Lennox Head Public School

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2022 Cricket Report Lennox vs Kempsey East Ps

Cricket team and teacher

I don't exactly know what I witnessed today. It was crazy. It was exhilarating. It took approximately 5 years off my life, but we did it. Lennox Head PS are officially the NSW PSSA Cricket Knockout North Coast Champions. I will try to put the game into some sort of perspective but to be honest there simply aren't enough words in the English language to do the game justice.

The Lennox team, now forever affectionately known as the "Swooping Magpies", hiked their way 3 1/2 hours south down the Pacific Highway to Kempsey on tuesday 15 November. Their opponents from the mighty Macleay River had been in red hot form and were ready to give the magpies a titanic tussle for the irght to be crowned North Coast Champions and to have their name etched into the history books for the rest of eternity.

Tully C called the correct side of the coin and elected to unleash his bowlers on the home side. Harry R quickly took advantage of the early conditions sending one of the openers packing in the second over. Lennox continued to pile the pressure on the Kempsey teacm and soon had another scalp in the fifth over thanks to some clever bowling from Henry R. Tully C then struck in the tenth over and Kempsey went to drinks with the game evenly poised at 3/57.

Did you know that the morning call of the magpie is called "caroling" and that its intent is to mark out the bird's territory? Well, that's exactly  what the Lennox Head "Swooping Magpies" did in the second stanza of their fileding innings. Regular cries of "howzat" and lots of positive chat in the field soon saw the team from the sire take "ownership" of the Eden St complex with a dominant effort, holding Kempsey to 7/93 off their 25 overs. In true magpie fashion, the Lennox side launched an "aerial assaulty" when taking some unbelievable catches in the field with special mention give to Harry R, Joel W and Zac D as well as Max P's amazing overhead grab on the boundary. Hayley A also contributed well with some outstanding ground fielding.

The "Swooping Magpies" had 94 runs to win and got off to a great start with Kobe M and Billy B setting a solid early platform. Beau G continued with positive intent at the crease and Lennox were cruising at drinks when 3/54. But things were about to change, and quickly, as the visiting side soon developed the jitters. Had the magpies clocked off, having already booked their tickets to the State Finals? or were the cricketing gods just in a cheeky mood, flexing their muscles and proving just how unpredictable this historic game can be. Either way, the events the events that unfolded in the next 11 overs had to be seen to be believed and will go down in folklore for generations to come.

After seeming so confident and unflappable, the Magpies suddenly appeared tentative. Frightened like a deer in the headlights. Had they "forgotten" how to win? Running between the wickets became an impossible task. Deliveries that would ordinarily be despatched to the boundary were dollied to eager Kempsy fielders. The innings was in disarray. What happened in the last 5 overs are still a blur and hard to report on however, four things remain firmly tattooed in my mind and can't be forgotten. First was the bravery displayed by Ed N who punched out a quick 12 runs to sway the advantage back to the Magpies. Second was the selflessness of Archie B who sacrificed himself for the team in pursuit of the winning runs. Third was the blinding speed of Max P (who would have thought such little legs could move so fast?). And last was the rampaging cow that almost ruined it all! the bottom line is that the team got it done. they found a way to win. Through adversity and periods of self-doubt the team hung tough and showed the fight of the magpie. I write this as a proud coach and teacher. Proud of my team so far for the students of our great school. Proud to be part of such an awesome experience. What a game!What a team! What a bunch of true champions!