Washington Cricket Club - 40th Anniversary Year

Unbelievably, incredibly, Washington ended up winning this game against arch rivals Pacific.

With three overs remaining, the visitors required 5 runs with three wickets in hand:  nine balls later, a topsy-turvy afternoon of cricket had thrown up its final and most dramatic twist, and it was the men from Washington who walked off the field as the victors.

The balance of advantage had shifted to and fro all afternoon.  Pacific won the toss and invited Washington to bat.  The top order responded well and built a solid platform, led by a brilliant innings from young Robert Tidey (47). Tidey and Pete Demetri combated the early variations in bounce well until, with the score at 26, the latter was bowled by a shooter for 15. Tidey then added 42 for the second wicket with Matthew Cragoe (7), another 26 with Mick Kennedy (9) and 37 with Rocketman Roche (13), before getting himself caught three runs shy of a deserved half-century.

It is an indication of how well Tidey batted that, after his departure, the innings collapsed.  Early season rust may have accounted for some of it, but a succession of Washington batsmen were bamboozled by Pacific’s new Aussie left-arm spinner Braden Grigg who twirled away to astonishing effect, picking up 5 wickets for just 7 runs. Only Dan Barrett, who crunched one huge 6 on his way to 11 reached double figures as Wash – to their surprise, and Pacific’s delight – collapsed from 121-4 to 154 all out.

Wash needed quick wickets, and they got them.  Peter Kloss (2-20) flung himself full-length to take a dramatic caught and bowled in his first over, and when Mick Kennedy (2-19) trapped the dangerous Jim Davies, Pacific were 6-2.

It was now advantage Wash, but then the match swung again.  In company with the stylish Grigg (22), and then the gutsy Kurt Redermaker, batting with a runner, John Baglivi (36) lead what appeared to be a match-winning recovery.  Against some very sharp bowling, notably from Dan Barrett (3-25) he nicked, nurdled and occasionally blasted Pacific into poll position.

With runs running out, Wash skipper Justin Gurney began to ring the changes, searching for the man who would make the break-through.  With 5 overs left, he called up Nick Tidey, still nursing a back injury.  One over of passed without incident, but in his second, he suddenly found the key.  Moving the ball sharply into the batsmen, he took two wickets in two balls, to leave Pacific 9 down, needing 4 runs.

Two runs came from the first two balls of the next over bowled by Peter Kloss, but then the man who began it all came up with the magic ball which trapped Pacific skipper Nigel Wilkinson plumb in front, and the game was won.