THE TWELFTH MAN
HDCA – A Grade
PIGEON Ponds champion allrounder, Simon Close, has produced the innings of a lifetime with an incredible 304-not-out – the second highest score ever and only the second triple-century registered in the history of the HDCA’s top grade.
The Pigeons faced Tahara at Tahara Recreation Reserve on Saturday, on day one of the Hamilton and District Cricket Association (HDCA) round 12 A Grade competition.
HDCA historians were diving into the archives after Close’s knock, to check where it ranked on the all-time lists – it fell just four runs short of the A Grade record set back in 1957 by Les Wallace of St Andrews, who scored 308 against Cavendish at PP1.
It is the second highest score in all of Australia for the 2024-25 season to date, having fallen short of the highest by only two runs, but that score was in a third division match as opposed to the A Grade competition that Close plays in.
With rain and showers threatening to put a dampener on proceedings, Hamish McCrae won the toss for the Pigeons and quickly decided to bat first, sending Close and Peter Staude to the centre to start the game.
Tahara entered the game having come off its biggest victory of the season, defeating College by a run last round and the Blue Caps must have been confident leading into the game.
There was little indication of what was to follow as Nathan Slaughter and Luke Barnes took the new ball for the Blue Caps seeking to add to their wicket tallies for the summer.
Staude would face only six balls before he nicked-off to Liam Tonissen behind the stumps for only two, as Barnes struck the early blow in his first over and only the second over of the game, after Close had taken two boundaries from the first.
That would be the only success enjoyed by the home side for the next 15 overs and 85 runs, as Close and Noah Hildebrand took the score to 97 in only 18 overs inside the first hour of play, before Hildebrand was caught by Sam Brewer for 26 from the bowling of Marcus Rhook.
Enter Ben Hanrahan who was coming off a full week of representative cricket at Melbourne Country Week and he and Close set about taking the Tahara bowlers to task with a telling partnership of 196 for the third wicket, in the next 34 overs.
Hanrahan would fall within sight of a well-deserved century for 89 from 117 balls with eight boundaries and a maximum, when he was trapped in front of his stumps, LBW by Kieran Barker.
McCrae came to the middle and produced a run-a-ball 35 to carry the score to 4-364 with Close starting to increase his scoring rate as he ticked off personal milestones.
From then on, Close took control of the game as the run rate lifted to 10-per-over for the last 15 overs of the innings with the lower order players who did bat adding a total of only 33 runs between them.
Close batted out the day to face 223 balls with a strike rate of 136.32, 36 boundaries, five maximums – but these are just the bare statistics which do not show the complete dominance he had over the Tahara bowlers.
It is a rare innings that sees a batsman score a century without giving a chance, but Close gave only one such opportunity to dismiss him when he mistimed a cut shot that was dropped by a very close first slip fieldsman, who had little time to react before the ball was upon him.
It was the third ton in as many innings for Close, who now has 760 runs at an average of 95 for the summer, with what may well be only one or possibly two innings remaining for the summer as Pigeon Ponds will not play finals and only has a game against Tyrendarra to play.
The Blue Caps stuck to the task in the face of overwhelming punishment and they can take heart from the fact that no bowler was hit for 100 runs from their bowling, with Fletcher Wheeler (2-52) being the only bowler to take multiple wickets.
It was one of those days for the home side and one they simply have to quickly forget as they prepare to chase the unlikely target next week, with the best they could hope to achieve being not dismissed in their reply as the Pigeons will be out for maximum points on day two.
