Welcome to another edition of the Weekend Wrap, proudly brought to you by our friends at New Balance | Belgravia Apparel. Visit them at www.belgraviaapparel.com for all your community club and business apparel needs.
The abundance of peaks & troughs, ebbs & flows that are characteristic of semi final cricket, were on full show this weekend as the Tahs fought for grand final spots in M1s-M3s. M1s & M2s triumphing to march through to Grand Finals, while M3s fell agonisingly short after a gutsy effort.
Men’s 1st Grade:
Hosting Parramatta at Manly Oval, the Tahs were sent into bat first as Brewster (49) & Beadle made a positive start, before a couple of wickets fell in quick succession to have the Tahs 2/41. Brewster & O.Davies (87) consolidated as the pair mixed patience with positive intent, moving the score to 2/94, before a flurry of dismissals significantly halted this momentum. 2/94 quickly turned into 6/130 & a partnership was desperately required. That’s where Davies stepped up with what was a crucial innings highlighted by patience & composure to resurrect the Tahs innings. At 7/193 though, the game was still well in the balance, but a superb partnership between skipper Foster (70) & Boulton (45) gave the Tahs the ascendancy, both navigating a tricky remainder of Day 1 to have the Tahs 7/235 at stumps.
Day 2 saw Foster & Boulton resume their partnership, as the skipper brought up a match-defining half century, going on to face a mammoth 254 balls in a really gutsy captain’s knock. Boulton providing terrific support in his 142 ball stay, as the pair combined for 88 for the 8th wicket. A late series of wickets seeing the Tahs all out for 292. The bowling effort that followed from the Tahs was outstanding. That wasn’t without a measured start from Parramatta to be 30 without loss, before Stobo dismissed their danger man & went on to take another two big wickets in a superb spell. The visitors fought back momentarily to be 3/72, but the Tahs would continue to take wickets at regular intervals as scoreboard pressure built on the back of consistent, disciplined partnership bowling. O.Davies with the 4th, before Dhillon added to his strong season wickets tally with another two in relatively quick succession. J.Davies then joining the party with two of his own in between mini partnerships from Parramatta, until Dhillon landed the knockout blow for his 3rd, Parramatta all out 163 & the Tahs off to the Belvidere Cup Grand Final.
Men’s 2nd Grade:
Wounding back the clock as M2s hosted their home semi final at Atmosphere Park, aka Graham Reserve, skipper Trewartha winning the toss & electing to bat. Unfortunately both openers out cheaply, but Joseph (32) began positively to restore some momentum. However, heading into lunch, a couple more untimely wickets had the Tahs on the back foot, 4/96. But not to fear, the innings of the season was just getting started. Mr Edmund Hole (174) continuing his fine finals form to gradually resurrect the Tahs innings. Combining with O’Sullivan (48) for a 95 run 5th wicket stand that got the Tahs back on track. A couple more mini partnerships with the middle order as R.Kapoor (25) started well after last week’s hundred, but it was ultimately just the Ned Hole show for the remainder of the day. Bringing up a simply phenomenal semi final hundred before continuing on effortlessly to be 139no at stumps, with the Tahs 9/304.
The morning of Day 2 saw a pivotal partnership between Hole (174) & Osbourne, as the former picked up where he left off, some pure boundary hitting propelling the Tahs to 346, while the latter provided exceptional support to prolong the partnership. Parramatta set 347 to win from the remaining 86 overs, and they began steadily until a Vumbaca direct hit run out started proceedings, before Lawson settled into his work for the Tahs 2nd. A strong 3rd wicket partnership getting the visitors back on track, but Lawson broke through again, followed shortly after by Osbourne for the 4th, 4/102. The remainder of the session before tea however saw Parramatta threaten with a big partnership as their scoring rate picked up, and they were right in the game at 4/204. But that’s where the Tahs, led by Lawson, turned things around. Lawson with two in quick succession, before Vumbaca got an important breakthrough. But it was Lawson’s afternoon, another two for his 6th in a match-winning spell to have Parramatta 9/271. A lower order resurgence & a couple of missed chances meant a frustrating 10th wicket partnership, but ultimately time ran out for Parramatta, 9/312 after the 86 overs, the match ending in a draw & the Tahs progressing to the Grand Final as the higher placed team.
Men’s 3rd Grade:
Mark Taylor Oval hosted M3s semi final fixture against NDs, with the Tahs sent into bat first on a wicket that would offer assistance to the bowlers early. But Melchiore (27) & McDowell (49) knuckled down superbly in the first session, navigating a challenging new ball spell to put on 71 for the first wicket. Both patient & waiting for their scoring opportunities in a crucial partnership to set up the innings. A calamitous run out breaking their partnership, before Hole (15) began positively alongside McDowell who continued to battle through some tough conditions. The second session saw the Tahs lose their way slightly, as NDs bowlers broke through at regular intervals, despite Mendel (22) again looking good in a positive start to his innings. 1/95 to 6/149, as Daly (25) & Webber (19) consolidated before lightning spelled a premature end to Day 1, with the final 25 overs of the day unable to be bowled, the Tahs 6/156 at stumps from 70 overs.
120 overs available on Day 2, but a slightly delayed start than scheduled due to overnight rain. Webber continued ticking over the score as Kerr counter-attacked, but NDs took their chances & the Tahs were eventually bowled out for 197. Slightly under par but runs on the board in a semi final are massive. Walker struck early with the ball before NDs counterattacked into the lunch break, and were in a commanding position at 1/49 just after the resumption. That was until Wigney broke through twice in the space of three balls to have the Tahs up & about after lunch, 3/49. The scoring dried up as a result of the Tahs pressure, a consolidating partnership from NDs broken by Walker who knocked over the set opener, 4/73. NDs fought back though & the deficit narrowed to 84, but the Tahs didn’t stop toiling, as Searle struck twice in an over to dismiss NDs skipper & then their danger man, 6/114 & game on. With the tea break nearing, NDs No.8 threw caution to the wind, riding his luck as a number of shots landed just out of reach of desperate Tahs efforts. The deficit 49 at tea with the Tahs still needing 4 wickets. The wicket had flattened out & NDs to their credit batted well to take the game away from the Tahs, a few more near misses but ultimately not to be for the Tahs, as NDs won by four wickets. A shattering end to what was a phenomenal second half of the season for M3s.
Upcoming fixtures:
It all comes down to this, the final weekend of cricket for 2025/26. The Tahs efforts across the board have culminated in our top two grades progressing to the Grand Final with a shot at premiership glory. A couple of massive, high stakes fixtures, details as follows, would be great to see plenty of Tahs support across the weekend!
Men’s 1st Grade Grand Final – Manly Warringah vs Eastern Suburbs @ Cricket Central – Friday 27th, Saturday 28th, Sunday 29th March
Men’s 2nd Grade Grand Final – Manly Warringah vs Northern District @ Manly Oval – Friday 27th, Saturday 28th, Sunday 29th March
See you next week for one final time. Up the Tahs!
