Australasian Champs 2013 Report
Congratulations to Tradies You Can't Trust, who took out the 2013 Australasian Championships held atRunaway Bay Cricket Club on the Gold Coast, Australia in November! The Tradies now receive $8000 to help fund their trip to the next LMS World Championships in April 2015 (Venue TBC but most likely Barbados)!
The Australasian Championships ran from Saturday 16th November until Wednesday 20th November 2013. 19 teams flew in to take part in the tournament, which was held at the fantastic venue of Runaway Bay Cricket Club, on the Gold Coast of Queensland. Runaway Bay Cricket Club is one of the premier clubs on the Gold Coasts with great facilities, including six pitches, four synthetic training nets, a childrens playground, and full catering and bar facilities. Check out this link for an ICC Cricket 360 piece about the great facilities at the host venue! With the first Ashes test commencing the following day in Brisbane it was the perfect time of year to travel to sunny Queensland!
POOL STAGES
The early stages of the tournament took place on the Sunday and Monday, with Woodies from Brisbane showing good early form with solid wins over Sydney Champions, Team of RAD, and Toowoomba champions Test Eagles. Brodie Kenyon gave an early warning to the other teams with a fifty in the Australian Champions, 2nd XI, victory over Sydney's Batting for the Draw. Gold Coast champions, Broady Barstools, also justified their high seeding with wins in both of their pool matches, as they knocked off Tap That (Brisbane) and the Colts (Sydney). A fine all round performance from S.Melberz helped them on their way.
Daniel Mays was a hero for local side, Here for the Bar, as he followed up a fifty with three wickets in a convincing first win. However, the 2011 Champions Tradies you can't Trust were thankful to their star all rounder, Lydon Gibbons (see pic below), who gave signal of his intentions with 5 wickets and 90 runs on the opening day in a couple of comprehensive wins over Melbourne's Old Two Blues & Old Arrack from Sydney. Wombats (Sydney) also showcased their talents with comfortable wins over Gold Coast's Team Sicame, and Ipswich's Crease Monkeys. Brad McGrath (see pic below) was also unbelievable with both the bat and ball as he belted six 6s in six balls for the Wombats, to follow up a four wicket haul!
Josh Cook was impressive with the ball as Sydney's Third Man started the tournament off well with victory over Brisbane's The Moth Rises, before the Brisbane side went down in emphatic fashion to the hosts, and one of the favourites, Runaway Bay Cricket Club, as Travis Harker justified his lofty world ranking with great figures of 4 for 13 with the ball.
On the Monday morning, Here for the Bar then pushed champions 2nd XI all the way in a tight final pool match, before falling short by 3 runs, while Crease Monkeys secured their passage through with a solid win over Team Sicame. Colts edged out Tap That to move to the second round, while Team of RAD made their intentions clear with a resounding win over Test Eagles. 1 on the Throw secured second spot in their pool despite losing to the Tradies, while Third Man also went through despite a low scoring loss to the hosts Runaway Bay. Brodie Kenyon, Travis Harker & Daniel Mays continued their fine form on the Monday, while Jordan Renau, Jason Murray, Tom Boer, Angus Dallas and Daniel Lockhart all put in sterling performances for their sides. However, there was certainly only one player of the day as young Ben Gorham, from Sydney's Team of RAD, not only hit a home run but then followed it up with a double hattrick in stunning figures of 6-15 - well played Benny (see pic below)!
KNOCKOUTÂ STAGES
The top four finishing sides (2nd XI, Tradies you can't trust, Wombats, Broady Barstools) then progressed to the quarter finals, while the remaining eight pool winners and runners up played off in second round matches. Runaway Bay made hard work of a win over Crease Monkeys, as Keith Vogel threatened to derail their challenge with his second 50 of the tournament, while a four-wicket haul from Jonathan Hurst helped Team of RADÂ to see off the threat of Here for the Bar. Three wickets from James Lloyd helped to bundle out 1 on the Throw for 78, and Sydney's Colts chased down their target without loss, before Lachlan O'Connor's unbeaten 44 helped Third Man to win a low scoring contest against Woodies.
The quarter finals threw up some mouth-watering clashes, and the first one did not disappoint as Sydney's Third Man produced the first major upset of their tournament as 3 wickets from Lachlan O'Connor destroyed the Broady Barstools batting on the main field, before his side chased down the total with the loss of only three wickets. Tradies you can't trust won a classic match against Team of RAD, despite late heroics from Angus Dallas with the bat for the Sydney team. All of the Wombats bowling line up produced with the ball as the hosts Runaway Bay were bundled out for 76 on the main field, and the Sydney team managed to chase the runs down despite the best bowling efforts of Trav Harker and Geoffrey Griffin. Finally Tom Downey's 18 runs (including a home run) off the last two balls of Colts' game against the 2nd XI was not enough as David Roberts &Â Brodie Kenyon kept up their great batting form to chase down their target for the loss of only two wickets. Meanwhile, Old Arrack and Tap That progressed through the plate competition with wins over Test Eagles and Tap That.
AUSTRALASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALSÂ DAY
So, after a great three days of Twenty20 cricket, there were only four sides left in the 2013 Australasian Championships. The surprise package was Sydney's Third Man, who had been in great bowling form throughout the tournament, while the other three were arguably three of the favourites - Tradies you can't trust (2011 Australian Champions), The 2nd XI (2012 Australian Champions) and the Wombats (who had destroyed all before them in the preceding matches).
Firstly, the latter stages of the plate took place - Old Arrack met their match in going down to a Ben Solomon inspired Team Sicame outfit, before Team Sicame followed that up with a great display to win the plate final against Melbourne's Old Two Blues CC. Scott Morris and Ben Solomon once again laid the foundations for a superb Sicame victory with a solid opening partnership. Well played Team Sicame!!
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Then the two semi finals took place. The 2nd XI produced their best form as they finally put a halt to Third Man's inspired run, first belting 228 as Brodie Kenyon again impressed with yet another quick 50, before Dave Bryan was the hero with the ball as Third Man could only reach 133 off their 20 overs in reply. The second semi final was also fairly one-sided as Lydon Gibbons smashed a 19-ball 53 before taking 3 wickets to see off the challenge of the Wombats, despite 65 from the opener Glen Arnold. So, the two favourites (and two previous Australian Champions) had reached the final, which in the words of LMS Legend (&Â 2nd XIÂ skipper), Marty Henderson, was 'a dream final for the organisers'!
The Eliminator Over tournament (worth $800 and won by Wombats) helped a good crowd to gather for the 2013 Australasian Final and Tradies went into bat first against the 2nd XI. Kane Austin (45) helped the Gold Coast side get off to a solid start, before Lydon Gibbons came in at no4 and played some outrageous shots on a wearing turf wicket to belt a game-changing 52 from 25 balls. Daniel Sykes was the pick of the 2nd XI bowlers with 1-19 from his 4 overs. However, a total of 168 looked to be a huge one on a ground that par scores had been about 120. However, David Roberts (69) stepped up to the plate for the Ipswich side to help his team remain in the running. But tight bowling (particularly from Andrew McGlinchey and Man-of-Match Kane Austin) restricted the 2nd XI and regular wickets fell. In the end the final wicket fell in the last over, with 48 runs still needed for victory, to start jubilant celebrations amongst the Tradies team and their supporters!
There were many outstanding performers throughout the tournament, but two players stood head and shoulders above the rest. Fortunately both players were both involved in the final as well, a testament to their efforts. Well played to Lydon Gibbons (bowler of tournament with 12 wickets and a close contendor for batsman of the tournament with 222 runs) and Brodie Kenyon (batsman of the tournament with 225 runs) - both of whom won LMS-branded pads and gloves for their efforts. Well played to the Tradies you can't Trust - we look forward to seeing you guys become the first Aussie team to win the World Champs in 2015!!
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