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.

Primary Club of Australia v Wests Masters – 1 March 2009

The Primary Club is now developing a core nucleus of good players and this was evident last Sunday when we took on the Wests Masters team at the beautiful Kings No 1 Ground.

We won the toss and decided to bat on a dampish wicket and wet outfield due to overnight rain. Our opening pair of Trevor Crosby and Damien Cullen put on a fast paced opening stand of 52 with Damien taking complete control of the bowlers, and Trevor providing great support at the other end. Damien retired on 41 no and James Braddock came in at No 3 and finally got amongst the runs.  James played powerfully and  it was good to see him hit the ball so well. He also retired on 40 no which included 7 boundaries.

New recruit Billy Corbett showed his talent with a well put together 41 not out and will be a handy player for us in the future. Our youngest player Andrew Pedley then joined Bob Stephens and both were keeping the scoreboard ticking over before Bob was bowled for 27 and Andrew contributed a handy 30 before he was caught in the outfield. Bob’s 2 mighty 6s were the highlight of the afternoon.

At this stage we were 3 for 211 off only 30 odd overs with plenty of batting to come. Joe Scarcella was joined by Bruce Parnell before Joe was bowled for 9 and Bruce went on to score a quick fire and dynamic 41 not out, a couple of 6s landing on the pavilion roof.

The captain joined Bruce and was quickly run out after being called for a single that Lindford Christie would have struggled with! Such actions in the Primary Club attract a fine of $100 particularly when it’s the captain! [who has a long memory]

 A great batting effort all round and we finished on 5 for 254 off our 40 overs

The opposition were never really in the hunt trying to chase down such a score and we regularly picked up wickets throughout their innings of 125 all out

Good bowling performances from Joe Scarcella [4 for 29 off 8 overs] Billy Corbett [1 for 14 off 5 overs] and Bruce Parnell [2 for 12 off 6 overs]

 We’ve had some really good wins of late and look like developing a good regular team of players that are now playing more like a team with a desire to win

Ken Grose

The Primary Club of Australia v The Lord’s Taverners – 8 February 2009 at Barker College

The game was played in heatwave conditions at the beautiful Barker College main ground. Due to the extreme heat, it was agreed by the captains to reduce the game to 36 overs a side, with frequent drinks breaks.

The Primary Club batted first and scored 163 from its allotted overs. The opening batsmen put on a solid partnership of 32 in quick time, with a solid contribution of 18 from 17 year old Joe Scarcella Jun, who was making his debut for the Primary Club due to a couple of late withdrawals. The other opening batsman was Marcus Braid, who played very soundly and never appeared to be in too much trouble, compiling the innings top score of 44 (retired).

In a bid to give regular bowlers Dwayne Beazley & Bob Stephens a rare opportunity to bat early in an innings, Skipper Joe Scarcella (Snr) promoted them to 5 & 6 respectively. Bob Stephens made swashbuckling 18. The only other contributions from our batsman that were worth mentioning were from late order batsmen Tom Macri and Peter Mullane, who took us from a position of hopelessness to one where we at least had a defendable total.

The total of 163 was a rather disappointing effort by the Primary Club, given the promising start, but it was runs on the board and we were in with a good chance of winning if the bowling was up to it. The opening bowlers Dwayne Beazley and Joe Scarcella (Jr) got us off to a very good start, they bowled with good pace and troubled the batsmen with good line and length and movement. Short spells were the order of the day, and after 4 overs from each of the opening bowlers, change bowlers Joe Scarcella (Sr) and Bob Stephens came into the attack. They both continued to apply the pressure and the Lord’s Taverners batsmen were finding it difficult to push the scoring rate along.  The tempo of the game changed quite dramatically midway through the innings, when Lord’s Taverners batsman Kallin Davies came into bat. He soon took the long handle to our spin attack and made a very quickfire 40 before having to retire. Thanks mainly to his innings, and with valuable support from a couple of other batting partners, the momentum of the game had certainly changed, and the remaining batsmen were able to cruise along without taking undue risk. Eventually Lord’s Taverners passed our score in 33 overs.

Batting:

M. Braid – 44;  J. Scarcella (Jnr) – 18;  B. Stephens – 18; T. Macri – 20; P. Mullane – 17

Bowling:

J. Scarcella (Snr) 2 for 14 (6 overs); J. Scarcella (Jnr) 2 for 24 (6 overs); D. Deazley 1 for 36 (6 overs); T. Macri 1 for 29 (5 overs)

Joe Scarcella

Cricket Report – Primary Club of Australia v Uni Qld – Barker College No. 1 – 1 Feb 2009

Last Sunday 1st Feb the Primary Club played against the visiting Queensland Uni team. Primary Club has played against the Uni side many times over the past 12 years and has never beaten them The visitors won the toss and elected to bat on a very hot morning and wickets came at regular intervals during their 45 overs. Our bowlers were on the spot and the pressure was applied throughout their innings. The wickets were shared around,two wickets each to Chris Lloyd and Joe Scarcella and one each to Tom Lamont, Jed Wood, Jim Winchester and Dwayne Beazley. After the allotted 45 overs Qld Uni finished with 8 for 178. The captain bowled one over and after getting belted for a huge 6 he immediately took himself off!

Brilliant captaincy that!

Primary Club opened the batting with Damien Cullen and Joe Scarcella and these two took the score into the 70s before Damien retired with a well made 42 not out. James Braddock joined Joe who was batting with purpose but unfortunately James was dismissed for 2. Chris Lloyd then combined with Joe and these two took the score to 125 when Chris also retired with an unbeaten 40. The veteran Geoff Verco [our secret weapon] joined Joe and added some very useful runs towards the end. We passed their score easily with 5 overs to spare and Joe also ended up with a very handy 40 odd not out. Final score for PC was 2 for 182.

A great day was had by all and played on the magnificent Barker No 1 Ground.

We have finally broken the drought and sent the Queenslanders packing.

We look forward to sending a team to Brisbane later in the year for the return match.

Ken Grose

Sydney Cricket – Cricket News 2008-09

Forthcoming Games

For information about playing for the Primary Club or if you are a current player, please contact Joe Scarcella at joe.scarcella@crownlift.com.au or joescarcella@hotmail.com

The Primary Club is a social cricket club, who welcomes players of all levels to join their ranks on a social basis. Perfect for that former player looking for an occasional game.

NEWS

After a successful season start two Sundays ago at Roseville (thanks to Mulloes), the fixture schedule for the rest of the season is now almost fully sorted out. Latest news is confirmation that our game against the Uni Qld Old Boys will be played at Barker on Sunday 1st Feb.

UPCOMING GAMES

Sunday 18/01/09
Old Sydneians vs PCA
Grammar, St Ives

Sunday 25/01/09
St George Vets vs PCA
King’s School
Sunday 01/02/09
PCA vs Uni Qld Old Boys
Barker College
Sunday 08/02/09
Lords Taverners vs PCA
Barker College

Sunday 15/02/09
PCA vs Barker Invitation XI
Barker College
Contact:
PCA – Joe Scarcella

Sunday 22/02/09
PCA vs NSW Blind
alternative date
King’s

Sunday 01/03/09
PCA vs Wests Masters
King’s School
Sunday 08/03/09
PCA vs King’s Invitation XI
King’s School

Sunday 15/03/09
Syd Uni Vets vs PCA
Barker College

Sunday 22/03/09
PCA vs Bradman Foundation XI
King’s School
29/3/09 to 4/4/09
Trans Tasman Vintage Carnival
Armidale
Auckland Cricket Society have asked for a game in Sydney, subject to ground availability.

Monday 30/03/09 GOLF DAY & LUNCHEON
Elanora

Friday 17/04/09
END OF SEASON LUNCHEON
Kirribilli Squadron

Sunday 26/04/09
I Zingari vs PCA
CAMDEN