MANLY WARRINGAH 7-284 (K BROOME 86, A BOULTON 58, J DAVIES 52) DEF SYDNEY 9-244 (J DAVIES 2-30, T WOOD 2-31)
The Greenies boys returned to Manly Oval ready to resume their campaign following the Christmas break. Everyone was eager to continue with the strong momentum which had been built prior to Christmas, and this intensity was evident in the attitude of all the boys early in the morning.
The Hulios continued their dominance in the usual Vortex match, comprehensively defeating the Nerds courtesy of a strong performance through the middle of the ground. Skipper Joel Davies made it 2 from 2 at Manly Oval with the coin, winning the toss and electing to bat first against a strong Sydney side.
Josh Cooper and Lachie Johnson opened the batting for the Tahs, keen to replicate their big partnership in the previous round against North Sydney. Unfortunately, both boys were dismissed early on, before keeper Blake McCarten also followed shortly after for 12. Finlay Thornton joined the skipper at the crease and the two attempted to rebuild Manly’s innings, putting on a strong 63 run stand before Joel was dismissed for an excellent 52. Finlay followed soon after, leaving the Tahs in a spot of bother at 5-111. Not to fear, with Andrew Boulton and Ky Broome combining for an unbelievable 152 run partnership to put the boys back in a strong position. Both Boults and Ky batted with great cricket smarts, punishing the bad balls all around the oval whilst also running strongly between the wickets. When the two departed in the late overs, Andrew for 58 and Ky for 86, Tom Wood entered the arena and blasted a quickfire 14 not out off 5 balls, including three fours in the last over of the innings. Manly finishing 7-284, a great recovery effort following a scratchy start.
As usual, the Manly parents provided a great spread for all the boys before they returned to the field to begin the bowling innings. Sydney started strongly, putting on 50 for the first wicket before Hurshwin Sharma struck thanks to a great catch behind from Blake McCarten. From here on, wickets continued to fall at a steady rate, with all bowlers chipping in to restrict Sydney’s top and middle order batsman. Skipper Davies was again economical, collecting 2 wickets whilst minimising the runs. Unfortunately, with Sydney 7-163, the boys took the foot of the pedal for the last 10 overs, allowing the visitors to finish 9-244. Although still getting the win, the boys were disappointed with some key aspects of the match, noting the importance of staying in the fight for the full 100 overs with lots of energy. Nonetheless, another win for the Greenies boys, now 3 from 3 heading into tomorrow’s game against Fairfield Liverpool.
Will Gustafson
Green Shield Round 4 vs Fairfield Liverpool
MANLY WARRINGAH 6-198 (L JOHNSON 41, J DAVIES 38, O KANTOR SMITH 27) DEF FAIRFIELD-LIVERPOOL 8-194 (J DAVIES 3-32, O KANTOR SMITH 1-8)
An energetic squad returned to the fortress Manly Oval for the second day of cricket in a row, this game against Fairfield Liverpool. All the boys were buzzing early in the morning, with a swim in the cold waters of Manly Wharf clearly waking everyone up quickly.
Nerds. They can’t grasp the concept of winning a game of Vortex. Today the Hulios again ran out and completed an easy win, dominating the game in attack and defence.
Skipper Joel Davies unfortunately lost his first toss at Manly Oval this season, with Fairfield quickly electing to bat first. All the boys understood the day two pitch, knowing it was going to be much lower and slower than the previous day.
Hurshwin Sharma and Toby Laughton opened the bowling for the Tahs, building strong pressure from both ends, before Hurshwin collected the first wicket, castling the opener’s stumps. Andrew Boulton and Ollie Kantor Smith were both economical, keeping the score down, with the latter also picking up an important wicket courtesy of a safe catch from Lachie Johnson at first slip. Spin was introduced from both ends, with Roop Dhillon and Raja Ganeshraj continuing to bowl tight lines, restricting the runs from Fairfield. The skipper then came on and bowled 10 straight overs of quality, picking up 3-32 and leading the boys strongly. Unfortunately, with a few errors in the field and lapses in concentration, Fairfield were able to creep up to 8-194, a below par total on a flat Manly Oval pitch.
A quick feed upstairs and the boys were back out there, ready to chase 195. Lachie Johnson formed a new opening combination with Ollie Kantor Smith, with the two immediately working together to build a 63 run partnership. Lachie hammered the bowlers straight, hitting eight boundaries in his quickfire 41. Ollie complemented his partner perfectly, regularly rotating the strike and putting the bad ball away. Right when they started to look settled, both boys departed, with Finlay Thornton also falling cheaply in between, to leave the boys in a bit of a predicament at 3-88. When Blake McCarten was dismissed, the Tahs were 4-123. Ky Broome joined Joel at the crease and the two combined to ease the nerves of everyone, before Ky was dismissed for 15. Suddenly, the game slowed and when the skipper was caught at fine leg for 38, the Tahs needed 40 to win with 4 wickets in hand. Enter Andrew Boulton and Hayden Calvert. With the game on the line, both boys batted with exceptional composure to peel off the remaining runs with over 5 overs to spare, Boults finishing 17* with Hayden 20*.
4 wins from 4 matches. A great start for the boys leading into a well-earned break until next Sunday, the 12th of January, where we take on a strong Campbelltown side in our last home game of the regular season.
Will Gustafson
