Grand Final - (19th & 20th March 2016)
Main News items
• The Seniors concluded their season on Sunday with a further 2 Premierships (C1 and C4) to add to the SPL won earlier. Commiserations to our D1 and D2 sides that went down. Match details are below.
• Congratulations to our major award winners in the Junior Boys and Girls sides. For the boys, congratulations to:
o Josh Banner – John Coulthard Award (Junior Player of the Year)
o Luca Vasic – Charles Booth Memorial Award (U13 Citizenship)
o For our Girls – details to come
• The Photo gallery has been updated with some more photos so have a look if you get a chance.
Seniors Presentation night
One for the diary. Our Seniors presentation Night is booked in and ready to go. Details are:
• When: Friday 6 May
• Where: Castle Hill RSL
• Time: 7.30 pm until whenever
More details to come but lock it in.
Association News
Specialist coaching opportunities
The Association Coaches Association is again running its annual off-season Specialist Coaching Program covering batting, pace, spin bowling and wicket-keeping. Details are:
• Age Groups: U12 to U15 players
• When: 8 & 29 May; 19 June; 17 July 2016
• Who is invited: Representative standard or stronger Club players
Next steps
Parents register online (see the information flyer at: http://bit.ly/Specialist-2016 ) and they choose which sessions they would like their child to attend. Last year’s program was a sell out with great feedback from the players and their parents, so please register early.
Girl’s cricket
The Girls had their end of season presentation on Friday (18 March) and the major award winners were:
• Top run scorers:
o U13:
Lauren Kua – 89 runs @ 89.00 (U13 Red)
Abigail Pereira – 118 runs @ 59.00 (U13 Blue)
o U17s
Zoya Thakur – 67 runs @ 16.75
• Top bowlers:
o U13:
Lauren Kua – 4 wickets @ 15.0 (U13 Red)
Abigail Pereira – 3 wickets @ 7.0 (U13 Blue)
o U17:
Arora Kush – 3 wickets @ 9.0
Zoya Thakur – 3 wickets @ 19.67
Photo of the Month
With the season now almost over the Photo of the Month competition finishes is just about at its conclusion. Everyone is welcome to participate. Entering is simple – all you have to do is to take a photo and send it to Ross Anderson at wisden@bigpond.com .
The winner gets a dinner voucher for $100 at the fabulous WPH Sports Club Brasserie. The photos can cover anything from action shots through to panoramas and funny shots – anything. All photos go on the website.
Juniors update
Presentation Day
The Juniors had their Presentation Day on Saturday 19th March at Oakhill Drive Public School. Congratulations to our major Award winners:
• John Coulthard Award (Junior Player of the Year) – Josh Banner (410 runs @ 58.57)
• Charles Booth Memorial Award (U13 Citizenship) – Luca Vasic
Josh had a great season in the U16s. He scored 410 runs at 58.56 including a century and finished 2nd in the Association U16 batting league.
Grand Final
The Grand Finals were played on Sunday 13th March and congratulations to our U11s who won their Grand Final. Results are:
U16s
WPHC Gold 107 lost to Normanhurst-Warrawee 124
U14s
WPHC Gold 135 lost to Kenthurst Upper Hills 236
U13s
WPHC Gold 118 lost to Thornleigh 4/119
U11s
WPHC Green 4/149 defeated Castle Hill RSL White 9/147
Note: U10s, U9s and U8s do not have Finals.
Positions becoming available
We are already starting to plan for next season and we need please some volunteers to fill some gaps as our current volunteers have children moving into Seniors next season
I particularly encourage parents or coaches and managers in our younger age groups to put their hands up – as this provides greater continuity as your children progress through juniors. With volunteers for each of the roles the work is good fun and not onerous.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of these roles, what it entails, effort etc – please give us a call or email us as follows:
Clothing Coordinator Brendan Flynn 0415 546 728 bcflynn1@bigpond.com
Equipment Coordinator Brendan Flynn 0415 546 728 bcflynn1@bigpond.com
Trophies Coordinator James Trainor 0417 411 938 trainorfamily1@bigpond.com
Grounds Coordinator Julian Bish 0411 272 262 julian@biko.com.au
Year Book Coordinator Julian Bish 0411 272 262 julian@biko.com.au
Seniors
The Senior Grand Finals finished on Sunday (20th March 2016). Results are:
C1 Grade
WPHC 214 defeated SKLPS 64
Day 1 (5/175 stumps)
After a couple of storms hit Kenthurst Park on Friday the game was moved to Les Shore on the hard wicket.
Having won the Minor Premiership our objective is simple – bat for as long as possible, score as many runs as possible and shut the opposition out of the game. So far so good. The day started well with us winning the toss and everything fell into place from there with the only blip being the loss of 2 wickets towards to end of the day. We batted for 89 overs and put on good partnerships throughout the innings. Aaron Carlini (27) and Stanton Tam (37) put on 55 for the 2nd wicket and this was followed by a 94 run partnership by Michael Gunn (50) and Eric Junkkari (42). With runs on the board and good batting depth the aim is to keep going with no rush and low risk. The first 30 minutes of Day 2 will probably hold the key to this result but at the end of Day 1 we are ahead on points.
Day 2
Resuming at 5/175 things didn’t go quiet to plan with some good bowling and 50/50 calls go against us. We finished at 215 and on a slow ground and with a quality bowling attack this was also going to be tough to run down. We played almost the perfect game with a clinical performance underpinned by quality bowling and fielding.
Their innings started badly losing 3 wickets in the first 4 overs and it didn’t improve from there. We ended up rolling them for 64 with Rahul Mucherla starring with 4/13 with great backup from Justin Edwards, Koby O’Meara with 2 wickets each and 1 to Ben O’Meara. We ended up winning it easily and while there was a lot to do on Day 2 the match was all but setup for a win by the close of day 1. Congratulations boys on winning 2 of the last 3 Finals played in C1 Grade.
C4 Grade
WPHC 192 & 3/39 defeated Lankan Islanders 163
Day 1 (192 and Lankans 0/28)
We lost the toss and were sent into bat on a great looking Dural Park. Pratah Sinnetamby and Ian Paterson battled early to try and see out the first 10 overs of a quality pace attack. Unfortunately Pato was adjudged LBW in the 9th over. Wickets continued to fall cheaply leaving us 6/68 after 28 overs.
Ryan Gunn and Cameron Bish (28) really dug in to build a fantastic 69 run partnership. At one stage Gunny had his helmet knocked off by the Lankan Islanders opening bowler. 2 deliveries later, Gunny returned fire, smashing the ball to the boundary. Dave Behlevanas (17) joined Gunny to put on an important 50 run partnership. Ryan was eventually dismissed for 78 after a great knock that dragged our score up to a respectable 192.
We had 15 overs at the opposition and although there were a couple of chances, we were unable to get a breakthrough. With our runs safely recorded in the scorebook we will look to turn up the pressure with the ball on Day 2!!
Day 2
A big day, with the pressure on us to get wickets early and defend a competitive, but below par score. Our bowling lifted from the previous day with Aaron Hawkins 2/46 from 21 overs getting the early breakthrough. Ron Knapman though took the honours with his great spell of 4/31 including the final wicket. A special mention to the boys who have won our first C4 Premiership since th Comp was started in 2004/15.
A full report will follow.
D1 Grade
WPHC 118 lost to Berowra 7/251 dec
Day 1 (WPHC 1/26 chasing Berowra 7/251 dec)
Berowra won the toss and batted on a fast scoring Greenway Park that offered the bowlers little help. After struggling to get some early wickets despite tight bowling, we finally managed to get some traction after the break and eventually took some wickets to walk get into their middle order. Rowan Love finished with 3/35 and Raj Kulkarni 2/24.
Raj and Brendan Hawkins went out to face 14 overs in the final 45 minutes of the day, doing well, with Brendan unlucky to be dismissed on the final ball of the day. We have 225 left to get tomorrow or bat the day out and settle for a draw which will also work as Minor Premier.
Day 2
A full match report will follow. In summary though, we had high hopes but lost a few wickets at the wrong time and the momentum was hard to turn. More to follow.
D2 Grade
WPHC 97 lost to St Ives 9/251
Day 1 – WPHC 97 & St Ives 3/91
Details not yet available. In brief though, after winning the toss and batting it was a tough day in the office against the Minor Premier with the boys getting a below par score in 54 overs. Best for us was Sreeni Pillamarri who top scored with 27and a good 22 from Pav Kozyrev. In the remaining overs we got some important early breakthroughs with Berowra being 3/59 at one stage but they within striking distance and we need early wickets to give us a chance of pushing for a 4 innings result.
Day 2
St Ives basically batted us out of the match to get a score where the Captains agreed to call the game over early. Our bowlers tried hard but the opposition was just too good on the day. Wickets were spread with Mike Kinchington 2/29, Amit Ninan 2/28, and one each to Sreeni, Amitava Sen, Connor Hindmarsh and James Asquith. While we tried hard they were just too good.
Anecdotes
Breaking news
We don’t have the details yet but word is getting out the Peter Westerberg (D2 Iron man and skipper) scored his first run of the season after 8 visits to the crease. Stay tuned for more on this one.
Bananaman
A couple of weeks ago, Ray Khamis (C4) and the boys were playing in 33 degree heat and wilting. Most players call for a drink to freshen up but not Ray. During the game, the big fella decided that he needed a banana so with players standing around waiting for play to start, there Ray was munching on a banana. He got half-way through and did what anyone else would and put the half-eaten banana behind the stumps and then kept batting. He finished with 68 so it must have worked. What was reassuring though is that there was Ray at the C4 Grand Final tucking into a cheese and bacon roll – life’s balance restored.
Just good friends…
As background, our B1 and B2 sides both finished the season as minor premiers but went down in the Semi Final and made the traditional journey back to the Club for the Team dinner and season post mortem (i.e.; more than a few beers) – so far so good.
Our B1 Captain and superstar Allan Lawrence Raffel (also known as ‘Shrek’ or ‘Quadzilla’) didn’t take too well to losing to Kissing Point in the semi-final. After poorly parking his Corolla in the new sports club car-park, Lawrence turned on his artistic side with a ‘beautiful’ depiction of his favourite sea animal, the stingray (have a look at the Photo Gallery – page 1). With a few drinks in his system, he decided to share his picture with an unsuspecting Chris Williamson (B1), another semi-finalist drowning his sorrows. The two hit it off, especially after recounting the story of his ‘bank rescue’ from a few weeks ago. Both boys were last seen taking the last ride home on the Courtesy bus.
A1 Grade – a moment to reflect
The A1 boys went down in the Semi Final and broke a Club record sequence of 4 consecutive A1 Grade Premierships. With a full complement of players they were far and away the best Team in the Comp but on the day missed out.
While the boys lost the game through just 1 poor innings in a 4 innings game, they showed their class and why they will go down as our greatest. Just a couple of things worth calling out:
• From a community perspective, the boys sponsored 3 children with intellectual disability in Blowfly cricket who otherwise couldn’t play because of their family financial position
• In the Semi Final, as the match was slipping away, despite a fantastic fight-back, they stayed positive until the last ball, supportive of each other and didn’t resort to sledging or critical comments
• When the game finished, without direction from anyone, they stood at the gate, let Hornsby leave the ground first and clapped the winners off the field.
Most Teams are good winners. The measure of true class is how you lose. These boys are an absolute credit to our Club and with the majority backing up again next season don’t be surprised if they come back stronger and show why they are true champions and perhaps our greatest ever A1 Grade side.
Personal achievements
Top 5 batsmen (as at 19th March 2016)
1. Harrison Miedler (C3) – 624 runs @ 41.60
2. Robert Love (D1) – 562 runs @ 56.20
3. Michael Richards (B1) – 526 runs @ 35.07
4. Alex Turner (B2) – 525 runs @ 37.50
5. Ian Paterson (C4) – 525 runs @ 37.50
Top 5 bowlers
1. Dean Carlin (D1) – 46 wickets @ 12.37
2. Riley Miedler (A1) – 35 wickets @ 8.54
3. Tisveer Mistry (B1) – 34 wickets @ 14.09
4. Nick Carter (B2) – 33 wickets @ 11.06
5. Nathaniel Chidgey (C3) – 30 wickets @ 18.10
Top 3 fielders
1. James McBrien (A2) – 11 catches (plus 3 as w/k)
2. Semonn Oleksyn (C3) – 11 catches (plus 2 as w/k & 2 stumpings)
3. Tarun Lath (C2) – 11 catches
4. James Makin (A1) –9 catches (plus 1 w/k)
5. Rohit Ninan (C1) – 9 catches
6. Josh Mathias (A2) – 9 catches
7. Patrick Phillips (B2) – 9 catches
Top 5 wicket-keepers
1. Nick Bennett (A2) – 20 dismissals (19 catches & 1 stumping)
2. Ayyar Gautam (C2) – 20 dismissals (16 catches & 4 stumpings)
3. Joel Behlevanas (C3) –17 dismissals (16 catches & 1 fielding)
4. Alex Turner (B2) – 15 dismissals (14 catches & 1 stumping)
5. Kyle Faber (B1) – 13 dismissals (11 catches & 2 stumpings)
6. Aaron Carlini (C1) – 13 dismissals (12 catches & 1 stumping)
7. Ayush Gupta (D2) – 13 dismissals (13 catches)
8. Matt Davidson (SPL) – 13 dismissals (9 catches & 4 stumpings)
Personal Milestones
With just one game remaining, only Michael Fiedler (D1) has an outstanding milestone that can be achieved. He needs just 44 runs to reach his 1,000 career runs.
Batting Grade Performances
4,000 runs
Michael McGregor B1 4,000 runs Vs St Ives @ Dural Park 13/2/2016
3,000 runs
Gav Taylor A1 3,000 runs Vs Berowra @ Mt Ku-ring-gai 12/9/2015
(youngest player to reach 3,000 runs)
Allan Raffel B1 3,000 runs Vs Kissing Point @ Auluba Oval 28/11/2015
Rowan Keating A2 3,000 runs Vs Galston-Glenorie @ Les Shore 2 19/12/2015
2,000 runs
Dinesh De Silva C1 2,000 runs Vs Sydney Lions @ Annangrove Oval 12/9/2015
Pratah Sinnetamby C4 2,000 runs Vs St Ives @ Bannockburn Oval 5/12/2015
Rick Turner B2 2,000 runs Vs Hornsby @ Greenway Park 19/12/2015
Matt Jobson A1 2,000 runs Vs Berowra @ Berowra Oval 27/2/2016
1,000 runs
Kyle Faber B1 1,000 runs Vs Normanhurst-Warrawee @ Dural Park 26/9/2015
Michael Richards A2 1,000 runs Vs Normanhurst-Warrawee @ Dural Park 26/9/2015
Aaron Carlini C3 1,000 runs Vs Normanhurst-Warrawee @ Normanhurst Oval 3/10/2015
Neeraj Gupta D1 1,000 runs Vs Glenorie @ Campbell Park 26/9/2015
Tarun Lath C2 1,000 runs Vs Beecroft @ Cheltenham Oval 10/10/2015
Narendra Kulkarni C3 1,000 runs Vs Hornsby @ Headen Park 21/11/2015
Tim Scoular A1 1,000 runs Vs Hornsby @ Storey Park 6/2/2016
Anuj Dhorajiwala A2 1,000 runs Vs Berowra @ Dural Park 27/2/2016
Michael Fiedler D1 956 runs – 44 to 1,000
Bowling
350 wickets
Simon Smyth SPL 350 wickets Vs Arl SPL Final @ Les Shore 28/2/2016
250 wickets
Matt Spalding A2 250 wickets Vs Castle Hill @ Greenway Park 19/9/2015
200 wickets
Roger Friend D1 200 wickets Vs St Ives @ Samuel King 21/11/2015
Justin Paterson A2 200 wickets Vs Kenthurst Upper Hills @ Kenthurst Oval 21/11/2015
150 wickets
Tim Starr A2 150 wickets Vs Glenorie @ Les Shore 26/9/2015
Sol Tomlinson A1 150 wickets Vs Hornsby @ Storey Park 30/1/2016
Steve Quanborough C4 150 wickets Vs Berowra 2 Foxglove North 27/2/2016
100 wickets
James McBrien A2 100 wickets Vs Wahroonga Bladerunners @ Greenway Park 16/1/2016
50 wickets
Alex Chidgey D1 50 wickets Vs Kissing Point 2 Glenhaven Oval 27/2/2015
Ben Meikle B1 50 wickets Vs Normanhurst-Warrawee @ Dural Park 3/10/2015
Tis Mistry B1 50 wickets Vs Normanhurst-Warrawee @ Dural Park 3/10/2015
Ben Meikle B2 50 wickets Vs Normanhurst-Warrawee @ Dural Park 3/10/2015
Mike Kinchington D2 50 wickets Vs Kissing Point @ Karuah 17/10/2015
Dean Carlin D1 50 wickets Vs St Ives @ Samuel King 28/11/2015
Rob Knapman D1 50 wickets Vs St Ives @ Bannockburn 5/12/2015
Tarun Lath C2 50 wickets Vs Mt Colah @ Foxglove North 5/12/2015
Stu Fiedler C4 50 wickets Vs Thornleigh @ Thornleigh Oval 5/12/2015
Tim Leyshon SPL 50 wickets Vs Hornsby @ Cheltenham Oval 29/11/2015
Ben O’Meara C1 50 wickets Vs Kenthurst Upper Hills 23/1/2016
