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- Season 2010/11:
A Grade - Grand Finalist - lost by 6 wickets B Grade - PREMIERS 2010-11 C Grade - Semi Finalist Under 16's - PREMIERS 2010-11 Under 14's - Semi Finalist. Congratulations to the whole Club making Finals in ALL Grades!
Congratulations CLUB CHAMPION - 2010-2011 DWAYNE BIRCH All the 2010/11 Winners are here 
Birchy in action with the bat in the Semi Final v RSL
CONGRATULATIONS B GRADE - PREMIERS 2010-11 20/3/11 The health of the Club was proven on Saturday when Kain Domaille led his B Grade outfit to a Premiership. Kains' side has threatened in the last couple of seasons with regular finals appearances, but have shown that this years balance provided the winning formula. The heart stopper in the Semi showed the side has mettle and this was borne out in a well rounded team display at Nyah on Saturday. Billy Fallon has been the pick of the bowlers in B Grade this season and he went into the Final having won the B Grade League bowling averages. His bowling requires respect from opposition bats and you can be assured that if he doesn't get a 'bag' he will at least restrict scoring opportunities. 8 overs 3 maidens 1/18 in the Final is testament to that. Add an enthusiastic and experienced opening bowling partner in Trav Perry and the side has a handy opening attack of right and left arm seam. Pezza finished with 1/19 from his eight to show his value is also with the ball in his hand.
Pezza keeps it tight
Adam Hunter has slotted in well to B Grade over the last couple of seasons and his eight over return of 1/17 shows the side has bowling depth. The main stays of the B's bowling attack over the last few years have been Kain and Ray Power. Despite a year or so in the A's for these two guys in the last 5 years, these two have proven wicket taking ability in B Grade and so it showed again in the final. Kains' 2/11 from eight is an excellent return from the offie and Rays' seamers come on quicker than most batsmen think. Rays' 2/28 from six rounded out an excellent team bowling display.  Nothing intimidates an opposition more than being bundled out for 106, let alone when there have been 5 different wicket takers. 
Another one bites the dust
One Hundred and Six doesn't sound like a worrying target, but finals are more about pressure and momentum, than chasing huge targets. So partnerships were still required to add the first B Grade Premiership since 2003/04. Kain (12) dominated his opening stand of 14 with Sean White. Whitey(10) and Snowy (9) added 24 and at 2/38 the side was a third of the way home. RSL were bowling reasonably tight and focus was required. Adam (5) put on 16 with number 4 Ray, before Ray was joined by Jarrod "Yapper' Halligan. Ray and Yapper combined for the match winning partnership of 45, with Yapper going 4 runs before the victory target. Yappers' on field joking adds a lot to team morale, but he has proven over the last couple of years that he loves a fight at the crease. He showed that in the Losing A Grade one day final and that fight was more than evident in his 32 runs here. Let's hope he puts in a full year next year, as he appears to be the young fighter the A's would welcome to their middle order.The 2004/05 A Grade Final finished with Ray and Greg Daniels (1no) at the wicket and in a repeat performance they were at the wicket to pass the total here to complete a 5 wicket win in the 34th over.  Ray Power richly deserved his Man of the Match honours with 2/28 and 22 not out in the low scoring encounter. The award compliments Rays League wins in the B Grade Batting averages and Best & Fairest.
As I said at the start, the health of the Club has shone out this year with all Grades playing in Finals with A, B & Under 16's all making Grand Finals, on the back of two consecutive C Grade premierships in 2008/09 and 2009/10. There is a wealth of Premiership experience around the Club through all age groups and if this is combined with disciplined team rules of partnerships and backing up teammates, then the next few years should not only be productive, but a huge attraction to the valuable recruits any club needs to continue to grow and achieve high standards. 
Congratulations B Grade - well deserved team effort!
A GRADE LOSES FINAL BY 6 WICKETS "I'm really proud of you boys, we've come a long way" 20/3/11 Those were the words of A Grade Captain, Dwayne Birch, after the Grand Final concluded this afternoon. How true! Birchy was expecting to start his second season at the Club as Vice Captain to Craig Fletcher, however a serious back injury to Fletch just before the season started required the Club to look for an able replacement. I can assure you, Birchy proved far more than just a replacement. His relationship with Training Coach Jim King, showed they were both on the same page with their desire to not only promote young blokes, but to concentrate heavily on those young blokes who want to be A Graders. There's a huge difference between playing A Grade and becoming an A Grade player and the main asset is mental approach. Birchys' focus at the top of the order and with the ball in hand was highlighted when he won the SHDCA A Grade Best & Fairest award this season. That's a handy role model for the young guys as to the level required to succeed in A Grade. So the Final. Woorinen won the toss and decided to take the field, as they prefer to chase. Birchy & Freeza took block with the aim of providing a solid platform for batting through the 80 overs.  The openers put on 28 with Birchy going after waving at a short of a length ball, for 18.
 Freeza (12) displayed his usual supportive opener role, with the addition of some wonderful on drives. After a 17 run partnership with Jed, he went with the score on 45.
 Jed got off the mark in his eighth Grand Final innings for the Club, with a push to forward square. Despite his initial resolve and customary cracking shots he was the third down with the score only on 57.
His wicket signalled a collapse of 4/9 which swung the momentum to a Woorinen side chasing their 3rd straight Premiership. Jordy White (4) was caught short by a direct hit, Corey Daniels (5) became the 3rd catch behind the wicket and John Noone (2) the 4th.  At 6/66 a partnership was vital, if for no other reason, than to have something to bowl at. Kingy and Matt Edwards (04/05 Premiership players) came together to effect a rescue. Kingy found himself in the same situation in the 04/05 Grand Final, so experience dictated that consolidation and use of overs would bring runs.
 Kingy and Matt (14) put on 31, before Matt was caught, bringing the cool headed Codie Price to join Kingy. Codie and Jim (33) added 21 before Jim became the 3rd of Tanner Groats 5 wickets. Codie went for a patient 10, ensuring the score progressed from 97 when he went in to 125, when he was caught behind. Last pair, Todd Day (8) and Matt Heffer (1no) saw the score through to 134, meaning that the last four wickets realised 68 to double the score and give a target to bowl at. In real tight finals cricket those 134 runs came from 73 overs, showing the discipline to bat through as many overs as possible to milk as many runs as possible.
Codie & Jim had a combined 7 overs at Woorinens top order at the end of the first day and created 2 or 3 chances with Codie getting the vital breakthrough.  Codie into the gloves
Kingy was a vital cog in breakthroughs and although he did provide them, the well drilled Woorinen outfit was anchored by Morpeths' 63 before Birchy pushed one through him. Unfortunately there were only a hand full of runs to go and the writing was on the wall. 
Focus is important in the field and that waned as Woorinen moved on from 3/80, with mis-fields and lack of urgency chasing in the field, but on the whole the side has shown a vast improvement by not only competing in this Final, but also making the One Day Final. This type of experience is invaluable in the Clubs' development and if the lessons learnt from their opponents sinks in, it's to be hoped a huge pre-season will bring the A's a result in next years decider. Determination like Todd throwing himself at half chances with only a couple of runs left, is the mettle needed to win premierships.
You can certainly see why Birchy is proud of the advancement of this squad and while it's true the same side will not contest a Final again, if the lessons of Jim & Birchy bear fruit those that want to make a difference next year will be pushing them. 
Our Clubrooms and two ovals are at the back of KEN HARRISON RESERVE Swan Hill, Vic
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