7th's Power on as 1st's Struggle for Numbers

The Plateau have recorded two first innings victories on the first day of round 4, but while the news is all good for 2nd's and 7th's, it was a tough day for some of the other Plateau sides.

1st Grade went into their clash with Harbord Bowling struggling to get a full side on the park and after day 1 they are staring down the barrel of being winless from the opening 4 games of the season. Young star 'the Demon' made a huge step up after getting an 80 for 7th's last week, but captain Minnett was still left 1 short of a full batting lineup.

The poorly done new pitch at Nolans 1 saw action for the first time, despite being criticised for not being flat amongst other things. The skipper managed 28 before being caught, Mossy suffered the same fate for 29. 'The Demon' was thrown in at number 5 and overcame nerves to record an impressive 23. Jason Haithwaite was the only other man to break the 20 mark, he finished on 22 not out, and the Plateau were all out for a disappointing 139.

Harbord faced 25 overs and finished the day at 4/70, half way to their target with 6 wickets in hand. While Harbord look to be in control, Collaroy will be boosted by the return of strike bowler Dave Sharp next week and the result could be close.

2nd's have continued their unbeaten start to the season by already defeating Harbord Bowling on first innings at Plateau Park. Harbord were rolled for 98, Will Dobie 5/22 and Matt Richards 3/19, before an Al Richardson 50 put the Plateau into a commanding lead. Tim Carpenter finished the days play on 45 not out and Collaroy will resume next week at 8/196 with their sights firmly set on an outright victory.

3rd grade had another shocking day in the field at Lake Park, also against Harbord Bowling, as controversy ruled the days play. The Plateau had 3 plumb LBW's turned down, including 2 against the Harbord skipper and eventual centurion while on a duck, as well as at least one clear caught behind and a run out also denied. Tempers were hard kept under control amongst a lot of the third grade side as they were forced to watch 300 possibly undeserved runs go past them. They will have a hard chase next week after concluding the day at 0/11.

5th grade notched up a total in excess of 300 at Nolans 4 (also against Harbord Bowling) with the runs being shared around the team.

7th's are now seeming unstoppable after they demolished the next best side in the comp on Saturday at Balgowlah Oval. Balgowlah were sent into bat by skipper Dom Wheeler and were subsequently steam rolled for 67, Angus MacKenzie 4/13. The captain then fell just short of a half century (49) as he lead his team to a first innings victory. With an outright victory looming, the 7th grade development side are proving far too good for their comp and are doing an excellent job. They will continue next week at 5/136.

This Sunday the Collaroy Plateau Masters team will be making an appearance at Manly Oval from 1:00 PM in their clash with Manly. It is the first time in years, if ever, a Plateau side has played at the ground.

Toth Stars as Plateau T20 holds off Harbord Bowling

Josh Toth slogged 69 off 37 balls to set a solid platform for what would be a match winning total for inaugural Collaroy Plateau Cricket Club Twenty20 XI.

An incomplete new pitch at Nolans 1 forced a late ground change to Nolans 5 where 2nd time captain Tom Carden lost the toss to opposition skipper and cousin Carl Pymble but it did not effect who would bat first as Harbord elected to bowl. Tom gave the nod to 4th grade young all rounder David Le and 2nd grade tonker Toth to open the innings for the Plateau. With an average of only 10 over 17 seniors matches the decision to open with Le was surprising. But the skipper's decision was quickly justified as Davo penciled in a personal seniors high score, hitting a supporting run-a-ball 27 including a classic cover drive for 4 straight into the Plateau dugout. At the other end Josh was on fire and the two put on 69 for the first wicket to pave the way for the incoming batsmen to come in and hit without pressure.

1st grade skipper Rob Minnett came to the crease and struggled with a couple of deliveries that were slow off the Nolans 5 pitch. He struck a few boundaries before being dismissed for 24 off 17 balls. Toth's impressive innings came to an end an over later which saw the Plateau at 3/146 with 6 overs remaining.

5th's Steve Bull contributed with a handy 23 off 14 before the innings was finished off by 4th's captain Blake Conde as he dispatched a full toss over the rope for 6. CPCC pulled up just short of the 200 mark at 5/197.

Skipper TC struck early in Harbord's run chase, getting Bartlett caught on the boundary by Brendo. Richards then struck in his 2nd over, clean bowling Ross with a beautiful in-swinging delivery. Harbord then got going when Carden got unlucky in his 2nd over, his cousin Dane Pymble was dropped twice and the Plateau were made to pay when 12 was taken off the over.

4th grade's Andrew Coates then replaced Tom and produced a match defined spell of 4 overs, 2 wickets for 26. Taking the pace off the ball, the Harbord batsmen could not adjust to the movement off the wicket.

Harbord were given a sniff later in the game when Toth and Ball were sent for a few. Josh then switched to spin and the lack of pace again proved successful and after a tight 2nd last over Brendo needed to defend 19 off the final over the game. He produced a brilliant last over, 2 run outs were taken off it and Harbord were left at 9/184 at the games end, 13 runs short.

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Rain Washes out Round 2

No games were able to be completed on day 2 of this round due to rain. At 1 o'clock the weather looked like it could hold off for some play, but it wasn't long before the heavens opened and any chance of getting on diminished.

5th grade will be the most aggravated by the weather, as they probably could have achieved a first innings victory last week had the sprinklers not cut short the days play.

The disappointment of no games was relieved by a big day at the Brooky Pub.