Waratahs Continue Winning Ways – Weekend Wrap 11th/12th February 2023

The Manly boys arrived at Manly knowing a good start was key to winning this game. After a coffee, some crosswords and a barefoot ceremony the bowlers were ready to rumble. A pitch that had seen some rain through the week was gunna do a bit early. Always good.

Hads and Mickey started superbly. Mickey grabbing two big poles in first over, off to a flyer. At 4/20 things looked solid. Some resistance from the night watchmen proved annoying but with the scoreboard only ticking slowly the patience was key. Mick struck again grabbing another important pole.

With some swing in the air, only one man needed the ball. Joel ‘Fireball’ Foster. Two wickets in two overs as the swing king had it on a string. At 7/70 the game was going exactly the way we wanted.

However Sydney battled really hard with the 8 and 9 combing for a stand that threatened. As the wicket flattened out bowling became a grind. After some decisions went against us frustration became a factor. After the short ball tactic paid dividends for Hadley and a nice catch from J. Edwards opened the game back up. 
The number 8 batted well with some luck for 40* but with Herdy grabbing the number 10 quickly after a barrage of short stuff, saw him pretty happy to be out in my books. With 30 to win and a little resistance, the birthday boy stepped up. Ping knicking off the number 11 to clinch a gutsy win against a team that never rolls over easy.

Great win for the boys topping a great day for the club. Big few rounds to finish with club champs on the line. Go Manly.

3 Points – Mickey Edwards
2 Points – Ryan Hadley 
1 Point – Joel Foster

Matt Brewster

Following a valiant fight back the week before the Manly 2s boys turned up hoping to put a few more runs on the board prior to declaring knowing the wicket was going to be much flatter than the week before against a tough Sydney batting lineup.

Ben Bryant (124*) and Tom Kaye (71*) resumed proceedings with the score 6/260 . During the 9 overs of batting there were 2 milestones achieved. The first was the all-time partnership record between Bryant and Kaye remaining unbeaten on 210* for the 7th wicket. They broke the previous 2nd Grade record of 196 set in 1989/90 by Greg Boyer and Ken Pitcher. The second came just prior to the declaration with Bryant notching up 150.

Jamo then declared with the score 6/303 with Ben (150*) and Tom (84*) giving Sydney 87 overs to chase the total

As the boys entered the field in hot conditions they knew they would have to bowl well to get all 10 wickets. Opening the bowling as usual Kaye and Jamieson bowled tightly however the game was turned on its head when the spear head quick Josh Seward, who was out to prove a point came on and grabbed 3 quick wickets. At this stage Seward had figures of 3/3.

Jamo soon joined the party with his ever reliable line and length also picking up 3 of their top 6. Josh continued to be damaging at the other end, ending up with 5 wickets finishing with figure of 5/45 showing everyone why he is one to watch as the finals campaign draws near.

Roop ‘miles’ Dhillon then came on to do what good spinners do best and clean up the tail with 2 wickets of his own bowling Sydney out for 107.

A convincing win in the end against a strong opposition which should put the manly boys in great stead as they lead into yet another premiership campaign.

3 Points – Ben Bryant
2 Points – Josh Seward
1 Point – Tom Kaye

Ben Bryant

Manly started the day at 0-30 in chase of 196. Sam Hole and Sam Webber took off from where they started last week and comfortably hit the Sydney bowlers all around the ground.

After a dominant opening stand Sam hole fell for a well-made 91 and Sam Webber for 71 putting us in a position only needing 28 to win. Jordan Daly and Andrew Boulton got us home. A dominant display with the bat finishing 2-200 off our 50. Good win for the boys and we hope to continue our momentum leaving into the back end of the season and finals.

3 Points – Sam Hole
2 Points – Sam Webber
1 Point – Andrew Boulton

Andrew Boulton

The 4’s men arrived at Birchgrove to the picturesque view of the harbour. The deck was looking flat and hard. With temperatures set to reach mid 30’s the lads got hydrated and lathered themselves in sunscreen in preparation of a big day in the field defending 256.

After a hot and sweaty warm up the boys headed out raring to go to take the 6 points and continue our dominance at the top of the table.

Dunnachie started the day bowling a good line and length and was rewarded taking both openers in the same over. Rochford got in on the action the next over holding Sydney at 3-17. Kerr and Noack followed and also displayed great discipline with rewards, having Sydney 5-20 at drinks and 7-31, Kerr taking 3 wickets and Noack 1.

The 8th wicket proved hard to get with Dunnachie (2-15) and Kerr (3-17) fighting hard after tea. Until finally a well executed misfiled from Rigg at short mid off followed by Dunnachie saw for a very strange run out at the bowlers end, breaking the game back open. Noack came back on and took another (2-8), and Cumming taking the last to dismiss Sydney for 72 off 48 overs.

Overall a great performance with discipline and concentration throughout the day with both bowling and fielding, working as a team and in partnerships to thump Sydney by 184 runs, cementing top place. 

3 Points – Fraser Noack
2 Points – Lachie Kerr
1 Point – George Cumming

Evan Dunnachie

Having collected 6 points last week, 5s returned to a warm, but still damp Mike Pawley looking to finish the job. A barefoot circle and overnight declaration was followed by the perfect start by Josh Lawson and James Waddington, having them 2-4 before they got a small partnership together.

It was a constant flow of chances and consistent bowling that resulted in Sydney overcoming our first innings lead of 55 already 5 down despite a couple dropped catches.

This was courtesy of a brilliant 3-9 produced by the Dubbo man Will Skinner and a wicket to Liam Dinan.

The touring side was only able to get 32 in front once Preston Lee was introduced. After a runout in the previous over, the young man bowled his way to a double wicket maiden, only being denied a second over by the fall of the last wicket, claimed as James Waddingtons third.

A fast 27* by Matt Evans wrapped up the outright win for the tahs, a comfortable chase completed 1 down.

3 Points – James Waddington
2 Points – Will Skinner
1 Point – Liam Dinan

James Waddington

Womens 1s arrived at Manly Oval for a must win match against Penrith. Mik lost the toss and we were sent in to bat. Lauren and Shiv opened the batting and got us off to a strong start, they both showed great intent and put the bad ball away. Shiv (23) was caught bringing in Kelly. In some tough batting conditions Lauren and Kelly fought hard to see off Penrith’s consistent spinners. Unfortunately Kelly (14) was dismissed and Mik came to the crease. We then lost Lauren (30) and were in desperate need of a solid partnership. Manly weren’t quite able to do this as the rest of the batting order made some starts but didn’t follow through with them. In the end we were bowled out for 137 knowing it was well below par for us. 

Despite our total being on the smaller side Manly 1s were determined to defend it. We knew in order to keep ourselves in finals contention we had to take all 10 Penrith wickets. Emma and Kelly opened the bowling with great consistency and were troubling Penriths openers frequently. The first breakthrough came from a superb catch at gully from Laura off Emma’s bowling. Kristie took the second wicket with a clean bowled and soon after Eliza took her first 1st grade wicket as she combined with Katie behind the stumps for a stumping. Katie again was brilliant taking a catch off Miks bowling to get Penrith’s no.3 out. After a great period in the field the girls were buzzing and bowling well. A partnership between Sharma and Williams was building when Emma took her thoroughly deserved second wicket of the day, finishing with amazing figures of 2/21 off her 10 overs. More wickets fell with Mik bowling Williams’s out for her second wicket, and in that same over Shiv made a legendary direct hit run out. Lauren was able to clean up the tail, taking the last three wickets of the day with catches to Emma and another to Katie. 

Overall a very gritty and determined win from the girls. We look forward to next week as we take on top of the table Sydney in another must win game! 

3 Points – Emma Thatcher 
2 Points – Lauren Kua
1 Point – Shivani Mehta 

Annabel Hutt 

2s were up bright and early this morning as we trekked it out to Howell Oval for the second time this season. The day was already warm, but after a solid stretch (while Em had a dance party) and now ritual singing of its the climb from Hannah Montana, Mia lost the toss and we were sent into bowl. A quick barefoot circle for the indigenous round and we went out into the field.

Molly and Sophie opened the bowling, with a really strong start from both girls. Molly showed her dominance and took a wicket third ball of the game, with the penrith opener gloving one straight to Hughesy behind the stumps. With only one run scored off the bat in the first four overs, Sophie took the next wicket with an absolute seed that sent the other openers stumps crashing down. Jazzy Wilson then came onto bowl and was on a hat trick in her first over. One was bowled and the other an absolute screamer from Brooke at square leg. Running backwards and sticking an arm out as a last effort but it ended up sticking and she took an absolute blinder. The first two wickets of her next over were wickets yet again, putting Jazzy Wilson on another hat trick which unfortunately didn’t eventuate either. Penrith were then 6 for not very many. Molly still hadn’t finished her spell from the other end, taking two more wickets in her 6th over (including a sliding caught and bowled) and was ripping through the batters. Another maiden or two for Jazzy with her bowling just being too good for the batters who had resolved to blocking her out and not letting her take the elusive 5th wicket. Mia came onto bowl and got out their last two batters. When the last wicket fell, Jazzy collapsed into a heap on the ground as she had gotten so close yet so far and had bowled amazingly, very deserving of the 5th wicket that didn’t come her way. Penrith ended up all out for 26 after 14.4 overs, with none of their batters scoring double figures and the extras top scoring with 12.

A quick 12 minute turn around and myself and Zara went out to bat. It was a rather uneventful run chase. Some quick singles and nice shots in the gap meant we chased down their total in only 4.2 overs.

This meant we had all drove over an hour for less than 20 overs worth of cricket, but we had secured another double bonus point win which was what we needed. We went for a celebratory feast, migrating between Krispy Kreme, Maccas and KFC to make our trip to Penrith last a bit longer and celebrate another well deserved victory.

3 Points – Jazzy Wilson
2 Points – Molly Kidd
1 Point – Brooke Frew

Nat Guyot

The EBC Committee met once again buzzing off lasts weeks big week hoping to make it 5 on the trot. We were back at the fortress, Royal Balgowlah Oval. The day was already looking good, Steph’s Grandma had baked her infamous cinnamon donuts, we were on. Bankstown won the toss but we got what we wanted to do anyway and we had a bowl. Some tight bowling from the chief delivery officer (Sophia) and the chief performance officer (Sallie) brought on our first wicket when Mason caught one at mid off from Sophia’s bowling. From there it was really the Chief Vibes Officers (Chloe-Amanda) show. Bowling great lines and being relentless she got her maiden 5fa for the club. The first of many I’m sure. Gilly, Captain Courageous and CP (PC, Lenovo, MacBook Pro, Windows 11) all bowled tightly not giving the batters much. We ended up bowling them out for 70. 

We went in for a bat and were in a little bit of trouble early but the Hat stayed in there when we needed her. From there, new recruit, Bella Zovi showed her youthful class and patience, getting the runs with the chief of hard work (Emma) who played an amazing innings helping us win the game, finishing on 17* and Bella finishing on 19*. 

Successful day again for the 3s girls, topped off with another trip to the bowlo. 

3 Points – Chloe-Amanda Bailey 
2 Points – Emma Lyon 
1 Point – Isabella Zovi 

Sallie Molyneux 

Warm and windy conditions greeted us upon arrival to Grahams Reserve for our much anticipated clash with Greater Hunter.(GH)
The greenness of the wicket had the girls excited. We were all hoping Caitlin would win the toss and bowl first, which she did of course!

Caitlin performed a very sincere and moving ‘welcome to country’. Thanks to Greater Hunter for respectfulness in the ceremony.

New bowling pair, Darcey and Hannah opened the bowling. Darcey starting with a maiden and Hannah getting a wicket in her first over. Pressure on the batters to score runs resulted in a tight runout with Lara and Shae combining wonderfully. GH gun batter was now at the crease. The Manly girls didn’t make it easy for her, troubling her for the first 5/6 overs of her innings. GH put on 77 runs for the 3rd wicket until Kaya produced a sensational runout. GH attempted to lift the scoring rate but our spinners and medium pace bowlers did a fantastic job in keeping the runs down and eventually claiming vital wickets with Kaya and Lara both finishing with 3 wickets each. Eventually we were able to bowl out GH for 199. Congratulations to C.Bray (GH) in scoring 96.

Chasing exactly 200 for the win, the manly Girls were confident we could chase the total if we battered the 50 overs out.

Caitlin and Bella opened the innings with precision and determination. After 10 overs Manly were feeling good about the innings so far 0/39, right on track. Unfortunately, the Manly top order had one of those days. Against a bowler who bowls stump to stump. Losing 5/4 in 5 overs. Bella with her usual determination was still out in the middle and going strong. Shae played a determined innings adding 26 runs partnership with Bella. Another quick wicket brought Dacey to the crease, playing with great ‘positive intent’ formed a quickfire 35 run partnership with Bella. Losing another quick wicket Manly were 9/113 with Bella and Kaya at the crease. Attack being the greatest form of defense, Kaya and Bella went on the attack, scoring 53 runs off 10 overs. GH were getting nervous. Unfotunatley one attacking shot too many resulted in Kaya being dismissed for a valiant 25 runs. Bella remained not out on 87. This was an outstanding innings from Bella full of control and concentration. Included in her innings were thirteen 4’s and one 6.
Manly were all out in the 45th over on 166 chasing 200. 

3 Points – Bella Zovi
2 Points – Kaya Punter
1 Point – Lara Hughes

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