Waimate Cricket Club

Waimate did not enjoy the recent rounds of Twenty20 matches after being the only team forced to travel for every match and then further compromised by twice having to play on inadequately prepared pitches on the Timaru ground which certainly did nothing for the batsmen’s confidence and in both games turned the matches into a lottery.

This weekend they again travelled to Timaru to take part in finals day. Playing off for 5th or 6th position is never much fun, and especially when it is a rerun of their last game the previous weekend against Temuka.

However a win would at least give the victors bragging rights and the opportunity to play Twenty20 cricket on a decent batting strip probably made the early morning start a bit better. After a southerly blast went through Sth Canterbury in the morning, the Waimate versus Temuka match turned out to be played in the best conditions of the day.

Beginning at 10.45am the cloud eventually disappeared and temperatures were in the high 20′s with no breeze to cool things as Waimate lost the toss and were asked to bat.

Naffa Sew Hoy lhad a slightly different approach as he looked to bat for quite a few overs, but unusually for him struggled to get the ball into the gaps and  when he was second out joining Adam Polson in the pavilion the Waimate total was only 24.

Todd Bailey batting at No 3 continued his recent run of good form and in tandem with Glen Drake added 44 runs before Glen was out for an aggressive 26. Todd added a further 14 runs with Jason Sew Hoy before falling lbw for 37 which he scored from 31 deliveries.

Nathan Sheppard struggled to get bat on ball but helped Jason add another 15 runs, and young Findlay Keen was out lbw  shortly later after getting one of those deliveries you dread early on.

Matt Devlin strode to the wicket with Waimate 102-7 in the 15th over to join his skipper and the pair immediately set about taking the attack back to Temuka.

Their 50 partnership came off only 25 deliveries and didn’t include any extras as all the scoring shots were off the bat. Jason almost matched the Aorangi Oval record for the fastest fifty as he scored his 50 from only 22 balls, one ball behind Chris Cairns who held the record at 21 balls until New Year’s Eve this season when Shannon Stewart set the new record off 19 deliveries.

Jason’s fifty came up at the same time as Waimate’s 150, but he was run out shortly after by a direct hit for 57 but his scoring rate in excess of 200 made sure Waimate would post a competitive total.. Matty D kept the attack going until the end with a lively rate just under 200 and entertained the supporters by displaying a couple of classic poses as he invented a new technique for the slog-sweep over cow corner. Unfortunately no cameras at the ground caught the pose, else we would be sending the photo to the ICC to put in their next coaching manual!

Matt ended 30 not out from 16 balls and Waimate posted 175-7 from their 20 overs.

Temuka began similarly to Waimate and were 74-2 at the 10 over mark similar to Waimate’s 68-2 at the same stage. Chris Opie (run out for 63) and Ritchie Preston (43) added 64 for the 3rd wicket and for a long while Waimate looked in danger of being overhauled, but then the pairing of Jason and Matty D struck again.

Jason caught Preston off Matt’s bowling and with Preston out for 43 after a 41 run partnership with Paul Coles the Temuka challenge wilted and they could only manage 156 which in the end gave Waimate the win comfortably.

Jason and brother Matt (Chucky) both took  2-21 and Murray Prattley with 2-32 and Glen Drake 1-28 as well as run out each chimed in to help the win.

Finishing just before 2.00pm meant the families had a chance to visit the Bay, while the rest of the team would have been safely ensconced in the sponsors bar at the Empire when the cold southerly hit.

Click to read score sheet

The Second Grade team pulled off a big upset beating the previously unbeaten Temuka XI comfortably over the weekend. This pushes Temuka back to third place behind MVHS/Star and Waimate.

Batting first Waimate put together a very impressive tally of 213-3 from their 40 overs. Tim Suddaby finished unbeaten on 81 while Robbie Westland was out for an equally impressive 76 while Ruha Davis also got amongst the runs with 38.

Temuka’s reply came close, eventually being all out for 190 as the “Wily Old Campaigner” Pete Wallace led the Waimate bowling attack with 3-18.

Waimate 213-3
T Suddaby 81*, R Westland 76, R Davis 38
Bowling: G McNicol 7 1 33 1, S Goodeve 8 0 54 1, N Henderson 4 0 37 1

Temuka 190
T Kerridge 34, N Henderson 31, S Goodeve 25
Bowling: P Wallace 8 2 18 3, C Farrell 8 1 45 2, T Suddaby 4 0 14 1

Waimate began the day with 10 overs still available in their first innings and went on the attack adding a further 56 runs with captain Jason Sew Hoy picking up his first half century of the season.

Todd Bailey also made the most of it getting off a run of three ducks to score 13 not out and Matt Devlin also was unbeaten on 18,  enabling a declaration at 243-7 after 50 overs.

Batting a second time the Geraldine batsmen all got starts but no one could go on. Young Harry Miller after a week’s cricket at the U17 tournament found some form as he top scored with 30 in a very good innings, while George Harper was next best with 27.

However, it was Matt Devlin’s day as he ripped through the Geraldine tail on his way to a career best 5-26 after earlier Murray Prattley chimed in with two caught and bowled dismissals against last week’s top scoring Matt Walker and English pro Matt Barnes, and this time Geraldine could only post 135, leaving Waimate needing 57 for victory which they accomplished easily despite the loss of 3 wickets.

Waimate players enjoyed the win that much that by 9.00pm they had only made it as far as Adam Polsons across the road from the Knottingley Park exit, and Muzza had re-delegated babysitting duties as his not out became longer and his caught and bowleds more difficult.

Next week its the first 2 rounds of the Twenty20 competition and Waimate will be hoping to show their skills in the short format of the game and take this week’s form with them.

Scoresheet

Waimate hold the upper hand in the two day game against Geraldine at Knottingley Park. Glenn Drake made an unbeaten 64 for Waimate to help them to first innings points but unfortunately he has had to retire as he is unavailable next week when he is away with JT’s High School team at a tournament in Brisbane.

Geraldine batted first and were soon struggling at 50-5 but they ended up with a reasonable score after a large eight wicket partnership got them to 163-7 when the compulsory declaration was made after 50 overs.

Matt ‘Chucky’ Sew Hoy (3-61) and Al Reid (2-53) bowled 38 of the 50 overs between them for Waimate in good workouts and Al will be again upset he didn’t get to bowl all 25 from his end. Muzza Prattley with 1-13 from 5 and Glenn Drake 1-16 from 5 will both be happy to have had a roll though!

In reply Naffa Sew Hoy again started well before being out caught and bowled for 44, and Findlay Keen (28) helped Drake add 34 before Jason Sew Hoy (30 not out) joined Drake to post an undefeated 75 run partnership and at stumps Waimate were 187-3 and looking to go on  full attack for the remaining 10 overs next week to try and put further pressure on the Geraldine 2nd innings as Waimate look for an outright victory and maximum points, but also give themselves enough time to dismiss Geraldine.

Scoresheet

Although Waimate were soundly beaten when we took on Celtic at Aorangi Oval in the only club match being played there this season (other than finals) it was good to see former club stalwarts helping out the team when they are short and they created a little bit of family history.

Lyndon Bailey (patriach) had the chance to beat son Todd’s duck when he replaced him in the middle, but unfortunately he was a bit slow to get back and was out stumped without scoring either. Later in the day Todd’s youngest also made it onto the field making three generations in one day, although not technically accurate as he was following a cricket ball that rolled down the hill and over the sideline (not a listed player) but did chase it hard as kids are known to do.

As for match details, all that can be said is that the match was not played in the best of spirits and Colin Booth’s comment to Celtic that “Don’t your players come along to enjoy your cricket” probably summed it up.

Scoresheet

Waimate lost to Temuka in the penultimate round of the Senior One Day competition, but are still in with a chance of making the top four for finals with one round to play depending on other results.

Scoreboard

Not one to do things by halves, ex Club President Quintin ‘Buck’ Paul (holding his Service Award in the photo) does it in double and is quickly adding to the new cricket team that Murray Prattley is setting up after Buck’s wife Dana brought twins into the world on November 19th.

I’m sure the whole club wish Buck and Dana all the best and look forward to seeing the kids at their first practice in 5 or 6 years time!

On Saturday Waimate went to Timaru to take on Temuka.

After winning the toss Waimate chose to field first. On an artificial wicket it was always going to be a hard task to bowl out a good Temuka side.

Justin Thompson with 3 late wickets picked up 3-50 off 8 overs and getting the crucial wicket of Simon Davenport whom scored 89. Connor Farrell handing over the wicket-keeping duties to Ruha Davis and bowled well and was rather unlucky to only get 1-32 off 8 overs.

Pete Wallace came on after Connor and bowled and picked up no wickets with 0-25 off 5 overs. Greg Paul who replaced Justin bowled really well and some good tight bowling resulted in good figures of 1-25 off 7 overs.

After 20 overs and drinks break Temuka were cruising along at 103/2 so captain Greg Paul decided on a bowling change to bring on Tim Suddaby and Sam Newman. Tim who picked up a wicket in his first over bowled consistent and quick but bowling near the end of the innings resulted in him unfortunately getting hit for 1-33 off 7 overs. Sam Newman bowling from the other end bowled his medium pacers and wasn’t rewarded with a wicket and ended his spell with 0-20 off 5 overs.

Credit to Temuka they batted well and played to the field, hitting superbly. For their innings Temuka ended up with 205/6

Waimate going into bat and needing just over 5 runs an over should have been a score to chase down. But no strong partnerships and wickets falling regularly meant it was always going to be hard to keep the board ticking over. Thou noticeably Connor Farrell and Tim Suddaby did stick together for a time and gave some hope.

Opening up was Robbie Westland and Ruha Davis who both were out in the third and fourth over with Robbie getting 4 and Ruha 5. Todd Aikman comes to the crease and a good cameo of 14 before being caught going big. Ryan Manson being caught out for 11 looked good. Tim Suddaby coming in and Waimate were feeling the pressure of the run-rate going up. Tim batted well and scored at a good rate keeping the score ticking even at times surprising other that he can play attacking cricket. With Ryan gone Connor Farrell came in and batted well, scoring at a good rate with Tim but eventually being caught out for 17.

Adam Smart comes to the crease and didn’t last long, as he was bowled first ball for a Golden Duck 0 and a $5 fine to contribute to team funding. Waimate now at 110/6 and needing 95 runs off 9 overs to win was seeing the game slip away. However with Greg Paul coming in and well known for his aggressive play and good eye there still was slight hope that a win could be possible. Temuka were quick to learn this so they spread the field and Greg was caught near the boundry, out for 2.

Sam Newman didn’t contribute much with only 1 run and being caught from a leading edge witch is becoming his only shot it seems. Justin Thompson attacking cameo of big hitting did give some excitement and was good to watch. Meanwhile Tim Suddaby brings up a 50 with a cracking 4 to the boundary. Tim goes on to make a well committed 65 before some splendid quick fielding to be run-out from a direct hit.

With Tim gone it was just Justin and Pete Wallace left. Justin continued his good batting and will be secretly happy that his average will be going up with 29 runs and not out. Pete was last out LBW for 7 in the last over of the game. Waimate lost the game by 31 runs all out for 174 in the 39th over. Temuka’s bowling attack deserves credit too with tight bowling and a good spell from Shane Gilkson with 4-43 off 8 overs.

Next week Waimate take on MVHS/Star at Mountain View High School.

Reporter: Sam ‘Newsboy’ Newman

Timaru travelled to Waimate and batted first with openers Gerald Piddock (19) and a rejuvenated Chris Leonard (24) who was no longer the oldest senior cricketer on the field adding 41 for the first wicket in what was the best partnership to eventuate. The availability of Kris Howes probably dampened Waimate’s day as he top scored in the middle order with 33, and Hayden Leonard again thwarted the attack on his way to 21 not out as Timaru posted a competitive 157.

Alan Reid put in the hard yards as he bowled unchanged from one end for Waimate and was rewarded with 5-76, while Craig Booth took 3-11 and is wishing he had been brought into the attack earlier.

In reply Waimate were soon in trouble at 38-4 before Craig Booth (24) and skipper Jason Sew Hoy (35) added 54 runs to get things back on track at 92-5, but another mini collapse to be 116-8 at stumps has Timaru in the strongest position going into day two to not only gain first innings points, but also to try and push for the outright.

Waimate who were eight down overnight and still 40 runs short of a first innings lead put up a good rearguard action on Day 2 with young Finlay Keen making 21 not out but they ended up 13 runs short on 143 when the compulsory declaration was made after 50 overs.

Timaru made a good fist of their second bat with opener Gerald Piddock leading the way with 40 and handy contributions by Grant Brookland (33) and Hitesh Angrish (35 not out) to be able to declare at 177-7 leaving Waimate 190 to win from 43 overs.

For Waimate Craig Booth was again amongst the wickets taking 3-11 for the second time in the match.

Waimate were never in the hunt with only Adam Polson (12) and top scorer Andrew Davidson (14) making double figures and in the end Alan Reid who faced 51 balls for his 6 runs and had to face the last over with the whole Timaru team crowding around the bat as they strived to get the last wicket and outright victory, held on to see Waimate finish at 69-9 and save a draw.

Scoresheet