate the batsmen started taking chances and soon the wickets began to tumble. At 11.47 the last wicket fell and we were set a target of 108 for victory.

Day2 With conditions identical to the previous day we set out on our run chase determined to play positive cricket and not lose early wickets.” Don’t rely on others to get the job done!” was the main message from the coach. With a relatively low total North Ryde knew that they had to take early wickets to have a chance. Accordingly they set a very attacking field and their opening bowlers gave it everything. Despite the loss of one of our openers to a good catch in the gully, the Epping batsmen attacked at every opportunity and the run rate grew rapidly. By around 10.15 the game was over. Epping 1 for 136 (Regan Pinker 54x, Will Tugwell 58x) off 28 overs had defeated North Ryde 107 off 53.3 overs.

It was an emphatic victory.

The strength of this team lay in the fact that unlike previous years we had seven batsmen who averaged over 20. This year we could set good scores and we could chase scores. As in previous seasons we were a strong bowling team - eight of our bowlers were in the top twenty in the competition.

However the main reason for our success was that we played as a team – everyone contributed in one way or another and the boys genuinely enjoyed being in each other’s company. They were positive and they were good sports and a pleasure to coach.

My thanks go to those parents who helped out and supported our team particularly manager David Pinker and regular scorers, Dayan Gunasakera and Peter Steffan and Jim and Leonie Jenkins who looked after the kit. Thanks also to Jill Steffan for providing watermelons on those hot days and Maria and Paul Alice for organising our end of year picnic dinner.

Once again congratulations boys and I’m sure you will look back on the season of 2008-2009 with very fond memories just as I will.

Graham Lego Coach

Under 14 - continued

Tom Alice Our opening bowler and hard hitting batsman, Tom had a very good season taking 13 wickets at 8.23 and scoring 127 runs at 63.50 with a best score of 50 against North Ryde RSL. In the Final he made the initial breakthrough getting one of their dangermen.

Malinda Gunasakera Malinda improved his batting this year by developing his attacking shots resulting in a top score of 26. He also took 8 wickets at an amazing 4.63 with his off breaks including a best of 2 for 1 against North Ryde RSL in the Final.

Joshua Jenkins Josh loves to hit the ball hard, but needs to improve his shot selection if he is to score more runs. His bowling improved this year and he took 6 wickets at 16.83 with a best of 2 for 7. His fielding was sound and he took 7 catches, the most by a fieldsman.

Myles Lego Myles showed definite improvement with his batting this year resulting in his best score of 24 not out in Round 1. His bowling was pretty good at times and he took 8 wickets at 12.13. With his rocket arm he was the competition’s leading “run outer” with 4.

Shivam Mishra With his medium paced outswingers and very good control Shivam took 12 wickets at an incredible 5.67 with a best of 4 for 8. In the Final he tied up one end with the figures of 3 for 18 off 10 overs!

Regan Pinker Regan had a good year with the bat scoring 124 runs at 24.80. His best innings was a match winning one of 54 not out in the Final against North Ryde RSL. Regan did a great job for us this year as keeper taking 13 catches and 2 stumpings.

Shashvat Sharma In his first season with the club, Shashvat was quick to show his considerable talent by taking 5 for 20 off 9 overs and scoring a hard hitting 43 in his first game. With his medium fast outswingers Shashvat proved a handful for most batsmen and ended the season our 2nd leading wicket taker with 15 at 10.80. He also took 6 catches and 2 run outs.

Alexander Sharpe Alex had a very good first season with the club scoring 123 runs at 30.75 with a top score of 59 and taking 10 wickets at 9.20. His left handed swing bowling added variety to our attack and caused much consternation to the opposition batsmen.

Callaghan Sharpe Callaghan is a talented cricketer with both bat and ball scoring 135 runs at 33.75 and taking 8 wickets at 10.50. His best innings of the year was when he scored 80 off 81 balls including 11 fours against West Ryde Rovers.

Under 14 - continued

Chris Steffan Chris has all the shots and this year he showed much better judgement in shot selection. He scored 146 runs at 20.86 including a fine 60 against West Ryde Rovers. Although he didn’t take many wickets this year he bowled well giving away less than 2 runs per over.

Will Tugwell Although Will was only able to play 4 games for us this season due to school commitments again he showed what a good player he is by scoring 111 runs at 55.50 including a stylish 58 not out in the Final. He also bowled well in that match taking 1 for 23 off 10 overs.

Amol Verma Amol bowled his off spinners with beautiful flight and was our leading wicket taker with 16 wickets at an incredible 4.29 including a best of 3 for 4. In the Final he took 2 for 13 off 9 overs completely bamboozling the North Ryde batsmen. His batting again showed improvement and he is a dependable fieldsman.

U14 Statistics

Individual Batting - Under 14

# Player Mat Inn N/O High 50s 100s Agg Ave

1 Alice, Thomas 7 5 3 50 1 0 127 63.50

2 Gunasekera, Malinda 7 5 0 26 0 0 61 12.20

3 Jenkins, Joshua 7 4 0 6 0 0 13 3.25

4 Lego, Myles 7 5 2 24 0 0 47 15.67

5 Mishra, Shivam 7 5 1 17 0 0 33 8.25

6 Pinker, Regan 8 8 3 54 1 0 124 24.80

7 Sharma, Shashvat 7 5 1 43 0 0 103 25.75

8 Sharpe, Alexander 7 4 0 59 1 0 123 30.75

9 Sharpe, Callaghan 7 5 1 80 1 0 135 33.75

10 Steffan, Christopher 9 8 1 60 1 0 146 20.86

11 Tugwell, William 4 3 1 58 1 0 111 55.50

12 Verma, Amol 8 5 1 15 0 0 24 6.00

Individual Bowling - Under 14

# Player Mat Ovrs Mdns Runs W 5/- 10/- Ave Best

1 Alice, Thomas 9 52.5 16 107 13 0 0 8.23 2/2

2 Gunasekera, Malinda 8 29.1 11 37 8 0 0 4.63 2/1

3 Jenkins, Joshua 8 32.1 4 101 6 0 0 16.83 2/7

4 Lego, Myles 7 27.0 4 97 8 0 0 12.13 2/14

5 Mishra, Shivam 9 41.3 12 68 12 0 0 5.67 4/8

6 Pinker, Regan 3 7.0 0 16 4 0 0 4.00 2/8

7 Sharma, Shashvat 9 59.0 15 162 15 1 0 10.80 5/20

8 Sharpe, Alexander 8 43.0 14 92 10 0 0 9.20 3/18

9 Sharpe, Callaghan 7 36.0 7 84 8 0 0 10.50 3/15

10 Steffan, Christopher 7 30.0 6 49 3 0 0 16.33 2/5

11 Tugwell, William 4 23.0 4 47 2 0 0 23.50 1/4

12 Verma, Amol 8 46.0 11 73 16 0 0 4.56 3/4

U14 Statistics

Individual Fielding - Under 14

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Alice, Thomas 3 3 0 0 3

2 Gunasekera, Malinda 4 3 0 2 5

3 Jenkins, Joshua 5 7 0 0 7

4 Lego, Myles 4 2 0 4 6

5 Mishra, Shivam 2 3 0 0 3

6 Pinker, Regan * 6 13 2 0 15

7 Sharma, Shashvat 5 6 0 2 8

8 Sharpe, Alexander 2 2 0 0 2

9 Sharpe, Callaghan * 4 5 0 0 5

10 Tugwell, William 2 2 0 0 2

11 Verma, Amol 3 4 0 0 4

Individual Wicket Keeping - Under 14

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Pinker, Regan 6 12 2 0 14

2 Sharpe, Callaghan 4 1 0 0 1

Under 16

The culmination of up to 8 years junior cricket was reached by a number of our U/16 team this season, and as Nagi took the last wicket against Berala, (co-incidentally for the same score that the Berala coach had predicted before the start of play) there was a touch of emotion for many around the ground.

Although the season had not been as successful as we had hoped 6 months ago, the cricket, much of it at a high standard, has been played in good spirit throughout, by a fine group of young men, who are great ambassadors for the Club, their families and their team. What on occasion was lacking in consistency, was made up for by a genuine enjoyment of the game, whatever the outcome.

My thanks to all the boys and their parents who have been so enthusiastic and supportive throughout this season and for many years. In particular Sam McCarthy and Chris Allsopp for their management of the team, excellence in the scorers role, and ‘back-room’ activity on the Club Committee, Ray Wareham, for his input and coverage at training, and Hugh Gerdes and Ian Thompson for their regular umpiring stints.

Good luck to all the players, for what lies ahead; some eligible to return to U/16’s again next year, others having to move on to Saturday afternoon Shires, Grade or Park Cricket.

Paul Alice Coach

Tim Alice One of many all-rounders and a real team player, Tim enjoyed a productive season with bat (av 28), behind the stumps, with the most dismissals (6), and with the ball, taking a wicket every spell he bowled, and finishing with 6 wkts @ 4.1. With Mitch Gerdes he was part of the highest (and only century) partnership for the season (102), and claimed what was a most unusual ‘hat-trick’ when he took a wicket with his (long anticipated) first ball of the season, to add to his 2 consecutive wickets to wrap up the grand final the season before.

James Allsopp Enjoying his best season with the bat, James dominated the strike rate amongst the teams’ batsmen scoring 173 runs, at a strike rate of 108, and averaging 28. No one will forget his blazing 75 n.o. (one of 2 innings exceeding 50) which typified his batting style. Not always pretty when he missed, he was imperious when he hit and boy did they stay hit! As always he was athletic behind the stumps (3 dismissals) or in the field, and his diving (legendary among the team) would earn him a place in the Italian national Football side.

Under 16 - continued

Keith Bennetts Keith’s first season with the team, his ability as one of only 2 specialist spinners saw him called on to bowl one of the bigger workloads of the bowlers, and although not as lucky as we would have hoped, showed when he used his height and gave the ball air, that he was threatening to any batsman, in any of the opposition teams. Encouraging of his team-mates in the field, ‘the big South African’ as he was affectionately known also has a good set of hands and claimed 3 catches for the season. He was the only player to increase his score each innings he batted.

David Conlon Despite conflicting school obligations, David was always a strong participant for the team whenever he got on the park, and often contributed the ‘breakthrough’ with his fast bowling. Throwing the ball to David was a guarantee of a wicket as he picked up a wicket in every spell he bowled this season. He had limited opportunities with the bat, but is a strong and athletic fieldsman, who can be reliably placed in any position, although favouring the close positions where his sharp reflexes are an advantage.

Mitchell Gerdes Our only batsman to score more than 200 runs this season, (217 @31), Mitchell also excelled with the ball, (14 wickets @ 9.6 including a best of 5/6) and in the field, (11 catches). With a team record high score of 76, and 2 scores over 50, he was in many respects the complete cricketer for the team this year. A cheerful and competitive cricketer who always showed good sportsmanship he’s destined for more cricketing success.

Naji Haider Returning to cricket after a break of 4 seasons, Naji fell into place with his ‘old’ team-mates and finished the season strongly claiming his best figures with the ball (2/3) in the last game, and having the honour of taking a wicket with his final delivery in junior cricket. Despite taking some miraculous catches at training, the ball conspired to evade Naji in the matches, denying the Saturday crowd the pleasure of his casual flick of the arm to snap up the passing shot.

Christian Howes Despite receiving a record transfer fee to change codes from baseball to cricket this season, Christian never let us forget his baseball heritage. He has one of the strongest throws of anybody in the team, and regularly awed his team-mates and opponents with long, accurate throws from the deep. An entertaining batsman, he was second only to James Allsopp in the strike rate (88) and when he hits the ball it stays hit. He brings deceptive pace to his bowling, had a habit of getting a wicket in his first over, and bagged 5 catches in the field.

James Howes Howes, the elder, produced another solid season in his junior swansong, contributing with both bat and ball. He finished the season with his top score (45) to claim an even 100 for the year at an average of 14. James didn’t have a lot of luck with his swing bowling, but still managed to claim 5 wickets @ 23– despite beating the bat much more than those figures suggest. Reliable in the field he claimed 2 catches - both of them openers.

Under 16 - continued

Neil Kumar Another of our all rounders, and one of the senior players, Neil displayed his instinctive understanding of the game in his captaincy and his support of his team-mates generally. While he didn’t enjoy as successful a time with the bat this season as in the past, he certainly exceeded the standards in his bowling and fielding, claiming 10 wickets at 6, with an economy rate of under 2, and taking 7 catches including one superb outfield catch at Kendall, to reinforce his overall high standards in the field. Leading by example, there is lots of great cricket in his future.

Jake McCarthy Another of the seniors in the team, Jake is a quiet achiever, but a fierce competitor nevertheless. Jake has worked hard on his batting over the last few seasons, and was rewarded with a high score of 24 this year during which innings he showed what lies ahead with continued application. His bowling has always been his strong suite, and he picked up 9 wickets at 18, bowling many fast and accurate spells, often without luck, with his pace taking edges out of reach of fielders, but to the boundary. He has a great arm from the deep and grabbed 3 catches.

Divij Mehra The well known call “Divij’s” will be missed form the junior fields next season, but will live long in our memories. Those safe hands only had one catch come their way this year, but guided his bat to one of his better run scoring seasons for a while, averaging 15 from typically powerful hitting. His bowling has lost none of its swing over the years, but his trip to India this year (for IPL talks we believe) disrupted his consistency somewhat. A great team player, always encouraging.

Sean Thompson Sean is blessed with a bright, personality which radiates goodwill to his team-mates, and belies his competitive spirit. Always offering encouragement, (especially for his spin twin, Keith), Sean had an excellent season with the ball, topping the wicket takers with 16 at 7. Always buzzing in the field, he snared 3 catches, and batted with true grit at every opportunity. A great cricketing asset and personality to have on any team, it was our good fortune to have him on ours.

Tim Wareham Mr Reliable would be an appropriate tag for Tim at the end of his junior cricket. There is never any fuss about the way he goes about the game, but the effect is always noticeable – and this year was no different. 11 wickets, at an average of 9 and economy rate of 1.7, and 106 runs at 21, batting up or down the order. 3 catches as well topped off another great season for this unassuming ‘go to’ man.

Navin Yasotharan Just under 150 runs at just under 30 average and a strike rate of 71, tells a lot about Navins’ cricket. He’s a combative batsman, gritting it out when necessary, but explosive in equal measure, particularly in his running between wickets, often turning 1’s into 2’s , 2’s into 3’s and tiring his batting partner in the process! Huge arm in the field he is an athletic fieldsman and economical bowler, conceding 3 an over in collecting his 4 wickets this year.

U16 Statistics Individual Batting - Under 16

# Player Mat Inn N/O High 50s 100s Agg Ave

1 Alice, Timothy 7 7 3 28 0 0 93 23.25

2 Allsopp, James 8 8 2 75 2 0 173 28.83

3 Bennetts, Keith 5 3 0 8 0 0 14 4.67

4 Conlon, David 4 4 0 8 0 0 14 3.50

5 Gerdes, Mitchell 8 8 1 76 2 0 217 31.00

6 Haider, Naji Allah Syed 4 3 1 1 0 0 1 0.50

7 Howes, Christian 6 5 1 13 0 0 37 9.25

8 Howes, James 8 8 1 45 0 0 100 14.29

9 Kumar, Neil 7 6 0 36 0 0 62 10.33

10 McCarthy, Jake 7 7 1 24 0 0 37 6.17

11 Mehra, Divij 6 4 1 20 0 0 45 15.00

12 Thompson, Sean 8 6 1 9 0 0 29 5.80

13 Wareham, Timothy 8 7 2 50 1 0 106 21.20

14 Yasotharan, Navin 8 7 2 74 1 0 149 29.80

Individual Fielding - Under 16

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Alice, Timothy * 5 4 3 0 7

2 Allsopp, James * 4 5 0 0 5

3 Bennetts, Keith 3 3 0 0 3

4 Conlon, David 1 1 0 0 1

5 Gerdes, Mitchell 9 11 0 0 11

6 Howes, Christian 4 5 0 0 5

7 Howes, James 2 2 0 0 2

8 Kumar, Neil 5 7 0 0 7

9 McCarthy, Jake 2 3 0 0 3

10 Mehra, Divij 1 1 0 0 1

11 Thompson, Sean 2 3 0 0 3

12 Wareham, Timothy 3 3 0 0 3

13 Yasotharan, Navin * 5 4 1 0 5

U16 Statistics

Individual Bowling - Under 16

# Player Mat Ovrs Mdns Runs W 5/- 10/- Ave Best

1 Alice, Timothy 3 12.1 3 25 6 0 0 4.17 2/7

2 Allsopp, James 4 7.0 1 35 0 0 0 ∞ 0/3

3 Bennetts, Keith 9 35.0 8 105 6 0 0 17.50 2/6

4 Conlon, David 4 21.0 4 66 5 0 0 13.20 2/14

5 Gerdes, Mitchell 9 54.0 12 135 14 1 0 9.64 5/6

6 Haider, Naji Allah Syed 7 15.2 4 60 3 0 0 20.00 2/3

7 Howes, Christian 5 11.0 1 45 3 0 0 15.00 1/0

8 Howes, James 9 49.0 9 118 5 0 0 23.60 2/36

9 Kumar, Neil 7 32.0 7 61 10 0 0 6.10 3/0

10 McCarthy, Jake 9 55.0 9 168 9 0 0 18.67 3/33

11 Mehra, Divij 5 20.0 3 87 3 0 0 29.00 1/7

12 Thompson, Sean 9 44.1 7 125 16 0 0 7.81 3/1

13 Wareham, Timothy 9 59.3 17 104 11 0 0 9.45 3/2

14 Yasotharan, Navin 7 24.0 3 72 4 0 0 18.00 2/8

Individual Wicket Keeping - Under 16

# Player Mat Caught Stumped Run Out Total

1 Alice, Timothy 5 3 3 0 6

2 Allsopp, James 4 3 0 0 3

3 Yasotharan, Navin 5 0 1 0 1