PREMIER MEN SEAL OUTRIGHT, DIV 2 NEARLY PRODUCES A COMEBACK FOR THE AGES – 8 NOVEMBER 2025
The Premier Men converted their strong overnight position into an outright win by mid-afternoon, though not before East’s Kenny McClure mounted stiff resistance with an excellent 96. The Premier Women were inches from a perfect start to the T20 competition. After beating OBC in the morning fixture, they fell agonisingly short in the second match, losing by just two runs off the final ball.
The Championship side enjoyed the better of its second day, batting deep into the afternoon to force a draw after Halswell pushed well past their first-innings total. Captain Tom McDonald was outstanding with 95. One of the performances of the day came from Division 2. Starting 115 runs behind and already two down overnight, they produced a superb fightback with strong contributions from skipper Todd Ward (72), Freddie Winsor (52), and Cameron Spriggs (42). They turned the match around to set OBC 116, then bowled brilliantly to leave their opposition hanging on at 53–7. Udi Upadhyay (5–14) and Ivon Boggy (2–10) did the early damage.
Udi Upadhyay
Wins were harder to come by in the afternoon grades and youth section. Division 3 Tamils earned a good victory over Marist Harewood on the back of an unbeaten 59 from Rajendran Parthipan, while the T20 Gujarat Kings secured their fourth win from five, highlighted by Sagar Patel’s 54 and three wickets each to Yash and Dhaval Patel. Women’s Div 1 Red’s claimed the only other win, driven by Olivia McKenzie’s 47 and a decisive 4–17 from Zoe Derry against North West Women. The Goats lost a last-ball thriller by one run.
It was a tougher day across youth cricket. The 1st XI fell to competition favourites Christchurch College. The 2nd XI, however, posted the sole win, built on strong batting lead by Archie Neilsen (52), Samuel Wild (49), and Yahya Shasawar (46*), with Yahya later adding three wickets to seal the result.
Some of the photos in this publication are also courtesy of Ash Hart’s Hartland Images.
Premier Men
Sydenham 255-8 (60 overs) & 45-2 (10.4 overs)
East Shirley 84 (30.2 overs) & 214 (70 overs)
The Premier Men went into day two at Burwood Park as clear favourites — already 143 runs ahead on the first innings with Easts two down in their second. Equally clear, though, were the two major hurdles standing between Sydenham and an outright win: Canterbury representatives Ken McClure and Leo Carter.
With no real scoreboard pressure, Easts began the morning solidly on a wicket offering little assistance to the bowlers. It took a sharp piece of work from Mitch Gardner — gathering in his follow-through and running out Pawson at the bowler’s end — to spark Sydenham into action. That wicket brought Carter in to join McClure, a partnership Sydenham were wary of after Carter’s recent match-winning 120 at Sydenham Park.
Benji Bell & Cullen Crowe
Thankfully, the pair were limited to 29 before Archie Goodrick induced a mis-hit from Carter, the lobbed chance comfortably taken at slip to leave Easts 78-4.
McClure continued to hold the innings together, batting with gritty determination and mixing strong defence with a handful of elegant straight boundaries. He looked set for a deserved century before falling for 96 off 182 balls, caught hooking to a fine running effort from Srirag Harish at deep mid-wicket. That dismissal left Easts 169-8, and Cullen Crowe then cleaned up the tail to end the innings at 214 — leaving Sydenham just 43 to chase. Goodrick was the pick of the bowlers with 3–46, claiming both Carter and McClure.
Matt Tromp
If there was any life left in the surface, it was the occasional ball keeping low — so Akshan Gulati was caught unawares when Pawson got one to climb, the ball looping to slip off the shoulder of the bat with the score at four. Michael Robinson then over-balanced to be stumped at 20. However, Matt Tromp’s arrival saw him finish the match in emphatic style, striking two sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 22 off 10 balls, wrapping up the chase with hours to spare.
Sydenham now moves to second on the table and hosts third-placed Heathcote at Sydenham Park next Saturday.
Thanks to umpires Matthew Hill and Dave Miller
Full scoreboard & video highlights: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/oem-audio-mens-premiership/game-centre/9c0503a2
Birdwood Café Premier Women
OBC 94-9 (20 overs)
Sydenham 95-6 (14.5 overs)
Game 2:
Match report courtesy of Shizuka Miyaji
Sydenham Women produced a composed and disciplined performance to defeat OBC. Sydenham bowlers Stella Cornelius (3/7) and Felicity Robertson (3/11) set the tone with consistent accuracy, keeping OBC’s batters under constant pressure. Their efforts were well supported in the field, highlighted by two outstanding catches from Emma McLeod and two brilliant catches from Boadicea Lynch which lifted team energy and turned the momentum early.
OBC struggled to form lasting partnerships and finished their innings on a modest total of 94 runs.
In reply, Sydenham’s batting was steady and controlled, led by Darcy Rose Prasad, who scored 43 not out, including a brilliant six and a match-winning ramp shot, anchoring the innings. The team finished on 6/95, securing a convincing and well-earned victory.
It was a complete all-round display built on precise bowling, sharp fielding, and clutch batting under pressure.
Darcy Rose Prasad
Game 2:
Match report courtesy of Shizuka Miyaji
Lancaster Park 130-6 (20 overs)
Sydenham 128-4 (20 overs)
Sydenham Women put in a strong and competitive performance but narrowly lost to Lancaster Park by 2 runs. Sydenham bowlers, led by Samantha Petherick, who took 3 wickets, maintained pressure throughout the innings, supported behind the stumps by Darcy Rose Prasad, who contributed 2 catches and 1 stumping.
Emma McLeod
Sydenham’s batting was led by Emma McLeod, who top-scored with 48 runs, supported by Felicity Robertson (21), Kate Craig (19), and an unbeaten Sam Petherick (19).
Despite a composed chase and several solid partnerships, Sydenham fell just short.
Although the team fell just short in a close contest, the match provided important insights to build on for upcoming games.
Sam Petherick
Thanks to umpires Mark Wood & Matthew Hill
Championship
Match report courtesy of Tom McDonald
Sydenham 199 (57.5 overs) & 231 (71 overs)
Halswell 266-8 (54.5 overs) & 87-3 (12 overs)
Bowler Josh Wedlake
Sydenham lost Jack Smith in the second over with the score at 4, and although the batsmen batted time, wickets fell at regular intervals. When Dhruv Arvindkumar was out in the 33rd over with the score at 104-6, Sydenham was a long way from safe. However, a 7th wicket partnership of 101 between Tom McDonald and Shevon Perera turned the tide. Batting got easier as Sydenham worked itself into a position where only a draw was now on the cards. The side was eventually bowled out for 231 in 71 overs with Tom top scoring with 95 off 124 balls, and with other contributions coming from Shevon (42 from 66), and earlier in the top order, from Nathaneal Paltridge (27 from 67)
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-championship/game-centre/05dbaa2e
Division 2
Match report courtesy of Todd Ward
Sydenham 91 (27 overs) & 231 (73 overs)
OBC 206 (44.3 overs) & 53-7 (27 overs)
Starting the day following on, 50 odd behind, with 8 wickets in hand, we had a mountain to climb to even see out the day. We needed to show plenty of fight, and fight we did.
Freddie Windsor started the day with 37* and continued nicely alongside Ajith Shetty. Ajith’s wicket in the fifth over of the day saw me join Freddie at the crease. We played cautiously with Freddie picking up the odd boundary to keep us ticking over. After bringing up his half century Freddie was bowled for a well made 52 off 87 in the 30th over. What then occurred was a mini collapse with us losing 2 more wickets within 8 overs leaving us 108 for 6 after 39 overs.
With more than 60 overs left in the day, at this stage OBC were sensing an early finish with a strong win. However, Cameron Spriggs and I then combined for an 86-run 23-over 7th wicket partnership that frustrated OBC. Cam was striking the ball well and remained disciplined until his dismissal in the 63rd over, when he was bowled by an excellent delivery for 42 from 70. Tanhirdaypal Pannu then joined me at the crease and provided some quick fireworks helping us take 15 runs off an over to have us 209 for 7 after 64. My dismissal for 72 from 158 in the 70th over effectively brought about the end of our resistance. We were all out for 231 after 73 overs, leaving OBC 117 for victory in 27 overs.
Our bowling innings started electrically with Udhi Upadhyay (5 for 14 from 8 ) dismissing an opener in the first over. Ivon Cheruvathoor (2 for 10 from 7) backed up the first over with a wicket of his own in the second. The third over saw Udi rip the rest of the top order apart with another 2 wickets simply by targeting the stumps with pace. The following over saw Tanhirdaypal take a speccy at gully to give Ivon his second and leaving OBC in all sorts at 5 for 7 after 4. Udhi on fire continued to steam in and clean bowled another batter before getting an LBW to give him his 5fer in just 3 overs. At this stage, we were fired up and hunting what would be a remarkable victory. Unfortunately, what followed was 22 overs of resilient lower order batting that frustrated us by providing half chances that didn’t go our way. No more wickets fell and OBC navigated themselves to an entertaining draw, 7 for 53 after 27 overs.
A good game of two day cricket with lots of standout individual performances that saw us put up the fight we were looking for and very nearly turned a near impossible task into reality.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-2-red/game-centre/d9fe4af0
Division 3 Tamils XI – WON
Match report courtesy of Niranjan Mani
Marist Harewood 151 (34.4 overs)
Sydenham 152-6 (31.3 overs)
At Centennial Park on 8 November 2025, Sydenham Tamils pulled off a thrilling 4-wicket victory over Marist Harewood Tuskers in a contest full of tight moments and key performances. Batting first, the Tuskers struggled to build big partnerships, eventually being bowled out for 151 in 34.4 overs. Vipin George played a quickfire 36 off 31 balls, while Adarsh Radhakrishnan held the innings together with 32 off 39. Martin Thomas (24) and Ajmal Anwar (21) provided valuable middle-order support, but it was the Tamils’ disciplined bowling attack that kept them in check. Captain Jagannath Radhakrishnan and Rajendran Parthipan opened the bowling with tight lines, taking early wickets and putting the Tuskers on the back foot. First-change bowlers Vignesh Balan (1-23) and Chidabaram Palaniappan (1-39) maintained pressure, Niranjan Mani (3-42) and Arun Ravi (2-15) wrapped the innings ensured the Tuskers couldn’t recover, with Parthipan chipping in again with 2-12.
Arun Ravindranath
Chasing 152, the Tamils faced a few nervous moments as wickets fell intermittently, but Rajendran Parthipan’s unbeaten 59 off 48 balls anchored a calm and calculated chase. David Jayapaul (37) and Monty (19) provided crucial support, while John Emmanuel (9)* held the fort at the end, guiding Sydenham to 152-6 in 31.3 overs with 8.3 overs to spare. Sharp fielding, clever bowling changes, and composed batting under pressure highlighted the Tamils’ teamwork, while captain Jagannath led with authority, making crucial decisions at key moments. It was a game of fine margins, exciting partnerships, and standout performances — a memorable victory for Sydenham Tamils.
Mohanasundaram Kumar
Player of the Match: Rajendran Parthipan (59* & 2-12)
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-3/game-centre/514f18fb
Division 4 Goats – LOST
Match report courtesy of Ollie Philpott
Sydenham 153-9 (40 overs)
BWU 154-9 (40 overs)
Burnside vs Goats – Bradford 8.11.2025
Another stunning day at Bradford for this top of the table clash against Burnsides Calendar Boys.
With Tony away, we needed an opener to face a very good Burnside attack. Dan stoically offered his services, and soon found he was offering himself as a sacrificial goat as the first ball he faced rocketed past his gloves off a good length, and the second swung from leg stump to tickle his off stick. Absolute seed. It was fair to say the Bradford ‘road’ may have done its dash after a month of using the same pitch. Still, the Goats found a way. With George blunting the sterling bowling from one end, and Joe cunningly cashing in at the other where the ‘championship’ grade bowler was finding out the hard way what batting standards really are down the grades. Just as things were loosening up and runs flowing – Joe guided an innocuous delivery to the keeper, and the last over before drinks, George, after doing a mountain of hard work against their best bowlers, did a fine impression of Joe’s dismissal to leave us around 70-3 at the break.
Jesse and Kyle began accumulating well after drinks until Marks – for the second week in a row – was fired LBW after absolutely smashing it into his pad. An urgent memo has been sent around the team to just give him not out for the rest of the year, averages should skyrocket pending uptake. Watch this space. The remainder of the innings was all about Kyle Clark’s first half century for the Goats, ticking the score along nicely and hitting one of the biggest sixes Bradford has seen in a few years, reminding local residence that the perks of purchasing property next to a cricket ground also come with pitfalls (he cleared the bloody fence!). Thanks to a hearty number of extras we managed 153 and were confident we would defend it on a pitch starting to deteriorate.
Things started gloriously for the goats. Paddy cleaned out an opening bat second ball of the innings and Chris followed suit in his second over. The championship ring ins were looking good, and also had fine batting techniques, but could not negate the Goat’s opening bowlers Bradford nous. Burnsides 3 and 4 managed to survive with little profit, thanks once again to the Goats poor catching – the one thing that has let us down this whole season thus far – the Dannenberg and Dann absentees really damaging us in this respect. A late flourish before the break from Burnside had them sitting in roughly the same position as we were at drinks – we still felt on top and confident of victory.
Tight bowling continued, and while we chipped away at wickets, they also chipped away at runs. The return of J.Taylor to the bowling crease filled us all with maybe too much bravado, as when Joe bowls the goats win. Sadly, this bravado led to a flurry of poor fielding incidences with 3 more crucial drops and a missed run out. The game still very much in the balance though after a fine final spell from Paddy – we needed to defend 18 off 2 overs with only 2 wickets in hand…
Joe had been very hard to get hold of, but a crucial 6 in the penultimate over tipped the scales. The last over saw Chris defending 8 runs. If we could keep their captain off strike we were still in the money. A series of well-run 2’s, then finally a run out off the fifth ball left Burnsides number 11 needing 2 to win off the final ball. A close ring field and Chris at the top of his mark, we backed ourselves. The one gap in the field was at short fine, and when their batter managed to squeeze out a pin point leg stump yorker with a French cut…the cricket gods took a massive dump on our previously undefeated glory.
Despite the loss it was a great game to be a part of. The fact remains that these Burnside boys always pip us at the post during regular season matches, but we always come up trumps against them at the sticky end of the season… it was the loss we needed to have. It also helped us really reflect on the important things in life, beers taste better after W’s, catching is an important life skill, and the most critical learning of all…
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-4/game-centre/056bdc92
Division 4 Royal Challengers – LOST
Match report courtesy of Latish TM
New Brighton 241-6 (40 overs)
Sydenham 155 (28.3 overs)
Sydenham played New Brighton at Barrington Park. New Brighton batted first and posted a strong total of 241-6, anchored by an outstanding unbeaten 114* from Russell Rhodes, who dominated the middle overs with 14 fours and 4 sixes. Early wickets from Amrinder Singh and Lathish TM had the opposition 3/70, but Rhodes’ century turned the momentum. Key Bowling for Challengers: Trusharkumar Desai: 8–1–12–1, Lathish TM: 8–0–61–2, Amrinder Singh: 8–0–58–1, Devesh Hassani: chipped in with a wicket each and some economical overs. Despite a tidy spell from Trushar (economy 1.5), late hitting lifted Pegasus to a commanding total.
Chasing 242, the Challengers lost early wickets with both openers dismissed cheaply. Sujith Ajayan counterattacked with a brisk 33 off 27 balls (6 fours) to keep hopes alive.
Lathish TM (34 off 44) and Trusharkumar Desai (25 off 38) formed a middle-order resistance, adding some stability, but consistent breakthroughs by Pegasus bowlers halted any momentum. The Challengers were eventually bowled out for 155 in 28.3 overs, falling 86 runs short.
A spirited effort from Royal Harewood Challengers with both bat and ball, highlighted by disciplined bowling from Trushar and a composed knock by Lathish. However, a superb century from Russell Rhodes proved the difference, guiding New Brighton to a deserved win.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/cmca-adult-summer-202526/mens-division-4/game-centre/86f5551a
Division 5 All-Stars – LOST
Match report courtesy of Abe Atherton
Marist Harewood 200 (37.5 overs)
Sydenham 143 (32 overs)
The Sydenham Allstars faced the Marist Harewood Purple Goannas at Tulett Park in a thrilling fixture at Tulett Park. The Goannas won the toss and elected to bat first on the artificial pitch, looking to set a competitive total. Opening the bowling attack were Atherton and Koster, who came out aggressively, eager for early breakthroughs. Atherton struck early, taking the first wicket in his opening spell. Ward and Barnsley then stepped up to bowl, but Barnsley made an immediate impact by claiming three wickets in his five overs, despite being taken for some runs.
The spin duo of Thomson and Hatcher then entered the attack, applying pressure with tight line and length. As the Goannas started to accelerate their scoring, Hatcher responded with a burst of wickets, claiming three with excellent line and length, supported by two stunning boundary catches by Koster and a crucial stumping by Reynolds. Later, Atherton and Koster finished the innings strongly, with Atherton taking two wickets and Koster effecting an important run-out. The Goannas’ batting innings saw impressive fielding efforts, with catches taken by Koster (two), Thomson (one), and Reynolds (one catch and one stumping). Outstanding bowling figures included Atherton with 3-17, Barnsley with 3-3, and Hatcher with 3-49, each claiming three wickets, helping to restrict the Goannas to 200-10 and set the stage for an exciting chase.
The Sydenham Division 5 All Stars’ run chase of 200, set by the Purple Goannas, ended in defeat, with the team bowled out for a total of 143 runs in 32 overs, falling 57 runs short of the target. The innings started with some promise, anchored by solid contributions from the top order. Opening batsman Jaedyn Ward scored 32 runs off 42 balls, and Joel Thomson top-scored with a well-made 33 off 40 balls, including three fours. Their efforts helped the All Stars reach a relatively stable position at 66-2, suggesting they were on track to mount a serious challenge. However, the middle order failed to capitalise on this foundation, leading to a critical collapse. The loss of Andrew Reynolds (11), quickly followed by Shubh Kalathiya (0), and the crucial run-out of the set batsman Jaedyn Ward (32), saw the score rapidly decline from 84-2 to 90-5. This rapid succession of wickets derailed the chase. With only minor contributions from the remaining batsmen—Sumedha Senarathna (2), Chase Barnsley (4), and Daniel Wright (2)—the team struggled to form any meaningful partnerships needed to keep up with the required run rate.
The lower order offered minimal resistance, with the team losing its last five wickets for just 48 runs. Despite Cameron Hatcher remaining unbeaten with 16 runs off 28 balls, he ran out of partners as Trevor Cray (11) and Abraham Atherton (10) were dismissed. The team’s inability to build sustained partnerships and the rapid loss of key wickets resulted in the All Stars being dismissed for 143.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-5/game-centre/ef362df6
T20 Cavaliers Cardinals – BYE
It was bye week for the Cardinals
T20 Gujarat Kings – WON
Match report courtesy of Yash Patel
Sydenham 210-5 (20 overs)
Number 4 Experience 50-7 (9.2 overs)
Sydenham played Number 4 Experience at the Polo Grounds 5A. and what a performance – The Gujarat Kings produced a complete masterclass with both bat and ball to register a massive 160-run victory over Number 4 Experience T20! Batting first, the Kings unleashed their power to post a colossal 210-5. SG119 stole the show with a breathtaking 54 (20) – smashing 6 fours and 4 sixes at a strike rate of 270! Dhairya Goswami played a classy hand with 40 (26), while Milind Thakkar (27 off 17) and Arya Baxi (23 off 12) added quick runs to push the total beyond reach.
In reply, our bowlers were unstoppable – Dhaval Patel destroyed the opposition with 3-12, Yash Patel matched the effort with 3-19, and Dhananjay Trivedi kept it tight with 1-7. The opposition managed only 50 all out, giving the Kings a thumping 160-run win!
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/cavaliers-section-black-t20/game-centre/4e9d8aa0
Masters Cardinals – LOST
Match report courtesy of Phil Walker
Sydenham 111 (23.5 overs)
St Albans 113-1 (25.3 overs)
After the first three rounds the Master Cardinals found themselves joint top of the table, however a further win was going to be a challenge with a severely depleted side through injuries.
St Albans won the toss and put the Cardinals into bat on a good looking Sydenham 3 wicket. Anthony Wild (Wildy) got into his work from the first ball – dispatching it to the boundary. The opening pair put on a rapid fire 39 within 5 over before Scurr was dismissed. Wildy went soon after for 37 (off only 25 balls). Three more wickets fell before drinks (Williams 3, Lumb 5, and Gandhi 12) including an ill-judged run-out in the 20th over between Walker and Gandhi. Drinks – 98-5.
Only four more overs were bowled after drinks as the Cardinals capitulated – all out for the dreaded 111. The last 3 deliveries resulted in a superb “all bowled” hat-trick from Smith (Eagle). Walker was stranded on 40 n.o. at the close of innings. A very disappointing score on what was a very true batting wicket. Smith finished with the superb figures of 4-15. The other wicket takers were Hill – 2-23 and Alabaster 2-14.
St Albans were professional in their approach the run chase, defending the good deliveries and dispatching the poor ones. Only one wicket fell in the 25 over run chase, that of Griffen for 16. Once again, Hampton was St Albans batting ‘rock’ with an unbeaten 69.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/joes-garage-masters/game-centre/8a2b1b7f
Masters Hospital – LOST
Match report courtesy of Mark Crawford
Merivale Papanui 155 (38 overs)
Sydenham 131-8
Sydenham Hospital lost to Merivale-Papanui by 24 runs. Hospital played Merivale-Papanui at Bishopdale Park. Losing the toss Hospital were put into the field and MP started strongly out of the blocks with the first wicket falling at 85 in the 16th over. Things then tightened up as the pitch started to slow and wicket fell steadily with good accurate bowling. MP all out in the 38th over for 155. Wickets were shared around apart from Richard McKinlay who came in late to wrap up the MP innings with excellent figures of 4-6 off 3.3 overs.
Into bat Hospital started their innings slowly and made life hard for themselves with both openers running themselves out with good outfield throws, including Jinto Mathew after looking ominous with three big boundary shots. McKinlay (31) and Wrik Mukherjee (29) set about the chase with support from others but the pitch suited the MP slow bowlers and Hospital fell short of the target finishing on 131 for 8.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/joes-garage-masters/game-centre/65859d11
Women’s Division 1 Red – WON
Match report courtesy of Tim Cridge
Sydenham 113-8 (27.4 overs)
North West Women 84-8 (21.5 overs)
The Div 1 Red women played NW in pleasant conditions on a very lush Barrington Park pitch.
Sydenham batted first and our openers Willow and Liv made a fantastic start, putting on 52 runs before Willow was bowled for a stubborn 10 runs. The best thing about the partnership was the laughter and the fun had by the players and supporters on the sideline as Liv and Willow played some great shots with a number of fours being hit.
Liv was eventually dismissed for her best club score of 47. Understandably, the smile on her face was a mile wide after her efforts.
Charlotte played well for an aggressive 22 runs including some nice shots for four. Everyone else chipped in well for a total of 113 all out.
Our time in the field started well with some tight and pacey bowling from Zoe and Elise. This pressure resulted in a great team run out.
Charlotte, Ella and Liv then bowled and between them conceded only 18 runs over the next 7 overs. Jess and Kyla also bowled a couple of good tidy overs each, in which Kyla picked up a wicket.
With an inspired bowling change by our skipper Charlotte, openers Zoe and Elise were brought back into the attack and between them they managed to pick up regular wickets helped by 2 good catch’s by Mya, 1 catch to Ella, 1 catch to Willow and a great caught and bowled to Zoe.
NW were dismissed for 84 runs from 21.5 overs, so in the end, a comfy win to team Red.
Women’s Division 1 Blue – LOST
Match report courtesy of Dayle Kinzett
North West Women 337-3 (35 overs)
Sydenham 57-7 (23 overs)
The Birdwood Div 1 Blue played top of the table NorthWest at Burnside Park 5A which is an artificial wicket. NorthWest won the toss and chose to Bat first.
It was easy to see why from the opening over, with NorthWest having a very strong batting lineup. An excellent opening partnership of 62 in just 6 overs was bought to end by Millie Kinzett who managed to clean bowl both openers in her 1st 2 overs(3-29 from 4 overs ) Then came a match defining partnership from the next NorthWest pair who both went on to score centuries, despite the strong efforts in the field from the Blue team, with Millie finally breaking that partnership as well. That was the final wicket the Blue team managed to pick up even though they stayed resilient in the field, with some good straight bowling from Cosette Major and Greer Hill, NorthWest posted a very healthy 3-337 in their 35 overs.
NorthWest proved to be just as difficult in the field bowling good line and length. The Blue teams batters lead by Hannah Watson with 16, and a not out Cosette Major with 8, managed to bat through to the 23rd over before NorthWest claimed the final wicket with just 57 on the board.
The Blue team did play some good cricket on the day, against a very strong opposition, and can look forward to some good results in the coming weeks.
Youth First XI – LOST
Match report courtesy of Daniel Herd
Sydenham 125 (44 overs)
CBHS 126-3 (20.4 overs)
Saturday saw our youth 1st XI take on a very good Christchurch BHS 1st XI at Sydenham Park #1. It was beautiful and a privilege to be play at home on the #1 pitch. After winning the toss we were happy to bat first on a worn wicket which still played well. Making his debut for the 1st XI, Cam Fairhall (23) opened the batting with Isaac Tutt (19). Together our openers put on a great partnership of 49 before Isaac was unfortunately caught at slip the last ball before the 1st drinks break. After the drinks break we lost a quick wicket before Sam Johns (9) and Harry Durdin (31) put on a solid partnership. After Sam was well caught on the boundary, Harry batted well with Jaxson Moinyhan (13) putting on a useful partnership. which took us through to 100 for 3 at the second drinks break. With wickets in hand, we were looking forward to accelerating through our final 16 overs to post a score over 200. Unfortunately, we were unable to build meaningful partnerships and lost our last 7 wickets for just 25 runs.
Defending 125 was never going to be enough against a quality team who have one the Gillet Cup National championship 9 times in the last 12 years. Despite this, our boys worked hard to execute our bowling and fielding systems and manged to take 3 wickets before CBHS got through to 126. Wickets were shared by Cadell Durdin, Henry Hood, and Conway Andrews with one each.
With pool play now complete, we look forward to our next three cross-over games in the bottom 6 of the championship. We still have plenty to play for against teams we will be very competitive against. Our focus is to keep developing our systems, skills, and cricket IQ moving forward.
Youth 2nd XI – WON
Match report courtesy of Daniel Herd
Sydenham 293 (49 overs)
St Andrew’s 215 (42.4 overs)
Sydenham Youth 2nd XI made it four wins from five games this term with a strong 78-run victory over St Andrew’s College 3rd XI at St Andrews. Captain Sam Macdonald won the toss and didn’t hesitate to bat.
Sydenham went about building a solid platform through an excellent opening partnership of 70 between Archie Nielsen (52) and Finlay Hill (26). Nielson went on to record a composed half-century, setting the tone for the innings. Contributions from Thomas Wedlake (21), Noah Dean (23) and Lucky Lasiyal (13) maintained the momentum through the first half of the innings. Sydenham then found themselves 193-7 in the 33rd over, putting the match in the balance on a notorious good batting track with small boundaries. Sam Wild (49 off only 22 balls) put StAC to the sword, and he found able support from Yahya Shasawar (46*), who ensured Sydenham set a commanding 293 from 49 overs.
With the ball, Sydenham produced a disciplined team effort. Yahya backed up his batting with a superb spell of 3 for 17, while Bayley Gardner was again outstanding with the new ball, conceding just 31 runs from his 10 overs. and picking up one wicket. Reuben Williamson and Zach Nicholson contributed a wicket each. Finlay Hill picked up two wickets, and William Herd chimed in with a key caught and bowled breakthrough, to help finish the match off.
It was another bonus point win for Sydenham, which sees them well placed in third in their grade.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2025/cricket-express-1st-xi-bowl-one-day/game-centre/ece3622c
Youth 3rd XI – LOST
Match report courtesy of Dayle Kinzett
Sydenham 137 (39.1 overs)
Shirley Boys HS 138-3 (21.1 overs)
Sydenham played Shirley Boys High 2nds, @ Clare Park No.1 which is a grass wicket, that provided assistance to the bowlers early on. Shirley Boys High won the toss and chose to Bowl first, and it proved a good toss for them to win. As expected we faced some good accurate bowling from Shirley Boys early on. And despite Liam Kinzett continuing with his form with the bat from last week, once he fell for (34 off 48 balls) we were in some trouble at 5-61. We did manage to have a couple of really handy contributions though from Jay Thakar (22 off 59balls) & then Callum Walsh (29 off 54balls) to be finally bowled out in the 40th over for 137.
Daniel Barclay
We made a good start with the ball, thanks to a really good spell from Daniel Barclay (3-27 off 6 overs) to have them 2-15. Shirley boys then batted their way through to 60, before an excellent diving catch from Liam Kinzett wicketkeeping had them 3 down at that point. Unfortunately though that was the final wicket we were able to pick up with Shirley Boys comfortably reaching the total 3 wickets down in the 22nd over.
Onwards and upwards into the remaining rounds with the team now having played the top 5 teams on the ladder in the 1st 5 rounds.
Hirun Clements
Youth Colts – LOST
Match report courtesy of Callum Green
CBHS 156 (47.2 overs)
Sydenham 106 (32 overs)
Sydenham won the toss and elected to bowl on CHBS no4 pitch. Opening bowlers Will Johns and Austen Grant immediately put CBHS batters under pressure and after a few overs we had both openers out with Johns and Grant getting a wicket each. Wickets continued to fall with the pitch playing a bit up and down and Sydenham’s bowlers were putting the ball in the right areas most of the time. Unfortunately, we still were bowling too many wides and therefore the pressure wasn’t continually on CBHS. Sydenham had CBHS 112-8, but failed to put them away and they ended up getting 156 and saw out their 50 overs. Beji Williams picked up 3 wickets, Johns and Grant 2 each with Noah Green, Kahn Stanbury and Reuben Peterson all getting 1 each. Braithan Davies stood in with the gloves and kept really well snaring 3 catches.
Sydenham opening batters Peterson and Davies were solid opening and put on an opening stand of 24 before Davies departed. Zarnder ODonnell was in at 3 and immediately put the pressure back on CBHS, but unfortunately was out shortly after. Noah Green in at 4 looked comfortable, but then Peterson departed. Stanbury and Green had a 42 run stand, but Green got a ripper of a ball and he departed for 18. In next was Om akash Patel (Year 9 filling in) who looked great and steadied the innings, but it was a procession after that with Sydenham’s lower order not applying themselves or valuing their wickets. Stanbury ended up getting 14, but no’s 7 to 11 only contributed 2 runs combined to the teams total.
In the end CBHS’s tail wagged in their batting and ours didn’t. There wasn’t much in the game, but we just didn’t take our moments and apply our selves consistently throughout the match we needed to
Thanks to Brad Davies for helping out during the day. Also to our scorers Nicol ODonnell and Marty Wilke.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2025/cricket-express-colts-one-day/game-centre/058d5b4c
Youth Yr 10 – BYE
Bye week for the Year 10s
Youth Yr 9 – LOST
Match report courtesy of Mark Williams
Sydenham 131 (28.2 overs)
Heathcote 132-2 (12.5 overs)
Sydenham played Heathcote at Ferrymead Park. Heathcote won the toss and elected to bowl first. Early on runs were very hard to come by as the bowlers maintained a tight line and length, with the first 10 overs seeing our batters in complete lockdown. The pressure built on our batters, and eventually wickets began to fall as solid defence was loosened by the need to move the scoreboard along. 1 for 19 soon became 3 for 28. A mini recovery followed to move the score past 50, but we struggled to keep the score ticking along at any significant rate, and wickets fell in groups, leaving us with seven down and only 89 on the board. A scrap by the tailenders managed to drag the total past 120, before the final wicket fell at 125. Heathcote has shown they are a batting team, so this total looked very much under par.
We went into the bowling with a simple plan. If we were to have any chance of winning the game, early wickets needed to fall. We managed to snag a couple, but these were grace period wickets, so did little to help our cause. Heathcote’s opening batter dominated our attack, smashing a rapid-fire 50 to all but finish the game in quick time. This innings was marked by good hitting but was assisted by our bowlers too often putting the ball into the slot.
The game was wrapped up early as our total was run down by the 13th over – Heathcote winning convincingly by 8 wickets.
A key learning point from the Heathcote bowling effort is bowling to their field. Many times our lads played powerful shots, but these were intercepted by well-placed fielders. It was a contrast to our own bowling, where too often we put the ball into the opening batter’s slot, allowing him to plunder 71 off 44.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2025/cricket-express-year-9-white/game-centre/94a21693
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