Cromer Cricket Club

As December rolled around the BBQs had just completed a 10-week run of 5 consecutive victories in the MWCA’s 2nd Grade competition. Having established themselves as genuine contenders for the Lyle Pearce shield, the team was particularly keen to move one victory closer to an elusive minor premiership with a victory over Collaroy Plateau. Having given up their home ground advantage due to poor conditions at St Matthews Farm, Cromer’s fortunes failed to improve as they lost the toss down at Nolan’s 2.

Of all days, this day was a particularly good one for Michael Counsell to fire up and bowl out of his skin. After striking with just his seventh delivery, Michael then bowled the best part of 12 overs for just 22 runs. But it was his 16th over that will still be spoken about many, many years into the future.

Collaroy’s No.7 had made the mistake of hooking Michael for 6 off the final ball of his 15th over, and Michael responded with his quickest ball of the day, blasting through the batsman’s defence before cannoning into the stumps. His next ball was arguably better, a peach of a delivery that angled across the right-hander from his left-arm over the wicket release point, before arcing back to hit middle and off uncontested by the batsman.

The new batsman did not heed the lesson learned by his team-mate and offered no shot to the hat-trick ball, which, like the previous delivery, hooped back in at the pegs from outside the off-stump. It remains nothing short of a miracle that the ball proceeded to climb over the top of middle by what could only have been 2 inches. Not to be discouraged, his next ball pitched just a fraction fuller and bypassed the batsman’s feeble prod to complete an Irish hat-trick of 3 poles in the space of 4 balls.

Going in for the kill, Michael’s last two overs also produced wickets, and his final figures of 17.5 overs, 4 maidens, 7 for 42 wrote him into the BBQs record books as being the 4th best bowling performance in their history.