Monday News – Rd 10 vs Wests – One Dayer + PGs Prelim Final vs St George – One Dayer

The Tahs had yet another strong weekend in their One Day fixtures against Wests, securing 4 out of 5 grades, with 3s the only side going down in their tight top of the table clash. PGs unfortunately lost their preliminary final at Hurstville Oval on Sunday, meaning their campaign is over as other results failed to pan out in our favour. We are still sitting on top of the Club Champs ladder, sitting around 100 points clear of Sutherland, so lets keep the momentum rolling into next round.

4 Pines Brewery Player of the Week – Craig Little
Craig “Genie” Little returned from holidays and picked up a much needed 5fa with the ball in what was a masterclass in school zone seam bowling. His efforts with the ball mirrored his blistering form from last season, adding to his current purple patch with the bat. Keep it up Genie.


Outstanding Performances
Corrie Boss – 4-39 off 10 (1st Grade)
Nick McLachlan – 2-27 off 10 (2nd Grade)
Craig Little – 5-20 odd (3rd Grade)
Sammy Gainsford – 3-10 (4th Grade)
Jordan Meredith – 4-20 (5th Grade)
Matt Alexander – 3-35 (PGs)
Tom Kaye – 36 (PGs)


1st Grade Round 10 vs Wests
Batting first at Pratten Park, Manly managed 9-233 off their 50. Cruickshank hitting a run-a-ball 33, Nappabatting well to finish with 48, Edgell notching up 35, andBadyari batting intelligently at the death with 30 off 25 rocks.

Taking to the field, Munting (2-21 off 8) and Bossy (4-39 off 10) opened the bowling beautifully, with Bossy shnicking off Phil Hughes early to Nappa aka Guptill in the slips. The Tahs didn’t concede any sundries in the first session, and had Wests in all sorts at 5-16. However, to their credit, the Wests batsmen regrouped and put together a few good partnerships, but it was all in vein as they reached 8-154 in the 39th when rain stopped play and ended the match. Manly won on Duckworth Lewis, moving them into equal second on the ladder.


2nd Grade Round 10 vs Wests
Batting first on a greenish Manly oval deck, captain Doochman and debutant Gummer opened up shop, before Doochie was trapped in front by the opposition skipper for 6. Flat came in and played a few expansive drives before being caught LBW as well for 11. Scott Peterman and Gummer batted together for a while before the latter toed a pull shot to the keeper, leaving Scotty and SmittaBra to take the attack back to the opposition. The pair displayed some awesome strokeplay before Scotty went for 34. Digits came in where Pepperman left off, joining Smitta in the counterattack as the momentum was growing for the Tahs. Digits aka Gordon Ramsay then cooked his partner, with Smith run out for a fine 46 in what looked to be a potential tonne. Didge (32) and Shaggas (32) then continued on, and Mattoes (14*) provided some assistance, including a glorious leg-side maximum.Unfortunately the boys were all out for 216 in the 44th, with the last three wickets falling in a row. For the second time this season, McLachlan went out to face the hat trick ball, and for the second time this season, he got a golden, middling one through to the keeper.

We were confident we could defend 216 with the quality of our bowling attack, and Doochie placed emphasis on picking up some early poles. Matty Alexander and Flat opened up, with the big lefty taking a liking to the flighted inswingers, flicking them onto the bowling green and putting a few pensioners in mortal danger. Matty picked up and early pole, and Nickos came on to shnick off the danger man in his first over. Coombsy was very lively with the ball, and Dooch tied up one end nicely, leaving Wests to creep along at a snails pace, keeping 8 wickets in the sheds for a period of 30 odd overs.

It wasn’t until around 15 to go when the opposition unleashed their attack, and with the help of some lack luster bowling and fielding, they managed the required 6+ an over with relative ease. In the final 10, with the RR under 5 an over, we looked in serious trouble, however a couple of quick wickets and some tight bowling from Nickos and Coombsy saw us claw back sensationally. Wests needed 14 off the last over, no chance with the death-specialist Hoff bowling, and they fell 6 runs short, finishing 7-210 off their 50. Hoff and Coombsy bowled well at the death, with Nickos taking the figures with 2-27 off his 10.

It was a great comeback victory, but realistically it should have never been that tight, so there is room for improvement in all facets in next round’s clash against UNSW. Mighty 2s now sitting clear in 2nd place, 2 points short of NDs on top.

Gumms


3rd Grade Round 10 vs Wests
The main grade rocked up to Blick oval, in the wonderful suburb of Canterbury for their top of the table clash with the undefeated Wests. Genie won the toss and sent Wests in on a greenish deck in overcast conditions.

After a lack luster warm up, the manly boys took to the field. The first 10 overs weren’t the Tah’s best, with poor bowling and fielding to match. West’s were 0 for 60 odd, when Genie got the first wicket which brought about a change in attitude from the Tah’s. With some great bowling from Reece, Farrell and Genie, wickets fell consistently with no real partnerships forming and wests were bowled out for 202. The figures went to Genie after picking up a cheeky 5 fa, with the rest of the wickets being shared between the other bowlers and Tom Kaye after a brilliant run out from the boundary.

Chasing 202 the manly boys were quietly confident. The new opening pair of Louis (16) and Pughy (43) got the Tah’s off to a good start, with some great stroke play (the most memorable a lofted straight drive from Louis followed by a pose of about 5 seconds). On 0 for 69 Anderson shnicked off, with Pughy following suit an over later and Tommy Kaye receiving a rough LBW decision, the score was 3 for 70 and the game was in the balance. Rockley and Genie formed a good partnership (both getting in the 20’s) putting the Tah’s back in the driving seat. Once again wickets fell in clumps which really hurt the Tah’s and needing 40 to win the Tah’s were bowled out.

This defeat ended the main grade’s brilliant undefeated run, putting us in second place on the ladder, however positives were taken out of the loss and a lot of lessons were learnt, only making us more hungry to get back to our winning ways next week against UNSW.

Pughy


4th Grade Round 10 vs Wests
Manly batted first, notching up 9-179 at Grahams off their 50. There were a lot of starts, however noone managed to get into the 30s or above.

The Manly boys then bowled beautifully to roll Wests for 129 in 39 overs, with Mickey Lindsay and Ashdeep snaring some early poles. The Rockdog Warren Evans then trundled in for 2-30 off 10, and Eddie Mabo was at his economical best with 1-28 off his 10. Sam Gainsford came on late to rip through Wests with 3-10. Great stuff lads!


5th Grade Round 10 vs Wests
After 4 straight losses, 5^th Grade got their act together against the Westies, to get a valuable win and move back into the top 6. Losing the toss and sent in, Thickys, Stuey & Ross Trewartha got us off to a good start, to be 1 for 50 odd, after about 20. A good platform, as the wicket was pretty hard to bat on. Thickys went for 20 and Pot Hole and Ross looked in and a good score was around the corner. 2 for 80 odd. We then proceeded to lose 8 for about 60 against an attack that was ordinary at best. Ross proved his class with an outstanding knock of 42, which proved to be crucial. No one else really got going. All out for 143 with a lot of work to do. A disappointing total considering the start.

Happy Feet Wilson’s radar was off so Farrell (1) and Zachary tried to build some pressure with the new ball. A good catch by Jethro Tully started us off. Jonkers (1) and Farrell then tied the Westies down and the intensity grew in the field. Happy Feet (2) came back with more control and bowled great lines to get 2 in one over, one being a red hot catch in the gully by Ross, the other a dive in front of first slip by Stuey. The Tah’s were on a roll. Pot Hole (2) and big Jordy Meredith (4 for 20) then bowled unchanged to wrap up the innings. Wests all out for 72. Great catching and fielding never gave the Westies breathing space as we kept our foot on their throat all innings. Jordy swung the ball all over the place and Pot Hole’s spell was the best I have seen from the young left arm ortho.

Great to get a win up for the club, as we have been letting everyone down lately. We are back in the hunt, but with a lot of room for improvement.

Dave


PGs Preliminary Final vs St George
Unfortunately the PGs boys couldn’t keep their season alive on Sunday at Hurstville Oval. With a lot of rain about, the game was reduced to 41 overs a side, and the Tahs took to the field first, restricting St George to 7-175. Matty Alexander got the figures, picking up 3-35, with special mention to Javey for his excellent spell of leg spin and his usual freakishness in the ring.

In reply, Manly were always in trouble, losing regular wickets as we failed to play smart cricket, combined with a few rough decisions. The rock of innings was, as usual, the mature-beyond-his-years Tommy Kaye (36), who was well supported at the end by McLachlan, who showed some ticker by defying critics with a late cameo of 31*, straight from the textbook. We were all out with 5 overs to go and 45 runs short, a bitterly disappointing end to a spectacular campaign for the PGs boys. All the boys still have at least one more year left in the competition, so we plan to come back bigger and better next season and give the title a real shot.

Gumms