The Manly Boys started their new season in spectacular fashion, winning 4 of the 5 grades. 1s and 5s both dismissed Parramatta reasonably early on Day 2 to claim first innings points, while both 2s and 3s made light work of their respective run chases with very convincing batting performances. Unfortunately, 4th Grade went down in a reasonably close encounter, however the President was still spotted making nervous preparations for a clean-sweep.
Outstanding Performances
Cameron Merchant – 61 (1st Grade)
Billy Lindsay – 66 & 4-16 (2nd Grade)
Javed Badyari – 75* (2nd Grade)
Joel Mason – 150 (3rd Grade)
Sam Alexander – 5-17 + Hat-trick (5th Grade)
Dave Farrell – 54 (5th Grade)
Player(s) Of The Week
Round 1 saw two freakish performances from two very young and talented individuals, Sam Alexander and of course Joel Mason.
Club favourite Sam Alexander showed us all what he is capable of on Saturday, as he produced an awesome spell of spin bowling to lead 5th grade to victory. Sammy picked up 5 for 17 off his first 9 overs of the season, including a mesmerising hat-trick to completely change the momentum of the game. Keep it up Sammy!
Meanwhile, over in 3rd Grade, Maso put on an exemplary display of craftsmanship and strokeplay to notch up 150, his highest score for the club. Parramatta had no answer to Maso’s power and all-round class, as he bludgeoned ball after ball to the rope, helping 3s to continue where they left off last season. Just a glimpse of what is to come for the rest of the season. What a beauty!
1st Grade Round 1 vs Parramatta
Manly got their season off to a good start with a first innings win on Saturday.
Parramatta resumed at 5/50 from Day 1. The Manly bowlers captured 2 vital wickets within the first 8 overs and from the next 16 overs gained the last 3 wickets to dismiss Parramatta for 144.
With a lead of 46 runs on the first innings, the Manly boys batted for almost 4 hours and following a Corrie Boss bomb onto the tennis courts, play ceased with Manly at 8/168 and a lead of 214 runs with 12 available overs left in the day.
At the completion of the day’s play, Tim Cruickshank, as the captain of the winning team, was presented with the Gould Trophy, which was introduced to represent the 100th match between these two clubs.
The Manly side go into next Saturday’s match against Sydney University with injury concerns to James Munting, who appeared to suffer a leg injury whilst fielding in the morning session last Saturday.
The Observer
2nd Grade Round 1 vs Parramatta
Manly resumed on 2 for 32 with Aiden Baker and Javed Badyari at the crease, the latter making his 2nd Grade debut. Aiden went on to build a respectable 31 against some tight Parramatta bowling but was dismissed LBW with the score on 59. Nat Hill, LBW for 7 followed shortly afterwards leaving the match finely poised at 59 for 4.
Throughout the game there had been a lack of any real partnerships, with batsmen gettingthemselves out having got themselves in! However Nat’s dismissal brought Andrew Lindsay to the crease who, together with Javed, put on 121 runs. Javed started tentatively but saw off the early jitters and settled into the form he had left behind in the 3rd Grade final last year, where he batted for 5 hrs to secure victory. Javed batted patiently steadying the ship and doing what was needed, which was to not to get out.
Andrew batted positively and quickly put the pressure back on the bowlers, who up to now had had the better of the day. By lunch Manly had recovered to 100 for 4, matching Parramatta’s position at the same stage last week, so it was still anybodies game.
After lunch Andrew upped the tempo and moved quickly to his 50 with some solid hitting and a memorable six. Manly had started to dominate the game when Javed also reached a well grafted 50. Just as victory was within reach Andrew was caught off a sharp catch close in and walked on 61 with the score at 190 for 5.
Javed then took over the lead role and started to let loose with some great straight drives as Sam Webber settled in at the other end. Javed ended on a well earned 75 not out and looked very much as if he would go all the way if given the opportunity. With Sam on 10 not out they left the field having surpassed Parramatta’s 218 runs for just 5 wickets down.
In the end a comfortable win and a great start to the season. A match winning performance by the captain, Andrew Lindsay, and done in time for us to get back early to see 1st & 5th Grade victories, the AFL grand final and the Scotland England rugby union game, couldn’t be better – roll on game 2.
3rd Grade Round 1 vs Parramatta
Turning up to Atmosphere Park for Day 2, the Manly boys were all pumped up and keen to chase down Parramatta’s 235. Genie emphasised the need for everyone to place high value on their wicket, and not rely on the bloke coming in next to do the job.
Gummer and Mason strolled out to face the two-over-old Kookaburra, with Manly resuming from the previous week at 0-1. The pair got off to a solid start, reaching 0-50 before Gummer shnicked one to second slip. Despite this, Maso continued to find the boundary across all areas of the park, as he and his new partner, the debutant James “Rabs” Boyer, set about building another partnership. Rabs showed glimpses of his talent, but eventually parted in the teens, making way for Jarrod Walter and Maso to bat the opposition out of the game.
Walter batted extremely well, with his rock solid and chanceless innings showing his class. However, it was undoubtedly Mason’s day, as he combined belligerent power hitting with exquisite finesse to single handedly dismantle the Parramatta attack. His innings culminated in his non-chalant celebrations of both his century and his 150, reflecting the regularity of the occasion. Manly eventually passed the total in the 62nd over, finishing 3 for 239, with Walter (42*) and Mason (150) the stars with the bat. Overall, it was a great start to the season for the Main Grade, sending out a dangerous message to the rest of the competition. Looking forward to Round 2 against Sydney Uni, where Maso will look to repeat his heroic efforts.
What a beauty!
Maso
4th Grade Round 1 vs Parramatta
Turning up day two we were confident that we could build on our day 1s score and set a competitive total. Unfortunately we lost two quick wickets, with Tom Kaye putting on three to his overnight score to finish with 46, and Ash Virdi had a short stay at the crease, leaving us with 206 on the scoreboard and 73 overs left in the day’s play.
Starting up was Taylor Beatty and Ash Virdi, both boys bowled well with Taylor picking up two wickets from two great diving catches from Sam Hole and Dean Readett, to get Parramatta 2-20 off 11 overs. A partnership then formed and the boys needed to dig in and show some grit. Some wayward bowling did not help the cause with Parramatta pushing up the run rate. Warren Evans showed the boys how to bowl medium pace on a flat wicket, with figures on 0 for 10 off seven overs. It was this type of bowling that provided the platform for Mitch Pugh to snare two quick wickets (2 for 28 off 8). Parramatta were able to regroup and continue on with Taylor only able to pick up one more wicket to finish with 3 for 49 off 11 and Parramatta passing our score in the 51st over.
In reflection, we were simply out played, and as a young team we can take a lot of positives from this game and learn some valuable lessons for the rest of the season. Bring on Uni!
Maxy
5th Grade Round 1 vs Parramatta
Manly 5’s rocked up to Mick Pawley oval needing 5 wickets for less than 77 runs to be victorious against a solid Parramatta side. It was a tough task but with some good practice and preparation through the week our boys were up to the challenge.
Our attack began with William Jonkers and Captain Dave Farrell opening the bowling. Our openers were determined to break a Parramatta partnership which looked as though it could possibly clinch victory. Will and Dave bowled well and were unlucky to miss out on snatching a wicket.
Due to some great keeping by Stuey Wiblin, the first wicket fell (stumped) and with an excellent outfield catch by Billy Darcy the second wicket fell shortly after. With the important partnership broken, our spirits were high and the Tah’s were buzzing. Within 3 balls we had 3 wickets (caught at slip by Dave Farrell, bowled, and caught at square leg by Jacob graham) and Parramatta were sent packing. A great Manly victory was sealed.
With the best part of a day to play, our batsmen were given the chance to acquire some serious batting practice out at the middle. Jacob and Billy were looking solid until Billy was out LBW and Jacob bowled by a ball that truly gripped and turned. Cody Bruce soon fell and it was up to Liam Tully and, once again, Sam Gainsford to steady the ship. Liam and Sammy were going strong until Liam was also unfortunately dismissed by a tweaker that turned a mile. Sammy batted very solidly and put in a gutsy performance but was dismissed for an excellent knock of 33. With the tail bowled out for not many, we were dismissed for a total of 108 and a lead of 144.
Parramatta came in needing 145 off 17 overs. Parramatta came out swinging but wickets fell consistently due to Cam Mcallum-Toomey taking 3 wickets (caught behind, caught long-off and caught long-off – both brilliant outfield catches by Cody Bruce) and a brilliant run-out to Jacob graham had Parramatta reeling. Another two wickets to Sam Alexander had Parramatta 8 out before they blocked out the rest of play to finish 8-109.
Due to some great bowling, fielding, and an all-round gutsy performance, Manly 5’s celebrated an excellent opening win. Well done boys.
Sam Alexander
