Waimate Cricket Club

Waimate Seniors showed their liking for a home ground and the one day format as they won their third successive one day match with wins over Temuka, Roncalli and Timaru this weekend to cement their position at the top of the table alongside Celtic and Temuka.

Although there are still four rounds to play before the finalists are decided, Waimate will want to take advantage of every opportunity next weekend when they take on Celtic at Knottingley Park. As a Hawke Cup match is being played that weekend, Celtic will be without 6 of their ‘stars’, so it will be a good chance to continue the winning form before Christmas.

Last weekend Waimate had a comfortable win over Roncalli, thanks to the all-round efforts of Glen Drake.

Usually a menace with the bat, the teenager turned into trouble with the ball, taking four for 20, with his left-arm spin, in his first bowling spell this season.

He then added 31 with the bat, supporting Alan Reid who managed 33 not out, as Waimate cantered to Roncalli’s total of 154. Nathan Sheppard also posted his best innings of the season with 26 before being run out, as did Scott Willoughby with 19 not out, and Matt Devlin was solid with 20.

Scoresheet

This weekend Waimate played Timaru at home, and while Timaru assembled a fairly strong lineup, Chucky (Matt Sew Hoy) must have had an early night  as he terrorised the Timaru batsmen on his way to 4-8 from 8 overs, while Alan Reid picked up 2 wickets as well. Glen Drake removed both Timaru’s top scorers and Theo Davidson added a wicket to his run out, and at one stage Timaru were 57-7 before scrambling through to 92 all out in the 34th over. Richard Ford was welcomed back to and managed to roll the arm over for four overs, but without any luck.

Waimate set about the chase confidently before Shep was out for unlucky 13 with the total 22, but then Glen Drake continued his fine form to score 44 not out in a 70 run partnership with Alan Reid (29 not out) to seal the win for Waimate.

Alan’s new batting policy of opening and holding up one end certainly seems to be paying dividends and he hasn’t been dismissed in his last three innings, all games Waimate have won.

Scoresheet Waimate-v-Timaru-11-12-2010

After a forgettable previous round in the Tweedy Cup, Waimate got back to their winning ways in the latest round of the one day competition.

Playing at home against a Temuka side without usual Waimate nemesis’ Richie Preston and Kevin Teahen, confidence was good before the match, although the Temuka side that arrived was bolstered by the inclusion of former Geraldine opening bowler Tom McKnight and former South Canterbury rep Les Humphris.

Waimate got things off to a good start by winning the toss and asking Temuka to bat. Temuka lost their first wicket to Al Reid without a run on the board, and when Chucky Sew Hoy bowled AC, they were in more trouble at 11-2. Humphris batted well to put runs on the board and Temuka were not badly placed at 72-4 before losing their final 6 wickets for only 26 more runs.

A good all-round bowling performance saw Waimate to victory. Three wickets from Matthew Sew Hoy, and two each from Murray Prattley, Matt Devlin and Alan Reid ensured Temuka’s total, of 98, would not be enough.

Waimate cruised to the target with the loss of four wickets with Al Reid batting through to protect his average with an unbeaten 16 while Jason Sew Hoy (23) and Murray Prattley (26) made sure the target would be safely reached.

Of special interest was Temuka’s game plan with the approaching rain clouds. Both teams must have played at least 20 overs for the game to be declared a match and for a result to be achieved. Waimate were surprised that with rain coming closer and Temuka still needing to bowl 3 more overs for it to be a result that they took their quick bowlers out of the attack and replaced them with spinners to get through the overs more quickly. As Waimate were well ahead of the required run rate, it is hard to believe Temuka were being sporting and making sure Waimate gained points, and one suspects that with their captain away, some of the current players did not have a full grasp of the rules, but thank you Temuka, and Waimate are happy to take the 6 points.

Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy said choosing to bowl first, after some rain in the days leading up to the match, proved vital to their success.

Temuka captain Willy Stone said Waimate used the conditions well and his under-strength team failed to put partnerships together.

You can see the scoreboard here

A brilliant century to youngster Glen Drake with 111 not out turned a match that seemed destined for a draw into a last ball outright victory to Waimate when Glen drove the final delivery between the cover fielders for four and the team score to 174-6.

On the first day of the match it was Allan Reid’s turn to shine after a couple of poor seasons with the bat by his standards, he opened the batting and finished the day 60 not out after earlier bowling nearly half the overs to take 4-70. Below are the excerpts from the Timaru Herald.

Destructive bowling and gritty half-centuries shaped the opening day of the South Canterbury senior two-day cricket competition.

Allan Reid's 60* overnight was the backbone of the Waimate 1st innings

Waimate have the upper hand against Roncalli College, thanks to the all-round effort of Alan Reid on Saturday.

Reid opened both the bowling and the batting at a bitterly cold Ashbury Park, taking four for 70 from 18 overs with the ball and then scoring 60 not out with the bat, leaving Waimate requiring 34 runs from six overs to get first innings points.

Roncalli captain Jacob Naylor won the toss and chose to bat on what looked like a perfect day to be a seam bowler, with both the overhead and pitch conditions conducive to movement.

Roncalli struggled early, and were going at one run an over for the first 15 overs.

They were also losing wickets, until Naylor and opener Alex Brooks combined for a 46-run, third-wicket stand.

Brooks went for 30 but Naylor carried on, looking fluent, before he missed a straight ball from Reid two short of his half century.

Needing to lift the run rate, it was up to Bruce Carlaw to find the boundary.

In need of a runner due to an injured hamstring, Carlaw carved the Waimate attack to all parts in an innings of 60, which included nine fours and two sixes.

The 175 required looked like a stiff target when Roncalli’s compulsory declaration came at the end of 50 overs.

Waimate stayed focused, and while Reid was dropped at first slip early, he calmly made his 50, while receiving support from Murray Prattley, who found the rope regularly until he was dismissed on the second-last ball of the day for 27 to give Roncalli hope of snaring first innings points next week.

Four of Roncalli’s six bowlers took a wicket, and even Carlaw managed a recovery from his hamstring problem to bowl seven overs, without success.

Day 2 Report

Glen Drake struck his first senior century with an unbeaten 111 and got Waimate home on the last ball of the day

An unbeaten 111 from Waimate teenager Glen Drake has spurred his side to a last-ball, four-wicket outright win over Roncalli, in the senior two-day cricket competition.

The 16-year-old struck 14 fours and five sixes in the 82-ball innings.

The match appeared to be petering to a draw with 10 overs to go, with Waimate showing no interest in chasing the 10 runs an over required.

Some strange field-settings from Roncalli, including an over where they had nine fielders behind the bat, gave Drake confidence to attack in the final few overs, and he did not look back, striking a boundary off the final ball, for victory.

Earlier in the day, Waimate had gained a 15-run, first-innings lead, after lusty hitting from Nathan Sheppard saw them score 48 from their six remaining first-innings overs.

Roncalli’s second innings was a measured one, but they suffered from a constant lack of wickets.

Another half century from Bruce Carlaw, who made 62, and small contributions from Ben Simpson, 20, Andy Brooks, 20, Jacob Naylor, 19 and Grant Watt, 18, saw them set a target of 173 for Waimate to win.

Waimate shared the wickets around, with Matthew Sew Hoy, Matt Devlin and Murray Prattley snaring two-a-piece.

Waimate lost wickets early, in reply, but with only 34 overs to see out, they were unlikely to be bowled out.

The stroke play of Drake was the difference between the sides.

Needing three runs from the final ball, Drake calmly struck a cover-drive to the boundary between the two boundary fielders.

Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy said the win was one of the best he had ever been a part of.

“It was amazing. I just told [Drake] to go out there and play his natural game, and we just got closer and closer.”

Read the score book here

Star always looked in control of the game, but a stubborn eighth-wicket partnership of 74, between Waimate’s Alan Reid, who made 33, and Nathan Sew Hoy, who stroked 42, meant the visitors had a respectable 170 to defend.

The front-line bowlers for Star made Waimate work hard, South Canterbury representative Craig Hinton was at his miserable best, ending with one for 11 from his nine overs, while Paul Arkinstall and McKenzie both took three wickets.

Star battled early on to get their run-rate going.

Despite losing both openers by the time the score was 33, McKenzie combined with Arkinstall in a 49-run partnership for the third wicket, and then a 62-run stand with debutant Danny Campbell, who confidently struck 26.

A late flurry of wickets gave Waimate hope, but their inability to take catches in the latter part of the innings cost them any chance of stealing a win and dropping Mckenzie at backward square probably was most costly.

The Waimate bowlers toiled well, with Reid managing two for 25 from his nine overs and James Devlin also getting two wickets, and Matthew Sew Hoy conceded just 18 runs, while picking up a wicket, in his nine over spell.

Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy said it was the top-order batting which had let his team down.

“We’re just not producing at the top of the order at the moment. We need to learn to keep our heads a bit more.” He said he was pleased with the fielding of the Devlin brothers, Sam and Matt.

Scoresheet

Waimate won the toss and asked Celtic to bat first and would have been reasonably happy at restricting them to about 3 runs an over early on at Rockdale Rd. A good catch down the leg side removed Craig Davies who was starting to look good for 20 and an aggressive approach from Andy Scott ended with a catch in the deep for 32, but it was Dan Laming who continues to erase memories of last season as he scored his second sixty in as many outings.

The Celtic score continued to mount and while 220 looked likely, a devastating innings of clean power hitting by Glenn Matthews of 67 not out including 5 sixes and 6 fours allowed Celtic to score 253-6. He also destroyed some bowling figures as Alan Reid conceded 20 runs from his final over after having bowled 8 for 25 previously.

Of note was the ‘cricketing debut’ of Tony Drake who forsaked his No 1 supporter role to field for the seniors last 25 overs after Craig Booth injured himself at the bowling crease. Draky has always liked going straight to the top of the class…in this case playing senior cricket at the age of 48 after never having played at JAB, High School or any other grade. He was probably happy that in that time in the field his services (skills?) were only called on twice!

With Matthews now warmed up and bowling quickly as well, Waimate were batting more in survival mode than scoring mode and before long it became clear that they were probably not going to worry the Celtic total. With one end of the pitch producing very inconsistent bounce, runs became more difficult, but despite this Jason Sew Hoy batted a long time for his 43 runs and a couple of the other batsmen had long stays at the crease before eventually being all out for 118.

Waimate would certainly not be discouraged with their effort after taking on a team with 8 rep  players as well as battling an under prepared early season wicket, where the inconsistent bounce soon had even the in-form batsmen in trouble.

Scoresheets

A 67-run last wicket stand between Matt Devlin, who made a brisk 43, and Matthew Sew Hoy, who managed 14, propelled Waimate from 95 for 9 to 162 all out, against Timaru, on a rain-affected pitch at Ashbury Park.

The stand ruined the hard work of Timaru off-spinner Srinivas Sonnappa, who took four for 38 and Zane Sanders who snared 4 for 31.

A shower of rain in between innings made the total look better for Waimate, and Timaru struggled from the outset, as the ball continued to swing.

The Waimate bowlers tore through the Timaru batting line-up, as the hosts were bundled out for just 72.

Craig Booth managed 4 for 13, while James Devlin took three wickets and Alan Reid nabbed two.

Nick O’Connell, on senior debut, was the only Timaru batsman to make a decent score with 27.

Timaru captain Hayden Butler said the bowling should have been enough to win them the game.

“A lot of credit to (the last pair), they showed a lot of heart and deserved it.”

Waimate captain Jason Sew Hoy said he was delighted with the economy of his bowlers, and was always confident of getting the win, once they got the total.

View Scoreboard

Senior Cricket to begin 9th October. All other grades start the 16th October. This year Waimate will have a Senior team which is looking sharp, a second grade team trying to get back to the final, and 4th Grade defending champs have two teams in the grade this year. The A Grade team will be supported by another great JAB starting soon! The Womens’ team will have another fun year playing hard and enjoying an afternoons cricket too.

Good Luck, for 2010/11 Waimate

This coming weekend Waimate play competition leader Star/MVHS at MVHS 1 in Timaru and the outcome will most likely determine this seasons Second Grade finalists.

Waimate should be confident having beaten Star/MVHS in the first round, also at MVHS and the second game was rained off, but I am sure they would appreciate all the supporters they can muster, so why not make a day of it and watch the seniors upset Celtic at Rockdale Rd as well!

If Waimate win and then again the following weekend they will probably get the chance to defend their Trophy against Temuka in the final, a team they have had a win and a loss over.

The Waimate seniors had a good first day of probably their final match of the season and currently “have the wood” over Celtic with only a further seven runs required to take first innings points with 10 overs to play and four wickets in hand including not out batsmen Jason Sew Hoy on 48 and Alan Reid on 2.

After at one stage having Celtic in panic mode at 37-5 after Matt Devlin’s wily spin had bamboozled them, an ex-Waimo (still living in the district) James Laming got Celtic out of jail with an unbeaten century.

Celtic finished 224-7 when the compulsory declaration came after 50 overs.

Waimate began similarly to normal with two wickets gone and only 6 on the board, but Naffa Sew Hoy, perhaps in his final cricket match before marriage and retirement decided to go out on a high, and would have been devastated to be given out lbw for 86 when in sight of a maiden senior century!

Glen Drake 23, Adam Polson 10 and Matt Devlin 33 all helped the cause and after 40 overs Waimate finished 217-6 when play finished for the day.

Waimate can finish the season with a good result, and if things were to ge really well have an outside chance of making the final, but need to win outright as well as on the first innings and then score a minimum of 125 runs in their second innings to pip Star and Temuka. This of course assumes that they bowl Celtic all out second time round, and that Temuka don’t beat Geraldine outright. Good stuff to dream about anyway.

A good season despite being the most travelled team and some of the new younger players have made the step up to senior well, while others have had patches where they have shown with the right application they can still compete at the top level.

You can read the scoreboard so far here >> scoreboard

Just a note in memory of ‘Big Dunc’ who sadly passed away this week.

Duncan was a keen cricketer in his day and always enjoyed a yarn about current players and teams when he had the chance.

In the 1972 – 82 decade he featured three times on the Honours Board with two seven wicket bags and a best of 8-18 bowling his left arm medium pace. He upheld some of the fine traditions of the game, and I remember him making me buy my first beer in a pub (the Makikihi) on the way home from a Senior Reserve match in the early 70′s when I was a third former.

He will be remembered as an icon in Waimate and not just for his on field sporting prowess in rugby, basketball, cricket, golf and almost anything he turned his hand to, but he also influenced a lot of people with his coaching abilities in those same sports, and as well as Waimate I know he was also a well known figure throughout the South Island.

I wish to pass on my condolences to his family and friends as Duncan will be sadly missed, especially at the after match functions, as well as by all the sportsmen who had the opportunity to play with or alongside him, or were coached by him, or just had the opportunity to discuss sport with him.