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.