Match Reports

Round 7 (1-Dayer)

A1 Grade

WPHC (Cam #25) Vs BYE

Next game is against Normanhurst-Warrawee in Round 7

A2 Grade

WPHC Blue (Birdcage) 194 Kenthurst-Upper Hills 0/3

A very warm welcome to all the loyal readers of the A2 Blue’s Match reports.

Today’s events can be easily broken down like a play or musical into 4 very separate and distinct acts of both brilliant theatre and comical humour.

ACT 1 – The Toss

As we arrived at Kenthurst the conditions were extremely hot, warm and sticky with a beaming hot sun and not a cloud in the sky above us the toss would be a matter of life & death and 70 overs of suffering to endure ahead.

It was absolutely critical we win our first toss of the season, the mighty Blues waited with baited breath and clenched sphincter’s as the coin was tossed into the air and as it landed a deep breath was heard around the ground followed by a small groans as Captain Rohan “Any chance of a toss win champ” Asija had lost yet again… OH NO!! Pain and suffering to come but wait what’s this?? The Kenthurst Captain has suddenly morphed into Nasser Hussain circa 2002 and looked at a nice flat and hard wicket in hot conditions and said “Thanks mate we will have a bowl” what a win for the blues first points on the board to us, our openers saw that as red rag to a bull and were ready which leads us to Act 2.

ACT 2 – Kyle Townsend

Our Openers – Zac “Better then Rick” Turner and Kyle “Loves LMS” Townsend walked to the crease with intent to score and make Kenthurst rue theiur woeful decision and everything they’ve ever done in their lives and my god they did putting on a fantastic 61 run partnership and setting the template for what could only be described next as a clinical display of batting power and record breaking boundary hitting (Source – Ross “Seagull” Anderson) with Kyle “Moore Park” Townsend hitting his way to swashbuckling and brutal 111 with 6’s and 4’s raining all around the Kenthurst outfield especially a 90m six that ended up with a red cricket ball making a new home in the bush, KT took great pleasure in belting Kenthurst all over the place as a special thanks for getting sent in on flat one.

A very big congratulations to KT on his maiden seniors hundred and now with KT walking away from the crease after a brilliant ton comes act 3 which has become the ‘pièce de résistance’ of A2 Blue over the past few seasons

ACT 3 – The Collapse

Now ladies and gentlemen this is the moment we’ve waited for, the moment us Blues live for every single match and that’s throwing wickets away in a hurry and getting little to no runs to end an innings and wouldn’t you know we’ve done it again like all great sides do.

In quick succession departed Shaan “Gym Bro” Bakshi, Lakshan “Loves a Spread” Perera and Riken “probably the favourite son” Hira, this collapse was well and truly in full swing and was giving the Soviet Union of 1991 a serious run for its money.

What followed was a very mini resistance by Rohan and Tanay “I love Cougars” Hira who managed to chip away about 10-15 runs before guess what!! We did it yet again another collapse both Ro and Cougar Lover Hira going quickly and exposing our tail. A few quick wickets followed and we were all gone for a reasonable total of 194 but now it was our time to get that red pill in hand for a juicy 3 over finish to today’s play

ACT 4 – 10 mins of Nothing and a Sporto Recap

With 3 overs to bowl we prayed for a wicket but like was I referring to earlier seniors is pain and suffering and do we really enjoy it? Because what followed was 3 wicket-less overs and Kenthurst being boring and not handing us a free cheap scalp to end our day as we headed back to the Sporto to against our own will listen to the tales of Germany and Contiki by our returning skipper Ryan “Drei- Einige” Loveridge who also decided he would rather watch a B1 derby then support his own team and missing a classic hundred, don’t worry readers a large fine will be incoming for Mr Cage.

A Great Days Cricket and a special thanks to the following:

• Kyle Townsend for saving us from a bad day
• Kenthurst for a fantastic lunchtime spread, it was loved by all the lads especially Lakshan who ate plenty of it much to the observation of our umpire who observed Lakshan was quite large (FAT)
• Our Loyal and Faithful Supporters who sat and watched KT smash a gorgeous hundred and everybody else walk to the crease and leave quickly

With the rain predicted in midweek I’ll dream of a nice moist wicket to be on show at Kenthurst and 6 points to be earned by the mighty Blues

P.S Did I Mention that Kyle Townsend scored 111 (We all love you KT)

WPHC Red (Todd) 1/5 Vs Castle Hill RSL 150

Lachie dropped about 6 catches this week, as tempted as I am to leave that as the whole match report I will provide you with all the tantalising details.

We made the trek up to a somewhat mysterious Storey Park, word from my Northern Districts informant was that the pitch was “flat”, “low” and “slow”. None of these descriptors backed up Jamaicans midweek proclamation that Storey is the ‘WACA’ of the HKHDCA.

Coupled with the hot weather it would be a great day for batting.

The night before the toss was discussed in the team group chat (so these are actual quotes):

Jude: “What you gonna do Todd?”

Todd: “call heads and bat”

Connor: “Tails never fails in NSW”

Todd: “Always called heads… no need to change what works”

Ben: “How many tosses have you won this year?”

With those warnings from teammates and an ironclad strategy in calling tails, you’d think we’d all be kicking our feet up or be busy putting 300 on the board. But no, he called heads.

So off we went to bowl having lost the toss.

Ben and Ollie (one of three Makin’s in the team today) started us off well and Todd capitalised on their hard work, taking a wicket in his first over. From there Preed’s got a wicket off a no ball (you can have him back Cam) before getting the batter to chop on, and importantly keeping his foot behind the line.

I can’t remember too much, as the day was so boring that every ball seemed to meld into one, seeing as there were 313 dot balls in the day (so 50 over out of the 70 bowled) but Willy got one stumped that Azza tried his hardest to fumble. Todd picked up 3 more, Ollie picked up 1, and Jack Makin, a new signing traded from Kissing Point, on A2 debut took 3/12 coming off a broken arm (feel free to show up more often Jack). All in all Castle hill were out for a very boring 155.

With all things wrapped up Aaron and Lachie had three overs to negotiate.

Preed’s, pencilled in at number three had so much confidence in these two that he was lounging around without any pants on. First ball of the innings Azza slashed one away for two, not how most would go about negotiating three overs at the end of the day. But Aaron is revolutionising park cricket with AzzBall.

Unfortunately AzzBall was proved to be pretty Azz, because with 5 balls to go in the day Aaron left one onto his off stump: “it seamed back a mile” he said to incoming nightwatchman Ben Burrows, who was fresh off a rock paper scissor loss to Todd.

With four balls left, all watched with bated breath as Preed’s rushed to get his pants on (thanks for the vote of confidence mate). First ball he leaves one alone. Next ball straighter, clipped off the pads, potential for runs, but cool as ever Ben put his hand up to signal the giraffe,:

“I’ll take it from here”, words that were never uttered, yet understood by all. And he managed to see out the rest of the day.

Tune in next week as we pick up the remaining 150 one down and get back to the pub in time for happy hour.

B1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Shomik) 6/194 defeated WPHC Red (Warren)  8/193

It was a quintessential day; the sun was beating down, Greenway Park was quick and dry, and the derby match against Warren. Always in good spirits, and it did not disappoint.

Harsh had been bestowed the Captain card as Shomik arrived late, and he decided to bowl first after winning the toss.

Connor (who clearly got lost on his way to a coaching clinic) and Ray opened the batting; Ray made his intentions known early with some excellent power hitting and took advantage of Greenway’s small square boundaries. But he was dismissed by Mohsin, and Amit took a great gully catch. Bish and Connor steadied the ship, working for ones and twos, a prevalent mentality that us Blues have been on the receiving end of more than once this season.

Vaibhav continues to be a great strike bowler, taking out Bish’s stumps for a well-made 21; a little scrambled seem seemed to be his undoing, although I was at square leg and didn’t see any of it. The left-right combination was taking a toll, and this wicket put some pressure back on the Reds.

At 2-74, it was a solid platform to launch toward 180+. With Shomik returning to the field, it was time to introduce the spinners to the equation. Amit was being worked around for many singles, and Connor’s misjudged single stumped him for 43. Keats and Dan kept the score-rate ticking over steadily toward the 35-over mark. But a late flurry from Shomik padded his wickets column without much damage to the overall runs. A triple wicket maiden in over 34 was not too influential, but it shows that a “You Miss, I Hit” mentality works every time.

8-193 was achievable, as we had made a similar score against St. Ives.

Both Sagnik and Vaibhav back up brilliantly for the batting innings, fighting off some profound fatigue and “heat stroke” symptoms.

A great platform is all we asked each week, and they did not disappoint. The Reds demonstrated the benefits of good running between the wickets, and the Blues took note. With the occasional spattering of boundaries, we were 1-44 after 10 overs after Sagnik (21) was bowled by Paul Vink. Alec and Vaibhav showed remarkable (self-described) “youthfulness” and ran well between the wickets, even an inside boundary 4. This can only happen down the ground at Greenway. Vaibhav was bowled for 37 after going for a massive heave over the leg side.

Shomik and Alec took advantage of the bowling, moving to 2-96 after 17 overs, halfway to the total, what we had initially planned. Wanting to continue the momentum, Alec was dismissed but a great caught and bowled by Ekkers. A single mitt was put out and stuck; the 50-ish partnership was broken.

Now it was Shomik to relive how Glenn Maxwell felt; we kept within striking distance of the run-rate, not letting too many small overs through. The man hit sixes, fours, and twos, all while cramping up in his leg and having to hobble between the wickets.

It was truly inspiring to be umpiring in the middle and watch him hoik it to various parts of Greenway with little to no footwork. Patty and Harsh made contributions with some big swings to exploit the tight ring field, and Shomik ultimately finished the game with a flurry to end on 75, not out.

A great game that no one seemed to be super dominant in. It was a batting masterclass from both sides, and I really believe it could’ve gone either way.

Both WPH teams are playing very well, and we could see a WPH final.

Good luck with next week’s game, boys.

C1 Grade

WPHC (Indranil) 101 lost to St Ives Wahroonga 179

Castle Hill Clinches Victory in a Hard-Fought Battle

Match Overview

In a gripping encounter during Week 2, Castle Hill emerged victorious over WPH.

1^st Innings

WPH, chasing a target of 179 runs set by Castle Hill, faced a challenging task. Despite a valiant effort, WPH was bowled out for 100 runs.

The innings saw notable contributions from Reyhan Ahmed, who top-scored with 30 runs. He received support from Yasith, who added 24 runs, Aden with 17 runs, and Indranil with 10 runs. However, these efforts were not enough to bridge the gap, and Castle Hill took the lead in the first innings.

Tea Break

At the Tea break, WPH was asked to follow on due to their first innings deficit.

2^nd Innings

WPH showed resilience in their second innings, scoring 4/100. Ben Dunkerley stood out with a quick-fire 52 runs and remained not out, providing a glimpse of hope for WPH. However, the game was called off, and Castle Hill was declared the winner on the first innings.

Conclusion

Castle Hill’s victory in the first innings secured them the win for the match. The players’ performances, particularly from WPH’s Reyhan Ahmed and Ben Dunkerley, were commendable and set the stage for an exciting season ahead.

Next Round

WPH will face off against the top of the ladder, St Ives, in the next round. The team will look to bounce back and demonstrate their prowess in what promises to be another thrilling contest.

C2 Grade

WPHC Blue (Hiresh) 9/218 dec defeated WPHC Red (Aniket) 106 & 3/98

It was a hot day, but the Reds were determined and resilient.

Despite the Blues only needing 36 runs to win, the Reds decided to give it everything they had and make the Blues work hard for those runs. Mustafa, who had missed week 1, came back with a vengeance and removed the Blues’ captain in his first over.

He and Shaks bowled tight lines and lengths, building pressure on the Blues’. However, the Reds were unlucky, dropping Mukund’s catch and missing a run-out opportunity for Sparsh. But Shaks soon made amends, taking Mukund’s wicket without too much damage.

Sparsh, having been given a second chance, made the most of it, scoring a well-deserved 52 before falling to Saurabh. After that, the Blues lost a few quick wickets thanks to excellent bowling from Saurabh, who narrowly missed out on a hat-trick.

Mayank then arrived and played a quick-fire cameo, scoring 38 runs before being dismissed. With a 110-run lead, the Blues’ captain decided to declare the innings.

In the second innings, Saurabh and Chetan opened for the Reds, both determined to show they could bounce back. Chetan displayed his impressive defensive game, while Saurabh was eager to score and show he wouldn’t be stopped.

Unfortunately, Saurabh fell to a slow bouncer from John, dragging the ball onto his stumps. Blues then brought Shankar, who had taken five wickets the previous week, into the attack. The move worked as Chetan, tempted by a loose delivery, played a poor shot and was caught by a fielder waiting for him.

Mohan, Lakshya, and Hari fought hard, showing great resilience, but in the end, the Blues’ captain decided to call it off.

Blues emerged victorious, thanks to strong performances with the bat from Rishabh, Sparsh, and Mayank, and excellent bowling from Shankar in the first innings and some great catching by Mukund in their first innings .

C3 Grade

WPHC (Mick) 6/166 defeated Beecroft 102

Chasing a modest total the boys made reasonably light work of it today.

The young Beecroft lads were keen to get to a party and some old West Penno boys were keen to show their youngsters some proper music at the Pearl Jam concert.

Kristian hit some beautiful drives and ended up 28.

Nick D showed up the youngsters with top score of 46 with some lusty blows all round the park.

Will P came in for a late cameo with a run a ball 25.

Shout out to Munish who opened last week and soaked up all the pressure so we could coast along fairly easily today.

We now head into the bye round with 4 wins on the trot.

C4 Grade

WPHC Red (Ross S) 7/184 defeated Sydney Lions 2/180

Northholm for the second time this year. Field looking wonderful. A hot afternoon with the skipper unsure of what to do after losing a couple of games after batting first, in the last over. 1/2 the guys wanting to bat 1/2 to field, so skipper in a no win situation. Any rate it did not matter as the Lions won the toss and decided to bat.

Ram and Anand opening the bowling. Great spells. Ram a wicket cleaning up the stumps in his second over. Very few runs.

An early change at both ends given the heat, Mridal and Gihan also bowling a great line giving nothing away. Smart bowling to a packed offside field frustrating the dangerous Lions captain. His wicket to Mridal a juggling catch to Ram in the gully, Lions 2/22 after 11 overs and in early trouble. Reds looking to keep the Lions to a small score.

Some safe play by the batters, quick singles, no chances Lions 2/53 after 18 overs…Reds still on top. Plenty of fluids at the break on a hot afternoon.

After drinks things changed dramatically with the Lions batters showing their intent from the first ball with a boundary, their hitting unsettling our bowlers. A few wayward overs, and very good batting  we could not apply the pressure. Kudos to the Lions batters.

After the break two batters put on 127 in 17 overs. A 148 run 3^rd wicket partnership. Lions 2/180 at innings close. Reds fielders hot and bothered.

Our ground fielding and concentration was pretty good….only a couple of very hard chances put down. Our bowlers and fielders toiled hard in hot conditions, and did well in the end keeping Lions to 180, with Jake the ball magnet a standout stopping several well struck shots in the covers. Wickets to Ram 1/28(7), and Mridal 1/22(7).

It was never going to be easy batting after a hot day in the field, but we were up for the challenge. A few changes to the batting order to give some opportunities. Sandeep and Anand opening.

The Lions opening bowlers were pretty tight.

A couple of big hits from Anand,but very difficult to take any singles. 0-11 after 6. A message from the skipper to turn the strike over, seemed to click a switch with both openers accelerating the run rate with 4s and a huge 6 to Anand from a beamer. Unfortunately Anand was deceived by a slow ball for a well-made 24. Reds 1/32 after 9, but acceleration started. A couple of big hits by Sandeep including another 6 through long off and we are cruising at 1/50 after 11.

A bowling change ….and we lose 2 of our top run scorers, Mridal and Gihan in the same over, then Sandeep for an excellent 25 an over later. Reds suddenly 4/55 and another collapse a possibility. Paul and Ram both at the crease on 0. Ram second ball a six straight down the ground signalling his intentions.

What was really good about our run chase was the partnerships built with Ram along the way. Paul was dismissed right on drinks 5-80, but Ram continuing to take full advantage of some bad bowling.

After the break a wonderful partnership with Darren. Ram at his swashbuckling best. Darren playing a patient role. Lions bowlers bowling too short, Fielders spread on the boundary but Ram hitting over the top. Darren dismissed by a short ball for 8, but more importantly a 58 partnership for the 6th wicket in quick time – 6/138. 43 needed off 12 overs and we are back on track.

Muthindra joining Ram and again a solid partnership with M turning over the strike to Ram and Ram continuing to take on the bowlers. Last ball of the 28^th over, Muthindra gets a short one and drags it onto his stumps, 7/167, job almost done.  14 runs needed for the win, Ram needs 16 for his hundred…..6 overs to go. Ram facing…opening bowler back.

Ball 1, Ram hits a 6 over long off, 3 dot balls then Ram hits another 6 to long on and then a single….scores tied……Reds need 1, Ram 94, needs a six for his 100 and facing.

First ball of the 30^th over, an almighty swing by Ram connects, but lands a few feet in from the longest boundary for 4. Reds win……7/ 184 Ram 98 no including 9 *6s, and 8 * 4s just misses out.

A brilliant innings from Ram, but as important a solid effort from our guys batting around him turning over the strike and building partnerships. 6, 7 & 8 wickets putting on 129 runs. Well done to Paul, Darren, Muthindra and Alex.

A needed win in a close competition to keep us just a win outside the top 4.

Next round back to a 2 day game against a top 4 side so another important game.

WPHC Blue (Rob) 5/178 defeated Kissing Point 6/177

Cricket Match Report: Kissing Point vs. West Penno – C4

Date: Saturday 23rd November 2024

Venue: Auluba Oval

Conditions: Scorching heat, grass above the ankles!

In what turned out to be an absolutely sizzling encounter at Auluba Oval, Kissing Point (KP) set the stage.

Although we picked up some early wickets with consistent and on the spot bowling from Lance and Ryan with a good performance, with KP posting a formidable total of 177.

Despite the scorching heat, KP came out swinging, but things took an unexpected turn when Mudi, struggling to find his rhythm with the ball, resorted to some unorthodox tactics. In a moment of sheer desperation, he dropped his pants mid-pitch in an attempt to distract the batsman.

Unfortunately, it didn’t have the desired effect, and KP continued their innings undeterred.

But we had a secret weapons waiting in the wings.

Unk Luke, showing composure and skill, played a stellar knock, carrying his bat through the innings to remain unbeaten on 93. And Stevo, not to be outdone, added an “I’m too tired to hang around” 50, keeping the momentum flowing with minimal fuss.

We wrapped things up in the 32^nd over comfortably.

WPHC White (Agniva) 7/97 defeated Beecroft 96

The great escape at a Campbell Park.

It was a scorcher of a day at Campbell Park – first one of the season – hello summer! Chintan took over the reigns with Agni being away for more important things. This change of guard was seen as a sign that maybe, just maybe, we will win a toss for the first time in the season. This was however not to be, and Beecroft had no hesitation in opting to bat first.

Mridul and Suf kicked things off, giving nothing away in the first few overs. Like the evasive toss, the wickets seemed evasive too with 2 drop catches on Mridul’s bowling in the same over, and another drop off Suf’s bowling. They continued to strangle the Beecroft runs and the first wicket fell to a brilliant piece of fielding by Adi and presence of mind by Mridul, to get a run out.

The umpiring definitely came to question early on with Mridul being denied a plumb lbw, followed by Pritam a few overs later. Things got a bit heated and the umpire was eventually changed. Not great for the spirit of the game overall, from both sides. We need to learn how to keep our head over our shoulders and not let these things affect us in the future.

We continued to restrict the runs and this put pressure on them – 2^nd wicket was another run-out. At drinks they were 56/2. Never run off an miss-field is something we’ve heard a number of times. Well doesn’t look like beecroft had heard that one before – and they did exactly that, resulting in another run out – 3 out of 3. Their innings never really stabilised with 2 further wickets falling to Chintan in the same over – both perfect balls in every sense (no pun intended folks).

Agniva joined Chintan and kept things tight, 3 more wickets fell in quick succession , 1 to Agni and 2 more to Chintan. Sayan picked up the last wicket to have them all out for 96.

A simple enough score one would think, especially at a ground like Campbell park. Or so we thought- an all too familiar story, with our top order collapsing to 50 runs.

Suf was looking promising but too fell to a C&B by one of their spinners. Another couple of quick wickets had us reeling at 60/7.

Chintan then decided it was time to take control, and hit some lovely shots around the ground to clinch the game away from Beecroft. By the time he fell the damage had already been done. Sayan’s calm batting, accompanied by Sitabja, saw us through for another win!

Definitely a lot of positives to take in to the next round, but important thing is to focus on winning the next few prior to Christmas.

D1 Grade

WPHC Red (Diggers) 5/139 lost to Berowra 8/145

After last week’s disappointing batting and fielding performances, we were keen to re-group and improve, especially with the assistance of club legend Steve ‘Buzz’ Burrows joining the team.

Our game was against Berowra at Glenhaven Oval and Berowra have been near the top 4 all season.

Like most starts, Diggers lost the toss and Berowra decided to bat first with the temperature expected to be over 30 degrees for most of the afternoon.

Manraj (3/25) and Disco (1/32) opened the bowling and Berowra came out swinging. Manraj again bowled tight lines and took an early wicket.

The first bowling change brought Buzz (2/23) and Nandit on to bowl. Buzz bowled great lines and length, and we continued to make inroads into Berowra’s top order and at drinks Berowra were 4/66.

After drinks Berowra started to gain momentum and were able to get to reasonable score of 145, but we thought we could chase down the score.

Cliff (14) and Tim (32) opened batting and were steady in seeing off Berowra’s opening bowling attack.

After Cliff got a great ball and was out bowled, Nandit (7) joined Tim to keep the chase going, before being trapped LBW with the score at 2/41.

This brought Adit to the crease with Tim and at drinks we were 2/50, but we needed to lift the run rate after drinks.

Tim and Adi (45) batted strongly together and put on a 54-run partnership before Tim was out with the score at 3/95 in the 27^th over.

With a few overs to go we needed approx.. a-run-a-ball and Gus (18*) was at the crease swinging hard with Capt Diggers (3*), but unfortunately we fell 6 runs short on 5/139.

Despite the loss, it was a much improved performance in the field and with the bat.

Thanks again to Buzz for filling-in.

WPHC Blue (Nirav) Vs BYE

D2 Grade

WPHC (Roger) 244 defeated Kissing Point 113

Steady and defensive opening batting from the opposition

With the 245 runs to chase, Kissing Point made a cautious start not losing a wicket till the 35^th over at a slow 2 runs per over, which tested our bowlers’ grit.

The spells of David Tanna and Cory Brookhouse turned the tide

David Tanna had a dream spell of claiming all three top order wickets conceding just 8 runs. Cory Brookhouse ran through the middle order claiming 4 wickets including a brilliant caught and bowled effort.

Collapse from 0/65 to 10/113

As David and Cory together claimed 7 wickets between them, Mahesh Shinde and Navneet Singh shared the balance 3 wickets to bundle the opposition out for 113 runs.

A much needed win in spite of injury worries

This was the week of injuries with Malinda Dharmadasa and Vinoth Sambasiwam sitting out and Glen McEwan (Daniel’s dad) and Sandeep Pathak (who was only going to play Day 1) kindly filling in. In the end it all came together with a great bowling and fielding effort to back up the commendable batting performance of week 1, resulting in our D2 team sealing the first win of the season.

Thanks to Bala Raghuraman who led the team on Day 2, with Malinda Dharmadasa sitting out due to injury (who has been leading the team for a few weeks in regular captain Roger Friend’s absence due to overseas holiday).

 Sum up of season so far

As the season progresses, the D2 team are really picking up the pace. What’s most pleasing to see is that rather than being dependent on a few we are seeing many of the team are reaching & improving on their personal bests this season.

So far this season we have had 3 players record maiden centuries, 2 others record maiden 50 , an Association record being set for the 10^th wicket putting 127, a team score of 300+ (and unfortunately deprived of a win due to rain interruptions).

Bowling and fielding has gone from strength to with 3 and 4 wickets hauls by 4 different bowlers including today’s performance.

Regular skipper Roger Friend is back from holidays next week, and we look forward to building on this win to stretch ourselves to reach the top 4, while most importantly having fun!