Imparja Cup

Imparja Cup 2010

2010 Southern Boomerangs

Front Row: Dale Abdulla, Peter Graham, Dylan Butler (Vice Captain), Peter Thomas (Captain & Coach), Ken Karpany, Marcus McGregor-Cassady
Back Row: Allan Miller (Manager), Matthew Bedgegood, William Serle, Raymond Smith, Dominic Croft, Kevin Thomas, Jamie McCafferty, Michael Case (Assistant Coach)

The Southern Boomerangs continue to improve and impress at the Imparja Cup. After finishing fourth in 2009, the team went one better in 2010 with a highest ever placing of third. With 4 wins, 1 tie and 2 losses, the team performed extremely well, losing only to finalists New South Wales and champions Western Australia.

Four Twenty20 and three 40 over matches within five days make for a difficult and tiring carnival. This was compounded with only 12 players making the trip, when all other states fielded squads of 14. Rule changes allowed 12 players to play in each game (with a designated non batsman) which meant rest periods were rare, but a solid recovery program (including pool work and ice baths) and constant rotation of the bowlers to rehydrate allowed the Boomerangs to perform effectively despite the oppressive Alice Springs heat.

Programming guidelines dictate that the top and bottom four teams play each other in 40 over matches the following year. After finishing fourth in 2009, SA played the bottom four sides in the Twenty20 format and set a goal to win all four. The Boomerangs started extremely well winning both matches on day one against the Northern Territory and Victoria with Dominic Croft performing well in both games, catching the eye of National Selection Panelist Ray Bright. Against NT, Dominic made 18 runs, took 2/12 and managed to snare a direct hit run out and diving one-handed catch in a performance that showed his genuine all-round talent. He backed up that performance with a run-a-ball 34 against Victoria and signaled his intentions for the carnival.

Pete Thomas and Dominic Croft

Day two saw a tough program with back to back matches allowing only a one hour break in between. Western Australia, coached by former test bowler Bruce Yardley, were too strong and looked to be the team to beat. Chasing 140 for victory the Boomerangs fell short with only 100 from their 20 overs, despite an opening partnership of 51 in 5 overs by big hitters Ken Karpany and Dale Abdulla, both from Gerard.

After a quick recovery session in the pool SA managed to bounce back against the ACT bowling them out for 79 off 15.3 overs, Kevin Thomas the main destroyer with 4/9. At one stage Kevin had 4/4 with 4 wides! Dominic and Kevin both churned out run-a-ball thirties in a comfortable chase that only saw the loss of 2 wickets inside 14 overs.

The start of the 40 over format saw SA take on NSW in a game that looked as though it may decide who would play in the final against WA. Unfortunately, NSW were always going to be too good with a score of 217, SA falling well short with 158. Jamie McCafferty showed his all-round talents with 29 runs and 3/21 off his 8 allotted overs.

Runners-up in 2009, Tasmania have always fielded a strong side and are a team that SA has always struggled against. Strong bowling performances by Peter Thomas, Dylan Butler and Jamie McCafferty restricted the Tasmanians to 180 from their 40 overs, with Marcus McGregor-Cassady showing composure well beyond his 15 years to take 3 stumpings. SA were always in control with Croft and McCafferty posting solid thirties and a blistering 46 from only 24 balls by Dale Abdulla (including 4 fours and 3 sixes) set up what looked like a comfortable victory. Some tight bowling combined with some disappointing shot selection saw SA lose 5/44 and the Boomerangs entered the final over at 9/180 needing only 1 run to seal victory. McGregor-Cassady was left with the responsibility of guiding the team home, but was run out by a direct hit attempting to secure the winning run. An amazing recovery for Tasmania was a disappointing result for SA, who had thoroughly deserved the victory.

The final match of the tournament for the Boomerangs was against current champions Queensland. Although SA could only finish third at best, Queensland were still a chance to make the final which added an extra level of pressure to what was already a tough game. After losing a fifth toss out of seven, SA were asked to field and responded to the challenge by bowling Queensland out for 99; Croft, Serle, Butler, McCafferty and Peter Thomas all doing damage with the ball. Croft and McCafferty then worked together to make short work of the 100 run target, the Boomerangs beating Queensland for the first time in the Imparja Cup – and with over 20 overs to spare.

Marcus McGregor-Cassidy

A highest ever placing of third was an outstanding effort for the Boomerangs, but more pleasing was the selection of Peter Thomas and Dominic Croft in the Honour Squad (team of the carnival). Peter’s selection was the result of many years of hard work and determination, coupled with the disappointment of missing out the previous year despite leading the wickets for the tournament. Dominic impressed all who had the privilege to watch him play during the week and his improvement on the previous year was outstanding. His selection in the Honour Squad was nearly automatic and he would surely have been close to being named as the player of the tournament. This was the first time SA had fielded two players in the Honour Squad, however the greatest achievement of the tournament came when Domenic was named in the Australian Under 22 Indigenous Development Squad, which will tour Papa New Guinea in July under the guidance of Tasmanian legend Bernie Lamont and Redback (and Southern Boomerangs mentor) Daniel Christian. We congratulate Dominic on his selection and wish him the best of luck with the tour.

Thanks must also go to manager Allan Miller and SACA representative and assistant coach Michael Case for supporting the team throughout the entire program. Peter Thomas deserves a special mention for handing the dual role of coach and captain with aplomb, allowing the team to reach all of its goals.

The Southern Boomerangs continue on their way to becoming one of the leading teams at the Imparja Cup.  A solid junior development program, expanding numbers of indigenous district cricketers and exciting plans for 2011 make for a bright future for the team, with a trophy well within reach in the near future.

Imparja Cup 2009

The Southern Boomerangs returned home from the 2009 Imparja Cup in Alice Springs with a solid fourth placing and a few good individual performances. After coming last (8th) in 2007 and 2008 with only one win in each campaign, there has been a lot more time and effort put into the team this year with special thanks to Michael Case who has worked hard to get the team and indigenous cricket moving forward in South Australia. The Boomerangs managed to defeat WA, Victoria, NT and ACT, with a game against Tasmania (runners up) that came down to the wire.

Ken Karpany (Lyrup CC) top scored with 154 runs at 38.5 while captain Pete Thomas (Two Wells CC) was the leading wicket taker with 18 scalps at 7.9. Kevin Thomas performed admirably with both bat and ball while Jacob Langdon was named as our best first year player.

Our two 16 year old debutants, Domenic Croft (Fulham Falcons CC) and Jacob Langdon (Yahl CC (Mt. Gambier)) look set for further honours and will hopefully take some of the pressure off SACA’s Indigenous Trainee and Southern Boomerangs Vice-Captain Matthew Stopp, who is no longer the only young player in the side.

The support shown for indigenous cricket during the week was tremendous, with visits from all the heavy hitters, including Jack Clarke, James Sutherland, Matthew Hayden, Simon Taufel and the ACA Masters to name a few. Lord’s Taverners has championed indigenous cricket superbly in recent times and has committed to a huge increase in support for the Imparja Cup and the U/20 trip to England. Syd Maidment has also promised $5000 a year to our program through the Lord’s Taverners South Australian branch, which is a huge bonus to SACA and will assist us greatly in our junior development and with our Statewide Carnival.

Indigenous cricket in South Australia is on the rise; not only did we train as a team for the first time in history, we now have our own identity – the Southern Boomerangs are now a serious squad and we look forward to developing future grade and first class cricketers.

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