Engadine Dragons 10 D's

Round 1 - 4 for 76 defeated Aquinas 16 for 50

With the footy boots packed away until next winter, the new-look Engadine Dragons 10 D's headed to Coachwood Road Oval in search of a first up victory.

Rookie coach Nick's first assignment was to choose a worthy leader for the first round - luckily Ben G was close by and gladly accepted the challenge of the coin toss. And first spoils to Engadine with Ben calling "heads" and the coin landing in our favour. With the synthetic pitch looking like a bowler's paradise, Ben had no hesitation in sending the opposition into bat.

And what a great decision that turned out to be, with our opening bowlers Josh G and Joel keeping the pressure on. Joel took a wicket with his first delivery of the summer, and with accurate bowling was rewarded with great bowling figures of 4 for 7 - all bowled! The good bowling was backed up by some fantastic fielding with Daniel and Ben G each hitting the stumps not once, but twice!

Captain Ben G continued his great day as captain, taking 2 for 2 from his three overs. He was well supported at the other end by Jonah who also kept the bowling tight. If Aquinas' third batting pair were hoping that the Dragon's bowling and fielding would relax in the warm weather, they were wrong. Hunter and Harry kept the good bowling going, with Hunter picking up 1 for 3 from his three overs. At the change of innings Aquinas had batted three pairs and were restricted to only 30 runs.

Our two batting pairs on Day 1 were very solid, with Josh H and Scott showing no nerves to put on an opening partnership of 16 and losing only one wicket, well done considering both were playing their first ever game of competitive cricket - good job boys! Our other pair on the opening day were Daniel and Cameron - both boys showing some great touch against a tearaway Aquinas bowler. They combined for 23 well made runs, but more importantly didn't give up a wicket.

Day 2 started with the Dragons batting. Ben G and Joel were solid at the crease, making 16 runs, although they did shake hands in the middle of the pitch on more than one occasion before finally deciding to take a run!! We can work on the calls and running between wickets at training next week!! The next pair of Josh G and Hunter continued on the good work from before, putting on another 20 runs with some good running between the wickets. Our final pair of Harry and Jonah made sure that, with another solid partnership of 17 runs, Aquinas would have their work cut out chasing down our total.

Things were made even harder for Aquinas when our untried "secret weapon" Josh H was given the ball. First time he's ever bowled, and what do you know, he took 3 for 7 - great effort Josh. He was well supported at the other end by Scott who took 1 for 12 from his three overs. Good fielding from all the boys, with Josh G adding to the run out tally with some smart fielding. Our final bowling pair of Daniel (1 for 6) and Cameron (1 for 11) ensured that the mighty Dragons kicked off the season with a solid win. Some smart glovework behind the stumps by Joel also resulted in a stumping.

A great start to the season by all the boys. The win was good, but more importantly, everyone (parents included) had fun and a lot of laughs. If we keep working hard, training hard, and listening to Nick, it should be an enjoyable season. Well done - see you all next week.