The A and B Grade played against Plympton Footballers A and B Grade repectively. The matches are the 99th and 100th between these clubs, after Plympton first competed in the Adelaide and Suburban Cricket Association in 1968/69. (Note: there have been 102 matches scheduled, but Coromandel have forfeited twice). The record (prior to this round) is Coromandel 37 wins, Plympton 55 with six drawn (note: the two forfeits have been ignored).
At Plympton OvalFirst Innings Loss
Coromandel 208First Innings Loss
Coromandel 9/208After losing the toss and being "inserted" (on a fine day for batting), Richard Hunter would be a disappointed captain after an average batting performance from his team managed a score of 137.
The side never quite recovered after the loss of dual batting trophy winner Mike Maclean, dismissed without scoring after edging to the wicket-keeper in the second over. Such was the difficulty the batsmen were experiencing early, the innings was 5.2 overs old before Greg Kearsley found a gap in the cover field and scored the first runs for the team.
For the second consecutive match, captain Hunter was bowled from a full toss: it is the 54th time that he been bowled in matches for Coromandel and it is open to investigation to determine just how often he has been bowled from such a delivery.
There were however some positive performances in the innings, highlighted by an impressive unbeaten 41 from young Tyler Harman, making his debut for the club at 15 years of age. After having a careful look at the bowling early, he scored his first run from the 17th ball faced and then proceeded to play a textbook innings of confidence and footwork, particularly off his pads and with his favourite cut-shot over the slip-cordon. He shared in partnerships of 38 for the sixth wicket with Bruce "Henry" Carpenter(11) and 45 for the ninth wicket with Peter Zacpal(27). Tyler also raised the urgency of the running between wickets, stretching the evergreen Henry as they continued to exert pressure on the fieldsmen.
Unfortunately this was to bring the downfall of Henry. Enthusiastically returning for a third run after a leg glance from Tyler, he was unluckily run out after a throw from the square leg boundary, on the longer side of Blackwood Hill Oval, found Henry a metre short of his crease. It is the 26th time he has been run-out, in his 324 match career at Coromandel, and quite possibly the first when attempting a third run.
In deep trouble at 8/92, Peter Zacpal strode to the crease and played a trademark Zac innings. After defending the first two balls from the medium pacers, Zac proceeded to attack the spinner at the other end, exhibiting his favourite pull-shot and sending the ball towards the midwicket boundary, scoring 18 runs from the next 4 balls, his contribution to an over that yielded 20 runs. Zac's cavalier 27 was scored from only 16 deliveries and included three fours and two sixes, the second six reaching the goalposts at the southern end of Blackwood Hill Oval on the full - the ball just missing to the left and scoring a behind.
Earlier Tim Kaethner showed his value as an allrounder, scoring a brisk 27 runs from only 25 balls as he did his best to upset the length of the opening bowlers.
In reply ICC are 2/61 at stumps, however the innings was not without incident.
The bowling from Kaethner was the mixed bag that we come to expect over he years. After landing two consecutive balls in the dirt of Blackwood Hill Oval, Tim supported the theory that "he only has to land one on the pitch ..." - the subsequent "mystery" ball completely deceiving the batsmen and cannoning into the stumps to claim the first wicket.
To complement his batting, Tyler Harman has raised the standard in the field. In a display reminiscent of Ricky Ponting in a One Day International, Tyler moved sharply to his right to a intercept a drive at extra cover, the subsequent throw missing the stumps at the bowler's end by mere centimetres with the batsman over a metre out of his ground.
First Innings Loss
Coromandel 137The D Grade have a battle on their hands after being dismissed for 141. Captain Mark Lemmey, in his 50th match, top-scored with 38 and Scott Rose (playing on borrowed time with a financial debt to the club) provided good support with 37.
However a sensational reflex catch by Matthew Bubner provided the inspiration for a fightback by the bowlers. Described by his captain as the "best catch" he has seen "below state level", Matthew was fielding in his customary position at bat-pad when he implemented his naturally gifted lightning reflexes and intercepted a full-blooded pull-shot from the bowling of Matt Laming. Unlike his screamer from last season, no assistance was required from the lower abdomen as he comfortably controlled the ball cleanly in both hands.
First Innings Loss
Coromandel 141After winning the toss, Kenilworth "did a Nasser Hussain" on Peter Craig's E Grade and sent them in to bat. And as was the case with the English captain, the visitors would be regretting the decision after another consistent batting performance from the home team amassed a near record E Grade score.
Good individual performances were shared between the younger and more experienced players in the team. The opening combination of Simon Leek and Rahsaan Oakey was again successful in providing the foundation to the innings. Rahsaan adopted a typically aggressive approach, scoring 11 boundaries on his way to his first half-century in only his second match and dominating a second wicket partnership of 60 with Sam Cheek, before being run-out. Graham Gallasch made a timely return to form with 49, scoring this 5500th run for the club, but his dismissal left the team at 6/150.
A match-winner with the ball the previous week, Tom Craig resurrected the innings with a well made 52 runs and in partnership with Rowan Lloyd (46), the pair added a partnership of 90 - a record seventh wicket stand over the 5 year, 58 match history of E Grade cricket at Coromandel.
On a statistical note,
Rowan's 46 is his highest score in 16 E Grade matches, having been a prominent figure in the last E Grade era of the early 1980s. He was dismissed just four runs short of his first half-century since 28th January 1995: on that day Rowan scored an unbeaten 72 for the D Grade against Plympton Footballers at Paringa Park Primary School. Interestingly, Rowan holds the record for having scored the most fifties (18) without ever reaching triple figures.
The second wicket stand of 60 between Rahsaan and Sam fell just one run short of the record second wicket stand for the E Grade.
First Innings Win
Coromandel 9/277