Grand Final Match Report Below…………..

Champions

Sunday morning had arrived much to our delight. It was GRAND FINAL DAY!! Most of the North Nowra U11 Modified Cricket team members had slept in their full cricket gear kit overnight in preparation for this big exciting day.

We arrived at the field and set up like any other game. We won the toss and our proud courageous “Captain Jack” elected to field first.
The opposition, Nowra, needed more than pads and gloves for protection. They needed full body riot shields to withstand the might of our opening bowlers. Troy Sweet, Jack Sweet and Toby Huard bowled the first 3 overs. It was tough going for the batters as they lost a number of wickets and took a number of hits to their bodies. They suffered and struggled through our ferocious opening bowling attack. Tully Dennis’ match improvements continued with a fantastic bowling display. Unlucky in his second bowling spell to not celebrate a hat-trick, with a dropped catch on the third consecutive wicket opportunity. Cameron Murray was awesome in the field, attacking the ball with vigor and keeping the batters in a mindset where they were afraid to take the extra run. Cameron backed up his fielding with some good reliable bowling too.

Harry Evans was another great improver during the finals. Harry put on a super bowling and fielding performance taking two wickets. Good to see Harry saving his best performance for the big stage of a grand final. Champion effort Harry! Micah Edwards continued his best form of the year, bowling as he did last week. Micah took two wickets in his first over then followed with a maiden. Wish we could bottle those euphoric celebrations when Micah bowls those stumps down! Alexander Jelavic seized the big occasion as well sending down some good deliveries and backing up with some top class fielding. Good work Alex – one of our most reliable campaigners throughout the year.

Jack Walsh bowled his overs of off-spin, completely bamboozling the batters and ensured more overs ticked by with little runs being scored. Liam Gomez was always close to the action having plenty of fielding work, gathering the ball and quickly returning it with quick sharp throws over the stumps. Liam saved a lot of valuable runs in the field and also chipped in with a good bowling effort.

Jacob Zerafa and Jack Sweet took the responsibility of sharing the wicket keeping duties. With the ball being wet early on, it was a very challenging role. Both Jacob and Jack Sweet were superstars behind the stumps. Both these players took this tough responsibility in their stride. With such reliable guys behind the stumps, our fielders could fire the ball in from the outfield, or attempt run-outs without the howling and tears from over-throws. These two champion wicket keepers also had an opportunity to bowl, and both took a wicket each. Great work to both Jacob Zerafa and Jack Sweet.

We were pleased with our effort in the field, taking 19 wickets. This reduced the opposition’s score by 38 runs and put us in a good position with their net total adjusted from 109 runs to 71 due to the loss of wickets.

Our batting was a measured and reliable response to their run total. Harry Evans and Cameron Murray were first to bat. Opening batters are usually exposed to the oppositions better bowlers, but these two players did the job, toughing through the initial storm and achieving 3/15 partnership. Tully Dennis and Jacob Zerafa showed their cricket caliber pushing the score up to 3/37 after 8 overs without losing any further wickets. Micah Edwards and Liam Gomez strode out confidently and did the job required for their team. Micah finishing his innings with a square drive which careered over the boundary and into a jubilant North Nowra crowd of cheering mums, dads, nannas, pas, sisters and brothers. Best shot of the year from Micah. Liam kept the runs ticking over as well. Our score was now 6/47 after the 12th over. At this point, we could see the goal of 71 runs in the distance, but would take a few more overs before we could fully relax.

Jack Walsh and Alexander Jelavic then came out after the drinks break and played brilliantly together. Jack Walsh was hitting the ball cleanly but the long grass was preventing many shots making the boundary. With a good reliable running ally in Alex, they made the most of the stroke play and their partnership brought the teams score up to 6/75. Our score had exceeded the opposition, but with 6 wickets down, we still needed a couple more runs. We had some good batting talent to follow – we were buoyed with confidence. (and getting excited).

Jack Sweet and Toby Huard came to the crease and together put on 30 runs, cruising past the required run target. We had done it! Whoop, Whoop!! We were over the line!! The premiership was ours! Jack Sweet continued to reliably bat the ball into gaps and take easy 1s and 2s, while Toby went for the boundary. This partnership brought the score to a match winning 7-107.

Troy Sweet then partnered up with Jack Walsh, having his second dig. Another fine partnership as we’d seen all year. Plenty of quick scoring. There was a dose of random craziness with wickets given away towards the end. However, it didn’t matter as the score at the 25th over was 10/144, meaning a net score of 124, well in excess of the 71 required.

The glory of the moment sank in when all the players streamed onto the field cheering and congratulating each other (and themselves) on a significant achievement. We are the best team in the Shoalhaven District, un-defeated all year and premiership winners! No more awards could be had! A great team, great result and well deserved.
This team, North Nowra U11 Blues has been a pleasure to coach. They are certainly a very keen bunch of 9yr old boys (in an U11 competition) who always played fair and in good spirit. I hope we can maintain the core group of players from this team together so in years to come, they can continue their junior cricketing careers building on this year’s success. The players should be very proud of their achievements and remember this cricket season right through their adulthood. Hopefully it can be a source of inspiration during their lives.

I would also like to thank the parents. I appreciate your efforts in getting the players to practice and to the games each week. Showing a positive interest in your boy’s development is parenting at its best. I thank you for giving your child the opportunity to be part of this winning U11 North Nowra Cambewarra Cricket .

First Final – U11 North Nowra Cambewarra Blues VS Shoalhaven Ex-Servicemans.

This weekend saw the most important cricket match of the season so far: The first final match, which was played at Drexel Park, North Nowra. We were in our home territory, the rain appeared to have abated and we were jumping out of our skin to get the game underway.

We won the toss. Hallelujah! Captain Jack Sweet made the critically correct decision to give the visiting team the opportunity to bat first.

Our formidable bowling attack swung into action. The thought of facing Troy Sweet, Toby Huard and Jack Sweet as the first bowlers would have scared the wits out of their opening batters and as expected, these bowlers got us into a good position early on. Tully Dennis followed taking a wicket, as did Jack Walsh. Alex Jelavic was economical, while Micah Edwards skittled the batters stumps down twice. What a star performance! Cameron Murray and Harry Evans took wickets. Liam Gomez was good in the field saving quite a few runs and Jacob Zerafa bowled straight and accurate conceding few runs. Troy Sweet was the main destroyer with 3/7 with Micah Edwards’ scintillating performance with 2/2 which includied a maiden over. We’d kept the Ex-Serviceman’s score to 15/52. Our wicket keepers, Jacob Zerafa and Jack Sweet were complete professionals at their craft, both doing a sensational job. It was a near perfect effort in the field by our wonderful team.

The batting began after a short break. Our opening pair, Harry Evans and Cameron Murray batted their hearts out with both playing perhaps their best innings all year. A partnership of 0/20 set the team on course for an easy win. The perfect opening partnership, very proud of you guys! Tully Dennis and Jacob Zerafa put on a 10 run partnership, and Micah Edwards and Liam Gomez put on a 12 run partnership. We passed their total in the 13th over, with either Alexander Jelavic or Jack Walsh scoring the winning runs, both scoring 11 runs each. Jack Walsh remained at the crease for an extra 4 overs, and moved up a couple of gears scoring another 20, while his partner Jack Sweet put on a reliable 16 runs, followed by Troy Sweet and master blasting Toby Huard. These final two batters put on a partnership of 43 runs, which included Toby cracking 3 boundaries. The team had managed to score 7/143. On a field with relatively long grass, and a soft, spongy outfield not conducive to scoring runs, this was a superb effort!

So, it’s off to the Grand Final we go! Yeeeeahaaaa, Grandma! It’s hard to keep a lid on the excitement. We are un-backable favorites, so there is no point in putting $5 on us at the TAB, as you’ll get $5 back for a win. We don’t need any betting scandals either. We’re squeaky clean and looking forward to dealing with our opponents appropriately next week!

Game Abandoned due to Rain.

– Game abandoned due to rain.

North Nowra Cambewarra U11 Blues boys took on the glittery Ulladulla Gold team at Nowra High School last weekend. Nobody mention those darn flies please! We lost the toss… AGAIN! All that practicing last week and we still can’t get it right! We’ll find our Mojo soon. Anyway, we batted first at the request of the Ulladulla Golds’ Captain.

Alexander Jelavic and Micah Edwards strode out confidently and started out well for the batting side. The Sweet boys, Jack and Troy then batted together. Definitely a scorer’s nightmare. Even their own dad couldn’t tell them apart, nor could their mother who is never ever, ever wrong! What chance do their future girlfriends have?! Harry Evans and Jack Walsh proceeded to pile runs onto our total. Jack Walsh drew the lucky straw and batted an extra four overs and continued with Toby Huard. The little master blaster himself came in and smashed a delivery over the boundary for the first six of the season. A memorable shot Toby! Jacob Zerafa and Liam Gomez continued the team’s good scoring and the final batters Cameron Murray and Tully Dennis rounded the innings off in style, both with good batting contributions. 9/149 was our innings total.

The Ulladulla Golds put up a gallant effort. We were only able to take 8 wickets from them compared with 21 the week before. However, they were unable to make inroads towards our total, Without mentioning every single bowler, the team bowled accurately giving away far less extras than in previous weeks. Our fielding was good. Without blowing too much wind up our own selves (can I say that?) there was a dozen or more catches landing just out our reach. A number of side-on run-out chances went begging which could potentially have resulted in us taking heaps wickets. But if this is what unlucky is like, we’re happy with unlucky! I should mention Tully Dennis took a number of excellent catches. It was “All happening” (to quote Bill Lawry) at one point where the umpire rushed to avoid the ball and ended up diving over a converging player, Jack Walsh. During these shenanigans, Troy Sweet was able to scamper in and take a catch at the very point the umpire had just dived from. It’s all part of the free entertainment!

Did we mention the Ulladulla Golds’ score? 8/56. OK, so there we have it. First six of the season, first umpire acrobatics in history of U11 cricket and a win for North Nowra Cambewarra Blues.

Another gray morning greeted us on Saturday as North Nowra Cambewarra U11 Blues arrived at Lyrebird Park to play the Shoalhaven Ex-Serviceman’s U11 cricket team. We were quite confident going into the match but time would tell if we could convert that confidence into competence on the field.

Again, we lost the toss. After winning the toss for the first half of the year, our luck had obviously……….run-out. Perhaps we should get the gloves on and spend more time practicing our tossing.

North Nowra Cambewarra was sent into field. Toby Huard padded up as wicket keeper and our bowlers let loose in a devastating way. Troy Sweet bowled the stumps down twice in the first over. Tully Dennis and Jacob Zerafa both took wickets in the next overs. Micah Edwards and Cameron Murray bowled well keeping the scoring to a minimum. Jack Walsh, Alex Jelavic and Jack Sweet all bowled at their very best. Toby Huard relinquished the gloves midway through the innings and Micah Edwards took over and did a great job behind the stumps. Toby Huard bowled with his usual vigor. Troy Sweet bowled his second over, knocking the stumps down three more times to give him a total of 5 wickets and a big head. The swelling eventually dissipated a few days later. In all, the team took 21 wickets.

Now to the batting. Jack Sweet and Alexander Jelavic opened, scoring 29 runs together. Jack Walsh and Cameron Murray also scored 29 runs together. Micah Edwards and Jacob Zerafa had a tough first over as both were bowled and Micah suffered a run-out, however like good keen cricketers, they mentally recovered and knuckled down. Jacob proceeded to hit the ball very well straight and Micah hooked the ball behind leg gully a number of times. Tully Dennis batted for 10 overs and ran fantastically, proving the cross-country champ is actually able to sprint! Troy Sweet and Toby Huard scored a bunch of runs with Toby top scoring in the team with 30 runs.

A solid batting, bowling and fielding effort. Final score, 6/148 to 21/46. A big win for the blue boys of North Nowra Cambewarra, wearing the not-so-blue maroon and white!

Well, after a cricket drought of over a month, the North Nowra Cambewarra (NNC )U11 team was busting with enthusiasm to get onto the cricket field and strengthen our healthy lead at the top of the table. We were about to discover if those second and third helpings of Christmas turkey, basted with gravy and home baked buttermilk biscuits would weigh in on our performance. After all, this was a top of the table clash against Nowra.

The game started with us losing the toss and being sent into bat. A big night was had by Harry Evans rendering him no chance to open the batting. Instead, Tully Dennis and Toby Huard came out to open. It was a modest start and while runs were being scored, they were not coming easily. Harry Evans finally made an appearance and was looking pretty good considering moments earlier he’d just run every red light between Bangalee and Nowra High. He partnered up with Cameron Murray, and both players similarly kept the scoreboard ticking at a modest pace. Micah Edwards and Liam Gomez then came to the crease and showed plenty of enthusiasm which was enjoyed immensely by their one-eyed, life-long loving supporters on the sideline. They added a new meaning to term “challenging the fielders”. Jack Walsh and Troy Sweet followed with the partnership of the match, scoring 46 runs. Jack Sweet and Jacob Zerafa chalked up a 30 runs partnership as well. Overall, 134 runs. A reasonable score to defend. It was a typical Australian batting performance where you publicly say you’ve batted real well, when you know you should have got 30 more.

Our bowlers did extremely well this week. Very few extras bowled. Everyone chipped in to restrict the batting teams scoring in the first half of the innings and in the second half, taking a quite a few wickets. Some notable good catches were taken in the outfield by Jack Walsh, Toby Huard and Troy Sweet. Harry Evans took three wickets. Tully Dennis and Cameron Murray all did a good job bowling and applying pressure to restrict scoring. Liam Gomez and Micah Edwards were unlucky not to take wickets. Jack Sweet pulled off a couple of hotshot direct hit run-outs. Both Jack Sweet and Jacob Zerafa performed brilliantly with the wicket keeping duties. Both keepers fearlessly stood up to some quite ferocious fast bowling from Toby Huard and Troy Sweet.

Our bowling and fielding was the telling factor in this game. The Duckworth-Lewis calculations didn’t come into play so there was no rioting, no burning down the portable toilets which have been at Nowra High since the 1980s, and nobody felt ripped off. North Nowra Cambewarra Blues cruised to 6/134 and in reply, Nowra managed 14/73. Quite a reasonable win. North Nowra Cambewarra U11 Blues are rock solid at the top of the table. You beauty, well done boys!

North Nowra Cambewarra Blues U11 team played the Bomaderry Tigers over the weekend. Conditions were perfect. 20 degree temperature, overcast and very comfortable conditions for players, spectators, umpires and our celebrity scorer, Lisa Kennedy. Thank you for stepping in Lisa!

We lost the toss. It’s hard to believe the opposition chose head as nobody chooses heads! But they did. Clever lad, he told us to get our pads on, and bat. So, we did. We adjusted our batting order as Tully spent five minutes too long in front of the mirror and didn’t make it in time to open the batting.

The opening pair, Toby Huard and Jack Sweet were typically reliable and put the team on a winning trajectory. Harry Evans and Tully Dennis followed, both scoring runs against perhaps their best bowlers. Jacob Zerafa and Cameron Murray both contributed well to the score. Then our new secret team weapon Liam Gomez took to the field with Troy Sweet. After a couple of rugged overs Liam knocked a few into the gaps and managed to keep up with turbo Troy Sweet with the two pairing for a good partnership. Then finally once we all thought all the excitement was over, Alex Jelavic came in and supported the big hitting Jack Walsh, who is still yet to hit a six. Come on Jack!! Four boundaries, 35 runs. The other teams coach was heard making noises like “Owwwww, Ahhhhhh”. Very impressive innings Mr. Walsh!

In the bowling, we had a star performance from Alexander Jelavic. Pure awesomeness, delivering 3 wickets for zero runs. You read correctly! This week, much less wayward bowling from the rest of the Blue boys. An un-confirmed stat was that during the last 10 overs, the opposition batting team added -1 to their overall team score. The final score, North Nowra Cambewarra Blues 6/155 to Bomaderry 17/24 .

This weekend saw the North Nowra Cambewarra Blues U11 cricket team venture down deep into the bowels of Ulladulla. The Ulladulla Sporting Complex was the venue, opposite the sewerage treatment works. Those with iPhone mapping software we lucky not to be navigated via Pigeon House, but with some patience, nerves and help from back seat drivers, everyone made it .

We won the toss… again! Vice-captain Troy Sweet stepped up as Toby Huard was still navigating his way to the through the back passage connecting Camden St with the cricket field. Back to the game…. Captain Troy spoke with gusto and determination in his voice, “We’ll field!”.

Our bowling was quite random at times. A combination of tight fast deliveries combined with lots of wide deliveries prevented the Batemans Bay team from scoring with the bat. Jack Sweet kicked into gear with a pair of wickets in his first over. Cameron Murray bowled his sharpest overs all year conceding only 2 runs and getting a wicket. Harry Evans bowled a good tight 2nd over keeping the batters tied down. The Batemans Bay team really struggled to score against Toby Huard, Troy Sweet and Jacob Zerafa. Micah Edwards got into a rhythm bowling tight at the stumps. Tully Dennis likewise bowled well. Alexander Jelavic bowled accurately and targeted the wickets preventing their batters from scoring.

The highlight of the batting was an opening partnership by Toby Huard and Jacob Zerafa. Both batters piling on the runs, stealing singles, 2s, 3s and even running 4. We were almost in a winning position as they retired. Troy Sweet and Alexander Jelavic continued the good work, and Tully Dennis and Micah Edwards scored easily as well. Note to team… Do not run-out Micah or or you’ll get an almighty Ricky Ponting style spray! Harry Evans also scored enough runs to fill santa’s big oversized sack, partnering well with Jack Sweet. Cameron Murray batted and run like a champion. He also cracked the ball about towards to the end of his innings. Jack Sweet batted twice as one of our top players (and headline stealing, serial Hatricker) Jack Walsh took a rest day. Hopefully Jack will back next week. Next week we’ll have a new player, Liam Gomez taking the field for the 1st time this year. He will fill the big shoes of Micah Edwards who is next on our professional team rotation list.

Overall, it was a good game of cricket. Batemans Bay were over-powered by a pretty good team. The final score of 3/149 vs 7/54 tells the story. North Nowra Cambewarra Cricket U11 Team was convincing and emphatic winners.

North Nowra Cambewarra Blues U11 cricket team played the Ulladulla United Blues on the weekend at one of the world’s notorious blowfly hotspot. Nowra High School pitch 2. We were greeted with mild conditions, although the forecast hung over us with expectations of high thirty degree temperatures. Northies (short for our long team name) won the toss again, but this time, thankfully, Cameron Murray, our most decisive captain yet was ultra, ultra, ULTRA decisive and sent the Ulladulla team in to bat.

Super keen and ready to go, we opened our bowling attack with Micah Edwards taking the nice shiny red cherry and applying pressure, picking up a wicket in the 1st over. Then Jack Walsh took the ball. After a pair of initial settling deliveries, drew an outside edge that was caught by the keeper. Quite a sharp catch by Jack Sweet. The following delivery saw the stumps bowled down. Next delivery everyone erupted. H-A-T-R-I-C-K! The keeper had taken another great sharp catch. It was the Jack and Jack show. Jack Walsh, you are a star! A HATRICK! Jack Sweet went on to take 6 catches in his 15 overs as wicket keeper. Bro bags Troy Sweet also took consecutive wickets to be on a Hat-trick opportunity, but it was not to be. Alex Jelavic, Tully Dennis and Jacob Zerafa took two wickets each. Cameron bowled one of his famous “Cam Specials” to take a wicket. Harry Evans and Toby Huard bowled fiery overs keeping the lid on the scoring. Jack Sweet bowled a very good over with no luck. 5 runs were conceded as his hat magically fielded the ball. A hat trick of sorts!

In the batting department, everyone batted well enough to play for the Australian Cricket team. Jack Walsh almost hit the first 6, landing one only a metre from the boundary. A few more hours at the gym and he’ll land one in the scorers gazebo for sure. Tully Dennis caused a ruckus in the crowd by hitting consecutive boundaries. Harry Evans and Jacob Zerafa ran and scored well, Toby Huard scored the usual consistent bag of runs. Cameron came in for a cameo innings, running and backing up awesomely. Troy Sweet faced their speedster bowler for 3 overs, Micah Edwards scored runs, and our wonderful wiki, Jack Sweet scored runs as well.

What else is there to report on? Have I missed anything? Did I mention the filthy flies? Did I mention the word Hat-trick? Oh, stop yelling “the score!”, “THE SCORE!” It was a comprehensive win, 9/145 vs. 19/31 to North Nowra Cambewarra.