The Roman encyclopaedist Pliny believed that if you wounded a man and were sorry for it, you needed only to spit on the hand that caused the wound and the victim’s pain would be alleviated. It is without question that 2008/09 was a season rife with alleviation, beliefs and the occasional encyclopaedist.

Whilst neither team quite reached the heights of previous seasons on the field, off the field everyone involved in the club was at least two to three feet above their normal altitude. Some were even higher (Richard Smith sometimes mistaken for a Chilean such was his elevation).

Socially the season was a mixed bag. The addition of a lawn bowls evening and the race night to the calendar were met with lukewarm responses however the spirit at the annual Chewie Cup clash was fantastic. We retained the trophy thanks to some divine intervention and rumour has it that the coveted scrotum has migrated to David Lang’s bedside table.

Rather than preiterate Langy’s appreciations and congratulations in the following article, I will merely extend my thanks to everyone at the club for their efforts throughout the year. I would like to specifically single out Langy himself for his efforts with the Association committee as well as his work as Secretary for the Breakers.

In closing it is always a pleasure to take the field with all those who play for the club and, whilst words fail to encapsulate what playing for the Breakers truly means to me, the following picture sums it up perfectly.

Good On Ya
Rob Lavery
President, Manly Breakers Cricket Club

“They’re not going to drink themselves.” - Richard Smith, repeatedly

The 2008-09 summer of cricket was the 9th season since our club entered the Manly-Warringah Cricket Association competition back in 2000-01. Since then 91 players have represented our club in 16 teams. Five players made their debut with our club in the 2008-09 season.

This season saw many outstanding individual achievements of which include:
Four centuries were scored this season. Lloyd Walker became the second Breaker to hit two hundreds in a season (after Bill Serong), Chris Kettlewell notched up a second and Rob Lavery joined Chris Sweet hitting his fourth for the club.
Oli Thomas picked up a hat trick in his maiden 5 wicket haul for the club
David Lang became the first player to play 100 matches for the club. He was closely followed by Matt Fisher and Mark Mullineaux.
A swathe of players made their 50th appearances for the club (Roger Moore, Doug Alley, Anthony Ball, Wayne Gormley and Chris Kettlewell)
Justin Barbaroux styled his 2,000 run for the Breakers whilst Lloyd Walker and Doug Alley struck their respective 1,000th.
Rob Lavery took his 100th wicket whilst Justin Barbaroux claimed his 50th.