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HOWZAT
Air
Force cricketers stump rivals
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Air
Force bowler Corporal Mark Hancock fires in a delivery during
his side’s convincing win over Army in the National
Interservice Carnival in Brisbane.
Photo by Michael Weaver
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THE
Air Force cricket team made a clean sweep of the Australian Services
Cricket Association (ASCA) National Interservice Carnival to remain
undefeated at Brisbane Grammar playing fields from November 13-15.
Riding on the back of impressive batting performances, the Air Force
team lost just seven wickets for 433 runs in their two 50-over games
against Navy and Army.
Air Force was also the only side to defeat a visiting New Zealand
Defence Force team, which played games against each service but
was ineligible for the overall championship.
Air Force team captain Leading Aircraftman Michael Gunn, who works
at No.3 Combat Support Hospital at RAAF Base Richmond, capped a
busy month with victory against Army in the deciding match. He had
been among the first to land in Bali after the bombings on October
12.
LAC Gunn described his team’s win as “a big thrill”
in an air of uncertainty against Army and Navy, who both fielded
more than competitive sides.
With Army looking to defend its title won at the last carnival in
February 2001, the final match between Army and Air Force decided
the champion team, after both sides recorded victories against Navy.
“In the last game, it was an absolute pleasure to be a captain
and have your bowlers and batters doing the job for you. This team
has been a great pleasure to play alongside and the feeling is unreal,”
LAC Gunn said after the win.
“Our batting was our cornerstone. If you don’t bat your
overs in this type of competition then you don’t win the game,
so that was our basis really.”
He named as a turning point in the deciding game against Army where
the bowlers held the opposition to 30 runs off 20 overs to set up
the win.
Army was bowled out for 182 on the last ball of the 50th over, with
Air Force surpassing the total in the 33rd over for the loss of
just three wickets.
However, it was not one-way traffic, with an electrical storm threatening
to cut short Air Force’s run chase.
The equation saw Air Force needing to score 97 runs in the first
15 overs. Thankfully, the first lightning strike didn’t occur
until the 28th over with Air Force sitting pretty at 2/154 when
the players walked off.
Half an hour later, play resumed under a light drizzle and Air Force
targeted an outright victory, scoring 21 runs from the next two
overs.
LAC Gunn then turned to changing the scoreboard himself as the rest
of the team gathered to taste a sweet victory.
Man of the match and also player of the series Corporal Greg Weller
remained unbeaten on 77, while he also was the best of the bowlers
with 4/26 off 10 overs.
LAC Gunn said the players ventured from nearly all parts of Australia
to attend selection trials the week before the interservice titles.
“The boys supported me 150 per cent and I can’t ask for
anything more than that. They share a true passion for the game
of cricket,” he said.
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