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Aggers Eight
A superb eight-wicket haul from Tom Agnew was not enough to get the Premier Men across the line in their match on Saturday. In fact, it was a singularly unsuccessful end to the last 2-day round before Christmas, with Prems 1st innings points the only positive from the four morning grade sides, with the Prems and Championship sides drawing their respective matches, and Div 1 and 2 both going down in theirs.
It was one out of two for the Premier Women, beating OBC in the early T20 match but then comfortably going down to Lancaster Park in the second. The Div 1 women had an away trip out to Pleasant Point but came away with a loss.
Two Sydenham Prem Women who weren’t able to play for their side on Saturday was Boadicea Lynch making her Canterbury debut against Otago, the captain of the latter being her Sydenham skipper Felicity Robertson
Bo Lynch and Felecity Robertson
The highlight of the afternoon grades came in the Master Cardinals match where, despite losing a close one against OBC in a near top-of-the-table clash, President's stalwart David Flem took his 700th Presidents grade wicket.
A typical Flem appeal in last season's derby match against Hospital
There were wins to the Div 5 Goats and Cavalier Cardinals, plus a tie for the Div 6 Tamils.
Only three of the six Sydenham Youth sides had wins, but mostly importantly, one of those was the First XI who have now qualified for next week’s grade final. Jaxson Moynihan was again a stand-out in that match with a 70, as was Oliver Jones with 73 in the Year 10’s losing effort against St Thomas and Liam Martin (40*) in the Year 9bs.
A number of the photos in this publication are courtesy of Ash Hart's Hartland Images.
Scott Insurance Brokers Insurance Premier Men
There was much frustration at the start of the second day of the Sydenham match against OBC on Sydenham 1. The covers had protected the pitch well from the modest overnight rain, and the outfield was surprisingly dry - everywhere except for one patch on the western boundary, which the council had not repaired, which looked like a drainage issue. The planned early 9.30am start to make up for lost play on the first day was quickly gone as the match was regretfully delayed past its normal start time. Eventually, at about 11.30am, both captains and the umpires made a pragmatic decision to get on with the match. Although the area never proved to be a further issue, the reduced playing hours probably cost both sides the time to push on for a win later in the day.
When play got underway, Sydenham was handily placed at 101-2, chasing OBC's 1st innings total of 156. However, the reduced hours and Sydenham's poor start quickly killed any thoughts of taking a small 1st innings lead. Overnight batsman Matt McCall was retired out due to work commitments, and after a brief partnership between Max Clark and Ryan Wallace, Ryan was out for 16 off 35 balls. Next batsman Aarush Bhagwat had a short stay, and then the other not-out batsman Max Clarke was out for 87 off 81 balls after adding another dozen to his overnight total. At 132-5, the priority became reaching OBC's 159, and despite losing another couple on the way, did so and immediately declared at 161-7.
Ryan James pushes through mid-wicket
OBC then set about trying to get a total to make a match of it later in the day, but the job became hard work. Although having been comfortable in the morning session, the ball started to swing in the afternoon, and there is no one better in those conditions than Tom Agnew. Tom took the first wicket at 17-1, and Devon Flannery the second at 43-2, but 18 overs had gone with OBC struggling in the conditions to get the run rate above 2.5. Young Thomas Graham was doing his best with a 59, and Jack Lewis certainly tried to up the tempo with his 58 off 43 balls but was hard to get the ball out of Aggers hands when it is swinging.
Jack had done well to get OBC to 137-3 by the 33rd over but was then bowled by Tom at that score. The OBC intent was there, but they struggled against the swing bowling as Tom proceeded to pick up eight wickets in the innings to finish with the outstanding return of 8-43 off 14 overs. One of the unluckier batsmen was young Thomas Graham, who had been battling well before he was spectacularly out to a very sharp diving left-handed at slip by Harsh Visavadiya, who had taken five in the 1st innings. The loss of wickets slowed OBC's progress, which then turned into the need to preserve wickets and reduce the time available for Sydenham to chase down the total.
Tom Agnew
They were eventually bowled out for 156 in the 44th over, leaving Sydenham a target of 162 in about 29 overs. Arguably, the situation hadn't left OBC enough time to expect to bowl Sydenham out, and although Sydenham had their chance to win it should they bat well enough, the quality of OBC's late afternoon bowling made sure that was never a risk. As OBC had, Sydenham struggled to get its run rate up initially, lost the 1st innings top scorer Clarke at 14, and Harsh Visavadiya (30 off 56) at 57-2. However, the required run rate was now close to ten. Although the side tried a belated acceleration, they lost another two wickets immediately. By the 22nd over, they had clearly given up on the run chase and quietly batted out the day to finish in a draw at 79-4, with much credit to the OBC bowlers for that result. The story of the match was the loss of about 37 overs over the two days, which hadn't provided enough time for either side to score enough against two excellent bowling performances, especially on the second day.
The result leaves Sydenham around third in the 2-day competition until it returns in March. The side’s next matches are back to the T20s against Lancaster Park at St Albans Park on Thursday night, and then the pool play completed on Saturday against Heathcote at Sydenham Park.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/oem-audio-mens-premiership/game-centre/c994b94f
The Birdwood Premier Women
Match report courtesy of Linda Pettigrew
Our premier women started the T20 competition with a win and a loss. The team welcomed Elsie Duncan for her first premier cricket match and Caitlyn Robertson who has returned from university. Both made outstanding contributions to the team.
Play in the first match was delayed an hour due to a damp pitch. Meeting OBC first, captain Beth Dodd (Dobby) won the toss and elected to bowl. The innings got off to a great start, with opening bowler Caitlin Davidson picking up the first wicket for no score, quickly followed by Lizzy Cohr (2-5) removing the incoming batter and leaving the score at 2-2.
An OBC mishit off Caitlin Davidson‘s bowling is caught by Elizabeth Cohr
OBC never managed to get away with wickets falling regularly. Green Hill (3-10) demonstrated her excellent spin skills and combined well with Darcy Rose Prasad to take three late innings stumpings. Elsie (1-13) took her first premier wicket removing OBC's overseas player and a catch. OBC finished their overs 78/7. Sydenham made quick work of the target, chasing the score in the 10th over. Dobby top scored with 44*, supported by Darcy Rose and Lizzy.
The first of Darcy Rose Prasad’s three stumpings of the leg-spin bowling off Greer Hill
The afternoon match was always going to be rough due to player availability. Even so the team had an enjoyable match v Lancaster Park, albeit a loss. Dobby won the toss once again and elected to bowl. The LPW top order took on our bowlers reaching 176/3 in their 20 overs. Sydenham made 73 in reply with Maya Panckhurst the pick of the batters on 19
Elsie Duncan in full stride
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/ev-power-premier-women/game-centre/b3e27559
Scott Insurance Brokers Championship The Championship match against OBC on Sydenham 2 had been one where Sydenham had been behind in the match most of the first day and were 110-8 at stumps still 46 runs behind OBC’s 1st innings effort. Sydenham elected to declare at their overnight total and then found themselves suddenly well back in the match when the OBC 2nd innings got off to a poor start.
Todd Ramsay-Boyd
Charlie Finnie [14-2-32], and Daniel Watt [4-0-7], the later making a welcome return to the bowling crease after a pre-season injury, kept the pressure on early as OBC made their way to 34-2. That’s second wicket was Todd Ramsay-Boyd’s first as the two off-spinner sin Todd and Zack Howe put the screws on the OBC run rate and started to chip out the wickets. The 34-2 became 44-5 and then 77-8 with Sydenham looking at a potential run chase of less than 130 with plenty of time available. However, the OBC lower order did a good just in staving off a slump and battled their why to 122 before being bowled out.
Zack Howe
A 169-run chase with modest time pressure shouldn’t have been a he challenge for Sydenham in rely, especially after Dylan Goldstone cracked 48 off 44 balls to give the side some initial impetus with himself and Nathaneal Paltridge (16 off 39) putting on 65 for the 1st wicket inside 12 overs. However, it was mostly downhill from there as the side struggled to put another partnership together of note. A few got starts; Cam Connolly (14 off 34) and Todd Ramsay-Boyd (17 off 31), and were always thereabouts in the run chase without subsequently ever really looking like favourites. The match came down to Sydenham requiring ten off the last over with the last pair of Zack Howe (10*) and Daniel Watt (6*) at the crease, but perhaps surprisingly, the over was quietly played out with the batting side finishing 158-9.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/mens-championship/game-centre/cf741986
Division 1
Match report courtesy of Hamish Robertson
After the first day, with an overnight lead of 2 runs, Sydenham went to work trying to find a way back into the match and had immediate success removing the last 6 wickets for 38 runs. Buoyed by their early success they went about trying to set somewhat of a total to give the bowlers something to bowl to.
Tom Swift
Nikunj Patel and Todd Ward started well seeing out the new ball but when Todd Ward nicked off to the keeper it started a collapse seeing Sydenham rolled for a poultry 89 runs. Nikunj with a well made 37 the pick of the batters. With only 46 runs to bowl with Sydenham’s day was done early with East Shirley securing a well-deserved outright win ending the first half of the 2 day season.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/mens-division-1/game-centre/b5f1f27d
Division 2
Match report courtesy of Andrew Moulton
Sydenham played a 1-dayers against Riccarton at Yaldhurst Domain. We turned up to a very green and soft pitch. Bit of a surprise when we lost the toss and were inserted in to the field. Zac Hopkins and Ivon Bobby started very well to have them 31/1 after 10 overs. And at drinks 105/1. A good start and thinking a score under 200 would be a good chase. But with a set batsman at the crease it turned into carnage as they struck 184 runs on the last 22 overs to set a challenging total of 289. Somerset great bowling from Zac- 9 overs 2-38, Ivon 9 overs 2-37, Jim Simpson and Samuel Prasad a bit unlucky with some dodgy LBWs not going our way.
What was the plan? Paddy Wickes. That once of a blue moon innings to get us off to a good start. Second over he's out for a duck. Bugger. Cameron Spriggs at no 3 decided to take the attack with Josh Field and but on a quick 35 run partnership to keep the innings going at 6 an over. Josh and Oliver Smith fell in the same over which brought Samuel to the crease. A very quick 58 run partnership in 8 overs keeping us in the game. Once Sam was out for an ice 37, Andrew Moulton came to the crease and immediately took the attacking approach with a partnership of 66 off 13 overs . A spider graph would suggest a lot of fine glances to fine leg, but instead in reality moults was finding the middle of his inside edge. Muzz brought up a very well played 50, eventually out for 67 off we think about 70 balls. Moults out for 35 of 40ish balls. The tail wagged but the run rate slowly increased as we were all out for 222. Some great positives with the batting as we kept the scoring rate to around 6-7 runs an over and crossed the 200 run mark. But some negatives with the bowling as we bowled 32 wides and some not so clever bowling tactics. On to St Albans next week at Centennial. Huzzah.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/mens-division-2-one-day/game-centre/29c01b0b
Division 5 Goats – WON Match report courtesy of Tony Danenberg
So off we went to Centennial Park to play the high flying Burnside West Broncos at Centennial 2.
Invited to bat the Goats made a slow start facing some tight bowling on a wicket with unpredictable bounce. The first wicket fell at 10,the second and third at 14,so the Goats soon were 3 down for not many. A couple of steady partnerships in the middle, batting around Sameer Bhandwalker with a very useful 24,and some poor catching by Burnside, saw the scorecard starting to tick along, but regularly losing wickets along the way. However the lower order, with some well run singles and a few valuable boundaries saw us through to 106/9 in our 40 overs.
At Centennial Park anything over 100 is challenging to chase down,as the Burnside boys soon found out.
The opening bowling pair of Chris Douglas and Jesse Marks soon made quick inroads into their top order, with Jesse taking 4 quick wickets to leave Burnside 5 down for 15 and 7 for 40 at the drinks break. All of the Goats bowled well and with the pressure mounting on the Burnside lower order they didn't offer much resistance after the drinks break. Jesse Mark's picked up the last wicket to end up with 5/15 off 5.1 overs and his first bag for the club. Catches do win matches and this was the case in this game, 2 catches in particular top drawer, from Joe Taylor and Sameer. Thank you to the players who filled in today and helped the script go to plan, an enjoyable win.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/cmca-adult-summer-202324/mens-division-5/game-centre/f583f01c
Division 5 All-Stars – LOST
Unfortunately the match had to be forfeited
Division 6 Tamils XI – TIED
We played against the Hornby hawks at their home ground Denton park 2. Winning the toss we decided to chase given the rain in the previous days putting an uncertainty in the condition of the pitch. Ashok Muthukumar(2/21) took the first wicket pretty soon and the hawks were 7 for 1. Nothing really happened after that and the hawks slowly moved on to adding another 45 runs without any wickets and just then Niranjan Mani(2/19) picked the wicket of their number 3 batsman who seemed to be in good form and was getting runs steadily. It was nicked to the keeper and the umpire had no idea of what happened but luckily the batsman walked off. We weren’t lucky the next time another batsman nicked one to the keeper though. That wicket opened the flood gates and Hemachandran Rajamanicam bowling for the first time in this season took the next 4 wickets of his 8 overs and gave 27 runs. This was the turning point in the match. Jagannath Radhakrishnan(Jags) took another 2 wickets one of whom was their skipper who seemed to be in fine nick this season in the previous games. And I was happy to be able to bowl 4 overs after not bowling most of last season due to injury and giving 14 runs with a wicket. Hawks set a target of 106 for us to chase.
We thought the target wasn’t too much and if we get a good start it would be a comfortable chase. But things weren’t that easy. The opening bowlers bowled decent line and lengths and took the top 4 wickets without much runs on the board putting us into lot of pressure. David Jayapaul(16) and Gopinath Karuppiah(22) steadied the boat to an extent adding another very valuable 30 runs to the board. But just when things seems to be getting better both of them threw their wickets with similar shots one to long on and other to long off to the same bowler. And then it was 56-7 when our keeper Dinesh Raja came on to bat and nobody would have thought we had any chance of getting closer to the target. Played one of his best knocks and was a single man chase taking the team to 101/8 in 39 overs. There were some very good shots in his 32 valuable runs which gave us a chance of getting closer to the target. He did get some valuable support from Jags and Ashok. Requiring 5 of the last over 3 runs were scored in the first two balls and just when we thought we were almost there there was a run out of Dinesh. We needed 2 of last three and the last batsman Santosh Radhakrishnan who came to the crease confidently scored a golden single which was definitely worth a lot given the high pressure situation. And then there was another single attempt but Ashok got runout and the match was tied!! Overall excellent team effort and we capitalised after going down in many situations and came back strong to get a well deserved tie. And after the finish of round 1 we are still second in the table.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/mens-division-6/game-centre/344d1aad
Cavaliers Cardinals – WON
Match report courtesy of Colin Paintin
With a 1&5 start to the season the Cardinals walked into the game against last seasons champs Sumner (5&1) with more hope than expectation. What eventuated was a glorious afternoon of nail biting cricket. The Cardinals won the toss and skipper Stokes stuck Sumner in on a somewhat unkempt looking Centennial 3. Wolfie, Donnie and Queenie all quickly grabbed the batsmen attention with the ball jumping from a weird and wonderful array of lengths. The key wicket breakthroughs came when the skipper Stokes inserted himself into the action grabbing headline figures of 3 for 17. Tight stuff in addition from Geo and Andre saw Sumner "restricted" to 118 on what could not be described as a batsmen's paradise.
With the sun out Cardinal Debutant Jase was sent out with Camo and after seeing off 5 of 6 off a hostile opening over Jase succumbed to bring Geo to the crease. Camo and Geo proceeded to make light of the conditions playing some glorious strokes to all parts of the ground. When Camo finally went for 37, to a somewhat dubious catch at mid off, the Cardinals were looking in a strong position. Wolfie joined Geo and continued the progress. With the fall of Wolfie and the retirement of Geo a flurry of wickets followed and the Cardinals looked set to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The final over came down to the Cardinals requiring 7 with the first three balls going dot, wicket one. Queenie then slammed one to the leg side and a rare Sumner misfield saw the ball crawl to the boundary. Queenie then middled another only to be caught out and bring Geo back to the middle needing two off the last. Cometh the hour cometh the man. The bowler slammed it into the middle of the pitch, Geo slammed it to the boundary and victory was the Cardinals. A great afternoon of grade cricket, played in decent spirits.
Gracious in defeat, Sumner skipper Josh Hurrell poses for a selfie
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/cavaliers-section-one-twenty20-men/game-centre/c157a05d
Masters Cardinals – LOST
Match report courtesy of James McKay
The Cardinals took on Top of the Table Old Boys at Hagley 2 this week. After losing the first toss of the season we were sent into bowl in overcast conditions on the same pitch played on a fortnight ago. With the always dangerous Tim McConnell opening with Mark Murphy we began with Kelvin and spinner Dave Fleming in an attempt to get them caught early. However, several hard hit chances didn't stick but the damage was limited with O'Connell removing McConnell for 33. Then Mark Summers had Murphy caught behind for 23. Nigel Collins was out cheaply to Flem and OB 80-3 at drinks. Following drinks Davidson was adjudged caught behind off Flem and despite protesting was sent for 30. Flem had his 3rd with Wall than OBC knuckled down and enjoyed a partnership just shy of 50 between Simon Murphy (52 N.O.) and Glenn Fass (19). Chris cleaned up Breitmeyer at the end, the last over messy with overt throws and a fielder just over the inner circle resulting in a no ball, OBC 205/6.
Then the sun came out and seemed to bake some demons into the pitch. With the ball not coming on or seaming sharply several mistimed shots went just wide of the very vocal field. Kelvin (3) was out to the catch of the season (so far), a thick edge taken one handed at a stretch to 3rd slip. James (7) next to go by badly mistiming one, lobbed straight up for a simple catch. Then Phil Walker (5) walked to a plumb LBW before the umpire agreed, then Wildy (7) spooned a ball from McGuire (21/3) and was caught at mid on. Cardinals in real trouble now 40-4 after 14 overs.
Chris and Grant now dug in and scored where they could, getting through to drinks at 64-4. Requiring a run rate of 7 and the last recognised batsmen at the crease it was a tough task, but the longer they remained batting the more hope grew. Battling all the way as they never seemed to find their timing, they stuck it out. Chris a hard fought unbeaten 82 and Grant a nuggety unbeaten 52. Cardinals falling 22 runs short, 184/4. Man of the match Chris O'Connell. Of note Flem's 33/3 brought up 700 career Presidents wickets! Well done Flem.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/masters/game-centre/e2a10ecb
Masters Hospital – LOST
Hospital won the toss and put Sumner in to bat on a pitch that looked like it would have a bit in it for the bowlers. The Sydenham seamers all bowled tightly and on occasions found prodigious seam movement. Opening bowler Deon Breuer bowled his 8 straight through for figures of 0-17 and Hayden Powell bowled a hard length which made scoring very challenging.
At drinks Sumner were 55-1 and looking to kick on. Enter Matt Gilling bowling his leg spin who took advantage of the pressure the seamers had built to return the excellent figures of 5-27 with a mixture of well flighted deliveries and a couple of classic leg spin wickets off his “not so good” balls. At one stage it looked like Sumner might be bowled out but a useful last wicket stand between Ray Steele and Sadat Abassi got Sumner to a defendable 128 in their 40 overs.
In reply Hospital got off to a solid start but Sadat and Ankush Khurana bowled tightly so when the first wicket fell, the score was only 22 The pressure was kept up with the introduction of Vik and Nathan Robinson who both bowled a tight line and picked up wickets on a regular basis - mostly via Dan Vann who took four catches!! Nathan in particular made life uncomfortable for the batsmen on a pitch of variable bounce. At drinks Hospital had reached 48-5 and wickets fell quickly after that with the win completed by Henry Winchester who picked up the final two wickets to leave Hospital all out for 55 in the 30th over.
A tough day for all the batters on a pitch that offered plenty to both bowling attacks.
Sumner 128
Winchester - 35, Costeloe - 21, Gilling 5-27
Hospital - 55
McKinley - 15, Vik 4-14, Robinson 2-11, Winchester 2-1
Full scoreboard - https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/cmca-adult-summer-202324/masters/game-centre/f4a22f1e
Women Division 1 - LOST
Match report courtesy of Linda Pettigrew
Div 1 women travelled to Pleasant Point for their match. After diverting in Rakaia due to a crash the team arrived at their venue after a 3 hour drive. Luckily the Pleasant Point hosts put on a wonderful afternoon tea and made the journey worthwhile. Winning the toss Sydenham/Selwyn elected to bat. Biena Hickford and Ruby Turner opened the batting with an excellent partnership, taking the score through to 88 for the first wicket. Biena 79, Ruby 18 and Rachie Grout 39 the pick of the batters. Sydenham finished their overs with 175 runs.Pleasant Point chased the target in 23.2 overs.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/womens-division-1-trudy-anderson-series/game-centre/a718b3f0
First XI – WON
Match report courtesy of Andy Winsor
An unexpected venue for this fixture, with covers at Christ College having been blown away the previous day during the heavy rain, leaving their home pitches unplayable. This change of venue also left us playing a reduced over game (40 overs) while the junior grades played on the same pitch in the morning. This if you have been following the previous reports was a semi final for us, win and we should claim one of the top two spots, with the top two teams playing each other in the final round robin.
Sydenham won the toss, then lost the toss, after the first toss was adjudged not to have landed flat, but hoping to bowl Christ's college decided to bat. There was not much in the decision other than a damp outfield which should dry later in the day and confidence in our batting to chase the score earlier than the full 40 overs if a bonus point was required (if Bede's beat Shirley).
This for once, was not our best day in the field, the bowling was tight, but a number of chances went down, which left Potiki Hamilton-Morrison with only two wickets to show, where on a good day it could have been four or five. Christ's college were also edging their way to a score which although low was in the competitive range, the astroturf proving a batters paradise. Alex Boot bowled tidily, 7 overs for 19 runs. Potiki Hamilton-Morrison 8 overs 2 for 36 and one wicket each for Josh Chapman, Henry Hood and Freddie Winsor. Cadell Durdin bowled a good spell and did well to stay on the pitch after a nasty slip when bowling in his initial spell and a smack to the head attempting a hard catch. Christ's college posting a total of 180 for 6 from their 40 overs.
By this point Shirley had bowled St Bede's out and were on their way to chasing the score down, which gave us the certainty that a win would be enough to claim 2nd place in the grade.
Needing 4.5 an over the blistering start from the previous week was not required, however the bowling was tight early on, not providing many opportunities for boundaries. The real key here in this run chase was a fantastic partnership of 115 between Sam Johns and Jaxson Moynihan, batting 3 and 4 they made the chase look easy. Jaxson 70 from 52 balls and Sam 37 from 55 all but steered us home, however from 161-2 Sydenham were quickly 164 for 5 with wickets falling in quick succession. Needing another 17 for the win Cadell Durdin and Al Derry got us across the line with seeming ease, with 6 overs to spare.
As a team this was not really our A-game today, but again shows the depth we have to get a comfortable win without producing our best fielding performance. So onto next week. The final's round, which hasn't been announced, but we expect to be playing 1st/2nd against Shirley boys to potentially win the grade. An exciting week ahead.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/cmca-youth-boys-2023/arate-pukenga-1st-xi-cup-one-day/game-centre/69ac69c4
Second XI – LOST
Match report courtesy of Daniel Herd
The Sydenham 2nd XI played a strong Mt Hutt College 1st XI at Cashmere High School. The toss didn't go Sydenham's way and they were asked to bat in conditions that clearly favoured the bowling side. Credit to the Hutt new ball pair who bowled with pace and exploited the conditions extremely well - with swing, seam and bounce. The Sydenham batting line-up was reduced to 4/3 and then 6/22 by the time there was a bowling change in the 13th over. Things didn't get much better after that with Sydenham all out for 48. Only Conway Andrews (12) and Sam MacDonald (9) troubled the scorers really, plus Lucky Lasiyal (5) fighting through 45 balls.
The Sydenham boys fought hard through a short bowling spell of 12 overs, determined to ensure the Hutt batters had to work for the result. It started well with Jacob Hickman (2/15) catching a thick edge in the first over and wicket keeper Will Herd taking a diving catch in front of the slip cordon. The 2nd wicket fell in the 6th over - a catch by Lasiyal off Hickman. Lasiyal later picked up a wicket of his own, just before Hutt won the game.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2023/arate-pukenga-1st-xi-bowl-one-day/game-centre/ec7434b7
Third XI – LOST
No match report available
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2023/cricket-express-2nd-grade/game-centre/ab415a69
Year 10 – WON
Match report courtesy of Kevin Hickman
On an overcast and cold day, St Thomas/North West combined won the toss and sent Sydenham year 10 into bat on a very green and juicy wicket at St Thomas'. Sydenham lost last game's century maker Joseph Sandes early, but a great 2nd wicket 50 run partnership between Nichay Singh and Ollie Jones steadied the ship for our boys. Batting proved to be very tricky and our innings was held together by Jones who produced a wonderful captain's knock of 73. Extras and a couple of small cameos from Thomas Martin and Andrew Currie got the team through to what we thought would be a competitive 149. Sydenham’s opening bowlers Nishchay Singh and Callum Walsh made use of the conditions and opened up superbly putting the St Thomas/North West boys under huge pressure from the first ball. Singh took two early wickets then first change bowlers Andrew Currie and Enda McMahon took a wicket each. McMahon bowling St Thomas/North West's top scorer with his first ball! Joseph Sandes 2/6, Ayman Attar 2/11 and Abdul Mateen 1/2 ripped through the St Thomas/North West middle/lower order with Singh also taking a third wicket in his second spell to finish with 3/16 limiting the opposition to 109 all out. The final winning margin was 40 runs. A job well done by our lads with a real team effort in the field to back up Jone's great knock.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2023/cricket-express-year-10/game-centre/00bebe9a
Year 9A – LOST
Match report courtesy of Dayle Kinzett
Sydenham played CBHS Y9 Blue, @ Polo Grounds 6A which is an artificial wicket, in a game that was a top4 clash for spots in the top4 of 9A. We lost the toss for the 6th week running and Boys High chose to Bowl first. We made an excellent start against one of the better bowling sides in the competition, with both openers in the runs Cameron Fairhall (22 of 35 balls) being the first wicket to fall with the score on 75. We lost the other opener not longer after the drinks break with Caleb Paton scoring a very well compiled 48 off 89 balls, to be 98 for 3 after 24 overs. We then managed to lose wickets are regular intervals while trying to lift the run rate, our next best contribution with the bat being Bayley Gardner with 22 off 35 balls. We were bowled out in the 39th over for 159, which really was 20-30 runs short of what we should have achieved from our start.
As we have done most weeks we started very strongly with the ball and had Boys High 3-33 after 12 overs. Again some very straight economical bowling by Bayley Gardner (1-19 off 6 overs) Cameron Fairhall (1-21 off 6 overs) and Quinn Helms (2-23 off 5.5overs) We bowled and fielded well through the innings, with the game ebbing & flowing one way then the other for two very evenly matched teams with the game in the balance heading into the final overs. In fact going into the last over bowled by Quinn Helms Boys high needed 2 runs for victory with 3 wickets intact. With the scores tie and great yorker length bowling by Quinn, the boys managed a run out to have Boys High 8 down and a new batsman on strike with 3 balls remaining, the next ball was again great line & length for a dot, followed by the 5th ball of the over that was also good line & length but unfortunately the batter managed to hit it through the field for a very closely fought win by Boys High with one ball remaining.
An end to a fantastic game of cricket, where we did have our opportunities with the bat earlier in the day to put the game out of reach, we were excellent in the field though to take the game so deep. The result has still meant the team have finished the round robin in the top 4 for the finals over the next two weeks, with the top4 teams being very even in 9A, there should be a couple of high quality games of cricket to come for the boys to finish their season.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2023/year-9-red/game-centre/2d3c2772
Year 9B – WON
Match report courtesy of Steve Henshaw
Sydenham 9B hosted Ashburton College 9B at Warren Park. After winning the toss, Ashburton elected to bat. The team are starting to build key partnerships and structures and as per the last few games Rueben Williamson and Blake Winter opened the bowling for Sydenham. Bowling 3 overs each in a fine spell of bowling, with Rueben (a nice caught & bowled) and Blake taking 3 wickets between them. In addition to that both bowlers were very economical only conceding 3 runs per over, ending with figures of 3 overs, 1 wicket, 10 runs and 3 overs, 2 wickets, 9 runs respectively. This put pressure on the Ashburton batters, having them 3-12 after 6 overs. The completion of Rueben and Blakes spell brought Liam Martin and Cael De Boer in to bowl. Liam and Cael continued from where Reuben and Blake left off, keeping things tight and not giving away many opportunities for the Ashburton batters. Liam M really challenged the batters, while close on many occasions, was initially not able to take a wicket. Liam eventually made the breakthrough with Liam M and Cael both producing wickets, taking 1 each, slowing the small amount of momentum that Ashburton were building, now 5-44. Liam van der Heever and Dylan Eberhard then joined forces to continue the pressure with Liam v also generating some great opportunities. However, Liam v did not get the "rub of the green" with the benefit of the doubt going to the batters. After working hard Liam v produced 2 wickets in his spell, another caught & bowled and a nice clean bowled, finishing on 3 overs, 2 wickets, 4 runs, an outstanding effort. Dylan contributed nicely with 3 overs, 1 wicket, 19 runs, taking a critical wicket of a batter who looked like they were settling in, Dylan forcing the miss hit to deep point enabling Rueben to take a tidy catch. Ashburton now 8-67. With both sides only feilding 10 players there was only one more wicket to get. Jacob Haley and Cooper Laird then looked to close out the inning with a few overs each, Cooper providing a simple catch at mid wicket for Jacob. Ashburton all out for 89. The standards in the field were high today with all catching opportunities being taken, however, the strict umpiring around wides proved again to be the highest scorer for Ashburton with 41 total extras being conceded of which 31 were wides. That being said, a great effort in the field for Sydenham.
With 89 on the board, it was hard to know how Ashburton's bowling attack was going to be, but we quickly saw that they had three strong bowlers who maximised the allowable bowling spell, completing 4 overs each. This meant opening batters, Liam M and Rueben took their time to see off their main attack, maximising opportunities to score via loose balls and their other bowlers. Liam M and Rueben were able to be conservative to protect wickets but keep the scoreboard ticking along at a more than comfortable pace. Their partnership built nicely and the way in which they were playing it was possible Liam and Rueben might see Sydenham through to achieve the Ashburton score without loss, but Rueben mis played a short ball, edging it to gully, being caught on 18. Because Ashburton only had 9 players, we lent them a player for fielding, unfortunately Cael was the catcher in this case, Rueben being caught out by his own teammate. Cael showed great sportsmanship as it would have been very easy to drop the catch to save his teammate, but taking the catch showed he was taking his feilding role seriously. Sydenham 1-60. Liam M was then joined by Louis Southworth at the crease, who off the back of achieving his highest score last week, started confidently. With only 30 runs to get, Liam continued to play some nice shots, scoring regularly quickly pushing the Sydenham score closer. With Liam M on 40, Louis started to score more freely and with 15 runs still to get, it was possible for Liam to achieve his first fifty for the season. However, with the way the bowling was going and with Louis on strike and in form, he quickly dispatched a number of balls closing out the game and finishing on an unbeaten 19 off 12 balls. Liam top scored with 40 not out and with Louis's aggressive play, Sydenham chased down the Ashburton total in 15 overs.
Liam Martin, top scorer for the team with a well played 40 not out.
A well deserved win for Sydenham 9B which shows they have the skill to get the job done, building confidence into the final rounds of the season.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2023/year-9-black/game-centre/b10f6d6f
Prem Men Start T20 Competition with a Win
Thursday night saw the start of the T20 tournament, which has been truncated somewhat this season with the eight teams split into two pools, with the winner of each pool qualifying for the final. The Premier Men started well with a ten-wicket win against Merivale Papanui thanks to a fine bowling performance from Tom Agnew and Ronnie Kapur, backed by another punishing innings from Bevon Jacobs. The Championship and Division 1 sides both came up short, but Division 2 had an exciting match with a victory only achieved off the final ball when Sydenham youth player Jaxson Moynihan struck it for six.
The Thursday evening timing of some of the T20 matches has proven to be an excellent opportunity to give game time to some youth players. We had 9-10 from Sydenham Youth and other schools playing on the evening across the four sides, all impressing with their skills.
Unfortunately, PlayHQ-related issues impacted matches, so regrettably, no scorecards or match reports are available for those matches below Premier.
Scott Insurance Brokers Insurance Premier Men Sydenham had a comprehensive first-up win when they took on Merivale Papanui at Edgar MacIntosh Park on Thursday evening. The home side won the toss and, not surprisingly, on a good-looking wicket, chose to bat first. Unfortunately for Merivale Papanui they didn’t start well, losing to their first two wickets in the second over to Tom Agnew’s bowling, one being an outstanding caught and bowled. Tom then picked up his third in the next over, and in the following over, Mitchell Gardner took another, leaving the batting side struggling at 25-4.
Tom Agnew (top) and Ronnie Kapur
Merivale Papanui recovered well from there to get the score up to 75 before Bevon Jacobs claimed the 5th wicket to break the budding partnership. With only five overs left at that point, Merivale had no choice but to attack Ronnie Kapur’s testing second spell and paid the price accordingly. Ronnie took three wickets in those two overs, one of which included a run-out, as the batting side finished all out for 89. Tom Agnew [4-3-12] and Ronnie [4-3-14] were the pick of the bowlers.
Bevon Jacob takes another straight six.
The Sydenham openers, Bevon Jacobs and Max Clarke started cautiously, taking just six off the first two overs in reply. However, BJ then hit a six in the process of taking ten off the 3rd over, and the momentum picked up. By the 7th over the score was 61 without loss, still 29 runs short of the target. At that point, BJ fully unleashed, hitting four 6s and a 4 in that over, then took another boundary off the first ball of the 9th over to finish off the match. Max did his job well, finishing unbeaten on 16 off 22 balls, but BJ stole the limelight with his 71 off just 28 balls, which was a nice warm-up for his call-up into the Canterbury Kings side on Saturday.
Saturday sees the side play the second day of its 2-day match against OBC at Sydenham.
Full scoreboard https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202324/oem-audio-premiership-t20-pool-b/game-centre/46743b1d
