The run home…

With finals a couple of weeks away with the results key to a few of the sides chances of making finals, and the results couldn’t have gone better for the black and whites.

The A’s drove up to Stockwell to take on Light Pass in a game that will determine who will secure the all important top two position on the ladder.  The home side won the toss and sent Tanunda in for a hit and would have been quietly happy with their working having bowled Tanunda out for 144.  Skipper Pete Mernagh led with way with an excellent 40, with Jimmy Marshall and Luke Samain making 22.  Brett Grocke contributed a patient and important hand with 18 not out.  Knowing it was going to take an excellent bowling performance to take the points, Tanunda made an excellent start with the ball having Light Pass’s top five batsmen all in the shed by the time the score reached 19.  Mitchell Boschen was the star with the ball taking 4 wickets, with fellow opener Luke Samain taking the other scalp.  Tanunda Clubhouse player of the week goes to Mitch Boschen for his fine spell of left arm pace bowling.  Good luck this week taking the remaining 5 wickets.

The B’s took on Freeling at Faith East in what will be the last game of the year for both sides.  Skipper Toby Mifflin won the toss and decided that having a bowl was the order of the day, which turned out to be a great call thanks to an excellent team bowling performance which saw the last Freeling batsman call an early close to their innings at 9 for 104.  Sam Dunn and Oscar Harms showed that the future is bright in the bowling stocks, picking up 3 wickets and 2 wickets respectively, with Aiden Radzevicius, Charles Shaw, Steve Lewis and Stuart Ratsch each taking a wicket.  The run chase could not have started any worse than it did, with the first three batsmen out without contributing to the score.  This brought together Phil Graetz and young Oscar Harms, who went on to bat out the day to put victory within reach, at 3 for 73, with Phil  reaching his half century, undefeated on 58, with Oscar contributing a valuable 13 not out.  Barossa Valley Brewing player of the week goes to Phil Graetz, although Oscar’s all-round performance is worth a note for someone who also represents the club at Under 14 level each week.

The C’s headed to Gawler High School to take on South Gawler in a must win game fielding a side with the perfect blend of experience and youth.  Tanunda fielded first and an excellent team bowling performance restricted the home side to 112, bowling South out with a couple overs to spare.  Star with the ball was Darryl Hean, picking up 5 wickets with Sam Cox and Kyle Graetz both picked up 2 wickets with Bailey Smith taking the remaining scalp.  A few easy chances went down, but skipper Mark Hoklas showed all how it was done taking 4 catches.  Despite the loss of regular wickets the win was secured with 11 overs to spare, with Craig Smith being the best with the bat with 24.  Mark Hoklas backed up his fielding with a hard hitting 21 with Sam Cox and Stuart Swan both contributing 18.  Tundarri Sales and Service player of the week goes to the regular award winner, Darryl Hean.

The D’s hosted Light Pass at Faith West in a game that would secure a finals berth for one of the sides with Light Pass batting first and compiling a steady 5 for 123.  Skipper Dan Eggleton was the best with the ball with 2 wickets, supported by a wicket each to Anthony Roestenburg, Kym Underwood and Kieren Smith.  Special mention to Justin Thompson for a great display with the gloves (despite Tim Brooks trying to sabotage Justin’s game on Friday night) which included a “just like the Gary Vogt photo at the Greenock Creek Tavern” catch  which still has first slip George Akkerman smiling. Another slightly tricky chase on a must win game that took 36.4 overs to complete, with Jamie Roehr deciding that someone else should hit the winning runs leaving the field for a well made 24 with the scores level.  George Akkerman made a welcome return after a long injury layoff with 37, with the best with the bat being Kieren Smith with 40 not out.  Kieren Smith picks up the Rogash Windows player of the week along with the Mia Pizza senior player of the week awards.  Finals are now something the D’s can look forward to – well done all. Rumours of a road trip to Eudunda this week, so publicans  between Tanunda and Eudunda will need to stock up just in case.

Much like the C’s and D’s, the Under 16s headed to Kapunda to tackle Kapunda / Eudunda in a must win game.  An outstanding bowling performance by the Tanunda lads saw the home side restricted to just 44 in the 17th over.  Kyle Graetz was the star with the ball taking 4 for just 13, Ben Biagi took 2 wickets, with Lachlan Miller and Jackson Gray both taking a wicket.  Nic Burton contributed the other wicket with a run out.  Tanunda easily secured victory and an unexpected week off reaching 6 for 90 at stumps.  James Madden finished an excellent minor round contribution with bat, reaching 400 for the season (at an average of 50) whilst top scoring for 38.  Brodie Robinson was the other batsman to make a score of note with 18.  Well done on reaching the finals, now to bring home the points when it matters the most!

In the Under 14s, Tanunda White hosted Sandy Creek Gold at Faith East with finals not a possibility.  The visitors had an excellent day with the bat, reaching 4 for 196 at the end of the 40 overs.  Dylan Birchard, Angus Blieschke and Bryan Stevenson-White each taking a wicket.  Good luck with the chase next week.

The Tanunda Black Under 14 team took the trip to Riverton to tackle Gilbert Valley.  The home side batted first and amassed 6 for 135 off of the allotted overs.  Lachlan Munzberg was the standout with the ball taking 3 wickets, Oscar Harms took 2 wickets and Hugh Smart the other wicket to fall.  Good luck with a patient chase this week to close out your year.

The Under 12’s were back at Faith for our last home game of the year, with Angus Dohse and Hayden Spehr the joint captains for the day. The boys won the toss and decided to give Sandy Creek Gold the chance to bowl first. Opening bats Hugo Schild and Jack Collins started well with a 22 run opening stand from the Justin Langer lookalikes. Jordan Rosenzweig and Hayden Spehr complemented the start with a further 40 run partnership. Other good batting performances came from Jack Underwood and Chloe Rosenzweig, Chloe hit her second four in consecutive weeks, well done and thanks for filling in. Our bowlers started well keeping the run rate down, Harmon Vears, Jack Collins, Sydney Pick, Liam Cook, Hugo Schild and Chloe Rosenzweig each took a wicket. Some excellent work in the field with captain Angus Dohse amd Coan Linke showing the way and Harry Lienert taking a great catch. One game to go!

The Under 10’s got to experience playing on turf at Tanunda, with many of the players having their first experience of “real cricket”.  Skipper Jason Tapscott decided that losing the toss and letting the opposition decide who was doing what was the way to go, with Tanunda sent out to bowl first against Lyndoch.  Sam Roestenburg instantly found out he could cut a ball 6 inches on turf which tested out keeper Nick Holme’s reaction time.  Darcy Thompson was the best of the bowlers taking a wicket, with Ben Swan having a good day in the field with a stumping and a run out.  Skipper Jason Tapscott also contributed an excellent run out, but really didn’t know what all the fuss was about, calming turning to return to his spot in the field whilst the remainder of his team celebrated what he’d just achieved without him.

Lyndoch showed how to bowl on turf, keeping the ball on the stumps, resulting in Tanunda losing quite a few more wickets than in recent times, with most being bowled with the ball passing under the batters bats.  No real highlights with the top score being well and truly the wides column.

Good luck to the A’s, C’s and D’s this week closing out their finals spots.  Well done to the Under 16s for securing yours, and to all other players, enjoy your last week of cricket before the focus quickly turns to Football and Hockey.