In an afternoon of absolute batting carnage, Parkes A grade cricketers smashed an incredible total of 46 sixes during a combined total of 77.2 overs in two games of Twenty20 cricket at Keast Park.
Many critics will say the boutique Keast Park grounds are smaller than the usual full-size venues at Woodward Oval and Northparkes Oval, but many hits cleared the boundary by 10-20 metres.
Leading the way was Royals batsman Paul ‘Cowboy’ Dunford who blazed an amazing 11 sixes on his way to a top score of 112 against Coachman Demons.
Cambridge’s master blaster Anthony Heraghty smashed an incredible five sixes in five balls on his way to a total of seven sixes in his 84 against Reedy Creek.
Scott Knights also blasted seven sixes in his quickfire 78 as he combined with evergreen Paul Carty in an opening stand of 139.
Carty proved he was no slouch, hitting four sixes in his 70 not out.
Coachman’s form player Richard Foan also cleared the ropes five times on his way to a dominant innings of 68.
Royals 8/206 (Paul Dunford 112, Blake Smith 27, Alex Umbers 19, Richard Foan 2/13, Kieren Deland 4/39) def Coachman Demons 9/168 (Richard Foan 68, Richie Hawker 31, Neil Hamilton 17, Blake Smith 3/15, Myles Smith 3/28, Josh Frogley 2/20). Royals won by 38 runs.
Obviously Paul Dunford’s incredible display of batting brutality was the highlight of this match.
He hit 11 sixes and six fours, meaning 90 of his runs were scored in boundaries.
Coachman bowlers Richard Foan (2/13) and Kieren Deland (4/39) deserve special mention for surviving the batting blitzkrieg.
In reply, Foan completed a fine all round game as he combined with Richie Hawker (31) to give Coachman a splendid start in their run chase.
Once again, the Smith twins Blake (3/15) and Myles (3/28) gave great service to Royals as they caused problems for the middle and late order batting.
Cambridge 5/164 (Anthony Heraghty 84, Clinton Hawke 28, Andrew Johns 22, Paul Carty 3/28, Nathan Munday 2/25) lost to Reedy Creek 2/168 (Scott Knights 78, Paul Carty 70*, Zac Bayliss 2/26). Reedy Creek won by 8 wickets with 2.4 overs remaining.
Anthony Heraghty and Andrew Johns opened the batting for Cambridge to put on a quickfire 103 run partnership.
Both players had some luck but Heraghty, with his pyrotechnic power, and Johns, with some deft late cuts, were both in top form.
Heraghty’s 84 included seven sixes and six fours - 66 runs in boundaries.
After his dismissal some splendid bowling from Ron Hetherington, Paul Carty and Nathan Munday slowed the scoring.
Nonetheless, Clinton Hawke and Andrew Yeo were able to clear the boundary with some big hitting to get the score to 5/164.
Reedy Creek’s opening batsmen Paul Carty and Scott Knights soon demonstrated they were up for the run chase as quick runs flowed from their bats.
Knights hit the ball with great power and timing on his way to 78, while Carty (70 not out) demonstrated why he is one of the most capable players on the senior cricket scene.
They put on 139 in double-quick time to give Reedy Creek the platform for a deserved victory.
Cambridge’s Zac Bayliss took 2/26 to show he is a bowler of promise.
Bowling Club 92 (Alec Bateson 14, Shaun Bateson 14*, Bradley Parker 3/29, Nathan Murphy 3/21, Cameron van der Merwe 2/17) lost to Grand 3/93 (Douglas Keith 37, Jayden Capple 14*, Aaron Gaffey 2/16, Alec Bateson 1/6). Grand won by 7 wickets.
Good bowling by Grand restricted the strong Bowling Club line-up to just 92 runs.
Doug Keith bowled without luck to concede just six runs from as many overs.
Brad Parker (3/29), Nathan Murphy (3/21), Cameron van der Merwe (2/17) and Toby Nash (2/18) all stood out for Grand.
Grand’s opening batsmen Doug Keith (37) and Ben Coultas (10) gave Grand a flying start before Jayden Capple and Cameron van der Merwe guided Grand to a good victory.
Result of B grade game played January 28:
Northparkes 45 (Tyson Spence 13, Aaron Gaffey 6/10, Mat Swindle 2/5) lost to Bowling Club 0/50 (Brett Hutchings 35*, Dave Cooper 8*). Hutchings smashed three fours and two sixes in his dashing innings.
pointscore
A grade - Royals 52, Reedy Creek 34, Cambridge 30, Coachman Demons 23.
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