The Edmund Rice College Opens Cricket team has had an impressive 2022-2023 season, showcasing their skills and teamwork on and off the field. Led by their Captain, Bailey Abela, the team faced some tough challenges along the way. However, their determination and hard work helped them make it to the semi-finals. In this captain’s report, we take a look at each game, breaking down the highlights and key moments.
The following players represented ERC Opens Cricket team for the 2022-2023 season: Bailey Abela (c), Ryan Roberts, Jake Brown, Luca Chiodo, Harry Egerton, Alby Ferguson, Joshua Garnero, Charith Jennepalli, Noah King, Matthew Marning, Oliver Needham, Nicolas Nicastri, William Papakosmas, Max Pogson and Zakk Sharman (Team Manager).
Game 1 VS Corpus Christi
In their opening game against Corpus Christi, Bailey won the toss and elected to bat. Both Bailey and Noah King scored impressive centuries, setting up a massive total for the team, 6 – 340 off 40 overs. In the field, Max Pogson and Oli Needham picked up their first wickets for Edmund Rice, while the rest of the team contributed with solid performances to secure a convincing win.
Game 2 VS St Joseph’s College, Albion Park
Next, the team travelled to Albion Park for their second game against St Joey’s. Again, Bailey won the toss and chose to bat first. Nick and Jake got off to a strong start, before Bailey scored a half-century and Oli batted through the innings to score an impressive century. Will Papakosmas also made a valuable contribution with a blistering half-century of his own off 22 balls. With the ball, our opening bowler Josh Garnero was the standout performer, tearing through St Joseph’s top order to take five wickets with stunning figures of 5-9 off 10. Charith Jennepalli also picked up three wickets to help secure another comprehensive win.
Game 3 VS Holy Spirit College, Bellambi
Against Holy Spirit, Bailey once again won the toss and elected to bat. He continued his impressive form with another dominating century; this time going on to score 150 runs. Jake Brown also made a valuable contribution with a half-century, while Oli remained not out on 80 at the end of the innings. In the field, Harry and Josh got the team off to a good start, taking some early wickets. Noah then, with his impressive leg spin, put on a master class taking five wickets, backed up by the rest of the team, to ensure another comfortable win.
Game 4 VS Xavier High School, Albury
A long bus trip down to Yass saw the team take on Xavier High School, Albury. Once again, Bailey won the toss and elected to bat. Jake and Nick got the team off to a solid start, before Bailey and Oli both scored half-centuries. Late overs hitting from Josh, Callum and Charith propelled the team to a total of 232 runs. In the field, Harry and Josh started strongly, picking up crucial early wickets. Charith then picked up a couple of wickets in quick succession, before a dubious ‘not out’ call from Mr Sunderland as umpire allowed Xavier High to reach 191 runs. Despite this, individual performances from the team, as well as great support both on and off the field, secured the win.
Game 5 VS St Gregory’s College, Campbelltown
The highly anticipated semi-final against St Greg’s was played in Campbelltown. Bailey won the toss and elected to bat first, with Jake Brown getting off to a flying start with a half-century. Bailey scored a well-made 47, falling just short of another half-century, while Oli batted through the innings to score 50. Josh Garnero also contributed with a quick 30 runs, and Charith, Harry and Ryan all hit big sixes at the end of the innings. The team scored a total of 224 runs in their 50 overs. In the field, Alby Ferguson broke a crucial partnership with a wicket, while Matt Marning took two important wickets. Noah also bowled a memorable moon ball that dismissed the in batsman LBW. Bailey and Josh both took two wickets each, but despite the team’s efforts, St Greg’s were able to secure the win and progress to the major final.
Game 6 VS St John’s College, Woodlawn
The day after our St Gregory’s clash, the team looked to recompose themselves and put their best effort into the secondary final playing for third place in the NSWCCC competition, while at the same time enjoying the last game for our Year 12 students. Bowling first, the team was off to a great start dismissing their top three in the first five overs. From here, the team planned to restrict the runs through a strong ring field and give everyone an opportunity with the ball. As such, in a scene that you could find at your local weekend Under 10’s game, the field rotated in place each over allowing everyone the chance to roll the arm over. There were many highlights including our pace bowlers trying spin or our spin bowlers coming off the long run. But the highlight of the innings was when the team invited our Year 8 student scooter Zak Sharman to take the field. Not only did he get to show off his fielding skills, Zac also got a bowl and picked up the two biggest wickets and his first ever over for ERC. Zac managed to get the ball to rip, beating the outside edge of the bat to bowl the bats person out on both occasions. As Mr Kane our bus driver said, “It was a sight to behold!”. Having bowled them out for 180 it was now time for our Year 12’s to have their last ever innings. This saw a blistering innings from Ryan Roberts who scored 44 off 17 balls, and a controlled knock by Charith Jennepalli scoring 30 with some big hits, along with Max Pogson who scored 20 quick-fire runs at the top of the order to get us off to a great start. Noah King, Oli Needham, Nick Nicastri and Bailey Abela as the remaining Year 12 students finished the job with the team chasing the runs within 25 overs.
Despite a loss in the semi-finals, the Edmund Rice College Cricket team has had an impressive season, showcasing their skills and teamwork on the field. Their strong batting performances, led by Bailey and Oli, were complemented by their solid bowling performances. The team’s effort, dedication and hard work have helped them make it to the finals playoff for 3rd place, where they had a convincing win. The team can be proud of their accomplishments this season and look forward to building on their success in the future.
