Match Reports for Round 12 (1-Dayer)
Match Reports
Round 13 (1-Dayer) – as at 25 January 2025
Competition Tables
The table after Round 13 (25/1/2025) is:
- A1 (Cam #25) – 2nd (52 points)
- A2:
- Blue (Ryan) – 4th (45 points)
- Red (Todd) – 6th (24 points)
- B1:
- Blue (Shomik) – =2nd (46 points)
- Red (Warren) – =2nd (46 points)
- C1 (Indranil) – 2nd (56 points)
- C2:
- Blue (Hiresh) – 3rd (49 points)
- Red (Aniket) – 6th (41 points)
- C3 (Mick) – 4th (49 points)
- C4:
- Blue (Rob) – 3rd (53 points)
- White (Agniva) – 1st (62 points)
- Red (Ross S) – 5th (51 points)
- D1:
- Blue (Nirav) – 2nd (57 points)
- Red (Diggers) – 7th (42 points)
- D2 (Roger) – 6th (36 points)
Match Reports
A1 Grade
WPHC (Cam#25) 7/196 defeated Normanhurst-Warrawee 159
Happy New Year readers and happy Australia Day weekend.
This will shock a lot of you to read that we actually played cricket today. The 1mm we got on Wednesday night threatened another washout, but we were able to scramble to make sure the pitch was dry. Many on the HKHDCA committee question why the standard of A grade is in the toilet…. Investing in some good covers that allow us to play every week would be a prudent starting point.
Alas, enough of the editorial license and to the cricket we go, this glorious madness.
We loss the toss and were surprisingly sent in to bat. Normanhurst must have thought they were the Sixers, and could only chase their way to victory. Despite multiple rev ups and stern words from Captain K since the start of the season to get there early for a warm-up, the majority of the batsman ignored him and rocked up 15-20 minutes before play.
And when they did arrive, they noted that Normo were missing their two best players. “This is over” “why are we even here” “we only need 45 to win” “let’s get Michael Gunn to bowl” were the comments through the dugout. The game hadn’t even started yet. Captain K waved away the attitude concerns, and strode to the crease to commence the batting innings.
The highlight was a wonderful partnership between Billy and Preeds, both bringing up ANOTHER 50 this season. Preedy has got three in a row, the Makybe Diva of the competition. Not even Sav has ever got 3 A Grade 50s in a row.
This year has been a real shift for Preeds mentally. I took him aside at the start of the season and detailed the parable to the two mice who fell into a bucket of cream – one struggled and drowned, the other worked so hard to get out that he churned that cream into butter. Preeds is that second mouse – and he knows it.
We got 190 odd. Gunny got a duck because his Dad came and watched him.
When we bowled, our first session was brilliant. Despite Jack Hando’s first over going for about 15, the remaining 19 overs went for only 35 runs. They were 3 or 4 down for 50 at drinks and we were cruising to an early mark.
The first session’s brilliant moment was Michael Gunn’s catch off Lichaaa, crocodile style with fingers up off a skied ball that was plucked about 2ft from the turf. The first session’s eye brow raising moment was Gas opening the bowling. After a turbulent few weeks between him and captain, Gas was obviously rewarded for a heartfelt apology that was provided post a decision to play him in A2s last week. Gas bowled well, despite Billy’s annoyance at him using the new ball to bowl cross-seam.
The second session got away from us a little bit.
Normo showed some aggression and they really liked the look of K and his off spin darts. Very quickly they got to a 100,120, then 140. A couple of handy and needed wickets to Meiks down the other end helped step the flow. K turned to Wu and Lichaa to finish it off at the death – Wu picking up 2 wix.
1 to get and Lichaa overpitched one that was belted to the deep long off boundary. Down there was Michael Gunn, who wasn’t concentrating and talking to the opposition players. He steadied himself just inside the fence and took a brilliant overhead catch….. but his balance wasn’t stable.
As he headed back to crash into the fence, he threw the ball up in the air, back into play and plucked it back in his mits. It was Glenn Maxwell-esc and one of the best outfield catches ever in the history of HKHDCA. If we only we had our Frogbox to watch it back on replay…
We won. Fin
A2
WPHC Blue (Birdcage) 129 defeated Castle Hill RSL 122
We’re back……!!!!!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys, Girls and Children of all ages the A2 Blues have returned from there extended Xmas Period break after 2 consecutive washouts.
We arrived at the Glade extremely jolly and extremely large after a big time on the ham and prawns over the break, Excess Baggage Required.
In more shocking news we lost a toss yet again and were sent into bat on an extremely green and thick Glade strip, thankfully the painted creases and 3 stump holes at each end allowed us to know what was the pitch.
Game On!
It started off like we never left with a top order collapse and scorecard looking like binary code with 3 0’s and the solitary 1 making up 4 scores of the top 5… The other was a brilliant attacking knock of 35 by our leading run scorer Kyle “Alan’s Son” Townsend.
At the drinks break we had levelled out and made a respectable 5/49 off 18 overs on a deck greener then Bob Marley’s last supply, we looked to pinch runs but unfortunately lost 2 more quick wickets and after 22 overs we were reeling once again like only A2 Blue can at 7/70
In at number 9 and so high up the order a nose bleed had occurred due to vertigo Dean “Glade Specialist” Carlin and Rohan “Finally scored runs” Asija combined for a well-crafted and attacking 40 run partnership in just as many deliveries P.S Rohan did all the work.
Rohan brought up a brilliant 50 which included 2 sixes over mid-wicket and a handful of 4’s it was nice to see a raise of the bat and runs on the scorecard for once after just 26 total runs for the season before the knock.
WPHCCC Blue clawed their way to a gritty and resilient 129 on The Glade. Well above par and now time to bowl.
Starting the innings with the new ball Cam “Starc” Northrop had the red cherry swinging all over the place and even induced the batsmen to play a foolish leave (it pitched on 6th stump and jagged a mile) and picked up the 1st wicket of the match.
On to bowl came Rohan who was the man of the hour today grabbing the next 2 wickets with a great catch from Tanay “Cougar Lover” Hira and then a beautiful first ball seed followed and we were flying yet again
Much needed drinks came and we were in the driver’s seat reducing Castle Hill to a lowly score of 3/51 on a pitch only getting tougher to bat on.
Slowly but surely the run rate climbed and we chipped away with wicket after wicket pilling on the pressure and getting louder and louder in the field.
With all the pressure and 9 wickets down Castle Hill needed 13 off 12 deliveries the game was going right down to the wire in another classic involving the blues. Thankfully Dean” loves giving away fours” Carlin managed to bowl a half decent ball to finally remove the #11 and win the match for the Blues.
A 7 Run Victory that goes right down the end of the match, boy oh boy the cardiac kids A2 Blue have pulled it out yet again with another famous win to entrench us into the top 4 maybe even top 3 pending other results
4 Wickets for Rohan “MVP” Asija and 2 each for Birdcage, Throbbie and Dean capped off a great days cricket and a fantastic win for the blues
A Few Extra Notable Mentions
- The Number 4 from Castle Hill who took 4 separate guards at the crease and about a billion years to face up only to get rocked first ball with a seed, he then added on fantastic dummy spit to top it all off great stuff – 10’s all around
- To our 2 last minutes fill-ins Ravi from D1 and Praveen after a 4 year break from cricket, we couldn’t have gotten close without their efforts in the field and yet another notch on the belt of why the WPHCCC Culture is far and away the greatest the world has ever seen
- Lastly a congratulations is in order to our favourite wicketkeeper at the club Brent “Long***k” Larkham on his impending nuptials to childhood sweetheart Sammy, a not so much congratulations for getting married in summer and ripping 6 players from seniors duty for the next 2 weeks
$10 Fine incoming
The A2 Blues go again for the next 2-dayer against……Them lot, yep the lads in maroon can’t wait for that. Bring on the battle and the chance to go 3-0 against them this season.
Up the Blues!!
WPHC Red (Todd) 7/143 lost to Berowra 4/161
New year, new us. Is what we would have liked to think, coming into this week. After 2 washouts to start off the year we managed some good weather at story park against arch rivals Berowra. We started our New Year’s resolution off well with Todd winning his first toss of the season and choosing to bowl.
Willy opened, Steve O’keefe style, alongside Ben. The two started of with a tight spell. This continued with Jack Makin and Todd Hutchinson coming into the attack. And again continued when Jack Hutchinson started his first spell of the year. We were bowling well and keeping the runs down, but weren’t able to take any wickets. Aside from a few half chances, the Berowra openers had been painfully patient. At drinks they ended up 0/60.
Some of the highlights of this half of the innings were: Willy taking off to the left as the ball was hit to his right because “a bird took off in that direction” (there are now some of us suspicious that Willy is a dog in disguise), Lachy Edwards was on a hat trick with two dropped catches in two (they were actually probably closer to quarter chances than they were half chances) and his other opportunity for a catch he, instead of jumping up to try and catch the ball, doubled down underneath it, sticking one hand at to feign interest in catching it, in what was closer to an act of cowardice than it was to a genuine catch attempt.
We came out after drinks expecting them to up the ante, and they did, unsuccessfully trying to take on Willy, one opener getting bowled and the other holding out to Ben at mid off. It is a miracle that Ben took this catch, not because of his fielding ability but because of the decision making process that he explained back at the club: “I was thinking about how he was a wicket ahead of me for the season and was weighing up wether a potential win was worth giving him a bigger lead”. Fortunately for Willy, the batter hit is hard enough that Ben didn’t have time to finish his thoughts before the ball got to him, and he defaulted to catching it.
These wickets brought to the crease some of Berowra’s bigger hitters. Todd brought back Ben and Jack M who managed to keep them quiet for a few overs and build up pressure, before eventually Ben broke through, rushing the batter with a shorter ball that skidded through, which he skied to Willy at mid off.
We were a bit sloppy to finish the innings, bowling and fielding wise, but managed to restrict Berowra to 161. Many of us believing this was under par.
Lachie and Aaron opened us up, with Aaron falling early. Lachie and Volc tried to consolidate before the latter departed, followed shortly by Lachie. At 3/43 the chase was not looking great, especially without young going Ollie Makin who was resting up for his Green Sheild grand final on Sunday. For the first time in a while we had a tail, and it was long. Jude and Jamaican senior constructed a well thought out partnership before Jude fell to a dubious LBW decision from a bowler that was finishing off an over after one of the Berowra bowlers was deemed “too dangerous” (the bloke was bowling medium pace full tosses and we were pumping him). Shortly after Jamaican also held out. Prats and Todd tried to add some quick runs, to no avail. And even with a four from Jack Makin, it came down to 18 off the last ball, as Ben Burrows strolled to the crease.
Ever since he got out, Jude had been blabbering about how the “ramp shot was so on”. With one ball to go and nothing to loose Ben proclaimed before going out “I’ll ramp this last one”. If he were to get this surely the umpires would signal 18. He faced up without marking centre, knowing he wouldn’t be using it, took two steps to off, shifted the bat in his hands, and… the bowler bowled a wide line Yorker which Ben look incompetent.
All in all, not the worst loss we’ve had to Berowra, it helps when you’ve got nothing to gain anymore. Join us next week for a two dayer against Glenorie.
B1 Grade
WPHC Blue (Shomik) 95 lost to Kissing Point 8/150
With a few fill-ins this week, the fresh faces were great to see, and we were happy to slot them into the team.
The absence of Mohsin for the opening spell was annoying, but Alec stepped up with the new ball alongside Patrick and wasted no time making an impact. Alec’s double-wicket maiden in the second over set the tone, and Inam built on that with an LBW and runout from a run that was very much not on.
At 5/60, Kissing Point were given their trademark Club cricket collapse. However, their opener played a long innings, reaching 50. Contributions from the lower order, with a steady stream of singles and doubles, took full advantage of the sluggish outfield. Kissing Point eventually clawed their way to 150—a total we hadn’t expected after such a strong start. Frankly, we had been aiming to restrict them closer to 100.
The chase began with optimism, but Kissing Point’s opening bowlers quickly turned the screws, leaving us in trouble at 5/43. Despite the challenging conditions, Ollie Linschoten showed his class with a solid 25, but the combination of tight bowling and a slow outfield kept the pressure high.
Wickets fell at regular intervals, and although Jiaan put up a valiant fight with an unbeaten 26, running well between the wickets, the support just wasn’t there. The innings wrapped up with the team bowled out for just under 100.
It’s fair to say this wasn’t the finish we hoped for in the one-day format. The frustration of letting a strong position slip sucked, but there’s plenty to take forward. With the two-day matches coming up, we’ll have time to gear up for what we all hope will be an awesome finals campaign.
WPHC Red (Warren) 127 lost to Wahroonga 158
Good morning Loyal West Pennant Hills cricket subscribers.
Cricket indeed is a strange game. Where do I begin?
Headen Park, embodies the character of cricket. A large, circular field, fitted with a batter’s pitch, gleaming in a bright sunny Saturday afternoon, what could be better? The coin was flipped, and we were sent in to bowl.
Saint Ives showed their intent early and came out of the blocks swinging. There were some big boundaries and runs flowed easily, making a very entraining 20 minutes of play. Yet those who lives by the sword dies by the sword and we managed to get an early breakthrough getting 4-90 before drinks.
Matt S, Matt Digby, Nathaniel, Rob chipped in with the ball and got a few wickets each. All in all, after a good bowling effort all round, Saint Ives sent us to face the heat requiring 159 runs off 35 overs. The required run rate was set, 4.5 per over.
Ray scored some quick runs before departing and Matt gritted it out to the 17th over being dismissed playing a reverse sweep the over before drinks. Daniel was the standout batsmen for the day. Promoted to the no. 3 spot and scoring 41 runs with the bat, he dominated the play. Daniel spread the field back using lofted shots so that quick and easy singles could be scored.
We came out strong and steady and were 2-84 at drinks. Then after a few overs it was 2-102. We were genuinely on top, it was our game to lose. 57 runs required with 8 wickets and well ahead of the run rate.
Yet due to a massive collapse in our batting, and a hat-trick thrown in the mix, we could not get control of a sinking ship. Congratulations to their fill-in spinner who got his fifer, getting the essential wickets at the end to win the match for them.
Congratulations on the win. See you in the finals.
Some notes
+ We beat this Saint Ives team in the B2 finals last year.
+ St Ives are genuinely a good bunch of guys, in my opinion, the best team to play against
+ St Ives are 2 from 2 this season against us (so far) and next we will clash is in the finals.
C1 Grade
WPHC (Indranil) Vs BYE
Our next game is against Sydney Lions @ venue TBA
C2 Grade
WPHC Blue (Hiresh) 91 lost to Beecroft 2/173
It was a picture-perfect day at Greenway Oval, with clear skies and eager anticipation from both sides after weeks of frustrating rain. Hiresh, continuing his trend, lost the toss, and West Pennant Hills were asked to bowl first. The pitch looked inviting, and the opposition took full advantage of the sunny conditions.
The drama began early as a 12-year-old prodigy strolled out to open the batting, sparking murmurs of under-16 cricket déjà vu among the players.
However, Vris and Rudhra were unfazed, delivering a disciplined opening spell with tight lines and good pace. The opposition batters looked uneasy initially, but their resistance stiffened until Ratul (“Rats”) finally broke through, dismissing the youngster and igniting celebrations among the team.
Despite the breakthrough, the opposition found their rhythm and made the most of some missed opportunities in the field. By the end of their innings, they had amassed a daunting 173/2. The Greenway Oval crowd (of 2 people) bore witness to some spectacular hitting, but it was hard not to focus on the missed chances that plagued the Blues—a performance sure to haunt all our dreams.
Chasing 174, Mukund and Hiresh walked out to open the batting, hoping for a strong start.
However, disaster struck early as Hiresh fell in the second over, bringing Rishab to the crease. Mukund showed intent but fell victim to a stunning one-handed catch while attempting what we call “the fattest hack” over covers. Rudhra followed soon after, falling to a spinner who seemed to channel Muttiah Muralitharan circa 1995 (not in a good way iykyk).
Rishab was the lone warrior in the top order, anchoring the innings with a composed 35, playing shots all around the ground. Will, the team’s charming stand-in, added some flair with elegant leg-side strokes and lofted drives but was dismissed for 16. With 100 runs needed off the final eight overs, the task seemed insurmountable.
Enter Harshil, whose stroke play gave the team a glimmer of hope and a reminder of the beauty of cricket (and how useless the rest of us are). His attacking knock of 13 briefly inspired belief, but the pressure proved too much as wickets continued to tumble. In the end, the team was bowled out for 91, falling well short of the target.
It was a disappointing day, punctuated by moments of brilliance but overshadowed by missed opportunities in the field and a lack of partnerships with the bat.
The team now shifts focus to the upcoming two-day matches, determined to stay in the top four and finish the season strong.
WPHC Red (Aniket) 5/125 defeated St Ives Wahroonga 6/121
A Rollercoaster Start to 2025 Season
After a long two-month break, the team was buzzing to get back onto the field for some cricket action.
The skipper won the toss and chose to bowl first, with a clear goal in mind: maintaining a tight line and length. Mustafa and Ani opened the bowling, and Mufi delivered a fantastic breakthrough in the 5th over, sending the St Ives skipper back to the dressing room. The early wicket lifted the team’s spirits, but St Ives settled in well, with the batsmen playing sensibly despite the strong pressure from our bowlers.
Despite several solid efforts from our bowling attack, we had to wait until the 24th over to pick up the next wicket. St Ives were scoring at a steady rate of just under 3 runs per over, with most of their runs coming from one key batsman, who had caused problems in our previous encounter. After reaching 61, this batsman was finally dismissed by an excellent delivery from Lakshya.
Brij played a crucial role in the middle overs just by not bowling short bowls, and ended up taking two wickets—one with an outstanding delivery that sent off stump flying, and another with a lightning-quick stumping from Hari. Mufi also added two more wickets taking his tally to 3, and by the end of the 35th over, we had managed to restrict St Ives to a total of 121. It was a great display of disciplined bowling and fielding from everyone involved.
With the low target set, Ani was confident that it would be a straightforward chase, and the team was eager for a win, especially after a dry spell. Rohit and Saurabh opened the batting, both looking solid early on, but disaster struck in the 7th over when we lost Saurabh. The team was at 23 for 1, and from there, a mini batting collapse ensued. We lost steady wickets at 28, 33 and two at 37 leaving us at 5 for 37 after 15 overs.
At this point, the team was under serious pressure, but Hari and Shakeel were determined to turn things around.
They played beautifully, with excellent running between the wickets and smart shot selection. They didn’t offer any chances and steadily brought the team closer to the target. With almost 5 overs to spare, Shakeel finished things off with a match-winning shot that brought up his half-century.
What a rollercoaster of a day, but ultimately a fantastic win to start off 2025.
The team is now looking forward to building on this form for the rest of the season.
Photo: Hari Sankar (39 no) & Shakeel Mistry (50 not) after puting on 88 to win the game after being 5/37


C3 Grade
WPHC (Mick) 9/125 defeated Hornsby 31
On a rare sunny January day, 4th placed West Pennant Hills took on 5th placed Hornsby, in what promised to be a classic.
Hornsby won the toss and sent us in. After a good opening spell by the Hornsby bowlers, Nick (19) and Harry (40) got the runs flowing before Dan came in and scored a rapid 42. We finished the innings on 9/125 knowing it’d take a good bowling performance to get us over the line.
Going into the second innings the pressure was on both teams to perform and give themselves the best chance of making the finals. One team crumbled while the other team stood up to the pressure. You’ll all be happy to know it was the mighty WPHCCC that rose to the challenge, triumphing in a brilliant bowling display.
Lennox (3), Wil (2), Jimmy (2), Mick (2) and Dan (1) all took wickets, as we bowled Hornsby out for an embarrassingly low 31 runs.
To cap off the brilliant performance, we all enjoyed some snags cooked by Luke. Thanks Luke!
Match Awards:
The Nathan McSweeney Award: Channelling test sacrifice McSweeney, Will (opening for the first time) scored a patient, season defining 1 (of 21 balls!) holding out some of the most fearsomely quick bowling ever seen in C3s, and laying the foundation for the demolition that followed.
The Brendan Julian Questionable Comment Award: After bowling a few full tosses in his first over Lennox was overheard to say “I think this pitch might be too short”. This belief was soon put to bed, as Len went on to pick up figures of 3/9.
The Marnus Labushagne Appeal for Anything Award: Luke did his best Labushagne impression today appealing enthusiastically from square leg for EVERYTHING. Don’t change Luke!.
Finals in reach!
C4 Grade
WPHC Red (Ross S) 171 defeated Sydney Lions 71
We finally get a new year’s game today, with many of us having only 1 week’s play in the last 8 weeks, due to weather, the Chrissy break and a bye. At Greenup Park vs last placed Lions.
Despite the Lions position in the table, we were expecting a tough battle, only just getting over the line in our round 7 encounter, us only taking 2 Lions wickets and now without 3 of our stronger performers, but we welcome back the Howard’s who were last seen in mid-November following a break with family back in South Africa. A must win for us to keep in touch with the top 4.
Losing the toss we were asked to bat.Not a good start as the 3 games we have lost this season, we batted first each time…and things did not get off to a good start. 3 wickets lost in the first 5 overs with only 15 on the board. Our shot selection a bit rusty with two catches in the slips off very wide balls. Gihan and Raynaldo now at the crease.
Both batters quite cautious initially, however with a bowling change a few lose balls , treating the good ball with respect and dispatching the bad ball for either a 4 or 6….At the 18 over drinks break 3/85 and a good recovery.
Our intention after the break was to try bat well into our overs, before accelerating toward the end, but both Gihan and Raynaldo took 30 off the first 2 overs after the break, hitting the ball to and over the boundary. A six from Gihan landing in a neighbour’s backyard beside the pool, but it was Raynaldo bringing up his 50 first, a boundary.
A change in bowling unfortunately brought about his dismissal not long after with a short one keeping very low, gone for 53 (52 balls) with 4*6 and 6*4.
A 4th wicket partnership of 107….Reds 4/122 with 12 overs to go. In the next over Gihan brought up his 50 with a 6 over mid-wicket….Reds hoping for a 200 plus score…with Gihan batting beautifully.
At 4/149, an ongoing issue as we went into self-destructed mode, really disappointing losing 6/22 off 7 overs with the Lions skipper bowling 4 tight overs from one end, whilst we threw our wickets away at the other trying to hit an U16 loopy spinner out if the park….Reds all out 171 off 31 overs. Not batting our quota and the way we gave away our wickets was really disappointing.
A wonderful effort though from Gihan 73 (66 balls) 3*6 & 8*4, his highest seniors score and Raynaldo 53 (after almost 2 1/2 months away). Playing golf seems a good way to keep the eye in….
So our turn to bowl against a solid Lions side who put on 2/180 early on in the season and gave us a tough match. Without our two opening bowlers it was important that our new opening partnership of Mridal and Gihan start well.
Both bowled beautifully….First 2 overs wild swings without contact from the batters, Mridal and Gihan keeping their direction and length. Gihan’s 2nd over our first wicket, stumps flying. 1/4.
With the batters showing intent to swing across the line, skipper brings on Darren early for the 5th over, hoping his stump to stump line will bring success. An immediate result, middle stump gone….2 balls later a top edge to Gihan at short fine leg. Lions 3/5…..Reds on top.
Another bowling change a few overs later to give young Alex Higham (u16s) a chance with a newish ball. After a nervous start, final ball of the over a loose shot , and another catch to Gihan at extra cover. Really happy for Alex….
Then a few overs later a 3rd wicket to Darren (a 3rd catch to Gihan at short fine leg)…Lions 5/32.
The new batter, their Captain (a dispensation player) immediately shows his intent with a huge 6 into the car park. Whilst we knew he had to eventually retire and expose the lower order, with the strong lions top order gone and lower order short of runs we thought he may become somewhat reckless and that’s exactly what happened. Alex, first ball of the over a Yorker big swish, stumps flying…..3 balls later, new batter hits to magnet fingers Gihan (catch 4) in extra cover, Lions 7/44 off just 14 overs…some wreckless batting, but really good stump to stump, good length bowling from us. You miss we hit….
Another change of bowling to bring Paul in……..after the first 4 balls are dispatched for a 4,6,2,1 . He gets it right. A Yorker stumps fly..Next over Mridal back, 1st ball stumps uprooted again….9/68 at 18 overs.
With mutual agreement no drinks are taken as the game is almost won….A couple of overs with batters not showing any intent but to survive. Gihan brought back for his 4th over. 4th ball drilled back at ankle height, his 5th catch of the inning’s taken. Gihan an exceptional man of the match performance….73, 2/13, 5 catches…Lions all out 71….
An exceptional effort in the field with everyone stepping up. Real pleasing, even without 3 of our regular bowlers, 6 of our squad had a bowl today, 5 taking wickets. Jake and Alex in particular stopping crucial runs in the field to allow the pressure to build. 5 catches in the field to Gihan. Great to have Raynaldo back behind the stumps.
Our bowling, Darren 3/14 (3), Alex 3/13 (4), Gihan 2/13 (4.4), Mridal ½ (3), Paul 1/15 (3). Henry – 0/13 (5), but was able to apply heaps of pressure.
A really valuable 6 points and improvement in quotient, taking us within a few points of the top 4 with 2 games remaining.
5 teams vying for 3/4th spot with less than 1 win currently separating all 5.
Winning is the only way to make the 4. Our next game against a side out of finals contention will still be a challenge without our usual bowling attack, but I’m sure after today’s efforts we can do well.
WPHC Blue (Rob) 8/131 lost to Kissing Point 2/132
Winning the toss, we headed out to bat on a slow Normanhurst Park. The bowling was straight and steady and the opposition managed to continuously grab wickets. Luke played well to compile 35, but it was left to Zia to smash his way to a very entertaining 45 (only falling when he attempted a switch hit!) At least we had something to defend.
Unfortunately 130 wasn’t ever going to be enough, and with sensible play from the KP batters we were unable to create the chances we needed and they passed our score only two down.
Best of the bowlers were Ryan and Arjun who picked up a wicket each.
On to the two-dayers and focus on our run to the Semis.
WPHC White (Agniva) 3/232 defeated Beecroft 69
West Penno’s Dominance Unleashes a Crushing Victory over Beecroft
What a fantastic day to play cricket after all the rain we had last week! The sun shone brightly as Captain Agni, ever the consistent leader, lost the toss again, and Beecroft opted to bowl first—something we were all expecting given their preference for chasing rather than setting a target. But little did they know what was in store for them.
Agni sent Arun and Vik, who had come from D1 to join the squad, to open the innings. The first few overs were controlled by Beecroft’s bowlers, who maintained a steady line and length, making scoring difficult. Arun, eager to get off the mark, went after the ball from the first delivery and got a reprieve when his second ball was dropped in the field. Meanwhile, Vik showed great composure, playing some classy drives and cuts to get the scoreboard ticking.
Once Arun settled, he began to find his rhythm, and the boundaries started to flow. His aggressive hitting, alongside Vik’s steady knocks, saw the partnership grow, and soon, Arun was smashing balls out of the park with ease. Vik was the first to fall, but not before he had put together a solid 27 runs. Enter Chintan, who joined Arun at the crease, and the two played with great maturity, rotating the strike and hitting when the opportunity arose. Beecroft’s bowlers began to lose their grip as they started to stray in line and length, and they were punished for it—especially Arun, who was dropped a couple of times.
Arun continued to accelerate, eventually reaching a well-deserved 44 before falling.
This brought Anubhav to the crease, and he arrived with one thing on his mind—unfinished business with Beecroft’s bowlers. What followed was a breathtaking display of power-hitting. Anubhav and Chintan took the attack to Beecroft, with both men hammering clean hits to all corners of the ground. Beecroft’s bowlers, visibly tiring, could hardly contain the onslaught as balls were dispatched over the boundary with increasing regularity. Chintan’s clean hitting was a sight to behold, with some shots that left everyone in awe. Anubhav, not to be outdone, joined the party and brought the crowd to their feet with some incredible shots.
Chintan’s fantastic knock came to an end at 76 from 74 balls, but by then, the damage had already been done. Anubhav carried on, unbeaten, with 60 from 45 balls, and West Penno posted a total of 232/3 on the board—an intimidating total for Beecroft to chase.
As Beecroft walked out to bat, they were immediately under pressure, knowing they had a steep mountain to climb. The openers tried to counter-attack, with one of them taking on Pritam right from the first ball. Pritam, however, remained unflustered, maintaining a disciplined line and length. The breakthrough came when Sitabjoe took a marvellous catch off Pritam’s bowling, and the first Beecroft opener departed. The next batsman showed some promise but fell shortly after, leaving Beecroft at a distinct disadvantage.
What followed was a steady procession of wickets as Beecroft’s batting line-up crumbled under pressure. Pritam, Rohan, Amith, and Vinod were all in the wickets, making it a nightmare for the Beecroft batsmen.
They simply couldn’t get any momentum going, and the runs dried up. By the time Beecroft had reached their final total of just 69 runs, it was clear that West Penno’s bowlers had utterly dominated the day. Pritam’s magnificent 5-wicket haul was the highlight of the bowling performance, supported by Vinod (3 wickets), and Rohan and Amith, who each chipped in with one wicket.
Key Performances:
- Chintan – 76 (74 balls): A brilliant knock filled with clean, powerful hitting.
- Anubhav – 60* (45 balls): Steady, determined, and aggressive when needed.
- Arun – 44 (66 balls): Played the anchor role before accelerating.
- Vik – 27 (30 balls): A solid contribution at the top.
- Pritam – 5 wickets: A sensational bowling performance that broke Beecroft’s chase apart.
- Vinod – 3 wickets: A key figure in wrapping up the Beecroft innings.
- Rohan – 1 wicket: Contributed to the team’s success with a vital breakthrough.
- Amith – 1 wicket: Played a supporting role in Beecroft’s downfall.
- Arun – Completed his 2000 runs milestone today for West Penno.
This match was a masterclass in cricket from West Penno. From the batting to the bowling, the team showed what it takes to dominate on the field. The partnership between Chintan and Anubhav was particularly impressive, and the bowlers, led by Pritam, proved nearly unplayable. With a total of 232 on the board, Beecroft never stood a chance, and they were bundled out for just 69.
Congratulations to the entire team! This was a complete performance that leaves no doubt about West Penno’s capabilities.
With a couple more matches to go, we’re looking forward to more of the same dominance. Keep going, team!
Photos: 1). Chintan Shah 76 & Anubhav Ghatak 60 not out put up a 125 run partnership for 3rd wicket 2). Arun Chaudhuri scored 44 to bring up his 2000 runs.


D1 Grade
WPHC Red (Diggers) 7/205 defeated Berowra 8/203
After a mixed season, we found ourselves going into round 13 in 9th spot and playing Berowra who were in 5th
Campbell Park looked lighting fast and after we won the toss, Diggers decided we’d have a bowl first.
Manraj (0/20 off 5) and Nandit (1/40 off 7) bowled well to the Berowra openers who looked very solid and they reached 51 after 13. Zac (3/40 off 7) bowled a brilliant spell to bowl both openers and the Berowra number 4 and Farjad (0/43 off 7) was unlucky to not get a wicket or two.
Our other spinners, Mihir (1/27 off 4) and Grant (3/6 off 3) bowled beautifully but we still struggled to contain the Berowra number 3 who scored 108 not out in their final total of 8/203.
With a sizeable total to chase, Cliff and Ross opened and Cliff looked great as always before missing a slow yorker and we were 1/15. We then made some good partnerships of 17, 30, 40 and 50 with Nandit (22), Zac (44), Peter (40) and Gus (24) all contributing.
After 30, we were 5/169 so 34 needed of 30 balls.
We lost a couple more wickets and we found ourselves 8/188 after 34, 16 to win. 1st ball, Farjad dispatched a full hunger for 6, then a single, another single to Grant followed by a couple of no-balls with Grant getting back on strike. He followed up with two great shots for 4 to win with a ball to spare..
Truly one of the most exciting finishes I’ve been involved in and so happy for our guys to put in such a great team effort to get the win.
We have the two-day bye next round before playing Castle Hill RSL in the final round.
WPHC Blue (Nirav) Vs BYE
Next game is against St Ives-Wahroonga.
D2 Grade
WPHC (Roger) 156 lost to Thornleigh 5/157
Unfortunately we lost this must win game with Thornleigh.
We won the toss and batted first. After a steady start we lost 3 wickets very quickly then gradually recovered to make 156 in 34.2 overs.
Shehan Fernando 22 and Hiren Pathak 21 were our main scorers.
Thornleigh reached 5/157 also in 34.2 overs to win the game. The clear reason that we lost this game is that Thornleigh played a player with a P10 rating form their C4 side who had a bye.
This player who has so far in C4 got 208 runs at 20.8 and 20 wickets at 11.25. In our game he scored 80 no and took 2 wickets for 6 runs in 4 overs.
Thornleigh were entitled to play this player who has a P10 rating, however it was very unfortunate that the Association had not updated his clearly incorrect rating prior to this critical game.