KOOWEERUP OVER 60’s
Kooweerup played host to East Doncaster on Sunday in its last game of Over 60’s cricket for the season.
The weather was overcast and there was a fine mist when the game was due to start at 11am. The captains agreed to wait an hour for the weather to fine up and for the ground to dry a little.
It was also suggested that because of the condition of the ground, the game should be played in the form of 20 overs each before lunch and then continue with a further 20 each after the break.
Graham Davey won the toss for the fourth game in a row and decided that Kooweerup would bat first.
Brett Carey and Phil Brook opened the batting and were scoring at three runs an over for the first six overs before Brook 5 (18) was run out by a direct throw at the stumps. The throw, from 20 meters away, side on, hit the stumps and found Brook just short of his ground.
Carey 12 (26) and Ron Wernke 24 (26) both retired before the top-scoring batter from last week, Andrew Thomas, was caught first ball…cricket has, and always will be, a great leveller.
At the end of the first 20 overs Kooweerup was 2 for 78 with Graham Davey 10 and Steven Nadj 7 both not out.
East Doncaster then lost their first two wickets when the score had reached 16.
Lewis 10 (19) was LBW to Bob Phillips and Chipperfield 3 (10) was caught by Jim Gregory off the bowling of Davey.
In the remaining overs up to the 20th, East Doncaster never lost another wicket. Martin 19 (25) and Rowarth 19 (25) both retired, Envcoy 10 (15) and Rosendale 13 (23) were both not out and the score had reached 2 for 88…10 runs ahead of Kooweerup.
In the first three overs of the second 20-over spell Kooweerup had Davey 11 (29) retire and lost Steven Nadj 10 (10) bowled.
In the 26th over, with the score on 97, Bob Phillips 17 (27) was run out, and one run later Ross Farmer 3 (15) was bowled. Two further runs were added before Jeff Ramage 1 (6) was bowled and the score was 6 for 100 in the 28th over.
Kooweerup added eight runs in the next seven overs before Jim Gregory 1 (20) was bowled.
In possibly his last game for Kooweerup, John Moore lasted three balls before he was bowled, but he made eight runs off the other two balls.
It was now time to recycle the retired batters. Carey scored a single off the eight balls he faced, before he was caught, and Kooweerup was 9 for 120 in the 37th over.
Ron Milnes 9 (15) was the 10th wicket to fall when he was run out and Wernke was not out 28 (31).
Kooweerup’s final score was all out for 125.
East Doncaster Bowling: Yarnton 5-3/19, Grabham 8-2/20, White 6-1/15, Flavel 6.3-1/15, Encvoy 3-0/17, Rosendale 8-0/23, Welti 1-0/0.
This left East Doncaster 38 runs to win off its remaining 20 overs.
With only five runs added in first two overs East Doncaster lost its third wicket when Encvoy 14 (23) was caught by Brook off the bowling of Carey, then Grabham 22 (25) retired.
On the fourth ball of the 29th over, White 15 (18) hit Milnes for six to take East Doncaster to 3 for 129, Yarnton 1 (3) was not out when the winning runs were struck.
Kooweerup Bowling: Bob Phillips 3-1/8, Graham Davey 6-1/18, Brett Carey 6-1/24, Ron Wernke 3-0/20, Phil Brook 3-0/14, Steven Nadj 5-0/17, Jim Gregory 1-0/7, Ron Milnes 1-4-0/12.
So ends another season of Over-60’s cricket, with Kooweerup having a much more successful year than last season, winning one match and having a lot of fun along the way.
On Sunday 20 March Kooweerup head up to compete in the Echuca Carnival where it was runner-up in its division last year.
-John Moore-
