Match Reports

T20 Grand Finals

(27th October 2024)

1^st Grade

WPHC (Cam #25) 5/135 defeated Normanhurst-Warrawee 9/122

Hello and welcome x3 to your T20 GF premiership match report.

With Lichaa STILL attending lavish weddings, I’m sorry but this won’t be to the readers traditional standards. Also I haven’t seen the scorebook and in hindsight, never actually asked scores.

We won the toss on a green deck and elected to set the target, in we sent the golden girls in Phil “Blanche” Wurth and James “Rose” Makin. In textbook Wu fashion, he made an impact immediately hitting 2 fours and then miss hitting one that was probably there to hit. Only 192 short of his promised 200. Harry Hando then joined Jamaican and showed off his clean hitting, leaving us around 40odd from the power play.

Normo bowled very well and had a good field set through the middle making scoring very tough but Jamaican played a perfect role for us, even clearing the pickets of Normanhurst oval twice before eventually being out for probably 40odd.

Shaan, Assman (BBBs), and Billy Gaunt playing a nice attacking role in the final 7ish overs, with Shaan showing off all his tricks with a six to finish the innings 135. If I were to hazard a guess I would say Shaan probably 35ish, then 15ish to the other two but I also was quite distracted by Phil begging Ross for the MC job back.

“Mate, the bloody Menendez brothers are getting out of prison this week and they killed both their parents!!”

We knew off the top with the ball was key with their two best bats opening up, after going for 3 fours in a row, Jack Hando snicked off their number 1. Great start.

Next over, Harry Hando bowled a HOOPING inswinger to the other opener who has a broken foot and bowled him. Very funny.

After that we played everything just about as perfectly as possible. Tom Hando, Ben Burrows and Todd Hutch halted the scoring, allowing the perfect window for Andrew Meikle to enter, and enter he did.

He quickly made his way through the middle order taking 5/15-20ish and the game from Normanhurst.

I do have to go back to Todd and Ben Buzz Jr. their overs were amazing. Not missing a single ball and killing Normo one dot at a time. Awesome stuff.

All in all a great win, and was great to see the fans out in force for the win.

3^rd Grade

WPHC White (Indranil) defeated WPHC Red (Aniket) 100

Perfect Greenway conditions, sun was out and a wonderful set up for the 3^rd Grade T20 Grand Finals.

And Club derby and what more one can expect on a Sunday morning. One of the officiating umpires was missing which put the focus on only the one available and delayed start by few mins for toss and agreeing the ground set-up. A big turnout of spectators welcomed the 2 team, and big shut out to Paul Vink to have the balcony section opened with all chairs and tables ready.

It was picture time and Ross Anderson himself did not want to miss out the opportunity to take some memorable pictures, since this is the only 2^nd time a Club derby being played Grand finals. All formalities done, WPH White won the toss and chose to bat. The decision was perhaps to give the bowlers some more rest as the previous day few of them had long spells.

Saurabh Kapoor was the fill-in captain of the WPH Red team and advised that a none of his core players was missing and had the talented young guns from other grades come to fill in. Well it’s a Club Derby, we move on in the spirit of the game.

The first few overs was watchful and in the midst lost Aden without scoring, which then brought in Ben Dunkerley. A quick 40 runs partnership for 2^nd wicket with captain Indranil (20) got the innings moving in the first 6 overs. Another 40 runs partnership with Oly, this time Ben D was unlucky to be caught in the deep, just missing out 1 run from his fifty. Some good tight bowling in the middle esp. from Amitava Sen 4-0-18-0, kept the Whites on hold. However the runs kept flowing with some good counter attack from Oly 34, Will 12 and Ben Waldron 10. The innings finished at 147 losing 6 wickets.

You never know what’s a good score to defend at Greenway, where the outfield is fast, and Reds opened their innings with their seasoned opener Laksh and Harry. Ben Waldron and Reyhan opened the bowling for Whites, and it was tight line and length by both. Laksh lost his wicket without opening his account and Harry was next to an unfortunate mix up.

The Reds were kept in the hunt by some strong hitting by Mohan 43 and Eamon 13 in quick time, but frequent bowling change resulted in eventual downfall. The Reds tried to push the run rate but perished after losing the last few wickets in the end, a gap of 47 runs.

The pick of the bowlers for the Whites was Ben Waldron 2/13. Reyhan 1/14, Paul Vink 2/24, Yasith 3/22 and Dan Vink 1/3. Cam Bliss took 2 great catches and top fielding including a run out.

A game played in the right Club spirit and was celebrated at the end with a BBQ.

5^th Grade

WPHC (Nirav) 8/115 lost to Castle Hill Green 3/167

Match Report to come.

Round 4 (Day 1)

A1 Grade

WPHC (Cam #25) 232 Vs St Ives-Wahroonga 1/18

After winning the toss on a bumpy green Turramurra, we chose to bat. A bold strategy.

After fighting through the initial onslaught, we were 3/35 at drinks. Our middle order stood up and dominated with Assman, Shaan and Sav scoring 40ish, 40ish and 60ish respectively.

Tom Hando then with a crucial 30* at the end before being stranded after brother Jack ran himself out. Mary agrees.

We had 8 overs at them, Harry H and Tiz started us off and were exceptionally unlucky not to get one, then enter the veganism pin up boy, who trapped the opener in front of the outside of leg stump…and dismissed him.

St.Ives 1/18 at the conclusion of play. Standby for Phil Wurth in today’s t20 GF. You won’t forget this knock.

A2 Grade

Beating Berowra is up there with one of the best feelings in the world.

Being the only Grade to be playing one-dayers this round felt a bit odd, that feeling quickly went away when we saw Michael Gunn’s name on the team list and we all thought how good is this, this mighty A grader is gonna bat for 35 overs and steer us to a win. Complete opposite of what happened but more on that later.

As a team we learnt a lot from last rounds Derby by snatching victory from almost certain defeat and took that energy into this next round at the mighty Glade.

Bowling first and we felt like we were on top early of this team who played in the A grade grand final last year but somehow are in A2s now… at the halfway mark Berowra were 2-79 but we still felt like we were on top apart from some very, very dodgy fielding efforts. We opened back up after the break with Tanay “tanners” Hira and Dean “derrick” Carlin who had the Berowra fans turning their heads as they lost 8-32 runs after drinks to be all out for 111, Tanners picking up 4 and Deano picking 3.

During the break we were talking about the lucrative trade, Gunny into A2s and Shaan into A grade how exciting it was for us having an A Grader in our team however 5 minutes later he was walking back for a duck just as we learn that Shaan hit 40 odd in A grade wow that would of been handy today Shaan, to quote the great dj khalid “another one” we were 2-0 just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse “another one”. Being 3-0 really made us think if we were actually going to score a run today, the day just kept getting worst stumbling to 6-27 so we started thinking about the happy hour 5$ beers at the sporto by 5pm.

Enter Cameron “big throbber” Northrop not sure what’s in those pre game ciggies but wow he was on fire.

Despatching balls all over the ground there was some light at the tunnel.. finally, Berowra started to get nervous and started shouting a language us wphccc folk still don’t understand.

The runs ticked down we somehow found ourselves needing 5 runs for victory, unfortunately Cammos hit it straight to short cover with still 2 runs needed. Enter Sammy Hando I mean this guy’s got Hando blood of course he’s gonna get the job done. 2 overs to go and still needing 2 runs after some courageous defence from Sammy Hando. Nukey perfectly placed a glorious square drive into the gap for 4 and all was right with the world, Berowra still losing after 2 hours of warming up (they might need to change their warm-up style) and WPHCCC A2 Blue proving you can win from anywhere. 2 incredible performances by the boys back to back.

Other mentions:

• Michael Gunn continuing his run of ducks against Browra
• Big thankyou to Dinesh from juniors for filling in
• Dean Carlin proving his self-pointed nickname “the Glade specialist” may have some backing behind it
• Brent for taking a 6Fa of dismissals with the gloves
• Birdcages support from Europe while he’s on his quest for the best toastie in the world goodl-uck mate.

How. Good is it.

WPHC Red (Todd) 81 lost to Glenorie 1/83

After some midweek covers drama we safely made it to Kenthurst 1 to face Glenorie.

A pitch inspection revealed that the crater placed on a good length that had been spotted on Thursday had not been filled in. So as a safety precaution, and a throwback to junior cricket, we were to only bowl from the one end.

Captain Todd won the toss and opted to bat, as our form chasing this season had been shocking to say the least. After losing the early wicket of Volc, Aaron (23) and Jude (19) formed good partnership before Jude was dismissed bowled around the legs to a ball of the century-esque deliver from one of the Glenorie medium pacers.

Then A1 grade fill in and Eurostar Billy Gaunt walked to the crease. While we are thankful for Billy filling in for us we are not thankful for the effect he had on our batting innings. As he compiled his 31 we lost 8-35. Now were these wickets Billy’s fault? He certainly played a part in Ben “would do it all if he didn’t cop bad decisions and get barbecued” Burrows’ runout, the strong smell of meat cooking as he walked off the field. Whether the rest of the wickets were his fault I’ll leave up to you.

The less said about our bowing performance the better. Todd bowled very well to pick up our only wicket, Willy also bowled well but to no success.

In the end we got back to the pub at 5, so are we really losers?

Special mention to Lachy Edwards who didn’t show up this week. An unnamed source has confirmed that after getting his cast off last week, he has been busy vigorously engaging in grip strengthening activities so that he may COME back stronger.

B1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Shomik) 0/7 Vs Kissing Point 266

After losing the toss, WPHCC Blue was sent to bowl first by Kissing Point.

Mohsin and P. Watkins opened with a disciplined first spell, with Mohsin striking early withy the batter coming off a century in his previous game, was a critical early wicket. Captain Shomik S. brought himself on as the second change, securing another wicket, leaving Kissing Point at 35/2.

In the same spell 15-year-old V. Narayanan was brought in , who immediately made an impact by taking a wicket on his very first ball, reducing Kissing Point to 38/3. WPHCC was in a strong position until Kissing Point began to rebuild with a 98-run partnership, though a few controversial decisions raised questions about the game’s spirit. With the score at 136, P. Watkins was reintroduced and promptly broke the stand, bowling a crucial dismissal.

However, Kissing Point’s Captain then anchored taking the score to 220/4.

In a tactical move Shomik called on part-time bowler Pranay H, who responded by quickly picking up two wickets and breaking the 84 run partnership. The final six wickets fell for just 46 runs, thanks to Shomik’s four-wicket haul, along with two wickets each from P. Watkins and M. Afzal. Kissing Point finished at 266 all out.

Special recognition goes to Alec Silins, whose exceptional fielding likely saved 30-40 runs.

WPHCC Blue had five overs to face, with openers V. Narayanan and C. Bliss steadying the team at 7/0 by stumps. With this solid team effort in the field, WPHCC Blue is optimistic about chasing down the target with some good partnerships on the board in the next week.

WPHC Red (Warren) 8/152 Vs St Ives

Match Report not to hand.

C1 Grade

WPHC (Indranil) 0/55 Vs Glenorie 177

We arrived at the ground with near perfect weather. After losing the toss we started fielding. Seeing the first few overs off the field I watched as our bowling attack made quick work picking up the first couple wickets in quick succession.

Vishnu was quickly put on to bowl and did not waste any time picking up a wicket in just his 3rd over. He quickly followed this up picking up 2 more wickets in the two following overs. Paul Vink followed suit.

The next two wickets fell quickly both picked up by Daniel. Following this there was a period of stability in Glenorie’s batting before Ben Waldron picked up his first wicket of the match in the 34^th over. The final wicket partnership from Glenorie temporarily took the game from us with beautiful strokes. Hopes of picking up the final wicket were high, but the two batsmen continued to apply pressure through consistent boundaries. Chances came and went but after a dropped catch morale fell until Nick pulled off an incredible caught and bowled reaching his hand out effortlessly and picking up the final wicket completing Glenorie’s innings all out for 177.

Our openers were quickly sent out to bat putting on runs slowly with Aden getting off the mark in style with a huge six. Runs were put on the board slowly but surely with Aiden picking up yet another boundary. Some very good running between the wickets by our openers with Nick picking up back-to-back fours. The game was cut short at over 20 with Aden and Nicholas remaining strong on 15 and 37 not out respectively with a team score of 55 not out.

Onto next week to chase down 122 runs and T20 GF tomorrow with 3rd Grade WPH Red.

C2 Grade

WPHC Red (Aniket) 217 Vs Castle Hill RSL

Ani won the toss and opted to bat, with Rohit and Lakshya opening. Castle Hill bowled a tight line, giving our batters no room to score, and our openers were back in the pavilion by the 8^th over, with just 17 runs on the board.

Rahul and Kamran then came together to stabilise the innings, building a solid 80-run partnership over 27 overs. Kamran was eventually dismissed by the Castle Hill captain’s excellent delivery after a determined 33 off 92 balls.

Following Kamran’s departure, we lost a few quick wickets until Saurabh joined Rahul, injecting some much-needed momentum. After an entertaining knock of 29, Saurabh made way for Chetan, who took the charge and added a quick 22. Rahul continued his steady contributions, ultimately scoring a patient 63 off 192 balls before being replaced by Amitava, who, along with Chetan and Ani, added 44 more runs. Our innings concluded in the 77^th over with a total of 217 runs.

We’re looking forward to next Saturday, aiming to secure our first two-day win of the season!

WPHC Blue (Hiresh) 1/3 Vs Hornsby Gold 159

It was a glorious sunny day at Les Shore 2, perfect for cricket.

Our Captain Hiresh, who seemed to have mastered the art of losing the toss last season, found his bad toss luck returning in dramatic fashion as he lost the coin flip for the first time this season and the opposing team chose to bat, aligning with our plans to bowl first anyways.

The day got off to a great start as John Koleth and Mayank bowled tight lines leading to two early wickets. Mukund then entered the fray, pairing up with John to maintain the pressure leading to a stellar run-out from Ed Corby, one of our fill-ins.

After the first drinks break, Rishab and Rudhra resumed proceedings, bowling brilliantly in a partnership and restricting the flow of runs. Rishab snagged two wickets, but there was a brief drop in intensity, leading to some runs being scored freely in the middle of the second session. However, as the session ended, runs dried up as our bowling and fielding intensity picked up again.

In the third session, approximately 40 runs were scored alongside four wickets falling, with John Kurian leading the charge and taking three wickets. Rudhra capped off the action with a stunning low catch off his own bowling. Hornsby found themselves at 9-143 before the final session, where the last pair of batsmen hung around long enough to score an additional 16 runs before John Kurian took the last wicket, leaving us needing 160 runs to win.

Our bowlers’ figures were impressive: John Koleth with 2-24 off 17 overs, John Kurian with 4-19 off just 10.1 overs, Rishab with 2-31 off 10 overs, and Rudhra with 1-16 off 9 overs.

As we headed into our batting, Hiresh and Mukund opened with the best intentions. However, Mukund went for a 5^th ball duck. Renesh stepped in at one down, and together, they navigated the last couple of overs, leaving us at 1-3 at the end of play.

All in all, it was a good day. Thanks to Ed Corby and Bhavjit Singh for filling in this week.

Moving onto next week with a few players returning and needing 157 with 9 wickets in hand to secure our second win this season.

C3 Grade

WPHC (Mick) 265 Vs Sydney Lions

Hazza and Mick opened the innings. Hazza was trapped in front by a strong in swinging delivery without troubling the scorers. But the person who will be facing a lot of trouble for a while yet was the officiating umpire Ben, who just happens to be the Dad of Hazza and author of this report. Delegation of report writing being my punishment.

Apologies in advance dear reader, I am not the entertaining little reporter that Hazza is.

Will D and Captain Mick steadied the ship to a respectable score, before Will was caught at Square Leg for 25.

Pat R was caught behind for handful of runs, which brought out Nick D who quickly fell to an absolute blinder ‘Ball of the Century’ amount of turn from Suhas A.

Again Big Dan F was impressive, piling on runs with Captain Mick W who managed an impressive 76 before being bowled.

King Karl E and James D put up a good fight, with another 40 or so between them, before the Lions leggy cleaned up our tail with short stints from Dom and Jimmy W, leaving Kristian E on 10*.

We finished having put on a very respectable 265 with just a few minutes left in the day.

Lions go in to bat next week where we will most certainly return serve with our own wunderkind bowlers.

Star of the day was Captain Mick who was our rock out in the middle.

C4 Grade

WPHC Red (Ross S) 5/132 Vs WPHC White (Agniva) 146

Ah, the local derby – the Sheep Station clash at the plush Campbell Park, our Mecca of cricket.

The atmosphere was electric, the stakes were high, and naturally, our skipper Agniva was fully charged up… to lose the toss again. In what now feels like a running joke, Agni lost his fifth toss in a row, and we were put in to bat by Ross, who cited that his best bowler wouldn’t be available next week. Turns out, he indeed is their best – Brahadesh Ramamurthy (12.5 overs: 5-33)

Ram and Anand, West Pennant Hills Red’s dynamic opening bowlers, came charging in, and before we could even settle into our seats, our top order was in disarray. Wickets tumbled, and by the time the first drinks break arrived, we were staring down the barrel at 61/5. The only sign of resistance came from Chintan, who showed some grit, but credit to Ram and Anand for their precision – they didn’t let up for a moment through their 10-over spells.

Then came the real test.

With Vinod departing soon after drinks, the pressure was squarely on the shoulders of Pritam and Rohan. And boy, did they rise to the occasion. What unfolded next was nothing short of brilliant. Pritam decided to turn the tables on the opposition, toying with the bowlers with some clean and clever hitting. Rohan, calm as ever at the other end, demonstrated the depth of our batting lineup with a composed performance. Together, they stitched a vital partnership, and thanks to Pritam’s unbeaten 68, we clawed our way to a respectable total of 146. It was no batting paradise, but with our bowling attack, we knew we’d make it a challenge for Ross and the Reds.

Out we went to defend our score, but the first 15 overs didn’t go our way. Missed opportunities in the field allowed the Reds to bolt to 54/0. Just when the momentum seemed to be slipping, Pritam struck, removing their opener and giving us the breakthrough we desperately needed. From then on, the game began to shift. All of our bowlers tightened the screws, with Chintan bowling smart lines, picking up a couple of crucial wickets, and Agni at the other end continuing to apply pressure, albeit without much luck.

However, Campbell Park’s lightning-fast outfield didn’t do us any favours, allowing the Reds to keep the scoreboard ticking. But then, just as the day seemed to be heading toward an uneasy close, Pritam came back with a bang. Not only did he bowl with precision, but he also set himself up for a dramatic finish, earning himself a hat-trick opportunity in the dying moments of the day. All in all, the day belonged to Pritam – with the bat and the ball, he was our standout performer.

As the day ended, WPH Red was 132/5, and we’re set for a nail-biting first hour of cricket next weekend. With only 15 runs separating us, it’s anyone’s game.

A special shoutout to Mahesh Kadaganchi from D2 for stepping up and helping us out this round. On to Day 2 – let’s bring it home!

WPHC Blue (Rob) 0/13Vs Glenorie 226

Match Report not yet received

D1 Grade

WPHC Red (Diggers) 79 lost on first innings WPHC Blue (Nirav) 1/114

It was a splendid day at Northholm Grammar School for a D1 sheep station match between Nirav’s Blues and Diggers’ Reds.

Excitement filled the air as both teams were eager to kick off the contest, knowing the significance of this rivalry. After winning the toss, Nirav confidently opted to bowl first, hoping to take advantage of the early conditions.

The innings began spectacularly for the Blues, with Parin claiming the first wicket, reducing the Reds to a shaky 1/0. However, Diggers and Adithya quickly settled in, showcasing their skills and forming a solid partnership that saw them reach drinks at a respectable 1/53. The pair batted with intent, rotating the strike and finding boundaries at crucial moments. After the break, Siby made a crucial breakthrough, dismissing Adithya for 23 and bringing the total to 2/63, which put the Reds on the back foot.

Nirav then called upon his ace, Amazing Amith, to start his spell. In a sensational first over, Amith struck by taking Tim’s wicket, shortly followed by Nirav’s dismissal of Gus. This set the stage for an explosive over, where Amith showcased his talent by claiming three wickets, narrowly missing out on a hat trick in a thrilling moment. He finished the innings with remarkable figures of 5/1, effectively dismantling the Reds’ batting line-up. Jacques contributed to the collapse, taking the last two wickets, and wrapping up the Reds’ innings at 10/79. It was a promising start for the Reds that ultimately faltered under the pressure of Amith’s extraordinary performance, bolstered by the solid bowling and fielding effort from the Blues.

After tea, the Blues commenced their batting innings with Vikrant (Kohli) and Sahil (Sharma). The pair got off to a flying start, scoring an impressive 21 runs in the first four overs. Their momentum carried through to drinks, with the score at 0/66. Vikrant reached his half-century in style, leading the Blues past the Reds’ total in the 25th over, much to the delight of their team. The partnership continued to flourish until a catch behind brought Vikrant’s impressive innings to a close at 61, with the team total sitting comfortably at 1/101.

Ravi (Ravindra) Jadeja then joined the fray, contributing some quick runs as the Blues pressed their advantage. His aggressive approach added further pressure on the Reds’ bowlers, helping the Blues finish the day at 1/114.

It was a sensational day for the Blues, filled with outstanding performances and strategic play, leaving them well-positioned for the days ahead.

They will look to carry this momentum into the T20 Finals against Castle Hill, as anticipation builds for what promises to be an exciting continuation of form to Sunday.

D2 Grade

WPHC (Roger) 321 Vs St Ives Wahroonga

Opening and 2^nd wicket partnership

After losing the toss, we were asked to bat first. For a change, Bala partnered with the regular opener Mahesh Shinde for opening the batting. They gave us a solid start with a 50 run opening partnership. After Bala’s wicket, Shehan and Mahesh put on 74 for the 2nd wicket with both stroking some entertaining boundaries

Middle and lower order collapse

From 124 for 2, with a middle and lower middle order collapse, the team kept losing the wickets at regular intervals as the score reached 194 for 9 with roughly 15 overs left for the day with the settled batsman Malinda at the crease.

 10^th wicket partnership

As the St Ives team virtually prepared to bat for at least 10 overs and even delayed the drinks break with 9 wickets down, Cory who came in at 11 and Malinda had a different plan in mind. They steadily built their partnership. With Cory supporting at one end and playing watchfully but also not neglecting any opportunity to put a few away to the fence, Malinda at the other end playing a destructive innings to register his maiden century.

A few things on this 10^th wicket partnership of 127:

• This is a Club record 10^th wicket partnership for D2 beating the previous record of 96 back in 1995/96
• It also broke the Association partnership record for D2 of 102* set by St Ives in 212/13
• Malinda’s 103* is our 545^th century and the 3^rd by a D2 player this season.

Eventually they took the score to 321, which is a 127 runs partnership for the 10^th wicket in approx. 17 overs.

Day 1 conclusion:

After starting with some ups and downs, 127 run, 10th wicket partnership has taken the team with a competitive score of 321, and the team managed to bat for the whole day. Day 2 is certainly one to look forward and the team is keen to seal their first victory for the season with 3 close calls up to now.

Batting Highlights:

• Malinda Dharmadasa 102*
• Mahesh Shinde- 63, Shehan Fernando – 38, Cory Brookhouse 30