With a full day of washouts on Saturday, no play was had in any grade. Next week will be a 120 over day for all teams with some teams across Sydney getting on. However our 1st grade did get on the field on Sunday against Mosman. Report from Jack Ritchie.
1st Grade – Manly 141 (L Edgell 38, N McLachlan25, M Pugh 22) lost to Mosman 7/144 (J Ritchie 3/45)
First grade suffered a very disappointing loss against Mosman yesterday. After being sent in on a very wet track, the top order failed to fire. Luke Edgell showed some resistance scoring an excellent 38, while debutant Mitch Pugh showed his class in scoring a very assured 22. Our tail wagged with Nick McLachlan scoring a valuable 25 whilst being supported by Mickey Edwards.
We ended up with 141, which we thought would be enough if we bowled well and took our chances. Unfortunately we failed to do the latter. A total of 6 dropped catches cruelled our chances. We also suffered some bad luck with two of our strike bowlers (O’Keefe andMartin) being forced from the field with injury. Despite this, we were still in the game with Mosman at 6-100, however a lower order partnership was enough to see the home side through. The wickets were shared amongst McLachlan, Edgell, Martin, Beadle and Ritchie.
We obviously finished the 50-over season outside the top 8 and thus will not be playing finals. This is extremely disappointing as on our day we would’ve given any side a run for its money. With the end of the season fast approaching, there are some real opportunities for players to make a first grade spot their own. Our depth is certainly being tested, however opportunities are being presented to all players to prove themselves on the first grade stage. In terms of being able to work one’s way up the grades quickly, this is a great time to be playing for Manly, and with hard work and application at both training and during the matches, hopefully a few players will make the most of these chances in the next 6 weeks.
