Quote of the week:- Cricket is the only sport in the world where you are absolutely horrible at something and you still need to go out and do it. (Unknown Indian cricketer)
For the second week in a row the First Grade’s match against the Snakes at Caboolture had to be abandoned due to the state of their ground.
This was very disappointing due to the fact that each of the other six first grade teams were able to play their matches on the other grounds around the coast and three obtained maximum points. The other concern is that the team has played only one day of cricket since December 18 and the finals start in a month. Next Saturday the team is at home and take on Nambour who have been improving in the latter part of the season.
SECOND GRADE
Playing Maroochydore Swans at Read Park, the Thunder team was sent in to bat. The Swans bowled good areas early and the home team was 1 for 19 at the 10th over. They continued to bowl tightly to have Thunder at 1 -29 after 20 overs. Josh Peters and Jason Toohey tried to increase the scoring pace but that resulted in Toohey being run out. Thunder fell to be 3-38 at the 24 over mark and another couple of wickets brought Nigel Webster to the crease in the 30th over. He then batted with captain Peters and after pulling a hamstring, he managed to get us to a total of 5-133, Peters finishing on 60no and Webster 26no.
Thunder started bowling tightly and Tom Menzies took the first wicket in the sixth over. Ben Giddy struck the next over, leaving Maroochydore 2-16 after the seventh. Thunder continued to tighten the screws and slowed down their run rate. With a screamer to Nigel Webster at first slip, they fell to be 5-63 at the halfway mark. However, their middle-order batters knuckled down and took them to 6-92 at the 30 over mark. The last 10 overs were very tight and as the pressure built and a couple of missed chances, the Swans passed the runs in the last over with three balls to spare. Plenty of positives again for the Thunder team, but for second week in a row there were not enough runs on the board.
Next Saturday, the team takes on the Lighthouses at Caloundra and this is a must-win game if the team is to figure in the finals in early March.
FOURTH GRADE
The Fourths took on Wamuran again at Dale Officer Oval. Winning the toss and bowling, the Thunder had Wamuran 2-19 early with a good spell from Luke Anstey. A bit of hitting saw runs come quickly until Richard Lee came on and picked up three excellent stumpings in this spell. A wicket each to Harper Lee and Mike Thomson saw them finish at 166 off a shortened 34 overs. Top bowlers for Thunder – Lee 3 for 18, Anstey 2 for 24 and Thomson 1 for 13.
Batting-wise, the Thunder players struggled against quality bowling and lost two early wickets. An almost run a ball 53-run partnership by Tony Watson (18) and Ben Shaw (32) showed that the team could score runs but a collapse of 5 for 11 saw any chance disappear, finishing on 7 for 97 at the 34th over.
Another disappointing loss against a very good team of cricketers. The captain said the Thunder boys will keep plugging away and try again next week against Caloundra.
SIXTH GRADE
After losing the toss against Palmwoods, Thunder bowled first and did not start all that well with Palmwoods taking 26 runs off the first five overs. Then five maiden overs in a row put the pressure back on their batters and Thunder picked up a wicket to have then 1-26 after 10 and then 2-61 with the match evenly balanced.
After some big hitting, they raced to 104 in the 25th over but were losing wickets and were eventually all out for 152 in the 36th over. Thunder’s fielding was excellent and the bowlers worked hard. Best bowling figures- Justin Latimer 2-39, Floyd 2-33, Brendan Chaplin 1-17 and Graham Chaplin 1-0.
Shane Gesell and Wayne Moore opened the batting and got the team off to a good start, pushing the ball around the field and frustrating their bowlers and crowd. Thunder was 0-36 off five, and that continued to 0-66 off 10 and put the team on track to achieve the target.
The solid start continued with the 100 run opening partnership coming up in the 17th over. Moore finally fell in the 19th over for a well-made and patient 21. At 2-107, Thunder was looking good and although Gesell fell shortly after drinks for 60, the result was never in doubt with Brendan Chaplin, 9 no and Kent Officer, 24 no easily passing the winning score in the 28th over.
Good comeback win for sixth grade, and hopefully they can carry this sort of effort through to the finals. Next week the boys will play Wamuran-Stanley Rivers at Dale Officer Oval.
JUNIOR MATCHES
Under 17. The Thunder team, 5 for 127 defeated Nambour, 9 for 110. Top bowlers for Thunder, B. Henderson 2-12 and Tom Daly 2-19. Top scorers were Harry Caspers 21no and Tom Daly 21.
Under 15. The team had a great experience playing Maroochydore under lights at Read Park last Friday night. Unfortunately, they went down 97 to 123 but will rebound next Saturday. Best scorers for Thunder were H. Wyatt 16 no and J. Holland 15. Farran Cooke, M. Avery and Rory Ramsden all took wickets.
Under 13. The Thunder team, 8 for 99 were able to defeat Cooroy-Eumundi 8 for 88 last Saturday. Their top scorer was M. Arnold 20 and best bowler was B. Boden 2-18.
