Pre-Season Training for the 2011/12 Season starts on Thursday 11/8/2011 at Maddocks Sports Blackburn at 7pm.

Download the full schedule here.

The 2011/12 Season was launched on Thursday 4/8/2011 at Rivoli cinema again.

As the new Head Coach of the club outlined the plan for the season and the expectation that the club has set for the 2011/12 season.

It was also an opportunity to introduce the club theme for the season:

One Step Further

Our “One Step Further” theme focusses on the club taking all elements of our preparation and match day efforts one step further with the aim of all sides making the Grand Final.

Our first club function is coming up on December 4th.

It is a Last Man Standing $1,000 draw.

At OCCC club rooms in Bulleen.

Date: Saturday  4th dec

Time: 7.30pm kick off

Cost: $30.00 per ticket

Includes: free beer/wine softdrink for 2 hours also bbq aswell.

First Prize: $1,000

See phil & tad & woody for tickets.

The Club will be officially kicking off the 2010/11 season with a launch night at the Rivoli Cinemas in Camberwell. Apart from a screening of the new release flick Inception you will also hear from our new coach Stuart Rankin on his plans, vision and areas of focus for the coming season. See below for exact details of the night.

WHEN: Wednesday 4th August, 2010

WHERE: Rivoli Cinemas, 200 Camberwell Road, Camberwell

TIME: 7.30pm – Presenation by Coach Stuart Rankin

8.30pm – Screening of new release film “Inception” staring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Link for movie details http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/

(Release date of Inception is 22/7/10 so dont waste $17 or more on a ticket before seeing the super special offer below)

Cost: $16 per head.

Includes Movie Ticket, Small Drink, Small Popcorn & Choc Top

Partners, Friends, Family, Kids welcome.

RSVP required to

Tad Merry – 0417 033 730 or tmerry@unirem.com.au

It’s a big call but we are happy to have anyone challenge us. But we believe that at Old Carey we have the best cricket facilities in Australia.Each and every week our grounds are like carpet and the wickets are white tracks of gold. All of which we owe thanks to the school and our outstanding curator Jim Keppell.

In addition to our fantastic playing grounds we have the luxury of every training facility we could ever need. From the 10 Turf and 10 Synthetic training wickets to the All-purpose oval and Gym & Pool, there is nothing that the club could ever ask for.

Turf Training Wickets

It is this that makes us proud to be a part of the Old Carey Cricket Club. It is these facilities that we call “Mother” that is the heart of our passion and loyalty for the club, that all who play for the club should be honored by and fiercely loyal about.

All-Purpose Oval

MCG like Grounds

The club is pleased to announced that it has appointed a new Coaching Panel for the 2010/11 Season.

Stuart Rankin has been appointed Head Coach of the Old Carey Cricket Club and Tad Merry has been appointed Assistant Coach.

Stuart bring 32 years of cricket experience to the role and has played for Old Carey for the past 20 years.

Tad is one of the most decorated players at club and has played for the past 16 years. In addition he has captained the 1′s for several years (including a grand final appearance) and is a fantastic leader.

Preparation for the 2010/11 Season is underway and the club has begun planning for a big season.

The first and most important part of ensuring that the club has a successful season at all levels is to ensure that we put in a good pre-season. This year pre-season will start on Thursday August 12, 2010.

In an effort to spread the locations of our sessions and to assist in attracting more players to the club, our indoor sessions will be held at the Western Region Cricket Centre. In addition to our Indoor sessions there will also be Sunday morning sessions held at Carey.

The following is the structure for our 2010/11 Pre-season Schedule:

- 9 Indoor Sessions (before round 1)

- 3 Sunday Sessions (before round 1)

- 2 Practice Matches (before round 1)

As you can see from the above there is not a large number of sessions so it is important that everyone gets to as many as possible and puts in 100%.

The Pre-season Training Schedule can be downloaded below:

Updated Preseason Training Schedule

Did anyone read the other day that the Richmond Football Club came up with set of three numbers to promote their eight-year plan.

On the back of their lack of success over the course of 30-years, it a bold and creative marketing exercise. Perfect for cynical types to poke fun at.

Here at Old Carey, we have come up with a set of numbers of our own: 10-23-2

Can anyone tell me what they stand for?

Well, it’s quite simple really. It’s Old Carey’s combined winloss-draw record for 2009/10. Truly a set of numbers we should poke fun at if it wasn’t so damning of ourselves.

Last year I wrote of my passion for the Club. And as like last year, I don’t expect others to feel as passionately as I do about it. But next time you’re down at Bulleen, take a moment and look around. Look at the acres of bowling green-like ovals. Stare at the bright strips of rolled turf that Marcus North would do anything to bat on. Where else you going to find that?

Think of the 55-years of Old Carey Cricket Club history that you are currently part of and can help create in the future. Believe me, it’s a privilege to play at Old Carey. What the Club asks is that every one of us that pulls on a yellow cap takes pride in wearing it.

Planning for next season has already started. The first step is the appointment of Stuart Rankin as Club coach. Although it’s only March, Stuart has made it clear that he wants commitment from players. That is, a commitment to improving your own, and in turn, the Club’s cricket.

Unfortunately you can’t hand out awards to everyone, so here’s a few quick shout outs:

First up to Tad for his continued fight in keeping this Club breathing; the committee as a whole for giving up their time to make the important decisions; to Dino for his years of knowledge and expertise with all things financial; to the three team captains Tad, Grant and Phil; each and every of the 62 blokes who donned the whites throughout the summer; our sponsors,

The Kingston Hotel, Universal Remarketing and Beyond Relief who donated generously; to Robyn Ciuro and Bec Bowshall for preparing and serving afternoon tea at First & Third XI home fixtures, you are the envy of the competition and the Second XI; to the School and the OCGA for their continued support; to Nick Brock for his Richmond taxi service for which didn’t go unnoticed; to Jim Keppell who continues to win awards and goes about it anynomously.

Jordan Ciuro (aka Slug)
President OCCC

No Avoiding the Drop

Season 2009-2010 was a disappointing one for the OCCC 1st XI, winning just the lone game and subsequently being relegated to A Grade in the ECA.

Dunstan Shield
Played 11 Won 1 Lost 10
Finished 12th (relegated to A Turf)

The season started brightly with a good pre season showing of our core group plus an influx of 2nd XI players that we hoped would increase pressure for spots in the 1st XI.

We had also secured the services of Murray Smith from England through our connection with ex-player and Club Legend, Jeff Chapman. Murray came with very high regards from Jeff and certainly proved himself on the field with his bowling which just got better as the season went along, and also off the field where he proved to be just as good a bloke as cricketer.

A close loss in the first game against Deepdene was followed by a thumping at the hands of Mulgrave and it was clear our output was going to have to increase if we were going to turn the season around.

We put in a solid batting effort in Round 4 against North Balwyn, but some late innings slip-ups prevented us from posting the 250+ that was probably needed.

The next week we again struggled for wickets (a common theme as the season progressed) and eventually went down by 7 wickets. The reserve day for Round 1 was the next day and again we suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Bulleen.

This left us 0 and 4 and in need of some victories to get our season back
on track. Unfortunately those victories didn’t eventuate and after a close loss to Ashburton, followed by defeats at the hands of Mont Albert and fellow cellar dwellers Donvale, we entered the Christmas break still searching for that elusive victory.

Refreshed and ready to go after the break we had the worst possible return to the New Year with heavy defeats to Hawthorn and then Canterbury where we were forced to follow on both occasions. Unfortunately these two losses sealed our relegation fate and left the last two games as dead rubbers and searching to regain some respect amongst the competition.

Easily our most disciplined and best batting effort came in Round 10 against Richmond City where we posted 5/207 on a very slow ground. Our bowling the next week was equally as good as we ran out 100-run victors – our first 6 points of the season.

If anything could be gained from this victory it was summed up in both weeks. Firstly our batting in week one where each and every player put the highest value on their wickets and shelved the somewhat cavalier attitude
that had been shown in some earlier matches. I think this shows that sometimes it’s not about how hard and fast you play but about how SMART you play. There are times for big shots and there is a time for steady and disciplined batting.

This should be a minimum requirement for every batter in EVERY match next season.  Secondly our bowling in week two was just as disciplined as the week one batting effort.

At our level of cricket we are not going to blast opposition out, we are going to take wickets with consistent bowling in the right areas and a build up of pressure both with the ball and in the field. This match was our best fielding effort for the season and our best bowling effort of the season in terms of hitting the right areas all day.

We forced the other team to play out of their comfort zone. Again this needs to be a model we follow ALL of next season.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to finish the season off on the right note and a loss to cross town rivals East Doncaster ensued. There was certainly a look to the future in this game however, with the selection of Thomas Byrnes and Drew El Moussalli. Tommy is 12 and Drew is 16 and both are fine bowlers and we look forward to them remaining at the club in the coming years.

Simon Wood, Nick Brock and Stephen Vitali also made their 1st XI debuts during the season and all three should strive to be a part of the 1’s next season.

Murray Smith Proved a stand out with the ball all season and we look forward to him returning for the 2010/11 season.

Relegation to A Grade will not mean automatic victories or automatic finals appearances. It will require hard work at training and during games and being able to follow a game plan that will bring us our success. In my mind we have the core group of 1’s players plus improvement from existing 2’s
players ready to take the next step.

Couple this with some savvy recruiting both on and off the field and I envisage a successful 2010/11 season for the 1st XI and the club.

Congratulations to both Grant Christiansen and Phil Pitts on their jobs done as 2nd and 3rd XI Captains respectively. The 2’s narrowly missed out on finals yet again and I am sure next year is the year they will make that step up to C Grade.

The 3’s were much better represented from a numbers level this season which is very encouraging for the club and also unearthed some good talent which bodes well for the future.

China led from the front with a career year and showed us all that an Old Dog can learn new tricks. Peter Weymouth ably Vice Captained the 2nds this year
stepping in to skipper the side to a victory in the last round.

I would like to thank Dino for the amount of work he put in to the club this season. He is an invaluable resource to me and it doesn’t go unnoticed.

Thanks also to Gavin Macrae as Vice Captain of the 1’s. I am certain that 2009/10 was not what he expected or wanted on field but with any luck Gav is back next season help lift us back to Dunstan shield. His impact on our side
both statistically and from a leadership point of view is immeasurable.

Jordan Ciuro as president this year excelled and will preside over one of the best financial years the club has had. I am sure he will be keen to see that off field success transfer to on field success in coming seasons. The amount
of work put in by Slug and Dino is impossible to recognise and I think the entire club should be thankful for their efforts as much as I am. Well done guys.

Phil Pitts this year stepped onto the committee as secretary and apart from some minor teething problems with junk email filters he didn’t put a foot wrong. A lot of work goes into getting the club to the line each week and the bulk of this work this season was done by Jordan, Peter and Phil. Thanks guys for your consistent efforts in keeping the club a float and making it the great
place to be a part of that it is.

Robyn & Paul Ciuro and Bec Bowshall again took care of the afternoon tea at home matches and if it waspossible to outperform last years efforts they certainly did. Not one home game went by where half the room commented on how good “the spread” was today. Thanks to both Robyn, Paul and Bec and we hope to hang onto your services next season.

Jim Keppell and his staff once again provided us with the best wickets in Melbourne and maintained the turf training wickets for us almost all season whilst also providing wickets for mid-week T20 matches and centre wicket
practice.

We are certainly spoilt at OCCC to have the services of such a curator.

Thanks also to the OCGA for their continued support of the club. It’s tough times these days to find funding to keep amateur sporting clubs afloat and the assistance we receive from the OCGA each year is invaluable.

I hope everyone enjoys the night and comes back ready to go at pre season training in August.

Tad Merry (aka Christmas)
First XI Captain

Missed Opportunities

The season again started with the usual enthusiasm. Those returning, itching for a game of cricket, plus there were several new faces down at the club who were all keen and committed to the season. This bode well in establishing a
stable core for the 2’s to build on from the year before.

D Turf

Played 13 Won 6 Lost 6 Draw 1

Finished 5th

The season got underway in similar fashion to that of the previous year with the competition called off on the first Sat. This meant the season proper got underway with a One day game against Burwood. With a new fixture structure in place, this Two-day game in Round 1 meant no Sunday reserve day was required (amen to that).

In the 08/09 version of this game we came very close to chasing down a large total of 215 after missing some early chances and then not finishing off the run chase well which Ricky had starred in setting up.

This season we took our chances and while still a high scoring game restricted Burwood to 180 on a good deck with a consistent effort in the field throughout the innings. Several of the new faces in the team made great contributions and added real energy to the side. On this occasion, we came out on top chasing the total down fairly comfortable again with Ricky starring – fighting through a nasty case of cramps ( it looked like he had a heart beating in his calf) – and being finished off by an Auction blitz we all know and love so much. All in all it was a great start to the season.

Unfortunately the Round 2 which was a One-day game also got rained out and again no Sunday reserve day was called. However, this game was against one of the teams looking likely of getting the wooden spoon so an possibly important 3 points may have been missed.

The next few games – three One-dayers followed by two Two-dayers – were a bit of a mixed bag as the team struggled somewhat with consistency both on the field and getting a regular squad together, as it often does that time of year. We came close to chasing down another large total of 208 against eventual Grand Finalists  Marcellin but probably let them score a few too many at the end.

There was a welcome return of Brett Van Lieshout (aka Meat Van) to the 2’s. He bowled well for a return of 3/27. Then after a solid start to the chase we had two mini collapses after drinks before a couple of the new faces, Dave Matthews and Nick Brock, gave us a sniff before falling 12 runs short.

A good win over Donvale came next. A all-round team effort meant we did well to restrict them to 9/138. Meat Van getting 4/17 and everyone maintaining their intensity in the field throughout the innings. The hard work we put in the field really paid off, as the wheels wobbled then almost came off during the chase. An injured Ben Adair batting at 10 along with Slug in his first game back, plus some valuable ‘educated edges’ from Meat Van saw us sneak home with 1 over to spare 9 down ourselves.

The topsy turvy season continued with a big loss to the other Grand Finalist* Richmond City. A poor bowling effort meant we were chasing a big 262 and while we were at a similar stage as them at the drinks break, the pressure told, with us collapsing from 1/90 to all out for 172.

Roll on our first Two-day game and with Dino at the helm a good win was earned by putting on a defendable total of 7/239. Dino and Goochy each getting 60’s. By Dino’s account an incredibly disciplined bowling effort followed with everyone sticking to plans and bowling to the field. So with two games to go before Christmas we were now 3 wins 1 draw 2 losses and in the four, but as yet had not won two in a row.

Our next game was away to La Trobe. Again, this was meant to be a Two-day game but with the first week rained out meant yet another One-day game making it six One-dayers out of the first seven rounds (though one of those was rained out)! We never really got in the game, setting just 106 as we failed to adjust to the tricky batting conditions.

The bowling effort was good but it was never enough runs to put real pressure on.  For the final game before the Christmas break we managed to get a Two-dayer at home against Mont Albert. On an absolute road we pulled them back from a good start fighting hard in the field all day to restrict them to a very gettable 209. Very impressive debuts from the spin twins of Tommy Byrnes and Freddie Lyon combined to bowl 28 overs for just 52 runs and three wickets! Unfortunately another game for the latter didn’t eventuate.

After looking like we were going to cruise this in with a dazzling innings of from Jazzy (44) while being wellsupported by the more steady Sonny (46). Wickets began to fall regularly and this put ourselves under real pressure. The fighting spirit of the team again came to the fore with Brocky hitting a match-winning 24 not out to get us over the line 9 down.

At the break we had 4 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses and still in the 4, without stringing two wins in a row. The first few games after Christmas were going to be crucial to our finals chances especially as the first three were all against fellow finals contenders. There was a good core to the team with several of the new faces being key contributors not only in their performances but their enthusiasm and commitment to the team.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as planned after the break with three consecutive losses effectively putting an end to our finals hopes. These were two One-dayers at home followed by a Two-dayer away at Marcellin.

The first One-dayer was against La Trobe (who eventually finished one win ahead of us on the final ladder.) While we had a good start to our innings with Jazzy (68) playing another dazzler we somewhat lost our way. Tristan “Swampy” Reid and Stephen “Vitals” Vitali rebuilt things with a 56-run partnership, which help in setting a competitive total of 190. Our defence of this proved to be disappointing, missing a number of crucial chances and too loose with our bowling when it counted as La Trobe got home with overs to spare.

A slightly better bowling performance was put in against Burwood but again missed chances proved costly and a challenging total of 237 was set. The chase was well on track with Jazzy (57) yet again dispatching the bowling but then momentum was lost as wickets fell and we ended well short all out for 186. We still had a realistic chance for finals but came up against top-of-the-table hopefuls Marcellin. They were accounting for all-comers and this was going to be a challenging game. A much improved bowling performance and then a gutsy tactical move to declare early by the Marcellin captain meant 2nd week a very gettable 240 odd was the target. However our batting was very disappointing and we were lucky to not be beaten outright. Our 9th wicket in our 2nd dig came off the last ball of the day. In all we lost 19-153!

Now, dropping to sixth and seemingly out of finals contention, we had to ensure we didn’t end up in the relegation zone. For the last two Two-dayers Stu, then Dino, took over the helm in my absence. Both secured fantastic wins with the first against Deepdene being emphatic. A very disciplined bowling and fielding effort meant we had to chase a well under par total of 207. This was passed for the loss of just the solitary wicket as Dino (96), doing a magnificent job as fill in opener and Sonny (100*) put on 184. It was Sonny maiden ton. This win meant relegation was out of the question and surprisingly an ever-so-slight
chance of finals remained.

Despite another great win against top-side Richmond City, this wasn’t to happen. The win was built upon yet again another disciplined bowling and fielding effort. It was finished off the following week by determined batting with highlights being China (39) and John McGuckin (60) both coming up from the 3’s with great success.

An Auction (40) blitz at the end, finished the season as we started it. A little bit of icing on the cake if you will. So for the second year in a row we finished 5th on the ladder but this time were one or two good performances short and not robbed by a dodgy outright in the last round.

There were many great positives despite not quite making finals which I am very confident will be rectified next season. Several of the new faces at the start of the season are now integral members of the team making significant contributions in all aspects and are eagerly looking forward to taking the next step next season. Further continued strong performances from regular 2’s players of the last few seasons such as Ricky, Dino and Goochy plus the return of Meat Van as a great wicket taker also bode well.

Special mention especially for Sonny who has continued to improve and made valuable contributions in virtually every game he played. I’m confident with most if not all returning next season the 2’s can put the consistent performances that are required and achieve the goal of making finals and returning to C-Turf next season.

This will be my last act as 2’s captain for the foreseeable future so I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me during the last three years. Special mentions to Tad, China and Duck (first 2 seasons) who as fellow captains/selectors and coach put in an incredible amount of work each season assisting me with first learning and then supporting me whenever needed.

Also very special mention to Dino who throughout has taken care of so many of the organisation side of things on game day plus always offering a wealth of cricket knowledge during a game and generally being a great support. Lastly but certainly not least of course thanks also to all the players who have made my time as captain very enjoyable and tried their very best. Hopefully I’ll be able to join you all as one of the players for some of next season but if not, my best wishes are with you.

Cheers and enjoy,
30 (aka Grant Christainsen)
Second XI Captain