Sivanathan Masterclass leads Kissing Point to Victory

Posted on January 8, 2022 by thecricketlibrary

A classy half century from Steve Kent, three wickets from Chris Jameson and some valuable runs from the Riding Mill tail have been overshadowed by a remarkable unbeaten 80 from just 24 balls in one of the most destructive dice cricket innings you will ever see from Pras Sivanathan.

After winning the toss and batting it looked like a masterstroke when the Riding Mill openers to the score to 19 off the opening over from Alex Jameson. The game was quickly turned on its head however, with Chris Jameson creating chances as well as claiming three wickets in an over that had everything.

The over started innocuously with Dickson working the ball on the onside for two. Dickson then played down the wrong line and was on his way bowled for 9. Very next ball, Riding Mill skipper Liam James was struck on the pads with a huge shout for LBW turned down. Next ball was an almost identical delivery with the umpire this time unable to find a reason why not to send James on his way back to the virtual pavilion for 0. Aly Hall strode to the wicket and he too was unable to contend with the bowling of Chris Jameson who had it on a string. First ball Hall survived a shout for LBW after shouldering arms to a ball that nipped back from outside off. The next delivery was a straight one that found the edge of Hall’s bat and into the gloves of Kissing Point keeper Kath Aubourg seeing him too on his way for a duck.

Opener Steve Kent who made 48 the last time the two teams met watched the calamity unfolding from the non strikers end and would need to make a similar contribution this time around to ensure Riding Mill were to make a respectable total.

Steady wickets were flowing with Nate D’Silva removing Iain Longstaff out to a straightforward catch by Bri Aubourg. Kent remained the beacon of hope dispatching 22 off Jake D’Silva’s over before Joel Marks was stumped by Kath Aubourg off the bowling of Bri Aubourg for 3.

Simon Aubourg and Matt Wylie then followed this up with two wickets each, including the big wicket of Steve Kent who departed for a classy 50 from 16 balls out caught behind off the bowling of Wylie. Mick Collins was out caught and bowled by Simon Aubourg for 18 while Butcher was bowled for a duck by Wylie and Gez Greenwood bowled by Aubourg for 4.

Riding Mill had capitulated to be 9-96 after 7 overs with tail enders Tony Potts and Brian Watson left to add some respectability to the total which they did in style with Watson peeling off 20 from 10 before being trapped LBW by Pras Sivanathan on the penultimate ball of the innings. Tony Potts got off the mark with a 6 and went on to make a valuable 26 not out from just 9 balls.

With only 135 on the board, the Riding Mill bowlers would have to bring their A Game. Brian Watson who is normally very reliable with the new dice did appear to look tired after his valuable cameo with the bat. Unfortunately Watson missed his lengths and was taken for 22 off his over with Pras Sivanathan taking full toll of anything loose dispatching three sixes.

Tony Potts managed to get a breakthrough with his first delivery with Gez Greenwood effecting a clever stumping sending Rohan Sivanathan on his way for 1. Dave Aubourg joined Pras Sivanathan at the crease and was looking good before he was out to a sharp caught and bowled chance by Mick Collins.

Meanwhile Pras Sivanathan raced to 50 and was looking like a man on a mission. Kissing Point skipper who was coming off a century in A Grade was also looking good at the crease before he was stumped by Gez Greenwood after charging down the wicket trying to launch Iain Longstaff into the virtual nature reserve.

Kath Aubourg was able to launch a few into the virtual nature reserve hitting her first three balls for 6 before Longstaff had the last laugh when she skied one to Aly Hall who took a comfortable catch.

The star of the show was Pras Sivanathan ensuring the victory target was reached in rapid time finishing 80 not out off just 24 balls with Simon Aubourg making a valuable 13 not out at the other end.

Pras Sivanathan was named the official player of the match with Riding Mill needing to regroup before they head to virtual Victoria to take on the Pomborneit Bulls who will be making their dice cricket debut on Thursday morning Australian time.

Cricket Library Weekly – Christmas Edition – The Cricket Library

This week on the Cricket Library Weekly, Robbie Mackinlay and Matt Ellis wrap up the action from the Adelaide Test and cast their eye forward to Boxing Day. The lads take a look at the WNCL action between NSW and Victoria as well as the Queensland v Tasmania fixtures. Matt Fiction is back with the highly popular 'Fiction Files' sharing his thoughts on the Ashes from an English perspective. Please remember to subscribe to the Cricket Library Podcast on your favourite podcast provider and leave a review to help us to continue to start conversations that inspire a love of cricket.

Kissing Point Next Challenge For Riding Mill

Posted on January 7, 2022 by thecricketlibrary

Riding Mill are licking their wounds after being mauled by the Bulldogs in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday night and they are hoping to bounce back when they head to virtual Auluba Oval in Sydney for their clash with Kissing Point Cricket Club.

Kissing Point have a real family flavour with it appearing this game may be an opportunity for family dice cricket bragging rights as well as a chance to further halt the momentum of Riding Mill who got their tour of Australia off to a flyer before falling short in Wagga.

Riding Mill have continued their rotation policy with Brian Watson’s blood pressure returning to stable levels after being left with the nerve wrecking task of hitting the winning runs against Dubbo CYMS. Scott Dickson also returns to the top of the order with Jonny Bennett and Ali Raza the two players being rested.

The last time the two teams met, Kissing Point piled on the runs and were just too strong for the visitors. Riding Mill will have gathered plenty of intel from that performance and will no doubt have plans in place to ensure they are better prepared this time around.

Game time will return to 9pm UK time on Saturday which will be an 8am start for the Kissing Point lads in Sydney on Sunday morning. It also will provide a perfect precursor to Day 5 of the Sydney Test Match.

Tune in to the official Cricket Library Twitter feed to follow all of the action.

Cricket Library Weekly – Christmas Edition – The Cricket Library

Sandhu Snares Thunder’s First BBL Hat Trick

Posted on January 7, 2022 by thecricketlibrary

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Gurinder Sandhu has continued his reputation as the hat trick king becoming the first man to take a hat trick for the Sydney Thunder in the KFC Big Bash League.

Making the feat more remarkable, the achievement was not immediately aware of his achievement suggesting to broadcasters that he may have bowled a different delivery had he known the situation.

Another interesting feature of the hat trick is that none of the batters were dismissed for 0 as part of the hat trick.

It helped the Thunder continue on their winning ways and they remain the only team to dismiss.

Gurinder Sandhu didn't know he had a hat-trick 😂

He is the only @ThunderBBL player to get a hat-trick #BBL11 pic.twitter.com/X2Lz1otjrq
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 6, 2022

Bovey Blasts Bulldogs Home

Posted on January 6, 2022 by thecricketlibrary

An inspired 46 from just 13 balls from Rikki Bovey has blasted the Bulldogs to victory in their dice cricket fixture against Riding Mill.

Riding Mill who were coming off two straight wins to star their virtual tour of Australia suffered were buoyant about their chances leading into the fixture with the Bulldogs.

After winning the toss and batting first, the visitors were in massive trouble soon after Jonny Bennett hit the opening ball of the match to the boundary. Rod Guy got the next delivery spot on finding the edge of Bennett’s bat with Will Morley taking a neat catch behind the stumps. On the final ball of the over Steve Kent, who had been moved up the order in the absence of Scott Dickson, also fell at the hands of Guy who decked one back into the top of off stump leaving the visitors reeling at 2-9.

Although the runs began to flow batters were coming and going with Raza knocked over by Wills for 8 off three and Aly Hall edging one to Morley off the bowling of Mann for 16 off 6. Soon after, Tim Cameron found the edge of Longstaff’s bat seeing him on his way back to the virtual pavilion after he had got off the mark with a towering six.

Bulldogs skipper bowled a very tidy over to put the breaks on the scoring with Joel Marks surviving a huge shout for LBW with the umpire believing Perry’s leg break was spinning too much for him to be able to adjudge him LBW.

Charlie Cull picked up the big wicket of Riding Mill skipper Liam James for 27 off 11 with Will Morley continuing his day out with the gloves taking a sharp catch down the legside. Mick Collins wasted no time getting going with a couple of sixes in his first three deliveries at the crease.

With Riding Mill at 6-93 after 6 overs, their run rate was tracking ok but wickets in hand was a concern. This was accentuated in the following over, Jack Carey claiming two wickets in the 7th over taking a sharp return catch to dismiss Marks for 14 off 7. This was followed by Carey getting hit for four and six by Mark Butcher but having the last laugh on the next delivery when Butcher was adjudged LBW for 10 leaving Riding Mill 8-108 and desperate to bat out their overs.

Brad McMillan had a huge shout for LBW turned down on the first ball of his over but managed to come away with the wicket of Greenwood when Gez Greenwood chopped one on after attempting a cut stroke.

The innings came to a premature close when Morley whipped the bails off in a flash to send Collins on his way for 23 off 7, leaving Potts not out on 8 and Riding Mill all out for an under par 126.

The intentions of the Wagga Wagga RSL Bulldogs was very clear with Rikki Bovey & Ethan Perry having a rapid fire 47 run opening stand. Remarkably, Perry had only faced one delivery when the first wicket fell with Bovey inflicting plenty of damage on the Riding Mill bowlers before Mick Collins sent his off stump cartwheeling out of the ground.

Things continued on nicely for the Bulldogs with Perry and Morley moving the score onto 73 before Longstaff trapped Morley in front for 14 off 8. Aly Hall managed to get a double breakthrough the following over with Perry who had been starved of the strike stumped by Greenwood for 13 off 7 and Carey coming and going out caught behind for six off two balls.

Although Raza managed to pick up the wicket of Cull for 9 the job was as good as done with captain Sam Perry coming in and blasting a towering 6 to get off the mark and Brad McMillan cruising to 32 not out including a delicate late cut for two to bring up the winning runs with 2.3 overs to spare.

There were a lot of potential candidates for player of the match with the judges awarding the official honour to Bulldogs opener Rikki Bovey for his destructive innings at the top of the order which set the tone for the run chase.

The tour continues this weekend with Riding Mill hoping to bounce back when they take on Kissing Point Cricket Club at virtual Auluba Oval in Sydney.

Cricket Library Weekly – Christmas Edition – The Cricket Library

Can the Bulldogs stop the Riding Mill Juggernaut?

Posted on January 3, 2022 by thecricketlibrary

The Wagga Wagga RSL Bulldogs are priming themselves for what promises to be another dice cricket blockbuster this Wednesday night 6:30pm UK time when they take on a Riding Mill outfit who are riding high after back to back wins to start their virtual tour of Australia.

When they last toured, it was a high scoring affair with Riding Mill coming away with a 6 wicket victory after peeling off 170 in 8.4 overs on the virtual Wagga Wagga Cricket Ground surface that was very batter friendly.

With a wet start to the summer in Australia, it will be interesting to see if the runs will be flowing in a similar manner early this Thursday morning Australian time. The Bulldogs will be again skippered by their first grade captain and leg spin bowling all rounder Sam Perry. Sam’s younger brother Ethan is expected to be a key man at the top of the order after registering a rapid 47 off 14 the last time the two teams met with Joel Marks the one to snare the key wicket.

Riding Mill have continued to adopt a rotation policy with Brian Watson and Scott Dickson making way for the return of Iain Longstaff and Tony Potts. Steve Kent has been moved to the top of the order and will be looking to take the opportunity with both hands.

As always you can follow the action via the official Cricket Library twitter feed with a full match report and scorecards to follow the day after the game is completed.

Cricket Library Weekly – Christmas Edition – The Cricket Library

Oprah Winfrey and Matt Fiction – A Venn Diagram

Posted on January 2, 2022 by thecricketlibrary

In our first Venn diagram for 2022, we show just how many parallels can be drawn between our own Matt Fiction and the well respected Queen of all Media, OG Winfrey. No doubt there will be followers of Oprah that are also Matt Fiction fans and vice versa so we hope this brings you some inspiration for the year ahead!

Barber Brilliance Not Enough To Get CYMS Home As Riding Mill Go Back To Back

Posted on January 2, 2022 by thecricketlibrary

Tom Barber has claimed a hat trick and scored 30 off nine balls but it has not been enough to get Dubbo CYMS across the line as Riding Mill snuck home to claim a second consecutive win on their virtual tour of Australia.

With conditions perfect for batting, CYMS skipper Angus Norton had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss. Norton would be joined by his opening batting parter Marty Nelson getting the CYMS innings off to a flyer racing to 0-39 after the opening two overs from Watson and Butcher.

After surviving a huge shout for LBW, Marty Nelson was the first to depart out to a neat catch by Greenwood behind the stumps off the bowling of Collins for 18. This was soon followed by another good catch from Greenwood off the bowling off Kent to remove Norton for 32 off just 10 balls.

Joel Marks copped a bit of punishment from the powerful Paul Suckling who deposited one in the virtual tennis courts before Marks had the last laugh bowling Suckling for 15. Hall soon picked up the big wicket of Patterson LBW for 5 and the game was evenly poised with Dubbo CYMS 4-98 with a nice partnership building between Weekes and Barber.

After some further consolidation with 17 coming off the Ali Raza over, skipper Liam James had an immediate impact removing the set Barber for 30 off 9. Edmunds came in and immediately got the runs flowing getting off the mark with a huge six that crashed into the virtual scoreboard.

Dickson was able to tighten the screws with Greenwood adding to his two catches with the stumping of Edmunds for 23 off 9. Debutant Ben James got his first taste of dice cricket finishing 2 not out with Gavin Weekes steering the ship at the other end making a valuable 26 from just 13 deliveries.

The Riding Mill run chase got off to an absolute flyer with Scott Dickson clearing the virtual pickets on three consecutive deliveries before Corey Suckling had the last laugh sending the stumps cartwheeling to remove the dangerous Dickson for 18 in an eventful first over.

Ben O’Donnell was greeted to the bowling crease by Liam James who deposited his first delivery into the virtual cricket nets before he struck back wrapping the skipper on the pads and was sent back to the pavilion for 8.

Ali Raza and Jonny Bennett were increasing the score at a rapid rate before debutant Ben James finished his over with the wicket of Bennett who had compiled a more than useful 37 off just 12 balls. Despite the wicket, Riding Mill were well and truly in the box seat at 3-76 with 6 overs still to be bowled.

A steady flow of wickets continued to provide hope to CYMS with Edmunds removing Hall for a golden duck, Patterson accounting for Marks who made 12 and Paul Suckling luring Raza down the track before Weekes had the bails off in a flash to se him depart for 27.

However, the Riding Mill run rate continued to escalate with the score moving to 6 for 130 leaving only 22 runs to get off the remaining 18 deliveries. This would normally be a walk in the park but what was about to happen would turn the game on its head.

Tom Barber after being hit for 6 by Steve Kent was caught behind thanks to an athletic catch from Gavin Weekes. Next ball, saw Barber taking the catch of the tour so far, moving briskly to his left to see Butcher on his way first ball and finding himself on a hat trick.

Captain Angus Norton brought the field in for the hat trick ball which Greenwood skied high into the Dubbo skyline with the ever reliable Paul Suckling moving steadily to his right to claim the catch with the CYMS fans going into raptures in acknowledgement of the heroics on display.

Brian Watson strode to the crease with he and Collins needing to find a way to reach the total without losing the final wicket. Collins hit a six followed by a three to put the number 11 on strike. Somehow, Watson managed to get a thick outside edge sending the ball down to third man. Despite a valiant effort from Norton who had to cover a lot of ground in the field and prevent a boundary, the Riding Mill batsmen made it home for the three most valuable runs of Watson’s distinguished career, bringing up victory for the visitors.

Tom Barber was named the Cricket Library player of the match with reports that there will be an official presentation of the match dice at a later date in acknowledgement of his hat trick and all round performance.

The next assignment for Riding Mill is on January 5 when they will take on the Wagga Wagga RSL Bulldogs at the virtual Wagga Cricket Ground.

Cricket Library Weekly – Christmas Edition – The Cricket Library

Butcher and Watson Huge Inclusions For Riding Mill

Posted on December 31, 2021 by thecricketlibrary

When England omitted James Anderson and Stuart Broad from the first test of the summer at the GABBA it raised a plethora of questions.

Needless to say when evergreen Brian Watson was not named in the starting XI for the opening game of Riding Mill’s virtual tour of Australia there were many eyebrows raised. It does appear to be a masterstroke however, with Watson and Butcher both inclusions for their highly anticipated clash with Dubbo CYMS with the tourists coming off a first up win against Burrabadine.

The rotation policy employed will ensure that players have adequate rest and recovery between games and no doubt ensure the longevity of players on the month long tour. In this case it is Longstaff and Potts who will look to freshen up and perhaps take the opportunity to take in the sights at the Iconic Dubbo Western Plains Zoo.

When Riding Mill last toured, it was Aly Hall who was the key man against Dubbo CYMS claiming a hat trick in his figures of 4-5 after scoring 46 from 17 balls. It was not enough however, with Dubbo CYMS coming away with a nail biting win.

Dubbo CYMS new recruit Angus Norton has been handed the responsibility of captaining a side that has plenty of dice cricket experience with a couple of new faces looking to make an impression on the big stage.

It is understood it should be a good virtual surface for the clash that is certain to be followed closely by dice cricket lovers around the globe with coverage of the fixture on the official Cricket Library Twitter feed from 8am Sunday Morning in Australia and 9pm Saturday night UK time.

Cricket Library Weekly – Christmas Edition – The Cricket Library

Success in Australia For Riding Mill Bringing Hope To A Nation

Posted on December 29, 2021 by thecricketlibrary

In what has been a difficult time for fans of English cricket, some hope has been restored with Riding Mill claiming first blood on their dice cricket virtual tour of Australia.

Riding Mill are no strangers to Australia having completed a successful virtual tour in 2020 and with plenty of their experienced campaigners returning along with a mix of some fresh faces, hopes have been high for another successful voyage down under.

Conditions were perfect for the opening fixture with Riding Mill skipper Liam James having no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss.

Michael Steven took the new dice for Burrabadine with parallels being drawn to the Mitchell Starc dismissal of Rory Burns on the first ball of the Ashes when Dickson survived a huge shout for LBW on the first ball of the match. Dickson survived the shout but was bowled later in the over by Steven with commentators mixed in their opinions has to how much the ball swung. Some were suggesting Dickson just missed a half volley on leg stump while others were praising Steven for the late swing he was able to produce.

Gary Fisher had an immediate impact sending Bennett back to the pavilion after he skied one to Peter Ellis who was fielding at mid on. Fisher had a tidy finish to the over restricting the Riding Mill batters to just 10 runs from his over.

The third over saw a third wicket in the match with Jack Ellis picking up the key wicket of Riding Mill skipper Liam James who looked good on his way to 20 off just 7 deliveries. Ellis clipped the inside edge of James’ bat with the experienced Brockley moving smartly to his left to claim the catch.

Calamity then ensued with Luke Olsen targeted by Hall and Raza who dispatched him to all parts taking 27 from the over. Hall launched two massive sixes, one which was deposited into the virtual car park and the other landing on the roof of the library. Raza didn’t miss out either with a top edge flying over the rope behind the keeper.

Diamond was able to calm proceedings down and was unlucky not to pick up the wicket of Raza when he was struck on the pads on the final ball of the over. There was a huge appeal which fell on deaf ears and with no DRS available Raza remained at the crease with Hall continuing to build a partnership.

Brockley was back in the action once again the following over with his silky hands whipping the bails off to see Hall on his way back to the pavilion for a destructive 35 from 11. Peter Ellis lured him down the track spinning one past the edge to claim the important wicket.

Joel Marks took an early liking to Tabbernor dispatching a six off his first delivery and following it up with a boundary. Tabbernor had the last laugh however, sneaking one between bat and pad to remove Marks for 13 off 4.

Meanwhile Ali Raza was building his innings nicely and had formed a strong partnership with the experienced Steve Kent. Mackinlay was able to produce the breakthrough however, after Raza skied one to Gary Fisher who is as safe as they come under the high ball. Raza went for 38 from 16 with Longstaff joining Kent at the crease.

After lengthy discussions prior to the game, Burrabadine captain Matt Fiction made a tactical change deciding to bowl the penultimate over of the innings. Fiction is known for his death bowling but felt it was time to give other players the opportunity to bowl the crucial 10th over.

Fiction delivered the goods in the 9th removing Kent with a yorker that crashed into the base of off stump sending him on his way for 22 from 9. Fiction kept it tight finishing with the impressive figures of 1-7.

In a fairly uneventful final over, Riding Mill closed things out nicely taking 14 runs off Clifton to finish with an about par 7 for 155 from their 10 overs.

The run chase got off to an explosive start with Fiction and Clifton batting like men who were running late for an appointment. No bowler was safe in the first three overs with Burrabadine racing to 0-61 after three overs and well on top in the contest with Clifton on 23 off 7 and Fiction on 38 off 11 including 3 massive sixes.

Steve Kent was able to produce the breakthrough in the fourth over after some tidy work behind the stumps from Greenwood seeing Fiction stumped for 38. Joel Marks was then able to tighten the screws even further with Clifton also stumped by Greenwood for 30 and Tabbernor coming and going for 2 sent back to the pavilion bowled by a ball that kept a bit low.

A tight over from Aly Hall ensured that the pressure was building on the Burrabadine run chase and when Raza claimed two wickets with his first two balls, the hosts were in real trouble. Raza knocked over Peter Ellis for 13 with Brockley falling next ball to another delivery that appeared to keep low. At 5-99, despite having the experienced Mackinlay at the crease with Diamond, the task was now much tougher for Burrabadine.

Liam James chimed in removing Diamond with an absolute Jaffa, hitting the seam and jagging back to hit the top of off stump. Meanwhile, Mackinlay was being starved of the strike and eventually falling to a top edge that was well taken by Greenwood off the bowling of Bennett.

Jack Ellis survived an LBW appeal first ball to go on and finish 18 not out, with Dickson removing Olsen who was out to another neat stumping by Greenwood and then trapping Fisher in front for 4. Some lusty blows from Steven made the total more respectable but in the end Riding Mill were deserving winners by 14 runs.

It was no surprise that Ali Raza claimed the official Cricket Library Player of the match award after starring with both bat and ball.

The tour will continue on the weekend with all of England expected to be right behind Riding Mill as they look to continue on their winning ways when they take on the highly fancied Dubbo CYMS who defeated the visitors on their last trip down under.

Cricket Library Weekly – Christmas Edition – The Cricket Library

Fiction Files – Boxing Day Test Review

Posted on December 28, 2021 by thecricketlibrary

Matt Fiction is back with another instalment of the Fiction Files as he de briefs the 3rd Ashes Test between Australia and England from the MCG.

Matt Fiction’s next assignment will be captaining the Burrabadine XI in the opening clash of the Riding Mill dice cricket virtual tour of Australia on Thursday morning Australian Eastern Standard Time.