Round 10 (1-dayer) – 14 January 2023
Points Table (as at Round 10)
A Grade (Cam) – 1st (59 points)
A2 Grade (Campbell) – 2nd (24 points)
B1 Red (Birdcage) – 2nd (38 points)
B1 Blue (Shomik) – 6th (25 points)
B2 (Todd) – =1st (44 points)
C1 (Kapil) – 4th (36 points)
C2 Red (Indranil) – 6th (31 points)
C2 Blue (Rob) – 5th (33 points)
C3 Red (Cameron) – 4th (33 points)
C3 Blue (Tarun) – 5th (31 points)
C4 (Hiresh) – = 5th (33 points)
D1 Red (Diggers) – 4th (37 points)
D1 Blue (Arun) – 9th (23 points)
D2 (Ross S) – 2nd (50 points)
Match Reports – Round 10 (1-Dayer)
A1 Grade
WPHC Red (Cam) 8/159 defeated Kissing Point 138
Match report to follow.
A2 Grade
WPHC Blue (Campbell) 60 lost to St Ives Wahroonga 7/61
Loyal readers, your columnist is often of the opinion that the demons of a pitch at The Glade are greatly exaggerated by batsmen, looking for any excuse for their false shot.
But not today.
This Glade wicket, described as “a disgrace” by the umpire at the close of play, brought 17 wickets for 120 runs.
Skipper Campbell was refreshed post the Christmas break, thanks to a “taccy off Grandma’s balcony”, but proceeded to lose the toss and the St Ives skipper was all too happy to send us in.
There are conflict-zones in war-torn Syria that would be less of a minefield than this pitch. The sideways, up-and-down movement in it could account for nearly all our wickets.
Soham was particularly unlucky. The bowler delivered a bouncer which promptly rolled along the ground striking Soham on the foot, directly in front. “Gotta get forward to those mate” – S. Rochow.
60 on the board was almost a winning total, and with demons in the wicket, Dean Carlin’s eyes lit up like a fat man at a buffet. Or like Campbell staring at the one alone female on New Year’s Eve.
DC bowled a beautiful spell, taking 4 wickets using the pitch to his advantage. Our fill-in Rohit, the wily old fox, bowled delightfully too, there’s just something about a couple of crafty medium-pacers going about their work.
But three wickets short we would fall, thanks largely to a good innings from the St Ives skipper, the only batsman all day to survive for a lengthy period.
B1 Grade
WPHC Blue (Shomik) 136 tied with Sydney Lions 136
Today’s play started excellently, with Shomik standing at the locked gates to Dural Oval. He looked perturbed as even though we could’ve easily walked around the entrance, a locked gate would mean abandoning play (not really).
Weather forecasts predicted a scorcher, and the Sydney Lions decided to bat first and see whether the January sun would wilt the boys. Special mention to the Schwartzel family, who filled in for some of our missing players.
Much to the keenness of some and warranted scepticism of others, Alec made his pace bowling debut after 5 years of off-spin bowling. His first over went anywhere and everywhere all at once, but after reigning it in, he took 5-12 off 7. The other 4 were shared by Mohsin, Harsh, Pranay and Matt, with a quick 10th wicket run out by Jaka.
The outfield left a lot to be desired, as many shots were not rewarded with their respective runs; due to a severe lack of grass mowing, I assumed. With a couple of dropped catches, the boys felt like 136 was too high for our effort.
Singles and doubles characterised the innings; Sagnik and Jaka contributed excellently to our chase, with 29 and 28, respectively. But as we trotted toward the total, the final runs seemed to elude us. With 3 runs from 2 overs with 4 wickets, victory seemed assured.
But with tight stump bowling and field placements, we could not get over the line, having to settle with an agonising TIE.
I know that it was a game of should’ve and could’ve, but we can hold our heads up high with such a valiant effort, well-done boys.
WPHC Red (Birdcage) 79 lost to Hornsby
Match Report not yet received.
B2 Grade
WPHC (Todd) 9/101 lost to Mt Colah 9/107
After weeks off which was extended last week due to the amazing weather Sydney put on we’d return to the field. Winning the toss is what shaped up as a crucial top of the table clash we’d send Mt Colah into a bat (a move I’d regret when I’d realised they had multiple players showing up late.
It was a good start with the ball, the usual duo of Todd Hutchinson (3-14) and Paul Vink (2-20) would both claim quick wickets before Josh Elliot (1-31) would come on and get us one more wicket before drinks. We were feeling confident at 4/64. Todd Hutchinson would come back on post drinks and claim two quick ones breaking the partnership, before Craig Hutchinson (2-15) and Jack Hutchinson (0-26) would keep things very tight to finish off Mt Colah’s innings, with us restricting them to 9/107 off their 35 overs.
We were confident we could get the job done but unfortunately things did not go to plan with regular wickets falling, and we’d find ourselves 4/47 ant drinks. Connor Hindmarch (19) and Jack Hutchinson (22) would form a good partnership and get us close. Jack was back to his usual quick singles and twos again this week this time torturing his brother who was battling cramps… definitely not as fit as The Volc.
Unfortunately we just couldn’t put enough partnerships to together and would fall and agonisingly 6 runs short. Shout out to the A2s boys who came down to try and cheer us home.
C1 Grade
WPHC (Kapil) Vs Bye
C2 Grade
WPHC Blue (Rob) 83 lost to Berowra 138
Match Report not available.
WPHC Red (Indranil) 117 lost to Thornleigh 1/125
Finally we get on with cricket, the first game in 2023. With many core players still holidaying it was time to test some of our junior armoury.
Playing with 7 juniors not always an easy task but we managed to get all on time at the ground.
Not sure how a home game lands in Pymble, but such is cricket, and we move on. Losing toss the Reds were put into bat on a heavy outfield (at least that was our excuse to bat slow). At drinks we had lost half the side for just 67 runs and only Yasith 52 keeping the run flow.
Losing few more wickets quickly after drinks did not help our case and one stage was 8/74. Some crucial runs at the end by Indranil 18, Rizul 12 and Kaushal 9* got to 117.
The team was still optimistic defending the total but that did not last long.
Thornleigh openers threw their bats at everything and connected well and was scoring more than 10 runs an over. With bowling change at both ends did not bring any luck and runs were leaking. They chased it down in the 12th over and losing only 1 wicket. At the end of the game, the team had a lengthy chat about what needs to be done for remaining 4 rounds, and the best example given was of the Thunders, turning it around after that one match downfall.
We need some luck and sensible cricket to have that turning point.
Next weekend is Derby time, but you never know when the game draws may change at the end.
C3 Grade
WPHC Blue (Tarun) 3/133 defeated Beecroft 9/132
Before I begin I must condemn Jack’s recent match report writing and you must all be happy to read that I am back (he’s actually better but I took it personally so this is just retaliation).
Revenge was on the cards. Beecroft today was about to learn a lesson that you don’t make us bowl for no reason in the 2nd innings.
As I rocked up at 12:55, I assume Pete lost the toss as no one would want to bar 2nd after failing to chase 95, so we were fielding first again. Jay was a welcome return opening up with Jack sporting a very interesting new haircut that only Megan Barnard would have a look at, and to be honest if I was him I would sue the barber that did it.
In terms of the cricket though, Jay caught a thick edge which was completed by a brilliant diving forward catch in the slips by yours truly but umpire and batsman were un-phased and old mate continued batting for some reason. Jack rectified this by getting a lucky wicket (unplayable LBW) next ball, dismissing the other opener for a golden duck after watching for 4 overs.
Pete had a plan in mind and that was to defend runs and it was successful, each dot applying more and more pressure for Beecroft. Although it was a bit boring it was successful as we restricted them to 60 off 18. Micky West picked up his first during a rare 7 over spell (1-17) and we expected to see the big dog (leg side hack) of Beecroft walk out but it turns out he was too scared to face Michael’s heat but instead he embraced his inner full kit wanker, strolling up and down the boundary doing what he does best as a batting coach with his lid on.
In the final ten overs the batting coach finally got his turn but Pete’s fields ensured that the big fella had to run between the wickets in the heat which almost killed the poor bloke. Tight bowling from Nathan, Michael and Louis in the middle overs was outstanding and an all-round fielding effort including 5 run outs and some nice catching kept Beecroft to 132. One run out in particular gave everyone a bit of a laugh as from point I outran the batsman to the bowler’s end and clipped the bails off (didn’t trust Jack to catch it).
In response, Lachie decided he was bored of scoring runs so he pulled the tape off his bat to mimic the sound of a nick when the ball went past the bat and Ron obliged by giving him out. Munish and Jay consolidated by tapping it about with the occasional boundary but the highlight of the innings was when Steven Seagal forgot how to bowl with wide off the pitch and big no ball over Munish’s head. 2 quick wickets however before drinks with Pete H not troubling the scorers too much left us at 3/64.
Jay and Shakeel were class after the drinks break as they were calm and composed as they chased down the lead. Shak was patient, selecting the right balls to hit to the fence whilst Jay led the way picking up his second half century of the year.
The boys knocked off the target comfortably even if they were told the wrong number of runs needed a couple of times, with Jay 69* and Shak 36*.
WPHC Red (Cameron) 8/171 defeated Sydney Lions 3/169
Reds lost the toss and bowled first. At drinks we were in a competitive situation with Lions @2/51 after 20 overs. After this it went downhill from there in the next 15 overs the Lions scored 118 runs to have a total of 3/169.
There weren’t a lot of opportunities in the field, but some dubious LBW calls didn’t go our way.
There was a task ahead of us with a relatively slow outfield. We started off well with a runout in the first over and were 1/3. I won’t name names , but the captain had a hand in Chetan being runout at the other end. We recovered to 1/55 after 16 overs and looking ok. 2 quick wickets before drinks didn’t help.
Every batter coming in contributed and it came down to 9 runs needed of the last over. And then 3 runs on the last ball. The Captain of Lions bowled and Amit hit a nice top edge over the keeper head towards the boundary. The very fine leg went and misfielded the ball, and lucky for us the ball just trickled over the boundary for a 4.
It was a great team effort with the bat today boys by all. A special mention to junior Gary Roberts who helped us superbly in the field and was at the non-strikers end at the finish in the middle.
C4 Grade
WPHC (Hiresh) 9/101 defeated Glenorie 98
This is one of those classic West Penno victories which basically means sneaking over the line after a batting collapse from a strong position.
Bowling first at the Les Shore No. 2, we made early inroads as Jerry picked up both openers for cheap. He along with the other bowlers, bowled great lines and lengths, making it hard for the batting side to score many runs. It didn’t help their cause when one of their players retired hurt with a torn calf. Bala (1/10) picked up an important wicket before drinks.
After drinks, they collapsed against our spin bowlers. Angus filling in for us picked up (2/19 off 6) while Shanks picked up 3/5 off his 4 overs. Jerry pitched in with another wicket to claim really impressive figures of 3/11 as well as a great diving catch at point. Sparsh claimed the last wicket (1/6) as they were bowled out for 98.
Our fielding was on point for the first 18 overs and then after drinks we managed to drop 7 catches which is kind of impressive in its own right and kind of crazy.
Chasing 99 would make a team confident and relaxed but we knew better.
We lost our first 3 wickets to LBWs and we were in trouble at 4/30. But Bala (32) and Hiresh (18) put on a very reassuring 57 run partnership and at 4/88, things were looking dandy. But then we of course had a classic collapse, losing 5/6. Their opening bowler somehow decided now he would bowl yorkers that angled out cleaning up a few of our batters.
With 1 wicket left in the sheds, 3 runs to get and 2 overs in the shed, we were coming to the conclusion cricket sucks and wondering how we ended up in this situation, while also having faith in our last pair.
Angus hit a great shot for a quick 2 to tie it up and then hit a boundary to seal the victory. His 7 got us over the line. 1 wicket victory with 9 balls to spare.
Thanks to Angus and Cliff for filling in for us and playing a huge role to help us win.
It was a great game and we’re still undefeated in 2023. Woo!
D1 Grade
WPHC Red (Diggers) 117 lost to Normanhurst-Warrawee 8/135
How unusual for Diggers to lose the toss. So it was at at George Christie and we bowled first against Normo. Both Clubs were struggling for numbers this week so Normo had 5 or 6 13-14 year olds and we had two, Harry and Kristian, playing for us.
We got off to a great start, getting a runout in the first over courtesy of some great fielding from Harry, before Normo settled in and it took us until the 23rd over to get another wicket with the score on 74, Harry picking up his first wicket in Seniors.
Kristian then followed suit with his first wicket in Seniors. The result of one of the best catches ever seen in D1s, a full stretch diving one-hander by Harry.
Disco, Connor and Rommel all picked up a wicket each and with 3 runouts, we restricted Normo to 8/135.
This should have been a very gettable and at 1/60 at the drinks break, we appeared to be in control with Quan, Kristian and Connor batting pretty well.
Unfortunately it went downhill pretty quickly from there and we lost 9 wickets for 40 to be bowled out for 117 in the last over.
Connor top scored with 38, Kristian 16, Zac G 15 and Quan with 12. Nobody else made double figures which is disappointing for a side that is still capable of making the finals.
Another fun game to play and great to get a couple of youngsters well and truly involved in senior cricket.
WPHC Blue (Arun) 129 lost to Hornsby 5/162
Happy New Year! Well almost, same story just in a new year. It’s getting to a point where we can almost recycle match reports from pre-Christmas rounds.
A mid-week visit to Mills park by Arun and Agni raised some concerns about the sheer size of the ground, however home team Hornsby adjusted the circle to make it a reasonable sized ground. Having lost the toss, we were put in to bowl first by a team which have consistently performed in the earlier rounds with the bat.
We started well but when boundaries became hard to come by, the young legs from Hornsby decided to start sneaking in singles at every corner of the ground, a lot of them. We knew we had to push the brakes and by bringing in a spin attack from both ends supported by some sharp fielding, wickets started to fall and they finished at 5/162 while being 1-74 at drinks. 4 wickets to Chintan with a hat trick opportunity in the last over of the innings and one wicket to Agni.
The next part is what you probably have seen throughout the season. Arun going in and playing a sublime knock (AGAIN) while the rest of the top order collapsing cheaply. Agni and Amith tried to provide some support to Arun with 41 and 32 run partnerships respectively but the hope was short lived. Arun carried the responsibility solely from that point before falling for 63 and it was a train wreck from there on.
Lots of positives to take out from today’s game but the end result doesn’t speak high enough and justifiably so!
Time to regroup and hopefully change things in the last few rounds
D2 Grade
WPHC (Ross S) 8/168 defeated Berowra 9/128
Finally, a Saturday with no rain and a chance to play at Campbell Park. Bad memories earlier in the season with the pitch and run ups underwater, but today looks pristine.
With our first loss before Christmas, a washout last week and the other top teams winning we dropped into second place on the table. A win really needed today to keep ahead of the sides just behind us. A game against 6 place Berowra…Skipper undecided what to do if he won the toss….but it did not matter as the opposition won it and sent us into bat.
A change again to the batting order to try give everyone an opportunity to get some centre time in the top half of the order. Muthindra and Mridal opened today, determined to get us off to a fast start. Unfortunately Muthindra got a good one early WPH 1-5….Sach then joined Mridal, and both settled in playing some aggressive cricket, before Mridal was caught near the boundary for a well compiled 29…..2/65 off just 12 overs and looking good. Sach playing a very aggressive knock, but after hitting his 7th boundary he chanced his eye just once too much being stumped for a well-made 33.
Gihan and Henry then took us safely to the 18 over drinks break, 3/93 and well in control to make in excess of 200……
The second half of our innings did not go that well. Henry was given out LBW just after the resumption…. Gihan and Ross then played steadily turning over the strike – at 4/129 with 10 overs remaining and both into double figures we were still looking at big score, but things took a dramatic turn.
On comes an U13 bowler, dismissing Gihan for a well-made 36….and 3 more quick wickets to have us 8/146 with only a handful of overs remaining ….Roger – 11no and Ram 21no managed to get us to a final score of 8/168 after 35 overs….a defendable total if we bowled well.
Having played Berowra earlier in the season we knew that their top 3 batters were the spine of their team and aware we needed an early breakthrough to shorten our time in the field. But, with most of our games so far this season we just can’t seem to make the early breakthroughs, with the ball just doing too much and not being able to put any pressure on the batting side by bowling at the stumps…. A steady stream of boundaries saw a steady total building. Not playing any type of cricket for 4 weeks had us really rusty.
The breakthrough finally came at the 14 over mark, Gihan with a perfect inswinger – Berowra 1/52…… another identical ball from Gihan clean bowling the new batsman just before the drinks break. Some steady bowling from Sach and Muthindra saw Berowra 2/66 at drinks……our ground fielding had been pretty good, but a couple of dropped catches really hurt….that seems to be the tone of Muthindra’s season …bowling with no luck…
After the break things did not improve immediately with both batsmen playing well and a couple of catches going down. At 2/111, needing just 58 runs off the last 10 overs, pressure was on us to take some wickets…
A change in bowling with Mridal returning with an older ball changed the game. He bowled both set batsmen with in swinging yorkers in the space of 2 overs. Suddenly Berowra 4/113…..and two new batsmen..
Then on comes that canny bowler Roger, Mr Bamboozler himself.
After a tight first over, his second over a great flighted delivery, batsman stumped by Ross. Next over batsman misses again – bowled Roger. Another wicket to Ram at the other end and Berowra really on the ropes….7/115…
With only a handful of overs left on comes Simon, and what a great over…..almost bowling the batsman with his first two balls…..then a skied ball and a great catch by Henry (our first catch of the day!)…big congrats to Simon for his first wicket of the season….
Jake bowling the last over of the innings, and very unlucky not to pick up a wicket…..then last ball played to Gihan down at fine leg….great return to Ross batter run out……Berowra losing 7/17 of 10 overs….finishing 9/128 at innings close.
Wickets to Mridal 2/9 (6), Gihan 2/27 (5), Roger 2/1 (3), Ram 1/19 (5), Simon 1/2 (1).
A big thanks to Arjonil Mukherjee (U15) playing his first official seniors game…played for the team when batting giving his wicket away in the final overs as we pushed for runs ,and then taking the gloves for the first half of our bowling innings doing a great job with our wayward bowling. Great effort.
Really pleasing we kept our nerve and bowled well when it counted the most……….hopefully we have cleared the cobwebs out of our game following the Christmas break, being rained out last week…and we get a chance to string a few games together before the end of the season..
With washouts / a forfeit we have not played more than 3 games in a row so far this season so it has been really difficult to build any momentum.
In second place with 50 points, and a big gap to the 5th place side we are Semis bound already. But so close between the top 4 sides, so it’s really important we continue to win and try get a top 2 spot..