In 2016 the annual match between Victoria and South Australia over 60s and 0ver 70s cricket teams was played in Adelaide.
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| Victorian over 60s cricket team |
Back Row from left: David Cordy, Trevor Selby, Rex Bennett, Wayne
Stokes, Gordon Cowling.
Front row from left: Kevin Lanigan, Lindsay Fisher, Ian
Gibson, Ron Lovell, Robin Court, Gary Ralph.
We left Melbourne on the Saturday morning to fly to Adelaide, arriving shortly after one o'clock. At Tullamarine we had met Peter (from the over 70s team) and Lorraine and agreed to share a taxi to the hotel. Arriving in Adelaide we discovered that Trevor had also been on the plane so three cricket bags and other assorted luggage plus five passengers piled into a maxi-cab to travel the short distance to the
Tonsley Hotel at Clovelly Park.
Most of the members of the two Victorian teams stayed at this hotel though some had booked into a hotel at Glenelg. The hotel is situated on South Road, a major road leading towards Adelaide. Robin and I went for a walk in the afternoon to explore the neighbourhood. Clovelly Park appears to be a mixture of residential and industrial areas. South Road is lined with large retail establishments selling cars, car parts, furniture etc. There are also a variety of factories near the hotel. On the Sunday morning I went for a walk in the area behind the hotel and away from the main road there are large residential areas, community halls and parks.
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| South Road, Clovelly Park - Google Maps |
The area was originally primarily vineyards and almond groves until after the Second World War when residential and industrial development was introduced. The former Chrysler Australia car plant was opened in this area in 1964. The bar in the Tonsley Hotel is the Chrysler Bar. Another reminder of the history of the area is the series of photographs on the restaurant walls showing the vineyards that once existed until the land was sold and the hotel built in the 1990s.
Wattiparinga, the original house on the property, still stands behind the hotel, surrounded by factories.
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| Wattiparinga - now surrounded by factories |
On the Saturday evening members of both the over 60s and over 70s teams and their wives plus a number of members of the South Australian teams met for a Meet and Great session followed by an informal dinner at the hotel.
On the Sunday morning we travelled to the sports grounds at Brighton, a suburb a short distance from the hotel. A junior cricket grand final was played on the main ground in the morning so the matches were not scheduled to commence until 12 noon. Once the junior game had finished over 60s players inspected their pitch while the over 70s players set off to play on the adjoining ground.
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| Ground inspection & over 70s players heading off to the far ground |
Meanwhile some players began their warm-up exercises.
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| Rex and Robin |
In the over 60s match a final team discussion was held before the game began.
Victoria fielded first and in their 45 overs the South Australian team could only manage a score of 9 for 77. Once again the bowling from the Victorians was excellent. The grass was very lush - a sign near one of the parks stated that bore water was used for watering - resulting in a slow outfield making it difficult to score boundaries.
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| Picturesque grounds at Brighton |
Ron Lovell (3 for 14) and Gordon Cowling opened the bowling followed by Robin Court (2 for 5), Rex Bennett (2 for 15) and Lindsay Fisher (2 for 6). The maximum number of overs a bowler was allowed to bowl was 8. Consequently there were some very happy Victorian players at lunch.
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| Robin coming in to bowl |
After lunch the Victorians discovered how difficult it was to bat on that ground as the wickets of the batsmen began to fall. It was left to the final pair of Trevor Selby and Robin Court to score the winning runs. The final score was 9 for 78 with only a couple of overs to go. Trevor Selby (24 not out - including a four to win the match) and Kevin Lanigan (21) were the most successful Victorian batsmen. A narrow victory to Victoria in an unusual game.
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| Victoria fielding in over 70s match |
In the over 70s match Victoria batted first and made 9 for 93. South Australia finished with 6 for 129 in 36 overs.
In the evening members of the four teams with partners met for dinner at
Club Marion.
We returned to Melbourne the next day after a busy weekend in South Australia.
