Welcome to another week’s addition of Tah Talk with Jay Lenton. This edition Jay gives an insight into the Dubbo trip ahead for our M1s, the historic achievement midweek from Jackson Bird, and the exciting lower grade T20s .
Thanks again to Underground Cricket for partnering with this article each and every week. Great to have Damon, Jason and the team on-board. For all your cricket equipment needs visit them at www.undergroundcricket.com
WEST IS BEST
A Manly home game in Dubbo?
Yep, you heard that right.
This weekend the Tahs’ first grade side will be 400kms from Manly Oval for two matches against Sydney rivals Western Suburbs and Sydney Uni.
It’s a continuation of our push into the bush following the success of last year’s venture to Orange, where we went down in a thriller against Wests.
On Friday we’ll be the “away” team when we meet Wests under lights in a 50-over encounter at Dubbo’s magnificent Victoria Park.
The next day we’re the “home” side when we take on Uni in another one-dayer.
On Sunday, the Students round off a great weekend of cricket with a clash against North Sydney.
This regional carnival aims to bring high-quality cricket to local communities, fostering a connection between the country and the Premier Cricket competition.
It also highlights the significant contributions of country players to Premier Cricket, in inspiring the next generation of players in regional areas.
It’s great to be heading back to the country and a wonderful opportunity for us to unearth the next generation of first grade talent due to so many players missing, either unavailable for selection and/or on BBL duties.
It’s also a rare opportunity to play club cricket under lights.
And, in another potential highlight, we hope to celebrate opener Ahillen Beadle’s 10,000th career run.
AB, who’s been in great touch this year, currently sits on an astonishing 9990 runs.
I’m sure it will be a weekend to remember.
BIRD FLIES HIGH
Earlier this week, I was asked what sort of bloke Jackson Bird is.
Well, I’ll give you one small example that sums him up perfectly.
The day after helping NSW beat WA in a pulsating Sheffield Shield clash at the SCG – in which he secured his 500th first class wicket – Birdy was at Manly training helping our young fast bowlers.
That says it all.
At 38, no one could have blamed him for putting the feet up and spending some time at home.
But Birdy has always been a club-first/team-first type bloke and was more than happy to come down and put the bowlers through their paces on Tuesday night.
As for his 500 wickets….wow, what an achievement.
At whatever level he’s played – grade, first class, Test – Birdy has been a consistent wicket-taker for any number of teams.
He represented Australia in nine Tests and would have played even more if not for the likes of Mr Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood.
Talk to any batsman around the country and they will tell you his right-arm fast-mediums are just relentless in terms of line, length and subtle movement.
At an age when most quicks are enjoying the early years of retirement, the Wakehurst junior sits equal top of the Sheffield Shield wicket-takers’ list with 22 scalps.
We are so fortunate to have a bowler – and bloke – of his quality at Manly.
Well done, Birdy.
I reckon you’ve got at least another hundred wickets in you!
LOWER GRADES FLEX T20 MUSCLE
There’s not been a lot of opportunity to play T20 cricket in the lower grades since the shortest form of the game was introduced a couple of decades ago.
But that’s about to change.
Over the next two Saturdays, all four lower grades will play T20 fixtures for the first time.
Competition points will be up for grabs, so while the format may change, the intensity won’t.
I think it’s great idea for every player in the grade system to be exposed to T20 cricket because it’s such a massive part of our game.
It’s important all players are given a taste as we’re going to see more T20 fixtures added to the schedule in the future.
While the basics of cricket remain, the T20 skill set is different to the other formats of the game and tests you in different ways.
I will be interested to see how our lower grade teams adapt.
