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Nudgee College: First international cricket tour Courtesy: Mark Ensor During the June and July holidays the College conducted the College’s first ever international cricket tour, to England (the Birthplace of Cricket) and France. Twenty-nine students accompanied by five staff comprised 2 teams, a 1st XI and a development team, attended the three week tour. The first game was against Bishops Stortford, and both teams had comfortable wins. In the development side Tim Gregg 55, Gopi Singh 55 and Heinrich Van Der Walt 4/19 were the stars, while in the 1st XI Josh McClelland starred with 4/23 before Dan Hutcheon hit a handy 38 in the middle of the order to get the team home by 4 wickets. The squad then travelled to Bristol and played against Colston College a school very famous for their sporting endeavours. The development team were far too good for their opposition winning by 70 runs. Mat Thompson 46 and Ed Newman 64 helped Nudgee score 198 off their allotted 35 overs, before Heinrich van Der Walt took 4/18 to steers Nudgee to victory. The 1st XI had a tougher match, handy contributions from Brian Sanders 31, Ryan Kay 38 and James Hanley 22 helped Nudgee to get 184 off 50 overs. Nudgee was always on top with the ball led by Scott Gale 3/25, Brad Weston 2/11 and Jared Daunt 2/33, Nudgee finally winning by 48 runs. Nudgee then travelled to Bath and played against T20 England school champions King Edward School. Unfortunately the 1st XI went down by 7 runs, a lacked of disincline bowling and some poor catching cost Nudgee dearly. Sam Lowry scored a magnificent 57 to nearly steal victory for Nudgee. The development team was once again far too good winning by 128 runs. Nudgee scored 4/239 thanks largely to Owen Daley 54 and Mitch Copeman 64. The squad then travelled to the midlands of England to play against Oakham College, one of England finest cricketing schools. The 1st XI played their best game of the tour. Batting first Nudgee scored 3/265, Liam Greinke 70, Brian Sanders 56 and Sam Lowry 49 led from the front before Matt Dolan belted an unbeaten 67 off 39 balls to lift Nudgee to a fantastic score. Nudgee then bowled out Oakham for 214, Josh McClelland claiming 5/44 and was well supported by Kyle Peacock 3/31. The development team had their toughest match of the tour winning by 3 wickets and only 3 overs remaining. Heinrich Van Der Walt continued his good form taking 3/22 and a solid 42 from Gopi Singh proved to be the major differences between the two teams at the end of the day. Next stop on the itinerary was Denstone College. The 1st XI were in real trouble at 6/117 before Matt Dolan 114, Mitch Swepson 78* and Jared Daunt 22* helped Nudgee to get 7/272. Denstone’ batters took it to the The last game of the tour was against St. Olaves School from London. Both matches were T20 games and Nudgee won both easily. The 1st XI scored 169 with good contributions made by Brad Weston 49 and Hayden Greig 41. Nudgee then bowled their opposition out for 77 with Brad Weston claiming 4/14. The development team continued their unbeaten tour winning their match by 41 runs. Connor McKee scored 62, Owen Daley 57 and Jackson Robinson 46 were all outstanding for Nudgee. The tour also involved some wonderful off field experiences. Highlights were a practice session at the famous indoor net facilities at Lords, a visit to Cardiff and Millennium Stadium, watching Australia vs. England in an ODI at Lords, visiting England best theme park Alton Towers, having a day in Paris and going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, visiting the Roman Baths in Bath and visiting all of London's major sightseeing attractions. Overall, the tour was, in cricket terms, a very successful tour. However, the experiences of hospitality, billeting with other families and playing in different conditions will always be remembered by the all The tour could not have gone ahead without the wonderful support from many people including the sponsors: GOLD sponsors: Forrester Properties and Seasons Supported Living. BLUE sponsors: SecurCorp and Renew My Car WHITE sponsors: Traffic Barrier Transport, Seahawks Clothing and Promotions and Raine and Horne - Gladstone. I would also like to thank the staff involved in the tour, coaches Mr Sean Toovey and Mr Chris Ryan for preparing the boys prior to the tour and making sure that both teams were ready to play on the day. Mr Des Swepson (team’s manager), Des filled in many roles on the tour and nothing was ever too much work for Des. And, finally, Mr Peter Todd for helping to coordinate and assist in the logistical side of the tour. Nudgee College Cricket and indeed, the whole College community, can feel justly proud of the lads who represented us on this tour. Hopefully, those fortunate enough to follow in the future will find the same. United give early blow to title rivals Chelsea LONDON: Manchester United delivered an early blow to title rivals Chelsea with a 3-1 victory over the Premier League champions in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday. Sir Alex Ferguson's team has spent the close-season licking their wounds after being pipped to the title by the Blues, but they underlined their determination to regain the crown with a ruthless display in the annual curtain-raiser to the English top-flight season. A first half goal from Antonio Valencia put United in front and new signing Javier Hernandez added the second after the break. Salomon Kalou got one back for Chelsea, but Dimitar Berbatov's late strike ensured United have the early momentum heading into the new campaign. This may have been no more than a glamourous friendly, but there was definite edge to the match as these two old rivals tried to land a psychological blow ahead of the Premier League kick-off on Saturday. Wayne Rooney responded to jeers from Chelsea fans with a superb cross-field pass towards Valencia, who out-paced the stumbling Ashley Cole but couldn't quite lift his chip over Henrique Hilario. Valencia turned provider moments later as the Ecuador winger picked out Paul Scholes 10 yards from goal, only for the veteran midfielder to volley well over. Ancelotti's double winners, who beat United in the Shield last season, threatened when Nicolas Anelka's powerful long-range effort tested Edwin van der Sar. Branislav Ivanovic forced van der Sar into a much more difficult save when the Serbian defender towered above Nemanja Vidic to meet Malouda's free-kick with a bullet header. Rooney had been one of England's most disappointing performers in South Africa, where he looked completely devoid of his usual enthusiasm. Back in a United shirt he was once again the effervescent figure who terrorised defences last season. He covered large parts of the pitch in the first half, shooting just wide from a tight angle before chasing back tenaciously to break up a Chelsea attack. Inevitably, Rooney played a key role when United took the lead in the 41st minute. Scholes, in sublime form, spotted Rooney's run to the right edge of the Chelsea penalty area and found him with a long pass that dropped in behind Cole. John Terry had tracked Rooney and the striker took advantage by whipping a low cross into the area vacated by the Chelsea captain. Valencia, having sprinted clear of Cole, found himself in yards of space and met Rooney's superb delivery with a cool finish past Hilario. That was Rooney's last contribution as Ferguson sent on Hernandez, Berbatov and Nani at half-time. Chelsea have been below their best during a pre-season marred by three successive defeats and Carlo Ancelotti's team were missing Didier Drogba's imposing presence, so it was no surprise when the Ivorian came off the bench after an hour. Drogba's arrival gave extra impetus to the Blues and Michael Essien went close for Chelsea with a curling strike from outside the penalty area. Another chance went when Cole shot straight at van der Sar after the United goalkeeper spilled Paulo Ferreira's cross. Ancelotti brought on Israel midfielder Yossi Benayoun, a close-season signing from Liverpool, for the last 18 minutes, but it was United who scored again in the 76th minute. Valencia escaped Cole on the wing and drilled over a low cross that Hernandez converted at the far post in comical fashion, the Mexican slipping as he shot and seeing the ball bounce off his foot and onto his head before flying into the net. Ivory Coast striker Kalou reduced the deficit in the 83rd minute when he tapped-in after van der Sar palmed Daniel Sturridge's shot into his path. But United had the last word as Berbatov took Nani's pass in stoppage time and floated a perfect chip over Hilario to seal the win. Kirsten-Dhoni combine continues forward march DAMBULLA: At the heart of India's continued evolution as an intimidating Test unit lies the efficacy of its captain-coach combine and the careful nurturing of a stable work environment. The pair's wealth of combined accomplishments coming into this Test series were numerous, including the attainment of the world No.1 rank, the development of Gautam Gambhir and the welcome second wind discovered by ageing but non-replaceable batting stalwarts. Yet, squaring off against Sri Lanka in their backyard, with a heavily depleted and injury-hit bowling lineup, was their toughest trial yet. Most of Dhoni's victories had come at home, with only short tours to New Zealand and Bangladesh before this. In Sri Lanka, both the captain and Gary Kirsten crossed an important personal threshold. India didn't win the series but the pair came out cementing its formidable reputation. Dhoni and Kirsten now have two losses in the past 16 Tests to mull over, including the shambolic batting performance in Galle, but the come-from-behind win in the third Test will be another memorable milestone, along with Kolkata earlier this year, Chennai in December 2008, Mohali, Kanpur and Hamilton. The captain-coach chemistry has forever been one of Indian cricket's prickly issues but this pair has gone about its task in a methodical, thoroughly professional and unobtrusive manner, getting the best out of the players without appearing to ruffle any feathers. They have provided a calm which had eluded Indian cricket for too long. VVS Laxman, engineer of a remarkable victory at the P Sara Oval, immediately focused his attentions on the dressing room environment and the keen tactical inputs. "Gary has been a huge influence in our success," he said. "It's been the best dressing room atmosphere I have experienced in my career. He has been of great help both at the technical aspects and also from the mental point of view, both for seniors and juniors. MS (Dhoni) has been very good in handling success and failure. He has been good at handling pressure situations. It's like a family, you are caring for each other, helping them in tough times and enjoying each other's success. Gary has been responsible for creating an atmosphere where everyone plays for each other." According to him everyone is a star and has got a role. Laxman isn't the only one singing Kirsten's praises. Suresh Raina had explained to TOI during the SSC Test how Kirsten had been a valuable guide and helped him calm his nerves and not be too over-eager going into his Test debut. Tendulkar and Sehwag too have on many occasions praised the team environment. The low-profile Kirsten has been a busy man on this tour, sheafing through his notes even at the breakfast table at times, keeping an eagle eye on the practice sessions, chirping in whenever things were not to his liking and yet managing to keep everyone in their comfort zones. India's bowling weaknesses were exposed over the three Tests but there are gains too: Pragyan Ojha has shown he is a fast learner with potential to cement a spot, Suresh Raina created some healthy competition for Yuvraj Singh, and Mithun cut his teeth at the Test level impressively. In the absence of Zaheer Khan and Sreesanth and an unfit, out-of-form and ultimately unavailable Harbhajan Singh, the bowling unit toiled and struggled till luck struck. Ishant Sharma's spell to Mahela Jayawardene in Galle in a fascinating session of cricket was one of the highlights of the tour, and that kind of ability deserves fostering. Most importantly, the team's engine - the batting led by Sehwag and Tendulkar - throbbed with vigour. Only Dravid was unlucky to miss out, though he too showed glimpses of fine form. "I think we had a goal to come here and win the series, so obviously there is disappointment in not doing it. But I'm very satisfied with the way we fought back in the last Test," said Kirsten. "It again showed the character of the team. It showed what this team is all about and what we can do in pressure situations. It's also great that we had a couple of youngsters who came in and did the business. Raina played two great Tests, Ojha bowled exceptionally well. Ishant and Mithun didn't get all the rewards they would have liked but they put in a massive effort." Kirsten sidestepped talk on the No.1 rank, saying: "We take pride in our performance over the last two years. We want to play well against every Test nation. It will be important for this team to grow, especially with the younger players coming in, and for the seniors to keep performing." Tendulkar, who has been in imperious form and whose double hundred at the SSC turned the series around for India, rated the win at the P Sara Oval very highly. "We showed character," he said. "You keep trying and that is how you succeed. Once you have tasted success, you know how it feels and want more. The Chennai win was obviously special but this one, looking at the kind of surface and our bowling attack, I thought we did really, really well." Great teams know how to get out of jail, how to get the intangibles right. Kirsten and Dhoni will be hoping the gains from Sri Lanka are not forgotten. |
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