Match Reports

Competition – Round 8 (1-Dayer)

(Saturday 16^th December 2023)

 

A1 Grade

WPHC (Cameron) 7/191 defeated Vs Hornsby 134

Welcome to a very dry and hot Parklands Club and Lodge.

Entry was free for spectators today but no one took advantage. That said, freshly married Gunny turned up for a little bit, it was great to see him and his enormous forehead.

In shock team selection news, Tiz was dropped to A2s to test his injured body against weaker opponents. After a long hiatus with a foot concern, L Mac was recalled to the top flight. He was greeted by Assman warmly, “I’ve had dreams of you coming back, wet dreams”.

Sav and Krang opened us up – and visually it looked like Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden walking to the crease with their contrasting statures. The crowd of 2 Hornsby were sold completely when Assman blasted Great Southern Land through the speaker to accompany the walk.

Sav immediately realised that this was a limited overs contest. He threw the bat around early and was rewarded fruitfully. So much so that DJ Assman on the sidelines was struggling to keep up with new songs to blast through the speaker for every boundary.

Down the other end, Krang was staring down the barrel of 3 straight A Grade ducks, a world away from the onslaught of runs that he enjoyed at the start of the year. Fans of K didn’t need to be nervous for long, a huge shot to the deep midwicket boundary got him on the board.

Krang began to slow down running between wickets, drawing comparison for Preeds on the sideline to Inzamam Ul Haq. Well K must have heard that, because out of nowhere he started running quick singles. Quick singles. K. “Is that the same person?” – Assman

I don’t think we have started as well as what we did today.

We raced to 0/45 off 6 and we were cruising. That was until Krang went for the hook shot and skied it – agaaaaaaiinnnnnn. Carbon copy dismissal from the last two innings. Hornsby had read the scouting report on K. He was gone for 9. “Nice pull shot” said Meiks as he walked off. K smashed the Indian style mesh on the tunnel of stairs at Parklands.

Preeds joined Sav to the crease and the handbrake was immediately applied. Preeds might have been quick with his comparisons to K, well let me just say – Imam Ul Haq bats quicker that Jackson Preedy. That’s harsh, he looked good, just kept picking out fielders. Preeds lasted 16 balls for 2 runs until he cut one in the air to the point region. He was out. He wasn’t happy.

In came Assman, desperate for a change of luck. Hornsby had read the scouting report, a deep mid wicket was immediately put in. He wanted to spend some time at the crease, but he didn’t last long, trying to take on the deep midwicket on the longest boundary. Skied in the air and out.

Billy Gaunt entered the crease sporting a new haircut, it kind of looked like his hair had been braided by his room mates. He and Sav upped the run rate and were looking good, Billy looking as good as I’ve seen him for some time. He did the hard work and got in, only to be victim to a ball that rolled when trying to pull. Another wicket to a pull shot, the pitch just refused to bounce.

Jamakin joined Sav who was just continuing on his merry way down the other end. The two ticked the scoreboard over before Jamakin fell victim. Sav had about 75% of our runs so far, and he wasn’t done yet. Tom Hando came and went quickly, creaming one to the deep midwicket boundary to a sharp catch. A mini collapse was on. But we weren’t going to pancake on Sav’s watch.

L Mac back in the side looked the goods in a neat little cameo after his hiatus on the sidelines. A couple of great shots got him into double digits, but he couldn’t go on with it. Hornsby were into the tail.

Lichaaa joined Sav who had just moved into the 80s. 134 was the score. Sav knew we had no batting left, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

That last 5 overs went for 57 runs in a partnership for the ages, Sav dispatching Hornsby to all parts of the ground in an incredible display of batting. He bought up his second century of the year and then hit the Luke Herzog GAS pedal and got to 128 not out. The score finished at 191. A partnership of 57, Lichaaa was just 4 of those down the other end.

Sav summed it up perfectly during his century celebration. “I am the greatest”. Muhammad Ali or Sean Clarence, I know which one I want batting for me in the HKHDCCCCA A GRADE competition.

A flat Hornsby had to then come out and bat and boy the mood didn’t get any better for them for the man of the moment Sav taking a sharp catch in the slips to get the first WIX.  Captain Krang on the board.

Krang doubled down shortly thereafter, with Assman surprisingly holding onto a catch. Club captain, A grade captain, opening batsman, opening bowler, property tycoon – is there anything OUR Krang cannot do.

Down the other end, Hornsby were facing relentless pressure from new opening bower Jackson Preedy. He picked up the dangerous Dingo Chamberlain with a vicious bouncer that was skied in the air. 3 for not many and we were on top.

Lichaa and Gas came on and picked up another 3 between them and just like that, Hornsby were 6 down for 32. 4 WIX to get, it should have just been a formality – but the Hornets stung back with some fight and pizzazz, batting deep into the innings.

Laughter, sunshine and rainbows turned to frustration for one spearhead Lichaaa, especially when his husband Gas came back into the attack. A loose over resulted in some choice words from Lichaaa and a quarrel resulted between the two veterans. Jamakin has referred them to marriage counselling over the Xmas break. Gas responded with some great overs thereafter, so you could, YOU COULD argue that the little rev up paid dividends. FULLY FRANKED DIVIDENDS.

On indulgence here Mr Speaker – sorry Gassy Wassy. WASSY

Tom “Little Lichaaa” Hando finished off the innings with 3 late wickets, allowing us to go back to the rooms and rewatch the Riverview Schoolies Acid video.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

A2 Grade

WPHC (Campbell) 5/190 defeated Castle Hill

A few rarities for A2s this week.

The first being a win, we’ll get to that.

We were playing a game away from the Glade for what feels like the first time since Steve Waugh was the Australian captain.

And our own fearless leader Campbell Wallace returned.

Campbell has not played for us since the 21^st of October.

For context, on October 21, Australia were looking shaky with 2 wins, 2 losses in their cricket World Cup campaign.

Campbell returned by announcing he’d have to leave early in the second innings to catch a plane to Hawaii and no-one’s favourite deputy Justin Edwards would be taking over for the rest of the day.

Hearts immediately sinking across the team. Thanks Campbell.

A strong batting display from WPH at Berowra Oval. Shaan ‘Yoki Bear’ Bakshi with his usual sumptuous concoction of continental wrist flicks made 56.

A great milestone, not that we on the sidelines scoring were paying attention.

Upon realising that Shaan had already passed 50 and we did not applaud, it was decided that we’d applaud his next ball. Not his next run.

A play and miss outside the off stump drew a huge cheer and requests for Shaan to raise his bat. He confusingly obliged. Thanks Shaan.

Birdcage made 40 in support of Shaan, Campbell a quick fire 33 and Brent 25* to takes us to 190.

Now, one of the great things in cricket, or indeed sport, or indeed life, is seeing someone rise to a new, confronting challenge.

Tisveer Mistry received the PROMOTION this week to A2s from his usual A1s.

Undaunted by this prospect, Tis rose to the elevated stage, taking 5/10 from his 7 overs.

It’s so uplifting to see the future of A2s is in good hands with young Tis, his promotion may be made permanent.

Special mention to Sammy Hando who bowled alongside Tis, bowled much better than Tis, but took no wickets.

Sammy would bowl a glorious over, batsmen playing and missing several beautiful awayswingers outside the off stump for no reward.

Tis gets the batsman to lob a half-tracker to mid wicket.

Sammy goes again, pinning the batsman back with raw pace, they can’t lay a bat on him.

Tis bowls a full toss. Batsman misses it.

Cricket is unfair.

A clinical display all-around, a really complete performance for the first time this season.

Just getting into form at the perfect time for the break to halt momentum.

B1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Todd) 8/163 lost to Berowra TBA

Falling just short at the hands of Berowra once during a season is painful enough. When it happens twice, though, it’s really quite annoying.

For the second time in three months, Berowra walked away with an agonising three wicket triumph, a game where a victor wasn’t assured until the final over of the match. Sure, they had their foot an inch ahead for most of the run chase, but we consistently pegged them back just as things were getting out of hand and in the end, if we’d bowled slightly tighter throughout the second half of their innings, stopped some of their singles that really should not have been singles or if we’d scored literally just a few more runs with the bat, it would’ve been a completely different story.

If this, if that, but this, but that, whatever. At the end of the day, the six points are theirs, and we may now have to wait until the finals (presuming we both make it) to see if third time’s the charm. For many in the team, though, these proceedings are ever so slightly familiar after another Club did to the core of this team last year, and we all know what happened when it truly mattered. I won’t go into much detail, though, for I do not want to jinx anything (this team is pretty big on that, see).

With the bat, it was Sam (33) who led the charge in his first stint opening this season, keeping the runs racing along after Lachie was cleaned up by a fairly good ball if I do say so myself in the third over, with his replacement Volc also hanging around a while for his 29. In the latter half of the innings, it was Jude who led the way with a technically exquisite 38, while birthday boy Xander finished off in style with an unbeaten 34.

21^st birthdays only happen once in a lifetime, so I would like to call out the petulance of teammates Rick, Jude, Lachie and Willy who all had “more important” commitments to attend to than go back to the club and celebrate with him.

However, as the probably fairly un-mysterious match report writer is part of this group of horrible individuals, I do not wish to elaborate on this as I do genuinely feel kind of guilty but I hope he had a great day, even if the result was not in our favour.

We finished with 8-163 – probably above par at Greenway and after Ben broke through with the wicket of their 15-year-old A grade bat, we were on top.

But it would not be our day. For the standards of our high achieving bowlers, we simply did not hit the right lines and lengths often enough, forcing Sam into a nightmarish day behind the stumps. Even for (probably) the best wicketkeeper in the league, not even he could get his hands on some of the balls sprayed down both sides of the wicket, the byes racking well into double figures for probably the first and last time in his career.

When wickets came, they generally came in pairs with both of the “in” batters going around the same time but each time, Berowra were able to recover and keep in reach of the run rate. Credit to them, their lower order did put in a rather solid stint in the latter overs, hitting the bad balls and running hard between the wickets to keep the pressure on.

Even if it wasn’t our day, though, we did find another specialist bowler.

With no more than fifty runs and after being bowled by a full toss second ball earlier, Bishy bounced back magnificently after being handed the ball after drinks, bowling full and straight for seven straight overs, taking two important wickets and only conceding probably 25 runs-ish.

Due to the lack of the scorebook, though, I can’t confirm who took the other wickets, but it was probably something like one each to the rest of Todd, Jack, Ben, Prats and Xander. Deepest apologies if I have that wrong, it’s nothing personal. Unless I’ve robbed Ben of another wicket, then it is – I can only be honest after he predicted the match report writer to get bowled for 2 before the game began.

All in all, not the result we wanted, but we’ll be back after the New Year’s to try and turn our two day form into the shorter format to begin our ascent up the table.

WPHC Red (Shomik) Vs Kissing Point

Details not yet to hand.

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) 6/214 defeated Thornleigh 136

Our young guns were all in holiday mode after their last day of school the previous day but 1pm came rolling round too soon. Fill in captain Prashant urged everyone to get to the ground urgently as he has lost the toss against Thornleigh and needed his top order batsmen ready to go.

After a slow start losing our first wicket in the first few overs Ved and Vishnu steadied the ship, ticking the total over while putting away the occasional bad ball. After making a well made 28 Vishnu popped one back to the bowler for a soft dismissal. On the other end Ved continued piling the runs on while wickets fell around him until Akith came in with a positive mindset.

Akith matched Ved’s pace and the partnership was building quickly.

Ved made his way to a speedy 78 before playing a false shot, ending a fine knock. We approached the tail but still knew runs had to be made with Samih and Prashant both playing handy knocks leading to a final score of 6/214.

Satisfied with our total, we were pumped up ready to go, keeping in mind Thornleigh’s top order batsmen were all powerful hitters. Ben W and Samih got things underway with the ball with Ben needing to leave early to attend a party. Though in his short 3 over spell, he picked up 2 wickets which included a great diving catch by Ansh to claim one of the key openers’ wicket.

This was only the beginning dream start with our bowlers taking wickets left right and centre leaving Thornleigh in shambles, 7 down within the first 12 overs. The only thing on our mind at this point was how quickly can wrap up this game and go home but some persistence from the lower order made our hopes somewhat short lived.

After struggling to claim the 10^th wicket, we started to question if the run chase was still on as Thornleigh were still scored close to the required rate despite the batting collapse.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, we took the final wicket getting Thornleigh all out for 136, wrapping up a great performance all round, one which our captain Indranil will be very proud of.

C2 Grade

WPHC Blue (Mat) 8/163 lost to Hornsby 134

Another thrilling day of cricket in scorching weather.

As soon as you turned up to the ground you were quick to realise the match was being played in the middle of a jungle. Why was a West Penno Vs Hornby game even played at Brooklyn?. Either ways West Penno won the toss and Marty opted to ball first.

Fin and John took the new ball and it only took Fin 1 ball to get his first wicket with a good catch by Rob at mid wicket. It was an absolute hackathon by the opener, I’m not sure he even knew where he was hitting the ball.

The veteran Mat Marsden got the ball and he cleaned him up with what he would call the “effort ball”. Marty assisted in a terrific team runout with Fin collecting the ball from another postcode and throwing it onto the stump, providing another wicket for West Penno.

After flying in from Perth last night, the Goat made an early impact with the ball trapping their set batter for 34. After a bit of a shaky first over from G2 (James Lubrano) he quickly found his length and deceived the batter to get another wicket for the boys after some lightning glove work by Bronson Marsden who thinks he’s Ms Dhoni. Marty pulled off another stunning one handed slip catch to give G2 his 2nd wicket. Both the goat and G2 bowled outstanding, both of them picking up a 2 fer.

After having Hornsby in all sorts at 7/73 the boys got a bit unlucky with a couple of tough chances going down and some power hitting from the Hornsby batters. The Goat really took the phrase “body on the line” too seriously, as he copped a hefty blow to the eye causing blood to come rushing out.

Coming back on for his 2^ndspell Fin made the batter play a false stroke with Mat Baynie taking a good catch at point giving the boys their 8^th wicket. All in all a solid effort by West Penno (8/163) gave them a score of 164 runs to win in 35 overs.

West Penno opened up with a youngster (Sohan) and a veteran (Brent), although the first couple of overs was all about Brent. Brent only knew one way and that was smoking the cover off the ball as he cleared the fence twice loosing the ball in the jungle, not an ideal place to loose a cricket ball. Brent fell after a quick fire 25. The Veteran left hander Mat Marsden came into the crease to join Sohan. With the help of some batting coaching from the slip fielder Mat rotated strike and continued to build on a positive start for West Penno.

Sohan was finding the boundary although a low full toss brought his undoing as he creamed it to mid on before getting caught by a blinder on 15. The boys kept ticking away with singles however a straight ball by a spinner was enough to dismiss Mat, whose bat was almost in another postcode. The Goat showed bravery to bat with a black eye and he was sure getting reminded about it by the umpire Mat who thought he was soft. Bronson played well for his 14 before giving an absolute lollipop to short mid wicket. Will didn’t trouble the scorers as usual as he scored his average yet again with a solid 1 run.

Rob got unlucky edging off, bringing Mat Baynie into the crease. With a near impossible task ahead of West Penno, both Mat Baynie and Marty chipped away at the runs, giving the boys who were already starting to load their cars up some hope. Marty played brilliantly finding the boundary regularly with Mat playing a good supporting role whilst also putting the bad balls away.

As the run rate kept creeping up past 15, the pressure got too much with West Penno falling 29 runs short as Marty edged off for a well made 38 runs.

Mat Baynies 20 not out helped boost both his average and his confidence.

Resistance brought the boys agonisingly close although they encountered yet another defeat, this time to Hornsby.

Hopefully a good break will bring the boys back in good spirits to finish the season off in a high.

WPHC Red (Arun) 117 lost to St Ives Wahroonga 7/136

It was a scorching day at the Bannockburn Oval, as West Pennant Hills geared up to face St. Ives in a highly anticipated clash. Having recently secured a victory in the previous match, WPHCC was optimistic despite the challenge posed by the competition’s second-ranked team.

Captain Arun, considering the heat, opted to bat after winning the toss. However, luck was not on WPHCC’s side, as the coin favoured St. Ives, who chose to bat first.

WPHCC initiated a spirited bowling attack against St. Ives’ formidable batting lineup.

Amitava and Vikas set the tone with impressive swing, pace, and line. St. Ives found it challenging to score against Penno’s bowling, adopting a cautious approach that hinted at a defensive mindset. Captain Arun’s strategic bowling changes proved effective, limiting St. Ives to 136 runs in 35 overs while losing 7 wickets.

The WPHCC bowling unit showcased brilliance, maintaining pressure and keeping St. Ives on the defensive throughout their innings.

In response, West Pennant Hills commenced their batting innings with Arun and Saurabh. However, St. Ives’ bowling attack proved to be a formidable challenge. Arun faced some tough deliveries and struggled to score, while Saurabh displayed confidence by making valuable contributions.

Rishab joined the crease after Arun’s departure but was followed by a partnership between Rishab and Saurabh, contributing quick runs. Penno appeared to be on track for victory. Aniket, entering the crease after Saurabh’s departure, added some crucial boundaries before exiting. The dependable Hari, along with Rishab, seemed poised to steer the team to victory.

With just 40 runs needed to win, the game was well within WPHCC’s grasp.

However, Rishab’s dismissal (32 runs) after a splendid shot turned the tide. Despite Hari’s (33 runs) valiant efforts, the middle order faltered, and WPHCC fell short by a mere 20 runs.

This unexpected turn of events left the entire team disheartened, marking an unfortunate end to the year. Nevertheless, the team remains optimistic, recognising its potential for a strong comeback in the new year.

Captain Arun is poised for strategic planning and preparation for the upcoming rounds, with the likelihood of maintaining a spot in the top four.

As the year comes to a close, the West Pennant Hills C2 Red wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2024.

Highlights of the Day

• Batting – Rishab (32), Hari (33)
• Bowling – Wickets – Amitava – 1, John Kurian – 2, Saurabh Kapoor – 1, Rohan Choudhury – 1, Rishab Iyer – 1, Vikas Goel – 1

Special thanks are due to Rohan Chowdhury for his invaluable contribution to C2, delivering an outstanding spell.

Gratitude is also extended to Agni, the D1 Captain, for generously allowing Rohan to assist and share his skills with C2.

C3 Grade

WPHC Red (Fieds) Vs Bye

WPHC Blue (Rob) 115 lost to St Ives Wahroonga 3/151

On a windy yet scorching summer’s day, the C3 Blues turned up one by one, (mostly late) to a dry, dodgy Hassall Park to play St Ives-Wahroonga.

Captain Rob lost the toss and we were bowling first. As we trudged out to the field, comparisons were made to dog tracks and farms; the outfield at Hassall lived up to its name, divots, dry grass, anything. We’d seen better before.

Rey and the newly promoted Tejas opened the bowling and tightened the scoring rate. Bowling economically for the first 10 overs, Tejas took the first wicket in the 8^th, a well-pitched delivery finding the edge of the openers bat and into the hands of our first slip Kaushal. Mind you this was the same opener that Rey had trapped plumb first ball of the day.

Guess the umpires weren’t ready for the heat that the conditions or Rey brought. Dan Vink, Kaushal and Buzz all bowled before the break, Danos taking another pole to bring the St Ives score to 2-40 off the first 18. C grade legend Buzz, (who does like sauce on his subway unlike his son Ben, source Lachie Edwards) continued bowling after the break, giving very little and was deserving of a wicket.

Jacques and Zia replaced Buzz and Kaushal with almost immediate effect, Jacques taking their second drop with a nick to keeper Kamran, little to Kamran’s amazement as he didn’t realise the ball was in his hands till first slip Kaushal began to celebrate. Dan and Rey would then come back and work hard to restrict the St Ives team to 3-151. Their opener scoring 77*. Only for Will to retort and say he scored 83 here in 25 overs a couple years back. Good to see he’s living in the moment.

Chasing 152, Aden and Kamran started off with a bang getting the score to 21 quickly before Aden fell for 13. Dan and Will fell cheaply too.

Again, good to see Will’s living in the moment and not thinking about past glories. Jacques soon fell as Kamran and Zia fought before heat stroke struck Kamran initially. Out went Tejas who took the game to drinks’. 4-56 at drinks and it was all to do. Tejas immediately responded by charging and missing the ball and getting himself stumped. Here came Buzz, who crafted a nice innings of 10 (good for our standards) with Zia before the Zi Monster nicked off to second slip. Kamran would come back and compile a tidy 31 before sending one straight to mid-wicket. 7-100. Reyhan was hopefully our secret weapon. A James Faulkner like hard hitting late order bat, he did it for a couple balls and then he and Buzz got out caught in the deep. A shame really they leathered it to deep mid-wicket and fine leg respectively.

Kaushal and skipper Rob finished off the game attempting to snag a single here and anywhere before the silly mid-on took the catch of the century. A one handed diving catch left the batsmen, fielders and umpires astounded.

That was the game and another Blues loss. Oh well that’s cricket, lots to improve upon as the second half of the season looms.

Merry Christmas to all of the WPHCCC family and a Happy New Year.

Happy 21^st to Xander Vink too, hope it was a good one mate

C4 Grade

WPHC Blue (Hiresh) 147 lost to Kenthurst 176

It was a real hot day at Kenthurst where the pitch looked like a weird brownish green tinge.

On his captaincy debut, Sparsh vowed that he will not lose the toss like Hiresh had done so many times. It kept his vow as he won the toss and put Kenthurst into bat.

Immediately, the skip struck early with a wicket in the second over of the game. Then the Kenthurst opener and number 3 put on 100 for the second wicket, scoring a rapid pace in small ground. Sparsh struck again, bowling out the other opener. However, the Kenthurst number 3 was seeing the ball like a beach ball as he feasted on anything short and hit through anything that was full.

It came to a point where he was treating the other batter like a nightwatchman before drinks and then as a tailender after drinks. But pressure was put on the other batter who couldn’t really catch up. After some tight bowling from Eamon, Sparsh, and Mukund, the scoring rate dropped a bit.

Shanks picked up the other batter caught close in before picking up their number 3 for 84, caught at deep midwicket by Eamon. Then the scoring rate really dried. Renesh picked up his first run out as he ran out a batter trying to get off strike off Mukund’s bowling. Shanks picked up a 3^rd wicket, fill-in Nathan Watkins and Mukund picked up a wicket each to close off the innings strongly.

Kenthurst finished with 176 on board. Shanks (3/30), Sparsh (2/14), Mukund (1/16) and Nathan (1/10) all bowled well and Eamon caught three catches all at the boundary. Great stuff.

In response, Sparsh and Yasiru put on a 50 run opening stand in quick time. Sparsh was smashing them around the park, especially through the leg-side. Yasiru fell for 16. Sparsh scored another 50 as he and Renesh got the score to 80 before Renesh was run out clumsy.

That sparked a collapse as we slumped to 7/95 after being 1/80 with Sparsh being one of the batters out, caught excellently for 57. However, fill-in Luchith and Shanks put on 50 for the 8^th wicket (we obviously know who would have scored bulk of the runs). The pair of them got the score to 30 odd to win with 3 overs in hand.

It was like a really lite version of Maxwell and Cummins with one batter getting dropped like 5 times and the other batter struggling to like actually hit the ball. However, despite the partnership, the asking rate was too high and Shanks (7) fell before Luchith was run out for 49.

We ended up all out, 30 runs shy of the target.

Not the ideal way to end 2023 unless you’re Hiresh, Meet, and Ratul who were enjoying a cruise… (Lameeeee). Unfortunately, could have ended up finishing strong this year if it wasn’t for the weather. However, it was yet again a great bowling effort from the team in the last 4 matches. Great stuff from Sparsh who led well, batted well, and yeah kind of bowled well too.

Also a huge shout out for Nathan, Luchith, Yasiru, and Louis for all filling in for us this match. Thanks so much guys. Hopefully, 2024 is a great year for us and the start of a great run.

C4 Red (Ross S) 6/101 defeated Berowra 94

With competition table so tightly bunched seems like we go into every game having to win to keep ourselves in the top 4.

Today was no different.

With a draw last week and Berowra winning outright  we were pushed from 2^nd into 4^th with Berowra leap frogging us into 3^rd. A loss would see us drop out of the 4 whilst a win would see us go ahead of Berowra into 3^rd. Such a weird comp given we have only lost 1 game so far this season yet still in not in the top 2.

Back to hot Campbell Park, second game in a row. With a couple of players on the injured list, and a couple on holidays we welcomed Jack Marsden and Patrick Watkins today from Fieds team. Thanks guys.

Toss lost and the opposition chose to bat in hot gusty conditions.

With our opening bowlers away this game, Patrick and Jack opened up.

The Berowra batters were intent to get things away to a fast start, but both bowlers were difficult to score freely from. Runs did flow in patches with some streaky shots. 0/24 after 7 overs. The first breakthrough finally came in Jacks 4^th over …1st ball stumps uprooted…..new batter first 2 balls beautiful shots for 4.  That guy looks in for a big score….then a huge skied ball, which stayed up forever. A great catch my Mohan at mid-on..Berowra 2/32 after 8.

A change of bowling saw the batters go on the attack….Berowra 2/53 at the 12 over drinks break.

Funny enough at the drinks break, Ross who was scoring at the time, was asked by a couple of the Berowra guys what he thought a good score was on Campbell…..to which Ross replied cheakily….”you need over 200, so better get a move on”.

Batters  on a mission after drinks. First 3 overs after the break Berowra put on 25.   Berowra 2/78.  Ross a little worried his comments had backfired.     But an Inspirational bowling change by Muthindra on come spin twins Mohan and Henry in tandem….A short ball from Mohan smashed by their top scorer straight to Henry at backward point…great catch…..out for 41…….The next 7 overs Berowra self destruct with some interesting shots, wonderful bowling and fielding. They lose 8/16…….all out for 94 off 21 overs with 5 wickets to Henry including a great caught and bowled, and 3 to Mohan 2 of which sent stumps rolling.

 

Some wonderful bowling by us with Henry 5/8 (3), Mohan 3/18 (6) and Jack 2/23(5). Our fielding was exceptional with 2 catches to Henry, and 1 each to Mohan, Gihan and Jack….first time this year I can say we did not drop a catch, and only 4 sundries. Heads could have dropped at 2/78 in hot conditions but our intent was great right through the innings and we were rewarded.

Chasing a smallish total is always fraught with danger…but we have been batting with confidence this year.

So much so it was time to turn the order around a little to give some opportunities.Ray and Henry opened up and took a steady approach to some very good bowling. With the score at 18 we lost Raynaldo for 14. Darren then joined Henry for some fathers/son time both playing some great shots. 1/31 at the 12 over drinks break.

Several times already this season we have lost wickets after drinks, and it happens again …Darren out second ball after drinks caught behind. Mohan then joined Henry. Again very tight bowling. 2/43 after 16. We then lost Henry for 12 as he tried to push things on a bit, then Raymond to a surprise full toss in the very same over. Suddenly 4/43 at the half way mark , some wobbles.

Muthindra then joins Mohan….team says take your time. Plenty of overs left…..however first ball to Muthindra from the very same bowler who just bowled a double wicket maiden…..deposited onto the hill. From that point the momentum of the game changed with Mohan and Muthindra taking the attack to the bowlers.

Unfortunately we lost Mohan for 21, but an important 32 run partnership in quick time. Gihan then joins Muthindra taking us to the second Drinks break 5/82. Just 14 runs needed off 11 overs and a win in sight.

So then you guessed it, the drinks gremlin strikes again ….1^st ball after the break we lose Muthindra for a well made 20… Still 14 needed.

Jack hurries out to the crease….Suf says “I thought I was in next”…but Jack too quick …….and keen to finish things off…..we all say Suf you were too slow….lol. Jack says afterwards “I just needed a bat”… ha ha.

Jack then finishes things off with a quick fire 11no, Gihan batting solidly 9no.

A really important win for us…..well skippered by Muthindra with assistance from Raynaldo…..and a great team effort.

 D1 Grade

WPHC Blue (Agniva) 167 defeated St Ives Wahroonga 158

Either the BOM app is faulty or we are really living in  world where 42 degrees seem more comfortable than a meagre 35 degree day!

That’s exactly how it felt yesterday at Karuah and by the time the team could figure out how this could happen Agni ended up winning the TOSS…..that’s two in a row and we were going to have a bat this time and try to defend.

Lakshya and Anubhav solidified the top order after a quick dismissal and started belting the bowlers all around the park and we seemed to be in a good shape at drinks, 70 odd for the loss of one and more importantly some very tired fielders already.

Lakshya fell for a well-made 27 and what followed was something this unit needs to focus on as the competition heats up. From 2-70 we went to 7-114 with the middle order collapsing cheaply. Anubhav fell agonisingly short of another fifty to a ball only he knew how to managed to get out to! What followed after this collapse was the tail playing out of their skin, so much so that even the opposition got frustrated and started throwing tantrums on the field. Amith, Mridul and Nirav added valuable 50 runs in the last 6 overs to take us to a respectable total of 167.

Next up we talk about our bowling, the opening bit of which has remained constant over the last 5-6 odd rounds!

Ravi Gunna aka The Cheetah gunning in, picking up wickets for fun and breaking the morale of the opposition. Mridul, still fresh from the bruise of the run out he was involved in earlier came around the wicket again to pick up his first scalp and we had the game in control at that point. Sahil our ‘keeper came back from a hiatus and showed us what we were missing as everything seemed to find his safe hands.

From that point onwards, St Ives built of a couple of nice partnerships and nearly took the game away from us with only needing 50 odd in the last 15 overs with 6 wickets in hand. With the match slowly slipping away, Agniva decided to check the runs from one end while Mridul and Ravi were assigned the task of cleaning it up from the other. 4 to Ravi, 3 to Mridul sealed the deal for us on a very uncomfortable day of cricket but what was heartening to see was the unit holding their nerves when things got tough. We clawed the game back from them and this is something to be very proud of before we head into the second half of the season. Also, with this feat, Ravi Gunna completes 50 wickets for WPHCCC.

Congratulations Ravi and congrats to this entire unit for another win to stay on top of the ladder.

Happy Holidays everyone!

WPHC Red (Diggers) 6/102 lost to Berowra 1/107

We were full of confidence going into a game against last place Berowra at Warrina Street Oval.

Diggers won the toss and decided to bat given the temperature was forecast to be in the high 30’s.

Our successful opening pair of Ross and Cliff went out to face a very quick (too quick for D Grade) bowler and unfortunately both fell quite cheaply. They were followed by Surendra who fell without scoring after being elevated up the order and we found ourselves 3/11.

Adi combined with Grant to rebuild the innings and formed a good partnership before Adi fell for 11. Nandit was next to come in, but also fell for 11 which brought Ramil to the crease after a number of weeks absence.

Ramil and Grant started scoring freely and combined for a great partnership of 42 before Grant was bowled by Berowra’s very quick young bowler (too good for D Grade), who ran through our top order.

Ramil continued to hit boundaries and ended up with a top score of 39no within the overall team total of 6/102, which was never going to be enough at this ground.

Berowra came out to bat and straight away we noticed their shots across the field seemed to run a lot quicker than when we were batting.

Disco was able to get an early break-through in his first over and Berowra were 1/11. However that’s where the joy of cricket ended and Berowra were able to chase down the score in the 23^rd over with 1/107.

Hopefully we can re-group after Christmas/New Year and turnaround our performance after the last two costly losses.

 D2 Grade

WPHC (Roger) Vs Berowra

Results not yet to hand