Preview – Tranmere v T&N Crusaders

This week the Crusaders travel to Tranmere Cricket Ground in the Eastern Cape to take on Tranmere in their 3rd first-class fixture of the season.  After two thumping first-class defeats against the Crusaders, they will be looking to put points on the table and be competitive again. 

The Crusaders also come off a streak of 7 losses in a row, something which has caused some unrest in the Members’ corner.  Poor selections and unwise tactics has been the rallying cry of the Members as to the reason for the poor run of form.  For one, young William Downing’s selection has been criticized, never having really stepped up to the plate yet.  Downing has looked the best during practice sessions, but has been unable to transfer that form into the middle. 

With pressure from the Members, management has been forced to make some changes to this week’s team, after the first two matches had no team changes.  Steve Lothrop comes in for William Downing in the middle-order.  Lothrop’s inclusion is a surprise choice because Pete Moller has definitely shown more promise.  In an adjustment to the middle-order, veteran Marc McVeigh slots down to 6th in the batting order and John Simpson moves into the number 4 slot as he has shown solid form this season.

In the bowling department, Carlos Hibbert comes in for Tim Fox, to make his first-class debut.

Of the team, captain O’Shea said, “Two heavy losses is hard to swallow, so we had to make some changes.  This season we were hoping to be consistent in our selections so as to establish that winning formula after a fairly successful season last season, but we need to be realistic.  Carlos coming into the team has been something we had been speaking about for a few weeks, as he has shown a lot of promise in the one-day setup”.

The team is: Prince, O’Shea(c), Jeremy, Simpson, Lothrop, McVeigh, Ahad(wk), Hayward, Blott, Hibbert, Ayres.  12th: Branson.

Season 3 Banquet Report

The awards banquet was held last night at the T&N Crusaders Cricket Stadium banquet hall, and the awards and outstanding achievements were presented in front of a packed house.

The evening began with the announcement of 43 new members being added to the club, which adds a large sponsorship incentive to the club. This now takes the membership total to 1320, which is substantial considering the Crusaders are only beginning their 4th season. It was also announced that 470,000 had been awarded to the club for an outstanding season, including a 2nd place division finish in the BT20 league.

Following was a 20-minute highlights video clip of some of the best moments of the season for the club.

The agenda then kicked onto the awards item, with Eddie Ayres picking up 3 awards including “Player of the Season”. Chris Hayward also picked up 3 awards, which included “Youth Player of the Season”. Twelve team awards were handed out, for those players who played 25 or more matches for the Crusaders during the season. Manager’s Award went to John Simpson.

The night ended with the announcement of Matt O’Shea as captain for the upcoming season, and Graeme Jeremy as the vice-captain, with Michael Prince completing the leadership trio as strategic advisor. That position was previously held by Chris Kotzo, who will now spend more time at the Academy with Stephen Harding and Chris Hayward.

The season draws to a close

With the season drawing to an end, the Crusaders can look back on a much-improved performance from them throughout the season. Not only did they finish second in their T20 group, but they did well enough in the one-day and first-class leagues to not be relegated. The Crusaders’ final official match of the season comes in the form of a playoff on Friday.

With season-ending activity preparations underway, the club is bustling with team news regarding player personnel, including players who will be leaving the club.

Probably the biggest name on the list is that of Marc Weeks, the 30-year old middle-order batsman who became the first Crusaders player to score back-to-back first-class centuries. Weeks has had limited opportunities this season in league matches due to the younger players being shown preference in the middle-order, however, he has been able to participate in some 2nd XI friendlies which allowed him to produce a top score of 49. Overall, Marc Weeks played in 28 first-class matches with a highest score of 122. In 41 limited-overs matches, he scored eleven fifties with a best of 96 in a SA Cup match.

Other players who are not being renewed at the end of the season are batsman Jimmy Mokoena, and quick bowler John Immelman, both of whom are 26 years old and who have also not been regular features in the Crusaders league matches. Immelman played in 11 first-class matches for the club, taking 25 wickets with a best of 5/17. In 40 one-day matches, Immelman picked up 62 wickets with a best of 5/12. Mokoena was more geared to first-class cricket and he played in 14 matches, scoring a best of 84 as opener.

Club captain Michael Prince commented on this news, “Over the last two seasons we have been looking towards reducing the squad size, and at the same time have funds available to develop schoolboys through the Academy. Unfortunately these three players have been adjudged as excess to the needs of the club, evident by the minimal cricket they have played this season. These guys are good guys and I know that they will succeed wherever they end up.”

There had also been talk amongst the administrators about releasing one of the frontline spinners onto the transfer list, due to the fact that both Prince and John Simpson offer the option of part-time spinner. Chris Kotzo was the one that the administrators were considering, but manager Neville Smeda, along with Prince and Matt O’Shea, took the stand that Kotzo’s experience, especially in the spin department, are required to nurture the teenaged spinners into becoming quality spinners. Prince pointed out that Hayward’s 44 first-class wickets this season have been a result of the excellent coach that Kotzo has been to him.

At the awards ceremony on Saturday, Matt O’Shea is expected to be named as club captain for next season, with Graeme Jeremy as his vice-captain. O’Shea had taken over as skipper of the first-class matches mid-season, giving Prince the opportunity to focus on his batting which had slumped somewhat.

Record total demolishes Stella Artois

In the best performance of the season so far, the Crusaders travelled to FC Stella Artois Cricket Ground and put on a highly professional display of cricket. Captain Michael Prince won the toss and chose to bat first, looking to make first use of the green wicket with the hope that the wicket would be quicker in the evening.

The openers Prince and Matt O’Shea smacked 249 for the opening partnership in only 230 balls. Prince took few risks in his 116 off 101 balls as he creamed 8 wonderful fours through the gaps. O’Shea was the aggressor as he made 130 off 122 balls with 5 fours and 4 sixes. Both openers were dismissed on the fence off of Cleminshaw. The carnage was not over as the final 10 overs went for 120 thanks to Graeme Jeremy’s unbeaten 58, aided by Geoff Kenny’s 61* off just 38 balls. With Moller having an indifferent time at number 4, Kenny was chosen to bolster the attacking nature of the middle-order, and that he did.Crusaders made 378/2 in their 50 overs, which is to date their highest limited-overs total.

FC Stella Artois were never in the game as their innings ended in the 13th over. They could not combat the extreme pace and lift that Eddie Ayres and Allan Blott were getting and they folded for a total of 44. Ayres took 4/17 and Blott 3/21. Stephen Harding got 9 balls in with his leg-spinners and took 2/6 as the victory unfolded by 334 runs. O’Shea took the player award for his aggressive century.

Prince said, “I was surprised as to how easy the wicket played in the earlier part of the match. It looked likely to assist the quicks, but we were able to play very freely. I must say, though, that we certainly used the conditions to our advantage when it was our turn to bowl”.

On having Kenny back in the team in the middle, “We know Geoff’s ability with the bat and he can be very explosive. The challenge was being able to find a place for him in the one-day team as opening is really his forte, but both Matt and I are solid at the top. With Molly [Pete Moller] needing a rest, we thought about giving Geoff a chance in the middle and he showed how dangerous he can be at the end of an innings”.

The team was: Prince(c), O’Shea, Jeremy, Kenny, Lothrop, Simpson, Ahad(wk), Harding, Blott, Fox, Ayres.

New player, new captain

There have been some changes to the setup at the T&N Crusaders Cricket Club over the weekend. The first is the purchase of teenaged fast bowler, Mike Legg, from ShangerRatsXI in Australia. He is a 19-year old right-arm fast/medium bowler. In 9 first-class matches he has taken 32 wickets with a best of 6/5. His one-day record is as impressive with 12 wickets at 20.17 in 10 matches, with a best of 3/16. He is scheduled to play his first match for the Crusaders 2nd XI on Sunday against the Nashua Titans.

In other news, Matt O’Shea has been named as the captain for all Crusaders first-class matches for the remainder of the season. O’Shea’s wealth of cricket knowledge and experience has given Michael Prince the option of focusing his captaincy on the limited-overs format. Prince, who had hoped to relinquish captaincy at the beginning of this season, agreed to stay on for one more season but hopes to be able to just play cricket rather than having captaincy on his plate too.

Spin-vetaran Chris Kotzo commented on the change, “What is exciting about this is that you have two excellent cricket minds on the field at all times and they will consult with each other on all decisions no matter which format it is, which can only give you a winning combination. I think where Michael was struggling for a while is that he didn’t have anybody else really to turn to. Graeme Jeremy was his vice-captain last season, but was also only 18 so was not able to provide that maturity in decision-making. Matt and Michael not only make an excellent leadership team together, but you can see how well they bat together at the top of the order. The Crusaders are in for some positive times in the near future”.

First-class victory for Crusaders…thanks to Hayward

Darrows & Arrows hosted the T&N Crusaders in a first-class league match. The home team chose to bat first on a green belter of a wicket. This suited Allan Blott perfectly as he was able to tear the middle-order apart with his swing and accuracy. Blott, who has not had the best of seasons thus far, showed great stability in his bowling which brought him figures of 3/37. Bonds held the innings together with an undefeated 114, but John Branson(3/47) and Chris Hayward(3/37) made sure that their opposition did not reach 200, bowling them out for 195.

Crusaders batted well under the conditions, especially with the amount of pace and bounce that Muller(3/71) was getting. Matt O’Shea made 120 off just 109 balls as he looked to dominate anything thrown at him. He hit 8 fours and 7 sixes in his innings. Graeme Jeremy(49) and John Simpson(38) were the only other contributors to the total of 284.

The 2nd innings for Darrows & Arrows did not go well as they were bowled out for a pitiful 109, leaving the visitors with an easy 22 to win. Bonds(53) was once again the sole contributor for the home side as Chris Hayward found some turn on the green stick and picked up 5/15. It was an emphatic bowling performance by the spinner as he was completely unplayable for most of the innings.

Prince and O’Shea knocked off the target in the 5th over of their 2nd innings, taking them to their 2nd first-class victory of the season. Man-of-the-match went to Chris Hayward for his spectacular bowling effort.

Hayward said after the match, “I couldn’t believe how the wicket played out on the 2nd day. I was having a tough time on day one being able to get some turn going, but the wicket gave me great assistance on the second afternoon. I feel good about my bowling this season and am grateful for the assistance I’ve received from the guys at the Academy to get me to be so successful so far.”

The team was: Prince, O’Shea(c), Jeremy, Moller, Lothrop, Simpson, Ahad(wk), Hayward, Blott, Branson, Ayres.

Crusaders have no answer to Contraband

Following a very successful T20 week, the 50-overs league match on Friday did not continue the unbeaten run for the Crusaders as they lost to league leaders Contraband by 10 wickets.

Crusaders began well at the top with both Prince and O’Shea scoring fifties in an opening stand of 95, but once those two were dismissed the innings was mostly over. Pete Moller made 24, but was the only other batsman to reach double figures as the Crusaders were bowled out for 171. Konara took 3/32.

The visitors tore into the Crusaders bowlers and achieved victory without losing a wicket as Purdon(82*) and Krause(90*) continued their fine season form. Krause took the player award for this match.

The team was: Prince(c), O’Shea, Jeremy, Moller, Lothrop, Simpson, Ahad(wk), Hayward, Blott, Branson, Ayres.

Week 2 of BT20 a success for Crusaders

The second week of this season’s BT20 matches went extremely well for the T&N Crusaders, winning all 3 encounters and taking them to 2nd on the log.

Their first match was away against We Are Jazz. The home team won the toss and elected to field on a cloudy day and green wicket. Matt O’Shea and Graeme Jeremy smashed the bowling to all parts of the ground in a stand of 109 for the 2nd wicket. Jeremy’s 70 lasted 45 balls and included 5 fours and 5 sixes. O’Shea was even more explosive as he pounded an unbeaten 104 from just 59 deliveries. He hit 8 fours and 6 sixes to get Crusaders to 212/3 in 20 overs.

We Are Jazz began their run chase well, despite opening bowler Chris Hayward limiting the boundaries with his flight. Carlos Hibbert came on and was torn to pieces, but all went downhill very quickly for the home team when part-timer John Simpson and pace bowler John Branson came on to bowl. Branson made the initial breakthrough with the score at 65 and did not look back. He ended with 4/29 from 4 overs, but it was Simpson who stole the match. He put every delivery in the right place and he deservedly took 4/12, conceding only 3 runs per over from his 4, ensuring that the home team were dismissed for 140. Simpson could easily have been nominated as player of the match, but the award instead went to O’Shea for his masterful batting.

Their second match of the week was even more impressive, and they were able to demonstrate their dominance in front of their home crowd. Michael Prince won the toss against the Royal Crusaders and elected to bat first, once again, looking to dominate and apply pressure to the opposing team. He took his own challenge to heart as he pummelled an unbeaten 117 off only 63 balls, bludgeoning anything short and lofting anything full. His innings included 10 fours and 6 sixes. He was in an unbeaten opening stand of 220 with Matt O’Shea who could not quite keep up the pace with his captain, but still managed 92* off 57 balls.

A target of 221 was always going to be challenging for the Royal Crusaders, and it proved to be as only Praseetha(81) could withstand the pace of Eddie Ayres. The fast bowler notched up 5/22, well-aided by Chris Hayward’s 3/22. Together they cleaned the visitors up for just 139, leaving the man-of-the-match award in the hands of Ayres.

Their final T20 fixture for the week was home to DomsTreturn. The visitors won the toss and decided to have a bat on another spinner-friendly wicket. Despite the prediction of spin-dominance from the groundsman, it was Eddie Ayres again who spawned in with a handful of wickets. He nabbed 5/14 from 4, and showed great pace and control. Duff’s 56* was the only pride in the team’s total of 120. Leggie Stephen Harding took 3/23.

The chase was rather wobbly as the Crusaders lost 3 wickets before achieving their target in the 15th over. Jeremy top-scored with 38, while Moller was unbeaten on 31 from just 15 deliveries. Ayres took home the player award for this match.

Prince said at the end of the week, “We’re playing some excellent T20 cricket and I hope we can continue towards a league victory. We have our combinations working and the guys have really learned how to play this format of the game”.

Crusaders crumble in 5th round

Crusaders were completely outplayed at the Theatre of Thunder during a 5th round SA Cup match on the weekend. Prince elected to bat after winning the toss on a very flat wicket which would provide ample support for the batsmen, but that wasn’t to be as the match was over within the 2nd hour of the day. The Crusaders were dismissed for a pathetic 20, thanks due to the pace of Paul who took 6/5. Prince was the only one to attain double-figures with 13.

White Thunder ended the match in 17 balls and won it by 10 wickets. The Crusaders are now out of the SA Cup and can now focus on playing friendlies which will allow for the 2nd-stringers to get some game time and experience.

The team was: Prince(c), O’Shea, Jeremy, Moller, Lothrop, Simpson, Ahad(wk), Kotzo, Blott, Fox, Ayres.

Tight contest sees Crusaders victory

After a successful first-class away win during the week for the Crusaders, the Crusaders hosted Hales at the T&N Smeda Stadium in a one-day league match. Groundsman Jamie McLaren prepared a dusty wicket, looking to give his spinners an opportunity to dominate.

Michael Prince won the toss and chose to bat first, looking to put the visitors under pressure from the beginning. That they did as Prince and Matt O’Shea put on 137 for the first wicket, at a rate of under 4 an over as the visiting bowlers made good use of the conditions. Prince was out for 58 off an uncharacteristic 105 balls, but he set a platform for the remainder of the batting order to have a go. O’Shea picked up the pace before being bowled by the spinner Maloney for 93, but enter teenager Pete Moller and what an innings he played. He smashed an unbeaten 50 off just 26 deliveries which included 7 fours, ensuring that his team got past the 250 mark, eventually getting them to 254/5. Keeper Rohana Ahad hit two boundaries in the final over to take him to 13*.

The innings of Hales began poorly as Ayres clean-bowled Basson off the first ball of the innings, but skipper Bardsley and Cox put on 51 for the 2nd wicket to create some stability. Spinner Chris Hayward was called into action and he contributed with a fairly quick 3 wickets, causing a bit of a collapse. He ended with 3/40 from his 10, almost securing a victory, but Blott was put to the sword by Nolan and Maloney down the order, inching them to within 30 before they were both dismissed. The tail was not able to get to the boundary, allowing for the home team to win by 13 runs. Man of the match went to O’Shea for his steady 93.

Prince was delighted with the victory, “We always knew that this would be a tough one, especially against their supreme bowling attack which kept Matt and myself quiet for most of the innings. Cheers to Hayward who bowled brilliantly, who I think ultimately won the match for us”.

Chris Hayward took his season wicket tally to 15 from just 7 one-day matches. Add that to his 8 wickets during the recent first-class match, the youngster is showing immense promise and has almost certainly sealed the number one spinner’s spot as his.

The team was: Prince(c), O’Shea, Jeremy, Moller, Lothrop, Simpson, Ahad(wk), Hayward, Blott, Fox, Ayres.