Scotch College

Old Scotch Cricket – Champions in ’08

Fifteen year premiership drought is broken.

Words: Chris Wood

The Old Scotch Cricket Club capped off a stellar comeback year by taking out the MCC Club XI Premiership for the 2007–08 season. After finishing the home and away season in second place, the side was determined to go one better in the finals series and bring home the premiership, a feat that has eluded the club for over 15 years!

In game one of the finals series, the 1st XI went out to Brighton. With many not knowing what to expect and having never played on the ground, the team was greeted with what could only be described as a bowler’s paradise for a pitch and were subsequently rolled for only 121. Tom Whitelaw was the only player to perform, scoring an unbeaten 43. In reply, Old Brighton cruised to victory to pile the pressure on Old Scotch at the College.

On what was yet another perfectly prepared Main Oval pitch, the Scotch side were forced to bowl first up. Gary Bennett as usual was storming in off the long run, threatening to take a wicket with every ball, while Ben Doherty and Andrew Mitchell were able assistants. The side kept Brighton to a modest 181 from 40 overs, which would require contributions from all batsmen. An all-round team performance is exactly what they got, with skipper Rob Ashton providing the highlights. Somehow his aging body managed to produce some masterful strokes to all areas of the ground and once again Pat Butler stood up when it counted, clubbing the ball around the Main Oval late in the innings to guide the team to victory with only six balls to spare.

The finals series was destined to go down to the wire with not much separating the two sides. With some previous experience on the Old Brighton home ground and a huge turnout from a vocal Scotch crowd, the side was far more confident heading out to the bayside area the second time round. This time it was Will Elliott’s turn to stand up, playing a solid innings and helping guide the side to a respectable 197. The highlight of the innings was certainly number 11 Gary Bennett sending the boys in to lunch on a high by belting a superb six off the last ball of the innings to further demoralise the home side. In reply, Old Scotch never looked in too much trouble with the bowlers continuing their superb line and length and all scoring opportunities being cut off in the field. Old Brighton fought till the end but Old Scotch prevailed by 15 runs to claim the 2007–08 MCC Club XI Premiership.

The huge effort put in the by the club’s 2nd XI must also not go unrecognised. With the 2nds being forced to compete in the same league as 1st XI, it was a fantastic effort for the team to finish in fifth position and only miss out on a finals berth due to a run rate difference. A huge thank you to the team’s skipper and club cult figure, James ‘Plugger’ Simon for his tireless work throughout the year.

In further good news for the club, 1st XI bowler Ben Doherty was awarded the MCC Bowling Award for his stellar season as the leading wicket taker in the competition, while amazingly, 2nd XI batsmen Scott Haines capped off a spectacular return season by taking out the MCC Batting Award for most runs scored in a season.

The club would like to pay particular thanks to their key sponsors Pulse Pharmacy, Collins Simms Real Estate and The Bridge Hotel for the support through-out the year and also a huge thank you to life-long club supporter Bill McNaughton for generously donating the team’s attire for the season. Your contribution certainly did not go unnoticed and it is greatly appreciated by all involved! GS