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And so it is, that after a 30 year drought, the Peckers have won the A
grade premiership!!
In the lead up to the match, a number of players were a chance to win
some of the awards on offer at the annual Bradman Medal night. Chadd Sayers fell agonisingly
close to winning the Bradman Medal, relegated to runner-up after Luke
Williams was awarded votes in the last match, setting him up to win by the
narrowest of margins. Sayers was also
runner-up last year to Ben Hook.
Sayers was included in the Grade Cricket Team of the Year along with
Woodville captain Daniel Harris, as Dean Sayers was named Coach of the
year. Woodville jointly won the Team
Award for the polling most player votes on the night. The Peckers’ own Srinivas
Kumar was awarded the
McLeod/Wilson Medal for the best player in D Grade.
All attention was focussed on Adelaide oval
at the weekend, and under clear skies, the Peckers lost the toss and bowled
first on a terrific wicket. The minor
premiers started slowly, with West Torrens moving
cautiously to 68 without the loss of a wicket. At 3 for 197 a huge total was a very real
possibility, but the determination and line and length of the Woodville
bowlers soon yielded results as a clatter of wickets had West
Torrens reeling at 8 for 206. A frustrating partnership of 55 for the 9th
wicket took the eventual total to an impressive 270. Best of the bowlers was Ken Skewes with
5-54 from 28 incredible overs, with Australian under-19 player Kane
Richardson collecting an impressive 3 for 33 from his 16 overs. Carl Tietjens and Daniel Harris took a
wicket apiece amongst a fine all-round bowling performance highlighted by the
fact that 7 of the wickets to fall were bowled or leg before wicket.
Matthew Page lost his wicket early as Dan Harris and Ken Skewes set
about chasing down the total on a good wicket with a value-for-shots
outfield. Harris and Skewes showed
precisely why they are in the Redbacks squad by unleashing their vast array
of shots on the hapless West Torrens
attack. Harris unlucky to be out for
95 with the score on 154, a 150 run partnership his valuable contribution to
the chase. Skewes then collaborated
with Luke Wells to push the Peckers to the brink of victory before Wells fell
for 27. Aaron Sayers made 12 not out
as the score edged closer until Skewes, already with a sensational century to
his name, laced a drive through point that crashed into the hoardings to push
the score to 3-272 and a most famous victory.
In the aftermath, Ken Skewes quite rightly claimed the David Hookes
medal for the best afield. Breaking a 30 year drought of A-grade
premierships, there was much rejoicing as players and supporters congregated
at Oval avenue to
party the night away. The club now
celebrates their best players with a presentation night to be held at the
Royal Adelaide Golf Club on Saturday the 29th of March.
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