News – July 2024
Club News
For the diary
- Saturday 27th July – 1st pre-season training session (56 days or 1 month & 26 days as at 1 June)
- Saturday 7th September – 1st T20 game of the new season (95 days or 3 months &3 days – as at 1 June).
The website will be updated as News breaks so stay up to date and check-in on the website to see what is going on / coming up for next season.
Registrations open
Registrations for the 2024-25 season are now open for:
- Cricket Blast (4 to 6 years)
- Juniors Mixed (U8 to U17)
- Girls:
- HK&HDCA Stage 1 & 2
- NSJCA (Stage1, 2 & 3
- Seniors (All Age)
How do I register?
Go to our registration Home page – Register here .
Congratulations
Daniel McEwen
Great news with Daniel McEwen, who was selected in the 19 person Cricket Australia Intellectual Disability Squad following the recent national championships. Only one NSW player was selected in the Australian squad and Daniel is our NSW and Club representative.
Trisha Yadav
Congratulations also to Trisha who was selected in the Australian U14 All Stars Indoor Cricket Team. Trisha plays in in our Stage 2 Girls Team.
Congratulations and well done to both Daniel and Trisha on your outstanding achievements.
New Club Sponsor
Great news to share with the finalising of 2 major Sponsor agreements:
WPH Sports Club
Our great and long-term relationship with the Sports Club continues. Our relationship goes back over 50 years and we are proud to have their name on our playing shirts. Apart from contributing to the new rollout of the new playing shirts they provide exclusive use of the nets, access to meeting rooms and they also put on a regular BBQ for our Cricket Blast families on Saturday’s.
Haven Property & Finance
We have just concluded negotiations with Haven as major playing shirt sponsors and we welcome them to our cricketing family. More info will follow on the services that Haven provides. You can find out more about them via the following link – Haven Property & Finance . More info will be provided on Haven with an official news release.
New Club playing uniform
A new Club playing uniform is being launched this season for the Juniors Mixed & Seniors. Checkout the new shirts with our amazing model (Todd Hutchinson) – photo of new playing shirts
The Girls award winning uniform is unchanged.
What happens next
Shirts are being manufactured and will be available from late August via Kingsgrove Sports. The steps to order are:
- All registered players will receive 1 x free shirt from Kingsgrove
- Shirts can be ordered via:
- The online order via our Registration landing page – Registration home page when the shirts are available
- The free shirt offer is only valid for this season during the registration period
- Any additional shirt is purchased at cost from Kingsgrove.
Shirts collection
There are 2 options:
- You can order your shirt online and have it posted to you at no cost, or;
- Collect it personally from Kingsgrove Sport store at North Parramatta
Online ordering:
The order should be emailed to the Kingsgrove Sports Order inbox, attaching a copy of your PlayHQ Registration confirmation receipt along with your address. Details will be provided.
In-store collection
- Present your PlayHQ Registration confirmation receipt to the North Parramatta store
- Kingsgrove will be holding a WPHCCC night on Thursday 22nd & Thursday 29th August 2024 to allow us to collect shirts plus get their playing gear at a discount price.
More details will follow.
Barry McDonald retires
At the AGM (Tuesday 25 June 2024), Barry McDonald retired as our distinguished Chair. Barry has been Chair for the last 10 years and was President for the preceding 29 years – a total of 39 years of outstanding leadership. Our Yearbook will have a full biography on Barry’s many achievements but he leaves an incredible legacy for both our Club and Association.
Thanks for your amazing service Barry.
Vale Arthur Souter
It is with sadness we report that Arthur Souter, our 13th Life Member, passed away after a sort illness on 24th June. Among his many achievements, he was the visionary who gave us Kanga Cricket (1992) and then Girls cricket (1995). We have now registered over 3,000 Blast (Kanga) and 1,200 Girls players since Arthur ‘made it happen’.
Arthur has left us a legacy that is thriving that has introduced thousands of boys and girls to a lifetime love of cricket.
Pre-season Academy
This year we are excited to announce our very first offering of a pre-season academy to prepare our juniors for another successful and fulfilling season of club cricket.
Starting in August, the pre-season academy will offer specialist coaching for players of all abilities:
- Boys Academy (Ages 10 to 14)
- Girls Academy (Stages 2 & 3)
- Junior Academy (U8s & U9s + Stage 1 Girls)
Led by our Level 2 accredited and Association Head Coach – Connor Hindmarch.
We will also be introducing a separate 2-week program for our U8-9s juniors and Stage 1 Girls teams led by our up and coming star player/coach Ben Burrows (Association Coach Rookie of the Year).
Making up the coaching staff will include WBBL and NSW Representative Anika Learoyd, Premier 2nd Grade WKP/Batsmen Riley McDowell (Total Cricket Coaching) and many other Level 1 & Level 2 accredited coaches within our ranks.
This has proven very popular so don’t delay for the Groups where spots are still available:
- Boys Academy – all 20 spots have been sold out within 24 hours
- Girls Academy – 11 regos remain (7 for bowling & 2 for batting)
- Junior Academy – 15 regos and is still growing. We will add more coaches as demand grows
You can register here – WPHCCC Pre-Season Academy Sign Up Form (google.com)
New website
Development work is proceeding with our new website. Our next review is in mid-June and it will be operational for the start of the 2024/25 season. The website will have a new look, be quicker and have all the latest social media capability integrated into the front-end.
Stay tuned.
Association News
Association Leadership
The Association AGM was held on 1q5 July and congratulations to our elected Leaders for the coming season:
- Andrew Miedler (our Club President) stood down as Association President after 5 amazing years to be a Vice President focusing on the 3 key strategic initiatives of the Association:
- Club strength – pathways through to a robust A1
- Girl’s cricket
- Volunteer development
- Rob Hanich is currently the Junior Competition Secretary and was re-elected for this position. He was also elected as the Senior Competition Secretary – don’t ask me how he is going to do both roles
- Paul Byrom was re-elected as the Rep Convenor
- Barry McDonald was also re-elected, unopposed, as the Honorary Auditor.
Congratulations to these folks on their fantastic volunteer contribution.
Association Award winners
Congratulations to our Association Award winners for 2023-24:
- Premierships – B2, D1
- A grade batting – Sean Clarence (435 runs @ 43.5)
- B1 Grade bowling – Jack Hutchinson (28 wickets @ 10.1)
- C1 Grade bowling – Aayush Kumar (Aayush Kumar 25 wickets @ 8.4)
- C3 Bowling – Patrick Watkins (33 wickets 11.4)
- D1 grade batting – Lakshya Rao (763 runs @ 58.7)
- James Sheppard Memorial Trophy – most runs in any grade – Lakshya Rao (763 runs @ 58.7)
Coaches’ Association Award winners
Congratulations to our latest high achievers who achieved recognition for their contribution as elite Coaches:
- James Makin – HKHDCA Coach of the Year
- Connor Hindmarch – Presidents Award
- Ben Burrows – Rookie Coach of the Year
Well done to each of these outstanding people on this great achievement. To view the Coaches’ Association Annual Report view the following link –
Coaches’ Association Annual Report
AGM
The Association AGM & Seniors Presentation Night details are:
- When: Monday 22nd July 2024
- Time: 00 pm
- Where: Hornsby RSL, 4 High Street, Hornsby
Also, the Seniors Presentation Night will be held at the same venue starting at 7.00 pm. This is where Premiership caps and major achievement awards are presented.
Blowfly Cricket
Season arrangements
Blowfly Cricket is now finished for the season. To find out more about Blowfy cricket for next season checkout the website – Blowfly cricket – home page
What if I need more information?
Please contact Bill Peterkin at here
How do Register?
You can register and pay online through the following link – Register | PlayHQ
Channel 10 – The Project story
Check out the News report on Channel’s 10 ‘The Project’ –Blowfly TV item from about 1:43 secs.
Girls
The Pathway for Girls this season is:
Friday (HK&HDCA)
- All-Girls Blaster Hub (5 to 7 years + new to cricket / soft ball program) – Friday Twilight hub at Thornleigh Oval
- Stage 1 (7 to 11 years of age – no experience necessary) – Friday twilight Girls-only cricket (played in the Hornsby district)
- Stage 2 (12 to 14 years + previous experience is beneficial) – Saturday morning and played locally
Saturday (NSJCA)
- Cricket Blast (5 to 7 year olds for boys & girls);
- Stage 1 (a) – 7 to 11 years of age – new / a bit of experience. Saturday (played at local grounds and in the North Shore area
- Stage 1(b) – 10 to 11 years. Saturday afternoon home & away hardball
- Stage 2 & Stage 3 (ages 12 to 17 years of age) – Saturday afternoon Girls-only competitive cricket.
To learn more then checkout – Girls Playing information
Juniors (Mixed)
Presentation Day
Congratulations to our major Junior Award winners that were presented at our Presentation day on Saturday 23rd March 2024:
- Junior Mixed Player of the Year (John Coulthard Trophy) – Kevin Bandaranayake
- Girls Senior Player of the Year (Lisa Sthalekar) – Halle Newbury
- Girls Junior Player of the Year (Tina McPherson) – Anvi Bhanage
- Charles Booth Award (U13) – Joel Pagano
- Ross Anderson Trophy (U11) – Thomas Weeden
Volunteer Awards
- Junior Mixed:
- U8 to U11 Perpetual Trophy – Paul Keating
- U12 to U17 – Matt Kohlhagen
- Girls:
- Darren McKeon
Our Grand Finalists
Congratulations to our Juniors Mixed Premiers who played their Grand Final:
Premiers
- U12 Gold (3rd)
- U14 Purple (Minor Premiers)
- U17 (Minor Premiers)
Runners-up
- U12 Purple (Minor Premier)
- U13 Red (Minor Premier)
- U15 Red (Minor Premier)
Seniors
Major award winners
Congratulations to our major Award winners for 2023/24:
- Player of the Year – Lakshya Rao
Lakshya played D1 Blue and scored 763 runs @ 58.7 and this is the 9 highest season aggregate in our history. Nominations for the position wedree:
- Outstanding Prospect – Jack Hutchinson
Jack played B1 Blue and took 28 wickets @ 10.1
- President’s Award – Connor Hindmarch & Will McLennan
Connor is our Head Coach who has done great things with the Academy. Will is on our Club Executive and looks after our Social Media & Communication. He also initiated a very successful Juniors Leadership program.
Premiers
Congratulations to our Premiers & Runners-up who played on the 16th & 17th March 2024:
B2 (Warren) 120 & 4/31 defeated outright St Ives Wahroonga 42 & 108
D1 Blue (Agniva) 4/137 defeated Beecroft 133
Runners-up
Red (Fieds) 111 lost to Normanhurst Warrawee 9/218 declared.