Local Cricket Heroics

[EDFL follower]

Just watched the local T20 finals today and saw the local batting legend belt 22 off the final over to win the grand final. Needing 20 to win he went 6, 0, 0, 6, 6, 4. He ended up with 87 not out off 42 balls. Team was 4/17 chasing 142 and got up.
Just wondering if anyone else has any great stories from local games that are worth sharing?

 

[ManOfClay]

Two seasons ago I was involved in a 26 run partnership for the final wicket to win a one dayer.

I produced zero not out. El capitano at the other end was the hero

 

[PhatBoy]

Have never reached any great heights beyond local country cricket but had a couple of moments.

Scored 108* off 47 balls once, first 5 were dots. 11 sixes and 8 fours. Just my day. We were only chasing 130 or so but I was a young bloke and had the quickest bowler in town trying to knock my head off. Kept upper cutting him for 6.
A few years later I was in at 5-32 on the local showpiece ground and made 102 not out to get us up to about 220-ish.

In relative terms since coming to my present town, best effort has probably been bowling 17 straight (if you saw my physique you’d understand why this is significant) a week after having an epileptic seizure, finished with 3-34 off 21 but we lost the first grade grand final by a wicket.

 

[Marklar_33]

Our club has been blessed with a couple of the cleanest hitters you will ever see

There was the day our number 5 came in in the 24th over, was out in the 34th for 127. Balls weren’t accurately counted but it was safely less than 50

Then, in a Premliminary final, our veteran number 6, in his last match (so we thought) was the not out batsman when I came to the crease at 9/70 chasing 220 with 12 overs remaining. We added 94 runs in 8 overs, of which I scored 4* off 24 balls. Old mate hit 116 off 98 balls, his last 88 came off 28 balls, and if they didn’t take his wicket, he would’ve scored the remaining 54 runs off 4 overs with an over to spare! That knock convinced him to go one more year!


Personally, I’ve never been a big hitter, but this year has been different for no good reason! I had hit 8 career 6s prior to this season, have hit 10 this year, and also got my first Premier League half-century (52 off 26)

 

[Demosthenes]

Scored a hundred in a losing side.

 

[PhatBoy]

Last week one of our ‘cameo regulars’ (plays about 3 games a season) was joined by our number 11 at 9/115. We made 242. He hit 110 off about 50 balls - second time he’s done it against that side at that venue

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

At one game in Adelaide a few years ago these three young kids (brothers) lost their tennis ball in a pond next to a cricket oval. Pretty murky water and deceptively deep. They climbed a fence and tried to get it. One got into trouble and the other two tried to save him. All three ended up almost drowning. Two cricket coaches/selectors were there watching and heard the commotion. They jumped in and eventually found all three kids and after CPR were able to revive them. Trip to hospital but all the kids were fine

 

[Tallest]

I came in at #7 (d grade) needing 7 of 4 to secure a semi final in a super competitive year, I went 044 and hit 2 of the best cover drives of my life.
The next week we got thrashed in the semi by the eventual premiers

 

[Buzzasto DaSilva]

Remember watching a super talented guy at my club, open the batting in under 16's and get knocked over for a first ball duck.

The A-Grade had a Twenty20 game that night, and one of the batsmen was a late withdrawal and the same guy (was 15 at the time) managed to somehow wrangle his way into the A-Grade team as a number #7. The team were about 5-50 in the 8th over when he came in, and he somehow managed to slog his way to 107* off 50 balls. Was amazing to watch. Sadly, he got caught up in other issues and never played beyond local representative cricket, but he was an incredible talent.

 

[Smoooothy]

I have 1 story of my own.

semi final, 43 degree day. rolled the opposition for 134, slated to come in at number 5. hattrick in the first over of our chase, perfect start

basically block everything for the first 20 overs of the chase. we are 5/28 at the halfway mark, i'm on maybe 10. just trying to keep the innings together. am so hot that I think I stopped sweating, which i'm told is a danger sign of heat stress

the next 10 overs I can only describe as the finest of my shitty playing career. would have faced maybe 20 balls, got myself to 70. everything coming out the middle. starting to really struggle physically, just trying to get us close to the target so our lower order can finish it off. got out when we'd tied the scores

spent the night in hospital on a drip

as stupid as I was for doing that, it was probably the best knock I've ever played. we won the flag on the back of that

 

[dogs105]

Came in at number 7 with 3 to win. Lost 4 more wickets before I faced a ball. Express bowler was way too quick for me and I hit the winning boundary through the slips while trying to let it go!

 

[Moonwatcher]

I remember an admin at my highschool had one of her kids take 8 for in an innings and her other son took the other two wickets.

 

[Smoooothy]

another one I can think of, wasn't me this time

playing a 2 day game. bowled them out for 120 odd from memory. me and my opening partner were 0/67 at the close of play. feeling pretty good about things. I made 15 of those runs, other guy who was a club legend made 45ish. it was the first time I've survived one of those tricky 10-15 over periods before stumps, feeling pretty good

come out next Saturday, my opening partner gets bowled first ball. fast forward 20 mins, we're 5fa, i'm still in somehow. that changes shortly after. same guy has taken all 6 wickets now. make that 7 wickets, now make that 8 wickets, no way he's got 9fa now! this skinny ranga kid has a chance for a very very rare 10fa. by this stage i'm out umpiring (because country cricket, batting team has to do it), i'm hoping and praying that I don't have to make a decision for his 10th

last ball of the over, bowls a nice tidy Yorker which our number 11 somehow smokes down the ground, into the shoe of the bowler and straight into the stumps. non striker about a metre out of his ground. he's ****ed up his own 10fa. and we've somehow lost 10/35 to lose the game

 

[workhorse]

Our 1s played in a Semi Final for a Grand Final berth about 10 years ago. Playing at the oppositions ground, we bowled first and they made 8/320 odd off their 80

Next week we came out, got to about 5/170 with 15odd overs to go, essentially dead and buried, before our lower order went bezerk and we won with a couple of balls to spare. Number 10 batsman smashed two bombs off their main bowler in the last over. Was unbelievable scenes. Came out and won the flag the next week, too.

 

[bungwahl]

On Sunday I watched the end of the local 4th grade one-day final. One team was your average 4th grade side containing a few quality old boys, a few average seniors, and a couple of upcoming juniors. The other side had been stacked to win 4th grade with a former NSW Country opening bowler, first grade opening bowler from two seasons ago, and 3 other guys who had done well in 1st/2nd grade in the past few years. Unfortunately our local association removed the option to re-grade players during the season, so the weaker clubs in the area have decimated their top grades and strengthened the lower grades in the hope of winning something.

The all stars won the toss, batted, and got off to a flyer but lost a couple of early wickets at the same time - 2-65 from the first ten. Their guns make up their top 5 bats (and first 5 bowlers..) so when a couple more wickets fell to superb catches, they were in a bit of strife and eventually pegged right back to finish with 116. The genuine 4th grade side started horribly with a couple of early dismissals, but the young kids dug in against an absolute barrage of aggressive bowling (on a synthetic pitch, mind you!). It wasn't pretty, but runs are runs and the score approached 80 when both kids got out in one over, then the tail started to crumble. They'd score a few runs, then someone would get out, then a few more runs, then another wicket. Eventually it comes down to 4 balls to go, 2 wickets in hand, 8 needed. #9 gets bowled next ball, then #11 comes out and edges for two, then french cuts it very fine for a boundary. Two needed off the last ball and #11 squirts one behind square leg and has to dive in to complete the second, match winning run. Pandemonium ensues!

Can't help but think that's a little bit of karma for trying to stack your 4th grade side.. flogs.