Seniors Cricket Australia National Championships - Perth (part 2)

Tuesday 7 November was a rest day from cricket but on Wednesday morning we were back on the mini-bus heading to the Des Penman ground at Nollamara.

On this occasion we were scheduled to play Queensland which we knew was a very strong side. Before the game the Victoria 2 team photo was finally taken.

Several of the original players in our team had transferred to the Victoria 1 team to replace their injured players.

Victoria 2 batted first but could make only 112 runs which Queensland passed at 4 for 113. During the game we connected again with Jill and Phil Drescher as well as Colin Cooke and Kevin Meikle who toured England with the Australian team last year.

During the game I went for a walk around the local shopping centre which had many African shops. There also appeared to be a number of older people who had probably lived in the area for many years. There was a wide range of food shops, especially those selling kebabs. Next to the IGA is a bakery which from the signs outside appears to be Lebanese. This had been recommended as a good place to find lunch and when I went in part of the shop was full of buns, delicious cakes, cooked pies and pasties and fresh salad rolls. A small sign indicated that the bakery was now a Vietnamese bakery and their products were excellent.

The weather up until the last day of the competition had been fine though the breeze made it seem cooler than it probably was. However rain was forecast for Thursday afternoon - a repeat of Finals Day in Hobart last year. We travelled to Gwynne Park in Armadale where four matches were to played. As a Division 1 team the cricketers were not impressed with having to play on a synthetic pitch.

This match was against Tasmania. Tasmania batted first and made 4 for 179 in the 45 overs. Shortly after lunch the rains came resulting in a drawn match.

With all the games at Gwynne Park called off we headed back to Perth. Victoria 1 was playing Queensland in the final and Plan A was to go to that ground to give the Victorian team some encouragement. However the heavy traffic (for Perth) delayed us. We did keep up with the progress of the match via a ball to ball description of the final overs provided by Rex on his phone. Queensland batted first and made 7 for 216 in their 45 overs. When the rain came the target was reduced to 186 runs required. It proved to be an exciting game making 9 for 187 in their allotted 37 overs. Wayne Stokes steered Victoria1 home with 31 not out off 30 balls, including a last wicket partnership with Trevor Saker 26.

Victorious Victoria 1 team - Champions [Image from VOSCA Facebook page]

In the evening we all went to the Championship Dinner at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. The guest speaker for the evening was Brad Hogg who entertained the audience of more than 600 with tales of his cricketing exploits.

Next year the 70s championships will be held in Adelaide at the beginning of November while the Over 60s championships will be held in Canberra two weeks later.