Welcome back to another week of Tah Talk! Brought to you by our good friends at Invest Blue.
RYAN’S BACK IN THE GRIND
How good was it to see Ryan Hadley steaming in from the Raglan St end against Fairfield-Liverpool last Sunday!
The big fella has been sidelined with stress fractures to the back – just at a time when he was making lots of noise at both club and rep level.
It was doubly frustrating for Hads as he felt no great pain despite scans indicating otherwise.
But he took his time and used the break from the bowling crease to work on a few things while also getting used to a big life change following the arrival of baby daughter Ava.
He started out in third grade as a batsman, where he was pleasantly surprised by not only the high standard but Lachie Charles’ constant chat at first slip.
Hads then bowled eight overs against Fairfield on a docile Manly Oval track, taking 1-14 as 1s completed an important win last weekend.
Naturally, he was a touch apprehensive before rolling the arm over but came through with flying colours.
“Sitting on the sidelines is always hard, particularly when there’s been a few games where I feel I could’ve had an impact and potentially changed results,” he said.
“But the biggest thing I’ve missed is just spending the weekend with some of my best mates. It is what we live for and why we play for Manly.
“Everything happens for a reason but it’s so good to be back.”
And it’s great to have you back, big man, especially at such a crucial time of the season.
Hads is not only a weapon with ball in hand but he scores handy runs late order runs and brings tons of enthusiasm and unrelenting dedication to the cause.
LIONS TAMED AFTER PATIENT WAIT
We were forced to play the long game before coming away with the first innings points against Fairfield-Liverpool.
We made 321 on day one on the back of a brilliant Joel Foster century and hefty contributions from Ahillen Beadle and Ned Hole.
It looked enough but I knew the Lions, despite half their team enjoying Saturday night in Manly, could make life difficult on a wicket not offering a heap to the bowlers.
So, I was really impressed by the way we hung in there and took wickets with almost every bowling change.
It showed to me that we were ready to go, whereas that hasn’t always been the case early in the season.
It took us 75 overs to bowl Fairfield out for 156, but the result was never in doubt.
The victory took us from 11th to fifth on the table as we head into a big run of white ball cricket before Christmas.
With the BBL set to rob us of talent over the next month or so, it’s imperative we get the job done against Sydney (December 9) and Wests (December 16).
W1s BACK TO WINNING WAYS
Some games can be described as season defining.
Such was the case for our women’s first grade team last Sunday after they knocked over Drummoyne in a must-win game following a patchy start to the season.
Batting first on a flat Drummoyne Oval deck, we finally clicked with the willow to post to post 240 on the back of Lauren Kua’s 74 and a Shivani Mehta half-century.
But what looked a good total started to appear sub-par after 30 overs as our bowlers couldn’t quite get it right.
It took an inspirational spell from Chelsea McLerie to change the game.
She removed both set batters out, allowing us to squeeze the tail and come out on top by 10 runs.
Opening bowler Mia Phelps (3-30) also played a crucial role.
It’s a huge win for the girls in the context of the season, coming off the back of three straight losses.
It’s put us right back in the mix with two games to go before Christmas.
With the return of our Big Bash players this week adding some much-needed experience, the firsts looked headed in the right direction.
