PREMIER WOMEN MAKE 1-DAY FINAL – 22 MARCH 2025
Saturday produced an exciting day of cricket highlighted by the Premier Womens making the 1-Day final next week and the Sydenham Youth1st XI winning a nail-biter that guarantees them a return to the Championship grade, the top level of school cricket. Beth Dodd starred in the women’s win with her 5-23 instrumental in enabling her side to defend its modest 110 score.
The Premier Men’s batting failed to fire against Lancaster Park at Sydenham, with Ryan Wallace’s 91 the saviour from a complete rout, but Park is already just past Sydenham’s 1st innings score of 144 with five wickets still in hand. The Championship lads had a productive day out at Halswell Domain, where Benji Bell’s 6-49 restricted Halswell to 135, and then a solid batting performance, led by Eliyas Varghese’s 81, saw the day end with Sydenham ahead on the 1st innings by 112 runs. It was another difficult day for Division 1, with Isaiah Prasad’s 51 the only standout in their match against Park, and they start next week 123 behind.
Benji Bell & Beth Dodd
The afternoon grades had another excellent day’s cricket, with five of the six sides winning. The afternoon grade’s successes this season were again highlighted, with three teams now playing in finals next week: Div 4 Goats, Div 5 Tamils (who had achieved that last week) and the Cavalier Cardinals. The Div 5 All-Stars’ Tom Elliott had a great day, scoring a 72 and then taking 4-14 to successfully protect the Goat’s modest first-up score, with Abe Atherton’s 4-4 also featuring. A solid top-order batting performance with half-centuries from Phil Walker and Kelvin Scott, plus a 46 from Chris O’Connell, laid the foundation for the Masters Cardinals win over BWU.
It was a similar success story in the youth section with five wins out of the six matches, the most significant being the 1st XI’s close win over the St Andrew’s 2nd XI, which will see Sydenham back in the Championship grade later in the year. But it was a very close run thing with the Sydenham bowlers, Jamie Anson with 4-23 leading, bailing out their batters who had under-performed earlier. A pair of 40s each from Archie Neilson and Cameron Fairhall made short work of chasing down NCYCC’s 94 in the 2nd XI match. Likewise, Liam Kinzett’s unbeaten 58 was instrumental in the 3rd XI victory. A half-century from Rupert Nielsen and an unbeaten 35 from Jonty Rutherford completed an excellent run chase the Colts as they finished at 235-8. The Year 10’s had Dylan Tullett (4-20) and Luke Griffith (3-19) to thank for being able to defend their modest 100 score against CBHS.
Some of the photos in this publication are also courtesy of Ash Hart’s Hartland Images.
Scott Insurance Brokers Insurance Premier Men
A late afternoon recovery saw Lancaster Park finish in the more comfortable position at the end of the first day of the season’s final round at Sydenham Park. It was a match where Park could still take out the 2-Day title if they gained maximum points from the match and if leaders Burnside West had an off-match. For Sydenham, the best they could manage would be second place if they could secure a win.
Matt McCall
On a cloudy, cool morning, it was no surprise for Sydenham to find itself batting first when it lost the toss, but initially, at least, it started well. Matt McCall (27 off 58 balls) and Akshan Gulati (12 off 41) played to the conditions well, putting on 39 for the 1st wicket before Akshan was the first wicket to fall. Matt was next out three overs later at 44-2, an event that turned into a rout of the remaining batsmen with only four runs inexplicably coming from the following eight batsmen.
Ryan Wallace
Fortunately, Ryan Wallace was the exception. As wickets fell around him, Ryan stood alone, seemingly with little difficulty compared to the others but struggling to find a partner to work with. In fact, he never did find that partner and batted through his innings in a quandary as to whether it was best to attack while he had some support or not unduly risk his wicket when others were falling. In the end, he did a bit of both, keeping the score ticking over and then being aggressive towards the final overs as time and partners ran out. Incredibly, he scored 91 of the 100 runs scored while he was at the crease and was last out for that 91 off 163 balls, with Sydenham escaping a real disaster by finishing all out 144. If a man ever deserved a century, it was Ryan on this day.
The wicket certainly had a bit in it for the medium pacers and some turn, as evidenced by van Woerkom’s four-wicket haul, but it was a sub-par total that might, at best, limit any potential Park lead. However, initially, at least, it looked like it might be better than that when Park got off to a poor start, thanks to some excellent early bowling from Tom Agnew. His first two wickets, and one from Archie Goodrick, had Park quickly 30-3, and with his third, 38-4 – Park was at risk of a similar demise.
Tom Agnew
However, they fought back well, with McCarthy and Ashwin holding the middle order together and finding the partnership Sydenham had failed to do earlier. Tom eventually also took McCarthy’s wicket late in the day to give him 4-47 off his 17 overs, but Park was able to finish the day at 153-5 in the 35th over and well in control of the match heading into the second day next week.
Noteworthy, it was a special occasion for the umpires, with Dave Henderson standing in his 200th Premiership match. Congratulations to Dave, and thanks to him and Darren Thomason, who are standing in this match.
Full scoreboard & video highlights: https://live.nvplay.com/nz?tab=m_scorecard#m1c0f4fb6-0839-4a9c-9362-b2f7b7cc241b
Birdwood Café Premier Women
Match report courtesy of Linda Pettigrew
Our Premier women had a tense match against North West at Burnside Park. Both teams were pushing hard for the win with a finals spot on the line. Sydenham lost the toss and found themselves batting first. Sydenham struggled throughout their batting, quickly finding themselves at 12-3 and on the back foot. Wickets continued to fall regularly, but with mini-partnerships’ help, the runs kept ticking over. Izzy Fox was the main run scorer, carefully pushing through to 28 before falling as the final wicket. With a small total and every run being valuable the contributions from Molly Loe (15), Julia Manton (13) and Beth Dodd (13) were very important. Sydenham ended up with 110, a total we believed would be defendable.
Elsie Duncan
Sydenham’s bowling got off to a good start with openers Molly Loe and Boadicea Lynch dismissing NW openers early. NW then stabilised before Beth Dodd removed NW’s top scorer, who had taken the score to 58. Tense times followed, and although wickets fell regularly, the NW batters steadily reduced the gap. Sydenham kept the pressure on, finishing on top with 8 runs to spare.
Molly Loe
Sydenham’s win ensures that our Premier Women are top qualifiers for the one-day competition final next weekend.
Thanks to umpires Brent Littmoden and Alan Hill
Scott Insurance Brokers Championship
Match report courtesy of Matt Bell
It was an important first day for the Championship side to dominate day 1 against Halswell if they were to have any chance to enforce an outright win. On top of the agenda was winning the toss and bowling first on a soft slow sticky wicket. Tom McDonald managed to call correctly, and into the field, the team went with Carl Hooper & Josh Wedlake taking the new ball. Carl 0-10 off four overs, hit his usual good areas and beat the bat consistently without any rewards. Josh, 1-12 off 5 overs, was running in hard at the other end, and while struggling for his control and direction, he still went straight through the opener’s defence and rattled the stumps to claim an early wicket. The wicket was clearly even slower than we had thought, with balls consistently not carrying through to the keeper Cam O’Leary. So enter the spin twins of Benji Bell and Nathan Chin, who also struggled initially to get into their groove, but Benji chipped out another wicket for us, which gave us a better feeling heading into the sheds for the first drinks break with Halswell on 2-43.
Benji Bell
After a good drinks chat and a slight change of tactics, Nathan Chin (2-40 off 18 overs) chipped out two wickets in an over, and Benji Bell did the same. The spinners were creating some good pressure, leading to a direct hit run out, excellently executed by Dylan McArdle from short fine. It was a great hour of play for Sydenham, who headed into lunch having Halswell struggling at 7-70.
After lunch, Halswell started the session with better intent from their key batsman, Hardeep Singh (73 off 138 balls), who threatened to counterpunch and started to wrestle the game back in their favour. A change of ends from the spinners brought the desired result as Benji Bell picked up the key wicket of Singh and then captured the final two wickets to finish with excellent figures of 6-49 off 21 overs to end the Halswell innings all out for 135 off 51 overs.
Eliyas Varghese
Unfortunately, Matt Bell had twinged his hamstring diving in the outfield to save a boundary, which meant everyone in the batting order shuffled up a position. Eliyas Varghese and Pk Bhagat opened up the innings and got the team off to a perfect start with a 100-run opening stand. It was a difficult pitch to score quickly on, and Varghese continued on his good run of late-season form by backing himself to loft anything full and wide over the offside and rattled up a quick 81 off 87 balls. PK’s contribution of 28 runs off 78 balls allowed Varghese to have the momentum to stay positive, and it was a great watch from the pavilion to see them bat with good intent and cricket smarts. There was a little bit of a middle-order wobble, and before, there was some great late resistance with Dylan McArdle 28 off 22 balls, Nathan Chinn 30* off 31 balls, and Josh Wedlake 17 off 24 balls. However, the day belonged to Benji Bell, who, after picking up six wickets, added the icing on the cake with a quickfire 33 off 14 balls from the bat, which included four sixes over long-on, much to the annoyance of the Halswell captain.
PK Bhagat and Dylan McArdle
There was some consideration around declaring early to have another bowl at Halswell, but in the end, the total of 247-9 off 49 overs were valuable batting points. More importantly, the lead of 112 will allow the team next week to set attacking fields and really push hard for an outright win, with the ultimate goal of winning by innings and picking up more bonus points.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202425/mens-championship/game-centre/b4c8b55a
Division 1
Match report courtesy of Richard Howe
As we arrived at St Albans Park, the lads were inspired by some junior cricket that was still underway (and preventing us from checking out the pitch). Certainly, their artificial pitch seemed to be playing well, but past experience is the No. 2 grass is probably not so good.
A check of the wicket revealed suspicions that a failed treasure-hunting expedition might have been undertaken at each end, including a large indentation on the crease for the bowler’s front foot to land. It was agreed we should bowl first – until the captain called “Heads” and got his Tail kicked in the form of being sent into bat.
Openers Todd Ward and Tom Sulzberger started solidly and looked good until Tom was out for 13, caught by the keeper down the legside for 13. Todd followed shortly after for 9. Noah Jefferson and Isaiah Prasad looked to be building a good partnership, but a freak injury to Isaiah interrupted proceedings. A sweep shot against a spinner resulted in a top edge sneaking through above the grill and hitting him at the bottom of his eye socket, which meant he left the field to recover, replaced by Gaurav Jadhav. Then, in the space of just a couple of overs, Noah was bowled for 11, Gaurav mistimed one, gone for 0, Zack Howe almost an action replay, gone for 0, and then Ajith Shetty bowled for 1.
Isaiah, still nowhere near 100%, with throbbing pain around his eye returned to join Cam Spriggs. 6 down and under 50 on the board, we desperately needed someone to stand firm. As has happened several times this season, Isaiah was the man – outplaying the rest of us with just one eye. Cam provided support as Isaiah expertly put away anything short or over-pitched while defending well. They weren’t easy conditions, but he was starting to master them; Cam was bowled for 6, and then Oliver Garden was caught for 0, eight down, and we were still only around 70. Richard Howe provided some support after surviving an early inside edge. Isaiah had probably seen enough of the ‘supposed’ support from his teammates and was ruthlessly effective in putting away anything slightly short or over-pitched until he caught for a well-made 51. James Stackhouse joined our other 3 ducks in not troubling the scorers, leaving Richard not out on 15, and Sydenham all out for 111.
Oliver Garden opened at one end, taking a wicket in his 2nd, snaffled in slips by our one-eyed star Isaiah. Our other left-arm pacer, James Stackhouse, bowled an economical opening spell, frustrating the Park batters but unable to get a breakthrough as Park looked to increase their aggression. Zack Howe and Gaurav Jadhav created some chances, but it was one of those days where we couldn’t quite get things right in terms of field placements, and their opener was looking to be very aggressive (probably earning the right to a bit of luck) and picking up boundaries. When he charged Richard Howe and was well stumped by Noah Jefferson the opener (Tabb) had made 88 off 82 and put Park in a very strong position.
Ajith Shetty partnered Oliver (in his second spell) and then Tom Sulzberger, with Tom unlucky not to have an early wicket from a high ball that darted in and out of the sun, thwarting the fielder. Shortly after, Zack took a well-judged catch, throw and catch on the boundary end park were 4 down, declaring at 234 for 5 when Ajith cleaned up their 5th. Wicket takers: Oliver Garden 7 overs 1 for 45, Zack Howe 9 – 1 – 52, Richard Howe 5 – 1- 42, Tom Sulzberger 3 – 1 – 21 & Ajith Shetty 4.5 – 1- 26
Tom and Todd took on the difficult last 30 minutes of batting, with Todd out for 6 Tom (9) and Cam (3) saw us through to 19 for 1, still 104 behind.
Big ups to Isaiah who couldn’t bowl but did stay on the field (including taking a sharp catch). At least one change for next week as Noah (who kept well) is unavailable due to a Study commitment.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202425/mens-division-1/345acb39/R21
Division 4 Goats – WON
Match report courtesy of George Wigley
The mighty Sydenham Goats vs Merivale-Papanui in the final top 4 round robin game. The Goats captain Ollie Philpott lost the toss on Sydenham 2 and we were happily put into bat. A typically slow start was emphasised by the fact that Kyle Clarke was noted as hitting the 1st boundary near the 20 over drinks break. With long boundaries and a damp surface boundaries were going to be tough to come by.
Joe Taylor caught behind
Lots of contributions were made by the Goats long batting line up with Jake (Jonny Rhodes) Harrington top scoring with 20 not out, which helped set a small but defendable total of 120, all out in the 39th over.
Kyle Clark
Chris Douglas and Paddy Wickes again opened the bowling strongly, with Paddy taking the first wicket, clean bowling their opener. This brought in their best batsmen who was controversially given not out on a plumb LBW decision. This sparked much uproar and I don’t want to name names but things got heated. We eventually got this player out and this sparked a huge collapse. They were sitting pretty at 76 for 2 before being all out for 96 giving the Goats a 24 run win and a ticket to the top 4 final, possibly against the same team next week. A great result as this was the only team we hadn’t beaten this season.
George Wigley
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202425/mens-division-4-top-4/game-centre/fc2d087e
Division 5 All-Stars – WON
Match report courtesy of Abe Atherton
On a challenging pitch that tested the patience of every batter, the Sydenham All Stars delivered a clinical performance, securing a resounding 96-run victory. The wicket was difficult to get in on, yet consistent, while the sluggish outfield made boundaries a rare luxury. It was a game where grit and discipline proved more valuable than flair.
After losing the toss and being sent in to bat, Sydenham found themselves in a battle against both the bowlers and the conditions. The innings never gained free-flowing momentum, with batters struggling to pierce the slow outfield and rotate the strike effectively. However, amidst the grind, one player stood tall—Tom ‘The Executioner’ Elliott. His commanding 72 off 81 balls, laced with 11 boundaries, including five towering sixes, was a masterclass in controlled aggression.
While wickets tumbled around him, Elliott weathered the storm, dispatching anything loose to keep the scoreboard moving. Contributions were scarce elsewhere, with only Jaedyn Ward (10) and Abraham Atherton (11 off 6)* showing glimpses of fluency. Despite a disciplined bowling effort from the opposition, Sydenham scrapped their way to 136/9 in 40 overs, with 25 runs coming in extras, highlighting just how tough scoring was.
With a modest total to defend, Sydenham needed early breakthroughs—and they delivered in spectacular fashion. Abraham Atherton (4/4 off 6 overs) and Jacob Koster (2/8 off 5 overs) spearheaded a ruthless new-ball assault, tearing through the top order in quick succession. Their relentless accuracy and movement off the pitch made survival nearly impossible. As panic set in, Tom Elliott (4/14 off 6.2 overs) ensured there would be no fightback, dismantling the lower order with clinical precision. His variations, combined with the pressure built by the opening bowlers, left the opposition reeling as they crumbled for a mere 40 runs in 24.2 overs.
It was a complete team performance from Sydenham, showcasing determination with the bat and devastation with the ball. On a day where conditions demanded patience and discipline, the All Stars adapted best, claiming an emphatic win.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202425/mens-division-5-bottom-4/game-centre/727d1e22
Division 5 Tamils XI – LOST
Match report courtesy of Jagannath Radhakrishnan
Match report – opponent Halswell Afghan played at Bradford: We won the toss, knowing that we are in finals, we wanted a challenging situation, so we opted to bowl first knowing the pitch will deteriorate further. As it was a dead rubber we played it easy trying different things. Batting first, Afghans were bowled out for 139. Our bowlers did a great job by taking regular wickets. Nirajan took 3, Arun R and Ashok took 2 each.
Chasing the score we lost wickets in regular intervals, and we’re bundled out for 80. The pitch had uneven bounce and our batsmen couldn’t manage the situation except John who showed very good resistance.
Overall, a good experience and good day at the ground
Cavaliers Cardinals – WON
Match report courtesy of Colin Paintin
Cardinals played Parklands at the Parklands Reserve. After securing a spot in the section finals last week the Cardinals once again found themselves trekking out East to take on Parklands. The intent was to back up the form shown last week and the boys delivered. A strong Dou Bro batting order saw a dual left hand combo open things up with Camo and Geo striding out to the middle. Camo took an immediate liking to the combination of the artificial wicket, fast outfield and slightly average bowling. Cam sprayed to the ball to all parts amassing the second Cardinals 50 in two weeks off just 26 balls. Geo was a bit slower to get going but continued his rich vein of form also retiring on 40. Smitty chipped in a few along with some other middle order contributions, with captain Stokes seeing the innings out unbeaten on 33. The Cardinals amassing an imposing 188.
Parklands knew they needed to come out of the gates quickly, however with Bam bowling a fiery opening spell they never really got going. Queenie grabbed a wicket and Smitty bowled some nice stuff to pick up two. Tim and Adam came on to apply the finishing touches with some tidy death bowling with Tim grabbing two and Adam one to see the Cardinals home to a comfortable win.
Finals time awaits the Cardinals. Win or lose it is bound to be a big day on and off the pitch.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202425/cavaliers-section-2-t20/game-centre/c5c0c38f
Masters Cardinals – WON
Match report courtesy of James McKay
On a fine day at Burnside Park, we watched Crash give the number 4 pitch the special treatment before losing the toss and getting put into bat. Paul Mathews and Kelvin Scott were steady and gave no chances, with the Cardinals getting to 49 without loss after 10 overs. Mathews (20) was adjudged LBW to Roulston, with the scorers and square leg agreeing to the decision, not so much the batsman. Kelvin and Phil Walker then continued the solid batting, with Kelvin bringing up 50 just before drinks, Phil hitting the most effortless straight 6 ever seen in Masters grade. Cardinals cruising after 20 overs 102-1.
The curse of drinks did not appear to strike and with wickets to spare the foot started to go down. Kelvin (62) was bowled by Harris in the 26th over then Chris O’Connell strode out and scored rapidly, while Phil continued to punish any bad ball to all corners. With the opening bowlers Gibbo and Kember back into the attack with 6 overs to go they bowled superbly and contained the Cardinals. Chris (46) was stumped trying to up the ante and Grant (6) was run out with 2 ball to go. Walker unbeaten for a fine 64 N.O. Cardinals 217/4 off 40, well done to Burnside at the end as we should have got to 250ish. Pick of the bowlers was probably Roulston with 1-19 off 5 but special mention to Kember and Gibbo for their bowling at the end.
O’Connell was given the new ball and wasted no time, getting Pienaar first ball, chopping on. The high spirits did not last as Crash rolled back the years and produced a timeless stand and deliver innings. Not renowned for his mobility between the wickets he elected not to run any more than necessary and hit 16 boundaries and ran a total of 6 for a devastating 72 before being well caught by Anak off Mathews. Burnside 106-2 after 13 overs. TAB were still giving $1.07 odds of a Burnside victory with further good hitting by Cross (41) who was caught well by Phil Walker. Then a remarkable turnaround was sparked just on drinks. O’Connell had come back and snagged Harris and Burnside at drinks 137-4. Mathews, who was nursing a severe groin injury not sustained on cricket field, teamed well with O’Connell and wickets started falling rapidly at each end. Mathews was on a hat-trick at one point and a very close field was assembled. The batsman did well to keep the ball out and normal play resumed. Unfortunately, our ground fielding was woeful, despite the surface being very good, led by the usual gold standard, Phil Walker. He had obviously let his guard down and been possessed by the patron saint of the uncoordinated, letting several easy stops through for boundaries.
He was not alone either, most of the Cardinals fielders had elected to employ the lying down method of stopping the ball, with poor results. Special mention should be made of Ralphy, another walking wounded (he was incapable of running) who could not fall fast enough onto the ball. Walker should count himself lucky to have all his teeth still intact after one attempt. However, despite many comical attempts at ground fielding, anything in the air was swallowed without any problems. The only other really good piece of fielding was the run out from the boundary from Grant, who had added pressure of fielding directly in front of his old Saints team who had already finished and were apparently well lubricated and vocal in their support. This meant Burnside had gone from being 121-3 in the 16th over to being bowled out for 178.
Pick of the bowlers Mathews 4-38 and O’Connell 3-44. Great game played in great spirits, the Fail Bail remains with Burnside.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202425/joes-garage-masters-top-8/game-centre/bf495044
Masters Hospital – WON
Match report courtesy of Bruce Day
The hospital hosted Marist on a damp track and heavily grassed outfield at Barrington.
Marist chose to bat, scoring was not easy but they made a steady start against Rahul and Jinto.
The fun started when Keiran Smith took a Glenn Phillips type catch to dismiss the dangerous Navi.
The slow bowlers John Hampton and Jim Simpson then came on and created havoc with bowling straight and the ball staying low. By the time we reached drinks, they were 47-7.
After drinks, Marist strategy changed, and they dug in and played straighter with a good 8th wicket partnership. Tristan then came on late in the innings and took the last three wickets, Marist finishing on 89.
Jim 8 overs 3 for 19, John 6 overs 3 for 6, Tristan 3 overs 3 for 6.
Sydenham lost an early wicket before a patient partnership before the second wicket at 38 in the 16th over. Hospital was 45 for 2 at drinks. Then, a middle order collapse left us 51-6. Tristan and John produced a match-winning partnership, taking us to 88. Tristan fell for 27 with 2 runs required. A couple of nervous overs passed before John clipped a cut away for 2 to win the game.
A couple of takes from the game, 7 LBWs and only 11 4s. Hospital 90-7- Bryan 20 & Tristan 27.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202425/joes-garage-masters-bottom-6/game-centre/0152edf4
Division 1 Women – LOST
Match report courtesy of Linda Pettigrew
Our Div 1 women worked really hard against North West. With several new and younger players the match was going to be about development and fun. Unfortunately this hope was spoiled by poor sportsmanship from the opposition. Nevertheless, our Sydenham team did really well, with the highlight of the match being the batting where the team kept North West in the field for all but two of their overs.
NW batted first, securing a high total. Highlights of the fielding were Kyla Tilson bowling an opener, and two wickets for Dakoda. There were also two run outs, highlighting how hard the team worked in the field.
The team committed to pushing the match deep in the chase and made NW play out as many overs as possible, successfully taking the match to all drinks breaks (and batting more overs than our premier women). Lily was top scorer with an epic performance to carry her bat, finishing with 36*. Dakoda scored a handy 15. The rest of the team supported well, getting valuable time in the middle.
A week to put behind us and move forward from.
Youth First XI – WON
Match report courtesy of Daniel Herd
In the final week of the regular season, the Sydenham 1st XI needed at least a draw to guarantee a spot in next Spring’s one-day Championship – the top tier of youth cricket. Despite a range of possible points scenarios, the boys just wanted to play positively – so the plan was to win.
The leadership and top order all felt putting up a score and then backing their bowlers to defend it was the best option. Cadell Durdin won the toss and put the plan into action.
Finlay Hill
The pitch turned out to be a tougher proposition than anticipated – low, slow and plenty of movement. 5 of the top 6 fell for single figure scores, with opener Fin Hill (21 from 83 balls) playing a lone hand. The highest partnership (23) was for the 10th wicket, with Al Derry (10) combining with Jamie Anson (14*). Sydenham was bowled out for 95.
Conway Andrews
The team prepared for the fielding innings with only one outcome in mind – knock St Andrew’s over. The opening bowlers of Anson (4/23) and Durdin (1/12) both took an early wicket and StAC was 2/17 – a good start. From there things got tough – Henry Hood (2/25) and Potiki Hamilton Morrison (12 off 5 overs) both bowled quality spells without luck, and Sydenham had to stay motivated through 11 overs without a wicket. A StAC mix-up and excellent piece of fielding from Jaxson Moynihan resulted in a runout. The Sydenham boys rallied and kept focusing on getting wickets. One often results in two, and this was the case as 3/42 became 5/57 and then 7/72 – thanks to Josh Chapman (2/12) and Anson’s second spell. StAC kept moving closer and at 8/92 were in charge. Hood picked up the final two wickets in an excellent second spell, either side of a critical Anson maiden.
Sydenham secured the win, a top four season finish and a place in the Champs. Congratulations to the North West, St Bedes and Shirley Boys High 1st XIs who have also qualified for the Championship.
Youth 2nd XI – WON
Match report courtesy of Paul Durdin
The 2nd XI met an unbeaten North Canterbury team in the final round robin game of the season. Winning the toss, Sam MacDonald elected to field and that proved an excellent decision. All 7 bowlers used bowled well and the fielding was of a high standard. The figures of all bowlers worthy of mention – Louie Harris 3 for 11 from 6, Yayha Shasawar 2 for 6 from 4, Bayley Gardner 2 for 13 from 8.5, Archie Nielsen 2 for 29 from 9, Quinn Helms 1 for 9 from 6, Jaxson Stove 0 for 6 from 5 and Leif Kitto 0 for 12 from 5. North Canterbury dismissed for 94.
In reply, openers Cameron Fairhall and Archie Nielsen batted confidently and competently, reaching the target with consummate ease in 14 overs. Archie scored 47 and Cameron 41.
This was by far the most impressive performance of the season. Next week the 2nd XI faces Shirley 2nd XI and will be looking to finish with a win after drawing with them in round 2.
Youth 3rd XI – WON
Match report courtesy of Bevan Williamson
Today we faced off against Mount Hutt College 1st XI on an artificial wicket at Hagley Park polo grounds.
The vibe from the team was positive from the get-go. We won the toss and elected to field which was perfect as the conditions were overcast but forecast to clear, so we knew bowling first was paramount. And thus, it proved to be. From the very first ball, the ball was swinging around with the boys bowling exceptionally well. The entire bowling unit preformed outstandingly, with almost all bowling at least one maiden and all ending up with very miserly figures, with Neil finishing on 2 for 11 off 6, and Zach taking 3 for 14 off 7. We took wickets at regular intervals, and gave Mt Hutt very few chances to score, bowling them out for 108 in the 40th over.
Our chase got off to a great start with Kingy and Utkarsh opening, and Kingy signalling his intentions early on. Utkarsh, William, and Neil all got starts, to have us at 62 for 3 after 10 overs. That would be the end of Mt Hutt’s luck as Kingy and Reuben blasted the Mt Hutt attack to all corners with Kingy ending up on 58 not out with 13 fours, and Reuben, after a watchful few balls finishing up on 19 not out including 4 fours. In the end we got the 109 required in 15.1 overs.
Overall rating for the game: 9/10 – An excellent game to watch and the music was pretty good too…
Youth Colts – WON
Match report courtesy of Callum Green
Sydenham Youth Colts played St Andrews Colts at the Polo Grounds. Sydenham won the toss and chose to bowl. Opening bowlers Will Johns and Rupert Nielsen were accurate. Johns snared the first wicket with the score on 9. A good partnership of 74 brought St Andrews back into it before Benji Williams broke the partnership. St Andrew’s continued to build with their top 5 all getting starts and reasonable scores. Overall, St Andrew’s saw out their 53 overs and scored 232. An all round great bowling performance restricting the top of the table St Andrew’s team to this total. Pick of the bowlers were Benji Williams, Ruan Diederiks and James Gross all with 2 wickets each.
Chasing, Sydenham got off to a shaky start with Braithan Davies out in the first over. In came Zarnder O’Donnell and he lit up the pitch with some punishing shots to anything short and he quickly moved to 23, before being bowled. Rupert Nielsen was next and in typical fashion he plundered the bowling. Grasping the game, Nielsen attacked at every opportunity. Opener James Scott was out for 8 with the score on 55 and in came Noah Green at 5. Nielsen and Green put on a 76 run partnership, before Green went for 26. Next in was Jonty Rutherford and he batted superbly. Nielsen was eventually out for 53 with 8 fours and 2 sixes off 38 balls. Austen Grant came and went quickly and then Ruan Diedriks came in and steadied the ship with some quick runs. In the end we were always above the run rate, it was just the wickets that were the issue. Rutherford brought the team home with an unbeaten 35, with Joe Wilke hitting a lofted cover drive to bring the win home in the 38th over.
A great team effort with so many contributions by many different players.
Thanks to St Andrew’s who played hard, but with a great attitude.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2025/cricket-express-colts-declaration/game-centre/b7cc5383
Youth Yr 10 – WON
Match report courtesy of Mark Williams
The day started out with some cloud cover but this had largely burnt off by game time, and there was still plenty of swing on offer, aided by a nice breeze which also took the edge off the heat. CBHS won the toss and chose to bowl first. Our openers found runs hard to come by early on, as the bowlers kept to tight lines. Ultimately the pressure told and both openers were dismissed with not many on the board. Dylan’s arrival at the crease brought some impetus, and along with Nakul they set about building a partnership. This was looking very promising until a calamitous runout, ending with both batters at the same end, brought about its close.
The rest of the batting order struggled through a combination of good bowling and some average shot selection, not helped by some dodgy calling when running between the wickets. A couple of spectacular one-handed catches by CBHS also contributed to the steady fall of wickets. Nakul (19) and Dylan (18) were the top scorers off the bat, but extras at 36 lead the way. No one else reached double figures. Ultimately, the innings ended with exactly 100 on the board. This looked to be a low total, but we knew if we made early inroads we could sow doubt in the batters minds.
Dylan Tullett
Our opening bowlers began with some good lines, making use of the breeze to extract significant swing with the new ball. At times this was hard to control though. Dylan struck early, but the score moved past 25 before an excellent chase and flat throw from the boundary by Nakul brought about a run out and it was 2-27.
Luke then removed the next batter for a duck with an absolute peach which swung and cleaned up the stumps, before having the following batter caught behind a couple of balls later and 3 wickets had fallen on 27, leaving CBHS 4 down in the 10th over. The boys applied more pressure with some excellent fielding saving multiple boundaries and cutting down the singles. Aeden, Jonathan, Vansh, Angus, Daniel and Luke made good stops. This pressure told as we saw some poor shot selection as batters tried to find runs. A great 1 handed catch by Benny off his own bowling, diving low to his right left CBHS at 6-72. Luke drew a false shot from the opposition danger man who was holding up his end and looked like taking CBHS home if he could find a partner to bat with. Two more wickets fell in the blink of an eye and it was 8-76.
Chaos
A clutch run out by Luke with a direct hit with 1 stump to aim at cranked things up a notch as the 9th wicket fell, still on 76. Some nail-biting moments followed as uppish shots fell in gaps and edges went for runs and the score crept along. With the target less than 10 runs away, Dylan found the batter’s glove, and Becket wrapped up a very tidy keeping display by taking a good catch, leaving CBHS all out, and icing a win by 7 runs. All of the bowlers contributed with wickets or by building pressure, but Dylan with 4 and Luke with 3 bagged the lions share of wickets. Dylan did a good job rotating the bowlers.
Our batting remains a concern going forward, with patience and shot selection still work ons. Not to mention improving our running between the wickets. We backed up the bowling with our best fielding display so far. In a low scoring game the difference between the 2 teams was that our lads grabbed the clutch moments when they came along, taking catches and snaring run outs.
The CBHS keeper put down 3 catches, which really would have reduced our score. In contrast Becket was good behind the pegs and when it mattered he held onto the ball.
All up, a well deserved win, given our excellent fielding, defending a low total. Well done lads!
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2025/cricket-express-year-10/game-centre/cf7e434c
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