Round 5 – Sunday, 24 November 2013
C S Watson Shield – Under 16s Manly Warringah 8/211 (60 overs) defeated by Newcastle 8/215 (59.1 overs) at Wallsend
Abhijeet Virdi – 2/29 (9 overs)
Joe Graham – 2/37 (12 overs)
Aaron Peters – 2/40 (9.1 overs)
Jake Carden – 1/25 (10 overs)
Theo Guichon – 2 catches and 2 stumpings
Jake Carden – 80
Theo Guichon – 37 n.o.
Will Denny – 29
Congratulations to all of you on the great results over the weekend and our U11-U14 teams all making the finals!
Unfortunately with a lot of rain in Newcastle on Sunday, the turf pitches were all out of action, however we were luckily able to get a game at Wallsend on a synthetic pitch for the boys to finish off their junior rep careers after having been rained out in Round 4. Unfortunately for us we were involved in yet another nail biter where we came heartbreakingly close to winning but went down in the final over. Despite losing the match, each of the 12 boys once again showed enormous character to fight back from adversity throughout the match including Will, Jake and Liam, 3 of our frontline bowlers, battling with injury. Manly batted first and while our openers looked comfortable in the middle, we lost our first wicket at 11 with Joe Graham our captain possibly being a bit unlucky getting given out caught in slips by what appeared to be a bump ball. Aaron Peters went soon after without troubling the scoreboard and on came Jake Carden ready to do something special in his final rep match. Jake had been battling a hamstring injury which really impacted his running between wickets, however he set about playing the ball to all parts of the ground on his way to a magnificent 80. After opener Liam Mason was dismissed, Kieren Nixon joined Jake and was also a bit unlucky to be given LBW on what appeared to be a ball going down leg deflected from bat to pad. Matt Brock joined Jake and was out for 13 – score 5/79 so in a challenging position. Nick Hidas joined Jake and they put 30 or so before Nick was removed for 22 – score 6/111. Theo Guichon joined Jake and they put on 41, when Jake danced about 2-3m down the pitch, got hit on the pad and may have been a touch unlucky when the finger went straight up for LBW. Jake’s innings of 80 was an outstanding knock which included 5 fours and 5 sixes made off 125 balls. At this point the score was 7/152 and Will Denny joined Theo with a goal to get the score to 200+ in the final 10 or so overs. After the excitement of Jake’s innings, Theo and Will batted beautifully together with Theo playing some great strokes and continually finding the gaps with Will taking on more the aggressor role, cover driving their opening bowler and launching a 6 off consecutive balls. Their partnership of 54 ended when Will was run out at near the end for 29. Theo remained on 37 not out – a very fine innings at a much needed time. Final total 8/211 from the 60 overs.
Will and Abhijeet Virdi opened the bowling as usual and were really troubling the batsmen. Will was battling through a shin injury which affected his delivery stride so was only bowling short spells not at full pace but swinging the ball out nicely and was unlucky to have one put down in slips. Abhijeet at the other end was swinging the ball back into the batsmen and had them in all sorts of trouble, finally getting the breakthrough wickets and having both openers dismissed with the score 2/8 – a caught behind to WK Theo and a magnificent catch at square by Matt Kennedy. Jake and off-spinner Liam Mason came on next. Jake probably a bit troubled by his hammy after his long innings, was a bit down on his normal pace and Liam sustained a back injury in his spell that was to see him not return to the field. Joe, Matt Brock and Harrison Dunn came on but Newcastle has put on 73 runs for the 3rd wicket when Joe struck getting an edge to WK Theo. Jake Carden had another go and got the next wicket with a great Yorker that knocked the middle stump out of the ground – 5/130. That really spurred Jake on and he seemed to lift a notch. He was unlucky not to be rewarded with an LBW when he got 3 consecutive balls through the blockhole onto the pads for their number 4 who went on to make 70. With our bowling options a little limited with the injuries, Joe handed the ball to Aaron Peters who we know can turn it about 90o with his leg breaks and can take wickets when he gets it on the spot. Aaron certainly was imparting plenty of spin and he claimed the next 2 wickets by tempting the batsmen out of their crease, who didn’t read the spin and were magnificently stumped by keeper Theo who had had a great all round match with bat and in the field. It ultimately came down to the last over with 2 wickets needed to win, when Newcastle claimed the winning run.
It was very disappointing to lose in a number of such close matches this year, however the boys have been incredibly competitive in all 4 matches that were played and realistically with a few things going differently could have been 4 from 4. They all should be immensely proud of their efforts and the character they have each shown throughout. As they leave the junior rep program and embark on their respective cricket pathways, it has been a pleasure to see each of them progress and grow into outstanding young men, all the better for having experienced the highs and lows that the wonderful game of cricket has to offer. Thank you also to my tremendous support group of assistant coaches Danny LeMoy, Jacob Graham and James Trickey. Andy Mason and Vicki Carden were absolutely wonderful as managers this season as well as our fantastic group of parents. Finally thank you to David Gainsford, Greg Boyer and Phil Marks for their coaching support throughout.
Regards
Ross Denny
U16 DCA Coach
E G Weblin Shield – Under 15s Manly Warringah 10/94 (48 overs) defeated by North Shore 6/95 (24 overs) at Weldon Oval
Alex Bain – 2/14 (6 overs)
Joel Wood – 1/13 (2 overs)
Daniel Watts – 1/14 (3 overs)
Lachie Kerr – 1/19 (7 overs)
Ned Healy – 1/28 (5 overs)
Josh Blount – 20
Joel Wood – 20
After two successive washouts the boys arrived at Weldon with our season on the line. We played North Shore last year’s champions requiring a victory and other results to go our way for us to progress to the finals. We won our first toss of the season on a pitch that was hard and dry and would not have looked out of place in the middle of Mumbai. Alex Bain partnered Josh Blount and worked hard early against some tight bowling and a pitch that was very ‘two paced’ and inconsistent until we lost Alex (10). We then lost Jack Pickering (3) and Max Jolley in consecutive balls to find ourselves battling at 3/25. Joel Wood joined Josh and for a short period and bought some stability before we lost Josh for a fighting 20. Harry Brock joined Joel and after adding 16 runs we lost both boys when the score was 66. 6/66 and things were looking grim on a difficult and deteriorating pitch. The drinks break couldn’t have come quickly enough. We re-grouped and reset our plans with a view to managing our way to +120 to provide something for the bowlers to defend. Ned Healy and Wil Akhurst set about the task. Unfortunately Wil was run out a few runs later. Sam Kelly joined Ned and together built a small partnership (21) before Ned (10) was given out LBW…….a tough call with ball hitting him high on the inner thigh pad after he had looked the most comfortable of our batsman. Shortly after we were all out losing Sam Kelly (10) and Lachie Kerr (1) leaving Ellis Raymond 3 not out. All out for 94 not really the score we had planned!!
A quick ten minute turnaround and we had a short 40 minute session before lunch with the Team well aware of the job ahead. Alex Bain took the new ball with Lachie Kerr and both boys bowled superbly. They bowled with attacking fields and showed great discipline and accuracy. Alex took the first wicket in the third over and another in the 9th. 2/23 and we were easing ourselves back into the game. Then we took three successive wickets, one each to Ned Healey, Lachie Kerr and Dan Watts . At 5/26 it was certainly game on. The new North Shore batsman decided to take his chances and with courage threw the bat to great effect. We took another wicket…6/46 ……..but the aggressive batting began to take its toll. Their #7 hit a wonderful 52 not out to take the game away from us. The bowlers had tried hard with Alex Bain bowling outstandingly well to finish with 2/14 from his 6 overs but in the end we were 30-40 runs short.
The season has been a success in many ways but also terribly disappointing given two washouts really impacted our ability to make the finals. I am sure the boys have all been better for the experience and are already hungry for success next year. Thanks to my magnificent support group of Duncan Kerr and Stuart Love, our wonderful Manager Cathy Wood and to a fantastic and supportive group of parents.
Rob Pickering
DCA 15 Coach
Harold Moore Shield – Under 14s Manly Warringah 10/176 (44 overs) defeated Parramatta 10/142 (45 overs) at Griffith Park
Matt Moran – 3/25 (9 overs)
Jadon Wilson – 3/42 (10 overs)
Haydon Brown – 2/10 (4 overs)
Jack Edwards – 64
Jacob O’Sullivan – 30
Ned Hole – 18
The final game in the preliminary rounds was moved to Griffith Park due to the water logged Nolans unable to dry out in time. Our opposition was a good Parramatta side who needed to win in order to proceed to the quarter finals. They boast one of the strongest bowling attacks in the competition & we expected our biggest challenge of the season to date in this round. We won our 4th toss of the season & elected to bat. Parramatta was on song early in the innings taking 2 wickets & throwing themselves in the field saving many runs. Our openers were under huge pressure and Matt Moran fell to an exceptionally good catch at 2nd slip and Aiden nicked a ball down leg side and the keeper took a flying one handed catch to dismiss him. Jacob handled the bowling exceptionally well at number 3 & he managed to keep the score ticking along despite wickets falling around him. He found the gaps for singles & two’s & also found the boundary with 2 good hook shots. Nick was looking set for a big innings at 17, including a well timed six, but a good delivery snuck through his defence. Jack & Jacob settled the innings and set about building a partnership. They took the score to 76 before Jacob mistimed a shot and hit a catch to mid on. Isaiah (15) worked the ball well giving Jack the strike who was hitting the ball cleanly & often to the boundary or over it. They worked the score to 140 and Ned & Matt (12) also chipped in with some runs. We lost our last 5 wickets for 12 runs and left 6 overs in the tank. Not our finest finish to an innings. Parramatta left the field on a high but we knew 176 would be enough if we bowled & fielded well.
Hayden opened the bowling and picked up 2 early wickets with nicely bowled out swingers and Shahill bowled tightly and was unlucky not to pick up a wicket. The Parramatta boys were batting in a positive frame of mind & dispatched any loose balls to the boundary. Matt Moran came on at first change and enjoyed immediate success clean bowling their 2 most destructive batters in consecutive overs. Matt had his inswinger moving well and the batsmen found him difficult to face. Jaden and Isaiah also bowled exceptionally well, both keeping the runs down & taking wickets. Parramatta’s tail wagged and sent a few scares toward the coaches with some big hitting but we kept our composure with some excellent fielding and good tight bowling. We eventually bowled them out for 142. Aiden finished with 2 good stumpings and Matt Brewster took an excellent catch at gully. Jonah, as always fielded brilliantly along with Ned. It was a fine team performance & will set up in good shape as we lead into the quarter final against Hornsby next Sunday at Griffith Park.
Paul O’Sullivan & Roy Vumbaca
W G Gee Shield – Under 13s Manly Warringah 7/116 (50 overs) defeated Parramatta 10/114 (49 overs) at Jannali Oval
Adrian Caproni – 4/12 (8 overs)
Louis Ross – 2/10 (5 overs)
Nathan Hogg – 1/8 (7 overs)
Will Greenland – 29
James Mulder – 25
Fletcher Kirby – 16
The game scenario: 3 teams within our group were all in contention to make it through to the finals. Every team fundamentally needing to win to advance, such was the closeness of the competition. Manly was drawn to play Sutherland in the last game of the round. Sutherland has been the benchmark for the past 3 seasons having won 13, 1 drawn (rain) from their past 14 competition games. We were also playing in their back yard on an incredibly slow and frustrating wicket. The challenge was ahead of us. We arrived early Sunday morning only to discover that the first ground we were scheduled to play on was subject to tidal flooding given it was so close to the water (never heard of this before and sure enough, the squelching beneath our feet soon made the decision to move an easy one). Thankfully we found a ground nearby as a draw would have been catastrophic for both teams. The only problem was the ground we eventually played on was frustratingly slow (the seniors scored 90 and 70 the day before).
Sutherland won the toss and elected to bat. The plan was to set a very aggressive off side field with fieldsmen in tight and threatening to jump on every ball. Our opening bowlers strangled their openers with Nathan Hogg (1/8) and James Mulder (1/20) bowling tight and providing minimal scoring opportunities. The tight bowling and fielding forced the instruction from their coach to move the scoring rate along. This only added further pressure, forcing their batsmen to play some rash shots. Our first change bowlers Will Greenland (0/14) and Louis Ross ( 2/10) continued the pressure and the batsmen seemed lost for thought. Adrian Caproni (4/12) and Ollie Davies (0/11) tightened the screws throughout the middle overs to have their momentum completely dismantled and pressure building. Some great contributions from the rest of the bowlers and some late innings lusty hitting advanced the score to 114 after 49 overs. A great effort from all the boys, however deep down I knew this score was going to be difficult to chase down given the quality of their bowlers and the state of the outfield.
The plan when batting was to be patient and not let the scoreboard pressure us into playing rash shots. Fletcher Kirby (16) and Kyle Martin (5) opened the batting and set about seeing the opening bowlers through and preserve the amount of wickets we had left in the shed. The first 4 Sutherland bowlers performed exceptionally well and after 20 or so overs, Manly was 1 for 33. Whilst the required run rate was building, we knew that 60 off 20 overs would give us a sniff with quality batsmen still to come in. Sutherland kept the pressure up, with Manly losing a couple more wickets. The game scenario had Manly requiring 40 or so of 60 balls. Will Greenland (29) and James Mulder (25) entered the arena and played their hearts out. Strong running, lusty hitting turned the tables. All of a sudden the bowling was full, the field spread and we had Sutherland under pressure. The turning point was a big hit to deep mid-wicket by James (straight down the fieldsmen throat) which he duly dropped and crossed the line for 4 valuable runs (such was the pressure). Unfortunately Will was eventually run out with the runs required matching the balls left. James continued the pressure but was then bowled with 2 overs left. The scenario; 2 fresh batsmen (Tenk Choephel and Lachie Scheffers), 9 runs off 2 overs. For those that know young Tenk, he is the most carefree young kid going around. He could score 50 off 30 balls or get out 1st ball going for an almighty swing. Tenk faced the 2nd last over and scored 5 runs with some stress free batting (we were on track). The last over had a young spinner bowling with the breeze. 6 balls, 3 runs. First ball swing and miss, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th fairing the same way. OMG! We now needed 3 runs off the last ball to make it through. The suspense was unbelievable. (You have to consider, in almost 100 overs of cricket, there had been less than 10 4’s hit in the game). Up pops the spinner, (Spinner VS Tenk). The ball is bowled, Tenk takes an almighty swing, connects and the ball flys 70 meters into the breeze and crosses the line for a 4. I was in shock, the boys were falling over each other and the parent group couldn’t believe what had happened. I gave Kev and Iain a massive “Man hug” and before you knew it, we had beaten the benchmark team in the competition to make it through to the finals. The suspense, the drama and the excitement, what a day of cricket!
Well done to the boys. They deserve the credit and should be congratulated for playing as a team and not letting preconceived ideas get in the way of positive cricket.
Steve Caproni
J H Creak Shield – Under 11s Manly
Warringah 9/143 (50 overs) defeated Penrith 81 (32.2 overs) at Penrith
Tom Phelps – 2/2
Sam Greenland – 1/1
Joel Davies – 1/14
Nick Taylor – 1/14
James Brock – 21
Sam Greenland – 19
Joel Davies – 17
Kale Gabila – 17
After back-to-back washouts, the Manly boys would have been happy to travel to Bourke just to play a game of cricket. As it happened, they did travel west but only as far as Penrith for what was a must-win game. After winning the toss and batting, the Waratahs got off to a good start via openers James Brock (21 off 26) and Tom Phelps (14 off 21) and looked on target for a large total. But after making starts, both batsmen fell to leave Manly 2-57. The rest of the top order was also guilty of doing the hard graft only to reach the teens and lose their wickets. Handy contributions from Sam Greenland (19 off 46), Joel Davies (17 off 21) and Kale Gabila (17 off 20) enabled Manly to reach 5-104 before the lower order and tail completed the job. They did well to bat out the
50 overs and finish on 9-143. A target of 144 was a challenge but gettable on a smallish ground that had dried out considerably after overnight rain.
Coach Matthew Phelps warned that without line and length bowling and a dedicated effort in the field, Manly’s season would come to an end right there and then. The Tahs were listening and responded accordingly. Ollie Melville (1-35 off 8) and Joel Davies (1-14 off 8) did the job with the new ball as the Panthers crashed to 3-13, their kamikaze running contributing to the carnage.
The home side never really threatened from there, losing regular wickets as Manly’s bowlers continued to do a job on them, backed up by some superb fielding. Two more run outs and wickets to Nick Taylor (1-14), Tom Phelps (2-2) and Sam Greenland (1-1) saw Penrith bowled out for 81 inside 33 overs. Victory assured the undefeated Waratahs top position in Division 3 and a home quarter-final against Inner West Harbour.
