Baw Baw bests Iona/Koo wee rup
The Baw Baw Veterans over 60s cricket team has defeated nearby rivals Iona/Koo wee rup at home by six wickets in Sunday's veterans action.
Hosting the match at Hallora, visiting captain Mick Scully called correctly and decided to bat first on a wicket that looked pretty good and with an outfield that looked lightning fast.
Making things challenging for the visitors was the fact they had to field a team that included eight players over 70, with just three in their 60s after another three players in their 60s pulled out within 12 hours of the match.
Despite this, Iona/Koo wee rup got off to a blistering start and after 12 overs were scoring at a rate just short of five runs per over.
Andy Parker and Mick Scully of Iona had both retired after 30 balls and at the 20-over mark Iona/Koo wee rup had reached 101, with the loss of four wickets.
What followed was a bowling spell from Brett Carey and Pete Felstead of 12 overs for only 19 runs which effectively won the game. The visitors struggled to 7/149 off their 40 overs, with only Mick Scully 39*, Andrew Parker 31* and Ron Wernke 20 getting amongst the runs.
For Baw Baw, Brett Carey and Pete Felstead bowled suffocating spells of eight overs each and had figures of 2/23 and 0/21 respectively. Other wicket-takers were Tony Wyatt 1/18, Kev Larkman 1/19 and Mark McLauchlan 1/7.After the lunch break, Baw Baw took on the task of chasing down the target with a completely shuffled batting order.
New openers Mick O'Neill and Paul Clarke batted very well for 21 off 26 balls and 15* off 30 respectively.
Pete Felstead was his usual rock-solid self with 19 runs of 19 balls before his legs both went into cramp, and he was forced to retire.
When Baw Baw lost two quick wickets, the game was in the balance as after 15 overs both teams were sitting on 3/71. From this point however, Baw Baw didn't lose another wicket until after the game had been won.
Brett Carey 22*, Anthony Faltum 28*, Pete Heywood 11* and Daryl Williams 27* all batted very strongly, all being undefeated.
It is interesting to note that during the Iona/Koo wee rup innings there were 10 boundaries hit on the fast outfield, but in the 30 overs that Baw Baw faced there were 20 boundaries hit. This was probably the difference between the teams.
Successful bowlers for Iona/Koo wee rup were Mick Scully 1/23, Graham Davey 1/26 and Greg Watsford 1/48.
The game was played in a great spirit, between two teams that know each other well – it was another terrific afternoon of veteran's cricket.
As is the normal tradition each captain named a man of the match for the opposition team and today those players were Mick Scully for Iona/Koo wee rup and Brett Carey for Baw Baw Veterans.
