Rostrevor Magazine 2020-2021

Page 68 / Rostrevor Magazine 2020 - 2021 ‘No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main’ Cricket Rostrevor Old Collegians’ Cricket Club With the COVID-19 pandemic punctuating the end of the 2019/20 cricket season and events around the globe since then, it seems such a long time ago. Reflecting now on the season, it was probably a year of what could have been for our A Grade and one that didn’t really get going, at least not how we would have liked it to, for our other grades. Coming off some fairly ordinary results in the 2018/19 year, our A Grade started the new season on fire with five wins on the trot, sitting at the pointy end of the ladder going into the Christmas break. A few consecutive losses a er that, all games that we really should have won, put us back in the mix. Going into the last game of the season, we needed a big win and other games to go our way to sneak into the finals. Unfortunately it was not to be and we narrowly missed out. As proof that nice guys don’t always finish last, evergreen Russell Thomas (’94) dominated the stats (again) with over 500 runs at an average of 52.6 backed up by 30 wickets at 14.6. He really is a legend of the club and it’s a privilege to all who have played alongside him. Great supporting acts to Rusty’s lead performance with the bat were Mitch Simpson (’12), as well as Ed Greenslade (’15) and Dylan Fitzsimons (’17), who put together some great knocks. One memorable highlight for the year was Ed’s first A grade ton for the club, galvanising the potential we knew he had. With the ball, it was a break-out year for our young vice-captain Dylan Smith (’16) and another good one for Gabe Burden (’14), both with 24 scalps to their names. It’s been a while now that we’ve been looking to our younger players to step up and take the lead and whilst we didn’t quite make the finals, I think the season just gone has seen us go a long way to achieving this goal. With a few years now under their belts, they have become more hardened, confident in their own abilities and thirsty for the win. It bodes well for the future. Coming off a premiership win two years ago and being minor round premiers in the next year, our B Grade has been promoted two grades in two years, which has been a great achievement. This season, however, with the loss of some key experienced players and up against more formidable opposition we fell a few wins short of another finals campaign. Dan Marotti (’11) took over as captain and did an admirable job bringing the troops together, topping the batting aggregates at an average of 34.3 and taking 11 wickets at 15.5 as well. It was also great to have Chris Deegan (’13) as a part of the team, who was the leading wicket taker with 18 at 28.3. If we are able to get a couple more lads in that team to step up with a few more runs and wickets we’ll be back on the winning path. Our C Grade one-day side, spent most of last season at the lower part of the ladder. Luke Silvester (’05) took over the reins as captain and did a great job, however having almost 50 players go through the team made it difficult for him to put a stable, well gelled side together. Definitely something for us to work on next season. Bryden Crabb (’05) topped the C Grade list with the bat, averaging just under 30. Joel Luppino (’14) was next in line for batting and he also performed best with the ball taking 11 wickets at 29.5. For the past three years, our coach Richard Holmes has selflessly given his time and energy to the ROCCC’s. His contribution to our club should not be underestimated. Richard has decided to step down from his coaching role and we would like to thank him for all he has done. He has become a good friend and is still part of our club. I’m sure we will still be seeing him around and involved. Mitch Simpson (’12) has been a massive support to Richard in his time with us, coordinating training, team selections, setting up for match days and leading our A Grade as club captain. Our thanks go out to Mitch as well. Thanks again to Tony Franzon (’79) and The Bath Hotel, our major sponsor for so many years, and as always the College for their ongoing support and use of the grounds. In February this year, the Rostrevor Foundation hosted its second annual T20 Cricket Fundraiser at the College, which the ROCCC’s were happy to support. It was a shocking day weather-wise, which took the T20 Cricket out of the fundraiser, but the event, in our view, was still a great success.