Here is the 125th Annual Report of the Adelaide & Suburban Cricket Association.

SATURDAY COMPETITION
The AGM voted to continue the format of 7 two-day games and 7 one-day games as the Executive could organise it. 2 Clubs were admitted to affiliation at the AGM. Sutton Derby, a team organised by Sunny Kaushik Dasgupta with players sourced from Winter T20 competitions. Adelaide Falcons, a team organised by Simon Thilthorpe with players from Phantoms 2 and others. We lost 2 Clubs. Fitzroy Section 3, 5, 7 & 9 mostly disbanded but took their remaining players to play in Para Districts. Ceylon Strikers Section 3 after their first Saturday season wanted a rest. Just after the AGM, mostly Fitzroy’s A grade asked to join the Association as Country Club and were accepted. WYC Section 1 told us over half their A team was retiring or leaving and they would need to draw from their B team so could they play in S5. ICC Sharks told us they were losing S1 players and would need to draw from their S3 premiers B team so could their B team instead of going up to S2 go down to S4. Warradale said the S3 A team was disbanding just leaving their B team which they wanted to play as low as possibly despite winning the S10 Premiership. When the Fixture was released, we had 76 teams nominated. 7 Sections of 8 and S8 and 9 with 10 teams. The Executive spent much time considering where to place teams in the higher grades and how not to unfairly disadvantage a team that didn’t deserve it. There were some problems we couldn’t solve and as the season progressed it became clear some teams could have been better placed.

WITHDRAWALS
2 sides withdrew both for R4 leaving a bye in S8 and 9. Sutton Derby withdrew for Round 13 causing all Section 1 Outright wins against them to revert to 1st innings wins. Friday afternoon before Round 14 Afghan withdrew their team in protest but the game had already been abandoned. There were 13 Forfeits and 24 Byes.

PLAYING DAYS
The season began on 7th October with 21 weeks of Minor Round Games and Two Weekends of Finals with the Grand Finals bringing the season to a close on 23rd & 24th March. Wet weather on day two, December 9, caused all Round 6 matches to be abandoned as draws. All round 8 matches were abandoned due to rain and Round 14 was abandoned due to a 40 degree forecast the Friday before.

CORONA VIRUS (Covid-19)
The Executive decided Covid was no longer an emergency and as no one was legally prevented from taking part due to it, the disease would be treated like any other illness under the laws of Cricket.

FINALS
All finals were played out. John Zadow did an excellent job appointing an umpire to all semi-finals though 10 matches had only 1 umpire. Having only 9 Sections helped and 10 players not playing in finals agreed to umpire.

PREMIERS
Congratulations to the 9 Premiership winners.
Section 1 Halliday/Heptinstall Cup Coromandel Ramblers def Port Noarlunga
Section 2 ICA Stepney Cup North Haven def Morphettville Park
Section 3 McAvaney Trophies Cup Happy Valley def Western Youth Centre
Section 4 Elder Meat Store Cup Flagstaff Hill def by ICC Sharks II
Section 5 At the Toss of a Coin Cup Happy Valley II def by Coromandel III
Section 6 Blackwood Sound Cup Adelaide Lutheran def by Kenilworth II
Section 7 Larry Collin Century 21 Cup Grand Masters II def by Coromandel IV (at Blckwd)
Section 8 Warradale III def Coromandel V
Section 9 Hopkins/McGowran Cup Happy Valley III def Western Youth Centre III

MEDALS
Hewett Medal The highest individual award is the Hewett Medal named after Jack Hewett former President and his son Russ Hewett ex-Vice President and Umpire. It is given to the most outstanding and fair player from Section 1. Votes are awarded each minor round game by the umpires. This year the winner was Russell Curyer from Keswick.
Zadow Medal Is given to the most outstanding and fair player from Section 2. This medal is named after John Zadow for his contribution to the Association over many years. Votes are awarded each minor round game by the umpires. This year the winner was Daniel Voyzey from Morphettville Park.

TROPHY WINNERS
Batting Trophies Aggregate Runs.
Section 1 Russell Hewett Trophy 486 runs Anthony Burgess Port Noarlunga
Section 2 Phil Davis Trophy 617 runs Joshua Aulert Mitchell Park
Section 3 John Voyzey Trophy 541 runs Kevin Brokensha Morphettville Park II
Section 4 Russell Wight Trophy 420 runs Deepak Kunigiri Grand Masters
Section 5 Craig Lawn Trophy 440 runs Chris Norman Coromandel III
Section 6 Ray Blake Memorial 564 Muhammad Shahzed Kenilworth II
Section 7 David Billett Trophy 429 runs Greg Chaplin Sheidow Park IV
Section 8 Kevin Joseph Trophy 585 runs Abdul M Stanikzai Afghan
Section 9 John Zadow Trophy 521 runs Marko Fedojuk Adelaide Lutheran II
The Ray Webb Memorial Trophy was won by Joshua Aulert of Mitchell Park with 617 runs in Section 2, for the highest aggregate of runs in Sections 1 – 3.
The Ron Halliday Memorial Trophy was won by Abdul M Stanikzai of Afghan with 585 runs in Section 8, for the highest aggregate runs in Sections 4 – 9.

Bowling Trophies Aggregate Wickets
Section 1 Cliff Theiley Memorial Trophy 33 wickets Dillon Burns Port Noarlunga
Section 2 David Neil Trophy 32 wickets Angus Keates St John’s
Section 3 Roger Mableson Trophy 29 wickets Mahaveer Potlia Country Club
Section 4 Ron Adams Trophy 27 wickets Jacob Lemon Flagstaff Hill
Section 5 John Heptinstall Trophy 24 wickets Jason Roberts Happy Valley II
Section 6 John Wilks Trophy 31 Jay Selwyn-Shore Morphett Vale
Section 7 Tony Fromene Trophy 27 Kym McDonald Port Noarlunga III
Section 8 Peter Berkshire Trophy 31 wickets Abdul G Stanikzai Afghan
Section 9 Steven Skinner Trophy 21 Reuben Pattie North Haven IV
The Joe Heptinstall Memorial Trophy was won by Dillon Burns of Port Noarlunga with 33 wickets in Section 1 for the highest aggregate of wickets taken in Sections 1 – 3
The Frank Gray Memorial Trophy was won by Kyle Hanegraaf of Mitchell Park II & III with 32 wickets in Section 5 and 6 for the highest aggregate of wickets taken in Section 4 – 9

Jim Coulls Memorial Wicket Keeping Trophies
Section 1 53 votes Blake Harding Sheidow Park
Section 2 49 votes Sam Francis St John’s
Section 3 48 votes Brendan Kloeden Happy Valley
Section 4 40 votes Jack Kelley Flagstaff Hill
Section 5 52 votes Vikas Vikas Southern Warriors
Section 6 39 votes Ben Porter Morphettville Pk III
Section 7 33 votes Vimal Venugopal Grand Masters II
Section 8 36 votes Grant Craigie Warradale
Section 9 41 votes Luke Dubois Morphettville Park V

Bert Crowhurst Memorial Fielding Trophies
Section 1 9 votes Connor Lock ICC Sharks and Jay Koirala Coromandel
Section 2 9 votes Jake Johnson Sheidow Park II
Section 3 9 votes Luke Debrowski Morphettville Pk II
Section 4 11 votes Deepak Kunigiri Grand Masters
Section 5 10 votes James Beaumont Happy Valley II
Section 6 11 votes Devendra Rawat Southern Warriors II
Section 7 11 votes Liam Campbell ICC Sharks III
Section 8 13 votes Roo Agha Afghan
Section 9 11 votes Thomas Fuller Western Youth Centre III

ASCA T20 COMPETITION
24 Teams played in the T20 Competition. 10 clubs put in a second team.
Division One had 6 Teams from Section 1 clubs. They played each other once before the top 2 played a Grand Final.
Division Two had 10 teams including the second teams from Coromandel and Coromandel Ramblers reflective of those clubs’ depth of players. They played 5 rounds in 2 pools of 5 before semi-finals between each pool’s top 2. The winners met in a Grand Final.
Division Three had 8 teams including 6 second teams and Kenilworth and South Road. They played 3 rounds in 2 pools of 4 before semi-finals between each pool’s top 2. The winners met in a Grand Final.
Games were played mostly on Tuesday evenings starting at 5.20pm with some Sunday Fixtures required to fit in all games. The weather stopped a few games and Michael Young did another outstanding job liaising with clubs and getting games rescheduled. There were 2 forfeits Round 5 in Division Two. Division Three had a forfeit in Round 1 and 2 forfeits in Round 3.
John Zadow had support from his umpires and appointed umpires for all games, and often 2 letting the players just concentrate on playing.
The Three Grand Finals were played at the two ovals at Hackham on Sunday 18th February. We thank ICC Sharks for preparing the ovals and hosting the Grand Finals.
Division One saw Coromandel Ramblers defeat Coromandel to take home the Jack Voyzey Cup.
Division Two saw Western Youth Centre defeat Plympton Footballers to win the Peter Berkshire Cup.
Division Three saw Happy Valley (2) defeat Mitchell Park (2) to take home the Michael Young Cup.
For the second year the Andrew Wright Medal was awarded to the most valuable player in T20 games. A formula counting runs, wickets and catches gave Thomas Walters of Sheidow Park (2) in Division 3 the medal.

Sunny Singh of Ax Sports Store Edwardstown and Holden Hill offered Vouchers for the best player in each T20 game and gave vouchers to the clubs that won each of the divisions.
The T20 Competition provides a different type of cricket with extra games through the week for the enjoyment of players. A great way for the club to bond while watching their mates play an exciting game.

ASCA REPRESENTATIVE SIDES VS ALEXANDRA AND EASTERN HILLS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
Ray Thatcher organised 2 games. A Senior and U21. U21 played a T20 game Sunday 14 January at Cove. A&EH batted first and scored 6/124. Asca passed the score at 5/125 with 2 balls to spare. Match was umpired by Andrew Wright and John Williams.
Seniors played a T20 game Sunday 25 February at Mt Barker Springs Oval. A&EH batted first for 96. Asca made 5/98 to win the game. Match was umpired by Gerry McGinley.
Thanks to Ray Thatcher for organising all aspects of these games and David Billett who scored and Jack Voyzey who always makes sure he attends.

UMPIRES
Thanks to John Zadow for again organising umpires. We abandoned OfficialsHQ because of its clumsiness so Umpires appointments could not be shown on PlayCricket app or PlayHQ. Instead, a page of games was put on our website to show umpire appointments and all were notified by email.
Last season saw Andrew Wright umpire his 500th game for Adelaide and Suburban. For many years Andrew was the only umpire available for Sunday Association and our T20 games. His support for these games made our competition stronger. My records say Andrew Wright umpired first for us in 1999/2000 season. That makes 24 years of commitment to our Association. John McTier umpired his 100th game. John came to us from Churches and Community cricket and is an active Veterans player. He tells us he has played in or umpired a thousand games in his long career. Phil Megson umpired his 100th game for Adelaide and Suburban and Jeff Blundell his 50th.
Mostly there were 12 umpires available for each round of matches. Section 1 and 2 needed an umpire for each game leaving a few that could be sent where they might best make a difference. We can always use new umpires and it is important we attract younger umpires that will be with us into the future. John Zadow is always keen to talk with those thinking their playing days might be waning but can still stand in the middle of the field and make decisions. Our best umpires are ex-players with long experience.

ADMINISTRATION
Phil Davis – President, John Voyzey – Vice-President, Michael Young – Vice-President, Angelo Pansini – Assistant Secretary, Nathan Jacobs – Treasurer. After 5 years as Secretary Michael Young said he could not continue due to his growing young family and work commitments. Unfortunately, no one else in the Association would accept the role. Michael continued to organise the T20 competition, Jack Voyzey did the Minutes and Phil Davis did permits and clearances.
Also elected to Executive were John Zadow, Shaun Visser, John McTier, Ray Thatcher, John Gritzalis, Bob Pearce, Lee Fuller, Adam Rusk and Gerry McGinley. These are all people who have played a lot of cricket and held responsible positions at their clubs.
Most of the competition is regulated by our Constitution, MCC Laws of Cricket and Special Match Rules however there are disputes, reports of poor conduct and curly ones and it is for the Executive to decide what is fair and what is best for the Association. We don’t often meet but in these days, all can be emailed and give their opinion.
Adam West of West Press has been our printer since 1990 but has closed his business to move on. 34 years is a long time and Adam has always helped us solve problems and get the book to clubs before the season started. Steve Skinner again took on the task of publishing the book and approached several printers. We chose Kwik Kopy Hilton. 140 copies of the Umpires’ Handbook were printed, 1 for each team plus 1 for each club secretary, with copies for the umpires and executive. The book contains:- Special Match Rules; The LBW law and diagrams to help explain when it is out and not out; Important Points for Secretaries and Captains; Directions to grounds and some contacts. Thanks to Steve Skinner for the work he does to produce the book. It’s a busy time and he lightens the load.

125TH DINNER
In lieu of presentation a dinner was organised at Adelaide oval on 24 April to celebrate 125 years of The Adelaide and Suburban Cricket Association. Since the 100 year celebration in 1999, the Association had built a surplus of $40 000 that was used to subsidise the price for present and past players and to give each club 2 free tickets. Almost 300 attended and all reports are that the players enjoyed reminiscing with team-mates and those they have played against over the years.
Nathan Jacobs handled all the hiring of the room, information to clubs, ticket selling and seating. It was a big task but Nathan did make it look easy.
Angelo Pansini organised for Tim Ginever to MC and talk about the benefits of sporting clubs.
Trophies and premiership certificates were not at the dinner but distributed to clubs in an ad hoc basis.

REPORTS & TRIBUNALS
Reports of poor behaviour were received on 11 matches without appointed umpires. Executive suspended 10 players for a total of 27 matches with 4 suspended. 1 fine for an incomplete scorebook. 2 fines for late start. 2 games were forfeited due to playing ineligible players.
Captain reports were entered by most teams on the day following matches. They included Spirit of Cricket Points which were averaged for the season with Spirit of Cricket Champions awarded a pair of batting gloves.
S1 Port Noarlunga and Sheidow Park 7.3
S2 Morphettville Park 8.1
S3 Cove II 8.9
S4 Port Noarlunga II 8.4
S5 South Park 8.3
S6 Morphettville Park III 8.7
S7 Morphettville Park IV 9.1
S8 Coromandel Ramblers IV 8.1
S9 North Haven IV 8.5
The averaged scores were tight with less than 3 points separating top and bottom except in 2 sections.
Reports on grounds and conduct of match were sent to members of executive to monitor and decide when to get clubs to talk more about the issues.

UMPIRE PAYMENTS
The treasurer paying umpires and checking clubs are paying is his greatest chore. Thank you to Nathan for doing this so clubs don’t have to do it on game day. Thank you to the clubs too that pay promptly so they don’t add to the chore.

SPONSORS
Kookaburra Sport has long supported Adelaide and Suburban with cash, balls for finals and equipment. A new five-year deal was accepted for the start of season 2023-24.
ICON Sport was onboard again as the Association preferred supplier and this season saw the Umpires and Executive move to ICON supplied Shirts and Jackets.
Etches Trophies were the supplier of the Trophies for Presentation Night and Sportscentre were a preferred supplier of Kookaburra Balls and some Umpiring items that were required.
We thank Plympton Sports and Social Club who allow us the use of their clubrooms for our meetings at no cost. We thank the clubs and their staff who are always helpful in accommodating us.

PREMIERSHIP CUPS
The Section 1 cup is named as the Halliday Heptinstall in honour of the long-standing Secretary and President of the Association.
The other cups are sponsored by donations. We thank:-
Section 2 ICA Stepney
Section 3 McAvaney Trophies
Section 4 Elder Meat Store in Glengowrie
Section 5 At the Toss of a Coin at Brighton
Section 6 Blackwood Sound on Marion Road
Section 7 Larry Collin at Century 21 Real Estate
Section 9 Keswick Cricket Club in memory of Colin Hopkins and Glenn McGowran

And so we look forward to season 2024/25.

Phil Davis
President
Acting Secretary