PREMIER MEN GO TOP OF 2-DAY COMPETITION – 7 NOVEMBER 2026
The Premier Men claimed maximum points from their match at Riccarton Domain to move to the top of the 2-Day competition table, although they had to overcome some initially stern resistance from the Riccarton batsmen during the morning session. The Premier Women lost their two opening T20 matches – they fell well short in their chase of OBC’s 138/6 in the first match, and then in the second, although the bowlers did a fine job to restrict Lancaster Park to 98/6, unfortunately the batting failed to fire as Sydenham went down by 22 runs.
The Division 1 and Division 2 matches provided plenty of excitement, with some competitive declarations from the respective captains making for intriguing finishes. Division 1 suffered its first loss of the season, narrowly failing to take the final wicket needed to defend their target of 146. Division 2 also had a close contest, with Merivale Papanui setting Sydenham the same target in their match at Hagley 4. Sydenham ultimately prevailed, thanks largely to a superb 62 from Isaac Tutt.
It was a productive afternoon for the club’s afternoon grade sides, with just one loss across the six matches. Eliyas Varghese was the standout performer, producing a superb all-round display for the Division 4 Royal Challengers with 64 runs followed by a match-winning 6-15 with the ball. Niranjan Mani’s 65 helped steer the Division 3 Tamils to victory, while an impressive debut from Sean McGowan, who claimed 4-35, helped the Masters Cardinals to a win over East Shirley/New Brighton.
There were also good wins for the Division 2 Women and Social 8 Women. The latter brought out some serious firepower, with their two Army girls leading the charge. Katie Emmett smashed 52, while Sandy Mitchell finished unbeaten on 41.
The Youth 1st XI enjoyed a commanding win over North West Youth, built around an excellent 88 from opener Dhruv Arvindkumar and a valuable 40 from Harry Durdin. Harry then backed up his batting effort with 3-6, while Daniel Barclay claimed 4-21, including a hat-trick, as North West were dismissed for just 66. The two Year 9 teams were also among the winners. Reuben Thorpe (45*) and Fletcher Hill (22*) combined in an unbeaten 91-run third-wicket partnership to account for Selwyn Banks Peninsula in Year 9A, while opener Aadarsh Bhandari’s 39 was a feature of the other Year 9 side’s victory.
Some of the photos in this publication are also courtesy of Ash Hart’s Hartland Images.
PREMIER MEN
WON
Sydenham 254/8 & 12/0
Riccarton 91 & 171
Sydenham went into the second day of their match against Riccarton at Riccarton Domain in a commanding position, holding a 163-run first-innings lead with the home side already struggling at 24/3 in their second innings.
However, an early finish initially looked anything but certain as Riccarton’s No. 4 and 5 batsmen, Mehta and Doig, dug in and occupied the crease for the next 23 overs. On a flat track, in hot conditions and with a lightning-fast outfield, the pair added 39 for the fourth wicket without ever looking particularly troubled. With lunch approaching, Sydenham desperately needed a breakthrough, and Archie Goodrick finally provided it in his third over of the morning, removing Doig. Three overs later, Goodrick struck again, dismissing Mehta, who had battled impressively for 51 from 103 deliveries.
Archie Goodrick
Bazley and Mahapatra continued to resist for another 10 overs before Mackenzie Thomas and Dylan McArdle chipped in with a wicket apiece. At 144/7 at lunch, Riccarton’s hopes of making Sydenham bat again were rapidly fading. Although they did eventually force that, the end came swiftly after the break, with Tom Agnew and Goodrick claiming the remaining three wickets to bowl Riccarton out for 171. That left Sydenham needing just eight runs for victory, which they knocked off without loss to complete a convincing 10-wicket win.
Makenzie Thomson
The maximum-points victory lifts Sydenham to the top of the 2-Day competition table, although there is plenty of cricket still to come. Next week’s challenge is against Lancaster Park at Sydenham Park 1.
Full scoreboard: https://live.nvplay.com/play/?tab=m_summary#m0df3aa65-b072-42ce-8414-a3f13647d9ae
PREMIER WOMEN
LOST
OBC 138/6 (20 overs)
Sydenham 96/9 (20 overs)
Match reports courtesy of Todd Ward
Our Premier Women started their T20 campaign with a 42 run loss to OBC. Fielding first Sydenham struggled to contain OBCs top order but did really well to come up with an execute on a plan to get the break through wickets of Olivia Gain and Sacha Arnold. Unfortunately this start, 73-2 at the 10th, over gave OBC a great platform to build on and while the wickets dropped regularly, the score tracked up steadily. The highlight of the bowling was Smriti Balaji, in her first match for prems, claiming 3 wickets and Felicity Robertson picking up 2. OBC finished up 138/6.
Sydenham had a bumpy start to the chase but showed bursts of stability throughout the innings. Megan Melzer, who has been in good form this season, top scored on 21. Elise Dill-Russell also made a good contribution with 17 from 16 balls at the tail end of the match.
LOST
Lancaster Park 98/6 (20 overs)
Sydenham 76 (19.5 overs)
Meeting Lancaster Park in the second match of the day, our Premier Women again won the toss and bowled first. Unfortunately, the match result was the same as the first with Sydenham pulling up 22 runs short. The bowling card reads remarkably similar to the first match of the day, with Smriti and Floss picking up 2 wickets and Stella Cornelius 1. This time Sydenham managed to restrict Lancaster Park well, picking up the dangerous Kate Anderson before she got going on 12. Sydenham made LP work, only bowling 4 wides in the match. LP finished up on 98/6, which should have been a chasable target.
The chase was tough, with good bowling and run rate pressure throughout. Highlights were Elise who finished up 24*, Rachel Davidson 19 and Lily-May Lyndon 16.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/ev-power-premier-women/game-centre/badd6301
DIVISION 1 MEN
LOST
Sydenham 113 & 154/9
Halswell 122 & 127/9
Match report courtesy of Ryan James
Another hot and windy day at the SCG for the 2nd day of our fixture against Halswell. The visitors lead by 8 runs at the start of the day and Sydenham’s task was simple to set a competitive target. Our night watchmen Noah Dean and Akshan Gulati had the honours of seeing off the new ball. Noah started with a flurry by hitting a six but then was dismissed not long after. This brought Sam Johns to the crease, who is coming off a few good scores for Div 2. The pair were consolidating nicely however Sam and Aki got in a mix up which caused Sam to be dismissed run out. At this stage, the score 32-2, the Sydenham side were hopeful of posting a healthy target.
Noah Dean
Halswell’s bowlers had other ideas taking the wickets of Aki, Todd Ward and Ryan James very cheaply. Sam Williamson, Brodie Hemingway and James Barnes tried their best to consolidate pressure however this proved to be unsuccessful leaving us 79-8 after 32 and seriously in trouble. With a lead of only 70 at this stage, the boys were looking at a early finish however Tom Elliot and Matt Bell had other ideas. With Tom’s sensational stroke playing and Belly’s magnificent supporting role the pair put on 75 runs for the 9th wicket. Tom’s much needed 77 off 63 balls counter punched the innings to give us a competitive lead of 145.
Tom Elliott
With the wicket seemingly getting flatter, we knew we had to bowl well to defend the target we set of 145. RJ (3-44-16) and Tom (2-34-9) opening up the bowling needed to take a few early wickets to get the boys rolling. Fourth ball of the innings saw RJ snick off the Halswell opener straight to Belly. Halswell feeling the pressure with the score going no where the Sydenham side knew they had to keep applying the pressure and wickets were soon to fall. Cadell Durdin (3-31-10)and Noah Dean (1-14-7) were brought into the attack with both of them taking wickets in their second overs. At this stage, the Halswell side were 26-3 after 15 overs. However, we knew Halswell would make their move at some stage. RJ, Tom, and Cadell all had success with their second spells taking wickets. With the score at 113-7, it was anyone’s game to win. Wickets continued to fall and runs continued to score, this was set up to be a nail biter of a finish. Halswell needed 20 runs with 1 wicket in hand and Sydenham believed we would come out on top. However, cricket has its harsh realities and it was not meant to be for the Sydenham boys as the number 10 and 11 got the Halswell team across the line.
An exciting game and plenty of learnings going into a highly anticipated match against the East Shirley team next week. Tom Elliot being the star today
DIVISION 2 MEN
WON
Merivale Papanui 122/8 & 161/8
Sydenham 137/6 & 147/5
Match report courtesy of Ben Mason
The Sydenham Div 2 boys had a great day of cricket coming away with a victory against Merivale Div 2, we started the 2nd day with the ball and bowled tight margins while staying active in the field. Everyone contributed with the ball with the wickets being shared around all the bowlers. We had a great day in the field with our debutant Ronan Scott taking 3 outstanding catches. Merivale ended up declaring just after lunch for 161/8 off 48 overs leaving 147 runs as the winning target.
Gaurav Jadhav
The boys didn’t hold back when it was time to come in with the bat, Isaac Tutt and Ollie Smith opened the batting and got us off to a great start hitting shots all over the ground. Our stand out batsmen Isaac ended up with 62 runs and Ollie with 28. Another debutant Balaji Krishnan also contributed well with the bat coming in at 3 scoring 27 runs.
Balaji Krishnan
With the target nearly in reach our middle order got out there and put there heads down and got the job done chasing our target in just 31 overs. An amazing day of cricket for all the boys pushing through and getting the victory.
Isaac Tutt
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/mens-division-2-red/game-centre/03ccc9d0
DIVISION 3 TAMIL XI
WON
Sydenham 235/7 (40 overs)
Marist 173 (34.3 overs)
Match report courtesy of Arun Ravindranathan
Sydenham Division 3 Tamil XI delivered a commanding performance to secure a comprehensive 62-run victory over Marist Harewood Kerala Strikers. Batting first, Tamil XI put up a formidable total of 235-7, powered by an exceptional batting display.
Mohanasundaram led the charge with a brilliant 76 runs off 63 balls (including 11 fours and a six), closely supported by Niranjan, who anchored the innings with a solid 65 runs off 61 balls. Useful contributions from Rajendran (28) and John (an explosive unbeaten 20 off 13 balls) ensured the team reached a strong and defendable score.
Defending the target of 236, the Tamil XI bowling attack dismantled the opposition, bowling them out for 173.
Mohanasundaram(Monty) capped off an all-around stellar performance by taking 3 wickets, while Niranjan and Vignesh chipped in with 2 wickets each. Additional breakthroughs from Collins and Arunravi stifled any chance of a chase. The team’s disciplined bowling and sharp fielding sealed a well-earned and memorable win.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/mens-division-3/game-centre/6d299cfb
DIVISION 3 GOATS
ABANDONED
Sydenham 128/4
Hornby
Match report courtesy of Jon Bennett
The Goats played the Hornby Rolly Hustlers at Bradford park. On a dry, bouncy track Jon won the toss and decided the Goats should have a bat. Losing Tony at the end of the first over brought George to the crease and he and Joe put on 43 against some steady bowling before George fell to a good slips catch. Joe and Geordie fell soon after and at 60-4 the innings was teetering. Ollie Philpot was joined by Jesse Marks and they put on an unbeaten 67 run partnership to get the Goats in a great position to launch their way to a substantial total. However with 10 overs to go Ollie suffered a medical event requiring an ambulance to be called and the game was subsequently abandoned.
Joe Taylor
Many people require thanks, starting with the off duty nurse whose house overlooked the ground who took over from Tony who was leading the care on the ground. This took a lot of pressure off the team having someone experienced with this kind of situation helping out. The Goats members who rung ambulances, sourced the AED from the clubrooms, contacted Ollies family and took them to the hospital, the emergency services who arrived promptly and to the Hornby team who were very concerned for Ollie and understanding of the Goats desire to call the game early.
George Wigley
It was unfortunate that an evenly placed and enjoyable game ended how it did. Hopefully Ollie makes a full recovery and we see him out on the field again one day soon.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/mens-division-3/game-centre/26519486
DIVISION 4 ROYAL CHALLENGERS
WON
Sydenham 189 (36.2 overs)
New Brighton 104/5
Match report courtesy of Lathish TM
Sydenham Div 4 Royal Challengers secured a convincing 57-run victory against NBCC Turf Bar Pegasus Div 4. Pegasus won the toss and elected to bowl. Royal Challengers posted a competitive 189 all out in 36.2 overs, with Eliyas P Varghese leading the batting effort with an outstanding 64 off 64 balls. Sujith Ajayan (24), Lathish TM (23) and Sivasubramanian Natarajan (16*) also contributed valuable runs.
In reply, Pegasus were bowled out for 132 in 34.1 overs. The Royal Challengers bowling attack delivered an excellent performance, with Eliyas P Varghese starring with 6 wickets for just 15 runs. Sivasubramanian Natarajan picked up 2 wickets, while Trusharkumar Desai and a team-mate chipped in with a wicket each.
A fantastic all-round team performance, highlighted by Eliyas’ match-winning contribution with both bat and ball.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/mens-division-4/game-centre/8632e08b
DIVISION 5 ALL-STARS
LOST
Weedons 385/7 (40 overs)
Sydenham 95/8 (23.3 overs)
Match report courtesy of Abe Atherton
The All Stars took on Weedons at Foster Park on the artificial turf. After losing the toss, we were put into the field with only nine players, and we knew it was going to be an uphill battle. Weedons started the way they meant to go on, with runs flowing effortlessly. We tried to set fields that the batters were playing their shots into, and we created chances throughout the innings, but we couldn’t capitalize on them when they were presented.
Being two men down meant we were playing cat and mouse, moving players around the field to try to create chances, only to find that if we had stayed in the original position, the next few deliveries might have given us an easy catch. Ultimately, we fell into a defensive game in the outfield, just trying to stop the bleeding at almost 10 runs an over, rather than playing an attacking game and coming forward to take catches. More than a few chances went begging. That said, Jacob Koster showed the team how it was done with two phenomenal catches: one over 30m from the outfield and another diving forward. He also picked up a wicket with the ball and created chances on multiple occasions.
With some of our key bowlers missing, the part-timers stepped up to try to take some wickets, and there was some good bowling. Sumedha took three wickets, Dupinder picked up a brace for his efforts, and JK and Jason each took one. It was still a tough day at the office for the bowlers. With gaps in the field and the batters putting on a masterclass in finding the boundary rope consistently, Weedons finished on 385/7 from their 40 overs. Congratulations to Arshdeep Singh Mattewal on his innings of 18, carrying his bat.
Coming off the field, the All Stars were battered and bruised, and heads were down. We knew we were facing an almost insurmountable target with an under-powered side. The opening pair made their way to the middle, begrudgingly, to face a team with their tails up. Unfortunately, the pair were soon parted when one popped off the pitch and was caught off JK’s top edge on the second ball of the match, bringing Dupinder out to partner Jason. Jason had somewhere to be, so he made the most of his limited time at the crease, top scoring with a well-fought 24 off 17 before being caught.
The All Stars had some starts to partnerships, but we never really got going and pushed on to make bigger scores. Wayne Jones proved to be an anchor, working the ball around the ground for good singles, but true to the day, his partners never hung around for long. That was until Sumedha came to the crease at number nine and combined with Wayne for a partnership of 23. Then a slow full toss saw Wayne’s eyes light up, only for him to be left shaking the other team’s hand at the end of the match.
Down on regular team players and relying on fill-ins to make up numbers, the boys put up a good fight, getting to 95/8 before we ran out of wickets. It was our highest score of the season, but ultimately the total we were chasing was just too much. A massive thank you to our fill-ins from the Youth Team, and to Rob for helping us out today. The All Stars are looking forward to having enough of our regular players to fill the scorecard in the coming games, but this was an experience we would like to put behind us!
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/mens-division-5/game-centre/109f465f
MASTER CARDINALS
WON
New Brighton 149 (38 overs)
Sydenham 150/2 (31 overs)
Match report courtesy of James McKay
The Sydenham Cardinals won the toss and elected to send East Shirley/New Brighton (ES/NB) in to bat on a green, variable-looking pitch. Scott and Winder opened the bowling for the Cardinals and quickly found their rhythm. A couple of early catching and run-out opportunities went begging, but fortunately the Cardinals were not made to pay. Dangerous batters Seaton and Music were both dismissed for modest scores, with both wickets resulting from well-taken catches.
McGowan, making his Cardinals debut, and Gibbons replaced the opening bowlers. While Gibbons initially struggled to find his rhythm, he still managed to claim a pair of valuable wickets. At the other end, McGowan began generating movement and swing, regularly beating the bat and creating opportunities. Although ES/NB occasionally took advantage of the short eastern boundary, they were unable to build any partnerships of substance.
McGowan was duly rewarded for an excellent debut spell, finishing with 4/35 from eight consecutive overs. Hannan provided valuable support with 2/29 from five overs, while Fleming was characteristically economical, returning figures of 1/4 from 5.2 overs. Mitra was the pick of the ES/NB batters with 27. ES/NB were clearly disappointed with their total of 149 all out in the 38th over as both teams enjoyed an excellent afternoon tea provided by the home side.
Scott and Ross opened the batting for the Cardinals. After a watchful start, Scott settled into his innings and quickly began punishing anything loose to the boundary. At the other end, Ross played the perfect supporting role, displaying patience and composure. Runs continued to flow, even against the typically miserly Gray, and Scott brought up a well-deserved half-century in the 17th over. He was dismissed shortly afterwards, having helped establish an excellent opening partnership of 87. Walker joined Ross at the crease, and the pair continued to chip away at the target. Ross eventually fell for a patient but valuable 26 after being beaten by a gem of a delivery from Harkerss. Walker remained unbeaten on 41, while Giles finished 13 not out, guiding the visitors to victory in the 31st over.
Overall, it was a highly satisfying all-round performance from the Cardinals, who outplayed ES/NB in all facets of the game. ES/NB will be disappointed not to have been more competitive after several missed opportunities throughout the match.
Cardinals Player of the Day: Shaun McGowan (4/35), whose outstanding debut spell laid the foundation for a comprehensive Cardinals victory.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/joes-garage-masters/game-centre/31056167
MASTERS HOSPITAL
WON
Ohoka 144
Sydenham 145/3
Match report courtesy of Matt Gilling
Sydenham Hospital travelled out to Mandeville to play the Ohoka Originals on a good ground with a pitch that was fair even but the occasional one that lifted. Ohoka batted first and Archer gave them a solid base with 39 at the top, but wickets kept arriving just as things looked like settling, despite several dropped catches by Hospital. 40 for 2 became 89 for 5, then two fell at 106 in the same over. Three run outs in the innings did plenty of the damage. Loffhagen held up the lower order with 26 not out, but Ohoka were all out for 144. Opening bowler Rahul Mukherjee was very economic with the ball but didn’t have any luck. Wickets spread all around the others with one a piece for Pettit, Suddaby, Hampton, McKinlay. Archer 39, Loffhagen 26, Gilling 7-25-2
Rob McLauchlan and Richard McKinley put on 71 for the first wicket, Rob falling one short of a fifty. Tim Suddaby hit two sixes in a row in his 23. Jamie Billings (17*) and Wrik Mukherjee (8*) saw it home with 7 wickets in hand. Prebble and Powell were miserly but were unlucky not to get any wickets. Rob McLauchlan 49, Richard McKinlay 34 & Knox 7-33-2
A pleasure as always to play the Ohoka boys and a big thank you to their hospitality and good company afterwards.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/joes-garage-masters/game-centre/e5fa71e3
T20 GUJARAT KINGS
LOST
Sydenham 151/8 (17.3 overs)
TWC Buffalos 155/2 (17.3 overss)
Match report courtesy of Yash Patel
Not the result we were hoping for, but another opportunity to learn, improve and come back stronger!
Batting: Gujarat Kings – 151/8 (17.3 overs) – Yash Patel – 36 (34) & 🔥 Dhairya Goswami – 25 (11)
Bowling Highlights; Yash Patel – 2/30 (4 overs)
Batting: TWC Buffaloes – 155/2 (17.3 overs)
TWC Buffaloes won by 6 wickets.
A tough day on the field, but there were some positive individual performances to take forward. We’ll take the lessons, work harder and come back stronger in the next game!
WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSIP
LOST
OBC 219/6 (40 overs)
Sydenham 105/9 (28.3 overs)
Match report courtesy of Linda Pettigrew
Sydenham won the toss and chose to field first at Barrington 2. With an unfortunate injury to Liv in her second over Sydenham had to pivot and change up the bowling order. We bowled well in the heat but with a few catches going down OBC manage to get a strong partnership going. Daisy Thake (50) and Isla Elstob (89no) batted solidly through the innings and OBC established a strong total of 219 / 6 off their 40 overs.
Sophie Brandom
Sydenham batters started slowly but Millie (27) and Sophie (28) anchored parts of the innings well. Unfortunately Sydenham were unable to build partnerships and we fell short (105/8) all out in the 28th over . Congrats to OBC who executed their plans well.
DIVISION 2 WOMEN
WON
OBC 105/8 (20.3 overs)
Sydenham 106/3 (16.1 overs)
Match report courtesy of Jeremy Rutherford
It was a beautiful morning at Sydenham Park for our match against OBC. The early morning warmth and calm conditions meant the usual blankets and puffer jackets were left in the car. The toss went our way and we elected to bowl. The message for the team was to keep active in the field – keep moving, be accurate and let the batters feel our presence. We put this in play immediately with a sharp run out by a direct hit from Ruvi Lawrence, fielding in close within the first over. This resulted in a quirk of our grade rules, with batters grace periods and bonus runs, putting the side fielding first on more runs than the batting side!
Ruvi Lawrence
The innings continued quite smoothly and we were able to take wickets regularly and keep the batters working hard for runs. OBC did graft away to post a respectable total which we did assist by dropping a couple of catches and posting quite a healthy extras total – definitely no ice-creams earned this week! It was pleasing though to see most bowlers take a wicket, and everyone achieve good economy figures to have OBC all out in the 21st over. Juliette Cranfield again stood out with bowling figures of 2 wickets for 7 runs from her 2 overs. Abbey Thompson also stood out with 2/7 from 2.3 overs.
Our batters were asked to bat with freedom and confidence which our openers put into practice from the start, swinging hard at any loose deliveries that offered width. Bella Maddaford performed well, finding the boundary and retiring (35 balls) with 17. Juliette was playing a good support role in this early phase but miss-timed a shot and skied it to be caught. Ruvi continued the attack on the bowlers and posted a fast 15 runs which brought out captain Maeve Adam who crafted an innings to set up the 5 wicket win, ending on 19 not out.
This was a comfortable win but as always, there are things to take away and work on. We were active in the field, but did put down catches and we were happy to swing hard at loose bowling but could improve our hunger for runs by backing-up with more intent. It was though a great overall performance from the team, played in good spirits. Thanks to OBC who were a friendly opposition and put up a good fight. Also thanks to scorer Liz Tonkin, and to all the positive support coming from the boundary. It was also nice to have some of our friends from previous seasons, who have moved into other grades, make it along for a look too – great Sydenham Club support!
SOCIAL WOMEN T20
WON
Sydenham 144/3 (20 overs)
North West Women 109/2 (20 overs)
Match report courtesy of Linda Pettigrew
We had a good game against the North West-Southern Districts combined team, finishing up as winners by 35 runs. The off-field highlights were the team balance: we had two players in each age bracket – 50s, 30s, 20s and teenagers. We also got to welcome two new players to the team, with Lee Brown taking the field for Sydenham for the first time in around 30 years and Jaimee Cartwright popping up to join us (I can’t think of a year when Jaimee didn’t turn out for a couple of matches in a season). Jaimee contributed really well with the ball, bowling her slow and loopy style to maximum effect, while Lee pulled off some amazing stops in the field.
We were fortunate to lose the toss and still get to bat first, as we were hoping. This turned out to be a great plan as Caitlin Davidson and Katie Emmett were ready to take the bowlers on. By the end of the third over, spectators were wondering whether they’d parked too close to the ground as Katie launched into gear with some spectacular fours. Katie went on to retire not out on 52 from 35 deliveries, whilst Caitlin made a solid contribution of 17. There was no let-up for NWWC-SD as Sandy Mitchell picked up where Katie left off, blasting 42* from 41 to take the team through to 144-3.
Bowling went really well, with Niamh McWhirter and Caitlin bringing some pace to keep the opposition on their toes. Whilst this locked the scoring down, wickets were hard to come by, with Caitlin and Emma Barclay picking up a wicket each. Fielding was solid. Niamh even tried out the roll Sophie taught us at training during the week. NWWC-SD finished up 109-2 in spite of some excellent boundaries.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/summer-202627/social-women-twenty20/game-centre/423a9979
YOUTH 1ST XI
WON
Sydenham 1st XI 267/9 (50 overs)
North West Youth 66/9 (21.1 overs)
Match report courtesy of Daniel Herd
GJ Gardner Homes Sydenham Youth 1st XI produced a dominant performance at Sydenham Park on Saturday, recording a convincing 201-run victory over North West Youth 2nd XI.
Batting first, Sydenham posted an imposing 267/9 from their 50 overs, built around an excellent innings from Dhruv Arvindkumar, who top-scored with 86 from 99 balls, including five sixes. Harry Durdin also made a valuable contribution with 40 from 51 balls, while Liam Beck and Samuel Wild both added 20. Quinn Helms finished unbeaten on 19, with Finlay Hill contributing 16, Kahn Stanbury 12. Will Herd (11) and Noah Green (11) also contributed to important top-order partnerships with Arvindkumar. It was the ideal team one-day innings, with everyone contributing to a large total.
Sydenham’s bowlers then made an immediate impact, with Bayley Gardner striking twice early to put North West under pressure. The wickets continued to fall as Sydenham maintained control throughout the innings, eventually dismissing their opponents for just 66 in 21.1 overs. Daniel Barclay was outstanding with the ball, taking 4/21 from six overs, while Durdin claimed three wickets for just six runs in 3.1 overs. Gardner finished with 2/12, capping an excellent all-round contribution.
Dhruv Arvindkumar
It was a comprehensive team performance from Sydenham, with strong contributions across both innings and plenty of players making their mark. A particularly pleasing result as the team continues its campaign in the CMCA Youth Boys competition.
YOUTH 2nd XI
LOST
Sydenham 65 (23 overs)
Ashburton College 66/5 (18.3 overs)
Match report courtesy of Jamie Helms
A tough day for the Sydenham 2nd XI against Ashburton on comfortably the worst pitch we have experienced this season. The surface had plants growing through it, numerous dents, and extremely inconsistent bounce, with balls pitching in similar areas either staying around ankle height or climbing over the batter’s head. Despite the conditions, we would have liked to find a way to push our total closer to 100 rather than the 65 we finished with. Interestingly, extras were the highest scorer for both teams, which says plenty about how difficult and unpredictable the conditions were for batting. The highlight for us was a 26-run sixth-wicket partnership between Eli Helms and Ruben Peterson. Eli Helms showed excellent determination, batting through to the 18th over for 16 from 54 balls before being caught down the leg side.
With only 65 to defend, the boys made Ashburton work hard for the runs. Zachariah Nicholson was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 13 from six overs, while William Johns bowled an excellent line and length, taking 1 for 10 from five overs. There were also several very close calls that could easily have gone our way. The biggest positive was our fielding, which was comfortably our best of the season. Angus Ferguson took an excellent sharp catch at close cover, while Eli Helms produced a superb effort on the boundary, making around 30 metres of ground to complete a difficult catch despite a couple of Ashburton players calling out just before the ball arrived. Eli Helms maintained his concentration and completed the catch. If we had fielded to this standard all season, there are certainly a few results that would have gone our way.
Overall, there was plenty to take from the bowling and fielding effort. The challenge for us is continuing that standard in the field while finding ways to build partnerships and grind out another 30 to 40 runs when batting conditions are difficult. Finally, a big thank you to Marty Johns for stepping in and helping support the Ashburton managers with match-day duties
YOUTH 3RD XI
LOST
Rolleston College 155/6 (21.3 overs)
Sydenham 153/9 (30.4 overs)
Match report courtesy of Shannon O’Donnell
Sydenham won the toss and chose to bat on a sunny day with a fast outfield and short boundaries.
After the early wicket of Nakul Singh in the 2nd over, we recovered well to be 47/1 after 7 overs (Aarav Jethva 18/21 and Aadi Sharma 20/26), and things were looking good for Sydenham to set a competitive score – we were hoping for a score between 200- 250.
We all know cricket is a funny game, and unfortunately, we were our own worst enemy with many batsman getting a good start but succumbing to poor shot selection, a poor run out (Ruan Diederiks 17/11), and generally throwing wickets away, finally being very lucky to post a score of 150/9 from 30 overs. Worthy of a note was Nischay Sing (24*/58) and Rishabjit Singh (6/47) hanging around to ensure we had at least a total we could defend.
Time to bowl. We opened with Austin Grant and Nick Capaldi at the other end with some leg spin to throw their openers off, and Nick was lucky enough to grab one with a long hop in his first over.
All of our bowlers fought hard to break through Rolleston’s top order, with 5 of our bowlers all grabbing a wicket, and Nischay Singh grabbing a double.
Rolleston’s opening batsman carried his team right through, and although we thought we had done enough to dismiss him twice with a caught behind and a very, very good appeal for a direct hit runout, it wasn’t to be, and Rolleston chased us down with 4 wickets in hand.
A week off next week, with some lessons learned, I am sure we will be back with a strong performance against St Bedes 3rd 11.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2026/cricket-express-2nd-grade/game-centre/3330110a
YEAR 10
LOST
Christ’s College 137/3 (20 overs)
Sydenham 117/9 (18 overs)
Match report courtesy of Carissa Lynn
Sydenham Year 10 put up a determined effort against Christ’s College Junior XI but unfortunately fell 20 runs short in their match, with Christ’s posting 137/3 from their 20 overs. Sydenham won the toss and elected to bowl, with the boys working hard in the field and managing to take three wickets. William Gumbley was among the pick of the bowlers, finishing with an impressive 1/10 from his four overs, while Jayden Wallis and Aeden Stokes also picked up a wicket each. Despite some good bowling efforts, Christ’s managed to build a competitive total.
In reply, Sydenham finished on 117/9 from 18 overs. Jay Thakar top-scored with a fighting 30 off 32 balls, while William Gumbley contributed a valuable 28 off 30. Christopher Skinner added an unbeaten 13, with Harvey Hunter chipping in with a quick 12 off just seven balls. Unfortunately, regular wickets made the chase difficult, despite some positive contributions throughout the batting order. Although the result didn’t go Sydenham’s way, there were some encouraging individual performances and plenty of positives to take into the next game. The boys can be proud of their efforts and will look to bounce back stronger next week.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2026/cricket-express-year-10/game-centre/d4bcdedf
YEAR 9A
WON
Selwyn Banks Peninsula 128 (37.3 overs)
Sydenham 129/2 (16.4 overs)
Match report courtesy of Matt Barlow
Sydenham 9A faced off against the lads from Selwyn Banks-Peninsula on a warm but windy day at Cashmere High. After losing the toss and being asked to field, our bowlers settled into their work. Quick opening spells from Reuben Thorpe and Nico Whitehead had the ball fizzing past the bat but the Selwyn openers dug deep. It wasn’t until the first bowling change that the opening partnership was broken with Jack Thompson bowling some beautiful in-swingers. Wickets then started to fall at fairly regular intervals as captain Fletcher Hill rotated through his bowlers. Wickets were claimed by 8 different bowlers. Thorpe ended on figures of 2-19 (including being on a hattrick) and Hamish Ferguson’s wily variations were rewarded with figures of 2-12 from his 4 overs. The standard in the field was exceptionally high with 2 catches each to Whitehead, Lucas Napier and Lachlan Haig. One of Whiteheads catches was a stunning, one-handed leap at square leg. Selwyn Banks-Peninsula were eventually dismissed for 128.
Reuben Thorpe on his way to 45*
In reply, our openers made it through to 30 in relatively quick time before both fell to good catches on or near the boundary in the 3rd and 4th overs respectively. Reuben Thorpe and Fletcher Hill then consolidated and set about chasing down the total. Both batters showed their class as they ably defended the good balls and punished anything wayward. It was an intelligent partnership, and both lads didn’t really give the Selwyn bowlers anything, eventually chasing down the target in the 17th over. Hill finished unbeaten on 22* and Thorpe added to his awesome efforts with the ball finishing on 45* from 40 balls including 7 4’s and 1 maximum.
Fletcher Hill pulls one to the boundary
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2026/cricket-express-year-9-red/game-centre/e6a70af7
YEAR 9B
WON
St Bedes 132/8 (30 overs)
Sydenham 133/5 (19.5 overs)
Match report courtesy of Sarah Freeman
Northwood Park was our destination this week. Special thanks to Carissa Lynn for bringing her son Austin to fill in after a T20 beforehand. We lost the toss and went into field. Good conditions to start and the lads were happy to have a run chase. St Bedes settled into bat but with tight fielding Sydenham were in control of the run rate and the first wicket fell in the 7th over with Kawariki Taylor taking a catch off a top edge spin from Haziq Hamaad. The pressure continued and two wickets fell in the 11th over with a great catch at mid-on from Alfie Maxwell-Reddington and a run out by Adarsh Bhandari. St Bedes soaked up the pressure and put on a good partnership of 40 before Arpit Singh with pin point pace rattled the stumps. From here on Sydenham took control with Noah Gardener, Adarsh Bhandari and Alfie Maxwell Reddinton all picking up a wicket to hold St Bedes to 132-8.
Sydenham came out feeling confident but lost two early wickets by the 6th over. This brought Luke Wilkinson to the crease and with Adarsh Bhandari put on a partnership of 45. Luke was bowled for 28 quickly followed by Adarsh being caught for 40 at mid on. A great knock from Adarsh who was playing his first innings for Sydenham. Haziq Hamaad and Ethan Harwood finished the job nicely for a win. The game was played in good spirits by both teams and the lads showed great sportsmanship. Well done Sydenham.
Full scoreboard: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/org/christchurch-metro-cricket-associationcjca/2026/cricket-express-year-9-black/game-centre/4f171b41
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