It is the Sunday of the second week of cricket finals, and both first and second teams from your club are fighting for a place in the Grand Final. However, you wake up with a nasty chest cold and coughing up phlegm, making it the right thing to do to stay home. You ponder on why the word phlegm is spelled that way and hope that the YouTube coverage will not break down. At least one of the teams should make a Grand Final next week, and hopefully, you will be feeling better by then.
Yesterday, Saturday, the sixth team was beaten in their Grand Final. Your club has eight senior teams, and you watched the Eights fall in their elimination final the previous Saturday. It was a bitter pill to swallow since the total they had to chase was not too great.
Fathers and Sons Team
With so many teams, there is always a father-sons team. The Sixth team was made up of familial pairs, with five pairs of dads and sons and two blokes kind of related to make up the thirteen. Yes, cricket normally has twelve, but many cricket associations have modified one day competitions for those young and young at heart. The Sixers this Saturday were set 198 to win in 36 overs, which seemed possible. The dads had carried the batting all season, each regularly making fifty or more runs. Unfortunately, none of them made fifty that day, and only one dad came close, causing the chase to sputter out of momentum.
For one of the dads, it was likely the last season he would play alongside his son. Others have a few more seasons until their boys are called to play higher up. Resigned to the reality of a missed chance, thoughts went back to a great season. One moment shone brighter than the others: Jack's first senior wicket.
Jack’s First Senior Wicket
Most clubs have a parent who likes to dabble in photography, and your club has the amazing Scott Muir. His photos have been the header image for many of these articles. This year, Scott and the Moran family were graced with an amazing moment captured for all time: young Jack Moran taking his first senior wicket. To say this was a great moment is to belie the emotions captured in the photo. Scott told me that this was the best photo he has taken - right place, right time. A family has the moment captured, and we can look on in joy and appreciate it.
For all those playing Grand Finals, play well, and don't be too much of a flog, although you know that for some, that will be hard. For those parents with another season to play alongside their kids, cherish it. "Cherish" is a rare word in sport, though in this context, it's perfect. It is a rare treat that not many achieve.
Phillip Hall has been too long in Melbourne to see AFL in the same light as those back in Fremantle. East Fremantle born and bred, he would love to see the Dockers back in the eight. But would settle for just beating West Coast twice a year.
