The weather again took its toll on Gippsland Goannas matches last weekend, with the over 50 game at Sale and over 70 game at Traralgon West both abandoned.
The latter may be played a little later in the season, while the next over 50 game is scheduled to be a home clash against the Rupertswood Ranges’ (formerly Sunbury/Macedon Ranges), on Sunday, November 23.
The over 60s are next scheduled to play the Yarra Valley team, again in a home game fixture on the same day.
The over 70s team travels to Essendon this coming Sunday to play the Essendon veterans.
In last week’s action, the Goannas travelled to Geelong for a double header on Sunday against the Geelong Veterans.
The matches were played at the Leopold Cricket Club grounds, where the over 60 team played on the turf and the over 70s played on the adjacent ground, which had a synthetic pitch.
The new clubrooms were roundly praised by all in attendance.
In the over 60s game Geelong won the toss and batted first, amassing 230 runs for the loss of five wickets from its 40 overs.
The best of the Goannas bowlers were Adrian Quirk (1/11), Bernie Symons (1/24), Ray Smith (1/25) and guest player Mark Ross (from Ballarat) with 1/27.
Catches were taken by Smith and Ross, who also had a runout.
In reply the Goannas could only reach 5/136, with Smith the standout with 33 retired, while Graeme Ingle (11), Chris DeVent (22 retired), Symons (20 retired) and Peter Anton (14 retired) all impressed.
On the synthetic the Geelong over 70s also won the toss and batted first, reaching 186 from their 40 overs.
Among the wickets for the Goannas were Gordon Cowling (1/21), Chris Bowen (2/25), Derek Morris (1/14), Bob Duljas (1/12) and Phil Higgins (1/18).
There was a small hiccup during the lunch break as one of the Geelong players had a heart attack, but Ambulance Victoria arrived promptly and transported him to hospital where he had had a stent implanted before the game ended.
In an impressive performance, the Goannas cruised to victory in the 30th over, led by Neil Meredith (40), Murray Moore (30 retired), Ian Southall (13), Duljas (23 retired), Ian Gibson (16), Bowen (32 retired) and Higgins who remained 19 not out.
After the match, the Geelong captain made a special mention of the Goannas’ ground fielding, especially the work of Heather Farley and Deidre Hunter who fielded for the entire innings.
Wicketkeeper Gibson had a catch and a clever stumping, while Chris Bowen was awarded the player of the match for the Goannas.
Meanwhile, most of the National Championships are taking place in November.
The over 60s are currently playing in the Illawarra region, with Rob Taylor the only Goanna taking part. He is in the Victoria Blue team and made 33 not out from 68 balls in the first game.
The over 65s championship is taking place in Christchurch, New Zealand, from November 22, with Rino Metlikovec, Symons and Anton taking part.
The over 50 nationals will be held in Brisbane from November 22, with Anthony Bloomfield in the division one team, Craig O’Brien in division two side and Chris Anders selected in division three.
The over 55 nationals will be held in the Bunbury/Busselton area of Western Australia from November 23, with Brenton Howe and Graeme Rankin selected in the division one side, Stephen Rogers and Gary Sauvarin will play in division two, with John Daddo, Ken Hutchison and Steve Webley in the division three.
The first national championships at the over 75 level will take place from November 23 in the Albury area.
Cowling has been selected for the division one team, while Phil Higgins and Fred Debono will represent Victoria in over 80 matches.
