UK Cricket Tour – game results

Monday 9th August
Knaresborough CC 3/234 (D.Thompson 1/21) drew Primary Club Aust 7/147 (M.Falk 29, J.Cameron 22, D.Thompson 21) at Knaresborough Yorkshire.

Wednesday 11th August
Walton CC 6/177 (P.Scott 2/16, D.Thompson 1/8) lost to Primary Club Aust 6/181 (D.Thompson 36, M.Falk 35, R.Thompson 35, G.Verco 20) at Walton Yorkshire.

Monday 2nd August
Primary Club Aust 5/160 (P.Lanham 51, D.Thompson 35*, R.Thompson 18, M.Falk 17) lost to Saffron Walden CC 5/164 (C.Hambleton 2/18, M.Falk 2/33) at Saffron Walden Essex.

Friday 30th July
Primary Club Aust 10/179 (R.Thompson 34, J.Dedman 29, D.Thompson 28, M.Fulcher 25) lost to Primary Club (UK) 4/182 (J.Dedman 3/30) at Beckenham Kent.  PCUK retain the “Primary Ashes”.

Thursday 29th July
Primary Club Aust 6/154 (M.Holmes 34, J.Dedman 26, M.Falk 23) beat Richmond CC 10/137 (A. Luff 3/32, J.Baird 2/18) at Old Deer Park Richmond. 

Wednesday 28th July
Primary Club Aust 10/147 (A.Luff 40, M.Falk 30*, P.Lanham 29, J.Dedman 25) drew Wembley CC 9/134 (M.Falk 4/25) at Vale Farm Sudbury.

Blind Cricket NSW vs Primary Club of Australia

One of the great joys of playing cricket for the Primary Club of Australia is the opportunity to play Blind Cricket against the Blind Cricket NSW team.

For those who don’t know what Blind Cricket is – this link will explain the rules: http://www.blindcricket.com/GENERAL/about_the_game.htm

This game was played on the 21 March 2010.

PCA v I Zingari at Camden – 28th March 2010

This was the PCA’s last game of the season. I Zingari hosted us at their picturesque home ground.

The PCA captain Joe Scarcella struggled to field a team due to a number of last-minute withdrawals. This is not an uncommon occurrence at the end of a long season, as our experience tells us. With the help of several I Zingari players who didn’t make the host team, we did however manage put a much-weakened side on the paddock.

The hosts won the toss and elected to bat first. Our young opening bowlers Joe Scarcella Jnr and Sam Cox were at best steady, but not penetrative, against a solid opening pair, in what was a very strong batting line-up. Our change bowlers, Jock Baird and Joe Scarcella, came on after 12 overs with the score at 0-53, and had some success in taking some wickets and keeping the scoring rate down to a respectable rate. However, the captain had very few bowlers to call upon from there, so we had to rely on part-timers to complete the overs. Our opponents took full toll on the attack in the latter overs, scoring at a very heavy rate.

The top scorer for I Z’s, PCA member Marcus Braid, batted very well and eventually made 85 n.o. However, he offered a simple catch early in his innings which was inexplicably dropped. He also was given the benefit of the doubt for a close caught and bowled chance off the captain’s bowling. He definitely made the most of his chances, while we were left to rue what might have been…

I Zingari lost only 3 wickets in its innings, finishing their 40 overs with an imposing total of 3-231.

It was a target that was always going to be hard to beat; and so it proved. The opening batsmen Scarcella Jnr and Story started steadily enough against some good bowling but the run chase against the strong I Zingari attack was proving too difficult to chase.  Mark Clarebrough, coming in at first drop, batted strongly and along with the captain, made a useful contribution. From that point on the wickets fell on a regular basis, without threatening the total at any time.

For I Zingari, Sandy Tubbs starred with the ball, taking 5-30 off his 8 overs.

Despite the lop-sided match, the teams did enjoy a lovely lunch and post-match drinks day in the fine autumn sunshine. 

Bowling:
J. Scarcella 2-32 (11 overs); J. Baird 1-27 (7 overs); 

Batting:
J. Scarcella – 25;  M. Clarebrough – 14; P. Scott – 16 n.o. ; R. Bowden – 13; M. Story – 13 
Joe Scarcella

29 March 2010

PCA v SCG XI at King’s – 7 March 2010

After several days of heavy rain, it was an unexpected and pleasant surprise that nice weather greeted us on the weekend, which allowed us to play the inaugural match between the PCA and the SCG XI at the beautiful J.S. White Oval at King’s. The match had originally been scheduled to be played at the SCG XI’s home ground Drummoyne Oval in November, but had to be postponed due to the unavailability of the ground.

The PCA Captain Joe Scarcella won the toss. With a couple of late withdrawals, and the late arrival of the 2 replacement players (including an opening batsman), we decided to send the SCG XI in to bat. It was a risky call, given that our opponents were fielding a strong young team with several grade players – including one first grader, and their captain Andy Balbirnie who was an Ireland U19 cricket rep.

Our opening bowlers Chris Lloyd and Joe Scarcella (Jnr) bowled with good hostility. Chris trapped the opener in front in his first over and finished with good figures of 1-25 from his 6 overs. At the other end, Joe Jnr continued with his excellent bowling form for the PCA in this, his first season with the PCA, bowling an excellent line and length and getting enough outswing movement through the air to cause the batsmen some headaches. His accurate pace bowling was well rewarded, clean bowling the other opener with a swinging yorker and claiming the No. 4 batsman LBW. He finished with excellent figures of 2-15 from his 7 overs.

Change bowlers Laughlan Davies and Joe Scarcella (Snr) took over the attack and continued to ask questions of the batsmen with some very good, persistent and accurate bowling. Laughlan bowled very well, his 9 overs of accurate medium pacers completed without success in terms of wickets but troubling the batsmen regularly. At the other end, Joe also bowled well, tying the batsmen down with accurate swing bowling and frustrating the batsmen who were showing clear intent that they wanted to take control of the match with aggressive batting. With excellent support from his fieldsmen, Joe took 3-29 from his 9 over spell. Marcus Braid came into the attack to bowl his off spin. He, too, bowled very well against the batsmen who were clearly out to accelerate the run rate and accumulate a score our opponents could defend. Marcus finished with the excellent figures of 2-12 off 4 overs. The other bowlers – Bob Stephens, and late replacements James Loughhead and young Sam Cox – performed creditably too, Sam picking up a wicket in his first over in his debut match for the PCA.

The SCG XI finished with a total of 9-168 from their 45 overs. From the PCA bowlers and fielders, against a very strong young team, it was a truly excellent performance in the field to restrict them to a target that was very ‘gettable’.

Our run chase started well. Openers Chris Lloyd and Marcus Braid batted steadily against a good bowling attack, pacing the scoring well and keeping us on target all the way. When Marcus fell for 10, Mark Clarebrough came in and, with Chris, continued the run chase at a steady rate. Chris stepped up his scoring rate, playing some lovely shots and finding the boundary a few time, including a glorious cover drive. He looked set for big score but nicked one behind and departed for 28. Joe Jnr came in and got out a few overs later, caught on the deep mid wicket boundary trying to punish a loose delivery but failing to clear the outfield.

That brought Damian Cullen to the crease. Damian, not a batsmen who likes to prod and hang around or to let bowlers get on top of the batsmen, started solidly and looked to consolidate in a partnership with Mark. The runs were coming steadily and both batsmen looked solid against some very good bowling. After getting his eye in, Damian set about to attack the bowlers in his usual manner. He played some excellent aggressive shots, accelerating the scoring rate as he hit several boundaries to all parts of the field including a massive six over the longest part of the VERY BIG JS White Oval. He batted superbly, bringing up his half century before retiring. At the other end, Mark was batting steadily, mixing caution against the tight bowling with aggression to the loose delivery. His knock of 39 (retired) kept the innings together. When he retired we only required about 16 runs to notch up the win. However there was a late order collapse -  that is, until Laughlan Davies and James Loughhead steadied the ship, their last wicket stand of 15 finally taking us to victory.

The victory capped off a wonderful day. The boys from the SCG XI provided very stern competition, but most importantly all the PCA players were unanimous in the view that they played the game in a fantastic spirit. Over a few post-match drinks and the mandatory post mortem, both teams agreed it was a great day. Both captains hope and expect to see this become an annual fixture.

Result:  PCA 7 – 171 (43.2 overs) def SCG XI 168 (45 overs)

Batting:  D. Cullen 50 n.o. (retired); M. Clarebrough 39 n.o. (retired); Chris Lloyd 28; M. Braid 10; L. Davies 10 n.o. ; J. Loughhead 6 n.o.

Bowling: J Scarcella (snr) 3-29 (9 overs);  J Scarcella (jnr) 2-15 (7 overs); M.Braid 2-12 (4 overs); C. Lloyd 1-25 (6 overs); S. Cox 1-23 (3 overs)

Joe Scarcella
8 March 2010

Primary Club of Australia vs St. George Vets CC

A PCA side blending youth and experience comfortably accounted for the St. George Veterans team led by PCA member Peter Lanham at Kings on Sunday 24 January 2010.

The Vets batted first but could only managed 139 in their allotted 35 overs after rain delayed the start of play.

Generally tight bowling kept the Vets at bay and only another PCA member Ben Connell really troubled the scorers. Perhaps the pick of the PCA attack were debutante Matthew Fisher and Steve Pryde although both Steve Ryan and Rob Lavery also bowled particularly well without much luck. Matt Pryde, Phil Scott, Leigh Meakin, Shawn Dwyer and surprisingly Peter Mullane all chipped in with a wicket or two whilst Steve Ryan and Doug Alley both took topclass catches and Ray Thompson behind the stumps demonstrated skills belying his years..

A solid opening stand by Steve Pryde (50 ret.) and Peter Mullane (a somewhat laboured 28) provided the platform for the PCA to cruise home (6 for 142) with some big hitting down the order by Rob Lavery (39 ret.) putting the icing on the cake.

A big thank you to Trigger Verco for umpiring in his usual unflappable way and to Shaan Verco, Lyn Toomey, and Pam Glover for their culinary performance.

Footnote: The PCA victory provided some solace for beleaguered captain Rick Glover whose security of tenure at the helm remains decidedly shaky.

PCA v Cricketers’ Club of NSW – Barker College No.1, 18 October 2009.

Despite some rain just hours before the scheduled start at this beautiful cricket ground, the match started on time. The PCA invited CCNSW to bat first. Some steady bowling early on by the PCA seamers kept the scoring rate tight for a while. However, an outstanding innings for CCNSW by Hawksworth (51 n.o.) saw CCNSW progress well in putting together a respectable total. He was ably supported by Dadswell (37), with good a contribution, too, by Brandon (20).

The PCA welcomed the 3 Pryde brothers (Steve, James and Matthew), who played together for the first time with the PCA. James and Matthew were on debut, while Steve had made an impressive debut just 3 days earlier playing against the Vic Barracks Irregulars, scoring runs and taking wickets. It soon became apparent in this match that James and Matthew also had plenty of cricket skills to offer. James bowled 8 overs of very tight left arm orthodox spin, confounding the batsmen regularly, and was rewarded with 2 well deserved wickets. Matthew’s leg spin was troublesome for the batsmen too, and he finished up with 3 wickets off his 8 overs. Steve also made an impact with his left arm quicks, taking a couple of wickets. Chris Lloyd, opening the bowling, also bowled well for his 6 overs, taking an early wicket. He also took what is now becoming his customary spectacular catch, a great effort square of the wicket at full stretch off a full-blooded square cut.

Chasing the CCNSW total of 185 from their 40 overs, the PCA lost opener Scarcella early with the total on 10. Then followed a very good partnership of 68 between Chris Lloyd (run out for 31) and Steve Pryde (ret 50 n.o.), both batsmen scoring freely. Stuart Waugh, batting at 4, also played very well before he too had to retire after scoring his half century. CCNSW bowlers fought back to restrict the scoring rate in the latter overs, which made for an exciting finish. Then James Pryde came in late in the order and took to the bowling in a very aggressive manner to change the momentum of the match, hitting a boundary of his first delivery and following up with a couple more. He reached 17 runs in very quick time, and together with Bob Stephens (12), saw PCA home to a close victory.

This was a very good match, played in great spirit, at a lovely venue. And it will be remembered for the very significant contributions made by the new members, the 3 Pryde brothers.

Batting:
S. Pryde – 50 n.o (retired); S. Waugh – 50 n.o.(retired); C Lloyd – 31; J. Pryde – 17 n.o.; R. Stephens – 12 n.o.

Bowling:
M. Pryde 3-44 (8 overs); J. Pryde 2-25 (8 overs), S.Pryde 1-20 (6 overs); C. Lloyd 1-22 (6 overs)

Joe Scarcella

PCA v Lane Cove Cricket Club – Lindfield Oval, 27 September 2009

The troops gathered at Lindfield Oval, Tryon Rd, A blustery gale greeted the PCA boys and with ten minutes before the scheduled start it was noticeable that no Lane Cove players had arrived, a quick phone call to Ed sorted out the problem, the Lane Cove boys had been blown off course and were at Acron Oval, the scene of the battle two years prior! Mullo’s thinking quickly invoked the bowl first bat and VB second coin toss and sent Lane Cove in.

Joe Scarcella and Joe Scarcella Jnr opened for the LC and played cautiously for a while finding the short southern boundary a couple of times both retiring with Joe senior outpacing his son scoring 35 no and Jnr Joe on 30 no. Ryan 0-11 off 4 including 2 maidens and Stephens 0-33 off 6 opened the bowling for PCA.

Humphries 0-24 off 4 improved as the over’s went on after bruising his own toe with the first couple of deliveries. Casey 1-38 from the western end took our first wicket Holmes caught and bowled 15. In the mean time Webb had hit a quick fire 28 and retired. At the 20 over mark LC were 1 for 109! With 15 over’s to go. Dwyer took over at the eastern end and put the breaks on somewhat getting 1-40 off 7 taking the valuable wicket of John Pym for18. Lomax 1-15 off 4 bowled tight picking up Cooper for 8. Mullo’s decided to have a bowl, now the first two deliveries and a few more after then bounced several times before reaching the batsman, however the over ended 1-7 with a Jacko stumping still being discussed but having Jard in the pavilion for 12. Richard Pym LC’s captain tried the reverse sweep resulting in a first slip catch to Ryan, gone for a duck Mullo’s 2-13. Le- Moy 0-5 had a go from the west for one. Mullo’s on the last gets another Jacko stumping sending Corby 25 back finishing with 3-17, what a joke! Bill Sundries 20. LC all done for 199 Was it enough?

After some snags and sandwiches PCA sent out Le-Moy 18 and Jackson 21 who found the boundary regularly and set up the run chase. Abbot came in and scratched around a bit till finding some form compiling 18. Humphries battered well and was our first retiree 35 no. Unfortunately Cooney 0 did not trouble the scorers. 97 off 20 With the run rate climbing enter Casey, smashing a quick fire 35 no getting the run rate in check and the total a lot more achievable, Stephen’s played a great support role as Casey did the scoring until it was time to win the game taking 14 off one Snr Scarcella over and hitting the winning runs next over finishing on 35 no. Lomax 0 enjoyed his time in the centre and Mullo’s 3 no was there to watch the win with an over to spare and Ryan not required but padded up anyway! 6 for 202. Bill Sundries 34 including 5 boundaries. Great start to the season for the primary club and despite the weather all attending enjoyed themselves. Casey was voted man of the match.

Regards,

Mullo’s

PCA v Victoria Barracks Irregulars – Vic Barracks, Thursday 15 October 2009

With our shoes polished, creams ironed and gear double checked (except one recruit) the PCA marched into Victoria Barracks, Paddington, Sydney at approximately 11.41.am ready to do battle against the “Irregulars” cricket team. At precisely 12.25 pm we mustered for the mission brief given by Captain Benjamin Watson.  We accepted his statement of not being a great cricket side and to “take it easy on us”.  Casting his eye of experience over the PCA regiment, Field Marshal Mullo’s won the toss and elected to send the Irregulars into bat.

Taking up the forward position at 12.28 pm for the PCA were Sergeants Lloyd 1-13 off 4 and Pryde 2-10 off 4, both bowling at ½ pace respecting their oppositions claim of “ not being regular cricketers”  Brigadier Bray 0-12 off 4 showed that  leg spin can be a weapon of first change. Colonel Hunter 0-25 off 4 returned with his shoes and will be facing disciplinary action for both his bowling and uniform misdemeanours. General Pedley (VC) 0-34 off 4 proved he is a batsman.  Lieutenant Colonel Le Moy (French for good bloke) 0-18 off 4 after conceding 12 in his first came back strongly. Field Marshall Mullo’s 0-13 off 2 had no penetration what so ever and was forced to resign. Lieutenant Braid 1-14 off 2 and Major General Crosby 1-12 off 2 got the Primary Club back on track and once again the Irregulars were under pressure. Cadet Buscall (on debut for the PCA) 0-29 off 2 came under heavy artillery fire from a raging Huong (no 63); other notable scores for the Irregulars were Beergam no 33 and Varvel 27. Second Lieutenant Camejo did an outstanding job behind the stumps allowing only 1 bye during the 32 overs. The irregulars finished with a respectable 199. 

At exactly 14.28 pm the air raid sirens sounded and the PCA were ordered into battle. Lieutenant Braid (29 retired) and Major General Crosby (0) were the first to come under sniper attack.  Second Lieutenant Camejo (2) took over from Crosby and soon followed him to the ranks of the departed. Cadet Buscall (15) recouped some of the runs hit off his last 3 deliveries earlier in the conflict. Sergeant Lloyd (32 retired) took only 10 scoring shots to complete his innings clearly eyeing off the clock over the arch way. Sergeant Pryde (33 retired) and General Pedley (32 retired) steadied the offensive and made valuable ground towards the enemy target. Brigadier Bray (4) was actually out first delivery and will have his rank closely scrutinized. Colonial Hunter (32 retired) made up for earlier indiscretions posting his runs off only 10 scoring strokes and making great inroads into enemy territory. Field Marshall Mullo’s (14 no) and Lieutenant Le Moy (12 no) resplendent in batting style marched the PCA battalion into enemy headquarters and claimed victory. At precisely 16.54 pm Captain Watson handed over the trophy and conceded defeat. 

The PCA had scorched their way to 4-215 with an over to spare. The only thing left to do was to engage our defeated foe in the officer’s mess for some well earned $2 schooners.

A most enjopyable day was had by all the troops.

Regards

Field Marshall Mullo’s

PCA v I Zingari – Camden 26 April 2009

Our last game of the season was played at the lovely private cricket ground of our hosts I Zingari in Belgenny Farm, Camden. Due to a couple of late withdrawals we were left with 9 regular players and had to call on the services of 2 young lads Jack Braddock and Max Yabsley to make up the 11.

On a bright & sunny but cool morning IZ’s won the toss and elected to bat. Some good tight bowling from our opening bowlers Joe Scarcella & Andrew Pedley in the first 13 overs restricted IZ’s to a meagre total up to that point. It was a very good effort from Andrew, normally a wicketkeeper for PCA, who made his ‘bowling’ debut for the PCA and kept the IZ’s openers honest with good line & length bowling. While we gave away some runs with a few expensive overs in the middle overs, all credit must go to the IZ’s batsmen who proved difficult to dislodge and generally batted very well, with very good contributions in particular from opener Phil Booth (53 n.o.) and No. 5 John Pickhaver (52).

The star of the PCA bowling attack undoubtedly was the silver fox, Ken Grose, who after conceding a 6 off his first ball, proceeded to baffle and bamboozle the batsmen with his well flighted offbreaks and finished with 4 wickets. Special mention must also go to young James Braddock ‘s son Jack who, after some persuasion from his Dad and teammates, bowled a couple of overs, and took 2 wickets in the process. Mark Clarebrough also deserves a mention for his good work behind the stumps, taking 2 stumpings and generally keeping wickets very well throughout the innings.

Chasing the IZ’s total of 186 was always going to be difficult with a depleted side. Openers Richard Cooney and Bruce Parnell started solidly enough, and all the batsmen got starts along the way, but in the end PCA fell short with 152. James Braddock continued on with his recent good batting form to top score with 33. Other notable contributions came from Mark Clarebrough (27) and Bill Corbett (20). Stuart Waugh was a late fill-in and he looked promising until he was run out on 17.

Bowling:

K. Grose 4-31 (6 overs), J. Scarcella 1-18 (8 overs), Jack Braddock 2-10 (2 overs), A. Pedley 0-21 (6 overs), B. Parnell 1-48 (8 overs), B Corbett 0-30 (8 overs)

Batting:

James Braddock 33, M. Clarebrough (27), Bill Corbett (20), Stuart Waugh (17), Bruce Parnell (15)

Joe Scarcella

PCA Bradman Foundation XI – King’s College, Sunday 22 March, 2009

A somewhat different  PCA team ventured onto the Old Boys ground at Kings intent upon wresting back the Twelfth Man’s Plate from the lads from Bowral.  Only Ken Grose, Peter Mullane, Darshak Mehta, Mark Clarebrough and the self appointed Captain, Rick Glover, had miraculously survived the selector’s knife from the last occasion the two sides met in Bowral in 2007 ( the December 2008 fixture had been washed out). In an attempt to bolster the side, newcomers to the fixture were Marcus Braid, Zaven Jordan, Mark Irwin, Bruce Parnell, Bob Stephens, Jason Keen, and James Braddock

Mark Preddey, the BF XI captain, “won” the toss, elected to bat, and (to coin a phrase from Thomas Spencer’s immortal poem “How McDougall Topped the Score”) his batsman “gave some leather hunting” to the home team on the smallish ground where boundaries were easy to come by.  A particularly powerful innings by stalwart Peter Jensen led the way but almost all of the visitors (many of whom are regulars for this clash) unfortunately finished amongst the runs.

A daunting total of 6 for 247 was posted by the BF XI and amongst the PCA bowlers only legspinner Darshak Mehta stood tall with figures of 2 for 31 from 8 overs (which even then belied the quality of his bowling ) although both Bob Stephens and Bruce Parnell performed handily.  A number of dropped chances did little to help the PCA  effort.

With the job in front of them, and after the loss of two early wickets (Peter Mullane and Marcus Braid), it fell to James Braddock (62 n.o.) and Bruce Parnell (53) to set about the BF XI attack in deadly earnest which they did putting the home side well and truly back into the match.  Alas it was not to be because only Mark Irwin (41) amongst the middle order and tail could hold his head high.  Little more needs to be said of the wayward batting effort ( except that the pathetic shots played by Mehta and Stephens require special mention ) and the cause certainly was not helped by the run outs to direct hits of  Grose and Glover late in the day.

The PCA team was bowled out for 217 and being 30 runs short the Twelfth Man’s Plate once again returns to its permanent home at Bradman Oval in Bowral to be “held” by the BF XI for another season.

This fixture was again played in great spirit and our thanks are extended to Mark Preddey and his team and the umpires, Juris Tumanis and “Trigger” Verco.  Man of the match awards were presented to David Fairall and James Braddock.

Later in the year the “return” fixture will be played at Bradman Oval and the selectors will once again need to wield the knife as clearly the majority of the surviving remnants of past PCA teams to Bowral (in particular the Captain) are now seemingly well beyond their “use by” dates.

Rick Glover

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