Acknowledgments by Joe Zaccheo
TPCC Inc Club Secretary
Welcome to the 6th annual Tasker Park Cricket Club Inc Presentation night and Annual Report presentation. The new name is here to stay, but we are still affectionately referred to as KWAAPOC at the Association level and amongst ourselves. The need for incorporation came about in order to protect those running the club from personal liability in the event of unforeseen events. The name change to something more mainstream allows the club to expand at a later date if it so wishes without having to explain the pub connotations of “Kepler Wessels And A Plate Of Chips” to the mother of a 11 year old.
The season of 2005/06 completes the sandwich of an unfortunate symmetry. Like in 2003/04, this season saw us win the Minor Premiership and lose the semi-final to the fourth place team. The devon in the sandwich was a poor 2004/05 season which saw us only win two matches.
Disappointing as it was to lose the semi-final by only 21 runs, the season as a whole was a marked improvement from last season. From the 14 pool games, we won 5 (instead of 2), one of them outright. We played out 2 draws, were awarded a forfeit (receiving outright points) and earned 6 points for a bye in round 2. We lost 5 matches. Three (3) of those were from the 4 one-day matches we played in January. The only two-day matches we lost were the 2 against Coopers Arms Beavers. This again demonstrates the club’s preference to the longer game.
Notwithstanding the club’s demotion from 4th to 6th division, our overall performances were a significant improvement. Our bowling had a lot more depth to it than last season. In 2004/05, 3 bowlers took 20 wickets or more, whilst the 4th highest wicket taker took only 8 wickets. In contrast, this season we had 5 bowlers take 8 wickets or more. In fact the gap between the 5th (12 wickets) and the 6th (6 wickets) highest wicket takers was only 6 compared with 12 last season. Overall we took 129 wickets compared to 98 last season. Our top 5 wicket takers were Joe Zaccheo (34), Nathan Kelly (25), Carl Hanebuth (16), Chris Parmar (16) and Anand Mishra (12). There were also two 5 wicket hauls by Joe Zaccheo and Carl Hanebuth.
Our batting significantly improved as well. A total of 2,391 runs were scored at an average of 18.39, compared with 1,953 at an average of 14.57 last season. This season, 4 batsmen scored 300 or more compared with only 2 batsmen last season, and 6 batsmen had an average of 20 or more compared with only 3 last season. Last season, there were only 29 scores of 20 or more compared to 44 this season. Nathan Kelly was our only centurion with a score of 117 in round 3 against Earlwood Wanderers at Hughes Park. Other major scores were Joe Zaccheo (90 & 88) and Anand Mishra (79). Joe Zaccheo scored 3 x 50’s, Abhi Desai and Tony Banboukjian both scored 2 x 50’s each whilst Anand Mishra and Paul Sullivan scored 1 each.
Our fielding, though below standard at times, also improved significantly. We took 75 catches compared to 56 last season, and Tony Banboukjian took 24 as wicket keeper compared to 12 last season. There were 9 run outs compared to 5 last season of which 4 were direct compared to 2.
Each season has its frustrations, whether it is individual player with individual player, or with opponents or officials. This could be for various factors such as punctuality, poor umpiring decisions, fielding errors and so on. But what we need to remember is that we are playing a basic level of cricket because we love the sport. Everyone is trying their best even if they have occasional head explosions. We also all have different ability levels which need to be kept in mind.
However, overall it was quite a successful season. The core of the team has been together about 2 to 3 seasons, and some great friendships and comradery has evolved. I hope to continue this for a number of years to come. Those of you that have already indicated that you may not return for varying reasons, I urge you to re-consider if you can. Whether you play on or move on, please keep an eye out for potential future players. Referrals are the best way to ensure the longevity of the club.
It was also a successful season financially. Please read the financial statements for more information. Lastly and definitely not least, I’d like to thank my wife and children and all the wives and girlfriends for putting up with us and for their help and support.