Match Reports

Round 2 (One-dayer)

A1 Grade

WPHC (Cam #25) 119 lost to Berowra 3/121

Welcome, welcome, welcome. New shirts, new season, same journalist.

The side was shaken in the lead up to the game with the news that a gas cylinder had blown up in Jackson Preedy’s face as he wrestled a harmless BBQ changeover during the week. Spending a night in hospital (private, let’s not be ridiculous), our team of doctors were able to save parts of his face but weren’t able to pass him fit to run for the game. Harvey Dent is lucky to be alive, he will be out for a number of weeks as his nose and eyebrows grow back. Please can we respect his privacy during this time.

Captain K was out as well, as he and Jed heading north to Ballina to fulfil a life-long dream to see the Big Prawn. Michael Gunn was dropped earlier in the week, only for K to do a complete 180 and ask him back with the news Preedy was out. It was great to see Gunny’s determination and results in the lower grades be rewarded with a recall.

It was with great pride that your columnist led the side out onto the paddock today – note, this was not the same pride that Billy Gaunt is showing in his European autumn adventure. Who would have a European summer, when you can visit during the fall months?

We came into this game with no practice, no one had picked up a bat/ball for months and no one had any real interest in the season starting. Bookmakers had Berowra at tomato sauce odds. And we all found out why.

We were completely belted. The only green shoots were the official debut performances of Belly and Harry Hando, both looked fantastic with the bat. Jack Hando was good with the ball and Assman has started to learn to effectively run between the wickets. The rest of us needed this first up run.

A2 Grade

WPHC Blue (Birdcage) 112 lost to Kenthurst Upper Hills 130

Hello avid readers and welcome to the beginning of the 2024/25 season.

The toss was lost and we were sent in to field. Tanay and Cam got us off to a perfect star, each taking an early wicket and as the innings went on wickets fell consistently with Tanay and BC taking 2, Cam, Sam, Kyle and dean each taking 1. We were set the target of 131 and went about chasing.

Now to say our Captain copped a poor decision would be the understatement of the millennium, an lbw which hit him above the thigh pad. I’m sure it’ll be soon forgotten about (it won’t), the less said about the second half of our chase the better as we lost 7/19.

Notable scores include Shaan (34), KT (30) and Dean (golden duck). Things can only go up from here, onto the derby next week.

After much anticipation and a game at Kenthust 2 last week, the mighty wphcccccccc A2 red team finally made it to the fabled Glade. This venue led old timers Volc, Jamaican and Craig “Papa Hutch” Hutchinson to reminisce about being part of the west pennant hills ‘Dream Team’. Coach Conner Hindmarch rightfully asked if this team predated his birth, to which it was clarified that this team was around the year that Todd Hutchinson was “produced”.

Speaking of Captain Todd, he continued his poor start to the season by losing his second toss in as many matches, castle hill choosing to bat a decision that Todd insists he was also going to make. Younger brother Jack “MVP” Hutchinson remarked that there is a 75% chance you get to do what you want at each toss. Todd seems determined to prove that theory only takes you so far.

A quick pitch inspection revealed a lot of unrolled grass, which led some teammates to remark that it would be a dangerous day for batters. Opening bowlers Ben “does it all” Burrows and Captain Todd took offence to these comments and proved them wrong by serving up a slurry of half volleys to see castle hill race to 57 off 9 overs before young gun Ollie Makin started Makin something happen by taking 2 wickets in a spell that saw the moment slowly shift back our way.

MVP picked up the big wicket of the aggressive left handed opener. Then Chris “Willy” Williamson bowled a tidy spell, picking up 2 wickets in the process. Each of the pacers came back for second spells to close out the innings, with all bowling tidily, Ben picking up two wickets in two balls and then shocking the world by managing to bowl a hat trick ball that threatened the stumps. All in all castle hill finished 8/173

At the inning break Captain Todd revealed his renegade strategy to ensure the team chased down this total. He was promoting Ben “does it all” Burrows to open; giving the man, who batted 11 last week, a chance to prove his lifelong nickname true. The team were shocked by this idea. The prevailing theory is that Ben had somehow broken into Todd’s house on Friday night and hypnotised him. However the idea came about it was agreed by all to be crazy. But possibly just crazy enough to work.

Coach Connor negotiated the first three balls of the innings with class, and then he stood. The messiah. What would happen? Would there have to be a search party sent out in search of the ball? A good guess, but not quite loyal readers.

Instead a ball, that if inspected with drs would show more green than a lush field, flicked the inside edge of his bat and onto his pads. The umpire, clearly appalled that Ben had been allowed to bat above 9, fired him immediately. We later found out that golden ducks run in the family, so it was really no fault of Ben, it’s just in his genes.

Connor (31) and Volc (50) put on a strong partnership, followed by Rick (23) and Ollie (26) which took the game down to the wire. But bad light hindered the back end of our chase and eventually stopped play at the conclusion of the 34th over. At which point we were a still a few runs short.

We will get our campaign up and running with a win next week at greenway “the home of cricket”, next week against our mortal enemies, the A2 Blue team, in what will be a fun spirited Darby

WPHC Red (Todd) 6/151 lost to Castle Hill 8/173

After much anticipation and a game at Kenthust 2 last week, the mighty wphcccccccc A2 red team finally made it to the fabled Glade. This venue led old timers Volc, Jamaican and Craig “Papa Hutch” Hutchinson to reminisce about being part of the West Pennant Hills ‘Dream Team’. Coach Conner Hindmarch rightfully asked if this team predated his birth, to which it was clarified that this team was around the year that Todd Hutchinson was “produced”.

Speaking of Captain Todd, he continued his poor start to the season by losing his second toss in as many matches, castle hill choosing to bat a decision that Todd insists he was also going to make. Younger brother Jack “MVP” Hutchinson remarked that there is a 75% chance you get to do what you want at each toss. Todd seems determined to prove that theory only takes you so far.

A quick pitch inspection revealed a lot of unrolled grass, which led some teammates to remark that it would be a dangerous day for batters. Opening bowlers Ben “does it all” Burrows and Captain Todd took offence to these comments and proved them wrong by serving up a slurry of half volleys to see castle hill race to 57 off 9 overs before young gun Ollie Makin started Makin something happen by taking 2 wickets in a spell that saw the moment slowly shift back our way.

MVP picked up the big wicket of the aggressive left handed opener. Then Chris “Willy” Williamson bowled a tidy spell, picking up 2 wickets in the process. Each of the pacers came back for second spells to close out the innings, with all bowling tidily, Ben picking up two wickets in two balls and then shocking the world by managing to bowl a hat trick ball that threatened the stumps. All in all castle hill finished 8/173

At the inning break Captain Todd revealed his renegade strategy to ensure the team chased down this total. He was promoting Ben “does it all” Burrows to open; giving the man, who batted 11 last week, a chance to prove his lifelong nickname true. The team were shocked by this idea. The prevailing theory is that Ben had somehow broken into Todd’s house on Friday night and hypnotised him. However, the idea came about it was agreed by all to be crazy. But possibly just crazy enough to work.

Coach Connor negotiated the first three balls of the innings with class, and then he stood. The messiah. What would happen? Would there have to be a search party sent out in search of the ball? A good guess, but not quite loyal readers.

Instead a ball, that if inspected with DRS would show more green than a lush field, flicked the inside edge of his bat and onto his pads. The umpire, clearly appalled that Ben had been allowed to bat above 9, fired him immediately. We later found out that golden ducks run in the family, so it was really no fault of Ben, it’s just in his genes.

Connor (31) and Volc (50) put on a strong partnership, followed by Rick (23) and Ollie (26) which took the game down to the wire. But bad light hindered the back end of our chase and eventually stopped play at the conclusion of the 34^th over. At which point we were a still a few runs short.

We will get our campaign up and running with a win next week at greenway “the home of cricket”, next week against our mortal enemies, the A2 Blue team, in what will be a fun spirited Darby.

B1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Shomik) score TBA defeated ARL 140

After it was all said and done, Shomik’s men maintained their winning streak at Mt Ku-rin-gai – the cauldron of the WPHCCC Blue team. The only ground we seem to trek toward, knowing that the odds would be in our favour.

Today, a much better bowling performance, a better line and length, and not having square boundaries that batters could reach with miss-hits. The team shared around the wicket accolades, each one taking one a piece – Patrick (1/19), Jack (1/14), Shomik (1/28), Nathan (1/18). Restricted to 3/57 after the first 15 overs, it seemed like a sub-100 score if we continued the same pressure.

But the fielding caused lots of leaked runs from wayward throws and fielders deciding to ball watch, meaning they didn’t back up behind the keeper or bowler. Asquith picked up the pace in the second portion of their innings, with quick singles and positive running between the wickets. A final total of 140 was disappointing, as we felt it was 120+20 from our catches and throws.

Just to remind our readers, we only played 30 (Decided Prior) overs, as the prediction as to the quality of light was poor.

Special mention to Vaibhav (21), who had the vital duty of opening the batting with Sagnik. The platform that he and Sagnik set, by heading in the 13^th over with no wickets down, was invaluable, and I’m sure the boys cannot speak more highly of his effort, even though he scooped the ball down to the long leg after apparently forgetting there was a pesky fielder there. Sagnik (29), sadly, followed soon after, after being given a mean toe crusher and having to limp off retired hurt, “2” down 60ish.

Amanpreet (13) only stayed for a short time, too, being cleaned up with what I thought was an absolute jaffa of a delivery whilst main umpiring. Pranay also fell victim to the slow deliveries, as Asquith attempted to take all the pace off the bowl and have us power-hit boundaries.

The final hoorah was between Alec (24) and Shomik (39) (and Mohsin, who likes to take credit for everything). Alec came in at 3-98 after 23, needing six an over for the victory. Now, I know all of you cricket buffs would think, oH a RuN a BaLl Is NoT ThAT HarD, yeah, but this is park cricket, not the T20 World Cup. But we only needed 5, smashing a couple of double-digit overs, secured the victory and began our campaign after a shaky start.

Onto the derby next week; well played, boys.

WPHC Red (Warren) 2/99 defeated Kissing Point 97

At the home of cricket, Greenway Park on a warm spring day we were greeted by a baseball open day which gave us our biggest challenge, parking. After agreeing to play 30 overs an innings and winning the toss again, Warren put Kissing Point into bat in perfect conditions on a very fast outfield.

The reason, he backed his bowlers to get the job done and proved him right. Kissing Point were 4/58 at drinks after 14.5 overs and were bowled out for 97 in the 25^th over. A great effort with the ball by the bowlers and no dropped catches. Knaps picked up 3 wickets, Keats 2 and then Dan, Diggers, Nathaniel and Alex got a wicket each. A special call out to the Kissing Point team who demonstrated the spirit of cricket by twice walking including their captain Eddie who led from the front being the first wicket to fall.

With a low score to chase on a fast outfield, our batters learnt the lessons from Kissing Point and went about scoring the runs at a good rate by playing patiently and the ball on the ground. At drinks we were 1/63 with Mukund from C2 who filled in for Bish the only wicket to fall. Matt and Keats carried on from last week with a 71 second wicket partnership before Keats was stumped for 32 with us needing 6 runs to win. Adam came in and hit the winning runs leaving Matt on 49 not out.

C1 Grade

WPHC (Indranil) 153 lost to Thornleigh 4/266

After losing the toss, West Pennant Hills were sent into bowl under cloudy skies at Thornleigh Oval.

The day started with Ben Waldron and Reyhan Ahmed opening the bowling, hoping to make early breakthroughs. Unfortunately, things did not go to plan, so West Pennant Hills decided to change their approach, by bringing Paul Vink and Yasith into the attack.

Paul struck first, forcing the batsman to sky the ball straight to our brilliant fielder, Nicholas Price. Our hopes were up, with the entire team pumped for a great game. However, despite this promising start, the day turned challenging as Thornleigh’s batters began to pile on runs. Paul Vink and Yasith managed to contain the starting partnership, both bowling tightly throughout their spell. But the game took a turn when a crucial dropped catch off Yasith’s bowling allowed the Thornleigh batsman to capitalise, and make a partnership of around 100 runs.

Several other drops catches throughout the innings further dented West Pennant Hills’ morale, and Thornleigh capitalized on every chance, smashing boundaries to all corners of the ground. Anuj Shankar, our leg spinner was soon brought in, bowling with good control but was unable to claim a wicket, while Daniel Vink and Nick Price tried to contain the runs as best as they could. Nick Price was the standout, picking up two crucial wickets in the middle innings. Throughout the drinks break, our minds were broken after the rough blow from the 2nd wicket partnership.

However, the two wickets gave us hope in keeping Thornleigh to a contained total. Unfortunately, this hope was abruptly shattered, when they put on a punishing partnership together, smashing over 120 runs together. The two smashed a total of 11 sixes together, making us lose the ball multiple times, from the depths of a forest to the ruins of a renovated home. Despite our undying efforts, Thornleigh posted a daunting total of 266, losing 4 wickets after 35 overs. The fielding unit was left frustrated, knowing that opportunities had been missed. The chase was always going to be tough, but West Pennant Hills still had hope.

The innings started with Nicholas Price and Aiden Hanich opening the bat, both striking well, until a sudden fall of wicket from Nicholas worsened our situation.

After Thornleigh took a screamer off the first opening batsman, their enthusiasm was up after claiming an early wicket. However, their thoughts were matched as our captain, the goat of all seniors, Indranil Mukherjee came in belting all the bowlers across the park.

With Hanich supporting Indranil from the other side, they were able to score a solid 50 run partnership together.

However, despite containing their wicket, the overs quickly went by, putting us in a bad situation at drinks break, only being 70 runs up in 18 overs, needing 190 more in 17 overs. After the best got Indranil’s wicket, next came in Yasith Polwaththe, who started well but couldn’t contain his urge to send the ball out of the park, leaving the ground with single digit scores.

Quickly after Yasith fell, Aiden fell an over after, making a great 34 runs while opening the bat. Our hopes were nearly gone, however Will McLennan and Oliver Linschoten came in swinging, hoping to at least salvage 200 runs in this already lost game. After Oliver witnessed the wickets tumble from the other side, he took matters into his own hands, smashing the bowlers for multiple sixes, not taking any runs unless they are a boundary. Until finally chucking in the bucket, falling 4 runs short of a half milestone.

After Oliver’s wicket fell, there was no hope of winning, the final wicket, Anuj Shankar fell after trying his best to make as much runs as possible. Overall, it was a tough loss, with Thornleigh’s batsmen dominating the day and our batting line-up struggling to gain momentum. While Nick Price’s bowling and Oli’s batting innings were commendable, the team was left to reflect on missed chances in the field. Thornleigh’s total of 266 proved too big a mountain to climb, and West Pennant Hills will need to regroup before the next match.

Also there was a medical call out for a player, not related to the loss but for a medical condition. The last update from hospital advised the player was stable and expected to be released.

C2 Grade

WPHC Red (Aniket) 164 defeated Hornsby Green 129

Skippie lost the toss, again!! We’re starting to think he has no intention of winning any tosses this season. Maybe its part of his master plan to give the opposition a false sense of security—let them win the toss, and we take the game. 😉

Confident Hornsby sent us in to bat, thinking they could keep us to a below-par score, even though they were missing a player. The day’s proceedings kicked off with our new opening pair, Saurabh and Rohit. Rohit started cautiously, keeping the bowlers at bay, while Saurabh was busy dominating the Hornsby attack.

The opening partnership of 27 runs ended with Rohit’s departure. Brij and Saurabh added another 30 runs before Saurabh was caught in the deep, having scored 38 runs at a strike rate of 150! Hornsby made some smart bowling changes to rein in the run rate. Brij departed soon after, scoring 18. Hornsby clawed their way back into the game, snapping up the next 3 wickets for just 6 runs.

Our skipper and Hari stabilized the innings with some great hits and excellent running between the wickets. After Aniket’s departure, Hari partnered with Shakeel. Oh boy, can they run! Their 55-run partnership included only 2 boundaries; the rest were quick singles and twos. I’m pretty sure I heard the Hornsby skipper cursing their missing player.

Shakeel scored a quick 31 before getting bowled trying to up the run rate. Hari was unfortunately run out after compiling a well-made 22. Rahul and Mufi remained unbeaten, taking WPHCC Red’s score to 164.

Mufi and Saurabh opened the bowling for West Penno. Mufi claimed both openers before the team score reached 20. The next two batters consolidated the innings and added runs at a decent pace. Shakeel took 2 wickets, leaving the score at 4-89 by the drinks break.

Our skipper and Hari (the bowler) took charge after the drinks break, thanks to Mohan taking over wicket-keeping duties from Hari.

Aniket caught and bowled Hornsby’s highest scorer, and Hari firmly applied the brakes on their scoring, shifting the momentum back in our favour. Mufi then got rid of the big guy to wrap things up. Hornsby could only muster 129, with their 11^th player unavailable to bat.

Despite a couple of misfields, the overall quality of our fielding was superb. Shoutout to:

• Aniket, Mufi, Shakeel, and Hari for their stellar bowling,
• Saurabh, Shakeel, and Hari for their impressive batting, and
• Emaon (Livewire) and Blake (The Wall) for their fielding effort.

WPHC Blue (Hiresh) Vs Bye

C3 Grade

WPHC (Mick) 89 lost to Kenthurst Upper Hills 4/90

A beautiful warm sunny day at Kenthurst Oval was the setting for our second game where we wanted to bounce back from a narrow defeat last week.

We started off the day batting with the partnership of Mick and Harry which was brief but sadly ended because of a seed (I am told), nipping away and hitting top of off. We then had a bit of a collapse with the next 3 wickets coming at the expense of just 7 runs. These wickets featured Mick hitting half volley hit straight to cover, an absolute BBQ from Karl which ran Will D out, and a screamer caught at cover to dismiss Karl a few balls later.

Then came the Pat and Jimmy to help steady the ship. Pat leading the way with some nice sweep shots and Jimmy just rotating the strike for Pat while he was on his hot patch. This partnership was ended with Jimmy edging to the keeper which was quickly followed with Pats dismissal with him saying it’s ‘one of the best balls I’ve ever seen’. Just after Kristian got caught at slip to one of the worst balls ever seen!

We then had the best partnership of the innings with Nick and Dom with some great shots. Nick then unfortunately pulled his hammy and asked for a runner which was a death wish as Will D (the runner) got run out for the second time. Then the last two wickets tumbled reasonably quickly. We finished with 89 all out.

We started off with high hopes with James and Will P keeping it very tight and creating chances. Will bowled an absolute pearler to catch the edge but it just dropped short of Kristian keeping. Then Jimmy and Mick were second change and Mick was bowling well getting inside edges and making the batters uncomfortable. He was good enough to take 2 wickets both bowled. We then had Will D bowling his leg spin which was confusing the batters and they could hardly lay a bat on it. He was very unlucky to get two close LBW shouts turned down. This brought us to drinks.

Kenthurst needed 22 from 17 overs with 8 wickets remaining so we knew it would have to take a miracle to win but we wanted to get 2 or 3 more wickets. Dom and Harry bowled after drinks and bowled very well with the batters getting nothing but edges which were unluckily landing in the gaps. With Kenthurst only needing 4 to win we didn’t give up and Dom and Harry took a wicket each without any runs. The new batter hit a great shot for his first ball going over the top straight down the ground for four.

Some key performances for the day: Pat – 15 runs, Nick – 29 runs, Mick – 2 for 28, Dom – 1 for 7, Harry 1 for 14.

Luke – covered more ground than the early settlers. Fielded beautifully.

C4 Grade

WPHC Red (Ross S) Vs Bye

6 points and the lads enjoying a long weekend.

WPHC White (Agniva) 4/171 defeated Hornsby 5/170

Season Opener at Dural Park

Ah, Dural Park. A cricket field as picturesque as they come, with lush green outfields, clear skies, and the unmistakable scent of fresh grass lingering in the air. The birds chirped, the sun shone brightly, and all seemed well—except, of course, for our captain’s continued struggles with the coin toss. Yes, continuing his abysmal “toss form,” we were promptly asked to bowl. But what’s a season opener without a little challenge?

Hornsby’s Inning: A Game of Two Halves

We started brilliantly, thanks to the dynamic duo of Mridul and Suf. Their opening spell was tighter than your uncle’s wallet after Christmas, with the Hornsby openers struggling to lay bat on ball. The first few overs were filled with dot balls, the occasional grunt from frustrated batsmen, and our fielders hopping about like kids who’d had too much soda. What was even more jaw-dropping was Vinod behind the stumps, our usual opening bowler standing tall for the team and delivering with a finesse which not many project managers can boast of.

Unfortunately, like any good protagonist in a movie, the Hornsby openers eventually found their rhythm. A few boundaries later, they seemed to have shrugged off our early stranglehold. But what really ground our gears was their sneaky ability to nab quick singles. These guys ran between the wickets like they were trying to catch the last bus home. An extra 40-50 runs seemed to slip through our fingers just from their brisk running alone. If we could’ve taxed singles, they’d have been broke by the end of their innings.

Finally, a breakthrough! Just before the mid-innings break, Pritam swooped in to bowl a beauty of a yorker that sent one of the openers packing. It was so perfect you could’ve framed it and hung it in an art gallery. That wicket put a smile back on our faces and some much-needed confidence in our stride.

After the break, it was time to hit the brakes on their scoring. Agni, Chintan, and Vinod bowled with the precision of Swiss watches, tying Hornsby down like a toddler with too many blankets. Pritam added another scalp to his name, finishing with figures that would make any bowler proud—2 wickets for just 22 runs.

Sufiyan joined the action with a stumping that was so slick, you’d think he was auditioning for a magician’s role. One swift move, and Hornsby were left scratching their heads. At that point, we thought we’d have them under 140. But just when we were about to pat ourselves on the back, enter Lachlan Gleave—clearly a man with no respect for our plans.

Gleave must’ve had a T20 mindset because he went berserk, reaching his fifty in the blink of an eye. For a moment, it felt like we were playing on a different planet. He was hammering the ball like it had insulted his mother. Agni turned to Rohan and Mridul for the death overs, and these two came through, with Mridul picking up two crucial wickets. Thanks to them, we managed to limit Hornsby to 170/5. It wasn’t ideal, but we knew it was chase able.

Our Chase: Fortune Favors the Bold (and Lucky)

With a target of 171, we needed a solid start, and Arun and Adi delivered. It wasn’t without a bit of luck, though. Adi survived a close LBW shout early on, and Arun, bless his stars, was bowled off a no-ball. But fortune favors the brave (and the lucky), and the pair kept the scoreboard ticking, picking off boundaries and rotating strike like seasoned pros.

Things were looking peachy until Arun fell to what can only be described as a jaw-dropping, gravity-defying catch at the boundary by Hornsby’s skipper Brendan. It was the kind of catch you see on TV replays and go, “No way he’s pulling that off!” But, of course, he did. Enter Chintan, who looked comfortable, stroking a few boundaries, until he fell to—get this—a ball so slow and wide it looked like it was trying to avoid him. Yet, somehow, he nicked it, and back to the pavilion he went.

Then came the dreaded collapse. Anubhav and Sufiyan both fell in back-to-back deliveries, leaving us precariously poised at 99/4. But fear not! Adi and Sitabja were on hand to save the day. Together, they formed a rock-solid partnership, swatting away loose deliveries and building the score steadily without giving Hornsby a sniff of a chance.

Adi, playing with the kind of focus usually reserved for brain surgeons, brought up a well-deserved half-century, while Sitabja provided solid support at the other end. They saw us home with nearly 7 overs to spare, finishing at 171/4. Adi stood unbeaten on 77, and Sitabja on 34, bringing the chase to a glorious close.

Special Shout-Outs

As we celebrated our first win of the season, a special mention goes to the D1 WPHCC skipper Nirav and a few others who came out for some much-needed cheering, scoring, and umpiring duties. Thanks, Amith, Ravi, and Siby—your enthusiasm was contagious!

Onwards and upwards, team! Bring on the rest of the season!

WPHC Blue (Rob) 9/169 defeated Sydney Lions 166

From the outset, let’s be clear, this is a match we should not have won. But it’s a classic example of it’s never over till it’s over.

Back at the spiritual home of cricket (well it must be given it is represented on our playing shirts) we lost the toss and were asked to bat. Like last round we were off to a solid start and kept the score ticking over nicely leading to drinks. Only 2 wickets down and 89 runs on the board. After drinks things slowed a little and unfortunately some wickets started to tumble. But some steadying batting saw us see out the 35 overs and we ended on 9/169.

Special mention to Madi on achieving his maiden half century (57), and good contributions from IT (26), Lance (27) and Manu (22*). 169 seems like a decent score, but we were at a small and fast Campbell Park.

So our turn to bowl and the Lions came charging out of the blocks. Swinging at everything and riding their luck. Pretty sure we saw every edge of the bat hit multiple times and most racing to the boundary. An opening partnership of 97 set them up nicely and at drinks they were 3/127. Only 43 runs to get with 7 wickets in hand and 17 overs. Things did not look great.

But we kept plugging away and mixed things up by taking pace off the ball. Our spinners were in for a long stint and it started working. Runs were drying up and wickets were falling. After drinks, Sydney Lions lost 7 wickets for only 39 runs and they only managed 166 in the 32^nd over. So the unexpected victory was ours and great reward for not giving up.

A huge congrats to Kaushal for taking his second 5fa in consecutive matches finishing with 5/12. Great supporting bowling from Buzz (2/15) and Ryan (2/31)

D1 Grade

WPHC Red (Diggers) 5/193 defeated St Ives Wahroonga 8/179

After a great win in our first game, we turned up to a relatively fast Northholm Grammar Oval against St Ives who also had a big win in Round 1.

Diggers had a rare coin toss win and decisively elected to bat.

Father and son combination, Cliff and Gus, opened the batting and quickly took advantage of the fast outfield. Gus unfortunately went for 10, but Cliff continued to bat deep and amassed a great innings of 72 with support from Diggers, 19 and a great innings from Nandit of 48.

Adi and Surendra finished the innings off with Adi contributing a very handy 24.

Overall, a great batting performance finishing with a very defendable total of 5/193 after 30 overs.

We knew St Ives put on a big total in Round 1, so our bowlers needed to bowl good line and length.

Manraj (2/21) and Nandit (1/26) opened the bowling and both bowled great spells.

With Disco (1/31), Farjad (2/40) and Mihir (1/25) all contributing, we had St Ives at 5/69 at the drinks break and we were comfortably in control of the game with St Ives needing 124 off the last 15 overs with their main batsman back in the shed.

However some less than ideal fielding from ourselves and some big hitting from St Ives lower order, saw the game starting to tighten up and with a few overs to go, St Ives were actually a chance to steal the game.

The final overs were bowled by Nandit and Tim (1/31) and they closed the game out with St Ives finishing with 8/179.

A great win in the end.

WPHC Blue (Nirav) 4/67 defeated Beecroft 66

Match Report: Beecroft vs WPHCCC D1 Blue

In a dominant display of cricket, the WPHCCC D1 Blue team emerged victorious over Beecroft, securing a comprehensive win by 6 wickets. The match began with WPHCCC winning the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that proved highly effective.

Beecroft Innings: Beecroft’s batting line-up struggled to gain any momentum, collapsing for just 66 runs. WPHCCC’s bowling attack was relentless from the start, led by a standout performance from Tushar, who bowled a brilliant spell, taking 4 wickets for only 14 runs. Amith added pressure from the other end with 2 wickets for 4 runs, while Vikrant also contributed significantly with 2 wickets for 14 runs. Siby and Ravi each took a wicket, dismissing the Beecroft opening batsmen early in the innings.

WPHCCC’s fielding was just as impressive, with a sharp catch in the slips by Amith and excellent wicket-keeping from Sahil, who saved numerous runs and kept the pressure on Beecroft throughout the innings. The team captain’s strategic leadership played a key role, with timely changes in bowling and field placements ensuring that the team maintained control of the game.

WPHCCC Innings: Chasing a modest target of 67 runs, WPHCCC had 32 overs to complete the task. Despite a good start by Beecroft’s bowlers, WPHCCC managed to comfortably chase down the total in just 15 overs, finishing with 67/4. Beecroft’s bowler Aengus T put up a valiant effort, delivering an excellent spell of tight bowling. He took 2 crucial wickets, conceding only 19 runs, putting up a brief fight in the second innings.

Waman was the top scorer for WPHCCC, contributing a solid 31 runs. He was well supported by Sahil, Daksh, Rishi, and captain Nirav, who held their nerves to guide the team through to victory. The winning shot came from captain Nirav, who sealed the game with a boundary, emphasizing the strong team performance and composure in the run chase.

Conclusion: WPHCCC D1 Blue’s all-round performance was a testament to their teamwork and discipline, both with the ball and in the field. The bowlers set up the match with early wickets, and the batsmen backed it up with a confident chase. Beecroft fought hard, but the overall team spirit and execution by WPHCCC ensured a well-earned win. Both teams displayed excellent sportsmanship, making it a memorable contest.

D2 Grade

WPHC (Roger) 9/197 lost to ARL 201

Another lost toss so not surprisingly asked to bowl.

The Toss takes on more importance prior to Daylight Saving.  Playing at Karuah, which is a very small ground, it was hardly surprising that ARL had a bit of a run feast. ARL were 2/191 during the 31^st over. However, our bowling finally came good, ARL were bowled out after 33.3 overs for 201.

Daniel McEwen 4/39 and Anand Sadasivam 3/22 led the bowling. This high scoring game proved to be yet another one of our nail biters, were we just failed to get over the line. We ended our allotted 35 overs just 4 runs short on 9/197. Vinoth Sambasivam 91, Mahesh Kadaganchi 41 and Malinda Dharmadasa 33no were the major scorers.

We are getting closer with each match to a win.