W3s head to Grand Final and Men’s Club Championship secured – Weekend Wrap 4th/5th March 2023

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anly entered Day 2 at 8/234. After early morning pitch inspection, skipper Jay Lenton chose to resume batting and this was justified by a quick fire 29 runs from 28 balls from Jake Carden. Ryan Hadley was solid for his 38 not out contribution. The tale wagging once again to put the Manly boys above par with a competitive total – 10/268 from 103.1 overs.

Unfortunately, last weeks heroics from Ben Bryant was dismissed caught behind in the first over. He was the pick of the batters for a well constructed 85 runs.

A minimum 86 overs were remaining for the day and Manly were extra motivated as it was Mickey Edwards last game for the Tahs as he signed for Yorkshire.

With immediate effect, Mickey struck early in the first over as he removed their key batsmen for a duck, dismissed caught behind.

Bang Bang! by Ryan Hadley and UNSW were wobbling at 3/10 as he removed Jamieson (1) and former Manly cricketer Will Wolter for 2.

UNSW recovered to lunch at 3/70. The pitch flattened out and a bit of exchange between tradies added some life in the second session.

Skipper switched up tactics to Spin and Joel Davies had an important breakthrough as he dismissed S. Hassan for 29 runs as he was caught at mid on.

UNSW arrived at the Tea break at 6/120.

Edwards dismissed their skipper Brandon McLean (41) and Joel Davies had a return catch as he removed their keeper T. Byrnes for 5 runs.

A small partnership between T. Scoble and  T Grainger-Balding repaired some damage and frustrated our bowling attack. Eventually, the Manly bowlers got the ball to reverse and UNSW were bowled out for 10/160 after 62.1 overs.

The bowling unit was superb by Manly as the pressure was mounting on UNSW middle and lower order as they needed a win to stay in finals contention.

A clinical display and Ryan Hadley was the pick of the bowlers returning 5/31 off 12 overs. Mickey Edwards was all class as he claimed 3/28 from 14.1 overs and Joel Davies with a cheeky 2/32 off 15 overs.

Special mention to skipper Jay Lenton, his tactical plans and bowling changes at key intervals paid dividends as our bowlers were rewarded.

6 points!! and Manly are 1st place heading into the final round against Sydney University (2nd place) as this should be a cracker of a game as the winner will hold the minor premiership.

3 Points – Ryan Hadley
2 Points – Ben Bryant
1 Point – Mickey Edwards

Ahillen Beadle

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ith 10 wickets in mind and a Swedish breakfast on the cards the Manly 2s day was set.

After 11 overs bowled last week and a few runs knocked off the total of 227, Kaye knew he early break throughs had to be made to get the pressure right back onto the bumblebees, then 2^nd ball of Kaye’s first over he did exactly that with the early break through.

After the bumblebees pulled together some small partnerships Kaye still showed his class taking them to 3fa.

UNSW took the game to 3 for 90 until Jamieson broke the partnership just after lunch which got us on track and in the mood. We had bowled well so far without a whole lot of luck.

However, luck soon swung our way as Seward came back into the attack and took a quick 3 wickets in the matter of 2 overs to really break the bumblebees apart.

Kaye came back to clean the UNSW tail up pretty easy and claim his first 5fa for the season and best figures for the season of 6 for 32 of 20.1 overs.

Great victory for the Tahs after being 4/10 last week. Top of the competition with 1 Round to play.

3 Points – Tom Kaye
2 Points – Brynn Mendel
1 Point – Josh Seward

Lachlan Coyte

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he Mighty main grade rocked up to Cahill Oval, and were pleasantly greeted by a drastically improved wicket than the previous weeks tennis-ball, popping strip… It may have even been covered. A thick Oscar Lush outfield remained, after more wet weather, and as the boys assembled for the morning warm-up the plan was clear at 3 down with an 11 run lead in the 2nd dig. Consolidate early, set a platform for our middle order to up the pace, and set UNSW a target to chase for their chance to play finals cricket*.

**The bees had to win outright for ANY chance to play finals this year….

After a young Andrew Boulton burnt Matthew Sunshine in the 100m warm-up Sprint…again, the Top 6, Bottom 5 game of touch got underway (Teams reversed with the order from last week). Some might say it was more exciting than what was to come later in the day, the Bottom 5 securing victory in the final set of the game, after some mesmerising play by Webber and Co.

Back to the cricket… morale was up and the Tahs were confident in being able to produce a result with it all to play for the students. Webber and Charles resumed at the crease and formed a strong opening partnership, singles and twos a plenty with the long outfield, much to Charles’ reluctance. After a 30 run stand, Charles was undone for 11, Zac Trewartha followed not to long after for 9, and Webber, after grinding away for a long period, succumbed to a loose shot for 31, Manly 6/62 off 25+ overs, leading by 60.

With 50 odd overs remaining in the day, Andrew “the kid” Boulton walked to the crease and was joined by Ellis “Elray” Raymond. These two both got themselves in, and started to capitalise on the loose deliveries. Elray plundering a couple outrageous shots over the infield and to the boundary, whilst Boults turned over the strike with ease, and then joined in on the big hitting himself, striking one out of the ground… a real talent to watch. As the two were looking very settled, disaster struck… Elray run out for 16, and then M.Sunshine, still in denial about his 100m loss this morning, run-out the very next delivery. Bolts and Elray’s partnership of 50 brought to a close, Tahs now 8-110 at Tea, 40 overs remaining.

A few words from Sammy after the break and the plan was bat till 37 overs, and aim to up the anti. Jakey Hutchings joined Bolts and the two did just that! Bolts coming into his element blasting his way to a terrifically made 55*, (he was clapped on 49… thank god he got there) and Jakey supporting him well, especially after being peppered last week with the short stuff. A wave from S. Hole, and the Manly boys were getting ready for a bowl, 8/148 off 55 meant the Bee’s needed 147 from 35 overs for a chance at finals cricket.

Opening up for the Main Grade was big Michael Counsel, who steamed in with the new rock and started to produce some varying bounce off what had seemed a fairly consistent pitch throughout the day. Suddenly a moment of brilliance from the Tall Timber, with the UNSW opener middling a drive only for Counsel to tip a finger onto it and runout the non-striker, perfectly executed.

1 brings 2, and Bolts joined in on the action, catching the glove of the Bee’s skipper as he tried to push the run rate along, UNSW now 2/16 off 10. The students “appeared” to be having a crack, but big Mick was hitting an almost unplayable length, finally getting reward for a cracking spell of bowling taking the Tahs to 3 fa.

Matty Sunshine replaced Bolts and just 2 balls into his spell saw the end of the Bee’s no. 4, UNSW 4/20 of 15. With their season on the line, you would think the students would have a red hot crack at 10 points… nothing to lose… 120 from 20 overs. With this thinking L.Trewartha came onto the attack, and the UNSW batsmen went after him.

After a couple well struck and streaky boundaries it looked like it was game one. After watching the Sea Eagles too closely during Tea, Bolts channelled his inner Brad Parker, coming off 2nd best to a tackle with the metal boundary fence. Succumbing to the big hit, non other than Manly’s (Possibly Australia’s) Best Net Wanger, Noah Vumbaca, donned the creams and joined the boys in the middle.

4/60 15 overs to go, 80 runs required… what happened next can only be described as just bizarre. With the season on the line, UNSW decided to shut up shop and attempt to defend their way to a 1st innings victory. No attempt at chasing the 140, no chance of an outright victory and consequently no finals cricket for UNSW 3rd Grade… it just didn’t make sense.

With that, the Manly boys grabbed 1 more wicket through LT, Sunshine and Counsel then proceeded to pepper the students with some vicious short pitched bowling, unfortunately to no avail, and the game was called with 2 overs to go. UNSW 5 / 76 from 33.4 Overs, victory on 1st innings… a disappointing waste of a day.

Credit to Bolts with a terrific display with the bat and to all the bowlers. A match won on the Day 1 toss, nothing to dwell on too much, but proud of the ticker shown by the Manly group in giving the 2nd innings result a real crack.

Big thanks to Noah, for filling in as a sub fielder, twice for the match. Onto next week and hopefully to carry some momentum into finals cricket the weekend after.

3 Points – Andrew Boulton
2 Points – Michael Counsell
1 Point – Sam Webber

Sam Webber

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aving set UNSW 210 to win last week, we had them 1/10 overnight and were greeted at the ground by an inch of green grass on the wicket, clear skies and only 10 UNSW players.  The task for the day was simple, get 8 bees back in the hive.

We started well, with Evan Dunnachie removing the nightwatchman via LBW.  Following some toil by the fast bowlers and a fledgling partnership between the batters, Parko introduced George Cumming, who delivered a half tracker first up that was hit into the basket of Josh Cooper at midwicket – always the way. 

The toil continued, as their number 4 and captain combined for around a 100 run partnership, with at least 100 play and misses. This was a very testing period for the bowlers and fielders but we stood with our simple principles, dug in and trusted the process.  Hayden Williams broke the deadlock with another LBW, dismissing the number 4 for 94 in the 62nd over. We knew this was the small window of opportunity we needed.

With the score around 4/175 at the dismissal, we took it up a notch and dismissed 4 more batsmen for 30 runs in 15 overs.  George Cumming rose to the occasion and dismissed 3 batters, including 2 in one over.  Evan & Keelan Mendel combined for a runout at the non-striker’s end and with 4 runs required the UNSW batter rolled the dice and got one over the fence to the short boundary.

A very tight match that went right down to the wire and a timely tune up for executing our skills under pressure.

3 Points – Dom Wheeler
2 Points – George Cumming
1 Point – Jack Ritchie

Jayden Kennedy

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he boys in 5s rocked up to a picturesque Mike Pawley Oval on the bright Saturday morning, focusing on getting the 30-odd runs and securing first innings points but with the ultimate goal of getting ourselves 10. Riley and Chris continued as they did the week prior, Chris attacked hard while Riley played the anchor role and slowly chipped away. Chris departed for a very important 47 off 53 with only 9 runs left to chase. Beau Kelley came out in a similar aggressive nature and secured the first innings points with his score of 11 before copping a peach while Riley remained the set batsman. James Waddo came out with an attacking mindset to an even different level and smacked 26 off 15 pills including a large maximum. At this point, drinks were taken and skipper Simon called the boys in it was time to have a bowl finishing at 6-155 off 46 with Riley grinding 45 not out and Waddo 26*.

The plan was simple from the skipper, do what we do best and hit the pegs. His son listened to his command and cleaned up the dangerous UNSW opener on the 5th ball of the innings. James and Lawso kept it tight with very few runs flowing and the boys backed up well in the field. Lawso took the second with another bowled keeping Simon a happy skipper. Waddo bowled an extended quality spell from the top end while Beau took over from the other. Beau was simply too quick for the opener that had still survived until he smashed into his middle peg. Drinks came around and UNSW were 3-15 off 18 over. A great start with the only worry being the limited 44 overs left in the day. Beau kept going after drinks and dismissed the number 5 from a great catch from Simon in the slips. Then Beau went on a rampage and hit the pads 3 balls in a row and finally the third was given and the visitors were 5 for very few.

Melv (0-7 off 4) Skin (0-17 off 7) and Dino (0-4 off 4) kept it tight and all were unlucky to not get a pole. The pressure rose as the boys still needed 5 wickets as well as needing to chase the total with only 22 overs to go. Captain Waddo chucked the pill to junior Waddo and Lawso to bowl fast and clean it up. Waddo instantly replied with a great yorker to get the momentum swinging, Waddo then smashed into the number 8s front pad followed by a chorus of appeals to take our 7th. Lawso then managed to get the set young batsman to flick one down to Riley before trapping the number 10 in front. The number 11 frustrated the bowling attack by keeping 23 balls out before the finisher himself Matt Evans claimed the 10th and our 5th bowled of the innings. UNSW were bowled out for 72 off 51 overs a great effort from the boys. Bowlers finished with figures of JWad (3-9 off 13) Lawson (3-10 off 12) Beau (3-18 off 9) and Mev (1-0 off 1.5).

The lads needed to chase 35 off 7 overs to secure 10 points. UNSW started the innings by having us 2 for 3 with Donnan and Evans departing before Riley went on the attack for a vital 11 off 8. Enter Dinan and Melville, Dino sent the 4th over for 18 runs with a 6 and two 4s. Leaving Melv to seal the deal by punishing one to the fence. 10 points for Manly and a great fighting performance. The 10 points leaves us in second with 1 round to go.

2 points – James Waddington
1 Point – Matt Evans
1 Point – Chris Halloran
1 Point – Reiley Dunlop
1 Point – Josh Lawson

Josh Lawson

F

irst grade travelled to the infamous Asquith Oval, looking for a win to finish off our season against Northern Districts.

Mik won the toss and chose to have a bat! The dew from the ground resulted in throwdowns being sprayed, as Mik threw Eliza a full toss, hitting her straight in the neck, then continued to gaslight everyone into believing it was simply not her fault.

Sas and Shiv went into bat, getting us off to a good start until the curse of drinks break continues to haunt the team as Shiv departed for a lively 43. Lauren found her way to the crease, and after putting on a well-earned 50, it is evident Loz takes some inspiration from baz-ball, hitting boundaries to all sides of the ground. It’s for the best that Dom’s a keeper and not in the outfield as he dropped one of Loz’s signature square-leg sixes. The girls put on an amazing display with a partnership of 152. Sas continued to anchor the innings until the 50th over, where a spill from ND’s point fielder and dropping her on 99, earned Sas another well-deserved century for Manly, 104*. Manly finished their innings with 4/277 and the girls were eager to have a bowl.

Kel and Emma opened the bowling, the two internationals showing the ND’s top order the true meaning of Brexit, wrapping them around the pads and sending bails flying back to the UK, leaving ND’s stranded 3/20 after 13 overs. Annie and I came on first change, with Annie looking to replicate the famous Peter Siddle Birthday Hat Trick of 2010, she claimed two wickets (2/23), with the key wicket of ND’s opening bat. The girls continued to bowl tightly, with chat on the field ranging from the batters having more misses than Henry the VIII to Peter Siddles’ banana fetish. Notable efforts in the field included the nimble ground fielding from Crawf, evidently showing us the benefits of hot yoga as well as some speccys taken from both Shiv and Loz. Eliza and Loz showed their class, putting pressure on ND’s lower order, chopping them in half, ND’s were now 7/95 after 35. Despite being a few overs behind, Katie was still keen behind the stumps, taking the bails whenever she could. Yet, clinical bowling from Loz (3/8) and another catch from Shivy resulted in ND’s being all out for 130.

A good win and a well-rounded performance was the perfect way to bring the season to an end.

3 Points – Saskia Horley
2 Points – Lauren Kua
1 Point – Shivani Mehta

Chelsea McLerie

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anly 2nd Grade arrived at Manly oval on a very nice day to play Northern Districts for last game of the season. The team was very pumped and ready to play. The toss was won by Northern Districts who elected to bowl first.

Zara Shipp and Nat Guyot came in to open the batting with lots of determination. They got us off to a very good start. Unfortunately, Nat (22 runs) was dismissed in the 16th over closely followed by Mia Nel 2 balls later. After this Manly had a slight batting collapse at one end but Zara at the other end was able to stay consistent playing with intent.

Darcey came in at 9th batter and was able to develop a strong partnership with Zara managing to rotate the strike and add a few more runs to the board. Zara went on to get 70 runs and after being all out in the 44th over, Manly 2s had formed a total of 144 runs.

After a quick lunch break and turn around, Manly were ready to bowl. Molly Kidd opened the bowling and on the first ball of the innings bowled a great ball followed by an appeal as the umpire raised his finger. Molly had a wicket maiden on the first over. Next over Kaya Punter took the ball, the batters struggling to get many runs. In the 6th over the Manly team went up and the umpire again, raised their finger. Then later in the 8th over Manly saw the fall of another 2 wickets in a row for NDs, leaving them at 4/19 after 8 overs. Amazing spell for Kaya and Molly. Jas Wilson came in and took a quick 2 wickets both caught by Nat and Darcey took 1 wicket. Unfortunately, despite this great start Women’s 2s were unable to pull off a win as them ND’s lower order proved too good.

3 Points – Zara Shipp
2 Points – Kaya Punter
1 Point – Darcey Whiteley

Darcey Whiteley

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n the sunny Saturday morning of the semi-final round, the Manly women’s 3rd-grade team gathered to have a pregame brekkie, fueling up for a tense game of cricket. With eyes set on finals, Manly warmed up, rolling over arms and getting prepared. Captain, Renee Hough, set out to face Gordon’s captain as the umpires flipped the coin. We lost the toss and Gordon elected to open the batting. Although this seemed like a routine semi-final morning, the captain had her sights set on a twist. Before stepping onto the field, Renee performed a heart wrencher of a speech, appreciating the coach, Matty White. She delivered an emotional anecdote, stating how we as a team appreciate his hard work this whole season in getting us where we were in the competition. And with the code sentence of “Matty we have wished you could join us on the field this whole season, and now you finally can.” Matty was entirely lost as to what this sentence could have prompted as his breath was taken away. Each player lifted up their playing pants, revealing matching socks with none other than the coach’s headshot plastered over them. With an absolute look of horror on his face, Matt White was left speechless. Morale was high as the girls stepped on the field to face Gordons openers.

Sophia Chick and Sallie Molenyeux opened the bowling, setting the tone for a challenging innings for the opposition. At 7.1 overs, Sallie bowled a ripper, landing the ball plum on the batter’s leg. The team let out an intense appeal, people kneeling, hands in the air and the umpire signalled for a wicket, dismissing the opener. After the second change, the bowlers continued the pressure. At 18 overs, Annabelle Gilbert came into the bowling attack and on the second last ball of her first over, took the bails off of the stumps and the second wicket fell. Manly continued to bowl well as the pressure piled on Gordon to get runs. After the second drinks break, Renee delivered a purposeful talk, encouraging heightening energy in the field, igniting a stronger fielding approach for Manly. After some big appeals and close calls, the fielding innings ended, with Gordon’s total amounting to 151 runs, two wickets down.

Well done to the opening bowlers as well as Annablle Gilbert, Jaime Loh, Renee, and Cam Pryor for the economical bowling performances. Congratulations to the 5 batters from Gordon, and special kudos to Gordon’s 3rd batter, retiring after 89 balls faced and 50 runs scored. Now it was up to Manly to hunt down the 152 runs required.

Bella Zovi and Steph Hughes opened the batting, starting the chase for Manly’s target. After some smart running between wickets and well-played fours, Steph was unfortunately dismissed after an impressive performance, containing a 100.00 strike rate with 23 off of 23. Emily Hatfield stepped to the crease to continue Manly’s chase. During the 22nd over, Bella was climbing her way to a half-century, finishing off her initial innings in style, achieving her 50 runs and retirement after hitting a solid four. After a sideline celebration of Bella’s achievement, Renee stepped to the crease to further challenge Gordon’s bowlers. After some quick runs, Renee was unfortunately dismissed via being bowled and Sophie Beukers was called to the crease. After a risky call, Sophie was unfortunately run out and Annabelle went in to bat. After a good ball and a tricky catch, Gordon dismissed Annabelle and called Jaime Loh to the crease.

At 32.5 overs, Emily was unfortunately dismissed after a strong batting effort of keeping the runs ticking and supporting partnerships. Emma Lyon then stepped to the crease to face Gordon. Jaime and Emma ran well between the wickets, as JLoh steadily uplifted Manly’s run score despite her not feeling physically incredible. After some steady running between the wickets, Emma was dismissed and Sallie came in to bat. After an impressive 17 off 20, Jaime was unfortunately dismissed and Sophia stepped to the crease. After a wave of pressure from Gordon’s bowling attack, Sophia was dismissed, bringing Olivia Champion to the crease. At this point, the scoreboard read 9/142 and a nail-biting, nervous audience gathered at the sideline as there were less than 3 overs left in the game. After some quick runs from Sallie, she was bowled out, summoning Bella back to the crease after retirement. After another 5 runs from Bella, the final 3 balls were to be bowled.

Fists were clenched, breaths were held, and Manly’s sideline stood awaiting as the final two batters faced Gordon’s determined pressure. The next ball, Bella hit a spectacular shot, sending the ball for four runs, tieing the score at 151 runs. A dot ball came and went. The final ball came as Bella tapped her bat, hungry for a final run that would push Manly into the finals. Bowled, nicked and caught. Relief from Gordon’s side rushed as they thought the game had been won, and Manly batters hung their heads. “Super over?” The players muttered, looking at the even scores on the scoreboard. Manly held their breath as the scorers conversed with the umpires about the next move to be made. The verdict was soon delivered… we will not be going to a super over…. the umpires stated from afar. The teams were then informed that because Manly had finished higher on the ladder than Gordon, the tied game now went in their favour. Manly women leapt with joy as hugs were shared, esky ice was thrown and the club song was screamed louder than Balgowlah oval had ever heard it. Congratulations to Bella for an incredible 60 off of 70, and also to the batters that supported her on the way. The tense game had resulted in Manly’s 3rd-grade team moving through to the finals to be played against St George Sutherland the following Saturday.

Well done Gordon for a massive effort, the game was incredibly close and a pleasure to play. A massive thank you to the scorers, umpires, parents and Manly players who did not step onto the field, the support was invaluable and much appreciated. Well done to all Women’s teams this week for a well-fought final round. Bring on finals!

Olivia Champion

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he Brewer girls headed to the picturesque Graham’s oval for the last game of the season, up against the northern foes NDs. The Manly girls determined to sing the club song one more time.

Caitlin was keen to have a bat on a greenish but flat deck. Fortunately, Caitlin lost the toss and was sent into bat.

We decided to mix things up in the batting order, Jazz and Saoirse opened the innings, these two played with great control and composure. After a steady start the boundaries flowed. Jazz unluckily played a loose one back onto the stumps. Shae came at 3 looking to reap the rewards of the great start, with a good night’s sleep Shae was seeing them like beach balls. Shae smashed a beautiful on drive through mid-wicket, unfortunately Shae was out soon after to a sharp catch.

Saoirse was getting a feel for the speed of the wicket now taking on the bowlers with ease. Having already taken 12 off the over, Saoirse tried once to often and was bowled for a well made 23. With Eve joining Sophie at the crease in the middle order. Eve had obviously been watching the Aussies in India, sweeping the NDs spinners with great aplomb. At the other end Sophie couldn’t stop hitting fours. Both became victims of the extravagant shot selections both falling in quick succession. Soph made a well complied 25. Liv, fresh off anchoring the W3 batting into next week’s GF came in next. Liv stood defiantly while a couple of wickets fell around her. It was up to the Captain at 11 with Liv to get the Brewers girls to a competitive total. These 2 put on 35 plus runs for the 10th wicket getting Manly total to 151. Liv in the red ink 19 not out off 70 plus deliveries. A great application of determination and hard work.

The bowling attack started superbly led by Charlotte Allen and Ari, only surrendering 4 runs in the first four overs. Charlotte Croll and Lara kept the squeeze on the NDs openers. This continual pressure had NDs well behind the run rate. Eve Burke still channelling her inner Nathan Lyon finally got the breakthrough trapping the opener LBW.

NDs threatened to get on top utilising the fast Grahams outfield until a sharp piece of fielding from Eve and Shae resulted in a great runout. Charlotte Croll was desperately unlucky as a couple of decisions did not go her way as she bowled great tight lines. The combination of pace from Sophie and Ari had the NDs batters on the back foot with both taking vital wickets in the NDs middle order. Game on with NDs 5/118 . Enter the Brewers leading wicket taker Lara Hughes to do her thing. Tying the NDs batter in knots. Taking a further 3 wickets, NDs were left chasing 16 runs off the final over for a win. After 3 balls and still requiring 14 runs to win Caitlin went on the attack employing 6 slips, 2 leg slips much to the surprise of the Manly Women’s batting coach. Inspired by her team mates’ close proximity, Shae produced quality glove work, whipping the bails off leaving the NDs tailender stranded. This completed a marvellous day for Shae finishing with a keepers 5fa ( 3 stumping, 1 catch and a run out )

It was a great way for the Brewers to finish the year. Thanks to all the parent helpers throughout the season.

3 Points – Shae Hiskett-Jones
2 Points – Lara Hughes
1 Point – Olivia Champion

Bill Mclerie