In what is one of the biggest announcements since it was revealed Riding Mill would be involved in a virtual tour of Australia is the official news that there will be an extension of the tour with the squad stopping over in virtual Hong Kong to do battle with a Cricket Library Podcast Invitational XI.
It is understood that the Cricket Library Podcast XI are currently in Hong Kong taking part in a virtual boot camp following their loss to Riding Mill in one of the tour openers at Burrabadine and looking for ways to improve before taking on the tourists once again.
In massive news for the touring party, team manager Brian Watson has declared himself available selection as has number 1 supporter Mark Butcher and former England ODI captain Adam Holioake. It is unclear how much dice cricket experience Butcher and Holioake have had but just their sheer presence will be a boost to the tourists.
Our sources can confirm that there will also be some new inclusions to the Cricket Library Podcast XI, though we are told that captain Nina Stevens will retain the lower case c with the brackets around it beside her name.
In a major blow for the Cricket Library Podcast Invitational XI, Robbie Mackinlay has withdrawn from the squad due to his extensive media commitments covering the tour. Although this will leave a gaping hole in the top order, we are hearing that there are some big inclusions expected to be announced in the coming days to try and fill the void.
Riding Mill still have three matches to play in Victoria before heading to Perth en route to Hong Kong and it will be vital that team management keeps the squad focussed on the job at hand whilst also putting plans in place for what is being billed as the biggest match of the tour at virtual Hong Kong.
Join your commentators Robbie Mackinlay and Matt Ellis as they bring you the key moments from the highly anticipated dice cricket fixture between the touring Riding Mill side and the UTS North Sydney team of the decade from the picturesque virtual North Sydney Oval.
Ridind Mill have slumped to their second loss in succession going down to a star studded UTS North Sydney at the picturesque virtual North Sydney Oval.
This game was being billed as the biggest of the tour so far with the UTS North Sydney team of the decade littered with talent up against Riding Mill who have already claimed some big scalps on their virtual tour down under.
The virtual wicket looked to be in pristine condition as you would expect from the North Sydney Oval ground staff preparing an absolute belter of a wicket.
Glenn Aitken won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first and when Daniel Hughes and Tom Jagot put on 102 for the first wicket this looked like being a very astute decision.
Daniel Hughes brought up his half century in an eventful over from Rob Burns which saw a six land in virtual Miller St and another sailing into the virtual Duncan Thompson stand which brought up the milestone. In between it all when on 48, Hughes was wrapped on the pads by Burns which was accompanied by a massive appeal that was subsequently turned down. Replays showed that Hughes had got an inside edge onto his pads which ensured he was given not out.
Aly Hall was the first to provide some joy for the visitors when Tom Jagot got a thick edge through to Iain Longstaff who made no mistake with the gloves. Jagot was back in the virtual pavilion after a crisp 33 off 15 balls.
The Bears continued to score at will before Hughes finally fell skying one which was caught by keeper Iain Longstaff off the bowling of Steve Kent for 90 off just 29 deliveries. The innings is the highest score of the tour so far and certainly put the home side in the box seat.
Avendano was neatly stumped by Iain Longstaff off the bowling of Scott Dickson for 25 off ten before Scott Rodgie finished the innings with a six that sailed out of the ground landing in the virtual bowling club car park. UTS North Sydney had set a very imposing 3-170 from their ten overs.
Daniel Hughes starred for the Bears with a magnificent 90 from just 29 deliveries
Riding Mill did not get off to the start they were after, losing key man Scott Dickson LBW off the bowling of James Campbell on the final ball of the first over to leave them reeling at 1-10.
Dave Cox and Steve Kent set about resurrecting the innings putting on a handy 56 run partnership before Kent was stumped by Lenton off the bowling of Rob Aitken for a well made 40 off 16.
Part timer Adam Crosthwaite then turned the game on its head with a remarkable over claiming the wickets of Liam James who was plumb in front departing for 17 with Aly Hall and Iain Longstaff both out to sharp catches behind the stumps from Lenton for 3 and 0 respectively.
Despite a second half century of the tour to Kiwi Dave Cox, Riding Mill were left with too much work to do and when Cox was stumped by Lenton off the bowling of Jagot for 58 off 21 it was all but game over.
Joel Marks and Rob Burns were able to take the total to 6 for 149 but it was 21 short of the target with the class of the Bears shining through.
Dave Cox scored his second half century of the tour but it was not enough to get Riding Mill home with part timer Adam Crosthwaite claiming 3-7
The Riding Mill squad will now need to regroup before they head to Victoria to take on Westmeadows Cricket Club, St kelvin’s Old Boys and Parkdale Cricket Club before heading to Perth to clash with Bayswater-Morley.
Rumours were leaked last week on social media that another game has been scheduled for virtual Hong Kong on a stop over back to the UK. There is speculation that there is a campaign to bring team manager Brian Watson back into the squad for this fixture alongside two former England Internationals. We are seeking confirmation of these rumours and will bring you the latest news as it comes to hand.
The picturesque virtual North Sydney Oval is the venue for the highly anticipated Dice Cricket Fixture this weekend
Riding Mill will be looking to bounce back when their virtual tour of Australia continues on the weekend against the highly fancied UTS North Sydney team of the decade.
The Bears last week announced the team after voting took place online to determine who would make up their final XI. The club which makes their home at the picturesque North Sydney Oval has a rich heritage as a foundation club in NSW Premier Cricket.
Riding Mill have stuck with their rotation policy which has seen Scott Dickson return at the top of the order with Kiwi Dave Cox making a welcome return in the line up at number 3 and Aly Hall slotting back in to the middle order.
Where do you start with the Bears line up that has an embarrassment of riches with the likes of current Steve Waugh Medalist Daniel Hughes at the top of the order, former Adelaide Strikers keeper batsman Adam Crosthwaite listed to bat 4, the evergreen Aitken brothers who have been staples in NSW Premier cricket for many years, not to mention the power of Justin Avendano at 3, the glove work of Jay Lenton and the pace of Nic Bills. These names are just the beginning, with the likes of Tom Jagot, Scott Rodgie, Matt Alexander and James Campbell all expected to make an impact in this highly anticipated T10 fixture.
A massive virtual crowd is expected with the game getting underway at 6am Sunday morning in Australia and 9pm Saturday night in the UK. You can follow all of the action via the CricketLibrary Twitter handle.
The game is the final contest in the Sydney leg of the tour with Riding Mill scheduled to play three matches in Victoria before heading to Perth.
We are hearing reports that there are discussions taking place to add another fixture to the itinerary with virtual Hong Kong being touted as the possible venue. We will keep you across any breaking news regarding the outcome of these talks as soon as we have confirmation.
In a recent chat with Matt Ellis on the Cricket Library Podcast, Jamie Siddons talked us through the first ball he faced in First Class Cricket. He was just 20 years old facing a young Courntey Walsh who was playing for the West Indies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Legend and all-round boss Mark Butcher wishing us well on our @CricketLibrary virtual tour of Australia and our fundraising efforts to bring cricket facilities to our local community! Cheers @markbutcher72!
Despite the support of England legend Mark Butcher it was a tough outing for the Mill
Kissing Point Cricket Club have inflicted Riding Mill just their second defeat of their virtual tour of Australia with an emphatic 27 run win at virtual Auluba Oval.
Andy Watson won the toss and asked himself what Nasser Hussain would do before announcing that the Mill would field first.
The gamble did not pay off and when Kissing Point raced to 0-47 off just two overs it looked like it could be a long evening for the visitors.
However, Lance Mallinson was able to remove the dangerous Dan Morton with a peach of a delivery that hit the top of off stump. Morton’s 38 off ten deliveries had certainly caused some carnage before his dismissal.
The skipper himself put the breaks on the flurry of runs with 2-11 off his over including a very smart caught and bowled chance to remove veteran Jeff Stewart for 26 off 9. He was on a hat trick when next ball Nick Hasler lifted his back foot and Iain Longstaff did a remarkable job to effect a leg side stumping.
Joel Marks was expensive but did remove Tim Love who had raced to 18 off 5 after he chopped on attempting a cut stroke.
Josh Howe and Naveen Sivanathan put on a very handy partnership before Kev Frazer took a screamer to remove Howe for 28 off 11 off the bowling of Ali Raza. Sivanathan was next to go when he glided one straight into the awaiting gloves of Iain Longstaff behind the stumps and headed back to the virtual pavilion with 38 off 13.
Rob Burns death bowling gave the visitors a sniff, restricting Kissing Point to just 7 runs off the final over and included the wicket of Aubourg who was LBW for 14 off 5. Kissing Point skipper John Ferguson remained 8 not out while D’Silva finished on 1.
Riding Mill would have the tall order of trying to chase down a very imposing 7-171 from their ten overs.
Steve Kent and Rob Burns got the chase off to a steady start and it appeared that they were looking to build a platform from which the middle order could launch.
The last ball of the third over saw Burns dismissed LBW to Jude D’Silva for 19 off 9. Raza and Kent set about building a partnership and at 1-74 off 5 the Mill boys were still well within a chance of victory particularly with wickets in hand.
Again though it was a wicket on the final ball of the over that saw Kent departing just two balls short of his half century LBW to Josh Howe.
Liam James and Aly Raza did their best to up the run rate but were not able to find the big over that they were searching for. Jeff Stewart was able to draw a mistake from Ali Raza who danced down the wicket in an attempt for quick runs only to be stumped by the handy glove work of Kissing Point skipper John Ferguson. His 39 off 14 provided some hope but it would not be enough to get Riding Mill over the line.
Dan Morton capped off a great game picking up two wickets in the final over finishing with 2-10. Liam James was caught by Aubourg for 29 and Iain Longstaff top edged one straight up in the air attempting to hit it into the adjacent virtual bushland before being caught by Ferguson who had a solid day with the gloves.
Sources close to the Riding Mill camp have indicated that there may be some changes to the line up for the all important clash with the UTS North Sydney team of the decade which boasts a host of top line cricketers.
Jamie Siddons was the latest guest on the Cricket Library Podcast
Jamie Siddons grew up in Robinvale in country Victoria playing footy in the winter and cricket in the summer. He would go on to be one of the most prolific run scorers in Australian Domestic Cricket scoring over eleven and a half thousand runs and peeling off 35 First Class centuries.
In this episode of the Cricket Library Podcast we chat with Jamie about his First Class debut against the West Indies at the MCG, scoring an unbeaten hundred in a Shield Final for Victoria, playing an ODI in Pakistan, moving to South Australia and captaining them to a memorable Shield title in 95/6.
We ask about his transition into coaching, working with John Buchanan and the highly successful Australian team, moving to Bangladesh and returning to Australia to coach South Australia.
He shares how his passion for the game continues to grow through his new venture Jamie Siddons Coaching
As always we will find out who Jamie would like to join him in the nets with his selections having a bit of a Nike theme.
Please remember to subscribe to the Cricket Library Podcast on your favourite podcast provider and leave a review to help us to continue to share stories like this one from Jamie Siddons.
In his recent appearance on the Cricket Library Podcast with Matt Ellis, Graham Manou reflected on receiving his Baggy Green cap from Ricky Ponting as well as the positive culture in the Australian Cricket team.
Graham Manou reflecting on becoming Baggy Green 411
Riding Mill Cricket Club are buoyant on their arrival in Sydney prior to the next leg of their virtual tour of Australia. The visitors have won three out of four matches so far and will look to continue the positive start when they take on Kissing Point Cricket Club this Wednesday Night UK time.
Kissing Point Cricket Club is located in the leafy suburb of South Turramurra and they boast both senior and junior teams in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai and Hills District Cricket Association. A massive virtual crowd is expected at Auluba Oval for what promises to be one of the matches of the tour so far.
The Riding Mill lads have been inspired by former England batsman Mark Butcher who has thrown his support behind the side on Twitter giving a shout out to their fundraising efforts.
Riding Mill have a new number 1 supporter in Mark Butcher
It is believed that the Mark Butcher’s hit single Dice has been the soundtrack for the tour and inspiring the lads to roll out some of their best work.
Riding Mill drawing inspiration from this track by Mark Butcher
A hallmark of the tour so far has been the astute player rotation from team manager Brian Watson who has again made some changes to ensure the Sydney leg of the tour is a success for the visitors.
Wicket keeper in the last two starts Steve Kent will relinquish the gloves as Iain Longstaff takes over the wicket keeping duties. Big hitters, Dave Cox, Aly Hall and Scott Dickson will all be rested against Kissing Point but sources close to the team have confirmed they will slot back in for the massive clash with UTS North Sydney scheduled for the weekend. Andy Watson is back to captain the side, while Lance Mallinson and Liam James also return to the line up.
The Bears announced their team of the decade last week and it is packed with high quality players which will ensure a game to remember at virtual North Sydney Oval on the weekend.
TEAM OF THE DECADE 🐻
Votes have been cast and tallied and the Bears’ Team of the 2010s has been decided. Read all about it and the voting: https://t.co/gNeHDFKFiw
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