16/04/2018
Bundy Bears – 20 year reunion
At lot of things can change over the period of 20 years - as time passes memories can fade and deeds can be forgotten. But that hasn’t been the case for the Bundy Bear’s 1997/98 premiership winning season, for the legend of the Bear’s exploits that one special summer have only grown over time. Stories have been told time and again as a new generation of Baby Bears have grown up understanding the greatness of what was achieved a generation ago!
The Southern Highlands fans were also left wondering what had become of these mighty Bears after they closely followed their historic summer of cricket through the weekly write ups in the Southern Highlands News.
Over this past weekend they were left to wonder no more!
Earlier this year the call had gone out for a Bundy Bear’s team reunion to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their successful 1997/98 season. A plan was devised for the Bears to come together for the greater good of the game on the 14th April 2018 at Centennial Oval, Bowral and show the cricketing world what they had been missing. With recent controversies in South Africa still so raw, it was clear to all that this was the game of cricket that Australia needed.
The Bears employed a wide variety of preparation techniques for the game which ranged from partaking in competitive games this last summer, a few powered through strenuous net sessions in the weeks leading up to the match, while some (ie the majority) commenced their preparation 20 years ago after that successful season with a slow and steady taper into Saturday’s game – a perfect way to ensure they weren’t overdone or fatigued for the big match!
Pre-game catch up
For those who were available, a pre-game stretching, hydration and tactics meeting was organised for the Friday evening at the Bowral Country Club. The team was pleased to see Captain Scott Pinn had been able to make it back to Australia after Cricket Australia (‘CA’) had flown him over to Hong Kong last weekend for an emergency meeting with Tim Paine. Pinn was to sit down with the young Australian captain to pass on all of his cricketing knowledge and tactical insight. To the surprise of CA but not his Bear’s teammates, this took less than 3 minutes (including introductions and autographs – Paine refused to take Pinn’s signed box). Many in the press feel Pinn’s primary goal was to use his experience to help Paine prepare for his dumping when a better option returns to the Australian team.
With the session over, the team took to the golf course for an ambrose event to help calm the nerves and build teamwork. Unfortunately it didn’t take long for the captaincy controversy to re-emerge with Pinn keen to play the front nine, while Chris Petersen was keen to play the back. Petersen convinced everyone we should go straight up the back nine, but as usual, he was aiming at the wrong hole and we all had to revert to the front nine. Pinn seemed happy with the result.
Panic did set in amongst team management when left-arm strike bowler Glenn McDonald was spooked on the 15th. After hearing a noise he tore into the undergrowth in his lifelong but elusive search for the Gruffalo. After a brief struggle, which included a few small trees being lofted onto the 15th green, McDonald remerged from the bush and returned calmly to the course to put in a brilliant chip which landed only a few feet from the pin.
At the end of play, everyone felt for the team of Brown, Luke’s brother Dave and Captain Pinn who were robbed on a number of holes and probably should have been up by at least four at the end of play.
The team then headed out for the pre-game meal, prepared by the team nutritionist Shanghai Wah, and an additional hydration session at the Royal Spa and Bar, which left everyone feeling that they had done as much as was humanly possible to prepare themselves for Saturday’s game!
The big day
A clear day with a strong Westerly greeted the team as they arrived at Centennial Oval for the 10am start. At the ground, rumours were circulating that there had been an overnight scare in the Bundy camp! Team sources confirmed that they are now after a new nutritionist, as something went horribly wrong with last night’s meal. All team members who attended the dinner had woken dehydrated and with headaches. All present swore they couldn’t have possibly taken on any more fluids the night before at the Royal, so it must have been the food. Being the champions they all were, they put this setback behind them, keen to commence the game.
It was amazing to see all the Bears together again after so long apart. Special thanks goes to the long distance travellers – to Paul Brown who made the flight from Adelaide where he continues to tour his one man show – ‘Magic Mike XXL - beyond the bulge’ to thousands of screaming girls. Matt Higgins flew in all the way from his Singaporean base from where he jets all over the world to compete in various reality TV shows. His latest appearance was on the Serbian version of Farmer wants a wife but can’t be discussed here as it is embroiled in controversy, as the goat has taken out a lawsuit against Higgins and the producers.
Captain Pinn managed to get his team offside before he’d even left the car! As he backed over McDonald’s golf clubs to the sounds of beeping horns and people screaming stop, he just waved back assuming everyone was ecstatic to see him. As this was taking place, Petersen didn’t want to miss a golden opportunity and was working his way around the team to shore up support for his coup.
Thanks goes out to Camo James who had the bar set up and ready as everyone arrived. The Bears jumped right in to get the hydration up after last night’s disaster and were ready to learn if we would be hitting the field or wielding the willow first.
After fighting so hard to retain the captaincy for the past 20 years, Pinn was left red faced after the Bears started asking who would be flipping the coin. He was forced to wander off with Petersen, with them both determined that if one of them couldn’t toss alone, then they would both toss together. Once they were both done and had wondered back they were embarrassed to see that Tony Higgins had jumped in, successfully called heads and had put the Bears into bat.
Bundy at bat
Many were bitterly disappointed that a pre-game institution from season 1997/98 wasn’t repeated at the reunion as Ralph failed to make his pre-game appearance to offer support and comfort for the Bundy batsmen. This, coupled with the delayed arrival of Baedon Terry and the thousands of screaming girls and some indecision around the batting order didn’t bode well for the Bears!
Sanity prevailed and the old opening combination of Matt Higgins and Chris Petersen strode confidently to the crease to open the Bears innings. Controversy struck immediately with the very first delivery – Petersen was clearly caught plumb LBW and the Blues side let fly with an enthusiastic ‘Howzat?’. Matt Bow was so confident with his “Not out! There’s no LBWs today boys!’ then when the same thing happened again three balls later, the Blues didn’t even bother to appeal!
After the shaky start the pair settled into a solid partnership with some fine stroke play before Higgins fell for a well compiled 20. This brought Dave’s brother Luke to the crease who combined well with Petersen as they pushed the score along. Petersen looked relaxed in bringing up his 30 before retiring, at which time Paul Brown strode to the crease. Brown and Dave’s brother Luke turned a surprising number of 3’s into 1’s but kept the scoreboard ticking with some boundaries. Sensing the score and the magnitude of the occasion, Dave’s brother Luke threw his wicket away on 22 runs to ensure the Bears were 2 for 69 at the fall of wicket! Well played sir!
Matt Bow looked solid but was unlucky to fall cheaply to a screamer of a catch, one that generally would have been dropped at this level of cricket, something Bow would demonstrate later when in the field.
Captain Pinn walked out to the centre of the oval with his bat held high to acknowledge the cheers from the two or three screaming girls that had finally made it to the ground. His confidence was short lived as Brown, not known for his speed between the wickets, quickly grew frustrated with Pinn’s pedestrian attitude towards the slow single. Brown tried to pick up the pace himself but was caught out soon after for 22.
The crowd was on edge as Camo James was next in and his brother Duncan James had just been brought on to bowl. D James was keen for revenge and had talked (a lot) of chin music after C James spent most of the morning excitedly telling anyone who would listen that his brother bats for the other team. However, after D James slammed his effort ball into his own knee, Camo’s confidence grew. It was the unlucky Pinn who saw his stumps scattered (shattered actually) on 9 by a D James delivery that Pinn has since been describing as the best ball he has ever seen at any level of cricket, ever!
Left arm dynamo Glenn McDonald did exceptionally well to compile a solid 9, and Billy Lewis looked right at home scoring his 4 runs. Mind you, Lewis was extremely relieved not to have impaled himself on his own bat when it slipped out of his hand running a quick single. Lewis reported that the bat had dug into the ground as he tried to slide it into the crease but replays clearly show the handle of the bat caught the Iron Jack stubby that was sticking out of his pocket.
In the first of the two most controversial moments of the entire match, both, not surprisingly, involving Baedon Terry, Terry decided to promote himself up the order. This was seen as more proof, if needed, that Terry sees the game as platform for his own self-promotion. C James combined well with Terry, scoring lots of runs while Terry held up the other end with an endless series of dot balls.
Camo’s frustration with Terry can be the only explanation for what transpired next! Batting strongly to compile 24 runs, Camo stepped back and away to leg to a shorter delivery that unfortunately hit him somewhere just below the left ni**le. After the blow, he looked back down the pitch and, to his astonishment, umpire Brown had fired him. The Blue’s players couldn’t believe it and had a nervous laugh before the bowler started the walk back to his mark, but Brown was unmoved with his finger still in the air. Camo suggested the joke was over but Brown insisted he was out and he should leave the wicket immediately to get some ice on that ni**le. Camo took it as well as could be expected and left with dignity while showing Brown his finger!
Terry hit form at the end of his knock and finished with 23 not out. Pete Hotten and Luke’s brother Dave were involved in a terrible run out that stripped Hotten of his opportunity to impress the thousands of screaming girls that were now streaming through the gates. Luke’s brother Dave retired in sympathy with Hotten which brought Chris Dunlea and Tony Higgins to the crease for the last few overs. Both finished with 1 not out and, extraordinarily, there wasn’t one duck on the day for the Bears!
At the end of their 40 overs the Bears had set a competitive target of 196 runs.
Bears on the field
The full contingent of thousands of screaming girls had arrived and joined the team for the lunch break. After a great lunch courtesy of Coffee Culture and Lewis’s fine cooking skills, accompanied by the appropriate hydration courtesy of Sothern Highlands Brewery it was time for the Bears to defend their score. The wind was growing in strength as the Bears prepared to take the field and it was particularly unpleasant for anyone standing downwind of Petersen. As he’d skipped the team dinner on Friday night it can only be assumed that he had eaten a dead possum the evening before.
Nerves were instantly calmed with the first ‘what do you reckon Terry’, to which the crisp clear response ‘he’s got nothing’ rang out. C James and Petersen opened the bowling well and runs were hard to come by for the Blues openers. Matt Bow was brought into the attack in the fifth over and took a wicket with his first ball to have the Blues at 1 for 13 of 4.1 overs. Bow had two missed opportunities later that same over – one a mix up between the keeper and first slip – both of whom moved slowly and in the wrong direction, and a dropped sitter by Pinn who managed to meet the ball with his stomach rather than his hands. Surprising it didn’t stick.
As the Blue’s upper order started to settle in, none us thought that it was physically possible to have 100 runs scored off your 3 overs, but Dave’s brother Luke proved us all wrong. It is all the more remarkable when you consider that he was also on a hat-trick in that 3 over spell! Luke’s brother Dave still hasn’t returned from his taxi ride to fetch one six that was despatched back down the wicket and landed somewhere between Moss Vale and Sutton Forrest!
As desperate as things got for the Bears in the field, it can be reported that no sandpaper was used on the day. Mind you, there was still plenty of standing around and ball scratching going on over the course of the 40 overs. Pinn had lost all control over Dunlea who decided he was fielding where he thought was best. Funnily enough, this seemed to be in the shade near the bar!
As morale continued to drop the fielding fell away too. No one knows why, but Pinn decided to bring a treadmill onto the field and pretended to chase down balls while jogging a programmed route. Pinn also took a couple of nasty tumbles in the field but was lucky to brake the fall with his face. When Lewis wasn’t taking a knee on the boundary, he was executing a number of spectacular slides. He didn’t save any boundaries with these as the slides were nowhere near the ball, but they were spectacular none the less. He had to put a stop to the slides when one didn’t go to plan. Lewis reported that his knee had dug into the ground as he tried to slide but replays clearly show that it was an Iron Jack stubby that was sticking out of his pocket that got caught in the turf.
Matt Bow was the unfortunate boundary rider who saw two massive hits come his way on successive balls. Bow is adamant that the first shot was already over the boundary and he deliberately dropped it as he didn’t want to hurt his soft accountant hands. He has also been keen to point out with the second drop that his primary objective was to save the boundary and that’s why he let it hit him on the chest. He has admitted to icing his chest after the second drop but is yet to admit he also had to apply the ice to ‘little Bowie’, denying the ball also struck him there despite the rest of the team clearly believing it did. Despite both drops being directly in front of the grandstand and thousands of screaming girls, Bow is just glad to report no one saw them and has now started to deny they ever happened.
Inspired by Bow’s selfless acts for the betterment of the team, the tide started to turn for the Bears. McDonald had been full of encouragement all morning and was pushing the bowlers to pitch the ball up to the batters in the blustery conditions. When he was brought on to bowl he did that just that! His first delivery was a corker, with the second bounce right up in the block-hole! The Bears continued to lift and Lewis took the lead to bowl two inspired overs. After a few looseners, he finished with 2 for 1 of his two overs and the Bears were making progress through the Blue’s middle order.
It was amongst this momentum that the second major controversy of the match occurred. In the middle of a very solid spell, Terry, for some reason, decided to try for a Mankad dismissal - in a social game, without the appropriate warning. Now some might defend his actions of those of a man who puts his team before himself, but that’s not what the cricketing Gods thought. In the action of going for the Mankad Terry was dropped like he was hit by a sniper on the hill and he crashed to the ground clutching his knee. Cleary distressed and in pain Terry was also furious at the lack of compassion from his teammates who didn’t rush to his assistance. A few have tried to explain to him that it’s really hard to run when you are rolling on the ground laughing.
Pinn managed to redeem himself in part after taking a spectacular looking catch. While fielding close to the wicket a demon of a shot was fired at him. With the reflexes of cat and with the ball seemingly already past him, Pinn fired out his right hand, knocked the ball up and gathered it in with the second grab – or that’s how he described it anyway. The rest of the Bears saw Pinn take immediate evasive action when he thought the ball was headed his way, stuck his hand up to protect his face and somehow managed to pop the ball up in the air where it then bounced off his head into his outstretched hands that where in the classic ‘where did it go’ gesture!
Controversy aside, the Bears continued in the field with M Higgins chiming in with 2 wickets, and T Higgins and Luke’s brother Dave bagging one each. The last wicket fell when Brown appeared to have his LBW favour returned and the Blues batsman was dismissed for a dubious LBW. Amazingly, the scores were even and the match declared a tie.
Both teams stuck around for a while after the game for speeches, hydration and a stretch. The Bear’s handed out some controversial fines, including fining C James for missing the ball and getting given out LBW and Terry worked out he needed a second mortgage to pay off his multiple fines. All in all, $300 was raised to support brain cancer research, so a BIG thank you to everyone for getting into the spirit and contributing to a great cause!
We are pleased to report that after some initial concerns about a missing B Lewis, as predicted by some, he was found a short distance from the oval having a little lie down under a tree. He, like Terry, seemed a bit upset by the apparent lack of concern for his wellbeing that was expressed by his teammates. When he arrived home an hour or two later we explained to him we were sure we spotted movement as we passed by!
It was great to see both teams continue their post-game recovery session at the Royal, with everyone keen to ensure it’s not another 20 years before we do this again. Tony Higgins was regretting his decision not to attend the recovery session when he needed to spend Sunday on the couch being fed whisky intravenously. Latest reports are that T Higgins is on track to be fully recovered in time for the next game provided that it is a least 5 years away.
A huge thank you to all the family and friends that supported the team in the lead up to and over the big weekend and to those at the game on the day. Another huge thanks to the Blues team who gave us a great run and played in the spirit the day deserved! Thank you to all the Bears players for coming together from far and wide to take part, to Camo and Peto for organising lunch and refreshments, the shirt sponsors PTM transport solutions and Lachlan Valley Building, to Billy for taking on the BBQ duties, Rush Roasting for the hats and to Higgi and Pinny for pulling the day together.
