With the Coronavirus versions 1 and 2 ensuring plenty of reading time at home, settle in and enjoy our wrap on the 2019/20 season for the Cobras.

Back in pre COVID 19 times we started the season in August 2019 with another great pre-season preparation at Xavier College in the nets and the tennis courts led by Matt McCann. The Club went deep this Season with 5 senior teams, a Veterans team, 21 junior boys teams, 2 girls teams and, for the first time, a mixed boys/girls team (14Cs Taipans). It was great news for the future of our Club that there were 5 x  under 10 boys teams, 6 x under 12 boys teams, 6 x under 14 boys teams – and a mixed team was an exciting development for our Club!

We had a great Season Opener at Vic Road Clubrooms with lots of parents and players and all the junior players received their new Club playing shirt to great enthusiasm. The playing shirts looked fantastic and were a huge success!

Pre Xmas Wednesday afternoons was all about the girls in action. Playing 20/20 games means there is plenty of action and enjoyment for the girls competing and this season we had two teams playing in the IEGG Stage 1 Stars and Stage 2 Stars  competitions.

A little history first. In season 2014/15 Cricket Victoria was looking to grow girls cricket through the Eastern area & so the Inner East Girls Competition (IEGC) was formed & Boroondara Cricket Club was a foundation. Stephen Jackson was the inaugural coach and his daughter Elizabeth, her friends and some girls from the local primary schools formed our first team which finished 2^nd in its first season; in 2016/17 Boroondara CC girls finished on top of the ladder & won the premiership.

In 2017/18 season we started up our 2^nd girls team to have a team in each grade of Stage 1 Stars & Stage 2 Stars.

Our IECG Stage 1 girls had a great pre Xmas season collecting 6 wins and 2 losses in their 8 matches which secured third position on the ladder. Kara Mudjamer was the standout batter with an aggregate of 130, an average of 130, smashing 25 fours and achieving a strike rate of 154.8. Kara had the second highest aggregate and average across the competition. Wow ! Mila Van Der Sluys (87), Sienna Dobson (71) and Dailey Hanney (60) also had good seasons with the bat. The bowling honours went to Ciara Braine who took 7 poles at an average of 9 and an economy rate of 2.86. She finished 4th on the bowling averages for the competition. Kara and Yasmine Hicks also had a good season with the ball taking 6 wickets each with averages of 9.5 and 10.33 respectively and economy rates of 3.17 and 3.65 respectively. Well done girls.

Our IECG Stage 2 Stars had played great cricket pre Xmas also and ultimately lost in the Grand Final (8/39) to a strong Richmond Union team (1/42) on 11 December 2019 who didn’t let our girls get into the game. A great pre Xmas season performance from our girls anyway. Highlights of the pre Xmas season for our girls included a 4 wicket haul to Harriet Garlic (4/1 off 1.2 overs) in the first round who finished with the best average in the competition, Anya Savundra-Shepherd who had a 50 run aggregate, an average of 50 and a strike rate of 333.3; Hannah Scott who had a 200 run strike rate from 5 innings and Daisy Searby who averaged 47.  Well done to all girls.

From the start of the Season, the standard of cricket our boys and mens teams played was high resulting in many of our teams being competitive. By Christmas, many of our teams were in finals contention at the Xmas break and were having terrific seasons. There were 8 teams in their top respective fours and we had plenty of teams either outside their top fours on % only or within one win of breaking into their top fours.

The IECG Stage 2 Spirit Summer team had a good post Xmas summer season finishing 3rd on the ladder with 4 wins and 3 losses. The batting honours again went to Kara Mudjamer who continued her great pre Xmas form, scoring 75 runs at an average of 25 finishing 5th on the ECA batting award. Freya Milo (49) and Harriet Spiden (44) also had good seasons with the bat. Like Kara, Ciara Braine continued her good bowling form from pre Xmas and took out the bowling honours finishing with 4 wickets at an average of 12.75.

Our IECG Stage 2 Stars Summer finished second on the ladder with 5 wins and 2 losses. Hannah Scott (84) and Sarah Poustie (62) scored well for the season whilst Harriet Garlick was the standout bowler nailing 11 wickets at an average of 3.48.

A grand final for our girls against Richmond was called off – a victim of the COVID 19. However, in its wisdom the ECA announced that the Cobras girls would be crowned as joint premiers for the season ! Great work girls – congratulations.

In February 2020, the 14As and 16As teams played off in the ECA T20 finals games.

Both teams saluted with great wins – the 16As 4/113 d Glen Iris 8/79 and the 14As 4/124 d Edinburgh 6/106. There were some great individual performances in the 16As game from Hugo Abbott (5/13 off 4), Tom Ferguson (39) and Josh Chivers (34). In the 14As great performances from Dante Tomatio (35), and Obie Chambers (50) ensured a great win.

Great work boys and congratulations on your win.

On a cool summer evening in February 2020, we hosted the Cobras Sports Stars night at the Glenferrie Hotel. The venue was packed with families and players oblivious to the coming social restrictions introduced by Covid 1 and 2. Our thanks to Master of Ceremonies Luke Darcy and BBL Players Elise Villani, Mac Harvey  and Courtney Neale for giving us some great insights on their pathway to the BBL T20 competition. Well done to Matt McCann and his team for putting this together.

Some 10 years ago, Pollyanna Pavlidis played 10 games with the mighty 12As with a number of famous faces including Ben Douglas, Will Fanning, Tom Anderson, Ollie Hicks, Seb Scanlon, Nathan Douglas, Hamish Morris, Alex Trigar. The team was coached by Arni Sleeman and Polly had a ripper of a start to the season scoring 35no at the tail end helping get the team over the line chasing 175 against Canterbury. Fast forward to 2019/20 and there were three girls wanting to join the u14s boys competition for the challenge and the chance to play an extra game. The ECA ticked agreed and with some more recruits, we fielded a team of 6 girls and 6 boys in the 14Cs competition coached by Mick Carroll (father of Sasha) and brilliantly managed by the tireless Heidi Pfeffer (mother of fellow Cobras Zach Lyndon, Tom “BP” Lydon and Seb Lydon) who is new to the club. The team was competitive all season and all players enjoyed their cricket. There were no other mixed teams in the ECA. Great effort!

The run home after Xmas had been tough for some of our teams. Ultimately, we had 6 teams beginning their finals campaign in earnest – the senior 3rds, 16Bs King Cobras (Chivers) 16Bs Rattlesnakes (Forrest), 14As (MacMillan), 14Bs Dalling and the Vets.

With the 3rds and 14As having dominant seasons, expectations were high for their success. The top four in the 16Bs competition went neck and neck all season so both teams would need good performances to bring home the trophy to Vic Road. The 14Bs Dalling finished fourth and had a big challenge playing the undefeated Trinity Willison Gold in their semi. The Vets slithered into the 4th position and faced a strong Blackburn in their semi.

There was some terrific cricket and exciting matches played in the semi finals from our teams.

In particular, the 16Bs Rattlesnakes 144 (Pat Forrest (39), Ben Oppy (36), Simon Greene (19)) suffered a heartbreaking loss on the second last ball of the game against Balwyn Blasters 9/145 (Forrest 4/18, Best 2/12 and Scott 2/18) after playing some exceptional cricket in patches in their batting and bowling.  After we set a competitive but beatable total, the Blasters got off to a good start and cruised to 2/75 off 22 overs. The Blasters looked home and hosed but our boys dug deep and caused a massive collapse to see the opposition struggle to 8/144 with four balls to go thanks to some inspired bowling from the skipper, Pat Forrest, ably supported by Luca Best, Simon Greene, Ben Oppy, Zac Wong and Tom “the Rock” Scott.  The Rock had struggled early but came back with a vengeance in his second spell and with four balls to go in the innings and 1 run to win, he sent the stumps flying with a ripping inswinging yorker. Three balls to go and Number 11 strolled to the crease. Surprisingly, first ball he shouldered arms to a full ball just missing the off stump on the way to the keeper causing moans and gasps to encircle Myrtle Park. Two balls to go and a snick over the top of gully saw the Blasters sneak over the line.

In their semi final, the 16Bs King Cobras posed a low total batting first against Kew. A score of 122 seemed unlikely given the early collapse but a rear guard fight from  Harry West (19), Norman (37no) and Ben Stambe (15) saw the boys post a total which just might be defended. Harry Cameron came out from the sheds and bowled like a man possessed. In partnership with Joel Bennett, the lads had Kew 4/7 with the first 4 batters steamrolled for ducks. 5/21 and it could have been time to pack up and go home but number 7 played a solo hand scoring 66 and he almost pulled a rabbit out of a hat to steal the win. He was snuffed out at 9/104 and Kew fell for 111 (H Cameron 4/20; J Bennett 2/10).

The 14Bs Dalling played a huge game in their semi final against the undefeated Trinity Willison Gold. A solid opening performance from Ben Butler (19) followed by good contributions from Rory OByrne (18), Tom Di Matteo (28) and Tom West (19) were supplemented by an ordinary bowling performance from the undefeated opposition who clearly cracked under pressure contributing 60 extras to our boys’ tally of 9/176. Rory then had a day out finishing with 3/29 off 6 overs and he was ably supported by 6 other bowlers who each took a pole snuffing out the opposition on 136.

The Vets succumbed to some tough, accurate bowling from their opponents after being put in in their semi final. A couple of early wickets were overcome with some solid batting but then a collapse from 5/66 to 8/72 put the lads under pressure. A rear guard fight led by Vice Pres Mark Poustie (13) and Sean Ross (5) saw a low total of 103 posted off 36. Batting honours going to Eugene Fitzwilliam (23), Chandler Sewjal (18). The bowlers found it tough against a good batting order which resulted in the Vets bowing out and a Blackburn North win (2/104).

Meanwhile, the 3rds had a comfortable win over Mazenod OC.  Bowling first Kristian Bardsley was unplayable snaring 5/32 from 22 overs. Jonno Power 2/26 and Rob Hester 2/35 chimed in also to clean up the opposition for 131. The Cobras did the work in a canter finishing on 2/134 and it was particularly nice to see the geriatrics still enjoying their cricket and shining in the limelight with Greg Smith posting 64 and Scott White getting 40.

Likewise bowling first in their semi final, the 14As held 4th placed Glen Iris to 9/134 after 45 overs with Charlie “Ice man” Grummitt’s glovework standing out with 5 catches and Ned Macmillan snagging 2/9 off 5 solid leg spin overs. Was it enough to snuff out the champs finals’ hopes? Certainly not! Ice Man’s glovework caused him to become an unstoppable force with the bat and after going in at 1/17 when anything might have happened, Charlie led the way and crafted a terrific 58 guiding the team to 3/105 before Ned Macmillan (10no) and Ben Stambe(13no) polished off the remaining runs for a solid victory.

So four of our teams moved into their grand finals. The 3rds bowled first and put on an exceptional display of bowling and fielding to reduce Richmond Union CC to 113. A skilful bowling performance from Dan Gamble(5/25) was ably supported by tight fielding and the bowling from the stalwarts Steve “Rowdy” Ford, Kristian Beardsley, Rob Hester and Jonno Power.

However, a cheap total of 113 proved more difficult than it might have been and the old adage ‘runs on the board’ proved the case here as the chase had a few bumpy periods. A good start became a wobbly run chase which saw three wickets fall in the 30s and another 3 wickets fall between 70 – 90. What should have been a comfortable victory was turning into a nail biting run chase. Zac Gleeson (24) attempted to hold the fort whilst his partners came and went until he too fell. A semblance of order and composure then descended upon Vic Road Reserve with the partnership between Jonno Power (21no) and Rob Hester (O off 28 balls) seeing the Cobras slither over the line in 52 overs. A great win.

The 14As also tasted victory in their grand final after finishing second in the 2018/19 season. A slow start to the Cobras innings accelerated at the back end with fine performances from Charlie Grummitt (35) Obie Chambers (40) and Luca Van der Sluys (22). A total of 7/150 was formidable but gettable and would require a good batting performance by Edinburgh. The opponents made a good fist of it and at 4/112 the game was there to be won. In big games, big players step up and it was no different for Sam Turner and his leggies (which can be tough to bowl at any times in a game). Having removed the dangerous X. DiScala, Sam was then brought on at this critical time to take on the tail enders. He bowled his leggies superbly and took 4 of the remaining 5 wickets for few runs. So bamboozled were Endinburgh’s batters by Sam, that they fell from 4/112 to be all out for 127. A great bowling and team performance. Congratulations boys.

The 16Bs King Cobras took on the Balwyn Blasters who had beaten the 16Bs Rattlesnakes in the semi final the week before. Batting first, the boys had difficulty with the disciplined line and length of their opponents which had been good in the semi final also. They finished on 121 (scores unavailable on mycricket) and would have to bowl well to defend this total. The Blasters started well but 3 quick wickets in the 30s gave the boys momentum. At 4/42 our boys were optimistic but they could not dislodge Lorenz (57) who continued to thwart their attack. A strong Blasters partnership between 5/63 and 6/115 snuffed out the Cobra’s chances despite Murray Francis’ best efforts when he stepped up and took the last three wickets quickly. But the total set by the Cobras was insufficient to prevent the Blasters scrambling over the line on 8/122 (Muzz Francis 3 wickets, Sam Norman 2 wickets). Disappointing for the boys but congratulations on a great season.

The 14Bs Dalling batted first but could only manage 8/124 off 45 overs (James Gebert 24, Rory O’Byrne 31). This was always going to be a difficult total to defend. The boys toiled hard but North Balwyn Gold (4/125) batted well and passed the total 4 down off 35 overs.  Bad luck boys and congratulations on a great season.

1st XI Club Champion – Nathan Douglas

2nds Grade Champion – Jack Byrne

3rds Grade Champion – Rob Hester

4ths Grade Champion – Scott Chivers

5ths Grade Champion – Flynn Jacobsen

The Club boasted a number of centurions this season:

First XI: Ben Douglas (100no) Nathan Douglas (118no)

2nd XI: Jotham Hughes (162 and 106), Kunaye Lamaye (169)

3rd XI: Kristian Bardsley (134no 3rd XI), Scott White (102)

4th XI: Ian Grummitt (134no), Scott Chivers (147no)

16As:  Hugo Birks (100rtno)

We also had bowlers extracting 5 wickets or more from the syntho decks with some great bowling:

2nd XI: Matt Silk (5/34)

3rd XI: Johnno Power (6/13 and 7/15) and Kristian Bardsley (5/16, 5/14 and 5/32) Dan Gambell (5/25)

4th XI: Brett Chivers (5/13 and 5/8)

16As: Hugo Abbott (5/13)

14As: Sam Turner (5/24)

U10 Blue: Alby Mahoney 5/22

Stalwart of the Club, Kristian Bardsley took 34 wickets for the season with 3 x 5fas at an average of 8.34.

The two 2 Cobra 16Bs teams had the rare honour of having three of their players at the top of the ECA batting and bowling awards completing a great season for these boys and the Club.

The batting awards went to Pat Forrest (1st) ave 89.75 and Josh Chivers (2nd) ave 85.67. Pat also won the Best Player award for the 16Bs A R Tongue competition.

The bowling award went to Zac Wong (1st) ave. 9.31.

Well done boys – great seasons

Pat Forrest – semi final v Balwyn Blasters

Josh Chivers

Zac Wong – semi final v Balwyn Blasters

Junior Girls Club Champion: Harriet Garlick

Harriet’s season spread across the Girls IEGC Stage 2 pre Xmas and post Xmas teams and the 14Cs Mixed team. Harriet’s strong suit is her bowling and in the 14Cs she finished second on the team bowling with 7 wickets at 11.29.

Harriet shone in the Stage 2 competitions before and after Xmas. Before Xmas in the Girls IEGC Stage 2 Stars competition, Harriet took 8 wickets for 45 runs at 5.63. She won the bowling award for the Stage 2 Stars competition with 7 wickets for 40 at 5.71.

In the Girls IEGC Stage 2 Stars Summer competition, Harriet took 11 wickets for 38 runs at 3.45 winning the bowling award Stage 2 Stars Summer competition.

Harriet was also selected in the Eastern Cricket Association representative team in the January 2020 carnival.

What a great season Harriet!

Best Junior playing Seniors Cricket: Max Chivers

Max plied his wicketkeeping trade across the 16B King Cobras and the senior LOC 4, 3rd XI and 2nd XI teams this season with great aplomb. He had numerous games where he was in the action taking multiple catches, run out assists and/or stumpings and completed the season third on the Club’s keeping tally with 12 catches and 2 stumpings, 3 non keeping catches and 1 run out. He was always enthusiastic and encouraging and a great member of his teams performing creditably as a lower order batter.

Great season Max.

The Morris Family Award Best Junior Clubman: Josh Chivers

Josh played across a number of junior and senior teams. He captained the 16Bs King Cobras to a minor premiership only to be narrowly defeated in the GF; he won the 16B King Cobra’s batting award (266 at an ave of 85.67) and finished second in the 16B’s batting award for the ECA competition. He played a starring role in the 16As T20 Grand Final scoring 34 and with Tom Ferguson (39no) helped get the team to an unbeatable score of 4/113 off 20. He played for the 2nds and 3rds in the Seniors all season performing well for both teams.

Great season Josh.

The Andrew Francis Memorial Award Best first year junior player seniors: Ned McMillan.

Last season the Club introduced the Andrew Francis Memorial Award which is named after a great Boroondara Clubman who held long standing positions on the Committee and as Junior Manager and played in the LOC 4 team (or as Andrew called it the “One Day Firsts”) with his son Murray Francis. Sadly Andrew passed away last year after a short illness. Andrew’s funeral was packed and we heard and saw how  the Boroondara Cricket Club was an important part of Andrew’s many wonderful and remarkable life interests. He will be long remembered and held dear at the Cobras. Vale Andrew.

Under coach and father Rob Macmillan, the diminutive Ned Macmillan is the inaugural winner of the Andrew Francis Memorial Award.

Ned had a great season playing in the 14As premiership team and making his way in the 5th XI (LOC 4) with his dad and brother, Angus, playing alongside him. He piled on 110 runs at an average of 55 in the 14As saving his best innings to round 9 when he scored 42no in the total of 5/200 in the win against Kew. His leggies were his forte snagging 14 wickets in the 14As (ave. 8.07).

His bowling was terrific in the 5th XI where he finished third on the bowling tally with 9 wickets (ave 22.78) and a best performance of 3/22 in one game. Ned is a ripper fieldsman also; he took the highest number of catches across the entire Club with 13 catches and 2 run out assists.

Well done Ned.

The Michael Bingley Award Junior Boys Club Champion: Charlie Grummitt

The Junior Boys Club Champion award continues to recognise high quality players with the award this season being awarded to Charlie “Ice Man” Grummitt. Following on from his predecessor of last season, he topped the aggregate across the entire Club (seniors and juniors) scoring 583 at 72.88.

In the 14As, Charlie captained the team with an old player’s head on young shoulders. He batted in the top 4 and scored 361 runs at 120.33. He was inspirational in the finals leading the team with a great 58 in the semi final and 35 in the grand final. He took 9 catches and a stumping behind the stumps in the 14As. He also played with the LOC 4 team on 3 occasions (having a break from basketball commitments) and scored 122 runs (with 2x50s no). He represented the Emus in the Youth Premier League with a stand out innings (68no) versus the Knights.

Great season Ice Man.

Despite the social distancing restrictions now in place, we have great hopes that cricket will be played starting in October 2020 – as a society and as a Club, we need it!

So keep practicing in ISO and keep your eyes on the web page or the Cobras social media pages for more information.

Go Cobras!