Daniel Sams has put his batting talents on show in a destructive display against the Melbourne Renegades.
The all rounder found himself elevated in the batting order to number 4 making the most of the opportunity plundering his way to 98 not out eclipsing his previous best BBL score of 65 against the Brisbane Heat.
The former BKT Golden Arm has certainly sent a statement to opposition teams and will be looking to continue contributing with both bat and ball in KFC BBL11.
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.
Anupam Sharma sits down with MJ Ellis & shares the origins of his deep love for cricket, reflecting on how the game shaped his early life and continues to inspire his storytelling. We hear how his journey into the film industry began, including a remarkable encounter with Bollywood icon Feroz Khan — a moment that changed the trajectory of his creative life.
With a unique perspective on the intersection of sport and cinema, Anupam reflects on his experiences working with cricketing legends like Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar, revealing the humanity behind the heroes. He also shares insights into his latest milestone: the release of his powerful documentary, Brand Bollywood: Down Under, now streaming on Netflix — a film that explores the influence of Bollywood in Australia and the stories that shape our cultural landscape.
This episode is a rich celebration of cricket, culture, and the stories that bind us.
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.
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!
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.
Anupam Sharma sits down with MJ Ellis & shares the origins of his deep love for cricket, reflecting on how the game shaped his early life and continues to inspire his storytelling. We hear how his journey into the film industry began, including a remarkable encounter with Bollywood icon Feroz Khan — a moment that changed the trajectory of his creative life.
With a unique perspective on the intersection of sport and cinema, Anupam reflects on his experiences working with cricketing legends like Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar, revealing the humanity behind the heroes. He also shares insights into his latest milestone: the release of his powerful documentary, Brand Bollywood: Down Under, now streaming on Netflix — a film that explores the influence of Bollywood in Australia and the stories that shape our cultural landscape.
This episode is a rich celebration of cricket, culture, and the stories that bind us.
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.
GD Campbell made his One Day International debut at the MCG on Boxing Day against Sri Lanka in 1989.
Also making their debut in the game were MA Taylor and Sanath Jayasuriya who would go on to have impressive international careers.
DM Jones top scored for Australia with an impressive 85 not out from 89 deliveries. While SP O’Donnell claimed man of the match honours after finishing 57 not out from 60 balls before chiming in with four valuable wickets with the ball.
Australia won the contest by 30 runs in what was the most recent time a Test Match was not played at the MCG on Boxing Day.
You can hear more of the Greg Campbell story in his chat with Matt Ellis on the Cricket Library Podcast.
This week on the Cricket Library Weekly, Robbie Mackinlay and Matt Ellis wrap up all of the action from the Weber WBBL|07 final won by the Perth Scorchers in Perth over the weekend.
The lads then turn their attention to the outstanding performances in the Marsh One Day Cup before previewing all of the action in the upcoming KFC Big Bash season that gets underway this weekend.
Matt Ellis is the latest contestant to take on the Fact or Fiction challenge as he attempts to answer as many true or false questions in one minute of absolute mayhem.
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.
Anupam Sharma sits down with MJ Ellis & shares the origins of his deep love for cricket, reflecting on how the game shaped his early life and continues to inspire his storytelling. We hear how his journey into the film industry began, including a remarkable encounter with Bollywood icon Feroz Khan — a moment that changed the trajectory of his creative life.
With a unique perspective on the intersection of sport and cinema, Anupam reflects on his experiences working with cricketing legends like Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar, revealing the humanity behind the heroes. He also shares insights into his latest milestone: the release of his powerful documentary, Brand Bollywood: Down Under, now streaming on Netflix — a film that explores the influence of Bollywood in Australia and the stories that shape our cultural landscape.
This episode is a rich celebration of cricket, culture, and the stories that bind us.
Gurinder Sandhu has completed a magnificent week playing for Queensland backing up his six wicket haul in the Sheffield Shield with his second career hat trick in the Marsh One Day Cup competition.
His magnificent yorker to knock over Nathan McAndrew to claim only the 9th Hat trick in Australian Domestic One Day Cricket and the second of his career.
Brenton Speed on Fox Sports provided an excellent call of the hat trick ball.
It has been a stellar start to his time in Queensland and at the library we are thrilled to see his dedication and commitment translating into results with the ball.
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