Monday News – Grand Final Edition – Day 1 & 2

The 2011/12 season has finished on a disappointing note with both our 2nd grade and 4th grade sides being outclassed in their Grand Finals over the weekend. It is fair to say that although the boys put in everything in both games, we were beaten by better sides, and Sydney University (2nd grade) and Sutherland (4th grade) thoroughly deserved their wins. Congratulations to both clubs.

Congratulations must also be given to Sydney University who also won back-to-back first grade titles, Sutherland who also won the 3rd grade title, and Gordon who won the 5th Grade title thanks to a record breaking year from ex-Manly boy Matt Todd. Well done Toddy.

It has great a great year for our club. Who would have thought, with all of the departures during the off-season, that we would be sitting here with a Club Championship, 2 teams playing in the Grand Final, and 5 teams, including PG’s, making the Semi Finals. All of the players should take credit for all the hard work that has been put in this year, you deserved the great results that you achieved. Well done as well to new coaches Dean Gilchrist and Brett Penprase, you have both fitted in like gloves.


4 Pine Brewery Player of the Round – Aidan Baker
Aidan Baker once again showed his versatility by producing a devastating spell of 5/25 in 2nd grades Grand Final to give the boys a sniff of victory. Unfortunately we couldn’t back it up with the bat, however Aidan showed how good a swing bowler he is with a great display once again. Well done to the Flat.


Outstanding Performances
Aidan Baker – 5/25 vs Sydney University (1st Innings) – 2nd Grade
Nick McLachlan – 4/110 vs Sydney University (2nd Innings) – 2nd Grade
Ryan Bonner – 54 vs Sydney University (2nd Innings) – 2nd Grade
Ed Burgess  – 72 vs Sutherland – 4th Grade
Tom Kaye – 76 vs Sutherland – 4th Grade
Warren Evans – 3/45 vs Sutherland – 4th Grade


2nd Grade vs Sydney University – Manly 85 and 131 Defeated by Sydney University 116 and 368
What a great season for the second grade boys. A Minor Premiership, a Grand Final berth, and alot of fun times all add up to one outstanding season of cricket. The final result didn’t quite go out way, to be fair we were completely outclassed by a strong Sydney University side, however the boys can hold their heads up high. We played good, hard cricket all season, and we can be extremely proud of our efforts.

A special congratulations must be made to our captain courageous, Ryan Bonner. After Andrew Lindsay left after the first round (what a player huh), the Doochman took over from his good mate and set the tone for the rest of the season. He allowed the boys to play their cricket with freedom, allowed them to have fun, and above all played with integrity all season to show that he is a fine leader of men. Well done Ryan.

So to the game over the weekend. 3 day cricket, at 104 overs a day, is foreign to most grade cricketers, and it is fair to say that Sydney University handled themselves better at the longer for than we did. But it could have been a different story had a few things gone our way and our batting had stood up a little more. Friday started with Ryan Bonner winning the toss and sending Sydney University in on a hard but green wicket. Straight away the decision paid off, Andrew Lindsay and Mitch Coombs both picking up an early wicket to have Uni at 2/16. A bit of a partnership began to form until Flat and Matty Alexander were introduced, with wickets falling continually to have Sydney University at 7 for 58.

A cameo by the number 9 Culkoff put the innings back on track until Flat got the dangerous number 3 Theobald to start another collapse, Sydney Uni’s innings ending on 116. A great start to the grand final, however the ball was doing a bit so the boys needed to stand up with the bat and show some fighting spirit. Unfortunately it didn’t happen, our batting crumbling to be all out for 85. The less said the better. Only Aidan Baker with 18 and former batting bunny Nick McLachlan with 19 really troubled the scorers, and we were bowled out before stumps. 20 wickets on the opening day, who would have thought….

Day 2 started extremely brightly for us once again, having Sydney Uni at 5/79. However a 177 stand for the 6th wicket, including a century to skipper Kierath who was caught off a no ball and dropped a few balls later while on 6, was really the deciding factor in the match. This really put the boys on the back foot. It was a long day in the field on Saturday, and it culminated in a 64 runs stand for the last wicket which was only broken on Sunday morning.

So with a 399 run lead, the Manly boys went back into bat. 400 might seem alot, however with the deck getting flatter and flatter, if we batted all day we were always a chance. The innings didn’t get off to a good start, Stewart, Marks and Badyari departing early. We weren’t then good enough to take on the quality of Uni’s bowling attack, and other than a counter attacking 54 off 41 balls from the skipper, we didn’t have the legs after 2 long days of cricket, and we were rolled for 131, giving Sydney University a 278 run victory.

Well done boys, lets come back next year and go one better.


4th Grade vs Sutherland – Manly 238 Defeated by Sutherland 5/239
It would be fair to say that our 4th grade side were never expected to make the Grand Final, but to get there in the first place was a fantastic achievement that showed the boys had the ability to do things they never thought could happen. Max Burgess lead the young outfit from the start, and he showed his leadership skills throughout the entire season in moulding his young side from 2 losses in the first round into Premiership contenders.

Maxy was thrown into the captaincy role at the very last minute but did a better job than anyone could have expected. Congrats Max and his side on a great season.

Saturday’s game started well with Maxy calling correctly and electing to bat on what looked like a flat Waverly Oval. It was the right call as we got off to a flyer, brothers Max and Edward putting on 65 for the first wicket. Max was the first to go for 15, followed not long after by Edward for a well made 72. Ed has showed during this final series just what a classy batsman he is. Micky Lindsay and Tom Kaye got together and pushed the score to 123 before Micky fell, but Tom was subduing his natural instincts to put together a patient 72. When he departed on the score at 230, he had given the boys an opportunity of victory. However, our bottom order weren’t able to substantially add to our total, and we lost our last 4 wickets for only 21 runs, leaving us 238 to defend. With our bowling attack being as strong as it was, we were in with a good show.

Sunday morning didn’t start all that well with Sutherland’s batsman showing good intent and our bowlers now quite finding their line. The first wicket put on 68 in less than 20 overs before Warren Evans struck the first blow in getting the batsman caught at mid off. However the  number 3 continued to push hard, and it wasn’t until the score was 136 before another wicket fell to Sam Gainsford, well caught behind by James Boyer.

But Sutherland continued to show why they are brobably the number one batting club in Sydney, not allowing wickets to fall in chunks and building partnerships. When the 4th wicket fell at 203, we thought we were in with a small chance, however Sutherland powered home 5 wickets down late in the afternoon.

Well done again to the boys, they showed great fight throughout the season, winning matches most thought impossible to win, and everyone in 4th grade should be extremely proud of their efforts. Just like 2nd grade we will be back bigger and better next season.