**PAKENHAM’s Les Jones, a great man in every sense, is feeling a little ripped off after a recent breakfast purchase while volunteering in the off-field support team for CCCA Country Week. Les ordered raisin toast for breakfast, and paid his $10, but was left wanting more after receiving just one piece of toast to satisfy his hunger. We know cost of living is on the rise, but that equates to a loaf of bread costing about $150 by our measurements!
**The CCCA is still yet to lock in a date and time for the League Medal and awards night to celebrate the 2025/26 summer. CRICKET SNICKS is keeping its ear low to the ground but after last year’s underwhelming turnout, there’s still a decision to be made about where, when and how the presentation night will occur.
**One of the bigger snicks of the season was when PAKENHAM UPPER/TOOMUC skipper Lucas Plozza threw his bat after smacking a game-winning boundary against CLYDE a few weeks back in response to some on-field squabbling. Plozza admitted he got caught in the moment and thus showed his quality, apologising by buying the Cougars boys a round of beers. But in an interesting new twist, a few of the boys in green and gold didn’t accept the kind gesture and wouldn’t take it. The theatrics and competitiveness of cricket!
**Last week we mentioned that KOOWEERUP legend Chris ‘Tubsy’ O’Hara dropped a relatively easy catch at LIV Golf in Adelaide that cost him a brand-new shirt that was tossed into the crowd by the LIV Golf Marketing team. Well, Tubsy’s escapades at LIV Golf didn’t end there after he was struck on the foot while standing in the crowd by an errant drive from USA golfer Peter Uhlein. Tubsy showed Uhlein evidence of the hit, with Uhlein pulling out a Texta and signing his foot for posterity.
**The season of PAKENHAM hasn’t gone exactly to plan, but that hasn’t stopped the Lions from reappointing Jack Anning as coach for the 2026/27 season. Despite results not going their way, the Lions have been getting huge numbers at training and the vibe around the place is good. Playing a large part in that is the enthusiasm that Anning brings to the role. The Lions announced Anning’s reappointment at a gathering before training on Thursday night. Anning joked that he might be the first coach to be reappointed after losing outright (to Cardinia) a week earlier!
**There’s appears to be a need for retraining in the lower grades of the CCCA about the changeover rule after the first innings of a match has come to a close. The golden rule has always been a three-over changeover between innings, but that seems to be loosely applied these days. On the weekend, some games applied the rule perfectly, while others played three extra overs – a full 70 – across two innings. And one game, PAKENHAM UPPER/TOOMUC V MELBOURNE SIXERS, didn’t even bother to restart after the Sixers bowled out the Yabbies in 64 overs on day one.
**While on rules in cricket, some teams will be in for a big surprise when official umpires are assigned for upcoming finals matches. We’ve heard this from a handful of clubs, that the integrity of the game has never been more in question in the lower levels, where centre-wicket umpires are the teammates of the batters on strike. Blatant cheating has always been an issue since Adam and Eve first met; but apparently, it’s gone to new levels. Just imagine a batters’ surprise, when they look up and the finger is raised in March.
**CRICKET SNICKS had the pleasure of being at PAKENHAM on Thursday night, where Andrea Berkhout delivered an emotional speech about her long-lasting and ongoing battle with cancer as the Lions prepared for their Pink Ladies Day clash against TOORADIN. Sitting on the sidelines on the Berkhout family table, listening intently, were Chris Smith and Zac Chaplin; two terrific cricketers that the Lions have really missed this season. While the focus was understandably on the battles of Berkhout, you couldn’t help but think what a transformation that Smith and Chaplin would have made to the Lions prospects this season.
**While on the speech of Andrea Berkhout; you could hear a pin-drop in the room until the beautiful sound of a can opening echoed loudly through the room of players and supporters. Upon investigation, we can reveal the culprit as a can of Johnnie Walker that was opened behind the bar by Donna Anning.
**While on cricketing families, it was impossible not to be impressed by the Bright boys from KOOWEERUP on Saturday. Premier Division star Chris, or Wombat to his mates, made 113 to take his career tally beyond a staggering 10,000 runs, while Mat ‘Mushy’ Bright made a sparkling 72 off just 63 balls in the A Grade match against CLYDE. And not to be outdone, John Bright took 4/26 and then made 27 as an opener on a dominant day one in C Grade against CLYDE.
**UPPER BEACONSFIELD One-Day skipper Matt O’Connor has two reasons to remember Saturday’s win against CLYDE, first giving all 11 players a bowl in the lead up to the dinner break. He was then rewarded for being such a generous and good bloke, making 102 as the Maroons chased down the Cougars’ score with 10 overs to spare.
**It was funny checking out the CCCA lower grades scores on Sunday, with the OFFICER E Grade West team having 10 Fill-Ins listed and just one player – Heath Scott – listed by his real name. Some wrong buttons have obviously been pushed; but just imagine the pre-game hand-shaking for Heath if this was real. Those Fill-Ins were pretty handy on Saturday, one making 115, another 60 not out and a third making 53 in a score of 7/299 against CLYDE.
**Due to a technical glitch, we missed this one last week, but PAKENHAM recently paid its respects to Trevor Wilson; a past president and two-time 1st XI premiership player that passed away on Saturday 14 February. The Lions conducted a minute’s silence in his memory, while two of his great mates – Clinton Smith and Mark Paynter – spoke to those in attendance about Wilson and especially his contribution to the club from the mid-70s to late 80s.
**Peter Zauner has been mentioned quite a number of times recently (and deservedly) but the champion DEVON MEADOWS legend achieved yet another milestone on Saturday as he took his 800th wicket for the club. He is the first ever Panther to reach that number, but how about these figures? The 800 wickets come from 403 matches at an average of 16.25. What a career for the great man!
**There’s plenty to watch on the last day of the CCCA Premier Season, starting with CLYDE captain Trevor Bauer needing at least 27 runs to surpass current leader Josh Lownds for the league runscoring title. KOOWEERUP spinner Charith Keerthisinghe needs one wicket to tie CARDINIA’s Lachie Volpe or two to take the league wicket-taking title outright. On an intriguing note, it will be interesting to see if Volpe gets another bowl this Saturday, with the Bulls just 16 runs from victory. Also, a name worth watching as a smokey is PAKENHAM’s Imesh Jayasekara, who needs a massive knock of over 75 runs to move into first (given Bauer doesn’t score big as well), but we know ‘Lucky’ is more than capable of that!
