Match Reports for Round 15 (Day 2)
Competition Tables
The table after Round 14, 22/02/2025) is:
- A1 (Cam #25) – 2nd (64 points)
- A2:
- Blue (Ryan) – 4th (52 points)
- Red (Todd) – 6th (26 points)
- B1:
- Red (Warren) – 2nd (58 points)
- Blue (Shomik) – 5th (48 points)
- C1 (Indranil) – 2nd (68 points)
- C2:
- Red (Aniket) – 4th (53 points)
- Blue (Hiresh) – 7th (51 points)
- C3 (Mick) – 4th (59 points)
- C4:
- White (Agniva) – 1st (69 points)
- Blue (Rob) – 3rd (66 points)
- Red (Ross S) – 6th (53 points)
- D1:
- Blue (Nirav) – 2nd (64 points)
- Red (Diggers) – 7th (49 points)
- D2 (Roger) – 4th (48 points)
Semi Finals – 1st & 8th March 2025
| Team | Opponent | Ground | Start time |
| A1 (Cameron #25) 2nd | Hornsby Green (3rd) | Turramurra | 11.00 am |
| A2 Blue (Birdcage) 4th | Kenthurst | Kenthurst Park | 11.00 |
| B1 Red (Warren) 2nd | Berowra (3rd) | Dural Park | 1.00 pm |
| C1 (Indranil) 3rd | Thornleigh (2nd) | Thornleigh Park | 1.00 pm |
| C2 Red (Aniket) 4th | Beecroft (1st) | Headen Park | 1.00 pm |
| C3 (Mick) 4th | Berowra (1st) | Warrina St | 1.00 pm |
| C4 White (Agniva) (1st) | Thornleigh (4th) | Greenway Park | 1.00 pm |
| C4 Blue (Rob) 3rd | Hornsby (2nd) | Mt Ku-ring-gai | 1.00 pm |
| D1 (Nirav) 2nd | Castle Hill (3rd) | Campbell Park | 1.00 pm |
| D2 (Roger) 4th | Casytle Hill (1st) | Northholm Grammar | 1.00 pm |
Match Reports
A1 Grade
WPHC (Cam #25) 122 Vs Hornsby Green 4/89
Sorry to all readers, our usual match report writer has decided to go on holiday during finals time. Again…
We got to beautiful smokey Turramurra, where won the toss and decided to bat.
It turned out to be a tough gig, stumbling early to 3 for not many with some great bowling from Hornsby, and some outstanding catching to go with it.
Billy and Assman De Silva steadied the ship and put together a nice partnership until Ashane was out caught at point just before the break.
Campbell was looking good until another great catch at cover removed him, we then fell to 9/90. Enter Jack and Tom Hando who put on a great last wicket partnership, taking us to 122, Billy Gaunt top scoring for us, falling just shy of 50 to impress new girlfriend Georgia who came to watch. Gunny taught her what bails are.
Jack Hando fired up and took the big wicket of their opener, opening the game up for Meiks who took 2 more and has the Hornsby side squirming, Tom Hando taking a late one with us to finish off the day.
Not a lot went our way, many chances just landing away from our fielders with Hornsby ending up 4/89 at stumps. 90 overs is a long time next week, and it’s a funny game cricket.
A2 Grade
WPHC Blue (Ryan) Vs Kenthurst 8/173
A warm welcome and hello to all long term readers of the A2 Blue Match Report, and a big hello and welcome to any new readers we may have joining us during the finals campaign…
Usually these match reports are witty, funny and a light hearted look back at the day however after spending 90 overs in the baking sun combined with thick acrid back-burning smoke (see photo below) that was flat out horrendous to play in this report will be kept short and sweet for all readers.
We arrived at Kenthurst Park with one simple objective: bowl first and try and get a result on day 1…. This didn’t quite go to plan with a difficult day’s cricket being had
The pitch was a Kenthurst special with it having had all of the life sucked out of it with a flat, slow and docile wicket for the entirity of the day with the deterioration of the wicket non-existent the strip looked perfect from ball 1 to ball 550 of the days play.
We achieved a fleeting record today with every single member of our playing XI bowling at one point today which is an A2 record I’m very sure (Source Ironfist Anderson)
All bowlers bowled with great control and execution and held Kenthurst to an extremely respectable score of just 8/173 after the full 90 overs… A far cry from being 0/34 after the first hour… How good is cricket everybody
We will continue our ‘war’ next week against Kenthurst with the task of 2 more needed wickets and then a mammoth chase but with zero pressure and expectations let’s see what the Blues can muster
After a day like today where we all battled and went to war together I’m reminded of the great Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “Boots” and especially this direct excerpt –
“Don’t—don’t—don’t—don’t—look at what’s in front of you.
(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin’ up an’ down again);
Men—men—men—men—men go mad with watchin’ em,
An’ there’s no discharge in the war!”
That was us all today going mad with signs of hallucination and strange objects that found their way out of the disgusting smoke…
This humble reporter remembers many years ago a round being called off due to bushfire smoke but apparently it’s fine to play on a finals day.
Now I must bid you a sweet and solemn goodbye as I must now remember to get my lungs pumped of all the bushfire smoke and forget what a long arduous day of HK&HDCA cricket…
Till Next Time!!
Viva La Blue.
B1 Grade
WPHC Red (Warren) Vs Berowra 9/246
Welcome back readers to the greatest match report on earth (source Ross Anderson).
After last week’s heroics the boys were keen to keep the magic happening and the fire burning with another day of utterly fantastic cricket. Unfortunately today was not going to be one of those days of cricket. It was going to be one of the other days of cricket. The type of days of cricket that makes us question why we hate ourselves so god-damn much.
After winning the toss Warren decided that given we were the higher placed team we would have a bowl and make Berowra set a total. Any reference on OUR captain is will be refrained at the end of next week when we have the result of the match.
To the boring stuff.
Matthew Schwartzel and Nathaniel Chidgey opened the bowling and there was a lot to like – except wickets. They bowled extremely tight, consistent lines however could not break through. Enter Rowan ‘fashion week’ Keating. Rowan came on and took the big wicket to get WPHCCCC into a reasonable position.
The rest of the day was quite frankly an uphill battle. We took wickets intermittently but not in clumps at any stage. The Berowra Captain played a sensational knock steadying the ship when things looked in the balance.
We finished the day knowing that next week we have to bat 70 overs to make our second grand final in as many years.
Sorry this match report isn’t filled with the same excitement as previous weeks – such is the nature of this game we subject ourselves to.
C1 Grade
WPHC (Indranil) 117 lost to Thornleigh 3/146
As we rocked up to a very sandy Thornleigh Park to take on Thornleigh, you might have mistaken the pitch as either Dee Why Beach or a golf course, because the far end’s run up was filled with the sand. It got to the point Will said “boys did you bring your sand wedge” today more times then he got runs.
Skipper Indranil lost the toss and we were sent in to bat, a superb start from Thornleigh’s opening bowler meant both openers Aden and Nic were back to the pavilion early.
Ben.D and Cam would then prod on playing a range of fantastic counter-attacking shots to elevate the run rate. Top shots included Cam’s pull for 6 and Ben’s lofted straight drive that resulted in a maximum for himself.
However at 2-43, Ben would get caught to a blinder of a catch from their cover, a one handed diving back catch.
Ollie and Cam would continue to bat for a bit until Cam was run out for 38, he was the pick of the bat’s today and gave us hope, Ben too well done lads. Ollie maintained the crease with Dan and Yasith copping good balls and catches.
Ollie then fell just before Tea as Will and Vish got themselves to the break. Well soon after Will departed who “copped a good catch”, Rey’s big hitting got us over the 100 mark before he was caught on the boundary for a quickfire 16 that included a 6 a 4 and some great cricket shots.
Out for 117, hope that it wasn’t over quickly drained as Thornleigh’s opening bats turned up the pressure hitting the balls to all places of the field racing to 0-40 after just several overs.
Vishnu’s 2 wickets of the openers brought some hope back but unfortunately Thornleigh were too good as their no.4 racked up a quick 60 odd and brought them to a score of 3-146. What was good though post 5pm drinks was Cam Bliss’ wicket and Yasith’s catch. That was impressive getting under a high-high ball.
So it’s over, a great season of cricket and it’s not doom and gloom for this time as we did win the T20 cup earlier this season. Shoutout to Paul Vink and Ben Waldron as they either umpired and fielded despite being week 2 players.
Special shout-out to those who have come and watched us this season or helped fill in and contribute to the team. A massive thank you because it’s this community that makes the great game of Cricket what it is and why this Club is the best ever!
Oh well.. It’s footy season now (Go the Roosters), see you all in September.
C2 Grade
WPHC Red (Aniket) 2/17 Vs Beecroft 124
What a scorcher of a day it was for our semi-final match, and to top it off, almost our entire team was on the ground by 12:30!
Finally, everyone was present and ready to go. Sitting in 4th place, it was crucial for us to win the game, while Beecroft only needed a draw. Spirits were high, and after winning the toss, we decided to put Beecroft in to bat. We felt that if we could get early wickets, we’d be in a strong position to go all out for the win.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
We couldn’t get a neutral umpire, and looking back, I wish we had one for this game. The match started on a tense note when Beecroft’s Captain insisted that we declare our Week 1 and Week 2 players before the toss. After some back-and-forth, it was agreed to finalize the decision after the toss.
On the field, Mufi and Ani opened the bowling and set a great tone with tight line and length. Runs were hard to come by, and Beecroft seemed content to block everything. Our first breakthrough came in the 10th over when Shakeel hit the stumps to dismiss their first batsman. The team erupted with excitement, especially when Shakeel followed up with two more wickets in quick succession, both with similar deliveries.
Beecroft was left struggling at 16 runs.
From there, we had to wait another 13 overs before taking another wicket, during which they seemed determined to slowdown the game. We quickly noticed that our bowlers, almost out of nowhere, had started to bowl swing deliveries with incredible angles, and though we had a number of loud appeals, they were deemed over the top.
Nevertheless, Saurabh eventually got the breakthrough we needed, sending their batter back to the pavilion. That wicket gave us the adrenalin rush we needed, and from there, wickets started to fall regularly.
Beecroft could no longer build any decent partnerships.
Our bowlers stuck to the task, and after some fantastic efforts from everyone, we wrapped up Beecroft’s innings for just 124 runs in the 54th over.
Bowling Figures:
- Shakeel: 4-22
- Saurabh: 2-36
- Ani: 1-11
- Mufi: 1-16
- Brij: 1-21
With 14 overs remaining in the day, we needed to bat for the remaining time.
Saurabh and Chetan opened the innings, and both looked solid at the crease. But just when things were looking good, disaster struck, and we lost Saurabh to a good catch at gully. Eamon came in next, and Ani told the batsmen to focus on playing out the remaining overs without losing any more wickets. Both did their best, but with just 4 overs to go, Eamon was dismissed.
Lakshya joined Chetan, and they safely navigated the final 4 overs, ensuring we didn’t lose any more wickets. At the end of the day, we were 2-17.
Next week, we have 108 runs to chase with 8 wickets in hand and 70 overs at our disposal. We’ll stay focused and look to convert all the hard work into a well-deserved win.
I want to thank all of my teammates for showing exceptional sportsmanship and playing the game in good spirit despite the tough conditions.
A special thanks to Mufi playing while fasting for Ramadan and to Amitava, who stepped in as the 12th man, allowing Mufi to rest between spells.
Let’s stay focused and come back stronger next week!
We’ve got this.
C3 Grade
WPHC (Mick) 206 Vs Berowra
Contributions all down the list, with a number of 20,30,40’s gives us a defendable total post week 1 of our semi-final against the minor premiers.
We would have taken 200 every day of the week post being smashed out right only 3 weeks back against this opposition.
It will take a very good bowling and fielding performance to get over the line but we have given ourselves every chance.
Well done everyone.
C4 Grade
WPHC White (Agniva) 142 Vs Thornleigh 4/28
With the week 2 weather predictions keeping the BOM staff on their toes over the last week, the aim was simple – Agni needed to win the toss and send Thornleigh in to bat. But the consistency took over – another toss lost.
Chintan and Arun took the crease, ready to take on the challenge! What followed was an hour of incredible bowling from a Thornleigh quick but our openers got the better of him initially. Both showed incredible grit to fight it out. Both batter then started cruising and the first drinks break saw us get to 51 for no loss. After drinks, things started looking even promising with both batter belting the bowlers to all sides and the crowd cheered on from the Greenway sidelines.
Then something happened which this team is particular is all to familiar with – 1. Thornleigh as opposition 2. Their slow bowlers & 3. We still can’t play slow bowlers well enough. A batting collapse followed, one for the ages with Sufyan and Adi being the only ones who somehow tackled it. We ended our inning for 142, atleast 50-60 runs short of where we ideally wanted to be but nonetheless, something we were confident we could defence.
Chintan 37
Arun 31
Sufyan 24
Adi 17 not out
With 18’overs left in the days place, the aim was simple – make it hell out there for the Thornleigh batters and it was a treat to see the team step up and do just that. Mridul and Rohan started breathing fire from ends and the former uprooted the middle stump of the Thornleigh skipper with a delivery which seamed straight through the gate! Rohan followed soon with a brilliant out swing which took an outside edge so quick, that the batter could not believe his eyes. Another one followed and they were 3-10. With about 8 overs left in the days play, Pritam and Adi were bought in to continue the intensity and the Thornleigh batters had no clue on how to tackle them. 4 down at the end of day and exactly where we wanted to be after a somewhat horror show with the bat.
Mridul 2-7
Rohan 1-12
Adi 1-5
We come back stronger next week to pick up the last 6 wickets and have a sniff at the big dance!
Stay tuned!
Photo: C4 White Semi Finalists – Mridul, Praneel, Adi, Vinod, Sufyan, Sayan, Pritam, Agniva, Sitabja, Arun, Rohan, Anubhav & Chintan.
WPHC Blue (Rob) Vs Hornsby 4/192
A Valiant Effort by the boys today.
We won the toss and sent Hornsby into bat. All the bowlers put in and worked hard all afternoon against a very defensive Hornby batting line up. At Tea Hornsby were 2 for 91 and at stumps were 4-192 after 72 overs with no signs of a declaration.
Special mention to Jake 0-41 off 16 Overs and Mudhi with 1-41 off 16. Mudhi would have 2 if the individual writing this report could catch in slips. Lance, Kaushal & Buzz picked up 1 each, backed up by Zia and Arjan who we were both unlucky. There were a few chances and half chances that just didn’t go our way today.
We will return next week with refreshed bowlers and a new ball.
All is not lost but unfortunately the exercises that Karam saw on Tik Tok and tried to teach some of the team at training this week didn’t pay off!
As a result we had rotate the fielders due to injuries caused! Might have also caused a couple of missed runouts and dropped catches…. Go Blues!!
D1 Grade
WPHC Blue (Nirav) 169 Vs Castle Hill 99
High lights
Lost the toss and batted first
Daksh scored 54
Jacques 30*
Team tried their best to play in hot weather and got all out for 169
D2 Grade
WPHC (Roger) 1/0 Vs Castle Hill 99
WPHCCC won the toss and against all precedents for a hot day decided to Bowl.
A fourth place finish meant that we needed to try and get a win as early as possible so we had to take the chance of bowling on a hot day.
With Castle Hill struggling at 5/17 it looked like a great call to bowl.
However as common in cricket, Castle Hill began to rally and made tea 5 for 43. Atter the break it was WPHCCC turn to rally and Castle Hill slumped to 8 for 50. Then the cricket gods turned again and it was Castle hill who progressed to 95 before the succumbed to a new ball attack and were all out for 99 after 63 overs.
This left WPHCCC 4 overs to negotiate before stumps where we lost 1 wicket without scoring.
Our wicket takers were Bala Raghuraman 12 overs 5 for 17, Daniel McEwen 12 overs 4 for 17 and David Tanna 9 overs 1 for 1.
John Hayne Cup
WPHC (C4 Red & D1 Red) 6/185 (35 + 6 bonus points) defeated Mt Colah C3 171 (32)
First round of the JH cup at Howson oval. With a last minute illness, we went into the game with only 10.
Ross won the toss on a very hot and smokey day, and had no hesitation batting.
Anand and Ross opening up seeing out the first 5 overs before we lost Anand for 15, 1/21.
Unfortunately we lost a couple of quick wickets in the next two overs with little addition to the score. Peter Lees joining Ross. Careful batting developed a small partnership in very hot conditions with both batters cooking in their helmets and taking very tiring 2’s, before Ross was dismissed in the 15th over. At the 18 over drinks break 4/63, with Peter and Muthindra together.
After drinks a couple of lusty hits by both batters, before Muthindra edged behind…5/74 13 overs to go. Not enough runs.
Enter Zac….with intention from the very first ball. Peter turning over the strike, and Zac peppering the boundary……score rate quickly increased. In 8 overs zack brought up his 50 with a six over mid wicket and had to retire for his first ever seniors 50…well done zac. Also a very important partnership with Peter holding our innings together .
5 overs left Reds 5/120…This stage Peter who had been batting since the 7th over started hitting out, and was finally dismissed for a well made 42…
The last 6 overs Mridal (21 no) and Sandeep (5no), combined with some sundries to take us to a good total 179. With 6 bonus points our final total of 6/185.
We knew it was going to be very uncomfortable in the field as the breeze dropped and we ended up toiling for 32 overs, 1/2 of those with only 9 players. It was tough going.
Anand and Mridal opened the bowling with beautiful spells. First wicket to Mridal a slower ball deceived the batsman , good catch to Paul at Mid on. The next 3 wickets to Anand who bowled his 5 overs straight as he needed to leave early. A great catch to Alex diving forward from a hit through the covers, followed by a gem of a ball that swung down leg pitched and took off stump. Next over a similar delivery uprooting middle stump….Anand on fire with his quickest spell of the tear. Mt Colah in heaps of trouble 4/26 after 7 overs.
A change of bowling to ensure we had at least 7 bowlers today, some good batting combined with some not so accurate bowling the Mt Colah score progressing. The big hitter retiring for 51, and another batter retiring with heat stroke, both just before the drinks break. Mt Colah 4/108 at drinks, all of us shattered with the heat and quite flat. Mt Colah needed another 76 off 17 overs.
Some tight bowling after the break by Muthindra, then the 22nd over a good catch ebehind to Mridal followed by a runout between Zac and Muthindra . Mt Colah 6/135.
Now as we cooked in the field, it was also not easy for batters, with 1 Mt Colah batter coming back after retiring with heat stroke, and their other top scorer vomiting just before he was bowled by a beauty from Sandeep 7/155.
7 overs to get 30 with their big hitter to return. Then suddenly 7/165..20 runs needed off 5 overs. Then a breakthrough. Sandeep on for his first spell, knocking over the stumps in his second over, 8/167 4 overs left 18 needed.
Paul onto bowl his 4th over….after a few singles, 5th ball a big swish skied and a good catch by Mridal. 15 runs needed retired batter back in. Field spread…..final ball of the over and first ball faced….a huge swing, not quite connecting, a skied ball to a deeper mid off…Peter moving 5 metres to his right takes a running catch, great effort….Mt Colah all out 171….we win by 14 runs.
Wickets to Anand 3/26 (5), Paul 2/17(4), Mridal 1/13(3), Muthindra 1/24(5), Sandeep 2/3(3). Catches to Mridal (2), Paul, Alex & Peter.
A really good effort in the field with 8 & 2*1/2 players (Peter and Ross cramping 🤣🤣), and 7 of our guys bowling. Next week our final game vs KP at Auluba so hoping to finish the season off with a final win.