Penrith win Poidevin Gray over arch rivals in 2000-01
Penrith Cricket Club | July 30, 2025
There was an air of expectation from those associated with the team last year that this season might produce something special. I can assure you that the expectations the team placed on themselves were far greater. To play in a semi-final series or contest, yet another final was not going to be good enough. Premiership victory was the only thing that was going to satisfy them. Sometimes self-imposed expectations or "pressure", as some experts call it, can have a detrimental effect on performance. On this occasion, not so. The rest is history.
For those who followed the team's progress, you will know that the team went through the series undefeated. Whilst there were a few interesting moments in some of the games, they could get out of tight situations. Once they got on top of the opposition, well, you know the rest. Here's how they did it.
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First up, we played Easts away. Shortly after winning the toss and batting, we had slumped to 4/24. Nothing like a little test of character first up; how you come out of it sort of sets the scene for the rest of the series. A partnership of 124 between Luke Morrissey and Greg Hunt was good medicine. Luke's 64* demonstrated the determined, gritty cricketer he is. Lumpy's 73 in his first PG game was made under some pressure and showed maturity beyond his years and a temperament for the game that will serve him well. Finally, we reached 6/202 and the confidence level had risen. After Chris Xuereb had knocked over the East's openers with only 11 on the board, they were never given a chance. Jarrad Burke's 3/21 & Liam Zammits's 2/19 finished them off.
Next, North Sydney at home presented a few problems. Our spin trio of Burke, Zammit and Halse took 8 wickets between them in dismissing the Bears for 136. We got them 4 down in not much more than 30 overs with Williams (28), Lockyer (25), Morrissey (22*) and Lang (24) getting valuable batting practice. Randwick away in round 3 was not going to be easy. The Coogee pitch was dry and under-prepared; losing the toss didn't help. Randwick batted first, and we knew anything over 160 was going to be a difficult chase; they got 148. Liam Zammit 4/21 and Matthew Halse 3/26 used conditions well. A century partnership between Simon Williams (42) & Jason Moss (55) on a turning pitch got us to 2/106. We reached our target 5 down in the second last over; it was tough going. Jason's innings after being promoted to number 3 were worth seeing.
No relief in round 4 playing Bankstown. Away again. They looked a fair side. This would be a good test. Winning the toss and batting was a good start. Tim Lang (65) mastered their attack. Jason Moss (31) & Nathan Saville, who gave up being the 12th man for this game (32), chipped in. Our total of 227 would be competitive. In fact 127 would have been enough. Lang, Xuereb, Burke and Johnson, with 2 wickets each, knocked "The Townies" out of contention.
Two rounds to go and undefeated so far. Wests, last year's semi-final opponents and UNSW, still in the running for a semi-final berth, would be big tests of our premiership aspirations.
Firstly, Wests. Simon Williams plundered their attack for 87. Luke Morrissey again gave great support with 47, and Lang (20*) & Burke (16) put the icing on the cake. We were happy with 4/236. Glenn Bradley's return added another dimension to our attack. His 2/24 served notice of things to come. Tim Lang again got vital early wickets with 3/17 and was well supported by David Johnson 3/21 and Jarrad Burke 2/11. The final preliminary match against UNSW was something of an anti-climax. After a delayed start and winning the toss, we sent the Uni boys in. Glenn Bradley lived up to the promise of the previous match, destroying their batting with 5/17. Lockyear, Williams and Moss then took the opportunity for more practice, and we passed them for the loss of 1 wicket.
Our semi-final was against neighbours, Campbelltown. Having lost the toss, we found ourselves in the field. The wicket was good; we would have to play well. Our fielding, which had been solid all series, did not let us down. We caught and stopped everything that came our way. Coupled with our consistent bowling, we dismissed them for 156. Jarrad Burke 3/32 and Matthew Halse 2/19 kept the pressure on. They were well supported by David Johnson on 2/23. After 10 overs, we were 2/33; we needed a solid partnership. Luke Morrissey and Rhett Lockyear took us to 86 before Rhett was dismissed for a solid 47. Two more quick wickets had us 5/100, one of those interesting moments I spoke of before. As they had in the first game against Easts, the pair of Morrissey and Hunt put their hands up and added 42 to take us within reach. We got home with 3 wickets to spare. A tight one, but good preparation for the final against arch rivals, Parramatta.
Winning the toss, we elected to bat. We needed at least 200 plus; 220 to 230, we thought would be enough. Not a great start; 1/26 soon became 3/39; we needed to consolidate. A mini partnership of 31 between Williams and Lang finished at 4/70; another interesting moment. We needed to take hold of the game; another wicket or two to Parramatta would have been very interesting. As had happened all series, different players rose to the occasion when the team needed it most. This time, Simon Williams (96, before someone rearranging his face) and Jarrad Burke (61) put their hands up in empathic fashion. Cautious at first, they then started to turn the game our way. Their stand of 127 was a match-winning performance. We were confident our 6/230 would be enough. Tim Lang 1/21 and Glenn Bradley 2/27 gained the early breakthrough. Matthew Halse 3/31, continued our dominance. In the 40th over, Parramtta had succumbed to being all out for 143; victory by 87 runs, how sweet it was.
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Check out Glenn’s answer to the question.
If you could say one thing to fellow veterans or anyone who’s struggling silently — someone unsure about returning to sport or opening up — what would it be?
