Goannas thwarted
The Gippsland Goannas over 60s cricket team travelled to Geelong to play the strong Geelong team on Sunday.
The game was played at Queen's Park in Highton on a very picturesque oval, on a day when the weather was ideal. It was clear and sunny with a light breeze and thus not too warm.
The ground was in perfect condition and the wicket played truly as the Geelong team won the toss and batted.
Bernie Symons and Peter Anton opened the attack for the Goannas, with Symons dismissing the national over 60s team captain, Chris Carr, for a golden duck. He followed this up by bowling Victorian first XI player Jeff Cole for 11, and the score was 2/25 after five overs.
Neil Meredith came on to bowl the sixth over, and was joined by acting captain Murray Moore for the ninth.
Meredith broke through in his fifth over, with wicket keeper Chris De Vent making a stumping. His final figures 1/23 from eight overs.
The Geelong batsmen were, however, able to keep the scoring rate at about five per over. Andrew Smith then come on and his three overs before drinks yielded two wickets, but the Geelong score was 5/102 at drinks.
Moore, Smith, Ray Floyd and Mark Brown all bowled after drinks, unsuccessfully, as the opening pair came back on for the final few overs.
Anton did bowl a wicket maiden as the Geelong score reached 6/196 at the end of their 40 overs.
Symons ended up with 2/31. Anton (1/34) and Smith with (2/33) were the other wicket takers. Not one catch was taken by the Goannas fielders.
After the lunch break Rob Taylor and Ray Floyd started the Goannas innings, but both were out before the seventh over, making 14 and nine respectively.
Col Carmody and Mark Brown batted next and both retired for 13 runs after facing 25 balls. De Vent and Anton came and went briefly and the Goannas score was 4/60 at drinks.
Moore and Meredith batted for six overs and the score was 6/78 after 28 overs. Symons (13) Jim Armstrong (26), and Andrew Smith (15) all retired, putting on 40 runs between them, as the earlier retired batsmen began to recycle.
Carmody was out for 16, Brown not out 23, Symons not out 13 as the innings concluded at seven down for 134, with the Goannas falling 62 short of Geelong's imposing total.
Ian Southall and Kevin Lanigan will be playing with the national over 70s team at Caulfield today, in the third test against the visiting Englishmen, with the winners to claim the "silver Ashes." This comes as the series is tied 1-1 after the first two games in Brisbane and Sydney.
There are two more games in the season for each of the Goannas teams, with the over 60s games, both at home, on the next two Sundays, and the over 70s on the following Tuesdays.