Over 70s Season 2022/23 - the year the weather gods were against us!

Our season started with the cancellation due to wet weather of two major carnivals in October 2022.

The inaugural Nowra O70s Cricket Festival which was an initiative of NSW O70s State Chairman Paul Cullen, with 4 regional teams playing over 2 days. Rain stopped the carnival, though high interest remains to replan this event for early next season
The Annual NSW State O70s Championships in Coffs Harbour were also cancelled following cyclonic rains. PJs had a strong team and we were very much looking forward to the trip to Coffs

The good news for the season was that PJs commenced inter-regional mid-week games, scheduling and playing 3. Our first game was against Central Coast on 4th October 2022 which was the first leg of our CC/Hunter mini tour. Rogers Park for the game against Central Coast was in perfect condition, and the pitch yielded lots of runs, and a win for PJs. The next day was our game against Hunter Taverners at Waterboard Oval, and despite the weather being fine at the start of the day, we managed only 2 overs before rain washed us out.

Our third game was a rematch against Taverners at Waterboard on 14th February 2023 where despite our strong team (including 1 or 2 juniors) we were outplayed by the Hunter boys. These interregional games were very successful and enjoyable, and the concept and number of games hopefully extended next season. Participation is the key driver for these games.

Talking of next season, the NSW State O70s Championships are scheduled for Armidale 16-19 October 2023 - please place in your diary. PJs will want to enter a strong team again. And as a note, the National O70s are in Bunbury in WA 23-28 November 2023.

An exciting part of this season was the establishment of O75s cricket in NSW. John Fryer, Gil McGrath, John Granata and Kev Pike (amongst others) conducted several mini carnivals (including at Gloucester where 52 NSW players participated). Even special rules were trialled successfully where again enjoyment and participation were important features.

And finally a thank you to David Wright for his assistance over this season in organising and coordinating PJ O70s games. Well done David.

Until next season...

Peter Harrison

Port Jackson O70s Co-ordinator