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Parkes Phoenix

Backyard Cricket Hits A Six!

October 8, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

THE BIGGEST… NSW Blues players Daniel Hughes, Nathan Lyon, Liam Hatcher are encouraging everyone to join in NSW’s Biggest Game of Backyard Cricket tomorrow.

With lockdowns set to lift and the cricket season on its way, Cricket NSW is encouraging households across the state to take part in NSW’s Biggest Game of Backyard Cricket tomorrow, 9th October.

It is a chance for everyone – families, flatmates and even singletons – to get active, have a laugh and experience a form of the sport which everyone can play, even if you don’t have access to a cricket bat, stumps or a ball.

Leading the charge for NSW’s Biggest Game of Backyard Cricket is NSW and Australian star Nathan Lyon, who along with NSW Blues housemates Liam Hatcher and Daniel Hughes, has been enjoying some backyard cricket during the winter months.

“The best thing about backyard cricket is that you can make up your own rules to reflect the space you have at home and the amount of people playing. If you don’t have cricket equipment, backyard cricket is about improvising, so think about using a bin or the fence for stumps, socks for a ball, and a piece of wood as the bat,” said Nathan.

To be in the running to win the major prize of a Weber Spirit II E320 plus an all-new Weber Traveler or one of eleven $100 Weber.com vouchers, participants need to register for the Biggest Game of Backyard Cricket at cricketnsw.com.au and then post on the “Biggest Game of Backyard Cricket” Facebook Event page their video entry for the most creative wicket-taking celebration that occurred during their game.

“The Biggest Game of Backyard Cricket is a light-hearted initiative to get everyone across NSW to prioritise their health and wellbeing, and do a fun activity together,” said Joanne Scanlon, Cricket NSW General Manager – Community Cricket Experiences.

For information or to register for your local club, head to Play.Cricket.com.au.

Sports Oval Gets Spiced Up

October 1, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

SPECIAL DAY… At the commencement of construction of the redevelopment of Spicer Oval on Tuesday were (L-R) Cr Neil Westcott, Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton, Ben Howard (Parkes Shire Council), Phil Donato MP, Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith, Glen Tilston (Hines Construction), Allan Ryan (Parkes Boars), Scott Knights (President Parkes Senior Cricket), Duncan Blair (Project Manager Parkes Shire Council) and Kevin Oliver (President Parkes Boars).

By the end of June next year the Parkes Boars Rugby Union Football Club will have its own $1.6 million facility at the Spicer Oval.

“I can’t express how much this means to our club,” said Allan Ryan of the Boars at the commencement of construction this week. “There is nothing like having your own club house. We are very, very grateful. This is going to be a game changer for our club and give us pride and identity.”

The redevelopment of Spicer Oval will include a modern amenities block, a club-house and canteen with additional function capabilities, plus a viewing platform accommodating 300 people to service year-round participation of a range of different sports. The building contract was awarded to Hines Construction.

While it will provide the Parkes Boars with a dedicated facility and accommodate junior, senior and women’s rugby matches, the oval will also be used for cricket matches of all grades and ages.

Phil Donato MP said it was a very special day for the Parkes Community and a significant project for the Boars, who had won the premiership two years in a row. “It will be good for the Boars to have their own facility and a venue to match other clubs’ facilities in the region.”

Parkes Mayor Ken Keith said it was a great move forward for the oval that was known as the People’s Park originally where the great Donald Bradman had played many years ago. “It has been the home of so much sport in our community and it still is.

He said the next phase would be to level the playing field to include two rugby fields and the cricket pitch.

Stage 1 of the redevelopment of Spicer Oval included the upgrade of the LED lighting in line with the lighting code for night time football and cricket.

By Maggi Barnard

 

‘Wickets’ Fly At Bowls

July 16, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

‘Twas a fine morning on Tuesday with a brisk cross wind, air temperature 15 degrees – anything could happen! As the games began you would have thought we were bowling at the SCG with the ‘cricket scores’ each winning team was amassing!

On wicket number 3, Kim Evans (that silly mid-on), Hilda McPherson (delivers every bowl right in the block hole) and Lea Orr (caught bowling underarm – AGAIN) took the advantage over Carol Reed (scoring a hat trick of touchers), Maria Willcockson (playing some attacking shots late in the game) and Maureen Miller (captain and consistent all-rounder), winning by a fair margin! Kim received an official warning for possession of sand paper!

Six maidens in slips graced wicket number 4. Gwenda Carty (batting on despite the urge to retire hurt), Betsy Johnstone (timing her shots to perfection) and Di Howell (super-sub spinner of the red cherry) proved too strong for Chris Cox (wanting to bail out after turning a year older), Lynn Ryan (at short leg, her favourite spot) and Heather Harvey (usually plays in NZ kit).

Four players went into the attack on wicket 5. Julie Green and Fran Dixon (two multi-talented rookies) were in form and had their eye in from the first bowl. Valmai Westcott and Chris Curteis took their punishment on the scoreboard after bowling numerous dead bowls!

Play was briefly suspended as the No 3 Pennants team members returned triumphant from Dubbo. Congratulations to Maree Grant, Cherie Frame, Joan Simpson, Liz Byrne, Jan McPhee, Rhona Went, Brenda Davies, Merilyn Rodgers and Manager Kay Craft, on becoming Regional Pennants Champions! Next stop – State play-offs. That’s a SIX!

The Bogan Gate Renaissance

January 29, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

Alex McKeowen bowled by Blake Smith. (See more photos of the historic match on The Parkes Phoenix facebook page.) Photo: Les Finn

Sunday’s remarkable match was exactly what the future of the Grin-sted Cup needed according to Michael Greenwood, who wrote a book about the cup’s history.

“I believe the Cinderella win by Bogan Gate will provide the necessary shot in the arm for the longevity of the famous Grinsted Cup, arguably the longest running sporting challenge competition in regional Australia,” said Michael.

“The past few seasons leading up the cup centenary in 2019 had been plagued by regular forfeits from some of the larger centres and there were genuine concerns that the cup could go by the wayside. Those fears were effectively erased on Sunday, not only for the manner in which the match was played but also by the brilliant atmosphere generated by the largest cup crowd for years.”

Michael said the Bogan Gate Renaissance has drawn amazing parallels to their first win a mere 85 seasons ago. “Interest in the challenge from Grenfell on Sunday week is already generating keen public interest from around the region.” He congratulated all involved.

Grinsted Cup Back To Bogan Gate After 85 Years

January 29, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

The victorious Bogan Gate Rabbits are the back (L-R) Craig O’Shannessy, Lachlan Britt, Phil Dunford, Peter Thomas, Ryan Dunford and Joseph Tanswell. In front are Vince Umbers, Andrew Britt, Israel Symington, Alex McKeowen and Alex Umbers. Absent: Paul Dunford. Photo: Les Finn

The 101st year of the prestigious Grinsted Cup delivered another amazing chronicle on Sunday when Bogan Gate produced a Cinderella win in their first appearance in 85 years!

The Bogan Gate Rabbits last held the Cup in February 1936 when they defeated arch-rivals Forbes in a thrilling contest, while Parkes was aiming for their 14th consecutive challenge victory.

The Woodward Oval provided the ideal setting as spectators came from across the state to witness the history-making clash.

Parkes won the toss and elected to bat. They immediately faced some excellent bowling from former Western Zone representative players Phill Dunford and Andrew Britt. Parkes soon reeled at 2/13 after 6 overs with Phil claiming the prized scalp of Parkes captain Myles Smith, who departed without troubling the scorers.

The introduction of Craig O’Shannessy and Ryan Dunford delivered immediate re-ward for Bogan Gate. Craig captured 2/19 off 5 overs, while Ryan finished with 2/16 off 7 overs. Parkes struggled to gain any momentum as the score stood at 7/37 before a valuable late order partnership between Jock Yelland (17) and Blake Smith (16) helped boost the Parkes total to 80 runs off 37.4 overs.

Andrew Britt turned in a superb spell of bowling to finish with 3/31 off 17.4 overs including six maidens, while Phil Dunford collected 3/13 off 8 overs.

In reply, the Bogan Gate opening pair of Lachlan Britt and Paul Dunford were in great form. Paul retired hurt on 14 after suffering a nasty shoulder injury. Talented cricketer, Vince Umbers joined Lachlan to continue the impressive batting performance before Lachlan was bowled by Blake Smith (3/21 off 6.1) for 28.

Bogan Gate only needing 10 runs for victory. Blake Smith produced two more amazing deliveries in succession to achieve a remarkable hat-trick. Vince Umbers (31no) featuring three well-struck sixes and two boundaries combined with Craig O’Shannessy (5no) to hit the winning runs and record a history-making victory for Bogan Gate.

By Luke Nash

Catching And Fielding Equipment

December 4, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

The Parkes District Cricket Association received $4,500 of funding through the 2019/20 Local Sport Grant Program to purchase training equipment for the local representative and senior teams. Member for Orange Phil Donato MP (right) was in Parkes on Wednesday to hand over the funding to Luke Nash, Daniel Gordon and Paul Dunford of the Parkes District Cricket Association.

Parkes Colts Take Premiership

March 20, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Many keen cricketing pundits were forecasting a closely contested final between minor premiers Parkes Colts and an inform Cowra Bowling Club at the Woodward Oval last Saturday.

Parkes Colts however turned it into quite a one-sided affair after they produced a stunning bowling and fielding effort to dismiss Cowra Bowling Club for 97 runs in 35.2 overs.

The Colts then made short work of their run chase to score 1/98 in 20.1 overs, only losing the wicket of opening batsmen Peter Yelland off the last ball of the game as Peter was stumped off a wide that gave Colts victory.

It would be fair to say that the Dunford brothers, Phil and Paul, played major roles in the Parkes Colts premiership success as Phil secured the excellent bowling figures 5/24 off 9 overs including 3 maiden overs. Paul continued his rich rein of batting excellence to score a dominant 59 not out with 7 fours in 70 minutes to pilot the Colts home to a most emphatic 9 wicket victory.

The match began with a superb bowling blitz from Colts bowlers Brent Tucker and Andrew Britt as they smashed through the early order Bowling Club batting. Andrew Britt, by securing 2 wickets in his opening over, gained plenty of approval from his teammates. The entry of Phil Dunford to the bowling crease saw wickets tumble, but Michael Curtale’s valiant 49 provided the backbone of the Cowra Bowling Club innings of 97. The Colts young bowler Zac Larkins was delighted to take a wicket with his first ball before finishing with the very tidy figures of 1/5 off 3 overs.

In reply Colts openers Pater Yelland and Paul Dunford carried on the tradition of great Australian opening pairs such as Bob Simpson and Bill Lawry, Geoff Marsh and Mark Taylor in guiding the Colts to a memorable victory.

By Luke Nash

Centenary Of Grinsted Cup Repeats History

November 15, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

CENTENARY OF GRINSTED CUP… The 2019 Parkes team was joined by Tim Keith, Bob Aitken, John Davies and Lex Hodges before the match on Saturday.

History repeated itself last Saturday in the centenary celebration of the Grinsted Cup game played at the Woodward Oval.

In 1969 Parkes staged an amazing revival to defeat Forbes by one wicket in the 50th anniversary of the Grinsted Cup. The same result was achieved last Saturday when Parkes scraped home to win by the barest margin with Forbes 10/91 off 39 overs and Parkes 9/92 off 39 overs.

After the official launch of the new LED lights at the oval by Member for Orange Phil Donato and Councillor Louise O’Leary, the match began in sensational fashion when Parkes opening bowler Phil Dunford produced a wicket off the first ball to clean bowl Jarrod Nicholson.

Forbes staged a comeback as Mitch Bayley 34 and Scott Neville 15 took the Forbes score to 51 in the 19th over. Parkes 15-year- old Harry Bayliss entered the attack with his well flighted leg spinners as he ripped through the middle order and claimed 6/29 off 10 overs.

Forbes batsman Mark Simmonds (20 no) displayed plenty of grit to boost the Forbes total to 91 off 39 overs. Phil Dunford (3/18) and Blake Smith (1/18) put Parkes in a good position for victory.

At the toss before the match were (L-R) Peter Yelland (Parkes Captain), Mitch Bayley (Forbes Captain), Glenn Pepper (Parkes) and Robert Ryan (Forbes).

In reply, the Parkes batting line-up soon found that they had a difficult task as Mark Simmonds turned in a terrific display of sustained accuracy to smash through the Parkes batting order. Parkes were reeling when their score stood at 5/27 after 12 overs with Mark Simmonds collecting four of the first five wickets to fall. Andrew Hall and Toby Hurford also bowled tightly for Forbes.

A very determined Shane Jones (33 no) and Paul Dunford (11) added useful runs, but Parkes continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. The Parkes score stood at 9/75 when the final batsmen, Ben Coultas joined Shane Jones with Parkes requiring a further 17 runs for victory.

Shane Jones survived a dropped catch that would have given Forbes victory. Ben Coultas hit the winning runs off the following over to give Parkes a memorable victory over a gallant Forbes team.

The Grinsted Cup is said to be the longest running sport competition in NSW. Michael Greenwood gave an overview of all the top historic moments of the past 100 years at the Woodward Oval. He said it was the showpiece of country sport 60 years ago, and told the Parkes team, who defended the sought after trophy last Saturday, and the Forbes team they were part of great sporting history.

Convincing Victory Over Wellington

November 22, 2018 By Maggi Barnard

The Parkes U/14 cricket team Parkes scored a convincing 91 run victory over a keen Wellington team at a superbly prepared Spicer Oval on Sunday. The Parkes team included a good number of U/12 players who took the opportunity to extend their skills by playing with talented U/14 players.

The scores were: Parkes 8/194 in 40 overs – Joseph Tanswell 75, Hunter Hawke 38, Jack Milne 23, Flynn Thompson 13 n.o, Maddy Spence 9, Isaiah Hill 2/29 off 8 overs, Nate Bradford 2/21 off 4 overs, Lachy George ½ off 6 overs.

Wellington 10/103 in 37.2 overs – Lachy George 23, Amali McNeil 18, Zeke Heterick 11, Callee Black 11, Joseph Tanswell 3/16 off 8 overs, Maddy Spence 2/9 off 4 overs, Ryan Dunford 2/5 off 4.2 overs, Hunter Hawke 1/11 off 8 overs.

Parkes batted first to see a very positive opening partnership between Joseph Tanswell and Jack Milne. They put on 51 runs in 11 overs before Jack was dismissed for 23 with 4 boundaries.

Hunter Hawke (38 runs off 44 balls with 4 very strong fours) then partnered with Joseph in a quick fire 63 run partnership for the second wicket. Joseph (75 runs from 89 balls with 7 well struck boundaries) should be very pleased with his highest score in his young career.

After a middle order collapse, late order players Flynn Thompson (13 n.o) and Harry Kennedy (6) added quick runs at the end of the innings.

In reply Wellington lost wickets at regular intervals. Maddy Spence and Geordie Duncan were impressive in the field, while Jackson Plummer also stood out. Joseph Tanswell completed an outstanding all-round match as he produced 8 accurate overs to capture 3 early order Wellington wickets. Maddy Spence (2/9) and Ryan Dunford (2/5) chimed in to take valuable wickets.

By Greg Morrissey

Cricket In The Dish – What A Blast!

October 18, 2018 By Maggi Barnard

“I’ve played cricket in lots of places. In the backyard, the driveway, inside the house, but never on top of a radio telescope.” Brisbane Heat star, and one of the world’s biggest hitters, Chris Lynn joined other cricket heroes and local kids to recreate the famous scene from the movie, The Dish, at the Parkes Radio Telescope last Thursday.

Under dark, stormy clouds they tried to ‘blast’ a ball into space to launch Cricket Australia’s new kids program Woolworths Cricket Blast “I didn’t quite get the ball into orbit, but it was a great experience. It was amazing,” said right-handed top order batsman Chris.

He was joined by Big Bash League heroes Peter Handscomb, Alyssa Healy, Ash Gardner and Nic Carey, Parkes kids Nina Richardson-Barley and Nate Henry, and Nate Vincent from Condobolin.

About 60 children from Parkes, Orange, Dubbo, Condobolin, Forbes and Cowra signed up to be part of the exciting day and took part in many cricket activities on the grounds around the radio telescope.

In the famous scene in the movie two engineers turn the giant radio telescope, used for beaming live television pictures of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon to the world, into a makeshift cricket pitch.

Last Thursday the cricket heroes climbed the giant structure under guidance from CSIRO Operations Scientist John Sarkissian to re-enact the scene using soft balls not to damage the dish.

“The cricket scene in the film has become an iconic feature of the CSIRO Parkes Observatory, and to see it re-enacted by real cricketers was a blast,” said John. “It was fantastic to see how much the junior cricketers enjoyed themselves. I’m sure they will remember it for a very long time.”

Woolworths Cricket Blast is a program for girls and boys of all abilities between the ages of 5 to 10 to learn new skills and play Australia’s favourite sport.

By Maggi Barnard

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