Semi Final – Sunday, 8 December 2013
Harold Moore Shield – Under 14s Sutherland 8/178 (50 overs) defeated by Manly Warringah 7/182 (47 overs) at Griffith Park
Shahill Nair 2/14 (7 overs)
Ned Hole 1-13 (3 overs)
Nick Osborne 1-17 (5 overs)
Aiden Bariol – 52
Isaiah Vumbuca – 34 n.o
Jacob O’Sullivan – 33
Matt Moran – 30
Griffith Park hosted our semi final against Sutherland. Unfortunately we lost the toss and headed to the field. Sutherland was taking it to our bowlers & we chased leather to the boundary regularly. Shahill bowled his usual good line & length and when Jacob (1-28 off 8) came on the scoring slowed as he bowled full and close to off stump. Matt Moran bowled in tandem with him and by the end of their spells, we had slowed their scoring & the game was evenly poised at 1-45 from 18 overs. Jack (0-8 off 5) & Isaiah (1-30 off 7) both bowled well but without much luck. The score ticked along without much urgency but wickets were kept well in hand. The tension was rising as both teams attempted to ascend dominance but neither team could get ahead of the other. Our fielding was steady but not at the same level we had been training for & usually expect from our players. The pressure was on us as Sutherland started flexing their batting muscle in an attempt to push the scoring along. The ‘cat & mouse’ game played out throughout the innings, just as Sutherland looked like dominating the bowling we picked up a wicket. Fielders were on notice as they continued to put pressure on the bowlers. We were in a great tussle. By the end of the innings Sutherland would be happy with 178 & we were hoping to keep them around 170. A fielding highlight was a wonderful catch on the boundary by Matt Brewster. We all thought the ball was sailing over his head for 6 when he plucked it down & made the catch look easy.
Sutherland was fired up to make the run chase difficult. Jack started in a hurry & played a few risky shots but went with his instinct & took the score to 26 runs when a good ball cut in to sneak through his defence. Jacob joined Aiden & once again they put on a great partnership of 70 runs from 19 overs keeping the run rate ticking along. Both batters punished the poor balls while working the good balls for singles. Aiden departed for
another well earning fifty & then we lost a clump of wickets for not many. Suddenly the momentum had swung back to Sutherland. When Jacob fell for 33, we knew the road was going to be a big challenge, but one that Isaiah & Matt Moran were willing to take. In the space of 9 overs he boys put on 50 runs in a partnership of courage, skill & determination. They both batted beautifully and enjoyed a match winning partnership. It was a gritty win & one that showed the true character of our team.
We are now looking forward to the final against South Eastern at Griffith on Sunday.
Paul O’Sullivan & Roy Vumbaca
Arch Cawsey Shield – Under 12s Manly Warringah 10/102 (50 overs) defeated by Central Coast 1/106 (38 overs) at Paul Oval
Bill Williams – 1/20 (7 overs)
Bailey Kenzie – 0/10 (6 overs)
Ned Barnet – 0/23 (10 overs)
Bill Williams – 36
Jack Hobson – 9 n.o.
Ewan Hughes – 10 n.o.
A big semi-final challenge for the Manly lads against last year’s U12 champions, Central Coast at their home ground. Captain, Bailey Kenzie wins the toss and Joel Mcgregor and Lucas Heffernan open our innings as we choose to bat first. In the third over, Joel (1) loses his stumps and then in the fourth over Lucas (1) loses his leg stump. Next batsman ,Bailey and Jarod Colyer join together to stop the rot-runs are hard to come by against a tight bowling attack. After 14 overs, we are 2/14 when Jarod (2) is bowled around his legs. In the eighteenth over we lose Bailey (9) who had lobbed ball to fielder at square leg (4/20). Ned Barnet and Finn
Nixon-Tomko bat positively as they look for runs, and put on a partnership of 13 runs until Finn (9) is run out. Jake Osborne (0) chases a wide one and gets a feather to the wicket keeper. Ned (8) follows five runs
later, to another run out. After 30 overs, Manly is 7/40 and under pressure to post a competitive total-we have saved our worst batting performance for this game. But wait, we have promoted Bill ‘ all day watto” Williams, who has only had two bats this year and Bill combines with Ben Watt in 17 run partnership, before Ben is out caught for 5 runs. Ewan Hughes is next in and combines with Bill in putting the pressure back on the opposition with a 28 run partnership before losing Bill to a dashing 36 runs, Bill lived up to his self-proclaimed nick name and scored some valuable runs for his team!! Last in was Jack Hobson at 9/85 in the 47th, who was suffering from back problems. Jack smashed a four on his way to 9 not out. Ewan was also 10 not out at the end –fantastic contribution from Ewan after coming in when our score was only 57!! Manly finished on 103 from 50 overs. Didn’t look like enough, but the boys were determined to give their best shot………
Central Coast were 0/17 off 10 overs as our bowlers kept a tight line. Tough missed catch to Jeremy over his head. A run out opportunity from Ewan Hughes, just missed, who was fielding brilliantly at square leg. We finally picked up a wicket in the 33rd over, a bowled to Bill “all day watto” Williams. Central Coast passed our score in the 38th over. A brave effort from the Manly boys, in the end, the better team won on the day.
Our boys have the ability to learn and grow from this game. The improvement in the boys from last year to this year has been tremendous. The coaches, Paul & Craig are very proud of the fact, that our boys played competitively all season and excelled in making the semi-finals this year.
Paul Heffernan & Craig Nixon-Tomko
U12 DCA Coaches
J H Creak Shield – Under 11s Manly Warringah 9/145 (50 overs) defeated Hornsby 8/139 (50 overs) at Collaroy Plateau Park
Luke Morley – 3/28 (10 overs)
Tom Phelps – 1/9 (4 overs)
Nick Taylor – 1/10 (10 overs)
Kale Gabila – 34
Joel Davies – 30
Nick Taylor – 13
The team that just refuses to lie down and be beaten lives on for another day. Manly’s under-11 Creak Shield booked a spot in next Sunday’s final against North Shore after a nailbiter of a semi-final win over Hornsby at Fortress Collaroy. Six runs separated the teams after a pulsating encounter that went down to the very last ball. The Waratahs’ good run at the toss continued with another winning call from skipper Sid Williams. He had the words “we’ll bat” out of his mouth the second the coin hit the turf. We lost heavy hitter Tom Phelps (1) and fellow opener James Brock (12) early to be in trouble at 2-18 but, in this team, there is always someone
stepping up to answer the call. This time it was Joel Davies (30) and Kale Gabila (34) who combined for an invaluable third wicket partnership that hauled Manly back into the contest. Both innings were built on patience and sensible batting, ensuring the innings would not continue on path of self-destruction. Valuable contributions from Nick Taylor (13) and Ollie Melville (11 not out) enabled Manly to see out the 50 overs to post a competitive 145 and make Smellsy’s lunchtime snags taste even juicier.
Coach Matt Phelps urged line and length bowling and discipline in the field but the bowlers’ radars were a little off early as Hornsby were untroubled to move to 38 without loss. The first drinks break allowed a regroup, a deep breath and the chance to restore some composure. Then bang, bang and bang – one minute Hornsby were coasting at 0-38 and the next they were rocking and reeling at 3-39 as Tom Phelps (1-9) and spin twins Nick Taylor (1-10) and Luke Morley (3-28) put the clamps on. The two slow men and Tom bowled 24 overs between them for five wickets at a cost of just 47 runs – look no further for a turning point. Hornsby did threaten to wriggle off the hook after reaching 4-90 and later 7-134, but you just never write off these young Tahs. Sam Greenland (1-16) did a great job and Sid Williams (0-23) and Joel Davies (0-25) showed composure and poise beyond their years to bowl with great control during the ‘death’ overs. They were backed up by some tidy glovework from keeper Oscar Lucius and the tireless James boys – Forbes and Brock – in the field. But this one was destined to go down to the wire. With one over to go, the visitors needed 12 to win and captain Williams took it upon himself to bowl the pressure over. ‘What pressure’ thought Sid? He bowled a great containment over and the boys in the field did the rest to see the locals home by six runs. It was Icy Poles all-round for the victorious XI (and maybe something stronger for their fan club) but there’s still one more job to complete.
So forget about the WACA (it will be all over by Sunday, anyway) and get up to CPP when our boys take on North Shore in the final.
