With the ongoing battle to get the Tanunda Oval to the point where cricket can be safely played on it, the A’s headed to Faith East to tackle the Schlungers from Greenock. After losing Brett Grocke early Tanunda were in great shape at 2 for about 100 thanks to a fine 50 from skipper Nathan Justin and 20s from ‘Pommy’ Tommy Oliver and Jon Justin.  At that point the wheels well and truly fell off the apple cart, with the last 8 wickets falling in rather rapid pace, with Tanunda being bowled out for 126 in just the 33^rd over.

With every game critical in the lead up to finals a special bowling performance was going to be needed, and that’s exactly what the bowlers delivered.  Christian Gattermayr took 4 wickets and Mitch Boschen and Luke Samain 3 each as the visitors were bowled out for 97 to complete a stirring victory.  Tanunda Clubhouse A grade player of the week goes to Nathan for making the best part of half of the score!

The B’s drove to Nuriootpa with skipper Kym electing to have a bowl.  Micah Linke and Wayne Akkerman both picked up two wickets, with Nick Norman, Adam Norman and Brodie Robinson also taking wickets as the home side reached 7 for 168.   In reply Tanunda fell short with 119.  Brodie and Nick showed their all-round abilities with 25 and 24.  Phil and Darren Graetz also got into double figures with 21 and 17 respectively. WFI B Grade player of the week goes to young Brodie.

The C’s travelling show headed to Mallala in a crucial game with both sides battling it out for a place in the top 4.  Tanunda batted first and Danny Reu showed that a lack of cricket in recent times hadn’t really mattered with an excellent 82 at the start of the innings, with fellow opener Matt Fechner helping lay an excellent foundation for the team contributing 38.  Sam Cox enjoyed his time in the top 3 with 29, Paul Healy, Stuart Swan and Steve Lewis helped get the total to a very respectable 220 with 21 not out, 18 and 13 not out respectively.

The game was in the balance with Mallala 3 for 120 in reply however the removal of a couple of key Mallala batsmen resulted in a comfortable win for Tanunda, with the last Mallala wicket falling on 176. Sam Cox showed he’s as good with the ball as he is with the bat with 2 wickets.  Ben Linke bowled 2 and a bit highly eventful overs, with a variety of unplayable yorkers and unplayable headhunting deliveries, ending with 2 key wickets, one of the best displays of celebrating a wicket you will ever see (the only thing missing was Ben pulling his shirt over his head), and a “that’ll do you for the day” from the umpire.  Matt Fechner enjoyed finishing Ben’s over and took 2 wickets.  Charles Shaw turned back the clock taking 2 wickets in an over of medium pace.  Steve Lewis and Stuart Swan each picked up a wicket.  Danny Reu takes the Lynas Valley Ford C grade player of the week along with the Mia Pizza senior player of the week.

Unfortunately a significant number of the younger variety of players away on school holidays the Under 16s and Under 14 Black teams were unable to fill their sides, resulting in easy points for their opponents.

The Under 14 White side didn’t have much luck either, with the damp weather conditions last week washing out their game at Chateau Tanunda against Angaston.  A disappointing result for the boys who’d posted a competitive 117 against the top team last week thanks to 39 from Riley and 20 from Zac the week before, but that’s turf cricket.

The Under 12 Whites headed to Kapunda to have a rare game on turf.  The damp conditions meant that the kids would need to be on their guard with both bat and ball.  In his debut game Lachlan won the toss and sent in the hosts which proved a master stroke with Tanunda taking 3 wickets in the first 3 overs. Lachlan and Kalan both took two wickets. Both Sam’s took a wicket, as did Darcy and Mitch.  Ben’s ‘only one stump to look at’ run out further restricted Kapunda’s scoring attempts.

‘Front foot forward’ was the order of the day, with Sam N and Darcy getting Tanunda off to a great start.  Excellent partnerships continued throughout the Tanunda innings with Mitch, Sam R and Nick hitting 4s.  The last partnership of the day proved to the one full of excitement, with Malik hitting his first 4 and Lachlan capping off a dream start to his cricket career hitting a 4 off the first delivery he’s faced.  Well done all.

The Under 12 Blacks took to field at Faith against a well-coached Angaston with captains Nick and Liam losing the toss and Tanunda were sent out to bowl. Tanunda’s great form in the field continued with 2 catches (Harry L. & Jack U.), a great runout and a superb bowling effort with wickets to Nick, Syd, Harry R., Harry L. Drake and Ben.  Angaston showed excellent pressure in the field, with a few of the Tanunda players still in “holiday mode”.

After a great start from the openers Harry L.(13 n.o.) and Hayden (7), Tanunda’s batters started to struggle with Angaston’s continued pressure in the field resulting in some unfortunate run outs.  Some excellent partnerships closed out the innings well.  All in all a solid morning’s effort from all players.

The Under 10 whites took on the Greenock Schlungers at Redeemer. Captain Giles won the toss and sent Greenock into bat with Tanunda putting in a great bowling performance restricting them to 65 with only 12 wides (which is the best for the season). Wickets went to Patrick, Tom, Huddo and Oscar. Oscar also took 2 awesome catches while wicket keeping. With the bat Tanunda chased down the runs quite easily finishing with a total of 91 whilst losing only 5 wickets along the way. Captain Giles was on fire hitting 4 fours.  Oscar, Zavier also hitting the boundary rope. Josh Thompson also hit his first 4 for Tanunda – well done Josh! Overall a great team performance bringing a big smile to coach Pete’s dial.

The A’s hosted Mallala at home and were sent out to field by the visitors. Mitch Boschen loved the idea of bowling first, and made Mallala pay with 6 wickets, with Dylan Abinett taking 2 wickets and Luke Samain and Shaun Akkerman one each as Mallala was bowled out for only 73. Tanunda were in trouble in the chase at 2 for 0 before Nathan Justin and Brett Grocke got the job done with 22 and 31 respectively. A grade Tanunda Clubhouse player of the week and Mia Pizza senior player of the week goes to Mitch for his match defining spell.

The B’s drove to Willaston to take on the competition’s newcomers. Tanunda were sent in, much to the delight of Pommy Tommy Oliver, who continued to turn his season back on track with his maiden ton for the club, eventually falling for 107. Toby Mifflin and Liam Boschen both joined in the party with 65 and 55 each and Tanunda hit a highly competitive 5 for 290. Willaston gave the chase a shove but ended falling well short on 216. Stuart Ratch proved that his comeback to cricket was well on track with 3 wickets, Wayne Akkerman took two wickets with other support coming from the youngsters in Aiden Radzevicius, Brodie Robinson and Kyle Graetz with a wicket each. Tommy picks up the Richard Miller Conveyancing B grade player of the week for his first triple figure score for the club.

The C’s had a day off with Gawler Centrals unable to fill their side, so easy points and a day off for all.

The D’s headed to the turf at Eudunda and won the toss and batted. Regular wickets didn’t help the cause as the side struggled, posting only 83 in just over 22 overs. Stuart Swan was the best with the bat with 29, with James McMahon next best with 17 and Matt Fechner with 15. A few quick wickets in the middle of the bowling innings made things interesting however the home side won easily passing the score with 6 wickets in the bank. Stuart was best with the ball with 3 wickets. Brad Pech was the other successful bowler. Stuart picks up the BGI Building Group D grade player of the week.

The Under 16s took the field at Tanunda Oval to defend the 184 set last week and did it in style, bowling out the visiting Angaston/Light Pass side for 124. Hugh continued his great form with ball with 4 wickets for only 7 runs off 6 overs. Cooper and Kyle also proved a handful with 3 wickets and 2 wickets respectively. Lachlan also took a wicket.

As predicted the Under 14 local derby proved to be a close encounter with Tanunda White successfully chasing down the 158 set by Tanunda Blacks last week, reaching 4 for 163 off the 40 overs. Riley was the star with 50 not out, with Will and Jordan both making scores in the 20s without losing their wickets. Thomas was best with 2 wickets, Luca and Harry both took a wicket each. Great to see such an even game from Tanunda’s two under 14 sides.

The Under 12 blacks tackled Sandy Creek Green on Friday night in the return bout, with captains Drake and Hayden winning the toss and batting. Harry L put on a batting masterclass of straight driving which gave the team a great start. Harry R, Jack, Malakai, Josh and Nick all contributed well with the bat. The fielding effort was a highlight for the second week in a row, with 4 catches taken including an excellent diving effort by Jack at short mid-wicket. Harry L took 2 catches and also got a run out in another excellent individual fielding effort. James was the best with the ball with 2 wickets. Syd, Drake, Nick, Josh and Malakai each took a wicket.

The Under 10 whites were also tasked with a game of cricket on Friday night, and headed to Good Shepherd to take on the Angaston Panthers. Captain Joshua won the toss and elected to bowl. Angaston’s batting strength was obvious, but everyone bowled well with only 20 wides that restricted the home sides score. Axel took 2 wickets with Josh, Jason, Zavier and Hudson each taking a wicket. Coach Pete changed the batting order this week to give different boys ago at the top of the order. Everyone took to the challenge well, with Tanunda ‘having more fun than Angaston’ and only losing 3 wickets along the way. Hudson and Giles both smashed 2 fours and Ben chiped in with a boundary. Great win boys well done!

The Under 12 whites and Under 10 blacks both had the week off due to the heat policy.

The A grade hosted Eudunda/Robertstown at home in a one dayer on the turf at Tanunda Oval, with Eudunda winning the toss and posting 6 for 133. Mitch Boschen, Luke ‘Economical’ Samain and Jon ‘All-rounder’ Justin each picked up a couple of wickets.

The loss of early wickets hampered the chase, with skipper Nathan Justin and his deputy Brett Grocke steadying the ship to get the chase back on track with 19 and 24 respectively. Brett’s run out was quite controversial, but we won’t go there.

Dylan Abinett showed excellent fight at the end top scoring with 26, but unfortunately the chase ran out of puff on 120. David Franz Wines A grade player of the week goes to Dylan for a good all-round day.

The Bs drove back to the dog track looking to defend the 237 posted last week. After an early break through the reigning premiers settled in make a strong 7 for 294 in reply.

Young Brodie Robinson continued his strong start to his senior career with 2 wickets as did ‘Pommy’ Tom Oliver (who picked up the Heinrich Cooperage B grade player of the week). Stuart Ratsch, Steve Lewis and Liam Boschen each claimed a wicket.

Due to the unfortunate fires, the C grade game against Freeling at Wasleys was called off (so most of the boys headed to the test instead).

Our thoughts are certainly with our fellow cricketers and other fellow South Aussies who were impacted by the events of last week. We hope you all get back on your feet quickly, and know the Aussie spirit (and the support that goes with that) will see you through.

The D’s finally had a team together with a few new recruits and blokes returning from hospital visits, and hosted South Gawler at Faith East. Returning from his hospital bed, skipper Ben Tucker won the toss and elected to bat. Ben showed that he’s well on the road to recovery with a hard hitting 61 at the top of the order, with the only other bat to contribute to any degree being Jamie Roehr with 40. That ensured a reasonable victory target of 150 was set on the slow eastern oval.

An excellent team bowling performance followed, leading to a 14 run win. Ben was also best with the ball with 3 wickets, and picks up both the Chateau Tanunda D grade player of the week and Mia Pizza senior player of the week awards.

Stuart Swan and Ben ‘KFC variety bucket’ Linke both took 2 wickets, with Jamie Roehr rounding out his day with a wicket. Special mention to the other ‘first game Linke’, Micah on 8 excellent overs – the Ds are just hoping to keep you with them but fear the sides above might nick you!

The Under 16s hosted Angaston/Light Pass, winning the toss on the first day of a 2 day game and having a bat. A ripper opening partnership between Jake and Bailey of 165 set up an excellent score of 3 for 184. Jake top scored with 96, with Brodie also raising his bat along the way to 55. Tight bowling should see the 16s claim back to back victories.

It was a battle of the Tanunda sides in the under 14s at Faith West, with the Tanunda Black variety winning the toss and having a bat. Skipper Luca continued his good season with 40 at the top of the order, with Spencer, Mitch and Blake all contributing 20s in the 150 combined total for the team.

Best with the ball for the Tanunda Whites were Zach and Will with 2 wickets each, with Jackson, Jordan, Braydan and Tyson all taking a wicket. Weather permitting the game is set up for an excellent day on Saturday.

The Under 12 Whites played Greenock at Redeemer Primary and batted first. An excellent team effort with contributions throughout seeing the side post their first 100 run score for the season.

Sam N belted an excellent 6 and a couple of 4s, Mitch hit 3 fours, Chloe and James also hit a couple of 4s and Kalan also hit a 4 with the whole team valuing their wickets and rotating the strike with lots of singles in the innings.

The fielding and bowling continues to improve, with only 18 wides bowled in 24 overs. Chloe and Kobi starred with 2 wickets each with Nick and Malik both taking wickets. Ben and Darcy combined for an excellent run out. Well done all.

The Under 12 Blacks hosted Sandy Creek Green at Faith East. Captains Jack and Harry decided to bat. The focus on running between wickets at training is paying off with great improvement, with hard running between wickets resulting in some 3s being run (very rare on the small under 12s ovals).

Malakai, Harry and Hayden topped the scoring, with a special mention to James and Josh for an excellent partnership to close out the innings.

Well done to Sandy Creek for exceptional bowling with 7 wides for the entire innings

Defending the score, Tanunda Black showed excellent pressure in the field with Harry R getting 2 run outs and Liam 1. The wicket takers Jack and Harry R (who took a great caught and bowled).

Great to see all the hard work and listening to the coach at training paying off.

We start on a sad note with confusion over the juniors and seniors draws resulting in an underprepared pitch at Tanunda Oval, leading to the Under 16s having to bowl from one end all day and the A’s being called off by the umpires due to a number of divots in the just where you don’t want them. Apologies to Eudunda / Robertstown for making the trek to Tanunda – we owe you a carton lads and will make it up this week with a cracker of a pitch for the rescheduled one day game.
The B’s drove to Gawler to take on the Gawler Tigers varietal at the Dog Track and had an excellent day with the willow posting 237. Pommy Tommy Oliver showed he’d touched down in Australia, top scoring with 71, Uncle Toby Mifflin also raised his bat with 57 and Wayne Akkerman fell just short of joining in the raising of the bat ceremony with 46.

Barossa Valley Hire player of the day is Pommy Tommy – welcome aboard mate!

The C’s hosted Gilbert Valley at Faith East, with skipper Jamie Roehr winning the toss and having a hit. The mainstay of the innings was Matt Fechner with an excellent 53, but he was well overshadowed by a man who looked like Chopper Reid but batted like Bradman on his best day, Sam Cox. After years of waking up on a Saturday wondering if today would be the day, with tears in the eyes and emotion like you will never see again at a game of cricket, it happened… yes, Sam Cox, despite a number of nervous moments on the nervous 28s, followed by nail biting moments in the 29s it happened, Sam Cox made a 30, eclipsing his “bowlers century” on 35 not out. Brothers Craig and Bailey Smith shared 24 between them to be next best with the bat.

An all-round team bowling performance followed with young Nick Mills showing his potential again, leading the way with an excellent display of fast bowling finishing with 3 for 7 off his 8 overs, with the other Nick, Norman style taking 2 wickets at the other end. Sam, Darryl ‘Stork’ Hean, Clint ‘Mini-Me’ Hean, Jamie Roehr and Stuart Swan shared the remaining wickets.

Valley Power Equipment player of the match is shared between Matt and Nick Mills for setting up the win with bat and ball.

Steve Bradbury style, Sam Cox takes out the Mia Pizza Senior Player of the week for living his childhood dream. A great example to the next generation, aim for the stars kids.

Another week of gardening projects, injury, ACDC and garage sales left the D’s a few short of a decent number again, so unfortunately Morgan was gifted the points. When we get everyone on the park the A5s will be a force .. we just need to make it happen!

The Under 16s bowled well from the one end of Tanunda Oval and held on to defeat Sandy Creek by 4 runs with Hugh taking the final wicket on his way to 3 for the day, well supported by Kyle and Jordan with 2 wickets each. Brodie and Miller both took a wicket in the hard fought victory, with special mentions to Mitchell, Lachlan for their efforts in the field and to Jake for a ripper slips catch.

The Under 14 Black’s drove to Chateau Tanunda looking to defend the 137 posted last week, and did it well, winning by 10 runs. Jordan took 2 wickets with Jackson, Zach, Angus, and Tyson all chipping in with a wicket each with a couple of run outs in a great team fielding performance.

The Under 14s Whites headed back up the hill to Angaston with the goal of bowling out the hosts for under 83, but it wasn’t to be with Angaston ending the day on 3 for 161. Blake, Angus and Mitch all took took a wicket.

The Under 12 whites also decided that Angaston was the place to be on Saturday morning, taking to the “hard to defend a score on here” Good Shepherd Lutheran School oval to tackle Angaston White. Skipper Malik lost the toss and Tanunda were asked to have a hit. A good solid batting performance followed with James and Ben both hitting a couple of fours (including a pull shot through the slips by Ben), with Kalan, Sam R, Sam N and Kobi also hitting the ball to the boundary.

The team bowled well, although the wides column got a tad of a hammering. Ben and Mitch both took a wicket, there were a couple of great direct hits throws from tough angles a highlight of the fielding.

The Under 12 blacks took on Kapunda at Faith East in their first home gear of the year (the A4s know the feeling). Malakai and Harry decided winning the toss was overrated, resulting in Tanunda having a bowl. The wides column was excellent and a couple of tough chances going down and a few run outs being missed. Best with the ball were Syd, Liam with a wicket each, with Nick, Jack and Josh keeping things very tight.

Batting was excellent with Ben, Nick and Liam the stars, with the players focus on quick singles resulting in a few run outs – but there is only one way to learn after all!

The Under 10 whites travelled to Lyndoch Primary School this week. Axel was given the duties as captain and won the toss and elected to bat first. The team’s batting was very solid all the way down the order. Giles was the only one to smash a 4 and it’s great to see the running between wickets is improving.

A strong bowling performance followed with the least amount of wides for the year so far, and eight boys took wickets this week. Well done to the wicket-takers Nash, Noah, Patrick, Hudson, Tom, Giles, Jason (welcome back!) and Axel who was on a hat-trick.

After a disappointing game in the last round, the A’s headed to the dog track to take on the top team on their home deck. Tanunda batted first and compiled a very competitive 9 for 179 thanks to the ever reliable Jon Justin with another great innings of 72. Great to see young Nic Burton compile 24, Lachy Scott-Hoy find some form with 25 and Pommy Tom Oliver making 16. A nail biter followed with Gawler Centrals falling 4 runs short at the end of their allotted overs. Luke Samain and Dylan Abinett were best with the ball with a couple of wickets each. Others to take wickets were Mitch Boschen, Sam Dunn, Pete Mernagh and Jon Justin.

Teusner Lawyers A grade player of the week and Mia Pizza senior player of the week goes to JJ for a match defining innings at the top of the order.

With a number of forced changes, the B’s headed back to the turf at Tanunda Oval to take on the ole enemy, Tanunda North (Nuri for those new to the Barossa). Winning the toss, fill in skipper Darren Graetz decided to bat first. Regular wickets fell with Tanunda only able to amass a score of 80, much thanks to middle order resistance from Ben Tucker (18), Steve Lewis and Jamie Roehr both hitting 13 and Phil Graetz 10.

Nuri chased down the total in just over 18 overs, losing 6 wickets along the way. Ben followed up his efforts with the bat by taking 3 wickets, with Nic Mills, Steve Lewis and Nick Norman each taking one wicket.

JAX Sports B grade player of the week goes to Ben Tucker for his all-round performance.

The C’s decided that playing at home again was overrated, so all headed off the BP to fill up the tanks (AGAIN!), this week heading to Mallala (first home game for the year coming up this week – woo hoo). A good bowling performance had the home side in trouble at 9 for 82, before a hard hitting last wicket partnership allowed the hosts to set 122 as the target for the win. Best with the ball was Stuart Swan with 3 wickets, Darryl Hean was his reliable self with 2 wickets for little runs, with all other bowlers (Bailey Smith, Kyle Graetz, Saxon Dswonitsky, Adam Norman and Charles Shaw) taking a wicket each. Regular wickets fell in the chase with the Tanunda Leylands falling short on 103. Best with the bat was Stuart with 25, with Saxon, Clint Hean, Matt Fechner, Kyle and Charles each making double figures.

St Hallett Wines C grade player of the week goes to Stuart for cleaning up the tail and hitting the ball hard a few times.

Due to general player unavailability due to shopping, people away for work, family catch ups, birthday parties, people TAKING A VERY LONG TIME TO FINISH GARDEN PROJECTS, injury and other “stuff”, a lack of players led to a week off for the D’s, with Light Pass taking to points this week.

The Under 16s had their first game for the year on the turf at Tanunda, taking on Sandy Creek. Tanunda won the toss and good efforts with the bat from Jake, Brodie, Kyle and Jordan led to a solid score of around 130 being achieved. Good line and length bowling should see the points secured.

The Under 14s whites took on their mates from Nuri at the Chateau and compiled a highly competitive 137, with Riley top scoring with 35, Jackson making an excellent 30, Zach 28 and Tyson contributing 12 to the total.

The Under 14s blacks headed up the hill to Angaston and also had a hit, making 83 thanks to an amazing individual effort from Luca with 61! To put this innings in context, the next highest score was 4, with 2 other players getting on the score board. Great effort Luca!

The Under 12 whites came up against Sandy Creek Green at Faith East and bowled first. An excellent day with the ball and in the field with all the practice paying dividends. Sam N was exceptional with the ball, bowling 2 overs of fast swing bowling resulting in 3 wickets, Mitch, Darcy and Cam also chipped in with wickets, and James threw down a run out from deep mid-on (great effort). With the bat Sam N was the clear star, deciding attack was the best form of defence with 3 fours, these being his only scoring shots for the day. Great to see everyone getting in behind the good balls and having a go at putting away the bad balls.

The under 12 blacks headed to Good Shepherd on a crisp Saturday morning with skippers Syd and Ben losing the toss, resulting in Tanunda having a hit first. The hosts bowled well pinning Tanunda down early, with Hayden, Harry L, Ben and Harry R best with the bat. The boys had an off day in the field early on with a number of misfields and wides but fought back well. Best with the ball were Syd and Nick and super sub Max. Special mention to Liam for his direct hit from fine leg!

Tanunda’s U10 whites travelled to Freeling and had great game with both bat and ball. ZAVIER and Huddo had a good day with the bat both hitting 4’s. Best with the ball were Giles, Patrick and Tom who all took wickets Special mention to Ben for playing for Freeling to help them out, great sportsmanship! Well done also to Nash who did a great job as Captain.

The Under 10 blacks had a well-deserved week off with the bye.

Not the most successful week on the park for the TCC Magpies, but life’s like that sometimes.

The A’s headed to their last day of cricket on the hard wicket at Greenock looking to defend the 161 scored last week. After a couple of early wickets Greenock settled in for the day, easily passing Tanunda’s score on the way to 5 for 241. Christian Gattermayr, Luke Samain, Shaun Akkerman, Dylan Abinett and Brett Grocke each taking a wicket. No real standout performances so we’ll leave the player of the week award in the cupboard for the week.

After a huge effort to get a turf deck prepared (special mention to Kym Farley and Tom Oliver for their efforts) the B’s took to Tanunda oval needing 8 wickets before the Truro reached our score of 103. Despite excellent efforts with the ball from rising star Sam Dunn with 5 for 20 off 22 overs (a great effort) and 3 wickets to Wayne Akkerman Truro managed to get the chocolates, with their last wicket falling on 123. James Marshall was the other successful bowler. NJG Accounting player of the week goes to Sam Dunn, who also picks up the Mia Pizza senior player of the week.

The C’s road trip around the Barossa region continued, with Kersbrook being this week’s stop over location with Lyndoch playing the role of opponent. Skipper Jamie Roehr sent Lyndoch in and would have been delighted when Mitchell Boschen took an early wicket, but steady partnerships saw the hosts achieve a competitive 5 for 165 off of their overs. Mitchell Boschen and Adam Norman were the pick of the bowlers with a couple of wickets each, with the reliable and economical Darryl Hean taking the other wicket.

Things were looking good at 2 for 104 before a steady loss of wickets had Tanunda falling short of the mark on 141. Darryl Hean picks up the Innovative Eyewear player of the week for following his efforts with the ball with 36 at the top of the order, with Matt Fechner, Phil Graetz and Matt Radzevicius all making around the 20 mark.

The D’s hosted new comers to the Barossa and Light Cricket Association, Willaston at Faith East. Skipper Brad Marshall won the toss and decided to have a hit. Things were looking rather dubious at 7 for 36 before hard hitting and “non-classical” batsman James McMahon and young Nick Mills got together to take the score to 82 before James was dismissed for a well made 33. Nick was the last one out for 26 with the score on 91. Willaston made short work of the total, passing the score for the loss of one wicket, with Ben Biagi taking that wicket. MM Electrical Merchandising player of the week goes to James McMahon.

The Under 16s headed to Nuri looking to chase down the impressive 214 the hosts compiled last week. A solid batting display saw Tanunda end the day on 6 for 109, with Jake, Bailey and Brodie all making good contributions. Now onto the first game of turf at Tanunda on Saturday. Good luck.

The Under 14s black got an extra day for Christmas Shopping due to the Chateau still showing the signs of the deluge over the previous days. Tanunda Whites headed to the turf at Sandy Creek looking to defend their 65 from last week and the game looked pretty interesting with the hosts in trouble at 6 for 43, but no further wickets fell as Sandy Creek amassed 131 by the end of the morning’s play. Jackson, Zach both took a couple of wickets, with Riley and Angus being the other successful bowlers with a wicket each.

The Under 12s white took the trek to Nuri on a lovely Friday evening to take on our long term rivals. An excellent display of cricket from both teams, with the game being played in the right spirit. Mitchell was the star with the ball with 3 wickets, and bowled an excellent hat-trick ball. Darcy also took two wickets with Ben taking the other wicket to fall. Tanunda’s batting was terrific throughout, with many great partnerships. Darcy, Mitch, Chloe, Sam R and James all found the boundary with all players running well between wickets.

The Under 12 black team ventured to South Gawler on a “perfect for cricket” Saturday Morning, with captains Liam and Josh winning the toss and batting. As South were short James showed excellent team spirit by agreeing to help South out. An excellent team batting performance with Hayden, Malakai, Liam and Syd being the best with the bat, and only 3 wickets falling overall.

Tanunda’s fielding was excellent, with all 3 catches being taken by Drake, Harry L and Jack U. Best with the ball were Hayden, Harry L, Syd, Liam and Harry R, with a highlight being the run out from Jack U from 3rd man. The focus remains on line and length bowling, but the improvement over recent weeks has been excellent.

The Under 10 black team played Sandy Creek at home at Faith eastern with plenty of enthusiasm shown by both sides. The kids had a chance to put some of the lessons from training into practice with fielders starting to back up throws and getting into position behind the stumps. Well done to Sam who took a spectacular diving catch from his own bowling, while Max and Thomas also took wickets.

With the bat it was great to see players being willing to try some quick singles with better calling and backing up which was good to see even though we didn’t always make it to the other end thanks to some good fielding by Sandy Creek. Well done to Jonte who was our top scorer hitting two boundaries and Henry and Daniel who ran 11 singles without losing a wicket!

The Under 10 white team had a convincing victory over the bye.

8 weeks until Christmas they keep reminding us all, boy oh boy, time flies! Firstly, a little birdy mentioned that a future star had an exceptional day on the cricket field last Saturday and it failed to make the Chatter, well we’ll fix that one right now! It was mentioned that Zach took a remarkable 4 for 4 for the under 14 White team, but what wasn’t mentioned was that three of those wickets came in consecutive balls, but they were also all bowled, and were the opposition’s number 3, 4 and 5 batters, a great effort. Congratulations on your hat-trick Zach!

Now onto this week’s results…

The A’s headed to Greenock and were asked to have a hit. After an excellent start which saw Tanunda 2 for 90, regular wickets fell with Tanunda eventually being bowled out for 161. Jon Justin continues to make runs at the top of the order week in week out, top scoring with 48. Brett Grocke was next best with 39, with Pete Mernagh making 23. A solid bowling effort required this week to bring home the points.

Tanunda Clubhouse A grade player of the week goes to Jon for yet another excellent knock at the top of the order.

After a lot of hard work by many at the Tanunda Cricket Club over a number of months, the SACA, the Barossa Council, and our curators Scott and Darin, cricket finally returned to the turf at Tanunda Oval with the B’s hosting Truro. Skipper Kym Farley won the toss and elected to have a hit and would have been wondering what he’d done with Tanunda being in all sorts after the first 5 wickets fell cheaply. Kym and Ben Tucker helped Tanunda post a defendable total with 41 and 21, with Tanunda eventually bowled out for 106. In reply Truro lost 2 early wickets to up and coming quick Sam Dunn, with the visitors finding themselves in trouble 2 for 0. Truro rallied to end the day on 2 for 30 off 20 overs. Sam Dunn the star with the ball with the excellent figures of 2 for 3 off 8 overs.

Tundarri B grade player of the week and Mia Pizza senior player of the week goes to Kym Farley for an excellent captain’s knock.

The C’s continued their road trip start to the season, this week travelling to Williamstown to take on Sandy Creek. Skipper Jamie won the toss and decided to have a hit. Regular wickets fell throughout, with an excellent hard hitting 42 from Matt Fechner, supported by 23 from Stuart Swan and 19 from Craig Smith leading to a score of 158 being posted. That would prove to be 20 or 30 short of the mark, with Sandy Creek successfully chasing down the target with a couple of overs to spare and 7 wickets in the shed. Stuart Ratsch turned back the clock with an excellent spell of fast swing bowling which resulted in 2 wickets, with Adam Norman being the other successful bowler.

Lynas Valley Ford C grade player of the week is Matt Fechner.

Unfortunately with a significant number of players out this week the D’s had to apologise to Lyndoch for giving them Saturday afternoon off.

The Under 16s headed to Nuriootpa and bowled against a strong Nuriootpa outfit who ended the day with 5 for 214. Best of the bowlers were Oscar, Cooper, Jake, Tim and Mitchell with a wicket each.

The Under 14 Blacks played Greenock Creek Browns at the Chateau and posted a highly respectable 6 for 120 off the 40 overs. Blake top scored with 23, Harry was next best with 21, with Luca and Angus both making it into double figures.

The Under 14 Whites headed to Sandy Creek and batted first, with the hosts restricting Tanunda to 65, Best with the bat was Riley with 19, with good support from Will on 14 and Zach on 10. The hosts are 2 for 15 in reply, with Jackson taking the 2 wickets to fall.

The Under 12 whites had a day off with the bye, with the Under 12 whites hosting Light Pass on a ripper of a Saturday morning at Faith East with Tanunda taking to the field. Continued improvement continues to be shown with the ball and in the field, with Sam N continuing his “Mr Reliable” efforts taking another 2 excellent catches to keep up his season average. Darcy, Kobi and James were the successful bowlers on the day each picking up a wicket with the most of our bowlers showing continued improvement in the wides column. Best with the bat were Kalan, Ben and James who all hit excellent fours, with a number of batters placing the ball in the field such that 2’s were possible. Well done all.

The Under 10 blacks drove to the ‘perfect for Under 10s cricket’ oval at Kapunda High School, with Kapunda winning the toss and coming out firing with the willow. In response Tanunda applied excellent pressure to restrict the hosts scoring rate, with many of the bowlers unlucky not to hit the wickets of the opposition with narrow misses. The wides column continues to improve with 7 less wides than last week. Excellent fielding saw two direct hits, with the Kapunda batters just managing to make their ground. Tanunda batted exceptionally, with only one wicket falling in our innings. A noticeable improvement was seen in the batting, with excellent stroke play down the ground a feature of the innings.

The Under 10 whites travelled to Nuri this week and had a great game with both bat and ball. It was great to see everyone getting on the scoreboard and the running between wickets improving. Captain Ben showed the way with two 4s, Hudson also found the boundary and well done Noah for hitting his first four. Everybody bowled well with Oscar, Noah, Giles, Tom, Hudson and Nash each taking a wicket. Well done Axel for taking his first wicket. Highlight of the fielding effort was a great catch taken by Nash. Great team effort!

Have a great week and do something nice to someone who wouldn’t be expecting it, go on – make their day.

A pretty good day for the Maggies on Saturday in the senior grades with 3 wins out of 4.

The A’s headed to Faith East looking to defend the 270 they put on the board last week and did it well, with Light Pass dismissed well short of the mark on 147. Star of the bowling efforts was debutant Sam Dunn, taking A grade cricket in his stride, finishing with 5 for 36. He was well supported by Dylan Abinett with 2 wickets, and a wicket each to Luke Samain and Shaun Akkerman saw the job done. Light Pass were asked to bat again and ended the day on 5 for 43. Luke Samain the star in the visitor’s 2nd innings with 3 for 7 off 7 overs, with Connor Peacock and Dylan Abinett taking the other wickets to fall.

YourTech Services player of the week goes Sam Dunn, on his excellent spell of tall fast bowling.

After an excellent start at defending Tanunda’s 126 (having Angaston 3 for 8), the B’s knew they’d have to bowl well to get the job done. The game was evenly poised with the home side 5 for 84 before skipper Kym decided it was time to pull off one of those captains calls that turn into club folklore… in an inspired moment the ball was thrown to Jimmy Marshall, who’s probably more well known for his work with gloves and bat. Over the next 7 overs Jimmy would take a remarkable 5 wickets whilst only giving up 8 runs. Nick Mills took another wicket for a total of 2 in the innings, with Nick Norman the other bowler to take a wicket (his first for the club) on the day.

Tanunda headed back to the field for some batting practice, and stumbled to 8 for 54 at the end of the days play, with Darren Graetz and Nick Norman the best with the bat in the 2nd dig.

Adelaide Brighton Cement player of the week has to be Jimmy for a spell that we’ll keep hearing about from him for years to come!

Thanks to an outright at Kapunda last week, a rare home game turned into another away game for the C’s, with this week’s episode of the A4s Leyland Brothers of the Barossa and Light region seeing the C’s take on Kapunda on the turf at Dutton Park.

Skipper Jamie won the toss and decided to bat. Superstar of the A4 competition, Darryl Hean hit a fantastic 74. Strong contributions from new player to the club Ben Tucker (29), Danny Reu (20), Matt Fechner (19), another new player to the club Adam Norman (15) and Sam Cox (18 not out) saw an excellent score of 9 for 194 set. At the half way mark of the chase it was game on, with Kapunda 2 wickets down for about 100, but tight bowling saw regular wickets fall from that point with the hosts being bowled out for 135. Ben Tucker completed an excellent first game for his new club with 4 wickets, Darryl Hean took 2 wickets, as did skipper Jamie Roehr. Adam Norman and Wayne Akkerman both took a wicket in the excellent win.

Ultimate Engineering player of the day goes to Darryl Hean for setting up the defendable score.

The D’s took on last session’s A5 premiers Greenock at Nuri High. Simon Cook’s 32, Saxon Dswonitsky’s 30, Aden Radzevicius’s 20 and good contributions from the younger brigade in Ben Biagi and Will Parker led to the victory target being set at 158. An early wicket from Aden had Tanunda on top early, but regular catches going down along with a few lucky breaks going the wrong way saw Greenock pass the score 3 wickets down. Ben Biagi and Troy Pudney were the other bowlers to take wickets. Special mention to Zavier Dswonitsky and Ben Mernagh for helping out in the field.

Rogash Windows player of the day goes to Saxon for his 30 and his tidy 8 over spell. Many thanks to Brad Marshall for keeping everyone up to date with what was happening on Facebook throughout the fielding efforts.

Mia Pizza player of the week goes to Sam Dunn for his 5 wicket haul in the A’s, with Jimmy Marshall unlucky to miss out.

The Under 16s took to Nuri High knowing a special bowling effort was would be needed to bowl out the hosts for under 50. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, but the boys put on a great bowling display (especially given some key bowlers were unavailable) to restrict Greenock to 95. Best with the ball was Cooper with 4 wickets. Brodie took 2 wickets, with Oscar, Bailey and Jake each taking a wicket.

History was made with junior cricket being played at Chateau Tanunda on Saturday morning, with our Tanunda Black Under 14 side taking Light Pass in a one day game on the turf. Skipper Angus won the toss and elected to bat, with Tanunda reaching 5 for 89 off our allotted 25 overs. Blake was the star with the bat with 28, well supported by Spencer and Angus with 16 and 10 respectively.

In reply Light Pass batted well reaching 4 for 101 to take the points. Angus completed an excellent captains’ game with 2 wickets, with Jaden and Spencer the others to take wickets.

The Under 14 Whites headed to Lyndoch looking to defend the 70 runs that were scored last week and were looking in great shape with 5 early wickets, however the hosts steadied the ship to pass the score and end on 9 for 119. Zach was the superstar with the ball taking an amazing 4 for 4 off of six overs, with Jackson chipping in with 2 wickets. Scott, Sam and Angus each took a wicket.

The Under 12 Whites decided to go for a road trip on Friday evening, stopping in at Williamstown Oval on their way to the picket fence at Sandy Creek for a game on the turf. Sandy Creek won the “we’re on the way” toss of the coin and elected to bat (which was quite convenient given the situation). Mitch and Malakai were the best with the bat, both hitting 4s. Sandy Creek batted well early, but Tanunda showed excellent commitment throughout our bowling innings. Kobi was the star with the ball with 3 wickets, with 2 of them coming in successive deliveries. The hat-trick ball was well bowled but not to be. Sam R, Cameron and Malik all got wickets, with Sam “Dead-eye” N doing an outstanding job in the field, with 2 run outs (including a fantastic direct hit from side on).

The Under 12 Blacks also had a late venue change for their first away game of the season, taking on Gawler Centrals. 5 players out threw the coach a challenge, but young Max came up from the Under 10’s to lend a hand. Captains Hayden and Drake thought that winning the toss was overrated, with the opposition skipper asking Tanunda to have a bat. Harry was the star with the bat with a hard hitting 18. Hayden, Jack and Nick also batted well (as did the whole team really with only two wickets lost for our innings.

Fielding with 9 players proved a challenged with more gaps than you’d usually expect, however the Tanunda boys did us proud with excellent bowling and fielding. Hayden, Jack and Drake all picked up a wicket, with young Max also showing he’ll be an asset to the club going forward, unlucky not to pick up a wicket.

The Under 10 Whites took on the competitions new comers Willaston, who were undermanned but showed terrific sportsmanship being shown by our young cricketers by helping Willaston out in the field. Captain Hudson won the toss and proved he’s a chip off the block, winning the toss and electing to take advantage of the bowler friendly conditions. A good bowling effort followed with the number of wides coming down week by week as the boys continue to improve. Best of the bowlers were Tom, Zavier and Ben who each took a wicket.

An excellent team batting effort by all the lads, with Ben and Zavier showing their all-round abilities hitting boundaries. Great to see the continued improvement week by week.

The Under 10 Blacks played Angaston at Faith West. Best with the bat were Walter, Jonte and Phoenix, with only 3 wickets falling in Tanunda’s innings. An excellent display of bowling and fielding, with the wides column consistent with last week – so more practice to come in hitting the green bit at training, as we want that one getting smaller each week. 8 Angaston wickets fell in the chase with Banjo starring with 2 wickets (including a caught and bowled) and a direct hit runout. Jonte also did well with 2 wickets, with Sam, Daniel and Walker all knocking over one of the Angaston batters. The team had 3 runouts in total, with another one of those being a direct hit. Well done all.

Time for the first edition of Magpie Chatter for the 2015/2016 Barossa & Light Cricket Season and boy, do the seasons sneak up quickly! An exciting year ahead for the Club with 4 senior sides and 7 junior sides taking to the field each week to fly the flag and play great cricket in the right spirit.

With the Tanunda Oval repairs work taking the oval out of action for a couple more weeks, the A’s headed to Faith East to tackle Light Pass, with the visitors deciding to bowl. Led by an exceptional effort from “First Game Skipper” Nathan Justin with a hard hitting knock of 102, well supported by brother Jon with 55. Shaun Akkerman, Lachy Scott-Hoy and Luke Samain all made 20’s helping Tanunda to a very competitive total of 270. Light Pass faced 10 overs, making it to 24 without loss in reply when stumps were drawn.

Line and length bowling and a solid fielding effort should see the first win for the year for the A’s. The Clubhouse player of the week goes to Nathan for an excellent start to his captaincy career at Tanunda.

The B’s headed to Angaston to try out impressive new turf deck, with Skipper Kym Farley winning the toss and having a hit. After losing an early wicket, the experienced duo of Toby Mifflin and Darren Graetz saw the score to 72 before Toby was dismissed for 39. Darren was next to fall for a well-made 33, with new player to the club Nick Norman the only other bat to make a significant contribution making 18. Tanunda was eventually bowled out for a patient 126.

In great signs for the future of the club, 5 excellent overs from our up and coming bowlers have Angaston on the back foot at 3 for 8, with Brodie Robinson bowling 2 exceptional overs to end the day on 2 for 1, and Nick Mills backing up from winning the C grade golf in the morning taking a wicket in his only over. Good luck to bringing home the points. Tundarri player of the day goes to Brodie for ripping through the Angaston top order at the end of the day.

The C’s took to the dog track to commence the premiership defence against Gawler Centrals. Batting first Tanunda compiled a very competitive 6 for 199, with comeback kid Matt Fechner with 43, skipper Jamie Roehr 30 not out and young Bailey Smith 23 not out.

Story of the day must go to Nick Lienert, who woke up on Saturday a happily retired cricketer. With a player pulling out of the B’s at 11 am and Nick being near the selector’s eye line, umpiring his lad at square leg during the Under 12’s at Faith, the question was asked if Nick would consider coming out of retirement… “No, I can’t sorry.” 11:10 am, Nick was heard to say “where is the game”, 11:20 am, “what time is the game”, 11:37 am – “Okay, I better go sort out some whites.” Nick’s long retirement was over, much to the amazement of his lovely wife Chris, who nearly fell over when she arrived home to see Nick about to leave the house in his whites. But, boy was it worth it, with Nick making his first 50 in over a decade, looking fantastic on his way to top scoring with 56.

Taking to the field Nick decided that he should really show his new team mates that batting wasn’t the only thing he had to offer, taking a blinding catch at cover to kick things off. Sam Cox had an outstanding day with 7 quality overs yielding 5 wickets for only 7 runs. Stuart Swan chipped in with 2 wickets, Darryl Hean and Matt Fechner 1 wicket each as the hosts finished their allotted 40 overs at 9 for 102. WFI player of the day goes to Sam for his first 5 wicket haul, with Nick an honourable mention for top scoring, taking 2 catches as well as bowling the last over of the day, a fair comeback to cricket!

The D’s hosted Angaston at Faith West and batted first, compiling a competitive 7 for 181 off their 40 overs. Skipper Bob Smart had a great day making 74, with Chris Collins (who also wasn’t playing cricket Saturday when he woke up) chipping in with 33. Another comeback kid Matt Pick was next best with the bat with 15.

Catches win matches, and unfortunately dropped catches can also hurt in the opposite way, with the visitors chasing down the total with a few overs in the bank. Chris Collins completed and solid all-round day with a wicket, with young Cooper Ratsch taking the other wicket to fall. Barossa Valley Brewing player of the week goes to Bob for his captain’s innings.

Mia Pizza Senior player of the week is a tie between Nathan and Sam for their efforts with bat and ball.

The Under 16’s took to Nuri High to tackle the lads from Greenock. Skipper Jake Hartigan won the toss and Tanunda had a hit. Greenock bowled well to restrict Tanunda to 49, with Oscar Harms top scoring with 12. Cricket’s a funny game boys, tight bowling might see you pull off an excellent victory.

After a long spell without rain, the combined Tanunda Under 14’s teams could consider themselves pretty unlucky with their historic match on the turf at Chateau Tanunda being called off due to rain, what are the odds!

Continuing the theme of Tanunda derby’s to kick off the season, both Tanunda Under 12’s took to Faith East to kick off the year. Tanunda White’s skipper James decided that he’d like to bat first. Tanunda Black bowled well taking 9 wickets, with Hugo and Joshua the stars with 2 wickets. Harry L, Syd, Hayden, Nick and Ben (Tanunda Black Variety!) all got amongst the wickets with super sub from the opposition Sam N taking a catch against his team mates. Mitch was the best with the bat for Tanunda Whites hitting an excellent 4.

Tanunda Black followed on from their good bowling performance with a good effort with the bat, with Hugo hitting four 4’s, Harry L two 4’s, and Hayden and Ben hitting a 4 each. Sam “sticky fingers” took another 3 catches for his side (Tanunda Whites), taking a remarkable 4 catches for the day. Darcy showed he’s an all-round talent with an excellent caught and bowled with excellent support from first gamers Malik and Nick with a wicket each. Ben (Tanunda White Variety!) and Chloe both kicked off their bowling seasons by taking a wicket.

Spectators witnessed a great start to the season on Saturday morning at Faith West with both Under 10 teams facing each other in the first game of Under 10 cricket for the season. Exciting to see 15 new players out of a total of 22, with all players playing with great enthusiasm and respect for the spirit of the game.

Special mentions to Oscar, Axel, Noah, Nash, Tom R, Patrick, Thomas, Ned, Banjo, Remi , Henry, Finn and Daniel who all scored runs in their first game. First time wicket takers were Oscar, Noah, Tom R and Patrick – welcome to our great game!

Well done to Jonte who returned to cricket this season after having a break, and scored 11 runs and was amongst the wicket takers. There was some great fielding with 2 run outs achieved which resulted in appropriate enthusiasm all round. Special mention to Tanunda’s Veteran Under 10 players, Ben, Giles, Zavier, Hudson, Max and Walter who all lead the way by showing their new team mates how to play the game.

Great to be back to playing cricket!