Strath Creek was the venue for our pre-season match and the weather and picturesque ground did not disappoint! The team consisted of a mixture of youth and experience with a few ring ins, being a group of guys filming a 4×4 Adventure Show, wanting to join in the fun. The guys were filming their Adventure series to be shown on Foxtel next year so we may have some tv stars on our list!

West bowled first and the club’s premier spearhead, Michael Pratt, took the first scalp in the 3rd over. The next two wickets fell cheaply and Coburg were 3/11 after 11 overs mainly due to Pratty, Timmy Klewer, Dan Boeti and Gatty bowling great areas that were troubling the Coburg batsmen. The 4th wicket took a while to capture at 74 but the next three wickets fell soon after. With overs running out Coburg needed some quick runs and batsmen 9 & 10 managed to get a few balls to the boundary and they finished off at a total of 160. It was a good hit out for our bowlers in a match situation and for the boys to touch the leather out in the field!

Our turn to bat. The openers facing the new rock were Ryan McMinn and newcomer Adnan Khan. A handy start by both openers before Macca succumbed to a straight one with the score on 38. Adnan looked comfortable in his first game for the club and was pouncing on the bad ball. A communication issue had Mo Feshal run out which brought the skipper to the crease. You wouldn’t have known that he had just come back from a few months overseas with a very assured innings. Adnan lost his castle for a well made 34 which brought Lincoln Ramsay to the crease. Linc batted with confidence and looked like the pre-season coaching has benefited him. The skipper decided to retire on 28 to give a few of the guys a hit and Linc took us past Coburg’s score with a very mature 45 not out. It was a good hit out which gave the Coach a lot to think about heading into round.1.

Thank you to The Village Green staff for hosting, to Coburg Cricket Club for the game, Chippy for umpiring, Shelley for scoring and the supporters who came to watch on what was a great day for cricket!