Author: steventhreadgold

In direct contrast to last weekend the Magpies won all three lower grade games and crashed to defeat under a not uncommon Webber assault in 1st Grade. The highlights of the weekend were a season first win for 4th Grade and resounding T20 wins for the U/15’s and U/21’s.

At Kahibah Oval on Saturday a top order collapse saw our 1sts reeling early at 5-19. Rearguard action from Benchy (32), Jake Richo (25) and Payney (25no) saw us limp to a reasonable 116 in 37 overs. Needing early wickets to have any hope of defending such a small total Maddo complied removing the dangerous Balcomb and Hartigan. With Harry (1-23) and Payney (1-26) offering support they put the ‘Pies in a strong position to have H-W 5-50 then enter stage right the BBQ twins. Sam’s 46 off 28 effectively taking the game away from us and they achieved their target in 28.2 overs. Maddo continues to impress and he finished with figures of 7.2-0-3-36.

The 2nds played host to Ham-Wicks at Charlestown Oval with H-W winning the toss and batting. The visitors were soon in trouble with promoted Pom, ‘Don’t Call Me Miley’ Cyrus, creating havoc in the middle order taking 4 wickets in two overs which left them in tatters at 6-40. Some lower order defiance got them into the 90’s before Nick Chapman performed his usual mop up of the tail finishing with 3-22 and Nate completing his day’s work with the good figures of 8-2-4-20. The top order then set about the chase with some urgency and achieved the target in 22.4 overs to pick up a bonus point. Lee D continued his good form with 20 and the UK duo of Jacob (31no) and Michael Tyrer (19no) brought the ‘Pies home finishing at 2-95.

Despite a collapse of 5-11 at one stage the 3rds top order got runs with Shapey (56), Aiden (62) and Red Hot Ellison finishing not out on 46 and the boys had posted a formidable 8-211 off their 40. H-W never really got out of the blocks and the return of Zac Mace to the playing field with a strong all round performance never helped them. Zac finished with 16 runs and 2-17 off 6 overs on his return. The remaining wickets were shared by Joah (2-24) and Thready returning the excellent figures of 8-7-2-4. Another bonus point win !

The 4’s were able to celebrate their first win of the season thanks to good all round performances and a couple of outstanding individual efforts. Marty Matthews heralded his return to the fold with a neat half century and with good support from Chilli Jnr with 42 we posted a strong 7-166 off our 40. With Ham-Wicks posting a solid opening p’ship something special was required and the old Captain, Major that is, pulled one out of the bag finishing with the remarkable figures of 5-4-6-1!!. Thus restricting H-W to 8-118 off their 40 and securing our third bonus point win of the day.

Sunday saw the first round of the T20 competitions with the U/15’s kicking off early and recording a decisive win over Wallsend. Captain Jessie won the toss and batted with Connor Steele (9) and Kel Wilson (41) posting an opening p’ship of 66 with Kel hitting strongly to all parts of the ground. Kade Sutton (25no) continued his good early form to allow the boys to post a strong 5-123 off their 20. Their incisive bowling attack soon had Wallsend in trouble at 5-26 with young Cessnock quick Kaiden Howson bowling accurate innies to finish with 3.2-1-2-3, Blake Hardy (2-11) and Nathan Hunton (2-16). While the Wallsend middle order were defiant, they were eventually dismissed in the penultimate over for 85.

A big thank you to Dan Arms who was out at George Farley Oval bright and early on Sunday morning to look after the U/15’s. The boys appreciate a 1st Grader taking the time to encourage them and direct them in T20 skills and strategies. Thanks Armsy !

At Kahibah Oval the U/21’s opened their campaign with a decisive win under the leadership of newly appointed captain Maddo’. And he led the way finishing with 4-1-3-5 and with Dan Stando taking 2-8 off his 4 they had Stocko struggling all the way to finish with 8-48 off their 20. Hitchy with 22no off 18 and Harry 21no off 19 they soon had the game wrapped up with an unbeaten opening p’ship of 49 off 6 overs.

The D.B.’s game proved a much tougher one despite the Magpies posting a strong 2-145 off their 20. Josh Hardy finished with 56no off 44 and Dan Standing started another good all round game with 61 no. Stockton made a game of it and took it down to the wire finishing just 5 runs short on 6-141. Dan finished with 3-26 and had strong support from Joah with 2-26.

The Saturday clash against University resulted in one of the best Charlestown 1st Grade wins over the time of my tenure as President. With one old warhorse leading the way for 8 young Charlestown lads and a couple of Pommies they defended 153 on a fast running Bernie Curran Oval and against one of the better batting line ups in the competition.

Batting first we lost two early wickets but Hitchy (23) and Harry (44) shared a 50 run p’ship to get us back on track. Harry again showed a touch of class in his driving and combined with Jacko’s 35 no they gave us a defendable total finishing on 153 with one ball remaining.

With both Armsy and Jedi on rep duty the ‘Pies went into the game with a threadbare attack which took another blow when Parth was unable to take the field after the innings break. Payney gambled and opened from the Ray Watt end with Harry’s offies, a move which soon bore fruit. Maddo at the top of his game castled Sam Logan and McKechnie soon followed trapped in front by Harry to leave Uni 2-9. Rushy and Gawthrop then pushed Uni back into the picture with a stand of 61. Debutant Jake Richardson then struck a double blow having Rushford caught down the leg side by Benchy and Harry pouched a smart catch at point from Lole. Soon after Maddo trapped the dangerous Gawthrop in front and the Magpies were back in the game with Uni 5-83.

While a middle order p’ship put on 30 odd the game was still in the balance but good outfielding and throwing from Sav and Harry, which resulted in two run outs, allied with young Richo’s tight bowling saw Uni lose their last 5 for 11 runs and a convincing win for the Magpies. Payney proved an astute captain in Jed’s absence and kept the lads focused in a tight game. Jake Richardson had one of the more auspicious debuts of late finishing with a bag of 5-29 off 8 and all the bowlers performed creditably.

Maddo showed the pace and control that could make him a genuine force in the competition this season and many to come and he finished with figures of 7-1-2-11. Harry proved a revelation with his darts and will be a useful weapon come the 2 day games finishing with 1-23 off his 8 while Payney was his usual miserly self finishing with 7-0-0-14. Isaac again bowled with tight control and was dangerous throughout his spell despite the fact that he bowled the bulk of his allotment to Rushford and Gawthrop. He has proven to be a more than worthy replacement for Chilli and his attitude to the game is a great example for the others.

The 2nds had a disappointing day out at Kahibah Oval where Uni batted first and compiled a solid 7-165 by the close. Nick Standing (2-29) and the reliable Nick Chapman (2-35) were the main wicket takers for the Magpies and Dan Standing contributed an economical spell of 8-2-0-14. The ‘Pies got off to a good start primarily thanks to Laura (35) and the in form Jacob Mulhall (31). At 2-107 they were well on target for a comfortable win but then lost 7-33. The Standing boys combined for an unbroken last wicket p’ship of 20 but couldn’t up the run rate and we fell just 6 runs short of the target at the close of play.

At Ray Watt Oval a poorly prepared wicket provided a low scoring game and the usually reliable batting order of the 3rds never really recovered from a disastrous batting collapse. Uni batted first and tight spells from our opening bowlers Cyrus (8-4-2-9) and Kye (5.5-3-1-6) allied with the effective old stagers in Moorey (2-15) and captain Dave (2-4) had Uni back in the pavilion for 97. Unfortunately a monumental collapse saw them virtually out of the game at 8-19 !! Stando (45) then combined with Moorey for an 18 run p’ship and another of 42 for the last wicket with young Chilli (9 no) but it was too big a chase and they eventually fell 18 runs shy.

The 4’s again battled hard at Charlestown Oval and with solid contributions from Joah (21) and debutant Alex Frith (21no) they finished their 40 on 8-107. In reply Uni knocked off the target in 30 overs with main wicket takers being Matt Temple (2-15), Joah (2-21) and Kade (2-18).

Overall the great win by 1st Grade was balanced by a disappointing day out for the lower grades with losses in all 3 grades a scenario we haven’t seen for quite a few seasons. The loss of so many players over the off season has been difficult to overcome but it has provided opportunities for a group of younger guys to make their grade debuts and has given them a greater degree of participation than they would have had in times gone by. Patience and experience will develop these players and we will reap the benefit in seasons to come. I should add that the rumour that Diz named his first born Jake to commemorate Richo’s debut 5 for is totally unfounded but it could be possible !!

The UK lads heralded their arrival with two match winning efforts against Waratah. Jacob Mulhall registered the Magpies first century since Hitchy and Armsy knocked up 101no and 152 respectively against Stockton back in March 2018. Harry Gadd’s fighting 42 was enough to see the 1sts register their first win of the season.

In Firsts Waratah won the toss and batted at Kahibah Oval with Maddo making the initial breakthrough bowling the dangerous Hudson. The Waratah top order then batted steadily to be 3-128 at one stage but then lost 7-28 to finish on 156. Maddo and Armsy took 3 a piece and Wally while not successful bowled another consistent and probing spell to finish with 1-23 off his 8. Andy Saville snared a couple of fine outfield catches one of which will be a contender in the Magpies Classic Catches this season.

Dan (27) and Hitchy (23) combined for an opening stand of 55 and in company with Jed’s aggressive 34 off 26 they had the Magpies in a winning position at 2 -107. Harry then combined in a number of small partnerships to move within reach of the win but a collapse of 5-11 almost took the game away. The boys managed to hang in there to take the win at 9-157.

The Seconds clash at Waratah Oval was another close game with Waratah batting first and posting 9-156 at the close. Josh Eddy led the attack with 3-29 while Dan Standing (2-30) and Nick Chapman (2-34) chipped in and Rusty showed his value again bowling an economical spell of 6-1-1-14. In reply the top order mirrored the 1st Grade scorecard with Josh Hardy (29) and Lee Davies(35) sharing an opening p’ship of 55. Jake Richo’s 30 kept them on target but they lost wickets regularly. Fortunately Dane Macourt had stepped in to replace the injured skipper and his experience showed in a well compiled 29 off 47 to get the ‘Pies home with a couple of overs to spare.

At Charlestown Oval the spectators were treated to a dominant knock of 125 no from Jacob Mulhall which included 17 x 4’s and 3 x 6’s. Jacob shared stands of 53 with Conrad (12) and 78 with Kye Ellison (16) to see the ‘Pies post 6-188 at close. After Nate Cyrus and Benny Fryer took two wickets each early Waratah were tottering at 4-22 but a fine knock from Jack Dundas, an ex Charlestown junior, who finished unluckily on 99 no took them within reach of the target. Kye though rounded off a good all round performance by cleaning up the tail to finish with 4-15 and the ‘Tahs fell 20 runs short.

The inexperienced 4’s are on a steep learning curve but are giving their best effort. After losing yet another toss Charlestown were in the field and Waratah batted aggressively to post 5-222. Kade Sutton impressed again returning good figures of 8-1-3-21 while Blake Hardy (2-57) continued to show that he is a genuine wicket taker. Matt Temple bowled economically to finish with 0-26 off 7. In reply Davo batted with authority at the top to finish with 37 while Kade again impressed with the bat finishing 27 no and completing a good all round performance. Young Davo, Patrick that is, finished off a good day for the family finishing with 14 and adding 28 for the 9th wicket in a p’ship with Kade.. The ‘Pies were dismissed for 130 in the 37th over but showed the fight they will need to compete seriously over the entire season.

It has been suggested that Dave Ellison may be taking the other captains to a two up school to up their calling skills !!

Welcome back to all the Magpie supporters and players to yet another season of Magpie Reports and Ramblings. Despite the loss of 17 players in the off season we have managed to put together yet again four strong sides for this season thanks to the arrival of a small group of ex-convicts from the UK and the debut seasons for a group of talented CJCC players. Unfortunately though it was a disappointing start to the season for us as we lost ¾ games to Cardiff-Boolaroo. With the 2nds being the only winners they headline the report for this week.
Cardiff won the toss and batted first at Kahibah Oval where club debutants Rusty Green (4-0-2-16) and Nick Chapman (7-0-2-23) performed with the ball. They had economical support from Nick and Dan Standing with figures of 1-17 off 8 and 0-13 off 7 respectively and restricted Cardiff to 7-146 off their 40 overs. The highlight of the Magpie response was the return of Jacko Mace with an aggressive 60 and his p’ship of 91 with Lee Davies (30) took them from a precarious 3-13 to a match winning position. Rusty completed a good all round performance with a quickfire 15 off 13 to get the ‘Pies home with 7 balls to spare.

The 1sts also lost the toss at the impressive new home of Cardiff-Boolaroo: the Pasterfield Sports Complex. Once again we had to contend with the consistently impressive Rahul Bakshi whose 75 formed the bulk of Cardiff’s 146 in 37.3 overs. The encouraging sign for the ‘Pies was the bowling performance of Isaac who looks set to fill the gap left by the departure of Chilli to Gordon. His final figures of 8-1-4-28 were highlighted by his consistent line and length and he will be play a big part in our 1st Grade season. He received able support from Rory (2-33) and Jedi (2-13). In response despite five batsman getting starts we lost wickets regularly and eventually fell short by 20 runs. Andy Saville (29) showed that he is well up to 1st Grade standard and should be fixture in the middle order this season.

At Cardiff No 1 we won our only toss of the day but as Dave didn’t want to ruin the pattern he asked Cardiff to bat and they set the 3rds an imposing 184 for victory. For the Magpies Stando took up where he left last season returning figures of 8-3-2-27 and the debuting UK player Nate Cyrus showed he will be a handy addition returning 8-2-1-28. In reply the lads fell just 8 runs short with Cooper Sutton showing good early season form with 65 incl 12 x 4’s and his stand of 75 with Ben Standing (22) gave them a shot at a win but to no avail as they finished on 8-175.

The 4’s also had a bowl first at the picturesque Charlestown Oval a sparkling tribute to the toils of curator Ian Baggs. They ran into an experienced Cardiff line up which posted a challenging 6-230 off their 40. Joah Bradley, another of our UK players, returned the best figures of 6-0-2-32 with good all round support from the consistent Conrad Watson (2-43). Conrad’s 33 then providing the main contribution to Charlestown’s reply of 135. With five juniors making their grade debut the highlight was a p’ship of 42 between Riley Petrie (28) and Kade Sutton (13).