ONE STEP CLOSER – 28 FEBRUARY 2026
The Premier Men continue to lead the 2-Day competition following an outright win over OBC at Elmwood Park on Saturday. Well placed after day one, they were made to work for the result as OBC mounted a determined fightback. The points were finally secured thanks to an unbeaten 93-run third-wicket partnership between Aarush Bhagwat (42*) and Matt Tromp (50*), who combined late in the day to close out the chase with composure.
It proved to be the only positive result among the four morning grades. The Premier Women posted 149 batting first at Elmwood, built around Charlotte Clatworthy’s 56 and 32 from Shizuka Miyaji, but were unable to defend it as OBC claimed a seven-wicket victory. The Championship side, chasing the game after a difficult first day, also went down by seven wickets to OBC on Sydenham 1. Division 2 faced a similar challenge — trailing by 108 on the first innings — and could not generate enough second-innings momentum to trouble BWU, who took the points.
The afternoon grades fared only slightly better, with three wins from ten matches. Division 4 Goats sealed the early competition title with a win over Heathcote, led by an outstanding 5-9 from Chris Douglas. The Division 4 Royal Challengers sit second after their win against Lancaster Park. In Division 5, the All-Stars were impressive victors, dismissing Merivale Papanui for just 83 thanks to Mark Flowerday’s 4-18 and David Te Au’s 3-23. Both Masters sides were beaten, with Hospital’s Tim Suddaby top scoring with 48.
In the youth grades, the 1st XI were unable to recover from a tough opening day and lost to Shirley Boys’. There were, however, wins to the 2nd XI, 3rd XI and Year 9Bs. Liam Kinzett’s unbeaten 60 guided the 2nd XI home, while William Gumbley (48) and Christopher Skinner (39*) came close to steering the Year 10s to victory against St Bede’s. In the Year 9As, Luke Wilkinson (4-26) and Noah Gardner (3-18) combined effectively to restrict Shirley Boys’ and secure their first win of the season.
Some of the photos in this publication are also courtesy of Ash Hart’s Hartland Images.
Premier Men
OBC 119 & 198
Sydenham 185-8 & 134-2
Sydenham resumed day two at Elmwood Park in a commanding position against OBC. The home side had slumped to 4-3 in their second innings and still trailed by 62 runs on first innings. However, with OBC still firmly in contention in the 2-Day competition, a determined response was always likely — and it came largely through their skipper, Nick Clark.
Sydenham made the ideal start when Mitch Gardner struck again to reduce OBC to 12-4. Clark, joined by Josh Tromp, steadied the innings and began to rebuild. With little assistance from either the pitch or the air for the seamers, the pair settled in comfortably and began chipping away at the deficit.
Mitch Gardner
The breakthrough came courtesy of Archie Goodrick, who struck in his first over — as he so often does — trapping Tromp in a key moment. Jacob Cotter held a sharp catch at second slip to leave OBC 40-5.
From there, Clark and Pascall consolidated impressively. The Sydenham spinners, who had found grip on day one, struggled to extract the same purchase, and Clark in particular looked assured, batting within himself and working methodically to extend the lead. Cullen Crowe kept Sydenham in control with two valuable middle-order wickets to leave OBC 114-7, but the momentum shifted again as Restieaux joined Clark.
With the surface improving, Restieaux counter-attacked the slower bowlers, and when Clark followed suit the pressure swung back onto Sydenham. At 179-7 the OBC lead had grown to 113 and the contest had tightened considerably. Matt Tromp produced a crucial breakthrough, dismissing Restieaux at that key moment. Shortly after, a mix-up with the new batter resulted in Clark’s excellent 83 (158 balls) ending in a run-out. Tromp then wrapped up the innings, taking his second wicket, as OBC were dismissed for 198 — leaving Sydenham a target of 133. The bowling honours were shared, with Mitch Gardner 3-31, Matt Tromp 2-13 and Cullen Crowe 2-70 the leading contributors.
Jacob Cotter & Jackson Hemingway
With plenty of time remaining, Sydenham approached the chase positively. Openers Jackson Hemingway (23) and Jacob Cotter (13) added a steady 36 before both were gone at 41-2 in the 13th over. From there, Aarush Bhagwat and Matt Tromp ensured there would be no late drama. After consolidating through the middle overs, the pair accelerated decisively — taking 50 from the final three overs — to finish on 134-2 in the 25th over and securing the win.
Matt Tromp & Aarush Bhagwat
Ultimately, the result was shaped by the first day, when OBC were exposed to the difficult batting conditions experienced across the city for those batting first. It was mitigated somewhat for Sydenham by two useful opening stands from Cotter and Hemingway, followed by valuable lower-order runs from Matzopoulos and Gardner.
The win sees Sydenham leading the competition heading into next week’s home fixture against Lancaster Park. However, with Heathcote just four points behind and only sixteen points separating the top four sides, the final month of the season promises a compelling finish.
Thanks to umpires Gavin Fantastic and Altamash Askari.
Full scoreboard & video highlights: https://live.nvplay.com/play/?tab=m_summary#m446517cc-e4a0-42c6-8ae9-a54667ed193f
Premier Women
Sydenham 149 (38.1 overs)
OBC 151-3 (26.1 overs)
Shizuka Miyaji
Thanks to umpire Alan & Robert Hill
Championship
Sydenham 126 & 125
OBC 238-8 & 15-0
Day 2 was always going to be a big ask for the Championship lads. OBC started the day already 60 in front with six wickets in hand and still plenty of overs to bat, so it was going to take something pretty special to turn things around. To our credit, the bowlers stuck at it. Dylan McArdle backed up his first-innings effort with a strong spell to finish with 4/64 off 21 overs, while Makenzie Thomson worked hard for his 2/62 from 13. OBC stretched the lead out to 112, leaving us needing a big, patient day with the bat.
Cadell Durdin
Aditya Suganthi came out with intent, cracking a lively 30 off 29 to get things moving, but the top order couldn’t quite build on the start. Dax Bavaria battled for his 18 off 48, and there was some real grit from Dhruv Arvindkumar, who dug in for 32 (68). Jordin Last-Harris added a brisk 25 (21) and continues to show his all-round value since joining Sydenham.
In the end it proved a bridge too far, and OBC knocked off the remaining 15 runs to seal a deserved outright win. Next up is Merivale-Papanui away – a good chance for this group to showcase what they’re capable of as we head into the final month of the season.
Full scoreboard: https://live.nvplay.com/play/?tab=m_summary#mc124068b-5342-4e12-bb7d-965f73d0bd11
Division 2
Match report courtesy of Todd Ward
Sydenham 46 & 153-8
BWU 154-9 & 59-3
Starting the day 83 behind with 8 wickets in hand, we had an uphill battle ahead of us. We didn’t start well with the loss of the two not-out batsmen from the end of the first day’s play. But all was not lost as Freddie Windsor and Gaurav Jadhav dug in and showed great character in difficult conditions. Following Gaurav’s dismissal, Ajith Shetty came in and continued where Gaurav left off. After some powerful striking from Freddie down the ground, he was out for a well-made 43. We made the deficit after 60-odd overs with 4 wickets in hand. Conway Andrews was now in and playing some classy cuts and lofted drives down the ground to take us to the tea break, 37 runs ahead, 8 down.
Conway Andrews
After the resumption of play, he was dismissed for a handy 30-odd, and we lost our final wicket after 76 overs with a lead of 58. Our bowling innings started brilliantly with Conway (2 for 33 off 7) striking twice in his first over. Gaurav (1 for 20 off 6) followed on from his brilliant performance last week to bowl a third Burnside batsmen and we were in with a sniff. A few tough chances went down in the slips and gully, which, if they had stuck, would have been a good reward for Conway’s persistent bowling.
That was the last of our chance to pull off an unlikely win, and Burnside chased the total 3 down in 13 overs. The result of this game was largely determined in the first hour of last week’s play, including the lost toss. Despite this, we showed good character and played some quality cricket to give ourselves a chance. Plenty more to come in the remaining weeks.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-2-red/game-centre/f450365b
Division 3 Tamils – LOST
Match report courtesy of Dinesh Chandran
Merivale Papanui 241 (36.2 overs)
Sydenham 157-9 (40 overs)
Sydenham Division 3 Tamil XI put in a determined performance against Merivale Papanui Bar185 in their Division 3 Top 4 encounter, facing a challenging chase after the opposition posted 241.
Sydenham’s bowlers worked hard to contain the scoring, with Jagannath Radhakrishnan delivering an excellent spell of 3/17, supported by Vignesh Balan and Chidambaram Palaniappan, who claimed two wickets each to keep the innings from getting away further.
In reply, Sydenham lost early wickets and were under pressure from the outset. Arunravi Ravindranathan (35) and Rajendran Parthipan (29) steadied the innings briefly, but regular breakthroughs — led by Harish Sharma’s 4/23 — slowed progress. Sydenham eventually finished on 157/9 in 40 overs, falling short of the target.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-3-top-4/game-centre/d3841485
Division 4 Goats – WON
Match report courtesy of Jon Bennett
Sydenham 208 (39.4 overs)
Heathcote 94 (40 overs)
It began, the dominance that is, at 11:48am. Our ever-diligent recon scout sent out the intel early – best ground access, best parking, best route. We trickled in to find that despite being the away team, J. Taylor, like a marauding Pitbull, had marked his territory – claiming the locals pavilion as our own for the day, dominance asserted. Psychologically, game over. Alley cats have no home.
The rug had been ripped from under our feet early in the week, learning that we hadn’t quite yet won the round robin, and after essentially throwing a game for some early snags thinking it was already in the bag the goats required a minor reset to lock it down for the second time this year. And lock it down we did.
Living up to their name, the alley cats had scratched together a team with 8 non regulars, thanks in no small part to our own George Wigley, who had rendered a good chunk of their team incapacitated after a highly volatile dance off at Electric Ave the night prior. Spiritually speaking, game over. Alley cats can’t dance. Jon lost the toss and we batted. It just felt safe though, with Dannenberg and Taylor reunited as openers and Taylor finally finding his feet again after being swept off them in the marital bed, with some sumptuous off side driving. Without setting the dancefloor on fire, the Goats moonwalked their way to a hearty 208 all out. Contributions coming all the way through the batting order with 30 odds from Taylor, Marks, Philpott and Arjun and a nearly fit A. Douglas back at his belligerent best with our top score of 43(30). First fine of the year for a spouse as Casey side mouthed “he’ll probably get out this ball” and like any loving husband would – he duly obliged by premeditating a block down completely the wrong line and getting castled. $5 in the kitty thanks Casey. Clark and C. Douglas chipped in with 20s and never forget a run a ball 1 from Monsieur Bennett (it really helps batting down to 11 sometimes) we knew we had a winning score. Game over.
It took the cats an age to get through their forty with ineffectual field changes four times an over, so we powered through lunch and set out to rip through them as quickly as possible for some early(ish) beers. No need to tell Chris twice, but he did tell Heathcote twice in his first over. Notching up a royal golden duck and then a wicket off his fourth ball it just felt a lot like game over one over in. Once Chris picked up the opposition’s captain and Geordie managed to pry out the top-heavy pirate, complete with rambunctious batting bandana, Heathcote were reeling at 16-4 and all but given up.
Then the rot set in. Needing over six and over already, the alley cats, like the mangey scrap-eating, flea-infested, ear-punctured, bent-tailed, disease-ridden, gaunt-eyed, feral felines they are decided to close up shop. Dead batting or leaving everything in a frankly immoral stance to drag the game past drinks. Luckily, Chris had other plans. Plans that could not be denied by the batter’s non-compliance, as he picked up a classy five for spit(5-9) with some ace help from his brother from behind the stumps. A stunning one-hander right in front of Tony’s nose and some well-timed jibes to goad Chris’ final victim into an ill-advised slash, helping Chris climb up the honours board no doubt!
Sadly, that spell had to end, and Heathcote settled nicely back into their 2 an over grind, showing zero intent to win the game and limiting the chances the Goats had to pick up wickets. Jon and the spin twins, Arjun and Ollie, toiled away hurriedly as the game trickled towards its forgone conclusion. A late stunner of a catch by Marks a post drinks highlight as well as mister twinkle toes himself, George, claiming the final wicket off the final ball of the match with a seaming dipping slower ball bouncer to put a full stop on a game almost as long as this write up. Game over – nearly seven hours after it was game over.
We’ve been burnt before this year already – so we didn’t pop the champagne just yet, but most signs point to the Goats heading up a grade to our rightful home in Div 3, we might just wait till it’s confirmed this time before Tony comes in at first change in the bowling again. Further highlight of the day was the $400 plus collected in the fines kitty – should lead to a fitting reward for a fine season, and hopefully the last mention of cats for the year.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-4/game-centre/f534a289
Division 4 Royal Challengers – WON
Match report courtesy of Lathish TM
Lancaster Park 76 (23.1 overs)
Sydenham 77-6 (20.2 overs)
Lancaster Park won the toss at Garrick 2, elected to bat, but then struggled to build partnerships against a disciplined Sydenham bowling attack. Early breakthroughs kept the scoring under control, with wickets falling at regular intervals. Pinso John showed brief intent with a six in his 9 off 12 balls, while Rahees Palli Manjalil added 15. However, the middle order failed to capitalise, and momentum never shifted in their favour. Faheem Mk’s 14 was the only other contribution of note as the Tyrants were bundled out for 76.
The Sydenham bowlers shared the spoils impressively: Trusharkumar Desai was the standout performer with 3/6 from 4.1 overs, including a maiden, applying relentless pressure, Binny chipped in with 2/9, Shyam Karuthedath Narayanankutty was economical with 1/8 from 5 overs, Anand Krishnamohan Beena and Sivasubramanian Natarajan picked up a wicket each., Skipper Lathish TM kept things tight with 4 overs for just 10 runs. A sharp run-out by Sujith Ajayan added to the fielding effort as Lancaster Park were dismissed for a modest total. Park 76 all out (23.1 overs)
Chasing 77, Sydenham had a shaky start, losing Anand early for 1. However, a steady 36-run partnership between Binny (18 off 18) and Mandeep Singh (19 off 25) settled the innings. Despite a few middle-order hiccups — including the quick dismissals of Lathish TM and another batter — the target never looked out of reach. Trusharkumar Desai added a valuable 13, and the unbeaten pair calmly guided Sydenham home: Qasim remained not out on 13* & Shyam Karuthedath Narayanankutty supported with 6*
The winning runs came in the 21st over, sealing a composed 4-wicket victory. Match Highlights: Player of the Match: Trusharkumar Desai (3/6 & 13 runs), Excellent bowling discipline from Sydenham restricted the opposition to 76, Calm chase despite minor stumbles ensured a comfortable finish.
A solid all-round team performance from Sydenham Div4 Royal Challengers continues their positive momentum in the competition
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-4/game-centre/fc92a819
Division 5 All-Stars – WON
No match report available
Merivale Papanui 83 (30.1 overs)
Sydenham 84-5 926 overs)
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/mens-division-5-bottom-4/game-centre/aae13360
Masters Cardinals – LOST
Match report courtesy of Paul Bennett
Sydenham
Merivale Papanui
Sydenham played Merivale Papanui at Bishopdale Park. Merivale batting first, looked to tee off from the first ball of Kelvin Scott’s first over with 8 off the over before Kelvin hit all 3 with his 5th ball. One became 4 for Merivale with the score at a mere 19. However, their number six chancing his arm with some hefty blows smashed his way to 53 before being taken at last by Paul Rapley off Tom Hannan. To be fair, he was dropped at least three times by some underwhelming fielding!! However!!!! Thereafter, Merivale scraped their way through to 160-9 with wickets shared around. Kelvin with 3/16 off 8, an outstanding effort given he had 8 taken off his first 4 balls, Phil Walker 1/17 off 6, Dave Fleming 1/45 off 8, Tom Hannan with 1/38 off 8, Paul Rapley 3/27 off 8 and Marc Stevenson a mere 2 overs for 12 runs. Suffice to say, the fielding, or rather the catching, was not of a great standard, save for a diving catch akin to Glenn Phillips v England by Phil Walker.
Into bat and Syds were soon in trouble with both openers back in the hutch early, soon followed by Phil Walker (12/3). Paul Rapley, joined by Tom Hannan, slowly rebuilt the innings with some fine running between the wickets before Paul, having been dropped 3 times previously, found their best fielder. Enter young Samuel Wild who had been playing for Cashmere 1s earlier. The young lad proceeded to smash the Merivale bowlers to all parts of Bishopdale Park before he too found Merivale’s best fielder. It was a pleasure to watch and am sure he will go far in senior cricket. To sum up the rest of Syds innings it was not great. Lost by 28 runs. Once again, there is always next week.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/joes-garage-masters-bottom-7/game-centre/05054fd3
Masters Hospital – LOST
Match report courtesy of Tim Suddaby
Heathcote Lancaster Park 175-5 (40 overs)
Sydenham 109-9 (35.5 overs)
The match was played at Hillsborough Domain on a rather green and dirty looking wicket.
Sydenham, fielding only ten players, won the toss and inserted the opposition to bat – thanks to Lancaster for giving us a fielder. However, John H then broke down and we were back to 10
After 40 overs Lancaster posted 176-8 with Tim Corey 90, D Dowd 47 no ( batted the whole innings), Rahul 2-11 & Tristan 2 – 32
Chasing 176 Sydenham capitulated quickly to be all out for 109 – Tim 48, Mark 26, R Dereham 4 -18, T Corey 3 – 25
A good game played in good spirits and a good win for Lancaster/Heathcote. A few beers and a yarn and then it was home time..
T20 Cavalier Cardinals – LOST
Match report courtesy of Jamie Livingstone
Sydenham
Merivale Papanui
The Cardinals scraped together a side on Friday only to have one of the fill ins pull pin Saturday morning. Up stepped James Stokes after an evening of listening to Split Enz to make sure we had 9 players.
An artificial at Nunweek Park was the battlefield today with a typical Christchurch easterly ripping across the ground. With only 4 players at the toss, Merivale Papanui were put into the field by captain Stokes. After the normal delay, as happens with this team, we finally took the field, and for the first few overs, Merivale Pap fielded with seven.
Ben Larter and Jeremy Ensor opened the innings and took full advantage of holes in the field. Larter smashed 40 off 30 balls and Ensor continued his fine form with a well-played 27. This set up the innings but the Cardinals couldn’t take full advantage. Nick Smithson returning from the Japanese ski season struck some big blows to end on 33 and Kris Webster had his best Cardinals innings finishing 20 not out. The Cardinals 156-4 off their 20 overs. Jarred MIthcell took the new ball and struck first ball sending the stumps flying. Some tight bowling continued, but the Cardinals let the pressure go at times with some wayward bowling and dropped catches. This meant Merivale Pap were always in the game. Smithson bowled well for his 3 overs, and Jon Henderson got a fine run-out. The winning runs were hit in the final over. Mitchell and Jamie Livingstone finished with identical figures 2-24 were the only bowlers to take wickets.
A blow to the chances of the Cardinals defending their title but they now face three must win games to make the final.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/cavaliers-section-2-t20/game-centre/38f2b69a
T20 Gujarat Kings – LOST
Match report courtesy of Yash Patel
Marist Harewood 139-6 (20 overs)
Sydenham 135-6 (20 overs)
The Gujarat Kings fell just short in a thrilling chase at Tulett Park.
With the ball, the Kings kept things tight, restricting Marist to 139/6. Arya Baxi led the attack with 2 wickets, while Dhaval Patel (1/13), Yash Patel (1/23) and Smit Patel (1) chipped in to keep the target within reach.
Chasing 140, Yash (29) and Ankit (25) gave the team a steady start. After a quick middle-order fumble, a crucial partnership between Arya (36) and Milind (24)* brought the Kings right back into the contest. Deep Patel (8 off 4) tried his best to finish the game, but the team narrowly missed out by 4 runs.
A strong fight and plenty of positives to take forward.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202526/cavaliers-section-3-t20/game-centre/afe3786e
Division 1 Women Blue – LOST
Unfortunately, Sydenham had to forfeit the match
Division 1 Women Red – LOST
Match report unavailable
OBC 200-4 (36 overs)
Sydenham 58-8 (22.4 overs)
Youth First XI – LOST
Match report courtesy of Daniel Herd
Shirley Boys HS 231
Sydenham 77 & 122
The second day of this two-day fixture concluded on Saturday at Sydenham Park, with Sydenham Youth 1st XI going down by an innings after being asked to follow on. Resuming at 8/2 in their second innings after a difficult first day, Sydenham faced a significant task to bat deep into the day. Cameron Fairhall and Quinn Helms showed early resistance, combining patiently against accurate bowling. Fairhall (14 off 81) dug in for more than 80 balls, while Helms (15 off 41) supported him in a steady partnership that briefly stabilised the innings.
Harry Durdin
After further wickets fell, Harry Durdin (30 off 91) and Noah Green (14 off 48) mounted the most substantial resistance of the innings. Durdin showed real composure, batting for over 90 deliveries and absorbing pressure, with Green providing valuable support as the pair pushed the total close three figures.
Later, Samuel Wild (19 off 27) and Bayley Gardner (4 off 20) added another determined stand, again showing discipline deep into the match. Wild in particular looked positive, striking two boundaries and a six in a counterattacking cameo. Despite those periods of resilience, Sydenham were eventually dismissed for 122 in 60.5 overs, falling short of making Shirley Boys bat again.
Youth Second XI – WON
Match report courtesy of Jamie Helms
Ashburton College 90 (24.4 overs)
Sydenham 93-1 (22.5 overs)
This week the Sydenham 2nd XI travelled to Ashburton College to take on their 1st XI at Ashburton Domain. The day started in challenging fashion, with a late withdrawal due to illness during the drive down. A quick call to the club secured Kaveesha Geeth from the 3rd XI—who, despite the short notice and a one-hour drive, was more than willing to step in and ensure we fielded 11 players.
On arrival, the pitch and outfield were extremely moist from heavy overnight dew, making an on‑time start unlikely. This became the first of several contentious interactions with the Ashburton management, who appeared determined to impose their own interpretations of the grade rules. After several discussions, and in the interest of common sense, we agreed on a compromise start time of 11:00am. A brief team talk followed, stressing that regardless of conditions or sideline behaviour, we would focus on our cricket and use their attitude as motivation. Winning the toss proved valuable, and we elected to bowl first on a green wicket.
Building on last week’s outstanding effort in the field, the boys delivered disciplined, accurate bowling right from the outset. Ashburton struggled early, and in the 7th over their opener advanced down the wicket and was clean‑bowled by Will Johns without offering a shot. This opened the floodgates. In the very next over, Zachariah Nicholson struck three times, including a superb diving catch at mid‑off by Liam Kinzett. Will followed up with another wicket the following over, leaving Ashburton reeling at 18/5 after 9 overs. Will then claimed a third wicket—an excellent caught and bowled—finishing his spell with Ashburton at 35/6 after 11 overs. The team’s energy and intensity were exceptional. They supported each other, maintained a rapid over rate of more than 16 overs per hour, and spent less than two hours in the field.
Kaveesha was introduced early as a reward for answering the late call‑up, joining Daniel Barcley as first change. Daniel bowled with great control, picking up a wicket in his second over and was unlucky not to claim more. At drinks, Ashburton were 66/7 after 18 overs, well ahead of time. Another disagreement with the Ashburton management arose regarding the length of the drinks break, but the boys remained composed and focused on finishing the job.
Daniel picked up another wicket in the 19th over before Kahn Stanbury and Jonty Rutherford combined for a smart stumping in Kahn’s first over of spin. Rupert Neilson then wrapped up the innings in the 24th over, dismissing Ashburton for 90 just before 1pm.
Bowling Figures
- Will Johns: 3/15 off 6
- Zachariah Nicholson: 3/20 off 5
- Daniel Barcley: 2/13 off 6
- Rupert Neilson: 1/15 off 3.4
- Kahn Stanbury: 1/2 off 1
A fantastic collective bowling performance, with several bowlers not even required.
With Ashburton dismissed before 1pm, we had a short turnaround before batting for an hour into lunch. The equation was straightforward: 91 runs off 75 overs. Despite Ashburton’s attempts to argue for only 50 overs, we entered the correct details into PlayHQ and moved on. After last week’s disappointing chase of a similar target, there were understandably some nerves among players and parents. But those concerns were quickly put to rest. Openers Liam Kinzett and Eli Helms provided a composed and disciplined start, batting through the entire hour to lunch and seeing off 12 overs. The pitch was difficult—uneven bounce, balls flying through or staying low—and Liam absorbed several blows to the body. Despite this, both showed excellent patience and mental toughness.
We went to lunch at 46/0, with ice creams promised if the openers could bat through the innings.
After the break, Liam brought up a well‑earned fifty in the 21st over. Eli was eventually dismissed in the 23rd for 19, with the team score at 87/1, just four runs short of victory. Liam then finished the job in style with a boundary, sealing a dominant 9‑wicket win with 40 overs to spare. He carried his bat for an outstanding 60 not out.
While our performance was comprehensive in all departments, Ashburton’s slow over rate stood in stark contrast—particularly after their earlier complaints about our three‑minute drinks break. The boys’ ability to maintain composure, resist intimidation, and uphold their higher standards of respect and fair play was outstanding and reflects positively on the Sydenham youth programme.
This was a complete team performance and an excellent springboard heading into the remainder of the season.
Youth Third XI – WON
Match report courtesy of Shannon O’Donnell
Sydenham 210 (48.2 overs)
Selwyn/BP 203 (48.5 overs)
The Sydenham 3rd XI faced a strong Selwyn/Banks Peninsula team at Cashmere High School (artificial pitch, as the grass pitch unprepared). The outfield was excruciatingly slow with spongy grass that provided zero assistance.
Sydenham wanted to bat, and after winning the toss did so.
Losing a couple of early wickets while still in single figures, Angus Fergusson (42 from 62), and Zarnder O’Donnell (26 from 34) then came to the crease and settled things down with a well a well composed (and needed) 50 run partnership. This was finally broken when a yorker just grazed Zarnder’s leg stump, but the ship remained steady with Reuben Peterson coming to the crease (31 from 73), and spent good time in the middle with Angus to push the score to over 100. Sydenham then lost a few quick wickets when Selwyn – BP made a crucial break through finally snaring Angus, and although Nakul Sing 17 from 32) chimed in with another valuable 17 runs, another couple of wickets fell further without scoring, and we were feeling a bit of pressure to ensure we pushed towards 200. At 8 down, Beckett Wells (13 from 28) and Austen Grant (26 from 36) added some vital runs at the close of innings to get us to a total of 210.
Whilst we were really wanted 220 or 230, we still felt we had enough to apply some pressure, and with the slow outfield, we knew it would be challenging to get if we bowled well. Opening the bowling for Sydenham was Joe Wilke (3-54-10.5), and with a very well bowled short of a length ball took our first wicket, but was a bit unlucky not to get another in his first spell. Benny Wilkenson (1-11-4) added another wicket to his name from the other end, but from that point on it was the two Selwyn batsman who applied pressure, putting on a 71 run partnership, and although there were some close calls and a few dropped catches, we were under pressure to break the partnership to save the game. Rueben Peterson (2-42-10) came to the call, broke the partnership and reduced the run rate.
Sydenham took another couple of quick wickets, one from Ruben and one from Ruan Deideriks (1-8-2), and we suddenly felt like it was game on with Selwyn BP at 6 for 139 and 10 overs to go.
Unfortunately for Sydenham, more dropped catches on the cards, including their No4 who was still in being a rock for Selwyn and momentum swung back their way with another 30 runs added, Selwyn now 169/7 and 7 overs to go. Angus Fergusson (1-15-4) grabbed a break through, and with Austen Grant returning from the other end, grabbing another, the game swung into Sydenham’s favour, and the score was 191/9. One more needed! Then there was a 6, another drop catch, and they needed 8 from about 14 balls, stressful!….. game is any ones at this stage. Joe Wilke returns to bowl out the final wicket and Sydenham win!
Great effort from all involved, well deserved win against a pretty well rounded opposition.
Youth Year 10 – LOST
Match report courtesy of Peter Sanford
St Bedes 234-4 (40 overs)
Sydenham 223-8 (40 overs)
Sydenham Year 10 v St Bedes Year 10 at Hagley Park: as the sounds of Electric Avenue rang out across the cold Easterly wind players assembled at Polo Ground 2A astro turf. St Bedes won the toss and elected to bat first. Sydenham got a quick first wicket and restricted St Bedes top order through bowling good line and length. Jay Thakar captained well through utilising all the players. Jayden Wallis, right-arm leg-spin, bowled extremely well – creating good opportunities through clever use of flight and length. At 20 overs for drinks, Sydenham had restricted St Bedes to 91/3. However, the next 20 overs were St Bedes’ game as they picked gaps well, found the fence through powerful shots, and capitalised on several drop catches by Sydenham. At the end of 40 overs, Sydenham had a target to 235 to chase.
Chris Skinner
Unfortunately, the Sydenham top order didn’t fire for the run chase. St Bedes bowled good line and length and capitalised on Sydenham top order making poor shot selections – by the 4 over Sydenham were 35/5. To the crease came Ayaan and Will – Will and Ayaan showed excellent concentration and stubbornness at the crease and consolidated, resulting in Sydenham being 101/5 at 20 overs. After drinks Ayaan and Will continued to run singles while poor balls were dispatched to the boundary. At 15 overs Captain Jay sent out a message to increase the run rate. Ayaan and Will proceeded to put pressure on the field and bowlers before both being dismissed through holing out in the 28th over – Will finished on 48 and Ayaan on 31 – they re-built the Sydenham innings. Enter Chris Skinner, and Ethan Currie – straight away Chris and Ethan raised the scoring tempo and put pressure on the St Bedes through excellent running between wickets. After Ethan was dismissed Harvey Hunter join Chris at the crease. What followed was fantastic shot selection, and running between wickets. Although Chris and Harvey formed a fantastic partnership Sydenham ran out of overs and finished on 224. A valiant effort but not to be Sydenham’s day despite a gutsy effort by the middle and lower order.
Jay Thakar
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2026/cricket-express-year-10/game-centre/1f802d2a
Year 9A – LOST
Match report courtesy of Matt Bartlow
St Thomas 163-9 (40 overs)
Sydenham 133 (36 overs)
This week we travelled to Hagley Park to take on St Thomas. We were on an artificial deck again, and interestingly it was a freshly laid and somewhat spongy turf surface to work with. We lost the toss and were asked to bowl. Last week we bowled with a lot of infectious energy in the field in a dominant win, and we spoke of replicating that. Hamish Ferguson and JJ Nicholson opened the bowling in a neat and tidy fashion, with Ferguson bowling their opener without a single run on the board. Reuben Thorpe and Joel Learman also bowled tight lines and were rewarded with wickets. Off spinner Fletcher Hill (3 for 28 off six) laid a trap for their dangerman, and Thorpe pulled in a very well-taken catch on the ropes. A very tidy bit of glove work by Joel Barlow saw our first stumping of the season. At 63 for 5 the boys were confident. Lennox Spain then produced two beautiful deliveries to clean-bowl two victims, and at 78 for 7 Sydenham were well on top. However, the St Thomas tail wagged – they then batted out their overs reaching 163 for 9. At times we were guilty of bowling short and leg side, and we paid the price. Regardless, we still fancied our chances at chasing this total, with a required run rate of only 4.1.
Fletcher Hill
Learman opened the batting and produced a watchful 24 runs to get us underway. After ten overs we were roughly on track but it was clear that our opposition were bowling accurately and not giving us too much to work with. Their field placements were good, and we were finding it hard to score freely. The pressure was starting to show, and the dot balls were becoming dominant. Spain continued his excellent run of form and top scored with 32. We stayed in touch with the run rate – it never reached 6 RPO – but we were guilty of throwing our wickets away at key moments. All out in the 36th over and 30 runs short.
While we acknowledge our opposition and congratulate them on their performance, there was a quiet sense of frustration that we hadn’t quite played to our potential. Some key learnings for us as we look forward to our next game.
Hamish Ferguson
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2026/cricket-express-year-9-red/game-centre/1313c6a4
Year 9B – WON
Match report courtesy of Sarah Freeman
Sydenham 220-8 (35 overs)
Shirley Boys HS 207-9 (34 overs)
A beautiful local game at Parklands Reserve, with all the parents there to support the boys. Shirley won the toss and put us into bat. Got off to a really good start with Kobe Freeman and Noah Gardner. After a slowish start we put some runs on the board, and some great partnerships were had. At the 17th over we were 99 for 5 and still feeling pretty good. Straight after the break we lost a wicket, but the boys powered on with Haziq Hammad steadying the ship. Lost another few quick wickets in the early 20s but managed to push through with an amazing partnership with Kawariki Taylor and Rithik Rajesh that would take us to a really good run chase of 220.
Shirley Boys came out and fought really hard and pushed us to the wire. Noah Gardner and Luke Wilkonson bowled out of their skin to keep us in the game. It was a tight finish, and we could have lost it, but the boys came through. Lots of learning for our team in this game but so happy for our boys and they deserved this win!
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2026/cricket-express-year-9-black/game-centre/94c685d0
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