Tahs topping tables going into Christmas break – Weekend Wrap 17th/18th December 2022

T

he Manly boys made the wonderful trip out to beautiful Penrith on Saturday morning. With some fresh blood in the team and 2 new co captains everyone was excited for a good day ahead. The manly boys lost the toss and got sent in to bat which left the team thinking, do they know something we don’t!

Turns out the deck had some life in it and with some good bowling, the Penrith side were able to take consistent wickets, bowling the manly boys out for 129. The stand out batter was Ben Bryant who was top run scorer with a very well made 31, while Jake Carden and Ryan Hadley also looked very comfortable at the crease hitting some lovely boundaries.

When we went out to bowl we new if we could get some early wickets the Tahs would be right in the game, with many swing and misses, it just wasn’t Manly’s day with the Penrith team getting the runs 3 down. Isaiah Vumbucca was the stand out bowler taking 2 for 22. Heading into the Christmas break the Tahs look to come back firing and ready for a big second half of the season. Congratulations to the two new captains Mickey Edwards and Ryan Hadley who did a great job, along with Ned Hole and B.Mendel making their debuts.

3 Points – Ben Bryant
2 Points – Isaiah Vumbaca
1 Point – Jake Carden

Brynn Mendel

O

n a cold winters Saturday morning at Manly oval, Tahs 2s took on a roaring Penrith with 6 of the top grade players out with representative duties but with the might, strength, depth and team love that is Manly this wasn’t to stop the lads in Blue..

Jamo lost the toss and was sent in and considering he was looking to set the tone and bat anyway.. This toss seemed to be a waste of time but nevertheless Manly set to rumble with the blade first up… and didn’t they do just that.. Coyteys straight drives were so pleasing on the eye rebounding back off the fence it looked a big day for the Great man but to be dismissed for a gorgeous 30 and the team to lose a quick 3 wickets left the Tahs in a spot of bother.. A strongish partnership through the middle with young Gun Boult, old timer Merchant and Zachy T.. Steadied the ship before it was sensational & incredibly good looking Tom Kaye that really took the panthers on in a partnership with the skipper sporting his magnificent proud and weathered baggy blue to hop a few over the fence (into the gustly wind mind you) and take the Tahs to a strong 220 and with momentum and wind in the sails…

Plenty of team love the boys were looking to head into Christmas with a strong win.. and that’s exactly what they did.. Thomas Kaye, beautiful outswingers out of the hand again taking the edges of the top order for 3 wickets for nothing bowling his 10 straight and setting up the win..

Wickets a piece to the skipper and others left the work to the leg spinning genius work of young Roop.. Leg spinners, wrong ones, bigger wrong ones left the panthers scratching the heads to just how good this 16 year old and green shield player of the year can get..

Penrith all bowled out for less than 120 giving the Tahs a bonus point and a very merry celebration heading into the festive season..

Stay merry and have a great and safe Tahs Christmas from all of us having a good time in 2s❤️🎄.

3 Points – TBC
2 Points – TBC
1 Point – TBC

Cameron Merchant

T

he 3s boys travelled out to Bill Ball Oval against Penrith to cement their first spot on the ladder heading into the Christmas break.

On a flat looking deck Sam Webber won the toss and elected to bat. S Webber (45) and K Mendel (30) both played with great patience and aggression capitalising on any loose deliveries maintaining a steady run rate on a slow outfield at 0-58 after 17 overs.

Penrith then brought the game back into a balance after taking 5 wickets in the next session leaving the Tahs 5-120 after 37 overs with Hutchings and celebrity recruitment Taylor Beatty rebuilding the innings.

Hutchings (33) recorded another not out as he anchored his bat while Beatty (26) and M  Sunshine (18) played with power from the other end. Manly ended up 7-193 after their 50 overs which was an above par score considering the slow outfield.

Sunshine and 3rd grade debutant Frazer Noake opened the bowling and bowled in great partnerships with Fraze picking up the first 3 wickets finishing 3-29. Hayden Williams another 3rd grade debutant bowled with great aggression and continued his wicket taking form in 4th grade taking 3-23. Taylor Beatty build the pressure from the other end. Lachy Trewartha continued to build the pressure with 10 overs straight from the other end bowling with great rhythm taking a wicket in his first over.

With the Penrith batsman starting to rebuild a partnership and looking to take the game away from Manly in the final session in came Matthew Sunshine. The great clubman on one leg wore his heart on his sleeve as he charged in and took 2 crucial wickets to ultimately confirm the win for the Manly boys.

Penrith ending up all out 169 cementing Manly 1st spot into the Christmas break with a 24 run win.

3 Points – Frazer Noake
2 Points – Jake Hutchings
1 Point – Hayden Williams

3rd Grade Song of the week – Shower by Becky G

 

Josh Cooper

T

he mighty 4’s boys returned to atmosphere park for the final game of 2022, looking to maintain our undefeated streak & head into the Xmas break with a commanding lead on top of the ladder.

With numerous changes to the lineup, we welcomed a couple of fresh faces in the team, in the form of Waddington & Buchanan, as well as a couple of veterans in Visser & Walter making their long-awaited comebacks.

With a bit of drizzle around, Rochy promptly lost the toss & we found ourselves in the field first. Despite an early wicket to Melville, Penrith to their credit batted quite well & kept putting away the bad balls, as the conditions made it tough for bowlers to find their consistency. Enter one M. Visser, who looked like he’d never left, bowling 10 overs straight (downwind for probably the first time in his career) to put the brakes on & snare a much needed breakthrough, finishing with figures of 1/18.

In tandem with George Cumming (2/34) who picked up another couple of wickets before 2nd drinks, they brought us right back into the game, but unfortunately we weren’t quite able to finish off the tail as quickly as we have come to expect from ourselves this season – the Penrith batters riding their luck to score at over a run a ball for the last 10 overs to eek their way up to 6/210. Still a very chaseable target for us however, if we were able to knuckle down and bat out the full 50.

Things started off quite well with a flurry of boundaries in the first few overs before Wheeler was somehow bowled around his legs, which brought Lucius to the crease to steady the ship with Dunlop & take us through to drinks. Unfortunately we lost a few wickets back to back which halted our momentum in the middle overs, with only Inzamam himself (Parko) able to spend much time in the middle as the deck got lower & slower, scoring a run-a-ball 34 before running out of partners, as we eventually succumbed to our first loss of the season.

All in all a disappointing day out, but we are still sitting pretty with a 9-point lead at the top of the table, with a good chance now for us all to refresh over the break & come back with avengeance in 2023 for a red hot crack at going back-to-back!

2 Points – George Cumming
2 Points – Michael Visser
2 Points – Adam Parkinson

Dom Wheeler

F

ifth Grade trekked out to Rance Oval on what looked to be a beautiful day for cricket with sun shining down. The boys were determined to bounce back from their loss last week. On what looked to be an excellent pitch for batting, the Penrith skipper won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat first.

The bowlers were led by Will Matheson alongside the returning Josh Lawson. With the boys missing the bat more than a dozen times they were only able to get one with the new ball thanks to Will Matheson (3/29), unlucky to get more.

A strong partnership for the 3rd wicket meant the boys had to dig in and push hard. Ultimately, it was Beau Kelley (4/31) supported by Josh Lawson (1/39) and Will Matheson getting vital breakthroughs through the middle overs with Will getting two much needed wickets in the last over before second drinks.

Penrith were going strong at a good rate and at one point were projected for 240+, however strong latter middle overs and death over bowling from Liam Dinan, Raj Ganeshraj and Simon Waddington unlucky to go wicketless with some dropped catches, the team were able to restrict Penrith for 201 on what seemed like a very good pitch to bat.

In the second innings, the boys knew that it wouldn’t be an easy chase and were able to take tips from last week’s batting. The boys got off to a great start thanks to sweet timing on a quick outfield by Jack Donnan and Matt Evans(95). Lovely drives from Jack got him off to a flyer, however a well timed flick found the man at mid-wicket without having to move.

From that Matt and Preston Lee (59) made the run chase look easy matching aggression with precision. They were able to survive some chances and run-out scares as they made the opposition pay for their mistakes and inconsistent bowling with both of them bringing up their 50’s.

Before we knew it, the boys had made the equation 30 runs in the last 10 overs. However, with a hundred in sight, Matt fell short by just 5 runs as he went for one too many getting bowled. Shortly after saw the fall of Preston getting bowled similarly to Matt. Both boys should be commended on how determined and patient they were whilst they were out there despite still being pretty young.

They had set the game up which made it easy for Reuben Kapoor and Liam Dinan to get the team home with Kapoor hitting the winning runs with three overs to spare.

3 Points – Matt Evans
2 Points – Beau Kelley
1 Point – Preston Lee

Reuben Kapoor

P

Gs season has come to an end with a big loss to Randwick-Petersham in our Semi Final on Sunday.

Winning the toss, we just weren’t able to bowl in the right areas often enough, with Randy-Petes amassing 266 from their rain reduced 44 overs. In response we were never in the contest, slumping to 5/15 at one stage, with only a spirited 16 from Kelan Mendel getting us past 50.

Our worst performance of the year in a Quarter FInal, but almost all players are backing up next year, so we are keen to give it a real run next season.

Huge thanks to coach Aidan Baker and Manager Will Gustafson for everything they have done all year.

M

atch abandoned

M

atch Abandoned

W

ith the weather taking a bit of an ugly turn, Women’s 3s set out on a mission to finish the year strong. And that’s exactly what we did.

Skipper, Renee, won the toss and chose to field first. Fighting through some periods of pretty heavy rain our bowling was on point and so was our fielding and Gordon were kept to a score of 5/70.

Sophia was outstanding taking 2/10 (4) while Renee and Chloe kept it tight with their amazing figures. 

Going out to bat, the weather had changed giving us a little warmth after a winters morning fielding. The sun was out and we had our fingers crossed that this ment the batting gods were on our side.

There was a great partnership between Renee and Steph (who retired not out) as they set a solid score for the team. Whilst our batters fell quickly our runs kept climbing allowing us to snatch that win.

With smiles and happy faces this celebration continued at our 3rd grade Christmas party with some lawn bowls.

It was a great game and an even better way to end this year and the girls should be back on top soon.

2 Points – Stephanie Hughes
2 Points – Sophia CHick
1 Point – Renee Hough
1 Point – Olivia Champion

Emily Hatfield

M

anly Brewers final game for 2022 was against Bankstown at the lusciously manicured Bankstown Oval. A win for the Brewers would mean a top 4 finish for the first half of the year.

Caitlin lost the toss and Manly were sent into bat on a soft Bankstown pitch.

Jazz and Hannah opened the batting. A controlled start with confident running between the wickets had the girls off to a neat start. Unfortunately Jazz got one that stuck in the wicket and gave the bowler a simple catch. Charlotte at no 3 playing with good intent until an accurate ball got through her defences. Ari strode to the crease with confidence, anchoring the Manly innings with a solid 36 not out, highlighted by delightful off side punches to the boundary. Unfortunately wickets fell around Ari with Caitlin, Bella, Annabelle and Lara hardly troubling the scores. Hard running from Sophie formed a mini fight back although a flukey rebound off the bowlers leg onto the stumps resulted in a dubious run out decision for Sophie.

Darcey played intelligent by giving Ari the strike to see the 20 overs out.

In the end Manly scored 85. A defendable score on an increasingly quicker wicket and outfield.

Hannah and Lara opening the bowling innings with some tight bowling to restrict the Bankstown batters to 0/8 off 4 overs. Darcey and Jazz continued the tight bowling with Jazz getting the opener with Ari taking a sharp catch at short cover. Jazz got the other opener with a superb inswinger.

With hopes of running through the Bankstown middle order, the Manly bowlers toiled hard but the two Bankstown players worked hard on perfecting the ‘French cut’ which frustrated the Manly girls. Annabelle showed off her handy glove work behind the stumps on debut. Liv was giving her all charging around the field whipping the ball back to the stumps.

Manly bowlers kept the pressure on but as the outfield sped up Bankstown cashed in running down the total in the 18th over.

3 Points – Arabella Handley
2 Points – Jazzy James
1 Point – Annabelle Croll

Annabelle Croll