Almanac (Club) Cricket – Round 3: West Warrion v Colac

 

 

 

Wind picking up off the lake, a delayed start, and a wet, slow couch grass outfield were the features of an overcast round three fixture against Colac Cricket Club.

 

Geographically, The Stallions are beautifully located around Colac’s crown jewel — Lake Colac. A single-lane road separates the carp-infested lake from the beautiful, white picket-fenced ground.

 

Only used by the Colac and District Umpires Association during winter, the ground is immaculately kept, with the thick couch grass like a padded carpet. The only thing keeping it from being the premier cricket facility in the region is its hard wicket — otherwise, it’s perfect.

 

Colac, a powerhouse club, were last year’s Division One premiers and Division Two minor premiers. They’re perennial finalists in junior cricket and are filled with a super-talented list across all three senior grades.

 

Upon arriving at the ground (late as per usual), I was met by our umpire, Damien Serle, having a dart with several of the other smokers from both teams.

 

‘Lucky, Pills — the start’s been pushed back 15 minutes,’ he said.

 

I walked over to join the rest of the team, everyone ready and raring to go. Xav Prime was giving one of his kids some throwdowns, and the two teams were chatting between the adjoining rooms.

 

 

The Colac rooms are split directly in half. One side is used by the football umpires and doubles as the away team’s cricket rooms; the other half — the home rooms — is filled with Colac memorabilia, trophies, team photos, and paintings of club legends.

 

Standing in the doorway was Liam Cunningham, a gun Division One cricketer — sharp bowler, handy bat, and brilliant in the field. Cunners, a former Colac West player, had moved to Colac before the merger with Warrion. He’d been selected in Division Two but needed to leave early for a wedding.

 

It was going to be a real test against Colac. Opening bat and wicketkeeper Shane Kent had a dodgy knee, and captain-coach Paul Liistro was in Germany for Agritechnica — the world’s leading trade fair for agricultural machinery.

 

Winning the toss, vice-captain James ‘Buckets’ McNabb chose to bat first. The reasoning: a wet ball would be harder to bowl with, and the crease lines were slippery.

 

Cunners took the new ball against Damon Wetemans and Dave Bennett, playing his first match for the season and club — another recruit from City United. Unfortunately for Dave, he top-edged a pull shot to wide mid-on early, falling for two from seven balls.

 

Xav Prime came in at first drop, hitting a couple of trademark fours over the leg side. Damo looked scratchy early. His early wagon wheel would have been entirely behind the wicket — nicks through and over slips, and several French cuts.

 

Cunners bowled superbly early and was unlucky not to pick up one (even two or three) wickets. Ben Pilley opened from the other end and bowled beautifully as well. Both Damo and Primey were hit in the helmet — Cunners got Damo, and Pilley got Primey.

 

Pilley bowled really full with solid swing, picking up Primey for 24 from 21 balls. Primey’s eyes lit up at a rare short, wide delivery, but he snicked a cut shot to Tom Permezel at first slip.

 

Max Hutchinson was next to go, bowled through the gate by Pilley. Damo was still in but only just surviving. Cunners and Pilley got through their eight overs, finishing with 0–32 and 3–26 respectively.

 

Damo smoked a pull shot straight to Cunners at forward square leg — a diving attempt that nearly stuck.

 

On came Jim Abrahams, a tall, blond-haired quick who dismantled us last season, taking 5–7 from eight overs as we were bowled out for 54. Abrahams was equally tidy this time. Charlie Morrissy was given nothing, departing for a 22-ball duck. Striking again next over, Kenny McDonald was gone for one from six balls, plumb LBW.

 

Damo started to find some fluency after a short ball he tried to evade caught the edge of his bat and deflected over the keeper. He rode his luck but was a beacon of hope in an otherwise bleak scorecard.

 

In his first match after strong Division 3 form, Englishman and a journo-mate of mine Jamie Beale provided some resistance. Damo played a few cracking shots to reach his half-century before holing out to deep square leg off Ned Holland.

 

 

 

Anthony Young, coming off a golden duck against Deans Marsh in Round 1, was bowled again for a duck — this time after four balls. A mix-up between McNabb and Beale saw Jamie run out for seven from 30. McNabb was then bowled by Abrahams and Darcy Dwyer by Holland, both for five.

 

It wasn’t pretty, but we stammered to 112 from 35.3 overs. Abrahams finished with 3/7 from six overs, and Holland 3/9 from 4.3.

 

As designated bowler, I wasn’t required, so I went straight into afternoon tea — plenty of hot food: party pies, chicken fingers, and some beautiful scones (which 14-year-old Freddy Melville said his mum made).

 

 

 

Cunners departed early, leaving Colac one short, meaning we only needed nine wickets to win.

 

Colac’s key wickets were the father-son duo Tony and Archie Walker. Tony (aka ‘Tex’) was my Under-18s football coach at Irrewarra-Beeac and is widely regarded as one of the club’s greatest footballers. He’s one of those blokes naturally gifted at everything — golf, footy, cricket, you name it. Archie, around 18, is an absolute ripper too.

 

With Liistro absent, I was thrown the new ball. Ethan Coverdale started tidily, going for just three, bowling with the breeze.

 

My first over was loose. After overindulging at tea, I sent down two full tosses to Tony — both driven straight back past me for four. Ethan’s second over went for 16. It wasn’t an ideal start: Colac 0/28 from three overs, chasing 112.

 

My second over was much better — I picked up a wicket with my third ball. Bowling into the breeze, the ball was hooping away from the right-handers. Tom Permezel snicked off to Buckets at second slip, who made no mistake.

 

Gaining rhythm, my third over saw Tony Walker snick off first ball — crucial. We went nuts. In all my years of senior cricket, I don’t think I’d ever dismissed Tony. It only just carried, Buckets getting two fingers underneath it.

 

Kade Johnson came out at four. A left-hander — I threw down a cross-seamer angling across him, and he snicked it to Anthony Young, who reeled in a one-handed blinder. I was on a hat-trick, and Colac were reeling.

 

Billy Buchanan came out next, reportedly yet to attend training this season. Imagine not picking up a bat and walking out to face a hat-trick ball at 3/29, with the ball hooping. I overpitched again, bowling a full toss — anticlimactic. On the final ball, Billy snicked just past Buckets at slip.

 

Archie Walker also nearly departed early, smoking one to Hutchinson at short cover— it nearly stuck.

 

Ethan bowled Billy for five, and Darcy came into the attack with Colac 4/48. Freddy Melville looked solid — all the technical attributes to be a future jet — while Archie was batting beautifully, leaving well outside off.

 

My final over went for 12, ballooning my figures from 3/27 to 3/35 from eight.

 

Primey came on and complemented Darcy perfectly, trapping young Freddy for a gritty one from 28 and then bowling Ned Holland for a four-ball duck in his next over before drinks.

 

I took a break on the sidelines, catching up with spectators parked near the clubrooms. In one car sat Robert ‘Scruffy’ Oborne, fellow CDCA board member and local cricket icon. It was the first time I’d seen him since his recent health issues, and he seemed jovial. If Colac cricket had a heartbeat, it’d be Scruffy — white moustache, unofficial association historian, and beloved fan of the Colac Stallions.

 

 

 

Darcy picked up Max Robinson (still jetlagged after returning from Europe the day before), tickling one down leg, and then had Ben Pilley caught at first slip three balls later.

 

With Colac 8/70, a win seemed imminent, though Archie Walker was still in and nearing 50.

 

It took four more overs to get the next wicket — Jim Abrahams scooping one to Hutchinson at mid-off.

 

Colac ended all out for 84, with the West Warrion Panthers securing their third win in a row.

 

The feeling in the field was electric after those early wickets. But the next round poses another challenge — we’ll be without batters three thru six, with Primey, Hutchinson, Morrissy, and Liistro all unavailable for various reasons.

 

Another huge win for the club — and a very handy one to have in the bank.

 

 

Liam bowling for a hat-trick.

 

West Warrion 112
D. Wetemans 52
X. Prime 24

J. Abraham 3/7 (6)
N. Holland 3/9 (4.3)
B. Pilley 3/26 (8)

 

 

Colac 9-84
A. Walker 44*

D. Dwyer 3/16 (7.3)
L. McCullagh 3/35 (8)
X. Prime 2/7 (4)

 

 

 

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