Final Match Played In Hot Conditions At Eudunda – ‘Over 65 National Cricket Carnival’ – ERCC Praised.
Barossa & Light Cricket Assoc hosted the Cricket’s ‘Over 65 National Carnival’ with three games held at the Eudunda Oval, hosted by the Eudunda & Robertstown Cricket Club.
With teams from around the Eastern side of Australia and even one from New Zealand, games were spread across many grounds within the Barossa area, including Lyndoch, Sandy Creek, Stockwell, kapunda, Eudunda and Gawler (Evanston).
Eudunda hosted 3 matches at the Eudunda Oval:
Sunday 18th Feb Western Australia vs Tasmania (POOL A)
Wednesday 21st Feb South Australia vs Victoria Blue (POOL B)
Thursday 22nd Feb Playoffs for 3rd place winners of POOL A and POOL B, this being
ACT vs Queensland played off for 5th & 6th position in the competition at Eudunda
On Wednesday the South Australian vs Victoria Blue the game turned into a thriller, with Victoria winning by only 14 runs. Players from both teams commented at the end of the day on what a great game they had. The players also commented that they thought the facilities at the Eudunda Oval were first class.
Thursday 22nd February at Eudunda Oval
Front Row L-R: Queensland – Mike McGovern (scorer), Ron Faulks, Paul Andrianatas, Ken Luxton, John Gardner, Chris McGlinchy, Gary Hughes, Michael Hurley, Ian World, Ross Adams (Captain), Bob Englebright, Tim Discombe, Robson Lockey.
Back Row L-R: Terry Jeffery (Umpire) ACT – Francis O’Brien, Allan Porker, Brian Harrington, Trevor Saker, Peter Foley, George Eden, David Cordy, Peter Robertson, Bob Saville, Peter Jacobsen,
Peter Gurhardy (Umpire).
Thursdays finals match started in scorching conditions and at the 10 o’clock start it was agreed to play a shorter 20/20 match.
ACT won the toss and went in to bat. Not only was it a warm start in the heat, but it wasn’t long before a fairly strong hot breeze blew up as well, adding to the challenge for both sides.
Later in the spirit of veterans cricket “We’ve travelled too far not to play all day”, they decided on the regulation 40 overs, but with drinks more regularly every 10 overs in a nod to the heat.
Final scores:-
ACT 5-129 off 40 overs beat QLD 10-111 off 36.1 overs.
Bob Englebright (QLD) commented on the match,
“Due to the windy conditions and some very good bowling the scores were so low.”
Behind every team is usually a group of people supporting the players. This time the supporters were in a good position as they had the beautiful airconditioning in the Eudunda Sporting Clubrooms to either watch or do urgent work keeping clubs going. When chatting with Rhonda Foley (at the back right of the photo below) she was working on ‘Girl Guides’ paperwork, helping keep that organisation going.
Another supporter was Chris Wedding, what a character. First he tried to pass himself off as Shane Warne for the photo for a bit of fun. Chris grew up in the Loxton area, moving to Queensland when quite young. Even though Chris had known of Eudunda he was surprised how big a town it was and he was impressed with the sporting clubrooms, recognising how lucky the district is.
L-R: Dot Hurley, Jenny Englebright, Chris Wedding, (AKA Shane), Donna Gardner, Mel Discombe, Trish Saker
Way Back Behind: Dean Handke (at the Bar) and Rhonda Foley (Working on Girl Guides paperwork)
All teams praised the excellent pitch and surrounding grounds for being a top quality venue.
This naturally does not come about by accident. A very dedicated John Mosey (jr) labours over the black pitch and oval with the most love and care. His previous experience at high levels of cricket as a player have put him in good stead to know what is needed for the best pitch, and he delivers with excellence. Let it be known that not every person can prepare the pitch to such a fine standard as John prepares the pitch. As well as rolling the pitch, he mowed the grounds ready for each match.
At the start of the day Eudunda Robertstwon Cricket Club’s Dean Handke was busy opening up and preparing snacks, and keeping everyone hydrated managing the bar. Dean said,
“The Eudunda Robertstwon Cricket Club was thrilled to be able to host the matches and it was a great opportunity to raise some funds and also to gain some exposure for the club and the town in the media.
Dean went on to say that,
“All the players were impressed, raving about the quality of the pitch and grounds and wished to thank the groundskeeper. They said we should be proud of the grounds and also the Sporting Clubrooms as this was by far the best facilities they had experienced during the competition.
“Everyone has to eat and we thank Sonia Mosey assisted by Natashia Handke for supporting the event, preparing lunches for the players and visitors in the well appointed clubrooms kitchen.”
No doubt Dean will be one of the last to leave the clubrooms tonight after the final match, as he was also on the previous night, cleaning up and making sure all is secure before he leaves. Well done Dean, you always do it with a welcoming smile and friendly nature and well done John, Sonia & Nat and to all who have helped make this a great event and putting the Club and Eudunda in the spotlight.
Recognition and congratulations on a great event should also go to the tireless workers organising the whole event, and to the teams, team members and supporters who made the event possible.
