When a player finishes their junior cricket in the u/16s competition, what options do they have to keep playing the game? Joining the Mens’ competition can seem daunting for young players and others wonder whether they should try for Grade. Are there other competitions they can join? How can our young players and their families discover what will suit them best?

To assist you, the SSJCA has organised an information evening with representatives from various cricket associations who will give you an overview of what is on offer, including Mens, Grade, Illawarra and Shires cricket. The speakers will include junior players who have recently made this transition from junior to senior cricket.

No matter what you intend to do next season, take this opportunity to learn how you can stay involved within the ‘cricket family’.

When: 7.30pm, Monday 23rd February 2009
Where: Sutherland United Services Club, 7 East Street Sutherland
Who is invited: ALL junior players who are in their last year of junior cricket and their parents.

Always look for runs

Never get so defensive that you are not attempting to score runs. You should always be looking for ways to play shots that score runs. If you are not scoring, aim to score a single off every ball, the two’s and fours will then start to come if you concentrate on timing and placement.

Back in November 2008, Cricket NSW and the SSJCA sent our Under 10 Development squad to the SCG to play on the hallowed turf during the break in the Ford Ranger cup.  It was a great night for the boys, and they got to see a preview of future Australian players David Warner and Phil Hughes, along with former Illawong Menai and Sutherland Grade player Steven Smith, who top scored on the day with 48.

A photo gallery is available under Photos on our site.  SSJCA will continue to run the U10 Dev Squad in future years, so check out what on offer for our youngest stars.

Sutherland 8/146 beat Newcastle 10/135

Another scorching day in the hottest summer for years however the promise of a game on turf at Sutherland Oval made the day pretty cool. Certainly another stellar afternoon tea from the renowned Sutho parents was a great reward for what turned out to be an enthralling contest between two evenly-matched sides.

We won the toss and elected top bat on the back of advice that the pitch tends to keep low as the day progresses. Gavin (54) and J Corbo (30) waited for the irregular bounce but it never came, nothing to worry about so it was just a matter of working the gaps. It was a long way to the boundary – Gavin found it twice – and a lot twos and threes were collected. The boys’ 82 runs was their biggest opening partnership by far and set up what was looking like a formidable total near 200.

The pressure to increase the pace was the undoing of those that followed: Jake, Johnno, Ben, James T, and Gaz all failed to break into double figures, while Matt (11) gave a brief cameo. Liam (8) and Brock (2) were still at the crease at close of the innings. The point about the ball keeping low was evidenced by four LBWs and an ankle-height bowled in the 2nd half of our innings.

A casual chat with one of the umpires at lunch suggested that 150 is usually good enough to get home on this pitch but we were still feeling that we were about 30 runs short.

The Newcastle openers started off with confident front foot strokes and looked capable of mounting a challenge, however Matt and Gaz (1/12) had them back in the pavilion after 10 overs at 2-18. Their next pair then settled in and poked the ball through the gaps, adding 56 runs before J Corbo took a screamer at short cover to dismiss the number 3. Their number 4 was nearing a half century and got a little excited with his stroke play, but the Sutho boys were on his side and dropped him three (3) times to make sure he got his fifty.

Ernie was having none of this and ran him out shortly after, then Ben (3/28) snared a caught & bowled next ball to leave Newcastle at 6/105 with 8 overs (48 balls) and 42 to win. Two big hitters pushed that to 123 with 4 overs left (24 off 24) before Gavin snared another run out, Matt (2/11) bowled the next and keeper Joel smartly ran out the next. Those wickets at 130, 131 and 132 killed all momentum. Johnno (1/10) cleaned up the last batsmen on the last ball of the day.

In the end the umpire was right, but it certainly would have saved a few fingernails if we did have those extra 30 runs! A great win and an entertaining match. Well done to all the boys.

Cricket Australia, along with the rest of the country, has been shocked and saddened by the continuing bushfire crisis in Victoria.

Cricket Australia (CA) Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland said fans wanting to help can donate to a special Commonwealth Bank Series Bushfire Appeal fund (details below).

“The tragic news on Saturday and Sunday shocked us all and Australian players at the Sydney game were keen to see what cricket could do to help,” he said.

“Cricket is a part of the community in all the regions affected and those regions have produced fine club, state and international players.

“And the end of the day, this is a national tragedy and we just want to do something to help.”

More information - www.cricket.com.au/bushfireappeal

The SSJCA does not have a HOT WEATHER POLICY; but we expect all Coaches and managers to take good care of all players at all times. In hot weather this would mean:

• make sure all players are wearing a strong sun cream
• make sure that all players are wearing a hat at all times
• take a drink break every 45 minutes
• have water available as needed at other times
• rotate fielders off the field if possible
• watch out for any signs of distress due to the heat and remove that player immediately.
• be prepared to call all players off the field if several players are distressed.

At the moment the maximum predicted for Sutherland tomorrow is 35 Degrees, so perhaps we will not have the extreme heat predicted further west. Also if the current cloud covered exists we may not have a severe problem at all.

Either way take good care of our kids. If you have any doubt or any questions please ring me: 0402 412 061.

Tom Croucher

Bowl to a Target

Every time you bowl a ball you should be aiming at an imaginary target on the wicket. Usually, this target will be just out of the batsmen reach and in line with the stumps. Fix your eyes and your mind on this target and point your left arm at it (only if you bowl right-handed), and you’ll be surprised how much you improve.

U14 PRESIDENTS
Sutherland 185 lost to Penrith 8 / 223

In the midst of one of the hottest summers for a long time and we were asked to travel to Penrith, quite a ways away from any sea breeze. We won the toss and elected to field, figuring that the day was only going to get hotter. After an early breakthrough by Matt (1-16) the Penrith batsmen used local knowledge to their advantage and continually found the boundary, often behind the wicket. Partnerships of 73 for the 2nd wicket, 47 for the 3rd and 36 for the 5th did the damage and they were on their way for around 300. Gavin came on at the 18th over and put the brakes on as well as taking vital wickets in his 10 over spell of 3-19.

Not much else was going our way and the boys felt the pain of a dozen dropped chances, admittedly many hit hard. James C (1-18) steadied the ship a little towards the end and Jake (2-19) returned late to pick up two of the big hitters.

Chasing over two hundred is always a task but the field was quick and it was a matter of picking the balls to hit and finding the gaps. James C yet again was unlucky in a run out situation, and some of us thought he had made his ground. Liam (43) and Jake (81) then took a cautious approach and slowly built up a century partnership which had the team only 20 runs behind the pace when Liam was dismissed in the 30th.

Jonathon was dubiously caught at mid-wicket and Ben not long after in the slips cordon, and the pressure was back on Sutherland. Gavin (8) and James (14) provided Jake with brief and entertaining support but the target slowly slipped away. When Jake was the 8th wicket to fall the total was beyond us, but Brock (18) added some big hitting.

A tough game in trying conditions and some more important lessons learnt about how matches are won and lost. A final score of 185 would be good on many days, just not today.

On January 22nd Lauren was part of the Sutherland SJCA’s U15 Margaret Peden Shield Rep Team that were the first Sutherland girls rep team to win a NSW District Cricket Assn match.

Lauren was not only part of the team but she put together an innings of 114 in a total of 231 to help guide the Team to their victory against Georges River - St George.

Lauren is a member of the Illawong Menai 14A’s and has a high score of 61 this year that helped dig the 14A’s out of a deep hole to win that game.

The U15 Margaret Peden Shield was held in the week starting the 19th January 2009 at Castle Hill in Sydney’s West. The girls were to play 3 matches in their pool but had a bye in the first round. They played Georges River - St George in round 2 for a win and Bankstown in round 3 for a loss and only just missed out on the semi’s.

Lauren’s was the highest run scorer for the whole competition and her stats for the two matches were -

• St George 114 not out, with 14 fours, 4 sixes. Bowled 6.3 overs at 3 for 23
• Bankstown 73 run out, with 8 fours, 3 sixes. Bowled 7 overs at 0 for 38

Well done Lauren.