Spider - that's just how he rolls
 
Moonee Valley's curator Ian "Spider" Beel took possession of a new pitch roller in the first week of December, and served up a belter of a track with its first outing.
Moonee Valley Firsts scored 9/171 off our 40 overs, then rolled Maribyrnong Park St Marys for 104.
Anyone who has ever played turf cricket at Ormond Park will be familiar with Spider's much-loved old blue roller which he's had from the start, but alas it had become old and tired and the welds on the heavy front wheel were starting to come apart.
At left: Ian Beel rolls out a belter of a pitch with his new machine - with the Ian "Spider" Beel scoreboard as his backdrop.
So the new, improved green model is now in residence - faster, heavier and easier to operate as Spider plies his trade as one of the best in the business.
He's been preparing our wickets since we started playing turf cricket at Ormond Park in 1999/2000 - we played turf the previous season out of Cole Reserve while our deck was being laid. 
We're hoping that Spider stays around with his new roller, and his excellent decks, for as long as he graced us with the old clunker. Unlike the old blue roller, he's showing no signs of slowing down!