Match Reports

Competition – Round 14 (Day 2)

(Saturday 24^th February 2024)

A1 Grade

WPHC (Cameron) Vs Bye

6 Points from the Bye all but guarantees us a top 4 spot – subject to the wildcard of 10 point results in other matches.

A2 Grade

WPHC (Campbell) 7/83 defeated Sydney Lions 78

Playing at The Glade and enough said. No play tody due to the inevitable washout. But we bank 6 points and finish in 3^rd spot.

B1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Todd) 162 defeated outright Mt Colah 70 & 48

The stage was set, the almighty Blues needing a near impossible outright win to advance to the finals after learning about the somewhat surprising rain out at Greenway (best draining ground in the competition).

Inspired, a committed the team took the field with the opposition starting the day 1-11. It didn’t take long for the child (Ben Burrows) to take the first wicket due to the ever unsafe hands of Lachie ‘Melman’ Edwards (10 catches for the season + 31 drops).

Ben and Todd committed to not letting the “weather” take away our opportunity at going back to back continued his reign of terror, Colah very quickly found themselves 5-27 with all of their best bats out.

The team sensed an opportunity to take 4^th place on the table without pulling any tricks, just pure skill and hard work. Wickets from Cap and Hutchinson Jr continued the charge, despite struggling desperately with the run up (which particularly annoyed Volc) and Mt Colah quickly found themselves in the precarious position of 7-46. Some resistance was felt but unlike other teams in the B1 competition, our team was able to weather the storm and cleaned up Mt Colah for 70.

This brilliant display of cricket gave us the opportunity to enforce the follow on, giving us the best chance of pulling off the unthinkable.

“That Kid is fiery” said Volc. And fiery that kid was as Ben Burrows could do no wrong picking up two early wickets sending shockwaves around the ground. After Ben’s brilliance, a couple of the Reds wandered down to Headen Park to see if their chance at finals this year was slipping out of their grasp. Well someone must of bust out the lube because their chance was slipping fast as Jack continued the charge picking up 3 of his own putting them at 5-19.

Spirits were elated, we could do this. It’s in moments like these where cricket is truly a beautiful game.

Then, their superstar, strutted to the crease with go pro and all. Jack takes his mark and bowls and absolute ripper, “Gussy” inspired by Willy’s golden last week, gets clean bowled for his own duck, victory was close. We continued the charge 7, 8 and then one more to get. Jack wasted no time having the tail ender skying one to the Kid who was calm under the pressure and secured our rightful place in the finals.

Today our efforts, were inspired by a few people, firstly the words of Tay Tay who last night taught us about “Karma being the guys on the Blues”. Secondly, our very own modern day Martin Luther King Jr, Jude Boyle who wrote an awe inspiring speech to rally the troops and provide belief for the masses. To conclude, I would like to leave you all with the delicate words from our inspiration and spiritual leader BDR “Well done today fellas, I’ll see you all next week”.

WPHC Red (Shomik) 1/26 drew with Glenorie 152

No play today due to a wet Greenway Park.

B2 Grade

WPHC (Warren) drew with ARL 6/141

Match abandoned due to rain affected ground.

C1 Grade

WPHC (Indranil) Vs Bye

No game this week. We lock in 6 points and a guaranteed game in the Finals.

C2 Grade

WPHC Blue (Mat) 9/205 dec defeated Berowra

The boys resumed play on 6/151, the two old blokes or as they would say the “veterans” started the day with Mat on 70 and Rob on 7.

With a bit of help with the overcast conditions, Hornsby were quick to strike with Rob only adding 3 more runs before getting trapped in front on 10. One Hitchcock departed and the younger one arrived. Fin and Mat were batting together nicely, ticking over the scoreboard, and keeping Hornsby at bay. However, Fin’s patience was tested as he skied a ball on 5 runs to mid-on.

Next was G2, fully pumped up he was looking to run 3 every ball (don’t think Mat was too keen on that). James’s cameo came to an end as he held out for 2. Mick was Matthew’s last partner, and he was now only 16 away from a well-deserved ton. Mick wasn’t keen on defending, instead he was punching the ball through the infield and rotating strike, which helped Mat in his 90s. Batting on 99 Mat pushes a full ball outside off to mid-off and brings up a 100 of pure class – our 537^th ton. His celebration however wasn’t as classy. He might need to get a few lessons from Rizul.

The skipper Marty had seen enough of batting and decided to declare with West Penno Blue finishing on 9/205, the standout Mats 100.

Fin and Mick opened from both ends, and it didn’t take Fin all too long to find his rhythm. A peach of a delivery that nipped back in was too good for the Berowra opener, who was cleaned up. The saying one brings two really did happen, with Mick taking two wickets in quick succession, one of them being cut to the Goat and another a fantastic catch by Fin at fine leg. Mick was on a roll, as he nicked off the next batter just before drinks with Berowra now 4/20 odd chasing 205.

The Goat came into bowl and was quick to get into his work as he drawn a false stroke from the Berowra batter who held out to Rob, who took an incredible high catch that hung up in the air sooo long that he was thinking about dinner. Wickets kept tumbling for Berowra as the boys kept bowling in tight areas, which brought about the false stroke. After coming onto bowl on the back of a 100, the veteran showed the young fellas that he wasn’t only capable with the bat, but also with the ball, as he broke the speed gun with a ripping full delivery that was too good for the left hander. G2 also picked up a wicket as he bowled a short wide one that was cut straight to Rizul who took a fine catch. Wickets kept tumbling off the back of some terrific bowling from the Goat who picked up 2 fa and Rizul who also took a wicket.

The equation became very simple for both teams. West Penno needed one wicket in 10 overs and Berowra needed to block it out. After great momentum all throughout the innings, West Penno started feeling the pressure as the last wicket partnership was keeping Berowra alive. Over after over Berowra were just blocking the ball out and had no intentions on giving their wicket away cheaply. The skipper was making some fielding and bowling changes, in the aim of trying to jag a wicket, yet nothing seemed to be working.

As overs ticked away, West Penno now just had one over. The skipper backed Fin to bowl the last over and try to win the game for us. Every dot ball brought more frustration and tension. 5 balls were done and now only 1 ball remained. Steaming in Finny surprised the batter with a short ball that kicked up a bit on the surface. After playing everything on the ground, the Berowra batter couldn’t help but lift the ball in the air. Standing at short mid-off, Sohan dives to his left and sticks his left hand out, and to his own shock the ball had just stuck.

The celebrations had begun for the West Penno boys as they ended the season with icing on the cake.

Two back-to-back victories, bowling teams out in less than 48 overs. Although the season didn’t go as well as the boys would have liked, it was nice to get some momentum into the back end of the season and to top it off with such a thrilling finish on the last ball. Mats century felt 100 times better as it came in a winning cause.

A good season came to an end and what a way to finish it

WPHC Red (Arun) 155 defeated Normanhurst-Warrawee 104 & 7/58

Day 1

WPHCC Red embarked on a remarkable journey this season, starting as a new team with uncertainties about their readiness for C2-level cricket. However, fuelled by their love for the sport, they embraced the challenge and found themselves in the semifinals, a testament to their dedication and determination.

After a heartbreaking loss against St. Ives in the last game, the team found themselves shattered but not defeated.

Facing Normanhurst in the next game, they arrived at the ground with renewed purpose and determination. Despite losing the toss, the team remained undeterred, eager to showcase their skills.

Amit and Vinod set the tone with a fiery opening spell, exploiting accuracy and precision to claim early wickets. Captain Arun and Vice-Captain Harri orchestrated strategic field placements, keeping Normanhurst on the back foot. The bowling unit, comprising Happy, Saurabh, Aniket, and John Kurian, delivered exceptional spells. Still, it was John “Maza” Koleth who stole the show with his lethal deliveries, securing a remarkable fifer.

In a stunning display of batting prowess, Rishab and Saurabh provided an explosive start, scoring boundaries at will and setting the tone for the innings. By the end of day one, WPHCC Red had already amassed an impressive 60 runs on the board, laying a solid foundation for the rest of the match.

Despite facing interruptions due to unforeseen emergencies, the team’s resilience and staunch spirit shone through as they ended day one on a high note, poised for further success in the semifinals.

Day 2

Day 2 of the match began with WPHCC Red in a commanding position, needing only 40 runs to secure the first innings win.

Rishab and Chetan started the day confidently, maintaining the momentum from the previous day. However, a sudden low short ball dismissed Rishab, followed by Maza getting out on the very next delivery. Despite these setbacks, the team remained focused on the task at hand, aiming for a solid first-innings lead. With Chetan also departing after a solid contribution, the team found itself in a precarious position, needing just 25-30 runs to clinch the first innings victory. However, the players remained determined, realising the importance of winning and maintaining a good quotient for potential semifinal qualification.

Amidst the tension, Saurabh, the team’s IT “Guru,” provided valuable insights using an extensive excel spreadsheet to strategies the innings and assess their standing in the tournament. The team’s determination and strategic planning seemed to resonate with a higher power as they pushed forward with a sense of purpose. Vinod (1 wicket) and Amitava (1 wicket), the team’s senior players, displayed exceptional resilience and skill, guiding the team to victory with a partnership that showcased their experience and value to the team. They unleashed their attacking game once the first innings lead was secured, ensuring a competitive total on the scoreboard.

As Normo began their second innings, WPHCC Red’s bowlers, led by Vinod and Amitava, delivered a fierce spell, claiming early wickets and putting pressure on the opposition. The introduction of Happy and Mazza further intensified the challenge for Normo’s batters, with fiery deliveries testing their resolve. A strategic change in bowling saw Rishab (3 wickets) and Saurabh (1 wicket) taking over, effectively changing the momentum of the game with their skilful bowling. Rishab’s leg spin proved particularly potent, while Saurabh kept the batsmen guessing with his variations. Their efforts led to quick wickets, bringing Normo to the brink of defeat.

However, a resilient performance from one of Normo’s players delayed the inevitable, holding off WPHCC Red’s victory charge. Despite taking 8 wickets, time constraints forced the match to be called off at 6 pm, with WPHCC Red emerging victorious on the basis of the first innings lead. With their semifinal qualification hanging in the balance, the team anxiously monitored other match results, ultimately celebrating their progression to the next stage. The victory symbolised not just a triumph in cricketing skills but also a testament to the team’s passion, resilience, and hunger for success.

Special recognition was given to Vikas for his unwavering support despite carrying an injury and for his crucial role in managing the team’s resources during the match.

With a looming semifinal clash against St. Ives, WPHCC Red vowed to maintain their fighting spirit, ready to challenge their opponents and continue their beautiful journey in the tournament.

Recognition

• John “Mazza” Koleth – 6 wickets (both Innings) – 5 wickets in the first innings

C3 Grade

WPHC Blue (Rob) 167 defeated Castle Hill 94

After posting 4-105 off 47 overs, the Blues were keen to add to the total and take victory against Castle Hill. Yet, in the most Blues way, we lost 5-25 in our opening 12 overs of the day.

Andrew run out for 3, Kamran top edged for 10,  Zia LBW for 1, (although many sources state it was a dubious call from Mudi), Will caught at point for 8 and Jacques bowled for 0 were all a part of the late order collapse which meant birthday boy Reyhan and captain Rob were left to score. They did score as the two put on 36, Reyhan scored 35 of those runs including 4 sixes. Two over long off, another over long on and one over cow corner, it was some of the best batting the blues had seen all year. Those shots would’ve cleared any boundary in the association. We hoped that Rey would get 50 and he looked like he would until the bowler decided to go around the wicket and clean his stumps. Blues all out 167, birthday boy Rey, the top scorer.

With 45 overs to defend 167, something that was easily do-able on the slow Caddies Creek ground, the Blues were hopeful of a win. Dan struck near immediately bowling one of the openers. The birthday boy Rey then joined the party. Bowling the other other and then trapping the no.4 LBW in successive balls. He was on a hat-trick on his 21st birthday. The Castle Hill captain then rudely blocked the ball denying Rey a third.

With Tea approaching, Dan picked up another wicket with an excellent diving catch from keeper Kamran, who’s sugar-free Red Bull gave him the energy to dive like prime Gilly. Dan grabbed another over after, before Rey took his third on the stroke of Tea.

With Castle Hill 6-14, the boys were jubilant, Mudi’s muffins and Ahmed’s Tea (thanks Sneha!!!) gave the boost we needed as we headed back out. Yet their no.7 had other plans as he dispatched the ball over the field and kept the strike away from his partner. His partner would go eventually with Buzz striking gold and Dan taking the top edge. At drinks Castle Hill had gone to 7-77.

After some time in the field, Rey would be brought back into the attack and a couple overs into his spell he got the no.7 caught and bowled. With Castle Hill into the tail well and truly, it was only a matter of time that the wickets would come. Rey soon capped a dream birthday by bowling the no.10. 35 runs and 5fa. That’s not too shabby. Dan would soon finish the game with help from a Zia catch. Castle Hill all out for 94 and the Blues had won. Rey’s excellent 35 and 5-26 was the standout and definitely earned him Man of the Match. Dan’s 29 and 4-20 should be mentioned as it was just as good.

With 3 wins in the last 4, it looks like the Blues have saved our best cricket for the John Hayne Cup.

WPHC Red (Andrew) 9/220 dec defeated Kissing Point 157 & 4/76

Resuming on 0/67, chasing a further 90 runs, new bosom buddies Eric & Munish resumed their affair at the crease.

The plan was to bat to about tea & re-insert KP in an effort to get an outright, which would assure us of a semi final birth.

Runs flowed pretty freely as the pair brought their partnership to 101 before Munish departed for a well made 45. A couple of partnerships followed between Eric, Fieds & Feathers that took the score to 3/153, and it was pretty clear that we would claim first innings points.

Eric finally fell for a bright & breezy 83, and brought up his 6,000^th run for the Club in the process (the 48^th player to do so Source: Uncle Dinesh.

Lachie Woolnough finally contributed (after last week’s harsh call out from Jack), living dangerously after being dropped by the same fielder twice before giving him a 3^rd & final chance on 26. We declared on 222, at tea which gave us about 40 overs to make something happen.

Jack & Pat were fired up and made some inroads into KP’s top order, with Jack finishing the regular season as the C3 leading wicket taker with 29 & Pat #2 on 26. Big achievement fellas ! Time was running out, but the boys were enjoying themselves, mostly at Naughty Nathan’s fielding antics. Shak also took a liking to knocking a few batters’ heads off, but that didn’t really help our cause.

We pulled up stumps 30 mins early when the pub was calling, and we were looking forward to playing the Johnny Holmes Cup next week.

Unfortunately, we later learned that a few results went our way & we expect to find ourselves playing semi final cricket next week against minor prems, Berowra. We’ll start rank outsiders, but we have nothing to lose so will turn up & see how we go.

C4 Grade

WPHC Blue (Hiresh) 253 defeated WPHC Red (Ross S) 174

This is a shorter match report because some of the C4 Blues are probably not in the best position to type things coherently…

Anyway, the day started on a really wet Campbell Park with Parin and Shanks adding more runs.

Parin was run out on 26 going for a second run. That brought Sach to the crease who hit a few quick runs before getting out to Henry for his 7^th wicket in the innings (7/41 – Great stuff).

The Blues ended their innings on 253. Immediately they made an inroad with Vishnu claiming a wicket after Sparsh took a running catch (Hiresh would take credit for that after a team talk that was more remembered for the amount of swearing than actually what he said). But the Reds fought back with Mohan and Mridul putting on 73 for the second wicket including some solid sixes from Mohan…until he was caught on the boundary off Sparsh’s bowling (notch up another catch in the deep for Eamon) for 39. Sparsh then claimed Raynaldo for a duck with a nice yorker that cleaned him up.

Things then went to spin as Shanks (1 wicket – absolute dross that was well caught by Sparsh at short cover (2^nd catch), Ratul (1 wicket – amazing caught and bowled without crushing his glasses although he nearly stepped on them), and Hiresh (aka Hareesh) picking up 2 after not bowling for a loooong time (he picked up Mridul for 27…and was caught by Sparsh (3^rd catch)). With the last hour at play, the Reds needed 120 odd for victory while still holding 3 wickets in the shed to bat out for the draw. But Mukund who had gone wicketless prior had his final say.

He bowled Darren out but had to wait a while as Jake and Ram batted for a while, cutting down overs. Ram (33) played some good shots as he hit four boundaries including two sixes (one of them leading to a lost ball) but then Mukund got Jake out (caught easily by Vishnu) and then bowled out Ram to complete the Blues’ 2^nd victory of the season (yeah…not that flash of a season).

Mukund’s 3/52 helped close out the game and it was even funnier that he still couldn’t get over 3 wickets in an innings (One day, mate…one day). Quick shout out for Vishnu who had filled in for us from C1s and talked about his neat offies that he never got to bowl (and he scored like 60 odd and took a wicket but yeah) and Sparsh who scored 95 (1 run was taken away…sad), took two wickets, and three catches.

Even though both teams are out of finals contention, it was still an intense derby game that was played in the right spirit and camaraderie that we play as West Penno (1-1 for the season as a note).

For the Blues, I’m sure some will be having a massive struggle in the morning after this W. It was a great season with the lads despite some luck going against us but that’s cricket and hey, we had fun!

D1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Agniva) 8/282 vdec drew with Glenorie 8/76

Last day before the finals and the team was pumped to finish the season strong! With the semi final spot all but locked in, the aim was to give everyone a chance to bat and then try and bowl Glenorie out.

Lakshya and Praneel started off well, carrying the momentum from last week well into day 2 on a damp Les Shore 1.

After Praneel fell to a great piece of stumping, Agniva joined Lakshya on the crease which saw the duo build a solid partnership. Lakshya carried on as in he never left the crease since day 1, punishing the bowlers all around the park, the highlight being one of the longest sixes we’ve seen this year – a straight one over the bowlers head. After a strong 66 run partnership, Agniva fell trying to accelerate and soon after Lakshya managed to get to his second ton of the season 116 – an innings which makes us confident as a unit to take on any challenge head on!

What followed were valuable contributions from every other batsman who followed and when you are prepping for the finals, that’s all you need. We declared for 8-282 at the stroke of tea. Glenorie on the other hand were having a fit about how we were not giving them a chance to win the game and creep into the semis and they believed on one team were playing cricket, though a couple of their more sensible players were visibly annoyed with the rest of the squad for their antiques.

With a minimum of 35 overs still left to play, we decided to mix things up a bit. Agniva and Chintan started off the attack, keeping the batsman clueless about what spin to play and we struck hard. So much so that the team who were complaining about not having enough time to win the game, struggling for existence to even get to a draw. Both the bowlers kept striking at regular intervals till they were 5-11 at one point, the highlight being a gravity defying catch at short mid wicket from Rohan, another feather added to our already comprehensive list of catches of the season! Mridul then came into the attack and the story was no different. He picked up two more before the drinks break with Glenorie reeling at 7-27 and we knew we had a chance to wrap them up.

Unfortunately a couple of batters dropped the anchors and we couldn’t manage to pick up the last two, nevertheless we managed to squeeze them hard for the draw and something we all should be proud of! A couple of dropped catches converting, and we could have easily wrapped them up! 3 wickets each to Chintan and Agniva and two to Mridul.

Bring on the semis and good luck to every other West Penno Squad playing the finals! Commiserations to those who missed out but we known y’all will come back stronger next season!

WPHC Red (Diggers) 81 lost to Beecroft 8/118

We turned up to a relatively damp Thornleigh Oval, with one end of the pitch covered in mud.

Harry’s Dad, Ben, feverishly worked on the pitch trying to get it to a reasonable playing condition, However ,before the game started Disco decided to bowl all the young quicks from one end and only bowl spin (and himself) from the mud covered end.

We were not sure how Beecroft were going to play. Last week they made 1/7 off 15 overs and they seemed to be in no hurry to chase down our modest score.

Harry and Disco opened the bowling and Disco was lucky to take a caught & bowled in his first over.

Harry bowled superbly all day and finished with the very fine figures of 2/5 off 15 overs. I can’t recall Harry bowling a bad delivery, with everything on a good line and length at the stumps.

Nandit also bowled consistently and also finished the day with fantastic figures of 3/26 off 21 overs.

However at drinks Beecroft had crawled to 2/30 off 35 overs and this seemed to be their approach to game.

After drinks, Beecroft continued to score slowly and at tea-time they had reached 3/70 off 50 overs.

It took another 10 overs after tea for Beecroft to score the 12 runs to take 1^st innings points, however the Beecroft captain decided he wanted some batting practice for his team and wanted to keep playing.

Despite our annoyance, we kept playing and Disco decided to mix up the bowling which saw good contributions from Farjad (2/21), Adi (0/14) and Grant (0/9).

Beecroft continued to bat (slowly) and continued to lose wickets. In the last 10 overs before drinks they had scored only 3 runs.

Luckily common sense prevailed and the Beecroft captain offered to end the game at drinks with Beecroft on 8/118.

This meant we could finally return to the Sporto and celebrate the season.

Thanks everyone for another great season and hope to see you again next season!

D2 Grade

WPHC (Roger) 101 lost to St Ives 142

A fun season ended for us  with a loss to division leader St Ives. Chasing 143 we fell short with 101 all out. Malinda top scored for us with 39.  Our shortcomings with the bat,  that plagued us most of the season,  stopped us capitalising on a great bowling effort last week.