M2s and M4s Crowned Champions to Cap Fantastic Season – Weekend Wrap 1st/2nd April 2023

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he mighty 2nd Grade side recorded a thrilling 2 wicket victory over Northern Districts on the weekend to claim our 2nd M2s title in 3 years.

Andrew Jamieson’s team tussled with NDs across 3 days, a lot of which was interrupted by rain.

Losing the toss and being sent into the field, NDs got off to steady start, moving to 26 without loss before Josh Seward was brought into the attack and struck in his first over with a catch to Ned Hole at gully.

From this point onwards, Josh dominated the innings. He clean bowled middle stump 3 times, with a chop-on contributing to his 4 bowled dismissals. He got through 24 overs with little break.

Despite this, NDs still fought hard. They wouldn’t be the club they are without plenty of resiliency, and they showed this in spades. Ultimatley they batted out 72 overs for their 131 runs. Not a huge total but we all know that runs on the board in finals are like gold.

With the bat, i5 was a similar start, not losing our first wicket until we were on 20. From there on we proceeded to lose 3 quick wickets until Tom Kaye and Roop Dhillon came together as night watchman to see us through to the end of Day 1 at 3/37 off 22 overs.

Day 2 started out positively with the 2 night watchman taking us to 3/64 at lunch. There wasn’t much more cricket on day 2 due to rain but we surprisingly got on late in the day. But it didn’t go the way we planned, losing 4 for 10 to go into the final day at 7 for 82 chasing 131.

Day 3 arrived. But so did Skipper Andrew Jamieson. Along with Jacob O’Sullivan, the 2 crawled their way towards the finish line, batting smartly while treating the bad ball with aggression, especially Jamieson.

At 7/128, Jamieson hit one sweetly to fine leg. The fielder rushed in but realised the ball was going over his head. He scampered back to take a great catch. 8 for 128 and needing 3 to win.

But the Tahs weren’t to be denied. Leaving 3 balls, new batter Bryn Mendel hit his 4th ball over mid-ons head. The Tahs were victors.

Well done to NDs on a great contest. They never gave up and played with pride and gusto all weekend.

Celebrations went on long and hard. Congratulations to skipper Andrew Jamieson and the entire team on a superb championship winning season.

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rd Grade’s Grand Final finished in a draw on the weekend against Parramatta, resulting in Sam Hole’s side not being able to raise the trophy.

With Parramatta the higher ranked team and plenty of rain around, there was always the chance that the rain may not play in our favour, and that’s the way it turned out.

Losing the toss and being sent in, openers Hole and Webber started well, putting on 40 for the first wicket until we lost Hole. Webber and Charles continued the solid form until we lost Charles, but at 2/71 and then 2/100 things were looking good.

But as happens so often in Final’s cricket, a large batting collapse was triggered. We went from 2/100 to 5/100 in 4 balls, and then struggled out way to 142. Zach Trewartha top scored with 39.

We had 2 overs to bowl at Parra to finish Day 1, and it was a great 2 overs for the Tahs. Both Michael Counsell and Josh Wigney both claiming wickets to leave Parramatta 2/6 chasing our 142.

Unfortunatley that was it for the weekend. Consistent rain all day Sunday thwarted any chance we had of getting back on the field, and late on Sunday afternoon the match was declared a Draw. As the higher ranked team, Parramatta were declared champions.

Well done to Parramatta on the win. They were fantastic all year, finishing 2nd with some outstanding displays.

To Sam Hole and his team, well done on a big year. Hopefully next season is our season.

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ndrew Rochford’s M4s side secured the clubs first ever back-to-back premiership when they repeated their 2021/22 win over the weekend to secure the 2022/23 M4s title.

It’s been a fantastic season for Rochford’s men. They finished Minor Premiers by 12 points and were clearly the best side all year.

While rain ruined what promised to be a great Grand Final against Parramatta, which was a repeat of the 2021/22 decider, there is no doubting that the Manly boys deserved to lift the trophy late on Sunday afternoon.

Winning the toss and batting first, we started excellently with openers Dom Wheeler and Keelan Mendel putting on 50 for the first wicket, Mendel particularly harsh on anything loose.

However, on the loss on Wheeler we continued to lose regular wickets, finishing 8/156 at stumps on day 1, Evan Dunnachie sitting on 30*.

Day 2 was meant to start early, but constant rain meant we were not able to start until midday. It didn’t start well with Kerr out first ball. Another 12 runs meant we were defending 168.

The Tahs started positively in Parramatta’s run chase with 2 early wickets. Parramatta then counter attacked to get to 2/37 off 13 overs when the rain came.

Unfortunately, no more play was possible. The rain swept through Bankstown Oval first the rest of the afternoon, and a Draw was declared. With Manly the higher ranked team, we were declared victors.

Well done to both teams on a great rivalry that is building nicely.

M4s Premiers 2 years in a row. It feels good.

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th Grade fell short of a Premiership with a Grand Final loss to Northern Districts on the weekend.

Despite our batting being our strength throughout the final’s series, it came back to haunt us in the final as we could only muster up 85 which, despite a great bowling effort, we weren’t able to defend.

Winning the toss and batting first, the day didn’t start well with Matt Evans losing his wicket 2nd ball of the innings caught at mid-on, and so it went for the rest of the innings, losing wickets at regular intervals. Only 3 players made it to double figures.

The one shining light was skipper Simon Waddington who battled through 117 balls for his 35.

With only 85 to defend, we needed to start well which we did. Wickets to Williams, Noack and Lawson had us on the front foot, but ND’s consolidated and finished day 1 at 3/55.

Day 2 produced no joy for the Manly boys. A fantastic 100 from NDs #3 batsmen Tom Bermingham meant that they passed us for the loss of no more wickets early on Sunday morning, and proceeded to bat out the day, finishing at 3/162 before the rain came and washed out the rest of the day.

A disappointing end to a very successful season. M5s finished Minor Premiers and came awfully close to another premiership. Well done to Simon and team.

Congrats to NDs on the Premiership.