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The 2000s
Officials, players, members and/or supporters first noted in this decade
Sam Adams, Josh Agius, Paddy Allen, Garry Altis, Luke Ball, Alistair Bloom, Duncan Bond (WA), Andrew Bowen, Pat Brennan, Hamish Buckley, Nick Butler, Adrian Carr, Maurice “Pig” Corsi, Matt Cosgrave, Luke Cotchet, Matt Cracknell, Nigel Crawley (Premiership player 2000/01), Shaun Cross, Josh Douglas, Dan Dunlevie, Chris Dynon, Tom Fitzgerald, Richard French, Ben Gibson, Jeremy Gibson, Rory McCormack, Matthew Gibson, Liam Ginnivan (wicket-keeper), Pat Halpin, Josh Hanger, Leigh Hansen, Matt Hopper, Luke Howard, Nick Hulett, Andrew Jones, Matt Jones, “Dagger” Kaine, Jerry Kempe, ? Knox, Adam Lennon, Simon McCarthy, Rory McCormack, James “Malla” McDonnell, Jeremy “Jed” McDonnell, Dan Molan, Charles Moon, Ciaren Nolan, ? Nour, ? Pattison, David Prowse, Pat Purcell, David Quinn, Tim Rourke (Premiership player 2000/01), Dan Rush, Joe Rush, Martin Rush, Nick Serafini, Matt Skidmore, John-Andrew Stack, Daniel Stoney, Andrew Tehan, Julian Timms, Tim Trahair, Lex Vasdekis, Pat Walker, Jobe Watson, David Webb.

During this decade, two day games were dropped from the competition. This has resulted in players being restricted in their scoring of high run totals unless taking the long handle to the opposition bowling. Similarly, the potential for large hauls of wickets is reduced by bowlers being restricted to a maximum of 8 overs per innings. The highlights’ packages will also be lessened.

2000/01 The Fifth Premiership Season
Captain: Pat Hill.
Andy Gowers resumed with the Club after several years with the Brisbane Lions

Semi-final
It appears to be somewhat of a habit in premiership years to finish the home and away season in fourth position. This year it meant not only facing the top team in the semi-final but the reigning and undefeated premier, Old Caulfield Grammarians. However, the team performed strongly batting first after Pat Hill won the toss. The scoring was spread down the list and 211 runs were made. The scorers included the opening batsmen Pat Hill (44) and Sam Tucker (36), Nigel Crawley (35 not out), Andy Gowers (24), Rohan Hawker (20), Tim Rourke (19) and Ed Burnes (19).

The bowling then destroyed the opposition, conceding only 80 runs. The chief destroyer was Sam Tucker (6/38 from 22 overs), ably supported by Rob Tucker (2/31) and Carl Nunan (2/1).

Grand Final
A change of venue was forced by the curator of the Albert Ground and the game was played at Ross Straw Field, Parkville. The opponent was Old Haileybury (“OH”). Pat Hill again won the toss and batted first. The team reached a competitive total of all out for 302 runs despite the loss of two early wickets.

When OH batted, their openers held the attack out until Rob Tucker made the initial breakthrough and his brother Sam the next five. OH was reduced then to 7/100 at stumps. In this final, rain did not come to the rescue of the higher placed team. It was dismissed for 168 runs despite their top scorer reaching 90 not out. Of the 3 bowlers called upon, Sam Tucker was the chief destroyer with 7/75 with Rob Tucker taking 2/42 and Carl Nunan 1/40.

The OXCC details were:
Batting
Rob Tucker 16
Pat Hill 13
Sam Tucker 79
Anthony Coburn 46
Martin Rush 31
Andy Gowers 25
Tim Rourke 56
Rohan Hawker 23
Nigel Crawley 5
Ed Burnes 0
Carl Nunan 2 not out

Extras 6
All out 302

Bowling
Rob Tucker 2/42
Sam Tucker 7/75
Carl Nunan 1/40

Averages/aggregates (if known):
Batting: Martin Rush 185 @ 46.3, Sam Tucker 368 @ 46.0 & Pat Hill 291 @ 41.6.
Bowling: Carl Nunan 8 @ 14.0, SamTucker 21 @ 14.6, Rob Tucker 8 @ 17.0 & Nigel Crawley 14 @ 19.1.

Highlights:
Sam Tucker 79 runs & Tim Rourke 56 runs in the Grand Final v. OH.
Sam Tucker: 6/38 in the semi-final v. OCG and 7/75 from 30 straight, unchanged overs in the Grand Final.
Unbeaten hands: 61 runs by Sam Tucker and 37 runs by Martin Rush v. Old Trinity.
A score of 103 runs by Sam Tucker & an unbeaten 105 runs by Pat Hill v. Old Haileybury, including their second wicket partnership of 192 runs. Also, Nigel Crawley took 4/53 in this victory.
Rob Tucker: 66 runs v. Old Scotch Blues.
Rob Tucker an unbeaten 76 runs & Pat Hill 50 runs v. Old Wesley.
Sam Tucker: an unbeaten 61 runs v. Old Trinity
Martin Rush: 70 runs v. University.

Life Memberships awarded to David O’Shaughnessy and John Zachariah who joined Bill Carroll who was until then the only living Life Member (1997).

2001/02
Captain: Pat Hill.

Surprisingly after a successful year, the Club experienced difficulty raising enough players to appear consistently. 6 to 8 players formed the core of the team. The team was placed mid-list in a competition including two Old Caulfield teams named Fury and Rage, an MCC team, the usual old boys’ teams and Uni Fives (who withdrew prior to the next season wanting more two day games and due to lack of independent umpires).

Highlights:
Rohan Hawker: 60 runs v. MCC.

Life Memberships were awarded to Dr. Jack Martin and Carl Nunan, whose exploits have been noted previously and both have fulfilled the role of President.

After a break of some 10 years, the Club traveled to Tasmania to play the Old Launcestonians. The latter club’s esteemed stalwart and veteran Brendan Lyons (XC 1939 - 1944) on this occasion turned out and opened the bowling for the tourists, a feat he had not in Xavier colours since 1944

2002/03
Captain: Sam Tucker.

The season commenced brightly with a rare win at Wesley’s Syndal campus. Chasing 8/290, the Club reached 3/290. Efforts over the rest of the season were good enough for the Club to reach the finals, again in fourth place. However, it did not get beyond the semi-final against Old Haileybury which it lost 269 to 129. The chief performers in this final were James McDonnell (3/44), Dan Strachan (2/43 and 22 runs) and Pat Hill (29 runs).

Highlights;
Sam Tucker’s 4/69 and 47 not out, Andrew Bowen’s 61 runs and the unbeaten hand of 157 runs by debutant Luke Cotchett in the victory over Old Wesley. This was the highest individual score since the 198 scored by Jim Dwyer 15 or so years earlier.

Dan Strachah (81 runs), Adrian Carr (48) & Pat Hill (42) v. Old Scotch Blue.
Sam Tucker 8/100, Rob Tucker (101 runs), Pat Hill (88), Luke Cotchett (58) & Luke Ball v. Old Scotch Red.
Sam Tucker (59 runs) & Nigel Crawley (50) v. Old Trinity.
Sam Tucker: 54 runs v. Old Caulfield Blue (the OCG teams had changed their names to Blue and White).
Pat Hill (77 runs) & Sam Tucker (5/27) v. Old Melburnians.
Nick Hulett: 6/93 v. Old Haileybury.

2003/04
Captain: Nick Hulett.

The Old Melburnians pulled its team out part of the way in to the season and Old Trinity was considering its future in the competition due to difficulty retaining players as other teams forfeited games against it. Old Brighton re-joined the Club XI competition.

The Club rose up the ladder to finish third after the home & away games (including a string of 7 straight wins). This earned the team another semi-final against Old Haileybury which had been defeated very comfortably earlier this season. OH won the semi-final and went on to win the flag.

Averages/aggregates (if known):
Bowling (H & A games): Luke Howard (16 @ 11 including returns of 5/33 and 4/28)

Highlights:
Dan Strachan: 139 runs v. Old Scotch.
Duncan Bond: scores of 78, 65, 49 and 46 runs.
James McDonnell: scores of 81 and 51 runs.
Liam Ginnivan: scores of 67 runs and 54 not out.
The Club hosted a match against and defeated the Primary Club of Australia on 22 March 2004.

2004/05
Captain: Nick Hulett.

The Club narrowly missed the finals. A win against Old Wesley in the last round would have taken the Club once again into the final four.

Averages/aggregates (if known):
Batting: Pat Hill (247 runs @ 49).
Bowling: Jeremy McDonnell (19 @ 11.4)

Highlights:
Pat Hill: an unbeaten 108 runs and 5/20 (from 8 overs) v. Old Melburnians. Jeremy McDonnell: 5/50 v. Old Brighton.
Aggregates of more than 200 runs each by cousins Jeremy Gibson and Matt Gibson

The Club hosted a match against and defeated the Primary Club of Australia on 20 February 2005.

2005/06
Captain: Nick Hulett.

This season again saw the Club finish in fifth place although it had stormed home in the last three matches with victories over two of the four finalists but suffered a washout when well on top against another (Old Wesley fell to 6/62 chasing 221 runs). A win in that game would have pushed the team into the four. Unfortunately, the damage had been done earlier in the season when it had only one victory before the Christmas break.

Averages/aggregates (if known):
Batting: Josh Agius 477 runs, Liam Ginnivan 340 runs, Matt Gibson 319 runs from 5 innings (3 consecutive tons, 2 unbeaten) and Nick Butler 262 runs.
Bowling: Jeremy McDonnell 11 wickets

Highlights:
A team score of 5/336 from 40 overs, including Josh Agius with a score of 165 runs (21 fours & 7 sixes) & Liam Ginnivan 71 not out and 5 wickets v. Old Haileybury.
Josh Agius had other hands of 91 (49 balls), 86 and 75.
The Club defeated the School team (which included Jobe Watson and Luke Ball, AFL footballers) 168 runs to 164 runs.

2006/07
Captain: James McDonnell.

The other teams featured in the competition were MCC, Old Brighton, Old Haileybury, Old Melburnians, Old Scotch, Old Trinity and Old Wesley.

The Club finished on top of the home and away ladder with 12 successive one-day wins from the start of the season until it lost the last game at Xavier to the MCC. The first 4 victories were against the finalists of the previous season. The Club reached the Grand Final, contested in a “best of three” one-day games format but, after winning the first game, lost the two remaining games to Old Brighton.

Averages/aggregates (if known):
Batting: James McDonnell 344 runs @49 (1 century and also 16 wickets)
Ben Gibson 585 runs @ 45 (1 century & 4 half centuries). Liam Ginnivan also scored 331 runs in aggregate.
Bowling: Luke Howard & Matt Gibson - 21 wickets each.

Highlights:
All-round efforts of the captain (as noted) & Pat Brennan: 278 runs & 20 wickets. James McDonnell: an unbeaten 129 runs v. Old Brighton.
Liam Ginnivan: an unbeaten 75 runs v. Old Trinity.
Ben Gibson carried his bat for 50 runs not out v. Old Brighton and a further unbeaten 50 runs v. Old Wesley, a victory at Syndal.
Joe Rush: 3 half centuries
Life Memberships were awarded to Peter Rhoden, Alan McLean and Mark Roberts.

2007/08
Captain: James McDonnell.

The ambitious introduction of second team required new recruits to be brought into action to overcome a reliance on older players who would probably injure more easily. An erratic season followed due to many washouts and also forfeits by opposition clubs. The First team was placed fourth and faced the top side Old Brighton in the semi-final. The Club posted a score of 192 but was passed in the penultimate over by Old Brighton’s last pair. Old Brighton lost to Old Scotch in the Grand Final. The Second team played against the same opposition as the “firsts”. Accordingly, any achievements of its players are of like merit as those of players in the firsts. However, the side lacked the depth of talent of the firsts and it failed to reach the finals.

Averages/aggregates (if known):
Batting: Joe Rush
Bowling: Matt Cosgrave, James McDonnell and Luke Howard.

2008/09
Captain: Joe Rush.

The First team had an early season success against the reigning premiers, Old Scotch, and success followed success despite the captain’s atrocious luck with the toss of the coin with his only success being in the semi-final. The run to the semi-final concluded with a final round victory over Old Wesley (“OW”) with the team scoring at over 10 runs per over, including the 84 runs of Dan Rush off 39 balls with 6 sixes and 7 fours. The team defeated Old Brighton in the semi-final and went on to meet Old Scotch (“OS”) in the best of the Grand Final games. Unfortunately, after a first game demolition of its opponent, it lost the final two games although the last game went down to the wire with OS, 8 wickets down, passing OXCC’s score off the first ball of the fortieth and final over.

Game 1 of the Grand Final:
OX 6/237
- Dan Rush 116 runs, Hamish Buckley 45 runs and Joe Rush (39 not out).
- Second wicket partnership of 158 runs ­ Dan Rush & Hamish Buckley.
OS 143 - Jeremy McDonnell 5/33.

Game 2 of the Grand Final:
OS 8/161 v. OX 126

Game 3 of the Grand Final:
OX 159 - Hamish Buckley 42 runs and Dan Rush 34 runs v. OS 8/161.

Highlights:
Two players with over 400 runs for the season: Dan Rush & Hamish Buckley.
David Webb: an unbeaten 55 runs (in his first game) v. OW.
Dan Rush 84 runs and unbeaten hands of 47 and 35 runs by Hamish Buckley and Dan Molan respectively in the second game v. OW.
Josh Douglas: 4/18 in the first game v. Old Haileybury (“OH”)
Pat Walker: 57 runs in the second game v. OH.
Hamish Buckley 53 runs and Dan Rush 45 runs v. Old Caulfield Grammarians.
Pat Halpin 49 runs and Joe Rush an unbeaten 65 runs in the second Old Trinity (“OT”) game.
Matt Cosgrave: 4/41 in a washed out match v. OT.
First wicket Partnership ­ 73 runs ­ Pat Walker & Dan Rush in the second OH game.
Second wicket partnership - 158 runs ­ Dan Rush & Buckley in Grand Final Game 1.
Third wicket partnership - 76 runs - Pat Halpin & Joe Rush v. OT.
Fourth wicket partnership in the semi-final v. Old Brighton ­ 107 runs ­ Matt Cosham & Leigh Hansen. In this game, Cosham scored 68 runs, Dan Rush 55 and Hansen 38.

The Second team was organized by Charles Moon, Matt O’Hanlon and David Quin. One of its stalwarts was Joe Forrest who again contributed the main highlights with the bat.
Highlights:
Joe Forrest ­ 51 runs v. OH, &, 75 runs v. Old Brighton.