The Bears' 2013 one-day premiership

On 3 March 2013 at Bankstown Oval, North Sydney won the First Grade Limited Overs Cup for the fifth time in the club’s history. Bowled out for 197 in 49 overs, the Bears may not have been favourites at the innings break, but we dismissed Northern District for 156 to win by 41 runs.

Glenn Aitken top-scored with 86, double the next highest score in either team, and Robbie Aitken took 5/17 in 8 overs to take home the Michael Bevan medal for player of the final.

The Bears team contained several familiar names

Back: Michael Lloyd (12th man), David Guthrie, Glenn Aitken, Jay Lenton, Jordan Peacock, Robbie Aitken

Front: James Aitken, Sam Baker, Justin Avendano, Scott Rodgie (c), Daniel Hughes, Nic Bills

The scorecard can be viewed here.

Surprisingly, the 2013 Annual Report (recently recovered from the Bon Andrews shed) does not have a match report from that remarkable day, but it does contain the following First Grade report from captain, Scott Rodgie.

I think we will look back at season 2012/13 in years to come and remember success in the form of the 1 day premiership but also learning from some frustrating times during the season. I took over the reins this season following on from a very successful period under Glenn Aitken.

Following a good first up win away to Fairfield we struggled a bit for a period where we couldn't seem to string all 3 disciplines together. This meant we were slightly off the pace and was highlighted by 3 last ball losses in the T20 comp.

We struggled to convert to big runs through the year, as shown by the 27 fifties scored through the year by 10 different players, and only one hundred. Our fielding was also an issue, as regular missed chances didn't provide the support required for our bowlers.

Things started to turn around when the season turned to 1 day cricket and our loss to Randwick on December 1 was to be the last in any format for the remainder of the season. This culminated in the first one-day title for the club since 1994/95 with a magnificent win over Northern District in the final.

This was a title for the club to be proud of but in particular the team as it could be argued that there were times in all 3 finals and the last round when we had no right to win the game.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the players for their efforts during the year. I look forward to seeing you next year in an effort to go back to back! These players were:

Glenn Aitken

Glenn's professionalism was an example to all players this year. Tasked with several different roles throughout the year, his competitiveness shone through as he had success at crucial times with both bat and ball, particularly his fine 86 in the final. This made him the leading run scorer in the competition for 1 day cricket.

Robbie Aitken

Robbie enjoyed another successful year with telling contributions with both bat and ball. With the bat he got us out of some tight situations, while with the ball he was always threatening, particularly in short form cricket where teams simply couldn't get him away. This was particularly evident in the final where his 5/17 earned him the Michael Bevan medal for player of the match.

James Aitken

James returned after a 2 year hiatus from the top grade and a good string of scores in 2nd grade.

He provided experience at the top of the order and played some particularly fluent innings. His scores of 57 & 42 against St George helped the side beat the eventual premiers twice in one weekend.

Justin Avendano

Justin moved to the club over the off-season looking to further his cricket in the top grade. He started the season well with 72 against Wests in the 2nd round and some handy contributions opening the batting in T20 cricket. Whilst not getting the runs his potential deserves he will learn a lot from this year to grow in seasons to come.

Sam Baker

Sam came into the side on the back of some very strong performances in 2nd grade and fitted into the side very well. He bowled some very effective spells, particularly in one day cricket and in a crisis when he, along with Robbie A got us home against Gordon with the bat. was always dangerous with the new ball. The side learnt that Bake's was the 'best friend" to have.

Nic Bills

Another strong year for Nic. He was particularly effective in 1 day cricket where he was the competition's leading wicket taker. He didn't have quite the same success in 2 day cricket bur finished the season well with 5/52 against Easts. Nic also showed tremendous improvement with his batting, is 96* the highlight of his 3 50s for the season.

James Campbell

A frustrating year for James. He started the season well with 5 wickets against Bankstown but was hampered by back problems which meant we didn't see any of him after Christmas. Jimmy also showed improvement in his batting and scored his first 50 in first grade.

Jay Lenton

I think we will look back in a couple of years’ time and see this as a real breakthrough season for Jay. His glove work was always of a high standard and his batting improved significantly to be our leading run scorer at an average of 44. Jay was rewarded with 2nd XI games and definitely has the potential to move to the next level should he continue to improve and break his century.

Rob Gibson

Rob came over from Hampshire and left as the most successful tourist we have had for some time. He filled a crucial role opening the batting for us, scoring 3 50s for the season. Rob also took some key wickets with his handy leg-spinners.

David Guthrie

David came into the side after Christmas after an effective pre-season in 5th grade. Through the back half of the year he had valuable contributions with both bat and ball, the highlights of which was his invaluable 49* in the semi-final and 3/30 in the final round against Campbelltown.

Daniel Hughes

This was Danny's first full year involved with the state squad and it showed with his consistency. Unfortunately injury yet again saw him spend time off the park but he was rewarded at the end of the year with a Shield debut. For us, Dan scored 440 runs @ 36, just failing to score that big 100 to turn into a big season.

Finally, a big thank you to the efforts of our volunteers through out the year. Firstly. Tony Johnston for his continued support as scorer, then the Bills and Campbell clans for butting the chicken burgers at North Sydney Oval on the map for Grade cricket lunch must haves!! Their support off the field makes our job on a whole lot easier!

Thanks all, see you all next year.

Yours in cricket

Scott Rodgie

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