Gippsland veterans play tournament

The inaugural Gippsland Veterans Cricket Tournament was held in Sale recently.
Over 60 cricket teams from Baw Baw, Australian Cricket Society (ACS), Vic Country (Bendigo) and the Gippsland Goannas played a four-game tournament, where the four teams played each other and then the top two teams played off for the championship title.

The VC team was short of players so their team was supplemented with players from the South Gippsland Kookaburras and the Goannas.
The matches were played at the Sale Oval, Stephenson Park and Bundalaguah. The grounds were in top condition and the pitches prepared by the host clubs were all excellent.

Day one: Baw Baw (8/162) def. Goannas (8/157) and Vic Country (9/113) defeated ACS (8/112)
Best performances:
Baw Baw: Mark McLauchlan 32, Colin Parnall 36*, Paul Clarke 22 retired, Steven Head 2/13, Michael O'Neill 3/17.

Goannas: Adrian Quirk 61, Neil Meredith 20, K Mealing 2/26, Graeme Ingle 4/29.
VC: Trevor Sing 35, Greg Bailey 27*, Doug Stone 2/28, Bailey 2/14.

ACS: Andrew Chisholm 25, Peter Glenton 16*, Peter Carmody 4/10, Chisholm 2/18, David Long 2/19.

Day two: Baw Baw (10/111) tied VC (10/111) and ACS (4/119) def. Goannas (10/115)
Best performances:
Baw Baw: Parnall 37, Clarke 18 ret, O'Neill 2/12, Parnall 2/17, Peter Felstead 2/16, McLauchlan 2/1.

VC: Stone 21, Murray Moore 29, Bailey 3/14, Andrew Smith 4/12.

ACS: Jeff Scotland 34, Keith Jansz 22, John Dunnachie 22 retired, Mark Dunstan 3/17, Long 3/9.

Goannas: Graeme Rankin 21, John Daddo 15, Ian Freshwater 2/24.

Day three: VC (6/145) def. Goannas (10/114) and ACS (1/116) def. Baw Baw (9/113)
Best performances:
Goannas: Neil White 22, Ingle 19, Peter Loos 19, White 1/11.

VC: Sing 28*, Gordon Cowling 27 retired, Franco Bernabo 23 and three catches, Ian Southall 2/20, Bailey 5/33, Smith 3/19.

ACS: Ian Grummitt 32*, Scotland 46*, Dunstan 2/16, Scotland 4/4, Andy Pardalis 2/14.

Baw Baw: Clarke 31*, Anthony Faltum 27*, O'Neill 1/20.

Day four (finals): ACS (8/145) def. VC (9/113) and Goannas (6/156) def. Baw Baw 9/155
Best performances:
ACS: Scotland 87*, Jeff Saker 18 retired, John Flynn 2/13, Mark Poustie 2/11, Grummitt 2/11.

VC: Stone 18, Bailey 20, Sing 2/26, Cowling 2/6.

Goannas: Ingle 30 retired, Rankin 22, Bernie Symons 21*, Symons 3/17, Rankin 3/15.

Baw Baw: Clarke 27*, Kevin Larkman 20, Peter Wyatt 31, Brett Carey 2/28, Ernie Dessent three stumpings.

So the champions of the week were the ACS team, ably led by Jeff Scotland, whose 87 not out in the final was the difference between winning and losing.
Fifty of those runs came from the last three overs of the ACS innings, after he had been dropped three times upon resuming his innings in the 34th over.