B Grade - Rounds 8,9,10 - 3/12/11

A loss, a milestone (which we lost), and another loss....

Round 8 against Feds proved that 96 just isn't enough......

Round 9 - 26/11/11 - vs RSL Works
Gazza Vanstone's last game for the club saw us against RSL. After 12 years, Gaz had finally made the decision to leave town. As a result, his final game saw him pick a side consisting of people he had played with over the years. It seems that even a unique opportunity like this didn't make it any easier to pick a team, with some late withdrawals and no-shows thrown in! As Captain for the day, Gaz won the toss and batted, which looked like proving to be a winning move.
Batting like we had never seen before, Gaz pulled out all the strokes in the book, both defensive and offensive. In a twist to his normal innings, it was 19 overs before he hit his first 6. This was actually a double twist, as Gaz didn't usually last 19 overs when batting! A well compiled 79 saw him fall short of a fairytale century in his final game, caught out by a McLeod slower ball. After 40 overs we finished at 4/206, our biggest total for the season.
We went out to field full of hope and promise, but it wasn't long before it all turned to shit. Gaz (as Captains do) opened the bowling himself "just for one over". This turned into 3 respectable ones.... A series of dropped catches (8) followed, which didn't help the cause, and RSL finished with an over to spare. Mark "Sparky" Leembruggen finishing on 90 not out.
Not the best way to send off someone who's played fairly consistently and well for the last 12 years.
On a personal note, I'd like to wish Gaz and his family all the best in their new adventure down south.

Round 10 against Wests proved that chasing 161 is just a little bit too much.