Match Reports

Round 3 (Day 1)

A1 Grade

WPHC (Cam #25) Vs Kissing Point 255

Today was a tough day. A long day. Overcast conditions automatically meant that the side the bowl first was to be advantaged. But it wasn’t the case for us.

Despite great bowling from the Chappell’s (Hando’s), Lichaaa, Gas, Meiks, Assman and Wu, Kissing Point completely outclassed us with patient batting all day long. The pitch gave us nothing to work with, but full credit to KP for their discipline.

Best the bowlers was Tom Hando, who picked up 3/20 off 13. Lichaaa matched him in the trifecta of wix with 3/35 off 13. Gas took a few as well. Special mention to Meiks for a brilliant run out – we need to our fielding to be at this illustrious standard all day.

Apologies for the lack of length, colour and detail of this report. I am simply too shattered to sit down and outline the ball by ball – but the highlights package would have included an hour of fielding mishaps. A HUGE area of opportunity for improvement moving forward

256 to chase next week without batting superstars Sav and Assman. 7 days for Preeds to have nightmares about Tim Love. But if there is one thing KP proved today, it can be done with smart batting. I won’t be here next week so one of the junior journalists will take over – but I predicting a big 100 from Wu.

A2 Grade

WPHC Blue (Birdcage) 198 Vs WPHC Red (Todd) 2/20

The Sheep Station Trophy. It’s what we live. It’s what we breathe. It’s always a fixture of the highest quality, and even in A2s that would surely be no different.

Today, that action began before a ball was even bowled, with one of the Captains showing up thinking he was playing for the other team before James Makin told him to rightfully piss off. Of course, most of us thought that it was just some usual shenanigans, but it turned out the guy was deadly serious and genuinely thought he was playing against the team he Captains.

I’m sure we all know which captain I’m talking about.

But Birdcage clearly thought he was still playing for the Reds, holing out early on to a lethal Ben Burrows bouncer, prompting wild celebrations as one of Ben’s prophecies finally fulfilled itself – he genuinely would not shut up all week about bouncing Birdcage out. He was unbearable for the rest of the day and will certainly be going into next week, too.

But led by Shaan (53), the Blues began a strong fightback, using the lightning fast Greenway outfield to their advantage to rack up the runs against a strong pace bowling unit as it appeared the Reds would be in for a long, long afternoon chasing balls to the boundary.

That was until the messiah, Ollie “did you know he’s 14” Makin came in and took two wickets in two balls, including Brent for a Ben Burrows special (a golden duck if any clarification is necessary, which I’m sure it isn’t). When Jack picked up the key wicket of Shaan, the Blues were all of a sudden in a whole lot of trouble at 6-113 on the stroke of tea.

Through Riken (40) and Tanay (38), though, the Reds were made to work for the final four wickets, Ollie picking up both set batters to complete a haul of four wickets. As punishment for not completing the 5-for, he was made to stand at square leg for the thirteen overs the Reds had to bat as the Blues were bundled out for 198.

Aside from Ollie, Jack picked up three key wickets while Ben, Todd and Willy all chipped in with one apiece.

With daylight fading upon the home of cricket, Aaron and Willy were sent out to face the fire and Dean Carlin. However, only Aaron would withstand it – after middling exactly 21 perfect forward defensive shots, Willy then proceeded to spoon one straight to Birdcage under the lid and so the tirade began and while I wish I could include it in the match report, I have my doubts over whether it would pass the edit. To make matters worse, Volc also got out on the verge of stumps, before skipper Todd, leading from the front, saw it through with Aaron, Reds 2-20 after 13 at the close of play.

Join us next week for what I’m sure will be one of the all-time great Sheep Station Trophy run chases… in one way or another. Probably.

B1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Shomik) Vs WPHC Red (Warren) 220

Loyal readers, first and foremost my most sincere apologies for the last two match reports. Whilst your favourite content creator was enjoying an extended off season WPHCCCCCCC B1 Red Captain and resident gentlemen Warren ‘Epitome of the spirit of the game’ Schwartzel stood in to write the last 2 match reports. Whilst Waz is a great captain and an absolute gentlemen the bloke is about as funny as a fart in an elevator.

So without further ado (adieu, adu, do???) welcome back to the wide world of WPHCCCCCCC B1 Red’s.

Now we all would have received about 1826292626 ‘Cricket Update’ emails from Club Minister of War, finance, Statistics and Propaganda (Ross Anderson) over the off season but in the bloke’s old age (463*) he has omitted some crucial personal milestones for Club legends so just a quick little recap for you guys:

• Resident disgruntled Scot and club legend Chris ‘Groundskeeper Willy’ Williamson and his wife Siri ‘Mrs Willy’ Williamson welcomed a beautiful girl into the world during the off season. Let’s all pray she doesn’t get her looks from her father
• sNicholas ‘century’ Duck bought a property in West Ryde. Despite being the absolute worst of the 4 Ryde’s it is only 25 minutes on a train to the city. Pretty cool
• Sporto menu has changed yet again, a Parmy is now an extremely steep $32 for members however the thing is almost as big as Ross Anderson’s ego so could be worth the money yet still
• Club welcomes its new Jersey design despite being out of stock of XL and XXL, pretty good stuff from the Club considering we have a club made up of mostly oversized players so you will see a few blokes still rocking some old kit
• Club hat trick Club member, Matt Digby’s sister Kate is now happily engaged. Congratulations to mama and papa digs. Very exciting stuff. Most importantly a PSA anyone being nice to Matt just to try get in with Kate you can now stop and treat him like the little a*rse hole he is. (Direction from Club Secretary, Ross Anderson)

Ok now to the good (not good) stuff, the cricket.

As we packed our overnight bags, kissed our wives and kids goodbye and began the pilgrimage out to country New South Wales (Dural Paddock) to kick off the inaugural B1 Association, Intra Club affiliation trophy knockout cup game (Sheep Station Cup) we were swiftly reminded that cricket is in fact the worst game on earth. Whoever invented this game was probably the same bloke who invented the tax return (source Ross Anderson) or something because this game truly is torturous. It was cold, windy, wet and we were surrounded by people who despise. Where would you rather be ladies and gentlemen….

This contest over the years has been clouded in controversy however the boys were willing to put that nonsense behind us and play in the ‘epitome of the spirit of the game’ so I would like to take the opportunity to say that the Blues are actually pretty good blokes and we look forward to a tight contest with them throughout the season.

Warren lost the toss and we were forced to bat, good toss to lose? We will soon find out. Ray ‘big pre season’ Khamis and Matt ‘H’ Schwartzel got to work taking the shine off the new ball by departing extremely early and letting someone else do that job because it was cold and miserable out there. Long story short we were very quickly 4/40 and it was looking like not a good toss to lose. Enter Nick ‘Tonne’ Duck and Adam ‘Keat’s best mate’ Van Saaaaaarloooooos. Nick and Adam fought fire with fire, hitting boundaries and 4s and 6s and 1s and 2s and even 3s all over Dural Park.

The energy of the game changed, we quickly brought up 100 and then motored to 150 in no time. The Blue’s went from being well and truly on top and quite chipper about it to not being on top and the chat they were directing at our batsmen soon turned to chat directed at each other. Not a good day to be on the boundary at deep square.

We ended to the day all out for 220, a remarkable comeback considering we were starting down the barrel of all out for 100. Unfortunately we had a few overs at them but didn’t bowl too well and couldn’t snag a couple wickets to take with us however we are confident we can defend this with our bowling stocks next week.

Huge shout out to WPHCCCCCCC B1 Red ‘Big D… of the week performance award’ winner Nicholas Duck for scoring WPHCCCCCC 292629282262828^th century (source Ross Anderson) to help guide us to a good total.

A smaller shout out to Adam Van Saarloos WPHCCCCCCC B1 Red ‘little d*.. of the week performance award’ winner for scoring WPHCCCCCCCCCC 82729229228272282626^th half century (source Ross Anderson) to help guide us to a good total.

Now back to a huge shout out for WPHCCCCCCC B1 Blue ‘big d*.. week performance award’ winner Moshin (I am sorry if this isn’t spelt correctly. Moshi bowled with sensation line, length and patience to toil away all day and take the club’s 294837393936th 5 wicket haul. This is Moshi’s first 5 wicket haul for the club and he is EXTEMELY excited to collect his trophy at the end of season presentation. (should I tell him or does someone else want to tell him???)

See you all next week and thanks for tuning in. Cricket is back. We love it.

C1 Grade

WPHC (Indranil) 1/81 Vs Hornsby 124

An overcast Headen Park was the scene for WPHCCC to play their latest game. This time taking on Hornsby and the boys were ready to bounce back following last week’s defeat.

Bowling first, great heat from Ben.W and Reyhan saw the Hornsby openers shift in their crease. Rey picked up the first wicket trapping their no.1 lbw, Inam then took the second wicket several overs later getting their quick firing no.3 caught by Ben.W at Gully. Tight bowling from Dan Vink also limited the score to 2-42 at the first drinks.

Straight after the break Yasith and Ben.W started strongly not giving much away, before an absolute speccy from Rey grabbed the third wicket. We all collectively agree this is the best catch ever taken, a one handed screamer at square leg. The man of the moment Rey came back on to bowl as did Cam. The duos pace/spin combo proved crucial as 4 quick wickets fell just before the tea break. Two top catches from Dan one each off Cam and Rey saw Hornsby 7-92 at Tea.

Rey continued his spectacular bowling picking up his 5 wicket, cleaning up the tailenders stumps, the second time he’d done that today. A run out of Nick Prices bowling saw Hornsby finish at 9-124 dec after 42.5 overs.

Player of the day: Definitely Rey, his 5-18 powered the bowling innings in what was some terrific tight bowling.

With 25 overs to bat Aden and Nick Price went out to get as many before stumps. Early shots saw the scorecard tick over and the shine gone off the ball before Aden fell for 7. Ben.D and Nick continued the solid runs still stumps plenty of shots flying away with the score racing to 1-81 at the end of the 25 overs. It was boundary a plenty with Ben and Nick hitting shots all over the ground. Ben.D ending up on 28 and Nick 31.

A good day of cricket for the boys who want to get the win next week!

C2 Grade

WPHC Red (Aniket) Vs Berowra

Match Report and scores not available.

WPHC Blue (Hiresh) 1/39 Vs St Ives Wahroonga 143

In classic overcast conditions, with not a ray of sunlight in sight, the day started off with a bang—both on and off the field. Rudhra kicked things off (literally) when he opened up his kit, only to realise he’d forgotten his cricket pants. A loud “F…” echoed through the air, setting the tone for a wild day.

John Koleth opened the bowling, and he came in hot—absolute heat, ripping through the top order and snatching up the first two wickets like it was nothing. The man was on fire, finishing with figures of 3/25. With John setting the tone, Mukund took over and ripped through St. Ives’ middle order like a man on a mission, grabbing 5/27. After he got his fourth wicket, Mukund turned into a bit of a greedy bastard, begging Hiresh (our skipper) for another over. But hey, credit where it’s due—he got the job done.

Harshil chipped in too, picking up his first senior wicket with figures of 1/11—a solid contribution. And Rudhra even jagged a wicket of his own as his own brother Rishab thought he had just been smashed over the boundary, so he started looking up at the sky. Turns out, the batter was actually plumb LBW—classic misunderstanding.

Fielding was sharp, with John Kurian’s nonstop yap in the field and those “encouraging” words keeping everyone switched on. St. Ives found themselves all out for 140-odd, with our tight bowling and sharp fielding putting the squeeze on them.

On to our batting. Hiresh was the first to go after an unlucky nick, but Meet and Rudhra held down the fort, chipping away at the target bit by bit. They ground it out over the last 25 overs, keeping WPH steady at 1/40-odd by the end of the day.

All in all, a solid day—both on the field and in the banter department and now onto next week to chase 100 odd runs with 9 wickets in the bank.

C3 Grade

WPHC (Mick) 1/30 Vs Castle Hill RSL 180

The young and the old of C3 saddled up for their first day of 70 overs in the field for the first time ever or for many a year.

The day was met with some trepidation!

Dom and Dan opened the bowling and kept it tight and settled the nerves. A great opening salvo had the oppositon and 0 for bugger all post 10.

Karl at first change was creating chances that were escaping finger tips or landing just out of reach. The boys were up and about.

A stroke of captaincy genuis introduced Munish with this Chris Harris like mediums. Bang bang and they were 2 down… Dan creates a run out with Kristian and its all happening. 3 for not many.

Finally Karl gets a well desrved wicket.

Dead Plumb in front. Old mate doesn’t like it and gives his team mate a gobful on the way off. “Rex Hunt” is mentioned.

25 overs gone and the ball looks like you found it down the creek post a hundred overs in the nets vs Viv Richards. Caddies creek. Minefield for your seamers.

Time for spin. Will knocks over their best bat for the 2nd time this season. Caught Dad Nick both times. He claims another not long after before the opposition skip is clammering for the rule book re: under age spell lengths. He has ‘em rattled.

Spin twin Jimmy is almost hooked post 2^nd over by his old man after an ordinary start. Thankfully a 3rd over is granted and from there he has it on a string. A well-deserved wicket and then a farcical “not out”

LBW from old mate Rex Hunt above. (Middle – half way up) James Day got a crucial wicket to break a partnership and then the big fella Karlos cleaned up the tail.

All out for 180 odd.

Time for a dig. 30 mins till stumps.

Selflessly big Patty puts his hand up and belts a couple of 4’s and throws in a backwards moon dance up the pitch. Bruce – special.

Of course he is then knocked over by the 2^nd best ball this century.

Harry and Dan smash a few around and we are a very handy 1-30 at stumps.

Do we dare to dream? Of course we do.

C4 Grade

WPHC Red (Ross S) 191 Vs Kissing Point

After our bye in round 2 the lads were looking forward to our first 2 day game . No rain but cold enough to be called a winters day. Anand set the trend turning up in a beanie, whilst most of us had our jackets and jumpers on. Wind howling from the south.

Our game switched from Northholm to small Karuah because of a second week double booking. Whilst the ground is small, the grass was like Arcadia at its worst. Not looked like it had been mown for weeks….never the less skipper was hoping to win the loss and bat and keep out if the cold…Toss lost and we still got our wish.

Our openers started cautiously against very accurate swing bowling…with little to hit. We lost our first wicket in the 6^th over 1-5.

Mridal and Raynaldo then saw out a long opening spell from the KP bowlers hitting a couple of nice straight boundaries, before Raynaldo miss timed another full ball and was caught at deep mid off – 2/30. A solid partnership between Mridal and Gihan took us to the first drinks break….2/58.

After the break with bowling very tight, both were able to put away the rare bad ball. A couple of towering 6s and several 4s before Gihan skied a ball to deep backward square leg for a well-ade 25….3/93 after 35 overs. Tea after 40 overs 3/104.

Another solid partnership between Mridal and Raymond before Mridal was caught in the deep for a patient 69…4-135 at the 50 over mark….

Mridal has been the rock for our first 2 games….and definitely set the tone today. What was really pleasing was the application of our middle and lower order batters today. Raymond with a patient 22, Muthindra 10, Anand 13, Darren 17 supported by Jake, Henry and Sandeep. In all we batted 72 overs and were dismissed a few minutes before 6pm.

The unluckiest dismissal today belongs to Anand…..a learning experience. Hitting a ball into the outfield, atters running back for 2. They think the ball has gone for 4….so walk back into the middle for a chat, only for the ball to hold up in the long grass a few feet from the boundary, fielder lobs the ball to the bowler who takes the bails off. Ball not dead, batter out of his crease….after lots of consultation with umpires Anand given run out. Whilst not a good look I’m sure an error that will not be repeated again …I hope.

So, hopefully the grass is not mown next week and we get a chance to play on a similar surface. The KP bowlers gave us nothing today, bowled full and on off. We need to do the same next week with short boundaries in play to protect our score.

WPHC White (Agniva) 237 Vs ARL 4/17

A Day of Drama, Delays, and a Dose of Suf’s Magic

After the high of a successful Round 1, we strolled into Round 2 with chests puffed out and spirits high, ready for the first two-day game of the season against ARL. Naturally, though, our skipper Agniva had other things on his mind—like assembling a team. For much of the week, Agniva was less of a cricket captain and more of a DJ at a chaotic party, playing musical chairs with players, desperately trying to fill the ranks. Thanks to his well-honed negotiation tactics (and perhaps some mild begging), he secured the services of Anuj and Renesh. With that, we had a team. Sort of.

Given how fast Campbell Park is, we were all rather keen to put some runs on the board. But, in what is now becoming something of a tradition, Agniva proceeded to lose his fourth toss in a row. At this point, you’d think he’d find a coin that favored him. However, luck smiled upon him in an unexpected twist: the ARL skipper won the toss but, bizarrely, opted to bowl. Maybe the pressure of leading was getting to him, or perhaps he had inside information about our batting prowess. Either way, Agniva wasn’t complaining.

We began our innings with Arun and Adi walking out to face the music. Both looked solid at the crease, which seemed like a promising start. That was until Adi fell victim to a delivery that could only be described as the cricketing equivalent of an accidental brush-by in a crowded hallway. The ball barely kissed the bails, and before we could process the shock, Adi was back in the pavilion.

Anubhav joined the party, but it was short-lived as he fell LBW to a superb delivery by their other opener, leaving us at a slightly shaky 49/2. Just as we started nibbling nervously at our fingernails, Arun continued his aggressive play, joined by Praneel, who seemed to have a specific strategy in mind: “Why run when you can just hit boundaries?” Praneel stormed to 22 with every run coming from a boundary, looking more like he was playing a highlights reel than a live match.

Then came the break. And whatever happened in that brief interlude must have knocked our mojo. Arun and Praneel both fell in quick succession, leaving us all doing our best not to appear too worried. But then Pritam and Suf stepped up, forming a steady partnership. All was going well until Pritam was bamboozled by a googly that turned more than a politician during election season. Suf, on the other hand, was just warming up.

Renesh joined Suf at the crease but didn’t quite trouble the scorers, falling before we could even say his name twice. However, Suf found a new ally in Vinod, and the two put on a show. Suf began to take center stage, peppering the boundary with a range of impressive shots. Vinod, playing the supportive role, eventually fell LBW, but not before Suf had the scoreboard racing along.

Anuj joined Suf, only to depart for a modest 5, but the wickets falling at one end didn’t seem to bother Suf at all. He was a man possessed, seeing the ball like a beach ball, and the ARL bowlers like mere mortals. By this point, everyone on the sidelines was glued to Suf’s every shot. He raced into the 90s, just two shy of a century, with only Agni and Mridul left to keep him company at the crease.

Alas, the fairytale hundred was not to be. Agni fell, followed by Mridul, who, to his eternal regret (and the constant teasing from Praneel), couldn’t support Suf through to his ton. And so, there he was, left standing unbeaten on 98. If it bothered him, you wouldn’t know—though Mridul might still be having sleepless nights about it.

With just 10 overs left to bowl before the day’s play ended, Mridul was handed a unique challenge by the team: take a wicket in your first over to “redeem” yourself after that batting collapse. And redeem himself he did, in spectacular style, taking out ARL’s opener with the very first ball. A delivery so magical it could’ve had its own soundtrack.

Enter Pritam, who had clearly decided he was going to keep his bowling form from the previous match intact. In his second over, he struck again, clean-bowling their new man. The very next ball went high into the air, hurtling towards Agniva and Suf in what looked like an impending collision. But then, as if guided by the cricketing gods themselves, Suf pulled off a blinder, plucking the ball out of thin air. He was having the day of his life. Pritam was on a hat-trick!

Sadly, the hat-trick ball wasn’t quite to be, with the new batsman managing to avoid the brilliant yorker. But Pritam wasn’t done yet, adding another scalp to his tally in his fourth over. By the end of the day, ARL was reeling at 17/4, three wickets to Pritam, and one to Mridul, who was walking around with his chest puffed out, redemption complete.

The team couldn’t have asked for a better ending to the day’s play. All that’s left now is for the weather to behave next week so we can finish the job! Until then!

WPHC Blue (Rob) 9/203 Vs Hornsby

Turning up at a freshly renovated Samuel King, we went through the pointless exercise of a coin toss. We all know Rob is going to lose, so might as well save the time and just ask the Hornsby captain what he wants to do from the outset.

So we were asked to bat, and Kamran and Kaushal walked out to face the bowlers. Good accurate bowling meant we were off to a slow start, and it didn’t take too long before our first wicket fell. The runs remained hard to get and by drinks we were 2/32. After drinks things began to speed up and after a couple of bowling changes the scoreboatd started lighting up. By tea we had lost another couple of wickets, but put on another 69 runs and were 4/101. Runs kept ticking over after tea and despite losing wickets a bit too frequently, we ended the day on 9/203.

A special mention to Ranuk who batted brilliantly and ended on 84 n.o. A great innings, showing heaps of patience and concentration. Also some great contributions from Zia (36) and Manu (15).

We now need to bowl and field well next week.

D1 Grade

WPHC Red (Diggers) 125 Vs Thornleigh 1/100

After starting the season with a couple of wins, we headed to George Christie Oval with some confidence.

Diggers won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first.

Unfortunately what followed was some pretty average batting other than Cliff’s 25 opening. We lost regular wickets and were in real trouble at 5/32 before Gus (29) and Nandit (44) put on 59 for the sixth wicket.

We managed to scrape to 125 all out off 49 overs.

With an hour and a half left in the day, our bowlers tried hard but we could only get one wicket, a nice swinging delivery from Manraj by the close. Thornleigh finished on 1/100.

Onto next week, needing to bowl well at the start to try and limit the damage, then bat a lot better than today.

WPHC Blue (Nirav) 91 Vs Glenorie 2/44

Coming off a thumping win in Round 2 on a splendid day, we were pumped and looking forward to this Round 3 game (first of our two-dayers).

However, the weather gods had other plans. The sky, stained grey with a turbid overcast, glared down upon the green clovers etched upon the bumpy outfields of Arcadia Oval. One could squint desperately along the gentle tufts of clouds, but no silver lining could be found. With conditions conducive to bowling first, we yearned for the toss to come in our favour. Alas, it wasn’t the case; Glenorie won the toss and put us into bat first.

Thanks to Alex and Paul, we managed to field 11 players.

Ravi and Jacques opened the batting, attempting to see through the seaming new ball. After a confident boundary, Jacques fell to a good one in the second over. We kept losing our top-order batsmen at regular intervals, with the team reeling at 4/44 at drinks.

The story didn’t change much after drinks, as we continued to lose wickets frequently at one end. Ravi emerged as the lone batter, demonstrating strong character in negotiating the good balls and punishing the rare bad ones. All hopes of crossing 100 were shattered when Ravi got out in the last over before tea, with the team’s score at 9/79.

After a couple of strokes post tea, we folded for a total score of 91. With just two batsmen reaching double digits – Ravi (32) and Siby (10 n.o.) – our batting prowess succumbed to the gloomy conditions. Glenorie, on the other hand, made great use of the conditions, presenting tight bowling coupled with sustained fielding efforts and clean catching throughout the innings.

With a modest total to defend, we started our bowling attack with some tight spells from Ravi and Tushar, making run-scoring difficult. The Glenorie opening batsmen held their fort and saw off the opening spells. After a short spell from Siby, it was time for the spinners Jacques and Nirav to get some strikes. They bowled successfully in pairs, keeping pressure from both ends and creating many chances. Finally, Nirav struck, breaking the opening partnership of 27 runs with the batsmen caught at deep midwicket by Ravi. The other opening batsman soon followed suit, again scalped by Nirav with a sharp catch from Daksh, who donned the keeping gloves for us today. Glenorie was now at 2/30.

We ended the day with some fiery bowling from Amith, creating a couple of edges that we couldn’t hold on to. Glenorie finished the day at 2/44. For us, Nirav was the sole wicket-taker for West Penno with figures of 2/11. With one of their not-out batsmen absent for next week, the scoreline effectively reads 3/44. We still have a lot to play for and look forward to turning around our fortunes next week.

D2 Grade

WPHC (Roger) Vs Castle Hill RSL

Please see below the match report for D2 grade today (I am sending as I will be filling in for Roger for the next few weeks)

On an overcast day Castle Hill won the toss and elected to bat which suited us as we had intended to field anyway. They were scoring briskly and were in a strong position at 198 for 3 after 35 overs with  a 300+ score a possibility. It was at this point that we started getting the breakthroughs with fielding standards really improving as the inning progressed (6 dismissals via catches) to bowl Castle hill out for 234. Spinners led the way with Mahesh Kagaganchi and Vinoth Sambasiwam picking up 3 wickets each. We started the chase with 21 overs left for the day and although the start was rocky to be 5-51 at stumps, with a fair bit of batting to come we are optimistic about a strong performance on day 2.

T20 Semi Finals

1^st Grade

WPHC Red (Todd) 5/95 defeated Horrnsby Green 94

WPHC Blue (Birdcage 9/135 lost to Normanhurst-Warrawee 4./136

2^nd Grade

 WPHC (Shomik) 103 lost to Castle Hill 7/105

3^rd Grade

WPHC Red (Aniket) 4/114 defeated Normanhurst-Warrawee 8/101

Practice makes perfect! After practicing 1,000+ flips, Skippie finally won the toss and decided to bat. The ground was a bit damp due to the night’s rain, and the pitch still had some moisture.

Harry and Lakshya opened the batting for West Penno. Normanhurst’s opening bowlers were fast, tidy, and well-equipped to utilize the conditions of their home ground. They gave no loose balls for our openers to get into a rhythm. The start was slow, but soon both openers adjusted to the conditions and started scoring. Unfortunately, Harry was undone by a mix-up and a direct throw after an opening partnership of 13 runs.

Saurabh joined Lakshya in the middle, and the runs started flowing from both ends thanks to some flowing cuts, pulls, drives, and aggressive running between the wickets. The pair added 45 runs before Saurabh was caught in the deep after scoring a quick 22.

Blake joined Lakshya, who was in a different zone, as if continuing his blitz from the first T20. The pair added 41 runs before Blake departed after scoring 16. Lakshya was also run out by a direct throw while trying to sneak a cheeky single, falling just 5 short of his second T20 50.

Aniket and Mohan maintained the scoring rate and took the innings total to 114 without any hiccups.

Mufi and Aniket opened the bowling for West Penno. Mufi was unlucky not to get a wicket today. Skippie, still high on the confidence from winning the toss, cleaned up an opener on his first ball!

James and Lakshya came in as the next change and chipped in with 1 and 2 wickets, respectively, to keep Normanhurst in check. The skipper continued to play his mind games with the opposition by handing over the ball to the designated wicketkeeper for this game, Brij, as Harry had agreed to keep before the start of the game.

Brij claimed 4 wickets in his three overs, thanks to two great high catches in the field by Mohan and Lakshya (you cannot keep him out of the game!). Mufi wrapped things up without any dramas. Normanhurst could only muster 101 runs.

Shoutouts to:.

• Harry and James for filling in and making wholesome contributions with the bat, ball, and in the field.
• Lakshya, Saurabh, Blake, and Mohan for their impressive batting.
• Brij, Lakshya, Aniket, James, and Mufi for their outstanding bowling.
• Rohit, Rahul, and Blake for their amazing efforts in the field.

WPHC White (Indranil) 8/103 defeated Berowra 101

The mood in the squad was very upbeat based on Day 1 performance.

It’s the first game also for this side to play against a Berowra team and the challenge was serious. With overcast conditions but relatively dry outfield at Warrina St (Berowra), it was not easy to decide what to do with toss. That was solved easily as we lost the toss and was asked to field.

The team got it pretty tight from the 1^st over, and couple of dot balls showed some panic in running between the wickets, and Berowra lost their captain for a diamond duck.

Then wickets kept falling quite frequently and the bowlers who were amongst the wickets – Ben Waldron 1/17, Inam Ahmed 2/28, Reyhan 1/7 and Nic Price 2/13. Backed by great fielding overall, but specially from Olly being involved in 3 run outs and D Vink taking 2 catches. Having official umpires sometime helps, but today it was more of slowing down the over rate as they took too much time to settle down in their positions. But who’s to complain.

We wrapped up the Berowra innings before they could complete their 20 overs setting us a target in between 95 and 105 runs. That’s because the online score and the paper version did not tally and created a fuss for the umpires. At the end it was decided to use the middle path and 102 was the target for us to chase.

Giving the opportunity to the Sat game ‘not out’ batsman to carry on their good form, N Price and B Dunkerley opened the innings. It was good opening spell from the bowlers and both batsmen struggled to get quick runs. Ben D trying to push the run rate and lost his wicket in the 6h over. Aden H was busy protecting his guard, which essentially was his mobile phone. That’s one for Ross, a batsman having an additional guard to manage.

It was a bit slow till the 8^th over, but then the team changed gears and started to get quick runs and few batsmen perished doing so. N Price 26, Aden H 12, Olly 10 and Indranil 16 got the game close. At the end needing just 3-4 runs per over in the last 6, there was some flurry of wickets lost, but still WPH won the game with D Vink scoring the winning runs.

Now off to a Grand final club derby in 2 weeks’ time.

4^th Grade

WPHC Red (Ross S) 2/135 lost to Sydney Lions 7/136

5^th Grade

WPHC Blue (Nirav) 7/118 defeated St Ives Wahroonga 7/104

Following 2 previous dominating wins, we were motivated and awaiting this T20 Semifinals against St Ives Wahroonga.

As we stepped onto Thornleigh Oval on a day set for cricket, the atmosphere felt just right for a good contest. Lush and green, the ground bathed in warm sunlight, with just a few scattered clouds offering brief moments of shade. The oval was green and dry and the conditions were perfect for cricket. With conditions ideal to bat, we desired for the toss to come in our favour. Propitiously our skipper won the toss and decided to bat first.

Thanks To Mihir (U17 Red), Suf (C4), and Praneel (C4) we managed to field 11 players.

Ravi and Suf opened the batting with the intent to build a formidable total, showcasing their skills from the outset. After a couple of confident boundaries that sent the crowd into a frenzy, Suf succumbed to a crafty slower outswinger in the second over, leaving the team momentarily shaken. Enter Praneel, who stepped onto the pitch like a true warrior, dominating the bowlers with his powerful strokes while deftly defending against quality deliveries. His disciplined approach paid off, and after reaching a stellar 50 runs, he fell victim to a sharp delivery, leaving the team eager for more.

As Daksh strode in, he quickly took a single to finish the over, setting the stage for Rishi, who walked in as Ravi retired not out at 22. Rishi’s quick single kept Daksh on strike, but the pressure mounted, and in a shocking turn of events, both Daksh and Rishi lost their wickets in quick succession, exposing the lower order. The wickets continued to tumble over the next few overs, but the tailenders added a few more to the tally leading to a rewarding total of 118.

With a formidable total to defend, we launched into our overs with relentless precision, spearheaded by Mihir and Ravi. Their tight spells wove a web of pressure around the opposition, resulting in a remarkable three wickets falling within just six overs. Each dismissal sent ripples of tension through the batting lineup, intensifying the challenge they faced and igniting a fire of excitement among our team. As the pressure mounted, players began to falter, sending loose shots soaring into the field. In a breathtaking moment, Jacques seized the opportunity, claiming a wicket with an astonishing catch by Mihir who leapt into the air like a spring-loaded athlete, his outstretched hands snatching the ball from the edge of the boundary, igniting cheers from his fellow teammates.

Nirav resumed his overs, seamlessly integrating Tushar into the attack. Just a couple of overs later, Direin joined the fray, making an immediate impact by claiming a wicket with his very first over. As Direin and Tushar relentlessly piled on the pressure, the opposition grew increasingly frantic, resulting in erratic and careless shots. Their desperation culminated in yet another wicket, sending shockwaves through the batting lineup and igniting celebrations among the fielders.

With Mihir bowling the final over of the St Ives-Wahroonga’s innings, they needed 25 runs to win, and the tension in the air was palpable. Mihir prepared to deliver, knowing that every ball could change the course of the match. He started strong, mixing his pace and line expertly, leaving the batsmen struggling to find their rhythm. With the penultimate ball of the game, Mihir unleashed a fierce delivery that soared towards midwicket to the waiting hands of Direin who made no mistakes with the catch.

A thrilling end to a well played game of cricket by both teams with the WPHCCC Blue (Nirav) team moving to the T20 Grand Finals.