Draw Reports

Competition – Round 3 (Day 2)

(Saturday 14^th October 2023)

 

A1 Grade

WPHC (Cameron) Vs Hornsby 8/180

Well as far as cricket goes, today was one of those days where you ponder life, wondering why you’ve dropped another 300 odd bucks on another season. In Starry’s case, he was wishing he was playing for the A grade girls, having registered for the wrong comp just before ball one…

JMakin found himself losing the toss, with Hornsby sending us in to bat. Our fearless leader Krang opened up and was gassed after a few overs, resulting in having to leave early for the infamous Gunn wedding. This was a new look side due to this night of nights. It has however paid dividends for A grade, with Billy Gaunt somehow getting a run as groomsman. No doubt Billy taking inspiration from Jarome Luai’s wedding toast and bringing the house down for newlyweds Mr and Mrs Gunn. We are all hoping Bish takes the gloves on a more permanent basis.

The pick of the bowlers today was Harry Hando, taking three and asserting his dominance as best Hando son.

There was a tear shed on Parklands “Hando Hill” as they watched their favourite son take his first A grade wicket. A proud moment for young Harry. More so because he gets out of polishing Phil Hando’s Land Cruiser after such a stunning performance.

Wickets fell gradually over the day. With Hornsby dead batting a lot of overs. They finished the day on 180 with 8 wickets down. Other contributions were some “fresh bowling” from Sav with a tidy 19 over straight spell. His fresh fade certainly made some heads turn. More importantly it gave us the highlight of the day, with the boys trying to work out how much he shelled out on his fresh cut. This gives you a fair idea of how boring todays play was.

Some cracking direct run out from Sav and Tommy Hando, but play of the day went to young Ollie Makin. After misfielding the previous delivery, JMakin gave young Ollie the spraying of a lifetime… as fate would have it, the next ball went straight to young Ollie. A clean pickup and fire over the top of the bails to Bish sent him packing. Questionable parenting or top fielding…. You be the judge.

Overall some solid bowling from Tis, Tommy Hando and young Benny Burrows on A Grade debut. Hopefully next week we can clean up the tail and get home for a much needed victory.

A2 Grade

WPHC (Campbell) Vs Sydney Lions 9/234

On behalf of A’2’s I would first like to congratulate gunny on tying the knot. It was a lovely day today and I’m sure you had a much more enjoyable time than we did in the field.

We really do hope it works out partly cause he’s a decent bloke but mainly cause we as a club cannot deal with another sets of bucks parties and wedding unavailabilities. As our captain quoted “my mrs will be getting a three week window between footy and cricket season”.

Anyway now onto the cricket. We won the toss and given 50 percent of our top 4 batsman were week twos we decided to roll the arm over. This looking like an inspired decision as we had them 4/30 at drinks.

Cameron “throby” Northrop tying down an end and evermore staking his claim at the clubs best left handed bowler (in all seriousness though we do wish our left handed friend in a grade all the best with his recovery from a shoulder reco). With another member of the hando family (Sam) bowled a beautiful opening spell to pick up both openers.

This is where all the excitement and enjoyment of the game fell away. They say that sometimes you’re the bird and other days you’re the statue. Now despite being the bird for the first session we quickly turned into the statue as we got shat on for the next 4 hours leaving some of us questioning why we play this great game.

A quick summary of the game from 2pm onwards included 15 half chances, 4 drops and around 80 runs off the edge of the bat. The only real highlight being Lachlan “Strobe” Edwards picking up his first A2’s wicket with the wicket of their captain in the 90’s. Nothing better than seeing the bowlers toil hard for a couple hours for a half tracker to get the breakthrough of a bloke a couple runs short of a ton.

Our bowlers tried hard all day,  with lions finishing up the day at 9/234. Plenty of runs to chase down but Birdcage Loveridge and Sticks Larkham assure us that it’s ‘done’ so guess you can chalk us down for another 6 points next weekend.

I look forward to reflecting on and regretting writing that last sentence next Saturday at around 6pm. Until then I wish all our readers a lovely week ahead.

B1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Todd) Vs ARL 8/150

Sent in to bat as the thermometer ticked over 30, with a few key outs thanks to Gunnys wedding (what cricketer plans a wedding during summer???) we were sent in to field by ARL.

Most teams would look to dominate with the bat. But no, instead we spend 70 overs in the heat with ARL slowly ticking over at 2 runs an over. The scorers must’ve been sick of putting in . . .

After l, the skipper twisted Jacks arm for weeks on end he’d finally leave his desk after hours of HSC study to send down a few…. And send down a few he did. Bowling an incredible first spell of 2/3 off 7! The MVP is back!

Hutcho Snr caught a lift to the ground from the retirement village and replaced his 1km walks with a walking stick with a 3 step trundle in to bowl. A trundle which would be effective as he picked up a handy 4 wickets. Clearly entering retirement way too early. But a prime Craig would’ve taken 6 and made Rosco fork out for a trophy.

Notably, Jude, who loves to chew our ears off, with dribble. The skipper would send Jude to the boundary to give all our ears a rest. However, much to the other 10 players in the teams surprise, he absolutely swallowed two huge chances in one over. This is really true credit to the man. However much to his displeasure, this will not help him get a bowl. The club legend Volc is firmly ahead on the pecking order… James he is still waiting on his long awaited bowling award to give him to confidence to roll the arm over.

Other notes:

Willy’s moaning post bowling after balling a short ball put the batsmen off who hadn’t hit a genuinely good cricket shot in 2 sessions as he hit it in the direction of Xander who snared a cracking catch … a KFC classic. Vote A.

I hear Volc was a true legend at the club, convincing Alexa to allow Willy to get on the beers… Willy you owe him a garlic bread.

MVP had his first club beer… popping the cherry. 

WPHC Red (Shomik) 3/71 Vs Mt Colah 156

Nestled away, next to the freeway, is Mt Kuringah Oval, an excellent ground that I think most of the team thought would be a slowish outfield full of ones and twos. But maybe because they cut the grass, a team would score some runs.

Shomik, on a wonderfully sunny day, decided to strategically lose the toss, meaning Mt Colah sent us into the field. We had done our homework and were looking to take early wickets and make inroads against a line-up that we considered top-heavy.

Mohsin and Neil continued their excellent work and opened the bowling. Neil did get into the game quite early with a triple bobble of a gully catch off Mohsin’s bowling, which seemed to last a lifetime. But he made up for his little fumble, bowling the opener and sending the stumps flying. Mohsin cannot catch a break with other people who seem to be stealing his wickets from underneath his nose.

Alec also picked up the wicket of the other opener, just hitting the top of the off. But the new ball cartel would only pick up two wickets in the opening session. Mohsin, Neil, Shomik and I all seemed to get frustrated with the bounce from the pitch and nothing on a good length was moving through the crease. The back-of-a-length deliveries just sat up and gave easy pickings square of the wicket. In fairness, their number three played the perfect two-dayer mentality, blocking out the good balls when pitched up, followed by cutting and pulling anything slightly short of a length.

But Shomik showed excellent captaincy today, bringing on spinners early in the piece, so much so that Amit took a wicket with his first delivery. From overs 1-17, the pace attack only took 2-77, and seeing that the spinner’s dip and turn could be deadly, the three sultans of spin dug in their claws, with in-out fields, and took the last 6-82 from overs 17-41.

Both two Kapil’s and the one Amit dragged the batters forward and were wanting big slashes and hitting down the ground. The first drop batter was starting to wilt in the heat of the day and, fortunately, skied the ball to mid-on; Amit had made another breakthrough. The removal of the in-batter made sure that the Kapil’s could fly the ball and make use of the variable bounce. Kapil S’s four wickets seemed to come in a great flurry. He plugged away with excellent full deliveries; Penno had diminished the scoring rate to only ones and twos.

The four wickets were from balls that needed respect and did not bounce as predicted. It had been a day of castling the Mt Colah defences, and Kapil joined in on the party, taking 4/17 in his eight overs, each of which was a ‘bowled’. The spinners taking the lead brought an excellent comeback combined with significant decision-making to recognise early on how the pace bowlers may struggle.

Finishing the innings after 41 overs, the boys had to go out and bat for an extra 25 overs before the close of play. It is a far-fetched feeling to bat for such a long time in a two-dayer after bowling first. Ending the day at 3/71 with 88 runs required to confirm a first-inning win will be on the agenda next weekend—the pressure of surviving until the following week is challenging for many players. I am very proud of the batting inroads that the top order made this afternoon, leaving lots of batting in the sheds for an exciting run chase.

B2 Grade

WPHC (Warren) 7/268 Vs Kenthurst Upper Hills

Our fearless leader Warren Schwartzel, tore his bicep last match while smoking a cover drive to the boundary. This meant we were on the lookout for a skipper for the next 6-7 weeks. Before the question could even be raised, Naps pushed his way to the front of the line and took control of the Scorebook.

Having Naps taking over the coin toss triggered PTSD for a few of the boys. Waiting for the call “We’ll have a bowl”. To the teams surprise, the coin landed our way and Naps elected to bat.

Zac Turner and Matt Schwartzel headed out into the middle on a great looking Dural park. The pair got the team off to an amazing start on a slow outfield. Plenty of controlled shots along the deck without any chances given up. The first wicket fell just before drinks with Matt being dismissed for 28. Cam Bish joined Zac at the crease and they put on a solid 73 run partnership and saw us through to Tea. Cam was then dismissed for 38 just after the break.

Eric Junkkari was promoted back into B2’s thanks to his recent (net)form. Zac and Eric put on a solid 94 run stand before Eric had to retire on 33 and do a runner from the ground. Rumour has it his date, Macca, was taking him to the Ballet!

Zac went on to bring up his ton! Batting for 76 overs in a genuinely chanceless knock!!! Eventually being dismissed for 108. Ray Khamis came and went with his 20 runs from 6 balls as the team forced the run rate in the last session. We are now sitting at 7/266 and will look to do the damage with the ball next week!

C1 Grade

WPHC (Indranil) 1/32 Vs St Ives Wahroonga 283

Key highlights:

– Aayush Kumar (U16 Jr) – 5/40.

I sat down in Oliver Brown, ordering a typical regular matcha with skim milk, and did a simple google search for the worst toss decisions ever made in cricket.

A Wisden article came up in which Shane Warne, labelled the 2005 Ashes of Ricky Ponting to bowl first the “worst call ever.” YES – arguably unlike England, St Ives did not rack up 407 at 5 runs an over on day one but geeze at one point they looked like they would.

One a 30 degree day, with no cloud or bad weather in sight, with only 7 players at the ground senior leadership chose to bowl on a lightning fast Greenway Oval – which on this fine Saturday morning was a batting paradise. In Akith’s words – next week it will be Melbourne weather with harsh winds, risk of rain and a slow sludge like outfield.

Credit to St Ives – they were on. There openers proceeded to dine in – and took on our best seven (don’t worry reinforcements did arrive) for almost 25 overs amassing an opening partnership of almost 150.

Then came the come-back – from the hero’s of the day.

For context – at this point St Ives was 2-200. Ayush Kumar came on and began to rip through the St Ives line up – he took 5-40 in 10 and was supported well by Vishnu who also took 3. St Ives ended up bowled out for 283.

We had an unfortunate incident during the game, Inam Ahmed mis-judged a catch and split his pinky. Judgement is still out how he ended up in this situation, but seeing pics of the damage, looks like he is in for a big gap in the season.

Now with 10 overs left to bat in the day – interestingly our fear of having to field the 70 overs in boiling heat got replaced by the fear in the top order of having to face some overs at the day end.

Cam and Ved went out to face the final 10. Cam hit one straight to mid off almost as hard as he smashed the ball he was given out LBW to the week before – but Ved and Vishnu steadied the ship as we finished on 1-32. There opening bowler is swinging them big and bowled 4 straight maidens. Will be a very interesting second week, with a packed batting line up and challenging total to get across.

C2 Grade

WPHC Blue (Rob) 158 Vs Mt Colah 1/59

Day 1

The first day of the two-day cricket clash between WPHC C2 Blue and Mount Colah brought forth a mix of thrilling on-field action and some off-field drama. WPHC C2 Blue won the toss and opted to bat, but the day was anything but smooth sailing for them.

WPHC C2 Blue Innings:

The innings began promisingly with opening batsmen Aden and Kamran forging a solid partnership. Aden showcased his skills with a resilient 49, while Kamran chipped in with 24, setting a hopeful tone for WPHC. However, just when things seemed to be going their way, the notorious batting collapse struck, leaving WPHC struggling.

Apart from Aden and Kamran, only a few batsmen managed to reach double digits. Jacques contributed with a valuable 23 runs, but wickets tumbled at regular intervals, leaving WPHC C2 Blue in a precarious position. Rob remained unbeaten at 4, but the team was eventually bowled out for a total of 158 runs.

Mount Colah’s Reply:

With the bat in hand, Mount Colah commenced their innings, and the day ended with them at 1/59. It was a steady start for the visitors, but the match is finely poised with the outcome yet to be determined.

Off-field Drama:

Besides the cricketing action, the day was marked by an off-field controversy and an unusual incident. The run-out decision against Buzz stirred discussions long into the evening, with opinions sharply divided, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the day’s events. Such controversies often add an extra layer of drama to the already intense cricket matches.

Adding to the intrigue, a confused and discombobulated mature Chinese woman, who could not speak English, Hindi, Sinhalese, or Urdu, sought refuge at the cricket ground. The local authorities were called in to assist, and the police arrived to help her find her way back home.

Day 1 of this cricket match was a rollercoaster of emotions, with cricketing highs and lows, and off-field incidents that will be remembered for a long time. The second day promises more action on the pitch and perhaps a few more unexpected twists and turns. Cricket fans and players alike eagerly await the conclusion of this thrilling contest.

WPHC Red (Arun) Vs Castle Hill

Scores and match report not received.

C3 Grade

WPHC Red (Fieds) 187 defeated St Ives Wahroonga 52

After a disappointing start to the season, 3 matches in and bottom of the ladder including a  derby loss, there was very little optimism heading into our round 4 match up with an in-form St Ives side on the back of a 300+ run innings sitting 3^rd overall on the ladder. One teammate in particular (Lachlan) even decided to show up late in order to give up either his wicket keeping or batting duties depending on the toss.

With more than 11 players showing up at the time of toss for the first time this season we decided to park the ferrari in the garage and alleviate Nath of his week 1 duties. This led to our first win of the day, batting in the heat. With Fred Caterson field 4 built like a basketball court, there were plenty of runs on offer.

The fill-in opener Jack (31) and the proper opener Cameron (44) got the lads off to the first good opening partnership of the season, Jack back to his usual self hitting his first boundaries of the season the only way he knows how, straight through the slips cordon. However, there were decent cricket shots played at the other end with Cameron pouncing on anything short or wide, finding the boundary on multiple occasions. With the spinner coming on to bowl, Jack was licking his lips at the opportunity to score some decent runs. After 2 sweep shots for 6 in the same over (you probably all know where this is going), Jack went for the hat-trick of lusty blows and nicked behind for a well made 31.

Cameron then partnered with Dinesh (32) right before drinks who continued to keep the scoreboard ticking hitting 5 boundaries in short succession before being bowled by one that kept low. Cameron followed suit, falling victim to a similar ball Jack copped, popping one up straight to a St Ives fielder for a well made 44.

Lachlan (1), just finds ways to get himself out in the most comical ways, having another disappointing display, edging a wide ball to gully. At 4-119, the innings needed stabilizing which came in the form of Nathan F (18) and Steve (23), with Nathan holding it down at one end, and Steve picking the gaps to rotate the strike. After 8 boundaries between to 2 including a blazing 6 from Nathan, both fell in quick succession.

Young thoroughbred Shaq (0), has been struggling throughout the season with a case of fakers disease and most recently a dislocated thumb caused by playing too much playstation, with his batting performance today matching his resilience, bowled middle stump. This called for a drink at 6-169.

Much like 2 weeks ago, there was little hope of a strong finish as Louis, batting average 4.67; Michael, batting average 2.5 and Pat, batting average 24, to be fair pretty good for a bloke batting 11 had the pads on.

Optimism of a decent score was at another all-time low. Pete (8*) was once again tasked with saving the innings whilst batting with halfwits at the other end. Louis (0), didn’t hang around long, with his mind still on the races (he was checking them whilst umpiring at square leg). However, our next wicket was the most valuable with Michael going head to head with his cousin Daniel who was bowling. After Pete clipped one down to fine leg, Michael was on strike facing Daniel.

Unlike Michael, Daniel is a very decent cricketer, however the stakes were still high, so high Michael’s dad even got the phone out to record his first ball. Daniel steamed in, delivering a full ball that Michael mustn’t have seen, knocking over 2/3 of his stumps leaving the lads in stitches and Michael in tears.

With Pat (7) coming in to bat, there was little to lose. After a few decent shots including a clinical straight drive for 4, Pat was out caught and the time was on only 4pm, meaning we were on for a long 1.5 hours of bowling taking into account all the breaks. After ending the innings on 189, it was fair to say we left a big score out there today.

Very little life was left in our side as we walked out to bowl, however, something holy must’ve been watching over us today (Nath on the sideline). Pat (8-23) and his sidekick Jack (2-18) got the lads off to a decent start you could say.

The first over of the innings saw the first wicket, with Shaq contributing for the first time today, taking an easy catch set up by Pats bowling. However what followed was a gruelling 3 overs of no wickets before Pat finally struck his second in the fifth over of the innings, ripping straight through St Ives no.3. After Jack failed to strike again, Pat struck his 3rd and 4th of the day in the same over, only half of his final tally with his 4th wicket being St Ives first boundary of the day as the ball ripped straight through to the stumps into the fence, the bail striking Lachlan’s handsome face in the process. Jack had had enough of Pat hogging all the wickets, proceeding to take his first of the day, removing Dan West in the process, prompting a send off from his cousin Michael West, (calm down Michael he bowled you first ball) .

Pat Must’ve gotten a bit jealous as he removed St Ives top scorer to get his 5-fa (he scored 10 runs), on the back of a Louis catch, a screamer for his standards.

With only 1 over to go before drinks on the back of a cheeky bit of time wasting from the St Ives skipper taking 5 minutes to walk to the crease, Jack knocked out his middle stump with the last ball before drinks, prompting a cheeky send off in return.

St Ives entered the break in all sorts at 7-41 and Pat firing for the first time without his missus on the sideline. After the resumption of play St Ives somehow managed to do worse than our tail end, amassing a total of 11 runs for the final 3 wickets, as Pat cleaned them all up, taking his 8^th and final wicket.

St Ives, all out for 52, scoring less than 1/3 of our total, all whilst Nath, or Naughty Nath as Dinesh has nicknamed him, sat out the entirety of the day, coincidence? I think not.

However, the boys were hungry for more as we elected to go for the outright. Cam (26*) and Pete (13) strapped on the pads as Jack was apparently too tired to open after playing second fiddle to Pat the entire 15 overs. Pete held down one end with Cam playing the attacking shots at the other end, forcing multiple bowling changes leaving the St Ives skipper visibly frustrated.

However Petes good work was outdone on the last ball of the day, as he popped one up down the leg side, caught by St Ives first slip as he tracked around the wicket and dishing out the biggest send off of the day (calm down champion you bowled 0-16, 0-18 and your team almost had your entire total chased down within 12 overs as we finished the day 1-47).

WPHC Blue (Mat) 9/238 Vs Vs Kissing Point

Skipper wins his first toss of the season we decided to have a bat.

Bronson and Mick opened the batting and started us of well by hitting the loose balls around the park until Mick did the shuffle across the stumps and forgot to use the bat and was trapped LBW

Enter Sohan who has spent the last 6 weeks studying and giving everyone great advice while carrying the drinks. Bronson was then caught behind fishing outside off for a solid 27

Enter Fin who has been rested batting the last few weeks and coming off a school camp with a total of 8 hours over 4 nights. Big shout out to all the teachers out as well who are at the coal face day in and day out…its ok you have 2 months off in 6 weeks…

Anyway back to cricket, Sohan and Fin batting well, rotating the strike and putting away the loose balls to the boundary. Fin eventually scooping one to midoff for a well-earned 34.

Enter the”Goat” fresh off his 30 not out the week before, we were in for a treat. The Goat was talking up his performance the week before and telling the young blokes how its done. Well the Goat was brought back done to earth and was wrapped on the pad in front of the stumps, gone first ball. Goat turned Golden in the form of a Golden Duck.

Tea interval came then enter James, fresh off another wedding (2 weddings in 2 weeks) Cmon Man it’s a gee up. But the great thing is James wore his cricket whites to both weddings.

Some great hitting by James and Sohan until Sohan decided to run himself out for well-earned 40

Enter Rizul who continued the rotation of strike until James gave Kissing Point catching practice and was dismissed for 14.

Next in Marty who was keen to show the younger generation how it’s done. Knocking balls around like Gordon Greenidge. Yes you young punks will have to google him. Marty then played one too many across the line and was bowled for 22.

Enter the skipper Mat who had just come off a warm up on the bike down the M7, for 3 ½ hours. He was lubed up and had applied 2 litres of heat rub to avoid cramps and any carry on. Riz and Mat continued with some great stroke play, until Mat was BBQ’d on 21 runout. Riz doing his best impersonation of Marcel Marcau, left the big fella standing next to him.

After a long stint scoring John enter the arena, it wasn’t long until Johns stumps were knocked over. Unfortunately John didn’t trouble the scorers. Rob than came in with Rizul working the ball around.

Which led us to 9/238 with Rizul on 40 not out and Rob on 4 not out. We look forward to next week at the holm of cricket.

C4 Grade

WPHC Blue (Hiresh) 0/10 Vs Beecroft 9/329

Today was one of those days where it felt like a long hard slog in the sun.

The ground was Cheltenham Oval. It had been through a few redevelopments since a few of us had played there. It has an elevator! How neat is that? Oh yeah, the outfield is still bloody lightning quick with inconsistent bounce…

Anyway, Beecroft won the toss and went into bat. They started off steady but so did we. Sparsh made the first strike by getting the opener out for cheap and then Ratul came in and got no. 3 out bowled, trying to cut one through point. So, things were looking dandy, we thought things were going really well. Unfortunately, things didn’t go well from there even though we had a lot of Red Bull drinks lying around (Reckon we get a sponsorship going, Red Bull?) and then we lost a player to injury meaning that Ratul’s brother got his whites on and fielded really well for us for many, many, many overs. Solid stuff!

Despite some decent bowling from Sparsh, Mukund, and Ratul, Beecroft’s skipper and their number 4 put on a long partnership, running hard, and scoring quickly. Their skipper tonned up after being dropped an impressive amount of times (three times) including once on ten (Ratul wondered if this was the Usama Mir situation for us…he proved to be right). We tried throwing different options at them, they still kept on scoring. Our bowlers were toiling hard in the sun. Shankar is still wondering if there was a higher being that just didn’t like him after having four dropped catches off his bowling.

Sparsh turned to bowling what he calls offies as an option to take wickets. It proved to be the trick…eventually as he picked up Beecroft’s number 4 batter for 70 (he was also dropped like three times). Then the wickets fell at a steady state. Kunal bowled really, really well as he picked up two wickets including the centurion (2/35) both catches straight to Mukund who had no troubles catching both chances whatsoever. Sparsh chimed in with another wicket with his ‘offies’ as Kunal caught one at squarish midwicket that was grabbed low down with his right hand. Ratul (2/40) picked up another wicket to boot.

The last parts of the day featured Beecroft trying to bat while Mukund was standing annoyed while bowling because he couldn’t hit the stumps and he assumed the batter was good enough to actually edge the ball.

Eventually, the ball hit the stumps as he claimed the 9^th wicket. But he did show us his amazing football skills as his first touch (something Chelsea would have been proud of) gave the batter extra runs as it rolled to the boundary. Nonetheless, Mukund (1/32) along with Sparsh (2/53), Ratul, and Kunal bowled amazing with the ball as Beecroft declared on a chaseable 9/329.

Meet and Hiresh batted out the 4 remaining overs in the day (0/0) with no drama at all. They looked steady for those important four overs which does bode well for next week.

Next week, the equation is doable. 329 runs to win, 10 wickets in hand, an oval which is really, really quick and inconsistent, and a ball that will get ruined by the conditions pretty quickly. Game on!

C4 Red (Ross S) 177 Vs Kenthurst Upper Hills 0/31

Week 1, of round 4 and another toss win for the skipper. 2 games in a row and equals last year’s record run of toss wins.

Our game was changed from Kenthurst #2 during the week to Holland Reserve. With the ground looking fast, a hot day, small square boundaries and our team in good batting form the skipper had no hesitation in batting first.

Unfortunately we had to change up the top batting order because of a few late arrivals, which in the end did unsettle us a bit. With an outfield that was much slower than expected, a pitch keeping very low and slow because of so much sand and some accurate bowling from KUH, we struggled over the first 20 overs……except for some lusty blows from Muthindra and Mr sundries moving us along the score would have been much worse than  4/45 at the 20 over Drinks break…..

After the break Mohan and Mridal steadied the ship, with some gutsy batting. Toughing it out with many good balls, but managing to put away that bad ball so the score progressed beyond the 100 mark. A really good partnership taking us to the tea break 4/123 and in a very sound position for a big score with plenty of batting still to come.

Unfortunately the tea break gremlin struck second ball after tea. Mohan caught in the slips for a well-made 48 including 2*6s and 6*4s….5th wicket partnership of 84. Things then got worse in the next over with Mridal caught in front by a ball than skidded through at ankle height…for 23. Two new batsmen in without facing a ball.

As with previous games we then lost a number of wickets in a big cluster…5-24 off 8 overs. I can’t say there were any bad shots…..simply we could not adapt to the slowness and lowness of the pitch…9/148 with the Kelly boys at the crease for the 10th wicket….

Some entertaining batting and quick running saw the boys put on a really important 29 off just 4 overs giving us a total of 177 runs….Darren making 21 and showing us all how to do it when the pitch is so up and down.

Mr sundries also made an important 38….but we should have done much better with all batsmen getting a start but only 3 getting past 20.

With an hour to bat we were hoping for a few wickets to close out the day. Mridal bowled a beautiful spell and was very unfortunate not to have one of their openers out on a couple of occasions….caught on the back foot low in front twice, but the umpires through otherwise….0/10 off 7 overs a great effort.Gihan also a beautiful spell including a dropped chance…0/2 of 4 overs….

A day of mixed fortunes. We do have the runs on the board , but need some early wickets next week to put the opposition under pressure….KUH finishing 0/31.

 D1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Agniva) 251 Vs Thornleigh 0/20

A day of Thrills and Spills at Thornleigh Oval

The Toss

On another scorcher of a day at Thornleigh Oval, the stage was set for another encounter against arch rivals Thornleigh. Determined to avenge defeat after the T20, our eager team arrived well before start time at the venue, all geared up for a battle under the blazing sun. Agni lost the toss but luckily we got what we wanted, with the opposition putting us in to bat.

Early Hiccups

The opening duo, Chintan and Sahil, strode confidently to the crease. Boundaries came early, and it seemed like we were off to a promising start until Chintan’s audacious shot landed straight into the hands of a vigilant fielder at point. Sahil followed suit, falling victim to a loose leg-side delivery, and we were left reeling at 10/2.

Dynamic Duo Takes Charge

With Praneel and Anubhav in, hopes rose for a comeback. This right-hand/left-hand combination was expected to breathe life into the scoreboard. Anubhav wasted no time, lashing out for two glorious boundaries through mid-wicket and mid-on. Praneel joined the party with a massive six, his favorite leg-side full toss delivery finding no mercy over fine leg.As Thornleigh introduced loopy deliveries, Praneel adapted, choosing sensibility over aggression. He smartly rotated the strike to Anubhav, who displayed a blend of impeccable defense and punishing of loose deliveries. After quite a few overs, Praneel’s patience seemed to run dry, as he unfurled three boundaries in quick succession, all on the leg side.

At drinks, the scoreboard read 52/2. Post-drinks, Praneel decided it was time to play aggressively, hammering a couple of balls to the fence. Anubhav, too, caught the enthusiasm bug, hitting a four and a majestic six in the following over. Both batsmen received lifelines as they were dropped at deep mid-wicket and deep square leg in consecutive overs. The game momentarily paused when Anubhav’s powerful shot ventured into the bush land of the North Shore. The batsmen gladly using this opportunity for a mini drinks break.

Praneel, though, mishit a loopy ball and found himself caught at mid-on, finally making Thornleigh feel relieved for the earlier dropped catch. Our scorecard showed 79/3. Anubhav reached his half-century in style with a boundary off a full toss, showcasing his class and temperament. Lakshya accelerated the run rate with consecutive boundaries in the next over, only to fall to a wide short ball, sending him back with 19 runs but having provided invaluable support to Anubhav. The score raced past 150 after the loss of four wickets. Anubhav was in complete control as he reached 80, inching closer to that elusive century.

The Nervous 90s

With each passing run, the tension in the air grew thicker as Anubhav advanced into the 90s. He struck a beautiful sweep shot, reaching 98, only two runs away from the magical three-digit milestone.

Finally, the moment arrived. Anubhav secured his well-deserved century with a delightful square cut, unleashing a joyous celebration. Having reached the milestone, he continued to impress, hammering two more boundaries. His heroic innings came to an end with a magnificent catch by a fielder who covered substantial ground to dismiss the in-form batsman.

Other highlights

• Having spent enough time as the scorer, Praneel decided he’d chase down one of our spectators, a brush Turkey, his mind probably thinking it looked better on the bbq
• The last 3 wickets fell fairly quickly, but not before we had put up a more than respectable 251 on the board
• With 7 overs to go, we had a chance to put some pressure on thornleigh with quick wickets. Mridul started the bowling and continuing his tradition from the last T20 here, went for a boundary off the first ball. He managed to pull it back and troubled the batsment with a few swining deliveries
• The batsmen then seemed to settle in and fended off some brilliant pace bowling by Praneel, who truly did deserve a wicket or two
• Agniva tried a few quick changes in the attack to unsettle the batsmen a bit, but we ended the day without picking up any wickets

We return here next Saturday with hopes of making it 4 wins in a row. Go team!!

WPHC Red (Diggers) V/6/270 Vs St Ives Wahroonga

After a good win against ARL (and our first for the regular season!), we were keen to build momentum and compete strongly against St Ives. Quan was stand-in Captain, as Diggers was attempting a Guinness Book of Records for most beer consumption at Octoberfest Newcastle.

Quan promptly lost the toss but surprisingly St Ives put us into bat on a hot day at Campbell Park where the outfield was lightning fast.

Quan and Cliff opened the batting and put on a good partnership of 39 before Quan chopped on trying to increase the run-rate.

This brought Tim to the crease and together with Cliff built a fantastic partnership of 103 before Tim was given out LBW by Quan (obviously still upset from chopping on) and the score had moved to 2/142.

Harry then joined Cliff and played a great supporting role with resolute defence to allow Cliff to go on and score a sensational 108 before being caught. It was a great innings to watch and was a thoroughly deserved century. Congratulations again Cliff!

Unfortunately we then lost a couple of quick wickets in the middle order with St Ives bowling good line and length (and swing), which also stopped the flow of runs.

Harry remained at the crease playing a strong defensive game and was joined by Nandit who scored a quick 27. Harry and Surendra then saw out the remaining overs and we finished the day on 6/270. Harry remained 42* and Surendra 13*.

Overall a good day’s cricket highlighted by a fantastic innings by Cliff and great support from Harry.

D2 Grade

WPHC (Roger) 209 Vs Berowra

Berowra won the toss and elected to bowl. This decision was looking good as we slipped to 2 for 1 after 3 overs. A strong fightback from our batters with Bala Raguraman (39) Malinda Dharmadasa (94) and Vishaal Nathan (29) the mainstay s of our batting as we manage to reach a total of 209 all out to close out the days play,