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Front Page - up to June 26, 2017

We've locked in our top-end leaders

Moonee Valley Cricket Club can plan for the 2017/18 season with confidence, as we've now locked in our two key onfield leaders.
Coach Lou Raffaele (left) congratulates Mark Gauci on his appointment as First Eleven captain - which was confirmed after an interview at the Moonee Ponds Club.

Coach Lou Raffaele (left) congratulates Mark Gauci on his appointment as First Eleven captain - which was confirmed after an interview at the Moonee Ponds Club.

The appointment of Mark Gauci as First Eleven captain was confirmed on June 6 to follow on from the reappointment of coach Lou Raffaele, which was finalised before the end of last season.
We can now plan for a big season ahead, with the indoor pre-season sessions also confirmed.

Gauch has represented our Club with distinction in more than 270 games - the majority of them in the First Eleven - was our last Firsts premiership captain.

He captained the Firsts for eight seasons, including our North A premiership team in 2009/10.
At left: Coach Lou Raffaele (far left) congratulates Mark Gauci on his appointment as First Eleven captain - which was confirmed after an interview at the Moonee Ponds Club.

Mark stepped down the grades for a couple of seasons, captaining the Sixths to a flag in 2014/15. He coached Moonee Valley in 2015/16, and returned to First Eleven ranks last season as a player.

Mark and coach Lou Raffaele have a proven record of working well together, with Lou also at the helm when Gauch captained the 2009/10 flag team.

Our First Eleven has undergone a generational change over the past season or two, introducing talented young players who have progressed through our junior ranks. It was the view of the Club Executive - and Lou Raffaele - that Mark's background and experience provided the ideal mix to lead them on to success and transition them to become proven top-grade contributors.
President Charlie Walker said Mark had a proven record as a captain and tactician, and already had the respect of the young cohort of players who either regularly played Firsts last season or have been knocking on the door.
"Our young players will learn an immense amount from Mark and his tactical nous on the field, and this experience will guide them as they become the next group of leaders at our Club," Charlie said.

Pre-season:
Coach Lou Raffaele has booked four Sunday indoor training sessions at Spartan Sports, at Factory 1/25-27 Graham Crt, Hoppers Crossing. The sessions - on August 6, 13, 20 and 27 run from 12.30 to 1.30pm, with the cost per-person depending on attendance numbers.
We have use of the full centre, which has three nets - two of which have state-of-the-art bowling machines.
Lou and Mark are interested in talking to players wishing to play at Moonee Valley in the coming season - in any of our grades. People wanting more information can phone Lou on 0450 181 948, Mark on 0457 778 335 of Charlie Walker on 0409 237 543.

News

Sam Carbone - a century-maker

****OUR WISDEN - IT'S OUT NOW

Moonee Valley's 2016/17 is now out, and it comprises 112 pages of great reading, stats, photos and facts.
Wisden has been a labor of love since it was first produced annually by our club in 1983/84, and it details every player to have pulled on the whites for Moonee Valley, and all their stats. You can click on the link to the online version HERE.
Junior Wisden, which details the same for our youngsters, is also in production, although it's a couple of seasons behind.
So what are the secrets of our 2016/17 Wisden?
*Who's captain of our Wisden Team of the Year?
Jim Polonidis

*Who grabbed third spot on our all-time list of most runs in a season?
*Who's the first Moonee Valley player to take a double hat-trick?
*Who are the opening batting pair in our Wisden Team of the Year?
*Who are the five players voted by our experts as the Wisden Players of the Year?
*Who's the odd man out - a Wisden Player of the Year, but not selected in the 12 for Team of the Year?
*Which new record partnerships were set in 2016/17?
*How many players pulled on the whites for our winter comp teams in 2016?
Shane McDonald

*Who were our stars in the Barooga Over 35s tournament in January?
*How many centuries were scored by Moonee Valley batsmen in 2016/17?
*Who's won the most batting, bowling and fielding awards over the years?
These are the sorts of questions that our players regularly ask around the clubrooms during the season, and to while away the hours over winter while we wait for the 2017/18 cricket season to roll around.
So sit back, and flip through the pages of Wisden. The answers are all there.

Jatinder Singh was bowled - but the bails didn't dislodge!

Jatinder's wicket - it's seen

around the world

Moonee Valley's Jatinder Singh (pictured below) was at the centre of one of the most bizarre incidents to take place on a cricket field for many a day, when he was bowled with a ball which knocked middle stump out of the ground.
But the two bails were touching, braced against each other and refused to fall, in the Round 2 match in our winter comp on May 6.
The result has been world-wide publicity for the Moonee Valley Cricket Club, including phone calls from Lord's, from the cricket-mad media in India and intense interest from media and the community across Australia.
***See the photo at right, taken by Nitin Madan.
Jatinder Singh - world-wide attention.

Running the show for the Valley and promoting us in our best light has been Moonee Valley Black winter comp captain Michael Ozbun, who's proved himself a consummate veteran in handling the media.
While the general rule of cricket is that you're not out if the bails aren't dislodged, the umpire correctly called "out" on the basis that the stump was removed and the wicket "put down".
Quick-thinking Valley teammate Nitin Madan snapped a photo of the wicket and then the Mid Year Cricket Association capitalised on the publicity, posting it to the MyCricket website and Facebook page.
After just a couple of days it had close to 3000 comments, most on whether or not it was out or not-out. That didn't help poor Jatinder though, who was on his way for just 12. And the Moonee Valley Leader picked it up and sent it viral.
That was just the start of the publicity.
Michael Ozbun was interviewed by Red Symons on 774 radio on May 11, and gave as good as he got. Here's the interview.
The Kashmir Times got into the act, talking to both Ozzie and JT. The cricket.com.au website was on the radar, the Herald Sun took it up, andSporting News called it the strangest dismissal in cricket history.
Yahoo/Seven Sport got in on the act, the Huffington Post blew in, it made its way across the Ditch to New Zealand and it hit the headlines in the India Times.
The freak occurrence knocked finance off the front page of the International Business Times, was rushed into My Express, shone brightly in the Daily Star, graced the website of Sports Keeda, and featured in the Indian Express, One India and CricSpirit. Jatinder shone brightly in the Sunshine Coast Daily, and even the venerable home of cricket, Lord's, got into the act. The ABC on its website called for Cricket Australia to give us a new set of stumps. We're still waiting.
Jatinder - you're a star!

Valley's among the awards at

Mercantile's big night

Moonee Valley players were among the awards at the Mercantile Cricket Association's presentation night on May 6.

Jesse Felle won the Anthony Burnell award for the best player in the C North Division - Moonee Valley's Thirds - as voted by the umpires on a week-by-week basis.

Sam Carbone (Left) is pictured with his Batting Award trophy.

And Sam Carbone won the batting award in the D Sunday Division - Moonee Valley's Fourths - with 426 runs @ 53.15.

Jesse was also selected in the Mercantile team of the year, batting at No. 8, after his all-round MCA effort across 2016/17 with 541 runs and 34 wickets.

Jesse Felle with his Mercantile best player award. Sam and Jesse attended the presentation night, at Windy Hill, with Club Treasurer and regular Mercantile player Peter Golding.

The 2016/17 Mercantile season was a solid one for Moonee Valley, making the Grand Final in each of our two grades, but unfortunately not performing to the optimum on the big day.

At right: Jesse Felle with his Mercantile best player award - the Anthony Burnell Award for Best & Fairest.

A Medal for selection in the Mercantile Team of the Year. That's our Jesse Felle. The fact that we got so far in the two grades also reflects the contributions made by Sam and Jesse.

Sam had a stellar season, and not just in the Fourths. A cricket fanatic, he took to the field whenever he was able to fit in a game. Across one game in the Seconds, four in the Thirds, 10 in the Fourths, six in the Fifths and one in the Sixths, Sam amassed 686 runs at an average of 34.3, including one century. He was also a go-to man with the ball for Fourths skipper Shane McDonald, taking five wickets at 19.8.

At left: A Medal for selection in the Mercantile Team of the Year. That's our Jesse Felle.

Jesse also ventured out from the Thirds, where he played 15 games - notching up a further two in the Fourths and one in the Sixths.

Jesse's overall tally for the season was 542 runs @ 31.88 and 35 wickets @ 12.69 - including Moonee Valley's first-ever double hat-trick.

Main Club contact details:

* Charlie Walker - President 0409 237 543; 9370 1802
* Peter Golding - Treasurer 0419 009 721
* Simon Thornton - Vice President 0417 570 779
* Peter Pickering - Junior Co-ordinator 0414 800 145 pjp@vicbar.com.au
* Channa DeSilva - Director of Junior Cricket 0402 833 592

Email: mooneev@club.cricketvictoria.com.au

For more contacts, see " Office bearers & Officials " under "Club News & Info" at the top of the page

Last updated: June 8, 2017.
For more of our history, including our Premierships, click HERE