Match Reports

Competition – Round 9 (1-Dayer)

(Saturday 6^th January 2024)

 

A1 Grade

WPHC (Cameron) 1/74 defeated Kenthurst 72

As the great Phil Collins once said – “there is something in the air tonight”. And my word wasn’t there something in the air today.

Welcome back, dear readers, once again – in this new year of our savya 2024.

And as the New Year dawned, we were pleased to find nobody had bothered to do anything to the Kenthurst park strip over the break. The game was subsequently moved to The Glade, and what greeted us today lent us to thinking the same was the case there. Clearly the Association ground staff have enjoyed a wonderful festive season. We thank them, as always, for getting us on.

A new year, and so too, a new leader. Kaptain Krang was waylayed this week – hard at work preparing the Les Shore pavilion – and so we had the pleasure of welcoming Lichaaa once again to the throne. The reign of terror started well – lichaaa navigated a barrage of pointed questions from the senior members of the squad throughout the week in the WhatsApp group – his ‘open door’ policy paying early dividends. Yes of course, they were fully franked.

Game day arrived, and so too the first chink in the new captains armour – jamakin stepping in at the last minute to take over toss duties from lichaaa and his leadership team, who were blindsided by a series poorly timed coffees at the morning leadership meeting. The leadership team thanks Jamakin for his efforts, but asks that he not get too comfortable.

Lichaaas delegate won the toss and elected to field. An interesting decision, given lichaaa swore black and blue that he would have batted first.

A new leader and a new preparation – dear readers, you will be shocked to learn that YOUR A Grade side performed its first fielding warm up in the better part of a decade. Sav immediately took the bat from Gandis and after remarking at the quality of the willow, proceeded to hammer cricket balls at his teammates with gay abandon.

We were flawless, not dropping a SINGLE ball.

We took to the ground with an intensity not seen in years, ready to make early inroads.

Preeds opened us up, bowling with wonderful pace and bounce on what looked to be a pretty flat wicket. Uncle Lichaaa too had the batsmen jumping around, but YOUR wphccccc A grade side were without early reward. Doubt crept into the senior members of the team. The leadership team rallied to the call.

Cue an inspired bowling change – Gandis from the toilet end. Immediately the spell was broken – Gandis sending the stumps of the two openers cartwheeling. Even Simon remarked how well he was bowling, and that it’s shocking he doesn’t bowl longer spells.

Quick rotation through the bowlers saw superb spells from T hando and Tiz who regularly troubled the batsmen with their aggression and pace. Tiz would finish with two fine wickets, cementing his place back in the side following a clinical showing in the top grade, A2’s, recently. The leadership team does request that tiz does not continue to pester them with questions such as ‘who put that fielder there’.

Rapid and cheap overs from Sav and lichaaa after drinks saw the run rate slow to a crawl. The leadership team would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Harry Hando for his maiden A grade wix – he would finish with two. Gandis 3, lichaaa 2, Tiz 2.

Gandis and lichaa selfishly cleaned up the tail and kenthurst finished 9 down for 70-odd.

Belly and Sav opened, chasing a tricky (low) total on a slow (bad) outfield. I’d love to tell you how belly got out but the leadership team was at their local independent grocer supporting local business at the time. We won’t be issuing an apology.

That left Uncle P and Sav at the crease and they steered us home – blistering cover drives for little reward by the former and arrogant strokeplay by the latter ensuring the low (slow) bad (tricky) total was knocked off inside of 15 overs, with Preeds one again unlucky to fall just short of a hundred (26). Sav confirmed he continues to only play for this average and signed his card for an impressive 45odd.

A dominant performance by a side who are peaking at the right time of the season. The leadership team would like to congratulate the leadership team for an inspired tactical display, and on another W.

We are playing BYE next week at BYE. We hope to see you all there to cheer on YOUR wphccccccccc A grade side.

Undefeated.

A2 Grade

WPHC (Campbell) defeated on forfeit Sydney Lions

Unfortunately the Lions couldn’t make-up a team this week so we get the 6 points for the game and consolidate our place in the top 4.

B1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Todd) 127 lost to Galston Glenorie 128

No better way than to kick off 2024 and our tear back into the B1 top four with a one run loss to third placed Glenorie that will probably send us down to the bottom of the table.

Great stuff as we continue our failing search for a win in the shorter format and although we came closer than we have ever before (marginally), it seems as though luck isn’t with us. With a one run loss added to a bottle-job worse than India in ICC knockout matches against Kissing Point earlier this year and a heartbreaking final over loss to Berowra, the curse lives on.

There were hopes that stand-in skipper Rick would provide the change necessary to kick us off, but it wasn’t to be in the end.

With A2 quick Kyle Townsend providing a guest appearance for us trundler after Ben was asked to go end some careers down in C3, the feeling was generally positive amongst the group as we somehow found our ways out of bed for a bright and early 12:30pm start, bowling first against probably the best batting team in the competition by a fair way (not including us for obvious reasons).

An uneventful opening did little to allay any fears we had, before Jack lived up to his nickname with a timely breakthrough to dismiss the bloke who was scoring all of their runs in the ninth over with the worst ball he bowled all day. From then on, our bowlers dominated the Glenorie batters, with everyone who came on keeping to tight lines and lengths and regularly finding wickets.

Although he probably won’t be too happy with his bowling figures, Kyle certainly showed us all up in the field with two catches and two run outs while also knocking out their best bat’s off stump – after today, he will be more than glad to go back up to where he belongs on turf pitches rather than the spongy crap we were playing on today. Him aside, it was a generally good performance in the field, with very little in the way of misfields, while the only dropped catches were admittedly difficult chances that fell just out of reach.

But it was not good enough for an undisclosed teammate, who has opted to write the following excerpt about the match report writer’s fielding over the course of this season. I personally put it down to jealousy that this individual did not get air time at the Thunder-Sixers game last week while I got three seconds of fame and glory (yeah I had to put this in here I don’t wanna hear complaints) and he didn’t.

I write this in hiding fearing for my life, as I am about to expose a hidden truth (it’s really not that hidden). Just as the Government is hiding extraterrestrial life from us commonors [sic], Lachlan Edwards (aka Melvin, Strobe or WTC depending on who you ask) has been covering up his poor fielding by leaving it out of the match reports (I spend my Saturday nights writing them so kindly shut the hell up).

Some say consistency is the key to winning matches, however Lachlan’s dedication to missing, fumbling and spiking the ball in field has proven this to be false (I’ve taken six catches this year which is more than anyone in the team but our very own Superman Sam).

The tension in the field rises whenever the ball is hit near him, just as the Americans felt during the cold war as we know that the enemy is about to sabotage us (true actually). However, on a (not so) rare occurrence today Lachlan caught one, which has hindered his bid to become Pakistan’s first slip fielding coach (I caught it off your bowling). I now petition that he fields at fine leg for the rest of the season as lightning will not strike twice (but six times and counting instead).

In short and without the needless waffle, we rolled them for 128, with Bishy the pick of the bowlers with 3-11 from 6.4 overs (not quite the 4-8 from seven we were promised though so drinks were on him at the club), while Willy, Jack and Kyle all found themselves amongst the wickets.

As I’ve probably doubled the word limit on this report, I’m just going to keep the batting innings short.

Sam and Lachie were both back on the sidelines very quickly, with Sam playing the most premeditated shot I have ever seen only to send it straight up into the air, while Lachie and new batter Volc somehow found themselves at the same end running a two, Lachie as ever being the generous man he is and kindly letting Volc stay out there while he took one for the team.

Some tight bowling from Glenorie saw the run rate rocket up to fives very quickly before Jude found his rhythm with an array of quick singles as he changed partners at an alarming rate. Once Volc went for an even 50 with the score 75, Rick, Bishy and Kyle all came and went after a varied amount of time in the middle, with Jack joining Jude to help score the nine runs required for victory from the final over.

Some good placement and almost suicidal running ensured that would be whittled down to three off one, but Jude was unable to get the final ball away as we finished an agonising run short of our total, Jude 33 not out. Maybe if he’d spent less time awestruck by the veiny feet of a teammate then he could’ve pulled it off.

Just wasn’t our day. If you aren’t bored out of your mind by now, come back next week for our absolute blockbuster game against TBA, with a 50,000 crowd expected at TBA for the big game.

I would try and promise I’d keep it to a slightly more reasonable length, but unfortunately that is impossible when you have people such as Dylan Bish, Jude Boyle, Jack Hutchinson and Ben Burrows amongst other slightly more sensible people all in one team.

WPHC Red (Shomik) 140 defeated ARL 118

Returning back to Mt Ku-ring-gai was a welcome sight for the Reds, welcoming Birdcage and Brent and Akit into the side for this week. Although the value for shots was basically non-existent from previous games, we came into this with a clear plan for ones and twos.

FINALLY deciding to win a toss, Shomik felt that runs on the board was the best strategy.

After losing wickets early, Brent Larkham held together the top order with 34. Running lots of twos with Akit, (15 runs) in addition to the occasional boundary brought consistent runs. Boundaries were dry, as expected, so going into the break with 2-55 was a great platform to launch a second half attack, and somewhere in the vicinity of 150+ was achievable

But as I love to include in my reports, what innings would be complete without a semi-collapse. 3-63 went to 6-76 in 7 overs, their spinners doing all the damage as the ball sat in the pitch.

Just like Brent and Akit, who worked in a pair. Alec, Harsh and Birdcage worked in a set of two pairs to continue the hard work of the top order. With Alec contributing 28, Harsh and Birdcage make 10 a piece, as well as being quick between the wickets on byes, a scary looking < 100 turned into a well fought 140.

Chasing the target, Asquith faced a tough challenge against West Penno’s bowling lineup. 4 runs an over is not a gimme total, especially when boundaries were rarer than hens teeth

Mohsin and Neil finally BOTH took a wicket in their opening spell. Neil with an in-swinging Jaffa and Mohsin with an edge to slip. If you can think about that Pakistani catch in the test series where he caught it then pushed it against his leg and took hold of it, go watch it if you forgot, that’s what Birdcage’s slip catch looked like.

But the Reds bowled tight, restricting the first half to 2-37. 103 off of 102 where you have to run pretty much every single run was difficult but not an impossible task. Shomik did break the 50ish run partnership with a bowled that was clearly a frustration/increase of pressure. But he single handedly made the most dolly of a catch to slip look like a screamer. THREE JUGGLES. At least our slips can hold onto the ball, and rightly give Amit his wicket.

With the dangerous pair gone, the wickets kept tumbling, as the run rate became too hard to keep under control. Shomik was our pick of the bowlers today, taking three wickets including a run out by Birdcage.

It was a clinical but by no means easy win. 22 runs.

The game never felt out of reach for us and sticking to our plan and knowing the field gave us the edge we needed. The fielding and support that each player gave to one another was paramount. In a game where the fielding was arguably the most crucial aspect, each of us showed superb teamwork.

Great Win Boys

B2 Grade

WPHC (Warren) 5/150 defeated Normanhurst –Warrawee 145

Match Report Good morning and welcome back to our loyal readers.

First and foremost, from ours to yours we hope you had the merriest of Christmases and happiest of New Year’s. After way too much time and around friends and family over the festive period it was refreshing to be back on a cricket field around people we hate slightly less than our families (team mates and opposition players.

As a team our New Year’s Resolution was to change absolutely nothing given how well we have done finishing the year as outright table leaders.

Warren ‘popeye the sailorman’ Schwartzel set us off on the right path by losing the toss and having us field first for the 4th game in a row. Then Nathaniel ‘the red rocket’ Chidgey continued the trend by taking a wicket off the very first delivery of the match. This is the second time in a row this has happened and the first time in WPHCCCCCC history that this has occurred (Source Ross Anderson).

What followed however was some pretty piss poor bowling and some even worse fielding. With Nick ‘why do they call him buckets when he has feet for hands’ Duck dropped an absolute sitter at mid on. Not to worry though, TJ only went on to top score for Normanhurst with 60 odd…. Nice one feet for hands!

The game was poised in the middle overs but some tight bowling from Ray ‘what can’t the bloke do’ Khamis and Adam ‘Private Pyle’ Van Saaaarlooooss really put the pressure on the opposition. Cricket is a team game and Ray and Adam’s unselfish bowling partnership applied the dot ball pressure which then allowed Red Rocket, Popeye and Alex ‘Michael Gunns best mate’ Chidgey to take wickets at the death and keep them to a very chaseable 145.

Now for our batting effort.

Ray ‘put him down for 30 odd’ Khamis and Jason ‘tits on a bull’ Garrett set proceedings off by Jason pulling his hamstring off the second ball. This meant tactical Ray had to play outside of his comfort zone and try and hit boundaries rather than masterfully working the ball, manipulating the field and turning 1s into 2s with his sheer pace.

Luckily as one of the most well rounded players and athletes at the club (Source Ross Anderson) this was not an issue. Ray ended up holding out on the boundary for an unselfish 33. (Note at this point the team were 3/40, get better guys Rays back is hurting from carrying you lot all season).

At 3/40 after 10ish overs the game was in the balance.

Enter Cameron ‘weaker fingers than the take my strong hand dude off scary movie 2’ and Mathew ‘Schwartzelnegger’ Schwartzel. The pair of them put on an absolute masterclass in managing the middle overs, playing to their strengths and running between the wickets. They built a partnership of about 100???, the highest 4^th wicket partnership, at Headen Park, on the first round of the year in WPHCCCCCC history (Source Ross Anderson).

Unfortunately strong hand Bishy could not survive for the red ink however made an excellent 42 and the Schwartzelnegger was not out on 52 before getting to the chooppperr and going home. An excellent run chase against a strong Normanhurst team to solidify our position on the top of the table going into 2024.

We are the team to beat this season and we are looking forward to ripping and a turning through St Ives next week at the home of Recreation, North Turramurra Recreational Area Cricket Field No. 1.

Other news:

• Ray is doing a fitness challenge so everyone support Ray on his journey please
• Adam lost his bet to Ray in the break and had to shave his head, he now looks like the guy from full metal jacket who goes full schizo hence the nickname ‘Private Pyle’
• Full run down of above in anecdotes next week
• Nathaniel and Alexander Chidgey celebrated their birthdays
• It is Nick Duck’s birthday yesterday so everyone wish Nick Duck a happy birthday next week
• New Year, same Billy Gaunt. Still undeniably a shit bloke. He ate Tori’s special stuffed crust pepperoni pizza on NYE which was specifically for Tori only. Good to see you ended the year exactly how you started the last 26 years, being an absolute dawwwgggg
• Ryan ‘mouf as big as his brothers head’ Gunn looking at making a shock comeback to D1s next year under Papa Diggs tutelage. Stay tuned.
• Paris Preedy did not move to the Gold Coast boys. Close call.

C1 Grade

WPHC (Indranil) Vs Bye

No game this week so we walk away with 6 points

C2 Grade

WPHC Blue (Mat) 137 lost to Berowra tba/140

A new start to a new year led to the debuts of 5 players.

The return to leadership of Mathew Marsden started with the winning of the toss and sending himself and Rizul into bat. New year same old Mat.

Mat was seeing them like beach balls wacking around the un-mowed Brooklyn Dairy, 1 lost ball and a 4 led mats innings to come to a close at 43 meanwhile Rizul at the other side was still on 4 nearly running out the captain.

New Year same old Rizul. Bronson left as quick as he came wishing it was still 2023. William came in knocked it round with rizul before departing on 5. Rizul started to get going before going too far ahead of himself departing for 2. Dave and Matt took control of the ship with a partnership of 30, Dave a well earned 17.

Bring on the spinner and both Matt (7) and Sam (0) depart. Ron went well knocking them around for 13. Isaak made 12 at the end and Jared smacked one over the rope at the end. Leaving the Berowrians with 137 to chase.

Debutant Isaak started with the new ball restricting the batsman on every loose delivery. Only the 6^th over of the match a ball goes straight up, an already difficult catch for Jared to make, the batsman yells out as he’s about to catch it, ‘Run 2 if he drops out’ so loud you could hear it back in Sydney putting Jared off and saving his partner. This is the second time Berowra have done this, maybe they don’t have a rule book in the jungle. Onwards we went as Jared took over the bowling and was beating the edges of both batsmen restricting runs off the bat.

DC had his turn and delivered but still no wickets had fallen for the Jungle tribe. Rizul got his turn and bowled excellent only giving away a few boundaries and snicking off one batsman unlucky because every time it fell short of the corden. Skip took over with a wicket in his first over, finally breaking the 60 run partnership. Mat went again with a wicket maiden to dismiss the other opener, fair and square, the West Penno way.

Mat was bowling brilliantly from one end whilst too many runs were leaked from the other.

Unfortunately they chased the runs down with a couple overs to spare leaving the Sweat Hogs to bounce back next week.

Special mention to Isaak, Sam, Jared, Ron and Craig for making their debuts and filling in. Man of the match goes to the skipper Mat Marsden,making 43 runs and taking 2/12 off 7 with 2 maidens.

We go again next week

 WPHC Red (Arun) 2/112 defeated Normanhurst-Warrawee 7/111

West Penno made an impressive return to the field with their first game against Normanhurst, which took place after the holiday break over the Christmas season.

While the team was energised and prepared, there were light-hearted conversations going on in the background about the consequences of overeating Christmas turkey by the cheerful Normo spectators. These conversations continued to linger in the air.

In order to take advantage of the team’s well-rounded bowling and batting lineup, Captain Arun chose to bowl first rather than bat after winning the toss.

Limiting Normo to a low-scoring total was the obvious plan. The opening bowling duo of Amit and Vikas executed a solid start with pace and swing. Amitava struck first with a skilful delivery, dismissing the dependable Harri. The other Normo opener, however, showed resilience against West Penno’s formidable pace attack until a mix-up resulted in a runout by the powerful throw from Rishab. Kurian, brought into the attack, quickly secured the third wicket as per the captain’s plan.

Despite a brief resistance, Normo struggled to maintain momentum as Arun strategically rotated bowlers to prevent the batsmen from settling. As Rishab and Saurabh joined the attack, Normo’s batsmen succumbed to nerves and were dismissed. Vikas returned to finish off the tail, limiting Normo to a total of 111 runs.

Bowling figures | Wickets | Rishab – 2, Amitava – 1, Saurabh – 1, Kurian – 1, Vikas – 2.

In the quest for victory, the dynamic opening pair of Arun and Saurabh took charge of West Penno’s innings.

Arun’s solid technique was on full display, gracing the pitch with elegant cover drives, while Saurabh adopted an aggressive approach, skilfully despatching the ball out of the park. Their formidable partnership added 33 runs to the scoreboard before Arun’s departure. Stepping in after the dismissal of Arun, Rishab assumed the responsibility of anchoring the innings alongside the still-attacking Saurabh. Saurabh’s explosive batting display, however, was halted by a top edge, leading to Aniket’s arrival at the crease to partner with Rishab.

Undeterred by the fall of a wicket, the Rishab-Aniket duo showcased composure and skill as they guided West Penno towards a decisive victory. Rishab, exhibiting maturity and precision, notched up the highest individual score of 39 runs. Their partnership proved to be the cornerstone of the innings, ensuring a smooth and controlled chase that culminated in West Penno emerging triumphant.

Batting Scores | Rishab – 39 (Not Out), Aniket – 22 (Not Out), Saurabh – 26, Arun – 15

The collective and all-encompassing performance of every member of the team was critical in securing a resounding victory with 11 overs to spare. This decisive victory not only demonstrated the team’s unity and synergy, but it also established a strong momentum heading into the upcoming match against the Sydney Lions.

The team is unfazed and confident as they prepare to face the Sydney Lions.

The recent victory has instilled confidence and self-assurance, fuelling the team’s desire to extend their winning streak. The squad’s meticulous preparation and unwavering determination show that they are not only ready to overcome challenges but also poised to maintain their winning streak, setting the stage for an exciting and competitive match against the Lions.

C3 Grade

WPHC Red (Fieds) 6/162 defeated Kissing Point 123

After a big new year’s eve night out from a few of the lads and a couple more decided to go overseas with Louis making the journey back to the homeland – China and Mickey West heading to Turkey for a cheap nose job following a stumble at the doctors office.

Captain Andrew managed to scramble last minute to assemble a mixed playing 11 to take on Kissing Point at the home of cricket, Greenway Oval.

With Andrew catching Covid, he ruled himself out of the game and handed the captaincy to Pete.

Pete’s first duties of the day being the toss, which was won, meaning we were gonna have a bat. Yasith (14) and Steve (15) got the lads off to a decent start, despite being a fill-in, Yasith didn’t go into his shell, as he pushed the ball around, rotating the strike and eventually found the boundary.

However cricket is a funny game and all of us witnessed something we won’t ever see again as Yasith attempted a pull-shot, not before letting go of his bat after contacting the ball, popping it up and being caught at square leg by an absolute screamer, full stretch diving forward as the fielder also managed to dodge Yasith’s airborne bat.

Steve followed Yasith back to the pavilion (One tree hill), not too long after dispatching the ball to the boundary off a classic pull shot for 14. Nathan F (2), stay at the crease didn’t last long, meaning we were in need of a stabilizing innings at 3-51.

Enter Eric Junkkari.

A man who faced an over that contained 2 beamers, a yorker before being finished off by a dipping full toss, caught and bowled for 2.

At 4-57 approaching drinks, the Fiedler Brothers Dan (38) and Michael (41 – retired), combined for an invaluable 56 run partnership which involved simple cricket, keeping out the good balls and dispatching the wide ones. With Kissing Point displaying the most inconsistent bowling we’ve seen all season the Fiedler’s showed the rest of the lads that a bit of patience and a cool head can go a long way.

Unfortunately Dan was dismissed by another good catch meaning Jack (20) entered the crease.

After a few balls to get his eye in (a dropped chance at gully first ball) and a couple blocks, Jack soon got into his work proving that slogging to cow every second ball is a viable way to make runs, however his poor fitness showed as the good running between the wickets slowed up. Right before the end of the innings, Dan hit 40 to retire. With only an over to go Jack took the Kissing Point skipper to cow corner again then proceeded to sky the next ball. Lachlan (3*) and Pete (4*) rounded out the innings, meaning we finished up at 6/162.

With a defendable total on the board the lads were ready to start the year off right with a win. Jack (3-19) and Ayush (0-24) started steady, with Jack getting to nip one into middle stump to take the first wicket of the innings.

Shortly after, Kissing Point started to click into gear, not long before Jack took his second of the innings to dismiss both openers and round out a solid spell.

Eric (3-14) and Naughty Nath (2-31) entered the attack as Kissing Point started to chip away at the deficit by taking quick singles and piercing the field. However, tight bowling saw the runs dry up quicker than Nath’s Dm’s as Eric took his first of the day right on the stroke of drinks leaving them 3/67, requiring just under a run a ball. A mix off tight bowling and little intent from the kissing point batsmen saw them chalk up just 30 runs in the first 10 overs after drinks as Eric ran rampant, bowling both the inform batsman and his partner in the space of just 2 overs.

Another inspired change saw Yasith get in on the action by taking 2 in 2 balls, on a hat-trick the field came up.

Many hat-trick balls have gone to waste this season so it might just take one of the ring-ins to show the boys how it’s done. Yasith steamed in, pitched it on a good length as the batsman locked onto the front foot, middling it with little power to go behind the shot, the ball popped up, Catch it! Ladies and gentlemen with both Fiedler brothers in close the ball pierced  through the 1 metre gap in between them for a single.

However the foot remained on the throat as part timer Lachlan Woolnough got through 4 overs with very little damage done, inspiring his spin twin Nath to take 2 wickets before Jack wrapped up the tail, all out for 123.

WPHC Blue (Rob) 115 Vs Castle Hill

Final scores & Match Report not available.

C4 Grade

WPHC Blue (Hiresh) 82 lost to Berowra 5/83

It was a pleasant morning when the C4 boys rocked up to Fred Catterson Oval No.2, ready to start the year off with a win.

Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan right from the get go, with our fill-in captain Meet, who usual is always on time, thought the match started at 12, and hadn’t left home 5 minutes before the toss was set to happen.

To furthermore add to this developing problem, we were quite short on players at this time, with a solid 7 players ready and rearing to go. Luckily Sparsh was able to stand in for the toss, standing in for the stand in, and lose the toss, but thankfully for the kindness of the Berowra captain chose to bowl, and so the boys padded up, ready to go.

Luckily Captain Meet was able to make it just in time before the match started, and got his pads on, and walked to the middle with Sparsh.

The opening pair started strongly but the grass was long and so were the boundaries, so boundaries were very hard to come by. But per usual Sparsh defies all odds and some hit beautiful strokes. The opening pair were looking strong until tragedy struck in the 6^th over with Meet unfortunately running himself out.

They out walked Anch P, an under 16 gun of a player, and once again got set on with Sparsh.

Unfortunately, Sparsh then found himself on the wrong end of a short ball, catching the top edge and getting caught out. Next to the crease was Anch M, a fill in who looked very promising with the bat. Charging the first ball of the pace bowler certainly showed his intent, and set the tone for the rest of his innings.

Unfortunately Anch P was dismissed by LBW, and so Ratul was up next. After doing a Glen Maxwell reenactment and leaving the ball right onto his stumps, more wickets fell afterwards. In the end, the boys stumbled and put up 82, top scores Anch P – 27 and Sparsh – 13.

After a short break the boys were back out ready to give it their best with the ball. Opening the attack was Sachman and Vris, and after some tight bowling, Sach picked up his first wicket. The bowling was tight and fielding on point, the boys not giving away many opportunities for the batting team.

Unfortunately, the heavy hitters from Berowra were able to slowly build the runs, and in the 22^nd over reached the target of 83, but not without some struggle, losing 5 wickets along the way. Best bowling figures for the day were Sach 3/27 off 7 and Shankar 1 /5 off 2.

All in all a generally disappointing day with the bat, but the fight back with in the field was impressive to see.

Although we didn’t start the new year off with a win like we would of liked, there is still plenty of fight left for the rest of the season.

C4 Red (Ross S) 59 lost to Kissing Point 1/61

Missing a ¼ of our squad (and our 4 top run scorers) to holidays and sickness, today was always going to be a challenge , but with only 1 loss after 8 rounds and sitting well in 3^rd place, and on paper playing a team in 8^th you would expect a good performance , but….

Arriving to a cow paddock at Mimosa oval, we knew runs would be hard to come by, so it was really important if we batted first, we apply ourselves and bat 35 overs. This was the discussion we had before the game started….. losing the toss we were asked to bat.

Our innings was a nightmare throughout.

We lost too many wickets trying to hit across the line and hit boundaries…just not good enough… 9 single figure scores………all out for 59 just after the ½ way mark.at the fall of every wicket the message was bat long and 35 overs. Very disappointing.

Only a couple of worthwhile efforts worth reporting in our innings as we capitulated.

A patient innings by Suf with 16 no and a last wicket partnership of 17 with Jimmy Wilkin. Big thanks to Jimmy (U15) and Nic Price (U17) helping us out today.

Suf played the type of innings we should have all played….patience and valuing his wicket.

With only a small chase for KP, they batted without too much risk and passed our score in the 20^th over. 1 wicket to Suf, well caught by Henry.

If we want to compete in January and have any chance of making the semis, we need to value our wickets and play to conditions. You can’t be frivolous and hope to rely on the next person to recover the situation…

 D1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Agniva) 7/136 defeated Hornsby 134

Happy New Year to the entire WPHCCC family, friends and patrons.

After an amazing stretch before the holidays, we were determined to carry the momentum against probably the strongest opposition in the comp – Hornsby and we sure did. Winning the toss four times in a row has seriously made Agni confident of his coin flipping skills, so much so that the bowlers started warming up even before the sign came from the middle – we were bowling.

Ravi & Pritam started off strongly with the new ball with Ravi picking up a wicket with the first ball of the day, though on Holland Reserve’s sandpit of a pitch, the cherry showed signs of ageing even before their first spell was over. Pritam kept things tight from the other end and with runs becoming hard to come by, Hornsby decided to go for the offensive and that’s when we struck – 2 quick wickets to courtesy some amazing catching by Praneel and Anubhav.

The next bowling change saw Amith and Praneel come in to the attack with both bowling in sync and drying up the runs, and in the process they lost another couple of quick wickets. That brought in their best batsman to the crease and the cloud cover seemed to have lifted with Hornsby starting to score freely after the drinks break.

At 6 wickets down, we knew that we needed to push the brakes to try and get Hornsby under a par score on that ground. With Nirav and Agni’s spin from both ends, they lost the plot. Agni frustrated the key striker so much that he pushed himself on to the stumps – hit wicket. From there it was a breeze with Ravi wrapping them up in the 32^nd over via a brilliant one handed catch from Anubhav at short mid-wicket. Two wickets each to Ravi, Pritam, Amith, Nirav and Agniva showed how well knit the bowling unit was during this game supported by some amazing fielding and brilliant keeping by Sahil.

Lakshya and Sahil went on to chase down 134 and did an amazing job of seeing off the new ball with no casualties till the drinks break with 80 odd needed in the final 17. After a fantastic 70 run partnership, we lost both the openers in quick succession (Lakshya 41 and Sahil 22) and then another couple of wickets with still about 50 runs to chase in the last 10 overs.

In came Rommel Pandey, who was helping us this match and was almost uncertain till the night before about even playing due to the freak injury he had at 3am.

What eventuated was a treat to the eyes, Rommel and Waman belting the Hornsby bowlers all around the park and in the process Rommel picking up ‘another injury’.

By the time Rommel left the crease, the damage was done and we only needed 7 odd runs in the last 3 overs and got there quite convincingly.

A brilliant and determined effort from the lads to beat Hornsby and increase our lead on the top of the ladder which means we have a real good chance of playing the semis, provided the team remains focussed over the next few rounds.

Next game against Thornleigh!

WPHC Red (Diggers) 6/144 lost to Thornleigh 153

After the break we were keen to get back on the park and play some good hard D1 cricket.

We were a few players short so we had 3 x juniors from U13 & U15 offer to help out (Akif, Aarush & Alex), which is great for the Club and great for the juniors to see how us superior cricket athletes play cricket in D1.

Our game was against a depleted Thornleigh team who only had 9 players at Thornleigh Oval. At the toss there must have been some leftover Christmas magic, as Diggers finally won a toss and elected to bowl.

Nandit (0/20) and Harry (1/23) opened the bowling and bowled good tight lines which restricted Thornleigh’s scoring.

Disco (1/32) and Aarush followed and Aarush took a wicket with his first ball caught by Disco at first slip. Aarush finished his spell with 2/35 bowling some great leg spin for a player of his age. However it was Akif who was the stand-out bowler of the day taking 4/22 with some good outfield catches by Quan, whilst Alex was the stand-out in the field with some great contributions and displayed some real energy on a hot, humid day.

At the end of the innings Thornleigh were able to get a good score of 8/153, unfortunately helped by a few missed chances in the field.

Cliff and Alex opened the batting but were both out cheaply to Thornleigh’s opening bowler, who was bowling very good line and length deliveries with the odd ball swinging.

Quan and Harry came to the crease and Quan was looking to increase the scoring, hitting a four and a six in his total of 18 before being bowled going for another maximum.

Harry was joined by Grant and together they amassed a great partnership of 79 runs before Harry was stumped on 38 with the score on 4/117 with 4 overs to go. Nandit joined Grant and together tried to get the final runs before Grant was stumped on 55. Nandit’s quick fire 19 runs nearly got us home, but he was run out trying to push the scoring and remain on strike (a great team player effort!).

This left our two junior fill-ins Aarush and Akif to face the last couple of balls of the day and both players finished not out, but unfortunately we just fell short.

Despite the loss, we all enjoyed the game and it was great to see Alex, Akif and Aarush have a great game and contribute to the team’s performance.

D2 Grade

WPHC (Roger) 58 lost to Kenthurst 7/171

With more than half our regular players away we relied on our parent fill in player to make up the eleven.

Kenthurst won the toss and elected to bat.

While we bowled well and kept the runs down particularly in the latter stages of high flying Kenthurst’s inning 172 was always going to be a tough chase.

A few close calls going against us in the early part of our innings left us well behind the required run rate, however it ensured everyone got a bat. We had fun but need to get some wins if we are to get a spot in the semi’s.

Cory Brookhouse 2/16 was our most successful bowler and Malinda Dharmadasa 17* was our leading bat.