PAKENHAM VETERANS
Succeeding on a trip to Korumburra was the challenge for Pakenham Over 60s on Sunday as the visiting team took on South Gippsland Veterans on turf.
The weather was overcast with intermittent showers with South Gippsland having 14 players and Pakenham 12.
Brendon Thomas from South Gippsland played for Pakenham so that both teams could play 13 players.
Pakenham captain Peter Ross won the toss and asked South Gippsland to bat first.
Rob Francis and Peter Miller got South Gippsland off to an excellent start, scoring at six an over for the first 10 overs before Dallas Wyatt ran out Francis for 6 (21).
Miller 38 (25) retired before Pakenham claimed their second wicket when Neil White 1 (6) was bowled by Peter Ross with the score at 2/64.
Peter Little 23 (25), Tony Latham 26 (25) had both retired by the 23rd over.
The run rate had slowed to just on five an over when, with the score on 120, Joe Burke 7 (6) was bowled by Jim Gregory.
Gary Adams, who was playing his first game since having his hip replaced, scored a run a ball 25 before retiring.
Pieter Loos also retired after scoring 33 off his 25 balls.
South Gippsland had scored 92 runs in 11 overs before they lost their fourth wicket when Graham Wightman 15 (25) was bowled by Peter Ross.
This was the start of great spell of bowling when Pakenham captured three wickets in three overs.
Geoff Birnie 32 (25) was caught by Peter Ross off the bowling of Les Jones and Dallas Wyatt had Warrick Hayes caught and bowled for a second ball duck.
In the last five overs Andrew O’Hoy 17 (20) and Peter Little 14 (14) added 26 runs and after 40 overs South Gippsland were 6 for 246
Most of the Pakenham bowling figures were not very flattering, with eight dropped catches and injuries to six players not helping the cause.
Pakenham Bowling; Peter Ross 4-2/30, Jim Gregory 5-1/35, Greg Johnstone 3-0/22, Bob Phillips 5-0/20, Brendon Thomas 3-0/20, Les Jones 8-1/39, Dallas Wyatt 7-1/41, Phil Brook 5-0/31.
It was a disastrous start by Pakenham, losing Phil Brook 0 (4) who was stumped by Warrick Hayes off Pieter Loos in the first over.
Tight bowling restricted the first two retirees to meagre scores with Carl Muscat scoring 8 off 25 and Greg Johnstone 5 off 25.
The second wicket to fall was Gerard Healy 1 (8) stumped by Warrick Hayes off the bowling of Graham Wightman.
Dallas Wyatt added 21 quick runs off 25 balls before he retired and Peter Ross 16 (22) was stumped by Warrick Hayes off the bowling of Joe Burke.
Pakenham had increased its run rate to three and a half by the 20th over when they lost their fourth wicket when Alan Reitman 10 (5) – in trying to push the run rate up – was bowled by Neil White.
Brendon Thomas 7 (15) was run out and when Jim Gregory was out first ball – another stumping by Warrick Hayes, this time off the bowling of Andrew O’Hoy – Pakenham was 6 for 94 in the 26th over.
Guya Suriarchi 5(18) was then bowled by Joe Burke.
The backbone of Pakenham’s innings was Les Jones 33 (40) and when he was finally out, he became Warrick Hayes fifth stumping victim off Peter Little this time.
This brought the last pair to the wicket Bob Phillips and John Moore.
They added 12 runs before Moore 2 (5) was bowled by Joe Burke…Phillips 11 (11) remaining not out.
This was in the 35th over and the score was 9 for 128 and it was decided to call the game off.
South Gippsland Bowling: Joe Burke 4.2-3/24, Peter Little 2-1/10, Neil White 2-1/11, Graham Wightman 4-1/13, Andrew O’Hoy 7-1/15, Pieter Loos 6-1/7, Gary Adams 2-0/6, Rob Francis 2-0/10, Geof Birnie 6-0/28.
A team is only as good as the other team allows them to play and South Gippsland made Pakenham look ordinary.
But hopefully all the injured players are back on the park when Pakenham take on Barkley Street Veterans at their home ground next Sunday.
-John Moore-
