GET READY FOR PRESENTATION NIGHT - APRIL 13

The Moonee Valley Cricket Club 2018/19 presentation night is being held at the Moonee Ponds Club on Saturday, April 13.
We encourage all our players and members to bring their partners and/or parents, as Presentation Night is one of our key social functions which enable us all to interact as a club and family. 
We will have the announcement of the Club Champion for 2018/19, the winner of the Moonee Valley Award (best player all other grades), batting, bowling and fielding award presentations and plenty of milestone awards. 
There will be plenty of other highlights on the night.
Captains of each grade will be ringing players who were regulars in their team. 
Players can also confirm by emailing charlie.walker@optusnet.com.au or phoning on 0411 705 381. If you're confirming, please also advise on the number of tickets - yourself, partner, others - and any special dietary requirements. 
We've already liaised with the Moonee Ponds Club - a proud sponsor of our club for well over a decade now - and they are again putting on an excellent spread for us, including a choice of main course.
The club is at 622 Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds and the night starts at 6.30.
Tickets are $55 per head, and $45 for juniors and Life Members. The cost of a ticket is covered for all players who have paid their senior membership this season. This is in lieu of the training uniform which was promoted as being part of the membership fee, and which will now be held over to next season.  
Please let us know your availability asap, as it's handy to have this information to hand in planning the night. Details of the night will also be posted on our Facebook page.

SO CLOSE AGAIN FOR THE FIFTHS

It was close, but not close enough again for the crew which made up our Fifth Eleven this season.
The team, which was captained in 2018/19 by Dominic Rettino after being skippered by Paddy Shelton for the previous four seasons, got passed in the final over of the Preliminary Final by Haig Fawkner seven wickets down.
They had made the previous PF, a Grand Final the season before that and the Semi Final before that, but are  yet to salute in the big one.
Skipper Dom tried to get the team over the line in the Prelim with his score of 80, backed up by a 37 from Jesse O'Grady and a 36-run unbeaten stand by Jesse Nankivell-Sandor and Nathan Deery, but our score of 7/225 wasn't quite enough.
Jesse O'Grady with three wickets and three catches, and Dom Rettino with two wickets kept us in the hunt, but we missed out in the final over.
The guys are keen to back up next season and take it one better - a flag. Well done fellas, we're proud of you.
Above: The Fifths who almost got us over the line. L-R. Back - Cassidy Box, Paddy Shelton, Liam Farrell, Jesse Nankivell-Sandor, Samuel Gunther, Justin Trowell and Charlie Jackson. Middle - Manu Poulose, Dominic Rettino and Elliott Hughes. Front - Shane Chalmers.



Postcode Pete brings up his 50

Moonee Valley stalwart Peter "Postcode" Smith registered what we think is his first half-century on March 9 - but you won't find it in the scorebook.
Posty brought up his 50 in the Book of Life - his 50th birthday.
Around two dozen players and partners gathered at the Laurel Hotel to mark the occasion, and Pete enjoyed holding centre stage.
A look through the Moonee Valley annals shows scores of 28, 30 and 31, but the closest Pete has got with the bat to the half-century was his 35 in the Fifths in 2014/15.
Our latest Wisden credits him with 746 runs and 303 wickets in a career dating back to 2001/02.
Pete's immensely proud of the contribution he makes to Moonee Valley, and has made either all or some of the afternoon teas week in, week out for more than a decade.
Posty, we congratulate you.
Above: So all the cracks had gathered for the fray: L-R. Back - Sandro Capocchi, Charlie Walker, Ian Denny, Joe Ansaldo, Peter Smith, Daniel Phillips, Jim Polonidis, John Talone, Dean Jukic and Michael Ozbun. Front - Brendan Rhodes, Ben Thomas, Bede Gannon and Danny Terzini.
***For more pictures from the night, click HERE

Three out of four players in this picture are wearing these shirts to win a bad-taste bet. Can you guess the odd man out?

Moonee Valley's First Eleven held their Mad Monday wind-up at the Seconds Semi Final on March 10, and cheered on our guys as they tried to get across the line.
In honor of their skipper Jack Newman, they wore replicas of his favored black-and-white striped shirt.
No, Jack's not a Collingwood supporter, although his taste in shirts shortfall in judgment and taste.
He tries to tell us it's because he supports Newcastle in the English Premier League, but we're not that gullible, Jack!

At left: At least they're the Moonee Valley colors. Modelling the latest in fashion shirts are L-R Matt Thomas, Jack Newman, Ben Thomas and Channa DeSilva.

ON THE 
CARDS

The Moonee Valley Cricket Club's annual poker night on February 23 was a big success.

Our Sixth Annual PG's Poker Night - named in honor of Life Member and inveterate cards player Peter Gardiner - had everything, with highs and lows riding on the turn of a card.

At right: Intense interest around and behind the final table. Clockwise from left: John Talone, Paddy Shelton, Charles Bibby, Mick Intagliata, Danny Terzini, Daniel McKenzie, Michael Felle, event organiser Kav, Manu Poulose and Michael Ozbun.

Thanks to club members Matt Thomas, Vanessa Riggio, Dean and Agatha Jukic and Michael Ozbun for their hard work on organising the event and ensuring the night ran smoothly, and for all the players, supporters and friends who willingly bought in and chanced their wallets on the games.

The night was held at the Moonee Ponds Bowls Club, and thanks to Frosty Simmons for keeping up with the thirsty players.

There was plenty of attention on the final table as the night drew to a close.

The last turn of the last card brought up victory for 185-game Moonee Valley player and past junior coach Mick Intagliata, just edging out Fifths player Manu Poulose.

We're already putting some thought into next year's tournament, when we'll be back in our new pavilion and will have plenty of space for a real bumper event. 




 
At left: Poker tournament winner Mick Intagliata and daughter Tanya - who both played over 100 games of cricket at Moonee Valley.

THE STARS, THE STATS & THE HISTORY

The 2017/18 Wisden is HERE now. It's been collated, and is jam-packed with 118 pages of must-read information.
We've recorded the highs and lows of our season and our history in stats, words and photos, all contained in the one document.
You can also click on the Players & Wisdens link on the bar at the top of this page to find the Wisdens of past seasons, going back to 1983/84.
To check out your knowledge of our club and its teams and players, see how long it takes you to answer these questions. The information is all contained in the 118 pages.

Find out:
   *   Who's been selected captain of our Wisden team of the year?
   *   Which two players reachedthe 4000-run milestone during the season?
   *   Dominic Rettino (right) won the batting award for both the Sixths and the NWMCA: How many runs did he score, and at what average?
   *   Which Moonee Valley team won a Premiership in 2017/18?
   *   Who made the most runs across the 2017/18 summer season, with 607?
   *   Who has played the most official Twenty20 games for Moonee Valley? Hint: There are two players on the same mark.
   *   Who took three five-wicket hauls across the course of the season?
   *   Who scored a double century in 2017/18, and in which grade?
   *   What was Jatinder Singh's claim to fame, leading to world-wide interest?
   *   Who is the only player to have been selected in the Moonee Valley Wisden Team of the Year for each of the past four seasons?
   *   Who has scored the most runs for Moonee Valley over the past decade? Hint: He's one of the 4000-run players.
   *   We set a new seventh-wicket partnership record in the Sevenths. Who were the batsmen?
   *   Our highest partnership for 2017/18 was 166. Who were the batsmen, and what was the grade?
   *   Which grade set a new chase record in 2017/18, successfully chasing down a target of 305?
   *   Moonee Valley was officially the biggest cricket club in Victoria in 2008/09. How many players played in one or more senior games that season, and how many made their debut?

Enjoy your reading!  

    Main Club contact details:

* Charlie Walker - President/Secretary 0411 705 381; 9370 1802
* Peter Golding - Treasurer 0419 009 721
* Mark Gauci - Vice President 0457 778 335
* Peter Pickering - Junior Co-ordinator 0414 800 145  pjp@vicbar.com.au 
* Channa DeSilva - Membership Co-ordinator 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: March 15, 2019.
For more of our history, including our Premierships, click HERE