City United v Norths, 5/2/11 - 4th Grade v Wests

1st Grade v Norths at No.1 Oval
Norths 9-172 (Cale Penrith 3-21, Peter Mead 2-47) defeated City United 111 (Daniel Lawrence 27, Cale Penrith 25, Michael Bellamy 17)
Beaten but not disgraced was the story of the day-nighter at No1 Oval. Meady pulled off a master stroke in opening the bowling with leg spinner Richie O'Halloran and his nine overs were a rather tidy 1-34. In fact the bowling was so good, Norths were restricted to 3-68 in the 22nd over. From there things started to get away from the City boys but they came again ten overs later led by the skipper and Hamish Batley, who after conceding 13 from his first over gave up only another 13 from his next five and captured his first 1st grade wicket, caught by debutant Bellamy. Wickets fell regularly and Penrith took three in his second spell. Facing 172, the old problems with the bat surfaced again but it was the youngsters who dug deep. Bellamy batted well, continuing his lower grade form. Lawrence and Penrith combined for 43 runs for the 7th wicket. Another spirited performance by our firsts and a good night to celebrate their continued gutsy efforts. Praise for Peter Mead who nurtures young men by offering them trust and encouraging their efforts.
2nd Grade v Norths at Riverside 3
Norths 3-226 (Robbie Gregg 1-39, Leo Steyn 1-40, Isaac Kensell 1-56) defeated City United 89 (Leo Steyn 41, Robbie Gregg 15)
Hammered in every sense of the word. Jack McVey was easily the best of the bowlers and on a day when all the senior bowlers were bled dry, he only gave up 26 runs from 8 overs. Chasing a motza, Leo Steyn dominated at the start of the innings, taking only 33 balls over his innings . Paul Fisher was the only other City batsman to spend any time at the crease, his 10 taking 33 balls. Sean Hancock run a ball 11 was the next best as the batsmen crumbled to Tim Constable yet again. A bad Day at Black Rock.
3rd Grade v Norths at TREC
Norths 146 (Adam Burgess 3-16, Tim Hunt 2-19, Adam Balantine 2-44) lost to City United 9-147 (Andrew McDonald 27, Claude Orenstein 24x, Terry Skewes 21)
A fantastic win by the 3rds, making three on the trot after a lean start to the season. After having Norths 4-17 with Burgess and Hunt scything through the top order, Norths recovered to post a challenging total in the heat of a TREC afternoon. At 6-67, City didn't look like winners but new man McDonald turned the innings around and then three club stalwarts - Skewes, Orenstein and Rod Prior - took the team to victory. The last unbeaten partnership of 25 between Orenstein and Prior guided the Third Grade ship to a safe harbour with ten balls to spare. Lets send a card to Claude's optometrist who supplied his new glasses!
4th Grade v Wests at Minor League 2
City United 142 (Mick Cullen 42, Neil Cooke 41, Mark Chew 17) & 3-68 (Nick Stacey 39, Neil Cooke 17x, Tait Jordan 15x, Mark Chew 12) lost to Wests 9 dec for 290 (Paul Hagley 3-23, T Painter 3-42, Mick Cullen 2-25, Tait Jordan 2-38)
A long way behind after the first Saturday in this two day game, the City boys fought hard and avoided the outright loss. Painter and Hagley bowled really well after the City first innings collapsed, restricting Norths from further damaging the side. The rest of the afternoon was an act of great survival led by Stacey's best score of the season but everyone contributed in the 38 overs and can hold their heads high.

It was great to see so many players from the lower grades at No 1 to celebrate our club along with our sponsors and life members. On a slightly sour note, captains and scorers are reminded to make sure newsletters are distributed to players. In two of the four scorebooks more than half of the newsletters were returned.