CRICKETERS
AT THE PUB
Filthy McFadden's proudly sponsors Allan Hall
North Canberra-Gungahlin Cricket Club is one of the eight senior clubs in the ACTCA competition. The club is based in close proximity to the centre of Canberra but also has an expanding presence in the new growth suburbs of Gungahlin in the outer north of Canberra. Our three grounds are located in the inner northern suburbs of Ainslie (Majura Oval, Reid and Dickson).
Latest Match Report:
Sat 6th & 13th Feb:
v Tuggeranong
@Chisholm 1
"Day 1:
Friday night it hosed down, meaning for the first time this season we
could indulge in a game of Cricket Russian Roulette at the Filth. CRR is
a simple game where you pretend you don't have to play cricket the next
day while sampling the different beers on tap at Filthys. The game
finishes when you turn up to cricket the next day and find out whether
it's washed out (in which case you win CRR) or whether you have to start
on time (you lose).
We arrived at Chisholm, the only place in Canberra where it didn't rain
the previous evening... Luckily we won the toss and had a bowl, and
before long Tuggies were 2/7. Unfortunately several hours later they
were 6/320 odd... The highlight of the day was undoubtedly when skipper
McGurk passed the ball to me for some right-arm partnership-breaking
magic that only "Preparation H" can provide. My two overs yielded 14
runs, including several fours, some rank full tosses, and some bouncers
which reached shin height, and one edge which surprised our keeper so
much he missed it...
Day 2:
The weather forcast was rain with a chance of even more rain, but after
last week's CRR loss I played it safe with just a few Filthy sneakies on
Friday night.
I woke up to see pouring rain outside and a bunch of messages on my
phone to say that every Northies game was cancelled. Every Northies game
that is, except mine. In Chisholm. Woo... So off we went.
The pitch was wet, the rain was constant, but Tuggies understandably
wanted to wait around as they had 300 odd runs on the board. Two hours
of poker later, the match was declared washed out and Simon "The Walrus"
Fitzsimons was declared the winner of poker."
by Allan Hall
Nickname: Hally, Filthy Hall
Favourite drink: Snakebite
Next Match:
Sat 6th & 13th Feb vs Tuggeranong at Chisholm.
Allan Hall archives:
Sat 17th October@ Keith Tournier Oval
"With the first cricket game of the season on Saturday, I did the
responsible thing on Friday night at Filthys by opting for a light beer
instead of my usual snakebite. Unfortunately the Glenfiddich promo girl
convinced me to try a scotch so my good work was undone.
We had a delayed start due to the wet conditions, but when we finally
started our skipper did the right thing, winning the toss and electing
to field. Our blokes trucked hard but Queanbeyan piled on the runs. My
contribution was one catch and a lot of leather-chasing. Good times!"
by Allan Hall
Sat 24th October
"Queanbeyan decided that last week's 300 odd runs wasn't enough punishment, so added another 130 odd runs in less than an hour. On the upside, no players, spectators or people in the general area were injured by cricket balls as they rained from the sky via the Queanbeyan batsmen. In reply, the mighty Northies struggled in our attempt to play out the day. My time to shine came late in the afternoon, when all my pre-season training would finally pay off.
That's what would have happened had I not got out for a duck. Coincidentally, the number of balls I faced (two) was the same number of snakebites I'd had at Filthys the night before. Murph, batting next, was out first ball so I promptly told him he was twice as bad as me. Not long after, our demise was complete. A poor start to the 2-day competition, but we could redeem ourselves the next day in our 1-day campaign..."
Sun 25th October
"A rancid starting time of 10am required a quiet Saturday night, which
was just want my body needed after the exhausting two-ball stint at the crease the day before.
Our skipper won the toss and batted, which seemed
like a great idea until four wickets fell for not many. I was off the
mark in fine style, snicking one to first slip who not only dropped it
but managed to knock it away so we could scurry through. Two more
wickets fell and I was joined at the crease by Brock Winkler, an 18 year
old gun on his 1st grade debut. I gave him some wise advice on getting
set and seeing the overs out, before spooning a full-toss to cover.
Brock made a solid 20 odd but we were bundled out for 106. In reply, ANU
made batting look much easier than we did and passed our score with just
two wickets down. Rather than dwell on the negatives though, I like to
focus on the positives. That positive was lunch. ANU put on a very tasty
spread, with sandwiches, lollies, and everything."
by Allan Hall
Sat 31st October
"Somehow my efforts of 0 and 7 in 1st grade didn't impress the selectors,
so I found myself on the slippery pole to 2nd grade last Saturday. I
thought that perhaps I needed to tweak my pre-game preparation, so
instead of snakies I opted for a bottle of "Pear Something or Other" Sav
Blanc to celebrate Happy Friday at the Filth.
We batted first and I opened up against a bloke from Eastlake who was
pretty sharp for a 2nd grader. He had me squealing from a few short
balls, but despite my inability to find the middle of the bat I was able
to hang in there. As the team score ticked past 69 Eastlake brought on
their spinner, a mate called Cromp who owed me a few beers from a past
Filthys encounter. He treated me to some juicy full-tosses, one of which
I sent into the stands. It made me feel like a big man. The party ended
when I was on 32, LB-Dubious to Cromp. Scottish superstar Gordon McGurk
made 70 odd amidst much "aaarching" and kilt-related jibes from the
sideline, and we ended up with 235.
In reply Eastlake lost regular wickets, and were completely at sea
against 1st grade regular Heath Axelby. We rolled them for 160 odd and
got to sing the team song, the first time for me this season. Great
success!"
by Allan Hall
Sat 7th November
@ KT Park
"I made the superstitious mistake of having two snakies on Friday at the
Filth, which had me worried as I went out to bat as the last time I did
this (a couple of weeks ago) I lasted two balls. I was very relieved
when I saw off that 2nd ball of the day, but minutes later I was kicking
myself in the sheds, out for two runs! Whoever said that cricket was a
funny game was lying.
The rest of the Northies boys didn't fare much better, with the
exception of Victor (50 odd (runs that is, not his age)), and we were
all out for 128. In reply, Creek cruised to 1/90 before a big collapse
saw them crawl past our score with just 3 wickets in hand. Unfortunately
we don't get any points for close losses..."
Sun 8th November
@ ANU South
"We lost the toss and were banished to the field on a day which would
have been ideal for a few sneakies in the Filthys beer garden. I spent a
large portion of the morning standing on the boundary, giving the
captain subtle hints that I should bowl. It didn't work, but we did
manage to bowl out ANU for just 166.
In reply, we lost a few early wickets but I managed to hang around
despite some swing bowling which was too good for me. Just before the
opening bowlers finished their spell, I tried one noodle too many and
leading-edged it. 17 miserable runs, smelly smelly smelly... North's
batting form continued from Saturday and suddenly we were 30 short with
just one wicket in hand. James Glenday (a.k.a Ron Burgandy) and Jack
Donaldson (a.k.a JD and coke) nearly got us home, falling an agonizing
10 runs short. Fail!"
by Allan Hall
Sat 14th November:
2nd Grade v Ginninderra
@ Kippax 1
"Friday afternoon was perfect for a few sneakies in the Filthys beer garden, so I was relaxed and ready to dominate on Saturday morning. We won the toss and batted, and I strode confidently to the crease with my new cricket bat. The Reverend Peter Nelson had given me this bat on the proviso that I donate 25c to Northies for every run I scored with it, and based on my recent batting form I thought this was a bargain! I was off the mark with a scratchy pull which cost me 50c. I was just thinking that the bowlers were fairly tame until a ball reared sharply at my precious, precious face.
I managed to keep my modeling career options available by just getting my bat up in time, but the ball ballooned to slip. The rest of the lads didn't fare much better, despite a solid 40 odd from skipper Paul "Surly" Stephens and 30 odd from the ever reliable Steven "Murph and the Magictones" Murphy. We had Ginninderra under the pump early in their reply, but they passed our score and added another 70 before stumps. Next week we'll need to knock them off, post a quick score and try to burgle an outright victory."
by Allan Hall
Sun 15th November
1st Grade v Riverina
@ KT Oval
"Today was Sponsors day, so the ground was packed with sponsors, supporters, and Northies boys. The vibe was fantastic and the mighty Northies delivered in the field, restricting Riverina to 181 for their 50 overs. In reply, it's fair to say that I was pretty filthy to find out that I was batting at 9. I would have thought that my season average of about 6.9 would have carried more weight, but instead I relaxed on the sidelines in the sun and watched our boys do the business.
A bonus point was up from grabs if we could reach the runs within 40 overs, so Seb Blazszcyk and Sammy Gaskin stepped up a gear, entertaining the crowd with some big hits. In our efforts to get the bonus points, we lost a flurry of wickets and I realized I might have to bat after all. And just as my rancid luck would have it, I found myself walking out to bat, with three runs needed off one ball to secure the BP. The boundaries were all protected except for fine leg, so I decided to go for gold with an unconventional paddle sweep. I'd practiced it in the nets, but never in a game and certainly never first ball.
This was my chance for glory, and I could see the shot coming off perfectly, gracefully, before being carried off the field by my adoring team-mates... Just as the bowler got into his delivery stride, I got down on one knee and reached out with the bat. I felt the glorious thud of ball on bat, followed by the unexpected thud of ball on helmet. I'd top-edged the stupid thing into my head, and the ball ricocheted to gully for a first ball duck. No bonus point for you! Heath "Axe" Axelby secured the win, and let's never speak of the paddle-sweep incident again..."
by Allan Hall
Sat 21st November:
2nd Grade v Ginninderra
@ Kippax 1
"After last weekend's effort of two runs from two innings, my confidence
was sky high. Having already passed our score last week, Ginninderra
batted on for 10 or so painful overs, eventually being bowled out with a
lead of 120 odd.
Our plan was to bat aggressively to knock off the deficit, get a lead,
then roll them for an outright victory. The plan was definitely not to
miss a straight one and watch my middle stump do cartwheels. We also
should have been more specific in how much of a lead we planned to
achieve, as we ended up 5 runs in front which wasn't ideal.
Getting 10 wickets for 5 runs was always going to be a tall order, but
skipper Surly made an inspired decision to let me open the bowling. I
hadn't bowled in a game for about three years, but with my Movember mo
bristling I looked every bit like a real quick. My over of extreme pace
yielded 3 runs, a dropped catch, and the loudest LBW appeal the poor
umpire had ever heard. Ginninderra knocked off the runs in the next
over, to end a very embarrassing day for the boys. On the up-side, the
early finish meant an early snakebite at Filthys for me."
by Allan Hall
Sat 28th November:
2nd Grade v ANU
@ KT Park
"Our regular 2nd grade skipper was unavailable for the 2nd week of this
clash, so the reins were passed to Captain Hall. The Brains Trust
assembled on Friday night at Filthys to discuss battle tactics over a
snakie or two, much like Genghis Khan and his generals did back in their
day (at Filthy McGenghis's if my knowledge of history serves me
correctly).
We won the toss and batted, and my tactics of moving myself down the
order worked perfectly as our top order dominated while I put my feet
up, read the paper, bossed around the young blokes and discussed the
pros and cons of the kebab shop next to Filthys now being a curry-house.
After Gordon "Aaaaarch" McGurk and Victor "Gnotgunnaspellhisnameright"
Gnanadurai put on 150, I made a cameo 37 before making way for Mick
"Yeshecanski" Kaminski who monstered 40 runs off about a dozen balls. We
declared 7 down for 324 with about an hour to go. Could the day get any
better?
It certainly did, with Steve "Magictones" Murphy taking 3 wickets in 5
overs, and ANU slumping to 5/32 at the end of the day. What a day, can't
wait until next week!"
by Allan Hall
Sat 5th December:
v ANU
@ KT Park
"For those of you who missed last week's installment (shame on you), the
match situation overnight was ANU 5/32 chasing our monster effort of
324.
Seeing as I wouldn't need to bat on Saturday, I treated myself to a few
extra snakies at the Filth on Friday night, and promised I'd be back on
Saturday night for a few more.
After a solid warmup and an inspirational speech, I relaxed at 1st slip
and watched our bowlers do the business. Thanks to 4 wickets from Steve
"Murph" Murphy and 3 from Mick "Gigantor" Kaminski, ANU were rolled for
97 and would have to follow on.
ANU showed some more fight in their second innings, and at tea we still
needed 5 wickets to wrap up an outright victory. The bowling combo of
Tommy "Taxi" Rowe (who was bowling almost unplayable off-spin) and
Gordon "Aaaarch" McGurk (who was bowling absolute rubbish) worked a
treat, with Tommy getting his first 5 wicket haul, McGurk burgling 4,
and the match was all over with an hour and a bit to spare. High fives
all round, and victory sneakies at the Filth! Incidentally, the band
playing at the Filth (the Glacier's I think) were top shelf."
by Allan Hall
Sat 12th December:
v Wests
@ KT Park
"With our regular 2nd grade skipper back in action and me standing down,
I didn't have my "Brains Trust" excuse to go to Filthys on Friday night.
But I went there anyway.
The freshly returned captain wasted no time in picking up where he left
off by losing the toss, and we were banished to the field. After several
overs of heat from our opening bowlers, the first breakthrough came
through via an LBW. It could have been even better, as the new batsman
spooned his first ball straight to me at short cover. It came at the
speed of a toddler under-arming a tennis ball, so imagine my team-mates
and my surprise when I grassed it.
The Wests boys scored quickly but lost regular wickets, and things were
looking up as we had them 7 down for about 150. Then out came Goliath's
bigger cousin, who launched our bowlers to all parts of the ground, and
indeed the adjacent baseball field. Wests ended up with 260 odd and we
had an hour and a bit to bat.
Our first over wasn't ideal, two wickets for no runs. Luckily star
Canberra Comets batsman, Sam "Funky" Miller was still at the crease,
making a cameo in 2nd grade as he was unavailable to play the 2nd week
in 1st grade. Unfortunately for Funky, he lasted the same number of
balls as he has missing teeth (one) and suddenly we were 3/0... The
ever-reliable Gordon "Aaaarch" McGurk managed slightly better (in that
he lasted more than one ball), but my hopes of putting my feet up all
afternoon were shattered just as Gordon's stumps were. Four for ten...
Our Surly captain and I dug in, and despite the West's bowler's vocal
lack of appreciation for our batting ability, we saw out the day to
finish at 4/90. 170 odd to win next week, come on come on..."
by Allan Hall
Sat 16th January:
v Ginninderra
@Kippax 2
"After several weeks of holiday eating, drinking, and more eating, it was
time to get stuck back into cricket action. I eased my way back into the
swing of things with several James Squire's at the Filth during the
week, although I'm still to decide which is my favourite.
Our newly appointed skipper, Gordon "The Scottish Gollum" McGurk won the
toss and we batted. I came in at number four, and noodled it around
until the weather came into play and we had to retreat to the sheds.
Clearly the break had made me rusty as I'd forgotten to pack the cards,
but luckily the shower passed and we were back on.
Cameron "Lamb Roast" Beames and I kept the score ticking along, and
before long I was looking good for my 2nd 50 in as many innings. The
shot I played to try to bring it up did not look so good, and I was out
caught for 46. Beamesy ended up with 70 odd and was well supported by
everyone, setting Ginninderra 254.
In reply the Ginninderrians racked up 1/120 odd in no time at all, but
sadly for them a monster storm came through and ended play for the day.
The umpires applied their magic formulas and deemed us to be...
victorious! A great (if slightly hollow) post Christmas win."
by Allan Hall
Sat 23rd & 30th Jan:
v Eastlake at KT Oval
@Kippax 2
"With our one dayers finished, it was time to turn our attention back to
two-day cricket. The Scotsman lost the toss and we were sent in to bat.
Our openers took to Eastlake's medium pacers, but once their spinners
came on it was a different story and I found myself out in the middle.
I struggled against their young leg-spinner, before struggling even more
against their off-spinner. Just as lunch was approaching I missed a
straight one which made a mess of the stumps. 16 scratchy runs...
We were in danger of getting rolled until Tristan "Dugong" Du Toit saved
the day with some lusty hitting, slogging 50 odd runs off very few balls
and taking our total to 207.
In reply Eastlake got off to a very rocky start, being 5/85 overnight
including a sneaky catch to myself. Unfortunately their tail well and
truly wagged, and they ended up passing our total with three wickets in
hand. And that, my friends, is the end of a fairly boring game of
cricket! It's way more fun when we win, so hopefully next week will be
better."
by Allan Hall
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