Welcome to this weeks edition of Tah Talk with Jay Lenton. This week Jay takes us through the U/5 Juniors Peden Shield season, the upcoming Australia Day weekend, and the ongoing contribution of Cameron Merchant.
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PEDEN SHIELD GIRLS DO US PROUD
They are 12 girls who love playing cricket for Manly – and we love having them.
I’m talking of the under-15 Peden Shield side, our junior girls’ side which made it all the way to the grand final before falling to a strong Parramatta side last Sunday.
Chasing a formidable 200 at Blacktown International Sports Park, the young Tahs were bowled out for 155, ending a brilliant campaign.
Coached by one of the Tahs’ favourite sons – Davd Ford – the team is a mix of Brewer Shield/Manly pathway players and Saturday morning/afternoon club players.
They are part of our juniors pathways program and a team we keep a close eye on.
“Fordy” has managed to blend the two separate camps brilliantly to form a very competitive Peden Shield outfit.
The younger girls learnt from the more experienced older girls and each individual made a significant contribution at some stage of the season.
The team belief and fielding pressure was their strength, but there were some outstanding individual performances worth mentioning.
Leg spinner Kaya Punter took 18 wickets off the back of some mesmerising spells backed, well backed up by off-spinners Eve Burke and Joleena Wright (10 wickets each) and opening bowler Teaghan Ford (9 wickets).
These four bowlers finished in the top 15 of the competition, with Charlie Woods also contributing with five wickets.
The team was well led by inspirational skipper Annabelle Croll, who was the standout wicket keeper in the competition.
She also scored 184 runs, which was the second highest in the comp, while Punter scored 117, Tait Camburn 83 and Annabel Kyme 63.
The younger batters like Daria Coleman, Kiera Terrey, Eddie Gillett and Olivia Kilkeary made some vital runs in key moments and the entire team combined for some great run-outs and took some very good catches, applying great pressure to the opposition.
The girls all wore their Manly baggies proudly and look forward to continuing their senior cricket under the pine trees at Manly Oval.
Well done to all.
AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND WHOPPER
This weekend looms as a big day one for the club on a number of fronts.
Our top four men’s grade sides are all in tense fights to secure first innings points against Randwick-Petersham.
We are chasing gettable totals in 1s, 3s and 4s but have already lost wickets, so nothing is a given.
In 3s, we bowled Randy-Petes out for a lowly 147 but hit some quicksand to be 5-57 at stumps.
The in-form fifths have already collected the chocolates on first innings and will go about setting up outright victory when their game resumes.
Not only are wins across the grades imperative for our respective finals campaigns, it will give our hopes of back-to-back club championships a massive shot in the arm.
We sit second, just 14 points behind leaders Parramatta, with four rounds remaining after this weekend.
Manly has never won consecutive club championships.
The women are doing even better, holding down first spot in their race to the club championship.
We’ve been checking the record books and can’t find any evidence of the men and women winning the club championship in the same year.
What an achievement that would be.
So, I’m not joking when I say it’s a BIG weekend.
Go Manly!
NAPPA’S KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE
You don’t get many better clubmen than Cameron Merchant.
“Nappa” officially hung up the pads last summer after an outstanding career but said to give him a call if we ever needed him.
That call came late last year when we were on the hunt for extra players to get us through the challenging BBL period, where many of our players are away on playing or coaching duties.
Despite being a very busy man himself, Cam was more than happy to help out and put his hand up to cover some holes in our third grade side.
He has played the last four rounds, making contributions with the bat while adding experience in the field and his livewire personality to the dressing-room camaraderie.
Nappa has helped thirds continue on their winning ways in a surge that has taken them from the bottom half of the table into fourth.
We’re not sure if the comeback is permanent or temporary but it’s great to see him under the baggy blue again.
