It was another good weekend for the Manly boys, winning 4 out of 5 grades on Saturday and 1^st grade beating Sydney Uni in their Limited Overs Quarter Final on Sunday. We have now moved to 3^rd place in the club champs and 1st grade will take on Fairfield on February 20 in the Limited-Overs Semi Final.

Outstanding Performances

Tim Cruickshank 203 (1sts)
Ben King 94 (1sts)
Ryan Bonner 3-28 (3rds)
Ryan Farrell 3-103 (3rds)
Mitchell Pugh 4-13 (5ths)
Dave Farrell 3-14 (5ths)
Louis Anderson 63 (5ths)
Jackson Bird 6-19 (1sts Limited Overs)
Adam Crosthwaite 77* (1sts Limited overs)
Nat Hill 54* (1sts Limited Overs)

Players of the Week – Tim Cruickshank + Jackson Bird

It was very hard to split these two. Tim batted superbly on Saturday to post his maiden double century for Manly. He showed excellent concentration and gritt to bat for a very long period of time on a slow wicket against a tight attack.

Jackson produced the spell of the season when it was most needed on Sunday. After winning the toss and bowling on a damp track, it was imperative we made the most of it. He was simply unplayable, and knocked over 2 current 2^nd XI players and a former state bat. His figures of 6-19 were a just reward for the way he bowled and he was unlucky not to pick up a couple more.

1^st Grade Report VS Sydney (Day 2) – Jack Ritchie

We started the day 3 out with about 70 to get. Unfortunately Nat fell early, however a massive partnership then took place between Kingy and Tim. With the pitch playing quite slowly, both guys showed tremendous patience to post a near club record partnership of 219. Both guys made their highest score in 1^st grade, with Kingy falling just short of his century on 94 while Timmy ended up with a massive 203.

Unfortunately the lower order fell away a bit after Tim and King were dismissed, however we nearly posted 400 so it was an extremely comprehensive victory.

2^nd Grade Report VS Sydney (Day 2) – Mitch Cleary

The Manly boys turned up on Day 2 to a pitch that was looking pretty bowler friendly. With Coxy and Jarred in and looking good last week, we were confident we had the batting line up to get the remaining 70 runs needed for 6 points.

We didn't have a great start with Coxy and Mee falling early but a few steady partnerships from the lower order ended up getting us home with 2 wickets in hand. Jarred, Sam Webber, Matty Alexander & Dylan all showed that they are more than capable in a tight situation and all contributed valuable runs to get the boys home.

We finished with a lead of 20 so we sent them back in to see if we could make some in roads and push for 10 points, all bowlers bowled exceptionally well to have them 5 for 70 but as the deck flatten out and time ticking away we decided to call it a day.

A great win and a very important 6 points.

3^rd Grade Report VS Sydney (Day 2)

4th Grade Report VS Sydney (Day 2) – Max Burgess

Turning up to the ground to see that nothing had changed, the outfield was still lighting quick and the deck looked very much the same. This meant the quicks had to bowl full and straight, the spinners had to be ready to bowl long spells and the team as a whole had to stay patience while working hard to amount pressure on the batsmen, which hopefully lead to a wicket.

In the first hour of play was a tight tussle between bat and ball as the lines and lengths that were needed to be hit from the quicks were done so in the forms of Luke Grant and Vinnie Rehaan. While at the other end Ryan Farrell was able to get the ball to grip and turn on the wicket. Heading into drinks we were able to restrict the run rate to just under two an over for the lost of one wicket.

After drinks the batsmen began to pick up the pace, this was led by former Manly first batsman/wicketkeeper Mark Atkinson who pressured the us in the field and got away with some easy singles, something we need to work on restricting if we want to beat top teams in the future. Heading into tea we had only pick up one more from the bowling of Vinnie and a good field change from captain Joel Mason that brought a mistake from the batsman. With the total looking it could take the majority of the day to get, five overs before tea saw 65 runs come from it, bringing Sydney into reaching distance of the total. Just another area we need to work on and prevent from happening in the future matches.

Sydney lost two quicks wickets after tea through the bowling of Ryan Farrell, who bowled two large spells and bowled well. He will learn a lot from bowling the spell and will better for it.

We know what we have to do next round and we will better for this lost.

5^th Grade Report VS Sydney (Day 2) – Dave Farrell

Manly were quickly bowled out in the second over of Day 2, giving us a lead of 58 going into the second innings. A handy lead, but around 150 ahead should have been where the game was at that stage.

The boys were confident of early wickets after rolling their top order last week, but it wasn’t to be. The Sydney openers got away a bit, on a good wicket, to put us under pressure for the first time in the match.

A run out (good work by Tom K & James R) started us off and Farrell grabbed 3 before tea, to have Sydney 4 down and about 80 runs ahead at the break.

The 2 skippers agreed that an outright result either way was the best way the game should be ended, so part time bowlers Pugh & Poole took the ball after tea.

Pughy has not really had many overs at Manly, but that may change. With the field up and lots of close catchers, Mitchell produced a dazzling spell of reverse swing meds. 4 for 13 was his reward for bowling at the stumps and doing a bit in the air. Great effort Pughy, it is good to have more options for the future.

Toby Poole toiled away with his Harbijan impersonations and grabbed his first wicket in the Manly colours.

The Sydney captain honoured our agreement and closed their innings at 9 for 194, leaving the Tahs 137 for victory off 19 overs at around 7 an over.

Under the watchful eye of club coach and master T20 tactician Patto, Manly sent our 20/20 line up out. Thickshakes (37) and Louis A (63), produced a superb opening partnership of skill, power and nous. Louis was again dominant in this situation, stroking 63 off just 28 balls. Plenty off proper cricket shots, just hit a lot harder than most and the common sense to know when to take singles. Jarrod was equally good, playing the perfect foil, getting off strike and taking 2’s when he could. This was one of those partnerships that captains and coaches just love and set the team up perfectly. An 80 run opening stand and getting the run rate down to a run a ball, saw Manly in a dominant position. Pughy and Tom K then both batted well, hitting the bad ball to the boundary and closing out the match. Tom was particularly in form, showing just how good a timer of a cricket ball he is.

So that was that, 10 points for 5th Grade, which moves us up to equal 2nd on the ladder. Plenty of hard work to come, but we can be well satisfied with our performance.

1^st Grade Limited Overs Quarter Final Report VS Syd Uni – Jack Ritchie

Crossy won the toss and bowled on what was a surprisingly damp wicket at Sydney Uni no.1. A wicket to Birdy on the second ball of the match set the tone, and after not long the uni bats were 4-17. A bit of a fightback occurred here, however once the 5^th wicket was taken the Manly boys cleaned things up, with Uni scraping to 147. Jackson Bird was the star, taking 6-19 off 10 of the best overs you will see in first grade cricket. He was simply a cut above.

We lost a couple of early wickets with the bat, however it was smooth sailing once Crossy and Nat Hill got their eye in. Both made unbeaten half centuries as we cruised to victory 2 down. Bring on Fairfield!