**In our humble opinion, KOOWEERUP champion Chris ‘Tubsy’ O’Hara is on the podium when it comes to the best cricketers to play in the WGCA/CCCA over the last 15 years. But look out rival clubs, because there’s a new O’Hara in town, with Tubsy’s young son Paddy setting the bar high when it comes to his future cricket ambitions. Young Paddy told his dad recently, “I’ll be better than you”, and early indicators are he may have a case. Paddy opened his scoring in the under-12s last week with a savage pull-shot for six…that even impressed his old man. Unlike Tubsy, a rock-solid right-hander, Paddy bats left-handed.
**Adam Cheyne is no stranger to putting his resilience to the test, with the big-hearted former KOOWEERUP player walking 48 kilometres from the Kilcunda pub to Kooweerup pub to raise funds and awareness for returned servicemen and women, via the Soldier On campaign, back in March 2021. Well big ‘Adsy’ has set himself another huge task in 2023, committing himself to not having an alcoholic drink for the entirety of the year. We’re not sure what the prize on offer is, but it must be good because the lovable big-man doesn’t mind an ale or two!
**Great clubs are great for a reason. It was 9pm on Saturday night and PAKENHAM president Phil Anning was coming to the end of a busy day, having hosted the club’s life members, social members and sponsors throughout the course of the afternoon, and into the evening. Anning was content to leave the boundary ropes out on the field, and the trailer used to pick them up, and do the clean-up work on Sunday. But then came the words “It’s all good, I’ll do it Phil,” which came from gun Premier Division opener Chris Smith, who spent the next 15 minutes working with young Bailey Beet to clean up the ground. There’s an old saying that “many hands make light work”…and the Lions certainly live and breathe that mantra!
**Former BEACONSFIELD champion Glenn Marinic used to wave his bat like a magic wand, and it appears that magic touch is filtering through to his coaching as well. Marinic has been assistant coach to Warren Ayres at Vic Premier club DANDENONG, but took the reins on the weekend after Ayres resigned from his role as head coach on Friday, effective immediately. The Panthers have been anchored to the bottom of the ladder, but with Marinic at the helm the team from Shepley Oval put aside a tough week to chase down GREENVALE’s 8-291. There will be a few bowlers reading this that will be shuddering at the thought of Marinic in full flight…recalling the damage he used to do!
**PAKENHAM skipper Dale Tormey has hit peak form to start the new year, playing some amazing cricket shots over the last two weeks against OFFICER and KOOWEERUP. The cream of the crop last week was a magnificent back-foot drive that flew over the cover boundary at Officer for six. This week the ball was in a similar position, high outside his off stump, which Tormey calmly whacked over backward point for a maximum on the imposing surrounds of Toomuc Reserve. There are some great players in great form in the CCCA at the minute, but Tormey’s array of shots may just have the others covered right now.
**In the end it didn’t prove costly, but you had to feel for young PAKENHAM bowler James Close who experienced the ultimate high and devastating low of cricket, all in a split second on Saturday. Close appeared to have the prized-scalp of KOOWEERUP master-blaster Chris Bright, with Close’s medium pacer crashing into Bright’s stumps with the Demons on 2/51 in the 11th over, chasing the Lions 4/191. But a huge gasp echoed around the ground, and the Lions celebrations were cut short, when umpire Craig Robertson extended his arm for a no-ball. Young Close must have felt sick in the guts and would have been the most relieved player on the ground when Bright was caught and bowled by his skipper Dale Tormey for 42. Don’t make that mistake in a final young fella…it will prove very costly!
**Props to BEACONSFIELD’s MARK COOPER who stuck around chewing the fat at Parkfield until 10.30pm on Sunday night. It was a big day with plenty of past players down to support the Bears and they didn’t mind letting ‘Coops’ know Parkfield had won two of the three bouts between the teams on the weekend. That’s the sort of thing you love to see in local cricket! ‘Coops’ has also been lauded internally at Beacy for uniting the whole club – rather than just the First XI – much more than it was in the past.
**If the rumours are to be believed, Coomoora’s Nick Suppree has done a serious knee injury which will compromise his availability for the Roos in the tailend of the season. He’s been missing for the last few weeks after a couple of good innings at number three, including a century in the opening game against Dandy West, helped Coomoora develop a reputation as the most damaging batting team in the competition.
**TOORADIN was seeing triple against UPPER BEACONSFIELD in CCCA B Grade as Billy, John and Jack Kett all took the field together for the Maroons in a one-day game. Billy was the standout performer in the family, with 3-7 to go with his 25 as the Maroons recorded a 36-run victory.
**BERWICK hosted a past-players day at Arch Brown Reserve on Saturday and former Tasmanian quick Andrew Perrin did his best to frighten HALLAM KALORA PARK openers Leigh Booth and Jagveer Hayer for those who turned out. In shades of the infamous Luke Parker-Dylan Shiel incident at the SCG last AFL season, Perrin made a number of inquires to the batters about how they were feeling as he cranked-up the speed. Not that it bothered Hallam’s Kevin Kean, who looked comfortable cutting laps of the oval with his shirt off while he waited to bat.
**It’s no secret in the DDCA that BUCKLEY RIDGES and SPRINGVALE SOUTH don’t get along. But could Saturday’s contest between Buckley and NORTH DANDENONG be the beginning of a new rivalry? A dispute over a catch, an umpires report and a mankad warning led to a boisterous rendition of Buckley’s song post-game with the changeroom doors left open for everyone to hear.
