Welcome to another weeks addition of Tah Talk with Jay Lenton. This week Jay takes us through some plans for our Men’s Club Captains, the trial form of the girls, and Dom Wheeler back in the whites this season.
We are also pleased to confirm that Underground Cricket have come on board as a partner of this article each and every week. Great to have Damon, Jason and the team on-board. For all your cricket equipment needs visit them at www.undergroundcricket.com
THE GIFT OF GIVING
Give and you shall receive.
That’s the message from our new men’s club captains Ollie Melville and Jacob O’Sullivan as we look for greater input from our players in all areas and aspects of the club.
Previous club captains Zach Trewartha and Isiah Vumbaca laid a tremendous platform and Melv and Sully have hit the ground running.
We had more than 70 players participate in the recent Beach to Beach community run, raising funds for charity, and a good turnout of volunteers at last weekend’s Manly Oval T20 double header.
There are big plans to get right behind Movember again and some special social nights being organised to ensure club spirit is paramount.
We are very fortunate to have a wonderful team of volunteers at Manly but they can always do with an extra hand.
With that in mind, there’s been a big push from the captains to engage the younger age group (18-23-year-olds) and have them heavily involved in the club set-up and within the community.
This group has been at the club for a number of years and have set it alight with performances on the field, however it’s now time for them to also give back to the club that has given them so many opportunities.
The response to volunteering at events like T20 double headers and junior coaching at the start of this season has been outstanding, with this age bracket making up the bulk of the helpers.
Well done lads and keep up the good work.
NO FEAR AROUND HERE
Our women’s teams have a simple but forceful motto they will carry with them throughout the 2024/25 campaign: “Fearless Cricket”.
And judging by the trial results from the weekend, they are living and breathing every word of it.
We had four teams in trials against Parramatta, Greater Hunter and Blacktown and came away with four very good victories to solidify our pre-season prep.
In 1s, the standouts were new recruit Anika Learoyd, who showed her class and added a lot of experience around the group, along with young Lizzie Cambridge, who is more than ready to step up to the top grade.
Mia Waddington also bowled very well as she continues her comeback from an ACL reconstruction and will be one to keep an eye on this summer.
In 2s it was the Gabby Dunnage show, with our new second grade skipper stepping straight off a plane and into action, leading the girls with a stylish undefeated 50. She was well supported by Molly Kidd and Annabelle Kyme with the ball.
3s played well with Nat Jonkers and Sophie Beukers the pick of the batters.
The Brewer Shield girls had a solid win over Blacktown, with Ari Handley and new pathway player Matilda Brown starring with bat and ball.
The results augur well for a big season for our entire women’s program.
DOM IS GOOD
They say if you want something done, give it to a busy person.
That certainly applies to Dom Wheeler, who is back playing this year as he juggles coaching our women’s first grade team and attending to his myriad off-field commitments.
The solid top order bat hung up the whites last season to concentrate all his energy on the women’s program, but it proved a short-lived retirement.
He turned out for our fourth grade side in last weekend’s opening round, scoring a typically hard-fought 95 to almost drag us across the line for an unlikely victory.
Dom’s love for the game and the club is infectious and it’s great to see him back out in the middle.
