1st grade had a solid 70 run win which included a bonus point, after reaching 175 on a cow paddock. 2nd grade strolled to an 8 wicket victory, while 3rd grade had a great come from behind win after being 6 for 60 odd chasing 150. 4th grade had an exotic bonus point victory by 111 runs, Sam Hole and Matt Alexander the stars, while the mighty 5’s went top of the table with a 69 run victory. PG’s then topped it off with a thrilling 7 run victory against the previous top of the table St George.
4 Pines Player of the week – Taylor Beatty
This weeks 4 Pines player of the week award was always going to Nick McLachlan for his 5 for 15 on Saturday, the article was even written out….. however that is before Taylor Beatty withstood some amazing pressure to score his first ton for Manly and lead the PG’s boys to victory on Sunday against St George. Coming in at number 3 and with wickets tumbling around him, Taylor put on match winning partnerships with Matt Alexander and Sam Gainsford to post an even 100 in the total of 236, a target that the boys were able to defend in a nail-biting match. Taylor has made a name for himself as a bowling all-rounder, however this particular journalist believes that it could be as a batting all-rounder that Taylor could excel in. Special mention goes to Matt Alexander who made a welcome return to the bowling crease on a full time basis in 4th grade to take 5 for 20 off 7 overs, and of course Nick McLachlan for his fantastic 5 for 15 in 1st grade.
This may seem a little below par, however the wicket was slow, low and a bit uneven, making batting extremely difficult. It was hard to get any timing, so the game plan became to knock the ball into the gaps, run hard and make the most of any loose deliveries. Beadle was the star of the show, making a very patient 48 at the top of the order. Merchant also batted well for 30 while Cruickshank showed some positive signs in his 21.
We thought this would be enough if we bowled well, however we also knew Blacktown had some players who could take the game away from us if they got going. Luckily Buck struck early and with Blacktown reeling at 5-27 the game looked to be wrapped up.
A few partnerships ensued, however we ended up rolling them for 105. Nick McLachlan was the star of the bowling effort taking an incredible 5-15 off 10 overs. Bowling mostly around the wicket, Nick mixed up his pace well and bowled very consistent line and length. The Blacktown bats didn’t really have an answer. Buck and Babula chipped in with 2 wickets each and Beadle capped off another good all round game with 1 wicket.
Jack
Nick McLachlan was on fire on SaturdayGetting off to a steady start but unfortunately losing Walter early, Aidan Baker and Mitch Pugh set the platform to chase down Blacktown’s modest total. Through some brilliant stroke-play and patient temperament, Mitch and Aidan were looking comfortable, getting Manly past the 100 run mark before Aidan was out for a very well compiled 46. Sam Webber joined Pughy, and through their very mature batting, they brought the boys home in spectacular fashion, Pughy ending up 82*. Well done on the win boys.
Love Samos
The main grade rocked up to Whalan with expectations of 6 points as Blacktown were coming Last in the comp with a 45 degree day up ahead.
Won The toss and elected to bowl.
Luke “LG” Grant and Ronnie Davies got us off to an awesome start with LG showing his consistency with his swing bowling, and Ronnie just running in and bowling unplayable deleveries. Luke picking up 3 wickets for the day and Ronnie with 2fa.
Craig “Genie” Little coming into bowl and picking up a 3fa. Dylan Marshall bowled really well with his change ups keeping the batsmen questioning. We had them 6 for 50 after 30 overs, but then there skipper batted well and got them to 148. Great bowling performance by the bowling unit in a stinking hot day restricting them to 148.
Batting got off to a slow start and losing a couple of early ones with Jarrod Rawling missing a yorker. Ryan Farrell getting a leading edge to the bowler, Adam Gummer nibbled one to there keeper, Lance Stewart edging one to the slips and Ash Virdi missing one on the Stumps. 5 down for 40 odd and Sam Gainsford showing great intent and it took one of the best catches by the opposition to get him out. LG and James Boyer creating a vital partnership for us. Letting balls go and taking the quick singles. Jimbo got out for 10, bringing in Dylan Marshall who played an awesome innings with LG. Dylan getting out stumped for 25. In comes the Bombsman Craig Little playing a quickfire 20odd with 2 big Sixes and 2 Fours. LG and Little getting us over the line with 9 balls to spare. LG Finishing up With MOM performance with 30 odd runs and 3-20 off 10 overs.
Another Close game boys. Top 6 need to step up from now on and find a way to stick around till the end. Bring it on Sydney Uni.
5 outta 5 up the tahs!!!
Arshdeep
4th Grade – Manly 212 (S. Hole 56, W. Evans 37no, T. Kaye 27, J Graham 25) defeated Blacktown 101 (M. Alexander 5/20, W. Evans 3/22, N McCallum Toomey 2/31)
The 4th grade boys bounced back from a terrible loss the previous week with an impressive performance against a struggling Blacktown side. After winning the toss, Wazza elected to bat. Things didn’t start well for the Tahs as we were in strife early with the score at 2-6. After the openers had departed a rebuild was in need and Sammy Hole and Tom Kaye, steadied the innings with a much-needed 50 run stand. Shortly after drinks Kaye departed for 27, with Sammy Hole (65) continuing to play classy strokes all over the park. Wickets continued to fall despite some handy contributions from Alexander (16) and Graham (25); we were looking like posting a total well below par. With the Tahs having 2 wickets in Hand with the score at 150 off 44 overs, 200 seemed like an impossible task. Thanks to some brilliant shots from the captain Warren Evans (37*) and Brad Wilson (24*), we were able to post a very respectful total of 8/212 off our 50 overs.
After an excellent end to the batting innings we were looking to get off to a better start with the ball than we did with the bat. Despite a few wides early, we were able to take a few wickets as Nick McCallum-Toomey (2-31) produced 2 absolute pearlers to knock over the Blacktown opener and number 3. From here the Blacktown skipper certainly wasn’t in the mood to mess around, smashing boundaries all over the park before falling for a quick-fire 40 to none other than our Veteran Warren Evans (3-22). After dismissing the Captain, wickets fell consistently with not much batting on offer. Thanks to great spells from Matt Alexander (5-20) and the skipper, the Tahs cruised to a very easy, bonus point victory.
Go Manly
Tom Kaye
5th Grade – Manly 6/252 (J. Carden 59no, J. Mason 56, T. Kelly 34, T, Poole 29) defeated Blacktown 183 (W. Outred 3/31, D. Farrell 2/34, B. Kittlety 2/37)
5th grade moved to outright 1st in the competition with a comprehensive defeat of Blacktown on Saturday. Whalan was its usual atmospherical self, and with a ground a little bigger than the MCG (no joke) and a 40 degree day, it was always going to be a tough one for both sides. The wicket was green but hard and skipper Dave “Bumper” Farrell had no hesitation in deciding to bat first.
Hamish Ferguson got a good one first up to be cleaned up, but Joel Mason and Tom Kelly steadied the ship with a great 70 run partnership. The boys struggled with the heat and big ground, at one stage running 4 3’s but batted well as a partnership all the same. Maso was out for a well made 56 (gee he looked good) as part of his weight loss program, before Tom and Toby Poole put on another strong partnership. Jake Carden then came in and continued his strong Green Shield form with a fantastic 60no that included some very elegant, all run 3 cover drives that ended up close the boundary. Jakey was cooked by the end of his innings but fought hard all day to stay not out. A good little cameo by Dave Farrell at the end saw us get to a well made 6 for 252.
3 run outs and Zach finished off Blacktown in a great effort. The fielding was first class in tough conditions, but most importantly the talk when they were 0 down was great, which was a great focus of ours from previous weeks. All-round a great effort from the Manly boys with a focus on a top 2 position at the very least at the front of our minds.
Maso
PGs – Manly 9-236 (T. Beatty 100, S Gainsford 61, M. Alexander 36) defeated St George 8/229 (M. Pugh 4/41, L. Grant 2/57)
Taylor Beatty and Jordan Daly put together a partnership to take the score to 44 before Jordan fell and another quick one had us in real strife at 5-46.
Taylor was joined by Matt Alexander and the two set about re-building the innings in an aggressive manner. They really took the attack to the St George team and put pressure on the bowlers. Matt ended up falling for a very well made 36 off 37 balls including 2 sixes. This was a crucial knock from Matt as it really gave our innings the momentum it needed. Matt is a seriously talented batsmen who has a great eye and sound technique. He should definitely look to push for higher grades as an all rounder in the future.
There was still a lot of work to be done with the score at 6-98, however Taylor and Sam Gainsford were well and truly up to the task. After getting off the mark with a cover drive for four, Sam played a brilliant knock of 61 off 59 balls with 1 boundary and an incredible 4 sixes. He seemed to hit everything in the middle and showed he can play shots all around the wicket with ease. It is easy to forget sometimes that Sammy is only U’17 as he has had so much success, however this knock under pressure today showed he has the ability to be a dominant batsman in the higher grades for years to come. His bowling has also been terrific in PG’s this season.
The man of the moment however was no doubt Taylor Beatty. After walking in with the score on 6 and seeing wickets fall all around him, he showed maturity beyond his years to steady the ship. He was cautious early, knocking the ball around into the gaps and running aggressively before unleashing his full array of strokes as his innings progressed. His shot selection was first class and the intent with which he approached his innings was a lesson to all of us. He finished with an even 100 off 119 balls with 8 fours and two sixes.
We finished with 236 which was a more than competitive score of we bowled and fielded well. We didn’t get off to the best of starts with the ball with the first wicket falling at 34. At 1-84 we needed someone to turn the match and the skipper Mitch Pugh stepped up, taking two wickets in two balls including their first class batsman Patterson.
This was the turning point and although a few more partnerships ensued, St George were never in control of the game and ended up falling 7 runs short. Mitch was the main wicket taker with the ball finishing with 4-40 off ten in his last PG’s game, whilst Luke Grant took two also his last game while Mickey and another final gamer Matt Alexander took one each.
This was the final game of the season for the PG’s side. We finished in 15th place with 2 wins. While these results were disappointing, the side were very competitive in every game and with a bit of luck could have walked away victorious in just about all of them. The side always played with a never say die attitude and had great pride in their performance.
It has been great to see so many of the young PG’s guys make their mark throughout the grades this year, and with another year of experience under their belt, I have no doubt next year will be more successful results wise.
Lastly, just wanted to say a big thank you to Pughy for his tremendous efforts as skipper, Wrighty for his great efforts as manager and also to Langdon, Geoffro and Gordie for scoring on different occasions. Thanks also to the parent that came and supported each match.
Jack
Taylor Beatty during his great knock
Mitchell Pugh was the star with the ball on Sunday
