Round 16: Shooter’s XI v Kickapoo

Round 16: Shooter’s XI v Kickapoo

Being the competition front-runners is a dangerous position to be in. With massive targets on their backs Shooter’s XI enter round 16 as the new favourites to take out the minor premiership with their price shortening to just $4.00 after last week’s well-fought win over the Frosty Neckers and a dominant follow-up game against The Tarpies. The last time Kickapoo and Shooters met it was a low-scoring affair Shooter McGavin’s boys took away the two competition points.

Making his captaincy debut was Tim Chapman who was randomly selected just before the game to take on the demanding list of responsibilities that accompany being skipper, i.e. The cointoss… I could go on. Losing the toss, Kickapoo send their opponents in to set the total and Captain Chapman offers himself up to open with his Vice Captain tonight, Jeremy. Jezza’s bad form with the bat continued and depsite a positive start, the Kickaputian bowlers mount pressure by keeping the “out of sorts” batsman on strike and starving the in-form Tim at the non-striker’s end. Timmy manages to get some runs on the board with his limited opportunites and as a pair they finish on 11 runs.

Next up is Ben Turner and standing in for the ferocious Tom Wegener was the Best Ring-In Season 2011/12 winner Tom Keenan. Aiming to live up to his reigning title, Wheaty takes charge of the innings. BT backs up well, as the pair work the ball around for 2′s and 3′s. A disatrous run of 4 wickets in 8 balls, all belonging to Wheaty, negated their promising start as the boys end up being happy to contribute anything! They add 12 more runs to the score.

Ben Johnston and Dean Richardson and probably the to best form batsmen in the competition right now and they combine to make up the 3rd partnership. Desperate to post a big score to get their team to a defendable total, Beno and Deano bash the ball in every direction, scoring multiple boundaries. With the exception of a runout and a stumping the boys come off the court having completely dominated the bowlers and with 31 runs next to their names.

Josh Waters enters the game for the first time this week coming off the back of a series of remarkable performances and as the reiging Green Jacket holder. Mitch Holmes joins him coming off the back of a series of improved performances, now fully recovered from that crippling groin injury. In what will be one of his last games on the full-time player roster, Josh Waters continues to give 100% this week, playing some superb shots. Mitch, at the other end, puts together the individual innings of the night scoring an enormous 22 runs, and not losing a single wicket. Thanks to another strong finish Shooters are in a formidable position at the close of the batting innings. Mitch and Josh score 30 runs.

Tom Wegener’s absence was most noticable when it came to fielding, with the back-net “sweeper” position being covered by Tom Keenan whose experience in that role is far less than the man he is subbing for. The first pair are able to capitalise on the team’s weak spot. Wheaty quickly rose to the occasion and began to fulfil his duties with excellent effect. The most successful bowlers of the night were Tim and Josh, both picking up 2 wickets and Dean who collected another 3 wickets. This game was shaping up to be a close one again. Mitch Holmes bowled the over of his career in the second last, keeping the danger batsman off strike as he has the bombards the struggling “Bradman” with lightning-quick pace. Dean rounds out the game and has the whole stadium on the edge of their seats. We’ve seen him do it before, will he do it again? Kickapoo has already met the target score, so it was up to the fielders to demand a victory out of this contest. Pressure was firmly placed on the batters with each delivery. Every ball was put in the right spot. Despite picking up a wicket in the over, they needed another one more. Shooters go down fighting, losing by just 2 runs.

Shooter’s XI: 11 – 12 – 31 – 30 – 84
Kickapoo: 23 – 3 – 41 – 19 – 86

The Green Jacket honour goes to the resiliant Mitch Holmes this week. Having spent several weeks building up to a man-of-the-match performance, Mitch finally got there. Top scoring with the bat (22) and despite not picking up any wickets, he bowled tight and as quick as ever. Dean Richardson gets an honourable mention this week, well bowled and batted and he puts another entry into the Catch Of The Season contest with a forward-diving effort off a looping and spinning ball ricocheted off the side net. Brown Jacket finds its home once again in BT’s closet after he was clobbered for a massive 28 runs from his 2 overs. What the fuck, Beets!

Round 15: Shooter’s XI v The Tarpies “Josh Waters On Fire”

Round 15: Shooter’s XI v The Tarpies

It’s been some weeks since I’ve had the pleasure of documenting Shooter’s XI’s burgeoning success in B Grade. So to pick up where I last left off against Stihl Unreel three weeks ago, Shooters have since suffered a convincing loss against the Full Tossers and have pulled off a narrow win against the Frosty Neckers (covered by Mitch Holmes here). We have enjoyed watching the “rise and rise” of Tom Wegener as he has dominated with the bat and ball. We gave grimaced in awkward accord as Mitch Holmes has struggled to regain his pace after a sex-related groin injury earlier this season. We’ve seen the Chapman Brother’s emotions peak and plummit as they have mixed results as a batting pair. We’ve waited patiently for Dean Richardson to recover from a non-sex-related knee injury so he can dazzle us with his left-arm spinners once more. We have watched a team rise back to the top of the standings and fight off anyone who dares to challenge their claim to the green-carpetted throne.

So now, here we are. In a match that has no shortage of passion as last time these two teams met, the Shooter’s XI captain was suspended for a record 14 weeks for a fat joke made against an overweight member of The Tarpies. You may also remember a cheap shot against Mitch as he was bowled at with his back turned to the bowler. With this fresh in the player’s minds, Shooters got together briefly before the game and agreed we’d let our cricket do the talking on this occasion. In other news, Dean was unable to pass the team physio’s fitness test before kick off and was rested again this week. 9th Man, Hamish Furrell, was included in the side at the last minute.

Losing the toss, Shooters were sent in to bowl and they get started in impressive fashion. Tim Chapman picks up two wickets in his first over and he is backed up well by tight bowling by Tom, Hamish and BT. A halestorm of wickets was to follow with 3 wickets to Jeremy, Josh and Mitch within the next 4 overs and with half the Tarpies batting attack spoken for, they were sitting on the unflattering total of -17. The wickets didnt stop there with Tim picking up his third of the match, Tom and Beets both collected 2 and Hamish muscled out another 3 wickets making it a total of 4 for him tonight. Now sitting on -15 after 12 overs, the final partnership for The Tarpies unleashed and went after everything Shooter’s threw at them. Josh Waters stood tall in the last over and got the only wicket in that innings, finishing with the remarkable figures of 4/-9. The Tarpies are embarassingly kept to just 28 runs.

Opening the batting is Tim and Jeremy needing just a small contribution in order to commence the runs chase and a score of 12 or more would secure the skin. It was not their night. The conservative style of play did not suit them and they weren’t able gain any momentum. A smattering of wickets didn’t help as Timmy and Jez open the account with a Duck.

Injecting himself into the batting line-up early was Ben Johnton and New Zealand’s Next Top Model Hamish Furrell joined him at the other end. It was a bold move as Ben is typically a 3rd or 4th partnership batsman and Hamish was lacking in recent match experience. This was quickly forgotten as Ben and Ham commence an aggressive attack on the Tarpies’ bowlers. Both batsman perfom well, and they scorea superb 31 runs.

T-Bagz and BT attempt to build upon their last performance together 2 weeks ago. Unencumbered thanks to a less-than-intimidating target, Tommy and Beets could enjoy the luxury of the absence of pressure. They played straight and hard shots, and despite getting a couple of run outs during their time at the crease, they continue to edge Shooters in the right direction for this match and make sure of the skin scoring 11 runs.

Rounding off what was an almost certain victory for Shooter’s XI was Josh Waters and Mitch Holmes. This innings was a spectacle to behold. With the match total alreay surpassed, Josh and Mitch’s target became getting the final skin, which would need 44 runs to achieve. In a flurry of low and hard shots, the boys score boundary after boundary in the first couple of overs. Slowing down slighty as the game came to a close they play a sensible innings and never yield control of the match. With the last ball of the game Josh works it for 2 runs and pulls the pair to exactly 44 runs. Meaning victory of course, but also the bonus point. A magnificent effort.

The Tarpies: 11 – -28 – 2 – 43 – 28
Shooter’s XI: 0 – 31 – 11 – 44 – 86

An emotionally-charged Green Jacket performance this week from Josh Waters who bowled faster than he has ever bowled tonight and batted like one of the true greats of the game. It saddens me to report that Josh annonced his resignation from the permanent Shooter’s XI roster. Josh has confirmed he will remain with the team until mid-June, after which time he will depart to devote more time to his true passion; stamp-collecting. Stay tuned for a Josh Waters tribute following his final game for the team in a few weeks time. Tom Wegener traded his Green Jacket for a Brown one this week as he fell from grace in the stats. Even though he was almighty in the field once again, the scorecard proves how cruel this game can be. A mention must go to Mitch Holmes as well, who found his groove again with his bowling, and was clocking up speeds that would make any batsman tremble.

Round 14: Shooter’s XI v Frosty Neckers “Baby Shooters Drink From The Sippy Cup Of Victory”

Round 13: Shooters XI vs Frosty Neckers
By Mitchell Holmes

Having missed a crucial press release on the morning of this week’s match, several Elite players of Shooters XI were dropped from the squad and the Baby Shooters were brought up from the reserves bench. With the finals fast approaching, new blood was desperately required to inject the team with fury not seen since Season 1. The last time Shooters faced off against the Frosty Neckers, it was perhaps the tightest and low scoring game in our club’s history – Shooters winning 22 runs to 19.

Tonight we saw some familiar faces in Wheaty, Jeremy, Troy and stand-in heartthrob Ben ‘sticky fingers’ Niland-Rowe, and a brand new face Justin Eyles. Having never played a sport in his life without the captains cap, Justin performed quite well under the wing of team Veterans M Holmes, T Wegener and T Chapman. With only 4 regulars playing the game, Shooters definitely had some work to do tonight.

Having won the toss in what could be described as the most confusing way, the 4th down the chain captain M Holmes put the side in to bowl in what was described later as one of the most crucial and determined decisions of the match.

First to bowl as go-to opener Tim Chapman, getting tonked for a massive 18 runs in the first over. Bowling second and not losing any faith in his team, Tom Wegener lifted his chin and testosterone levels to take a wicket and be only taken for 1 extra run. Not being outdone, debutant Justin Eyles clean bowling the opposition on his very first ball in indoor cricket. A very special moment was shared and I will remember that forever. Although not many wickets fell, the boys did well in the field and kept their total to a high but beatable 96 runs.

In to bat first were the two Toms, chasing the skin of 30 with vigor. Wheaty just could not get bat on ball, leaving T Wegener to chase the total, single handedly scoring 27 runs. Funnily enough, 12 of those runs were extras.

Hoping to further impress team management, Justin Eyles put on the gloves for the first time with out of form Tim Chapman. The boys struggled to keep their wicket and only managed 7 runs in total, 9 or which went to our debutant. That’s right, -2 to Mr Chapman!

Next up were old jive dancing partners from great 9 PE class, M Holmes and B Niland-Rowe. Sniffing out the skin of 28 runs, the boys went in hard and fast, and also played cricket quite well. There’s a joke in there somewhere. Although being run out 3 times, they racked up a total of 31 snatching the lucrative 4-way free beer with The Toms. For the record Ben scored 21, playing second fiddle all night to Mr. Cricket Wegener.

Our final partnership was proudly sponsored by Cetnaj, for all your electrical needs. Having pulled a hamstring early, Troy left the field in disgust. The sports centre would not accept the ‘Arjuna Rangatunga’ rule and no runner was allowed, so Tim Chapman had a chance to redeem himself. Unluckily for him, the 21 runs he scored all went to Troy’s name. They came up with the goods and won the game in another nail biter.

Final score:

Frosty Neckers: 30-10-28-18-86 (1 skin)
Shooters XI: 31-7-31-23-92 (3 skins)
Green Jacket honors go to Tom Wegener who performed in all aspects of the game, making a game contribution of 18. A special mention to Ben Niland-Rowe who made 13 points and performed outstandingly.

Brown Jacket would have gone to Tim Chapman this week had he not redeemed himself in the final partnership, so honors are shared between Jeremy and Wheaty this week who matched -8 points for the game. Absolutely disgraceful.

Good game gentlemen.

Round 13: Shooter’s XI v Full Tossers

Round 13: Shooter’s XI v Full Tossers

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Full Tossers: 26 – 20 – 37 – 31 – 114
Shooter’s XI: 8 – 41 – 19 – 16 – 84

Round 12: Shooter’s XI v Stihl Unreel “Not So Unreal Anymore”

Round 12: Shooter’s XI v Stihl Unreel

Coming off 2 consecutive wins Shooter’s XI have officialy found thier feet in B Grade and are reascerting themselves as premiership threats. Facing yet another of their past defeaters, Shooter’s XI entered the match as underdogs once more. Due to personnel issues in the Stihl Unreel camp, Shooter’s had to bowl first and spear-heading the attack as always was Tim Chapman who got his first scalp from the 3rd ball of the match. A couple of loose overs early on afforded Stihl Unreel some sundaries and their 1st partnership scored a very respecable 29 runs. Shooter’s weren’t prepared to lay down and they fought their way back over the course of the next 8 overs with 2 wickets to T-Bagz, 2 to BT and 2 to Richo. The momentum shifted once more back in the favour of the home team (Stihl Unreel) when the final pair smashed a massive 43 runs from their 4 overs, when not even the class of Ben Johnston and Mitchell Holmes could trouble batsmen despite bowling fast and accurately.

Chasing 68 for victory Ben and Mitch open the batting, hoping to improve on their recent “mixed” form together. Ben Johnston takes the lead this time and plays a superb innings succeeding in not getting out once throughout his time at the crease. Mitch Holmes succeeded in scoring runs, however the loss of several wickets negated his efforts. It seems this partnership is taking some time to solidify after Ben’s usual partner and brother Dan Johnston withdrew from competition citing “legal reasons”, and Mitch is still suffering the effects of the long term suspension of his BFF and usual batting associate Andrew Hunter. Nevertheless on this occasion as a pair they score 24.

BT has been perhaps the most consistent player with the bat this season, playing terribly week-in-week-out. In support as always was the in form Tom Wegener. With a solid score already on the board courtesy of the openers, and with just -7 needed to secure the 2nd skin Tom and Beets aim to have a bit of fun and take some risks. A gameplan that didn’t necessarily pay off, with both batsmen struggling to get off the mark and gain momentum. Tom and Beets manage just 5 runs, and while they collect the skin, they don’t go a long way to closing the gap on the scoreboard.

Brothers Tim and Jeremy Chapman have the task of regaining traction for Shooter’s XI and continuing to build on their run-chase. It was looking like Jeremy had played himself back into form after a solid first couple of overs, although a disatrous 3rd over subratcted 10 runs from his score with 2 quick wickets. and he failed to bounce back from there. Tim played another solid innings and counteracted some of Jeremy’s misfortune, as a a pair they’ve scored 7 runs.

32 runs were still required to reach the target set by Stihl Unreel, Shooter’s XI were comforted by the fact that the batting aptitude of Josh Waters and Dean Richardson was still to come. After being the man (or at least one of the men) responsible for the final plays in both of Shooter’s XI’s recent victories Dean was primed to make it 3 in a row. Both batsmen play excellent strokes and score at an exceptional rate. A run out in the fourth over of thier stand was the only set back from for the lads as they make their way to 41 runs.

Stihl Unreel: 29 – -8 – 3 – 43 – 66
Shooter’s XI: 24 – 5 – 7 – 41 – 77

Another Shooter’s XI win was accomplished and another nail-biting finsih was endured. A marked improvement in Ben Johnston’s game this week with tight bowling with figures of 1/8 and a competitive 26 run haul with the bat, he takes away the Green Jacket from this match. Next week it will be another tough battle taking on the Full Tossers. The last time these teams met it was a convincing win to the Tossers.

Round 11: Shooter’s XI v Kickapoo “Beware The Gunsmen That Own No Guns”

A long ass fucking time ago in a land called Kickapoo, the rulers of the town were a tenacious team of cavalier young men. They had the fortune of seven kingdoms and fate gazed favourably upon them. Though, the local peasents warned that Kickapoo, the town, was alive and it had a firey temper and many of the town’s witches foretold a change in rule would come when “the wheat was ready to harvest and the waters were nowhere to be seen” they added “beware the gunsmen that own no guns”.

The far from superstitous team from Kickapoo entered the night’s contest brimming with confidence after beating Shooter’s XI convincingly last month in their first appearance in B Grade. A vastly improved side turned up to compete this time however, and with a bit more grade experience under their chastity belts Shooters’ were aiming for an upset.

Losing the toss Shooters’ were sent in to bat which was the same strategy Kickapoo used to win their last meeting. Opening this week is Brother – Sister partnership Tim and Jeremy Chapman. It was a fantastic start by the Chapman duo, getting on with the job with a steady runrate and regular rotation of strike. Only a couple of runouts came, which is expected against a superb fielding side, and as Jeremy shows some much improved form from last week the opening batsmen post 22 runs to kick the match off.

Off the back of a “Best On Court” performance last week BT enters the game for the first time this week as the first half of the 2nd partnership, joined as (almost) always by Tom ‘T-Bagz’ Wegener whom, himself, has been in peak form. The batsmen were gifted some sundary runs in the first couple of overs which gave Tom some time to work the ball around. Beets fail tremendously as his back-up and his collective of wickets counteracted Tommy’s hard work. They close their contribution at 6 runs (all of wich belong to Tom).

Ready to build on Shooters’ total was Dean Richardson and with Josh Waters unavailable for this match, Wheat Keenan joins Deano at the crease. Wheaty was standing tall in the absence of Waters in what would prove to be a crucially dominant stand by both of the batsmen. Plenty of big hits strewn throughout a massive 29 run partnership, which would end up being the highest partnership total of the game.

Mitch Holmes and Ben Johnston come in as number 7 and 8 to add as many runs as possible to finalise the target for Kickapoo’s chase. Ben’s aversion to batting last was validated by getting out caught off the first ball he faced, and losing his wicket once more later in the innings. Mitch was strong at the other end and hit the ball with aggressive intent. As a pair Mitch and Ben seemed to communicate better and back each other up, becoming the only batsmen to not be run out during their overs this match. They add 13 runs to the total and Shooters’ have set a very decent score against a side that is a strong bowling & fielding outfit.

In the early overs Tim and Tom continued with their outstanding recent form in the field and with their bowling, however with 2 costly overs from BT Kickapoo got a boost early carting him for 20 runs. Plenty of “extra efforts” in the field helped lift Shooter’s XI with great catches taken by Tim, Tom, Jeremy, Mitch and Wheat. Some close call run outs went in the favour of the batting side but Shooters’ weren’t going to let that dampen their enthusiasm. As it came down to the last 4 overs, with 2 new batsmen at the crease needing 37 runs to win the final batters get off to a positive start going after medium-pacer Tom Wegener in a desperate dash for runs. Ups and downs followed as the Kickapoo batsmen throw their bat at everything. The contest comes down to the very last over, in fact the last two balls. Dean is up and with two balls to go Kickapoo need just two runs to get in front. The left armer fires his fifth delivery just short of a length luring the batsmen out of his crease, beaten by excellently controlled flight he misses the ball and gets stumped. Putting his team in a “seven-ten split” situation of cricket, requiring a 6 (actually worth 7 runs in indoor) from the last ball to win. Dean bowls an identical delivery with identical results and Shooters pull off a miraculous victory!

Shooter’s XI: 22 – 6 – 29 – 13 – 69
Kickapoo: 12 – 19 – 11 – 16 – 58

Celebrating with finger pistols all round, Shooter’s XI might just be the Gunsmen the Kickapoo town witches foretold. And as Josh Waters was nowhere to be seen, we had Wheat who stepped up proved to be stand-out player in this match with 3 wickets to his name. This match could really be a turning point for this season for Shooters marking their 2nd win in B Grade with many players showing genuine sign of improvement. Dean gets Green Jacket this week for his coolness under the enormous pressure of that last over, as well as a superb knock with the bat. Beets gets the Brown Jacket once again, with the words “Worst On Court” embellished onto the breast pocket.

Round 10: Shooter’s XI v Frosty Neckers “The Battle of the Bowlers”

Round 10: Shooter’s XI v Frosty Neckers

Well and truly due for a win, Shooter’s XI enter their 5th B Grade match with an ugly 0-4 record. Reluctant Skipper, Mitch Holmes wins the toss and elects to bowl first. The bowling is bang on target this week with Tim picking up a wicket in the first over, backed up by Tom Wegener achieving a hat-trick at the end of his first. Even Ben Turner contributed to the wickets tonight with 3 in his first over too. The initial two Frosty Neckers’ batting pairs were embarassed by the enthusiastic bowling and fielding attack of Shooter’s XI. The final two partnerships clawed their way back to the positives notwithstanding Tom Wegener rounding out his double-hat-trick with the first ball of his 2nd over and BT picking up a hat-trick of his own in his 2nd over, collecting a masterful 6 wickets in total. With more positive bowling coming from Mitch, Ben, Dean and Josh to round out the innings and clinical fielding courtesy of Tom, Jeremy and Tim Shooter’s XI manage to keep their B Grade contemporaries to just 19 runs.

Satisfied with their performance so far, the team nominates T-Bagz and Beets to open the batting account. In a situation where any positive contribution would have been acceptible, the openers kicked off in devastating fashion dropping 4 wickets in the first two overs and after just 12 balls faced they were sitting on -16. Determined to fight back, the long-time batting partners sorted out thier calling, and started playing some sensible shots. They failed to break even in the end but got back to -4 to commence Shooters’ run chase.

Backing up in the 2nd slot was Tim and Jeremy Chapman who were still not talking to each other after Tim stole the remote control off Jez during MythBusters last Wednesday. Their communication hiatus was evident throughout the innings with multiple runouts costing the pair and the team. Tim played respectably and ended up with 6 individual runs next to his name, although Jeremy was having a night to forget posting the worst score of the night (and his personal worst score since joining Shooter’s XI) -13. Suddenly 20 runs off 16 overs becomes 30 runs off 8 for Shooters’ to take the win.

The third pairing was made up of the World’s fastest indoor cricket bowler, Mitch Holmes, and Best Catch Season 2011/12 winner Ben Johnston. Mitch continues his stirling form with the bat and takes control of the game defending his wicket well and scoring at a steady rate. Ben coninues his ordinary form with the bat and takes his traditional 1-2 over grace period to find his feet in the middle. By keeping wickets to a minimum the duo are able to regain traction for the team and place us back into a competitive position, contributing 18 runs, bringing the team to 7, poised for a photo finish.

Dean Richardson is used to having to carry the weight Shooter’s XI’s collective shortcomings across the finish line, having done so several times last year. And he was joined by the ever-reliable super-human cricketter Josh Waters. If there were two men you’d want to have in a situation like this, these are they. The unbreakable concentration of Josh emulsified by the sheer intrepidity of Dean is a force to be reckoned with, and even though the Frosty Neckers got a sniff of victory in a tight finish, Shooter’s XI come away with the competition points. Just.

Frosty Neckers: -10 – 5 – 3 – 21 – 19
Shooter’s XI: -4 – -7 – 18 – 15 – 22

In a very low-scoring affair it was good to see Shooters’ show their ability to grind out a win ending their four game losing streak. There were a number of half-done jobs in this match. Mitch and Josh performed well with the bat, but couldn’t live up to their usual high standards with the ball. Tom and BT picked up 10 wickets between them but could not get their act together opening the batting. Ben had a similarly mixed performance picking up 3 wickets then falling short in the chase. Dean Richardson was again the team’s most consistent batting well and bowling with his usual success, however this week he is overlooked for the Green Jacket because, well… come on… SIX WICKETS!!

Round 9: Shooter’s XI v The Beers

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Shooter’s XI: 25 – 26 – 19 – 21 – 91
The Beers: 16 – 38 – 30 – 31 – 115

Round 8: Shooter’s XI v Full Tossers “The Bump Ball Heard Around The World”

Round 8: Shooter’s XI v Full Tossers

Shooter’s XI had every right to be confident coming into this week’s clash against the Full Tossers having beaten them convincingly in a friendly leading up to last season’s Grand Final. However the team they were facing this week was one with far more intensity and it looked like they were wanting revenge after being embarrassed by a then C Grade team.

Shooters win the toss and elect to bowl, getting off to a reliably good start with Tim Chapman and Tom Keenan bowling back to back solid overs. The first breakthrough came in the fourth over in the form of a caught behind, thanks to a superb ball from Tom Wegener. The next few overs began to build some pressure on the batsmen and Shooters were able to capitalise taking all their opportunities (however infrequent) to snare wickets. The stand-out bowling came from Dean Richardson, who was the only bowler to take multiple scalps, and Jeremy Chapman who bowled a tight line and conceded just 3 runs from his two overs. The bowlers were getting spectaular support in the field from Tom and our ring-in that was wrangled from the Jumbos; Dane. The Full Tossers set 118 runs for Shooters to chase down.

Opening the batting this week is the reigning Green Jacket holder; Tom Keenan, joined by a long-time rival of Shooters from their C Grade days; Dane. The Full Tossers were proving to be a formidable opponent right from the first ball and Shooters struggling to get bat to ball and the run rate remains below what was required for the first few overs. The batsmen find their rhythm eventually and begin to rotate the strike, picking up 12 runs for their trouble.

Coming in next was BT and his mini-him, Tom Wegener. After missing a week for a Grade 1 careless high tackle BT returned to Shooter’s to find his position at wicket-keeper under threat after Mitch’s break-through performance behind the stumps in his absence. It was clear this was playing on his mind as he fumbled through a forgettable innings with the bat. T.W. was in control at the other end and looked in as good form as ever. The first of two contentious decisions occured in this stanza. When a Full Tossers’ bowler, living up to their name, bowled a neck-height delivery (on the full) at Beets, which puts the ball at approximately 6ft high when passing the batting crease. This delivery, although far from a playable height, was not called a “no ball”, and brought the two batters into a “third ball” situation.

The next pairing was brothers Tim and Jeremy Chapman, whom have both displayed recent good touch. By this point in the innings 1′s and 2′s weren’t going to suffice if Shooters were going to take a win. Knowing this, the Chapman brothers commenced “Operation: Hot Runs”. Tim was finding the middle as he slapped multiple boundaries, however Jeremy wasn’t getting them onto the bat as easily. The older of the two scores the major share of the runs, but could get no help from his little brother who was bowled, caught and run out at different stages of the innings.

Rounding out what was going to be a likely defeat for Shooters was Dean Richardson and Dusan Zunic who were determined to put up a fight. Scoring a massive 19 runs in their second over, the turning point of the innings, however, was the second contentious decision of the match going against Shooter’s XI. A blatant bump ball coming from a misqueued straight drive from Dusan was given out; caught at mid off. #Bumpgate almost crashed Twitter that night. Duso’s misfortune gave new life to the argument to introduce the DRS system into indoor cricket. While an incorrect decision was shattering Zunic’s confidence, Richardson was shattering the odds and contributed a whopping 25 individual runs to finialise the team’s score.

Full Tossers: 40 – 16 – 37 – 25 – 118
Shooter’s XI: 12 – 21 – 20 – 23 – 76

Shooters fell well short in the end and it was another week that highlighted areas requiring immedite improvement. Mitch Holmes’ fast-pace bowling was sorely missed, as was Ben Johnston’s body-on-the-line athleticism in the field. Green Jacket this week goes to Tom Wegener, who has to overcome an unjustifiable level of bad luck each week with his bowling to post solid figures (this week 1/14), and is beginning to post constitently excellent results with the bat. Brown Jacket goes to Dusan this week, for inadvertantly causing a whirlwind of controversy, i.e. #Bumpgate.

Round 7: Shooter’s XI v Stihl Unreel “Stihl Unreel; Putting The Pun Back Into Punishment”

Round 7: Shooter’s XI v Stihl Unreel
By Tom Wegener

Last week, in Shooters XI first match in B Grade, the team took to the field without their leader, Andrew Hunter, who was in the midst of a 14 game suspension. Although bravely lead by stand in skipper and spiritual leader BT, Shooters XI left empty handed. In week 2, however, Shooters XI were left without Hunter and BT, and were a shadow of the great team that fired to the C Grade championship. In times like these, it is easy to think the team might capitulate without the full strength side. In some ways, this was what happened.

In the absence of a captain, Shooters XI were denied the embarrassment of having Mitch Holmes represent us for the coin toss. Fortunately, we were sent into the field first as opponents Stihl Unreel struggled to get together enough members to field a side. Incredibly, the QLD Labor party could have fielded more players tonight, as Stihl Unreel looked to have only five players to start the match. Fortunately for Stihl Unreel, the conclusion of an earlier A grade match happened to coincide with the start of tonight’s match, and their side was promptly filled with A grade champions. Suddenly tonight’s match up looked more difficult.

As always, Tim Chapman opened the bowling and got Shooters away to a great start taking figures of 1 for 2. Unfortunately, his performance could not be matched by the honorary author of this blog, Tom Wegener, who bowled without luck and conceded 18 runs. Tight bowling followed by esteemed Shooter fill-in Tom K and regular fighter Josh Waters, to keep Stihl Unreel to 30 runs in the first partnership.

A better bowling and fielding performance was embraced during the second pair, as the bowlers piled on pressure to keep Stihl Unreel to 10 runs. Standout bowling was once again produced by Dean Richardson, who finished his first over with figures of 3 for -6 (helped by a great run out and a miraculous catch). The next two skins were not of the same standard as the partnerships achieved totals of 33 and 40 respectively. Stihl Unreel scored 113 and Shooters XI had to dig deep if they were a chance to reel in this above-par batting performance.

Without BT in the side, Tom Wegener was without his regular batting partner and after drawing straws Tom K was given the task of compiling runs to abate TWs regular loss of wickets. As an opening partnership Tom K and Tom W miraculously compiled 25 runs and used up the full quota of good luck for the innings.

Josh Waters and Tim Chapman followed with an outstanding partnership of 38 with Josh Waters the pick of the batsman tonight with 25 runs, including a couple of swashbuckling off-drives that left the side net with gaping holes in it. With shooters having amassed 62 runs very quickly, the game was tipping in our favour.

Prior to taking the field as part of the third pairing, fill-in Jay proudly pumped his chest in delight after his terrific effort last week that helped Dean Richardson out of an uncharacteristically poor innings. Unfortunately, this week, the saviour was Dean, who took to the task of keeping Shooters XI in the game by hitting some fluent sixes (or sevens as they are), whilst Jay took on the role of giving back five runs the following ball. Despite finishing with 14 runs, the loss of five wickets was the punch that knocked the wind out of Shooters sails.

Though 40 runs was not an impossible task for the final pairing of Mitch Holmes and Ben Johnston, Mitch Holmes left the field with a strained back after carrying Ben Johnston who struggled to -14.
In the end, Shooters were no match for Stihl Unreel but the points were eventually awarded to Shooters because their opponents relied on too many extras to get on the field.

Green Jacket: Wheaty – for a great all round performance. (A special mention goes to Dean Richardson, who statistically produced another ripping performance. Mr Consistency.).
Brown Jacket: Ben Johnston. Crucified by the stat sheet.