A win for the ages - Axel Cahlin and Ash Doolan pull off the impossible – November 20, 2017
Gordon District Cricket Club | December 20, 2024
A win for the ages in first grade as Axel Cahlin and Ash Doolan pull off the impossible – November 20, 2017
On the first day of the clash between Gordon and Manly on November 13, 2017, the two clubs commemorated their 14 players who lost their lives in World War 1. The two clubs, while opponents on the field, were united in their respect for their past players who gave the ultimate sacrifice. That closeness of the two teams continued on with the cricket that was played and ended in one of the most exciting finishes ever seen at Chatswood.
Never give in, a Gordon cricket value that Ash Doolan executed perfectly
While there is no comparison between war and a game of cricket, the Gordon players showed the ultimate respect in their own way by simply keeping going against all odds and coming up victors. The Manly team had played the perfect tactical game, leaving a tantalising target to reach while never not believing they would take the 10 wickets needed for victory. In the end it was one player; Ash Doolan and his dogged resolve not to be beaten that won the day for Gordon after being given the opportunity to win by some excellent earlier batting by Axel Cahlin, supported by Harry Evans and Reagan Klemt.
I simply can’t recall a victory of this type in my days following Gordon, so I asked my son Julian if he could recall a victory like that before. His reply was quick: Yes, a few times…but against us…
The day started with a fine gesture by Manly captain Chris Green who presented his Thunder jersey to our No. 1 Supporter Marcus Faulkner
As predicted the Manly innings continued at the start of play and some aggressive hitting saw their score rise to 8 dec. for 339, leaving Gordon 340 runs to win in 86 overs. Matt Parkinson took one of those wickets to give him 5 for the innings from a marathon 43 overs. With Charlie Stobo chosen for a Futures League game on Monday, NSW cricket deemed he couldn’t play the second day and this meant Matt Junk, after being a late withdrawal last week, was able to take his place.
Harry Evans and Reagan Klemt played important roles against Manly
The innings didn’t start well with Cam Eccles and skipper Steve Colley back in the Pavillion with the score on 11 and it was a case of backs to the wall defence to make sure a collapse didn’t put us out of the game. Axel Cahlin and Harry Evans batted sensibly before Harry was out for 49 with the score on 124.
Axel was joined by Reagan Klemt who, clearly understanding the need to increase the run rate played some excellent shots to put Manly on the back foot. They put on 106 before Reagan was out for 51 with 110 runs needed. During this partnership Axel reached his faultless century with shots to all parts of the ground. The innings was an interesting comparison to the rock that was provided by Adam Crosthwaite, who had scored 113 off 237 balls.
Ash Doolan played the innings of his life
The innings then stalled with Axel being dismissed by a fine catch by Crosthwaite himself for 116 off 212 balls. He was followed not long after by Tym Crawford, Ryan Meppem and Matt Parkinson to put us at 8 for 263 needing 77 runs off the final 6 overs. According to everyone at the ground the time was to shut up shop and try and make sure of a draw. The everyone, however, didn’t include Ash Doolan who wasn’t going to defend just to have the satisfaction of not letting the other team win. That is simply not the way Ash plays his cricket and he wasn’t going to let a couple of top flight spinners in Chris Green and Ahillen Beadle spoil his party.
After a couple of defensive blocks and the arrival of a very crowded field, he decided the boundary was the only safe place for the ball to be sent. Eleven of the next 17 deliveries bowled to Ash were hit for boundaries including 4 of them for six. Alex Patterson who had joined Ash also added a couple of important 4’s and with one over to go we somehow only needed 7 to win. The prior 5 overs had gone for an average of 14 runs per over. And to remind everyone, this was a two match, not a one day or T20. A draw was a respectable result considering Manly has betted well into the second day.
The first ball of the last over was hit by Ash for an apparent single but a misfield meant a second run was a chance but Alex was run out at the non-striker’s end. This meant 5 balls and 6 runs needed, but there now could be no mistake with our last pair at the crease. It wasn’t that Ash didn’t have faith in Matt Junk, as Matt and Mason Crane hold the club record for the highest 10th wicket partnership. For Ash there was no other way and the well-flighted ball from Beadle sailed onto Orchard Road, probably never to be seen again as Ash and his mates celebrated a miraculous win.
As mentioned earlier Manly had every right to win the match, they held their nerve when wickets didn’t fall and then put on the pressure when our innings looked like collapsing. They didn’t lose the match through any poor play, they were simply confronted with an innings that could only happen one out of 100 times.
The 120 men from Gordon and Manly who went to the First World War to uphold our way of life would be proud of both teams. They played the match in great spirit and contributed to a game for the ages.
[Author: Paul Stephenson]
