CH: Bannerman Shield Season 8 Review

Fungus · Oct 15, 2009

CricSim Herald

Bannerman Shield Season 8 Review
By M Burridge

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. With the completion of another season, we will look back at the triumphs and tragedies, the flops and the tops, and have a small look into the future. One of the best seasons in recent memory ended with the Stingrays taking it out in their first season, and the Cyclones (again) falling at the last hurdle. Meanwhile the Vipers surprised everyone coming 3rd, and the Lions won another wooden spoon in their last summer.

Lions

Just when you thought that it couldnâ€™t get any worse than last season, it did. After winning a wooden spoon the season before amid to much applause, the Lions tried to recruit a good side. Yet it was later revealed that they had undergone illegal negotiations with some players, and certain signings that they did make, like Hornby & Kaye, pulled out. It left them with arguably the weakest side in the competition. Despite this, they only won 1 from their first 8, and left them with an inevitable wooden spoon. A late run home almost saw them avoid it, but it was not enough. They got it by a mere 0.03 in quotient ratings. It was a disappointing way to end their short, but very controversial CricSim â€œcareerâ€, as they folded due to a lack of retention.

Player of the Season: JE McGrath â€“ without him a bad summer would be even worse.
New Kid on the Block: BI Immanuel â€“ despite only playing 2 games he still made the NSW Possibles side.
Biggest Failure: Where to startâ€¦â€¦ but their big name recruits Bosric and Taylor both failed and to make matters worse a lot of their newbies failed to kick on.
What next season holds: Nothing, theyâ€™re folding.

Crusaders

For many seasons they had been a force to be beckoned with, although theyâ€™d only won once. An exodus of some of their best players left them in possible dire straits. Yet still they managed to recruit a quality squad, although some pointed to the fact that their bowling attack was unbalanced and the batting was weak. But no-one, not even the gamest better, could predict their hardship this season. Many players were out of form and opposition batting line-ups feasted on their lack of a fifth bowler. In fact, due to many players threatening to leave and Matthew Dornâ€™s off-field dramas, there were whispers that they might be folding. In the end a massive form slump, which saw them lose a million games in a row (or something like that) put them in wooden spoon for the first time in their history. The old Saders seem to be dead â€“ perhaps the fact that they won the ALC can help their struggling firsts side and bring a new era â€“ or is it the beginning of the end?

Player of the Season: TG Bullpitt â€“ was the leading wicket-taking for a reason. He was the only bowler from the big 4 that really starred this summer.
New Kid on the Block: AJ Son â€“ despite a poor start to his firstâ€™s career he could be one for the future.
Biggest Failure: Thereâ€™s a lot, but if you need to pick one, it would be C Kovas, who turned from perennial NSW 12th man to a 2nds bowler.
What next season holds: Not anything great. They are losing their keeper and their best batsman and no-one is replacing them. Could there be another exodus? No one knows, but the way the club is going, it isnâ€™t unconceivable.

Ravens

After 2 seasons near the top this season was their fall from grace. Why this happened exactly Iâ€™m not clear. But the bowling â€“ which was gun for them the 2 seasons before â€“ fell from grace. In the off-season, after signing gun fast bowler Alec Funkotron, who previously hated the Ravens, they replaced their old dustbowl with a new, quicker pitch. Given that they had immense fast bowling depth this made sense. But you can only use it if your depth is good, and the Ravens seem to have a lot of fast bowlers, but not a lot of good ones. This led to a lot of draws and predictably the side fell into the abyss, although it wasnâ€™t as strong as others. Given they were front-runners at the start of the season this obviously was disappointing.

Player of the Season: M Perry â€“ although down on his sky-high standards from the past 2 seasons, he was still their best batsman. Also, credit should be given to AD Funkotron, who put behind his poor form of his last 2 season to come back to something like his old form.
New Kid on the Block: HT Davis â€“ his start wasnâ€™t great, but he has some massive potential.
Biggest Failure: DA Crowley â€“ ended the season in 2nds, a far cry of his form that got him a NSW jumper in his first full season.
What next season holds: The signing of CW Jennings means that their spin strength is returning to an extent. However, theyâ€™ve lost their best batsman in BJT Manera, and there may not be an obvious replacement. Could the once superforce be falling?

Sticky Wickets

Despite losing 2 senior members in GEC King & T Delonge the season before, the Stickies were keen to get back on track. For most of the season they seemed to be with the Pumas as a â€œnearly but not quiteâ€ side, and despite only 8 points off a finals berth, they finished 5th. They were around finals territory for most of the season, but they fell towards the end of the season. A thrashing by the Lions in their penultimate game left them unlikely to make the finals, and despite a win over the Cyclones, they couldnâ€™t. A lack of good bowling seemed to be the main reason â€“ only JT Whicker and more surprisingly SDR Laing achieved par, and despite good batting they werenâ€™t going to do that well.

Player of the Season: TA Miokovic â€“ he didnâ€™t win the BS player of the season for nothing. With many of the senior batsmen failing, he carried the batting throughout the season.
New Kid on the Block: JEM Logan â€“ got into firsts and performed reasonably well.
Biggest Failure: DG Speirs â€“ had his worst summer in years â€“ a major fall from one of the premier batsman in the comp.
What next season holds: With the signing of controversial Lions President BC Jacobs, they look like having a spinner, which was a major problem for them this season. Despite Miokovic and DA Alessi threatening to leave, they had a change of heart, and they look like threatening again, unless they fire blanks again.

Club President Daniel Speirs on the Stickies season:

"It was a long, and frankly rather underwhelming season. There were a couple of games there where nobody turned up to play (except Theo, of course), and we got punished. Then again, there were still plenty of positives as well, particularly our efforts against the Cyclones, so all in all I've been left with mixed emotions. The key areas we need to improve for next season are the same as they have been for a while now, our keeper and our support bowlers. At this stage we need to find a replacement for BMT, and we need to either have one of Humble, Spinks and Denton really step up to support Whicker and Laing, or we might have to look elsewhere. Jacobs should be a step up from Smith and Stacker, whilst the battle between Logan and Nova for a firsts spot should be interesting to watch. There are some positive signs and we're building nicely as usual, but I've no idea if we'll be back to our best or not."

Pumas

The perennial overachievers of the BS, with them being tipped to win the spoon every time, but missing out on it, the Pumas, with some big name signings, including DR Armstrong & B Olsen, looked like having a good side for once. And they proved it, with 4th being their highest placing ever. Aided by a great batting line-up and an overachieving attack, they look good, although they didnâ€™t make the finals in the end. Overall, they can be pretty pleased with their efforts, but they canâ€™t help think they couldâ€™ve achieved more.

Player of the Season: Armstrong, he returned from a massive form slump to gun it and be the main linchpin of their batting line-up.
New Kid on the Block: SM Morgan â€“ although he failed to deceive in his only 1sts game, he still showed that he could be a massive player for the future.
Biggest Failure: SA Flack â€“ who wouldâ€™ve known heâ€™d end up playing 2nds for the first time in many seasons? Not only did he average under 50 for the first time since Season 4, his average was dangerously close to under 30, which proved that his dropping wasnâ€™t inconceivable.
What next season holds: This side could be the main fallers, with Armstrong leaving and JP Wilkinson being sent off to the navy. This, along with Jennings leaving, leaves their bowling in dire straits, despite good summers by L Lover & PF Oz. May even win the spoon.

Vipers

2 seasons ago, they were kicked out following dire on and off-field performances. This season, with their act cleaned up a T Delonge getting valuable experience, they thought they could do well. However, no-one rated them, and after failing to pick up a point from their first 3 games, many thought they would win another spoon. And despite solid form leading up to Origin (and for their players involved in the representative season), and people tipping them to finish the season well, no-one apart from maybe the biggest Vipers optimist would tip them to make the semis, which showed how well they finished the season. Although they ended getting thrashed in the semi, they still showed that the Vipers of old were dead and gone, and spinner HJ Bots broke his wooden spoon â€œcurseâ€.

Player of the Season: JRE Luffman, howâ€™d you guess? Becoming the first player (or at least one of them) to score 2000 runs in the season, he turned into a solid batsman into a gun one, with him threatening the #1 ranking by the end of the season.
New Kid on the Block: DA Eggman. Before their massive run into form, they had many bowlers, but no real match-winners. Enter Eggman. He starred and his average is not to be sneered at. Without him, the Vipers would probably never have made the semis.
Biggest Failure: An interesting one. BOY Blunder had a poor season but he still took more than 50 wickets. Perhaps the real failure was TJ Bradford, who found himself in 2nds following a poor season. Also, A Johnsonâ€™s poor performances meant that they pushed their best bat to opening when heâ€™s a number 3.
What next season holds: Even more than this season. Not only did they sign promising young star JE McGrath, who may fix their opening problem, their young guns will be better for the experience. This could be the beginning of a new era.

Cyclones

How much grand finals have they made? 4. How much have they won? 0. Keen to avenge their last yearâ€™s defeat in the final, despite L Tyson, JRE Luffman & C Man leaving and EL Volavola getting banned, they won the minor premiership. However, their run home was slightly slow and they made another massive choke in the final, but not without leaving their presence on the competition. Yes, only 2 of the top 6 averaged over 40, and yes, their bowling attack was merely solid rather than sensational, but the fact remains, they were one of the best teams over the course of the competition. While not as smashing as the Stingrays with their wins, the fact remains is that they won more. While they choked in the final again, they still proved that they were a force to be beckoned with.

Player of the Season: BJ Gemmell â€“ another season, another period of dominance. While he didnâ€™t convert a lot of his starts â€“ he only scored 2 tons, whereas he scored 11 fifties â€“ he averaged over 60, which is very good.
New Kid on the Block: KF Tait â€“ although he struggled in his 3 games in 1sts, some good performances elsewhere proved his potential as a gun quick for the future. Also worth mentioning S Masters, who had a fine finish after TR Man got dropped.
Biggest Failure: A tie between HG Emm as well as Toolio, who both ended up in 2nds at various points during this season.
What next season holds: While the losses of Gemmell & D Davis will hurt, the form of Masters and the return of club favourite ND Short makes their losses less relevant, if not non-existent. If the likes of Man and Emm get back in form, then they can prove that they arenâ€™t necessarily spent forces.

Stingrays

Seldom, if ever, do clubs get good recruits in their first season. It is rare for a first-year club to be â€œrankedâ€ the best in the competition. A first-year club has never won a comp. Did this bother the Stingrays? Not one bit. They won many games in the season, and by huge margins, too. And they won the competition.

Yet it was surprising for the club to start in the first place. While it was known that ZA Berkuta wanted a club, many expected the Redbacks to pick up the vacant place or the Vipers as the 2nd option if Midnight got banned again/a club folded. Both of these happened, and the Stingrays picked up the 8th spot for Season 8. And when GEC King and L Tyson joined aboard, along with many other representative stars, including A Vago, C Man and RST Downpipes, people were expecting a lot. While everyone knew that expectations donâ€™t matter unless the club actually lived up to them, they proved it on the field, too. All the games they won were won by an innings or by seemingly huge run margins. All of the top 5 averaged above or near 50, and AP Farnsworth, King and Man all averaged 25. Despite them choking constantly in the big games, the finals proved this theory/myth wrong. Not only did they thrash the Vipers (although they let them off the hook), they slaughtered the Cyclones in the final.

Player of the Season: Vago. Many thought he might be on the decline, but this season proved that myth wrong. In fact, he averaged more than Gemmell & Miokovic, and lost out to Luffman by a mere .06 of a run.
New Kid on the Block: DG Dafter. Following BL Hornbyâ€™s ban, he stood up to be counted, and ended the season with an average near 50, despite a lack of evidence.
Biggest Failure: K Fung â€“ from the #2 keeper in the comp to a possible 2nds player.
What next season holds: Probably a re-building season, with both Tyson & Man finding greener pastures elsewhere, and Downpipes might follow them too. GJ Weaver will help out the loss of Tyson, while BH Bosric, BI Immanuel & DRP Taylor will improve their batting depth. However, it is going to be tough for them to take 20 wickets every game, unlike this season.
Click to expand...

Bit out-dated by nevertheless...

Colesy · Oct 15, 2009

Awesome write up.

I needed more of a mention though

cloughie09 · Oct 15, 2009

still a good read and all of it is very true

Henry Marshall · Oct 15, 2009

Loving my double mention! You made it out as if I was an alright and valuable player! Haha.

Incey · Oct 15, 2009

Fail to see how im controversial. Lolz.

Wilson · Oct 15, 2009

Lol so outdated and what a shithouse line to start with.

Choco · Oct 15, 2009

Should have updated.

EDIT: Update it now ****.

stupersteve03 · Oct 15, 2009

Well written, was a good read.

Fungus · Oct 15, 2009

Wilson said: ↑

Lol so outdated and what a shithouse line to start with.
Click to expand...

Haha, was wondering the same when he first posted it in the sub-forum.

Choco said: ↑

Should have updated.

EDIT: Update it now ****.
Click to expand...

Too lazy. Is MorgieB still coming on anymore?

MightyPies · Oct 15, 2009

I never threatened to leave the Stickies And Theo is now no-longer a sticky.

AVA · Oct 15, 2009

MightyPies said: ↑

I never threatened to leave the Stickies And Theo is now no-longer a sticky.
Click to expand...

Reffering to the rumours that you were heading to the Saders I think.

SM · Oct 15, 2009

Mathew with one T FTR

SM · Oct 15, 2009

Reckon Morris wasn't hard done by....

Mousey is amazing, most attractive guy ever etc

Gazza · Oct 15, 2009

Great write up.

Arheiner · Oct 15, 2009

I should've been mentioned in Biggest faliure for Lions, considering how good I could've been.

SM · Oct 15, 2009

****ing LOL... Just seen who wrote it...

My off-feild drama's? Many a sader will confirm that Burridge was the direst **** around this season

Kegdrinker · Oct 15, 2009

SM said: ↑

****ing LOL... Just seen who wrote it...

My off-feild drama's? Many a sader will confirm that Burridge was the direst **** around this season
Click to expand...

Confirmed.

Julian · Oct 15, 2009

Good write up. I should have been the only failure mentioned at the Lions tbh, Borisc wasn't that bad and I averaged 50 or something ridiculous with the ball.

Wilson · Oct 15, 2009

SM said: ↑

****ing LOL... Just seen who wrote it...

My off-feild drama's? Many a sader will confirm that Burridge was the direst **** around this season
Click to expand...

Yeah, easily confirmed.

MightyPies · Oct 15, 2009

AVA said: ↑

Reffering to the rumours that you were heading to the Saders I think.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but i never said i was going to leave. To every club that approached me, i said ask me later on in the season and i'll weigh up my options. But was never really seriously thinking about it.

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CH: Bannerman Shield Season 8 Review

Fungus K Fung

Colesy BL Hornby

cloughie09 TJ Clough

Henry Marshall H Marshall

Incey BC Jacobs

Wilson SB Wilson

Choco C Man

stupersteve03 SJ Cambridge

Fungus K Fung

MightyPies DA Alessi

AVA T Delonge

SM MD Dorn

SM MD Dorn

Gazza GJ Weaver

Arheiner SIA Yates

SM MD Dorn

Kegdrinker LA Pilgrim

Julian BJ Taylor

Wilson SB Wilson

MightyPies DA Alessi

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CH: Bannerman Shield Season 8 Review

Fungus K Fung

Colesy BL Hornby

cloughie09 TJ Clough

Henry Marshall H Marshall

Incey BC Jacobs

Wilson SB Wilson

Choco C Man

stupersteve03 SJ Cambridge

Fungus K Fung

MightyPies DA Alessi

AVA T Delonge

SM MD Dorn

SM MD Dorn

Gazza GJ Weaver

Arheiner SIA Yates

SM MD Dorn

Kegdrinker LA Pilgrim

Julian BJ Taylor

Wilson SB Wilson

MightyPies DA Alessi

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