Welcome to the first edition of February's MIG round wrap. The MIGs entered this round knowing that finals cricket is just around the corner, and some results are desperately needed to either secure a finals berth, or try to climb a little higher and lock in a home finals match. Either way, there's a lot to play for and the Men In Green never die. Let's get into the action, but first, a look into our last encounters against this round's sides.
LAST TIME...
In the main grades, we're against the might of the Epping Bulls - all the way down to 5th Grade. Penrith are our Metro Cup opponents. Arch-rivals Mosman are squaring up against our Classics team, whereas our Masters men are tacking on Castle Hill RSL. Finally, there's a little match against Epping in the Frank Gray Grand Final - many already know the result. But it's worth recapping all the action from last time anyway.
- Last year's 1st Grade last played Epping and won in a rain-affected match (6-139 vs 176) with Hamo's 47 and Nikhil's 4-29 the stands out with bat and ball.
- 2nd Grade were comfortable winners against last year's Epping's side (8-287 vs 161) thanks to a 91* from now head coach Steve Connors, 64 to Kale, and a team bowling effort.
- 3rd Grade weren't given the opportunity to play against Epping last year, with the rain winning that match.
- 4th Grade were close winners against a strong Epping team (8-195 vs 9-194), and it was a team effort with no one scoring more than Matt Evans' 42, or any bowler taking more than Rowse's 2-22.
- Last year's Metro team played Penrith in round 8, winning (7-176 vs 155) with a couple of youngsters announcing their arrival (Day 3-22, Goldsworthy 43 and Downs 40).
- 5th Grade have played against Epping already in round 1 this season, with a hard fought 33 run win in a team performance.
- The Classics' chaps lost convincingly to Mosman (79 vs 1-81) in a match that was rescheduled about a dozen times.
- The Master's men haven't had the opportunity to play against Castle Hill RSL in a few years. So this will be a fresh match up for them.
- Finally Frankies played their Grand Final opponents in round 2 of this year's competition, and it didn't go our way (94 vs 5-95).
A massive round (or rounds!) of results coming your way, read on to unpack the MIG action.
Round 11
Warringah
155 (65.4 overs) & 8d./143 (30 overs)
Johnson 35, Colyer 30, Moffat 25 &
Moffat 53, Greenland 41, Smith 31*
Epping
6d./156 (47.5 overs) & 5/98 (12 overs)
Ahmed 4/51, Molyneux 1/43, Wigney 1/49 &
Wigney 4/42, Ahmed 1/55
Warringah lost by 4 wickets (1st innings).
1st grade rocked up to North Epping oval keen to put on a strong showing in their efforts to make a large charge home into finals cricket. Winning the toss, skipper Hamo elected to bat first on what looked like a pretty good wicket. Despite an early wicket, Greeny and Tully put together a nice partnership as they battled hard on a slightly trickier wicket than first anticipated. After Greeny’s wicket fell, regular wickets halted the ability for the boys to gain any real momentum and despite some handy contributions from tully (25), daz (22) and Jarod (30) in the middle order, no one was able to capitalise and kick on with their innings as WCC fell to a measly 9/130. Continuing his fine form of late, Johno batted well with the tail and produced a late cameo of 35 (which included two huge sixes) to take the total up to a somewhat defendable 155 all out with Epping left with a tricky 12 left to bat out the day.
Daz and wiggers both started well with the ball as the pair wrestled the momentum back into WCCs favour to have the home side 3/25 overnight (2 to daz and 1 to wiggers). With what look liked some extra moisture in the wicket on day 2, the boys were confident they could get the job done. However unfortunately daz and wiggers were not able to replicate the same energy as week 1, with some good batting and a few loose balls handing the momentum back to Epping. The introduction of spin in the form of Lachy Molyneux brought about a handy wicket, before 2 more to daz gave the boys a sniff, but with depleted bowling stocks it was too big a mountain to climb. Epping finishing their first innings 6/156d, pick off the bowlers daz with 4/51.
With 40 overs still to play, WCC went back out to bat trying to salvage some second innings points. Some clean striking from Tully (53), Greeny (41) and Damo (31* - including taking the last over of the innings for 24) allowed WCC to set Epping 144 off 12 overs, the boys needing to take all 10 wickets for an unlikely 6 points. Despite 5 wickets falling (4 to wiggers, 1 to daz), a result never really looked likely as Epping finished 5/98 off the 12 overs, WCC ultimately walking away with no points in a first innings loss.
Round 11
Warringah
6d./188 (57 overs) & 4/105 (18.2 overs)
Gupta 78, Chapman 58*, Cook 24* &
Cook 36, Broome 18*, Gupta 14*
Epping
179 (48.4 overs) & 113 (28.4 overs)
Parkinson 3/36, Cook 2/18, Powe 2/18 &
Singh 3/21, Outred 2/22, Gupta 2/27
Warringah won by 6 wickets (outright).
With the finals race tight, 2nd grade were looking to maximise points to climb the ladder. Bowling first was a good start putting Warringah in control of the pace of the game.
Epping started well playing with positive intent, but after the initial break through Warringah took some regular wickets to have epping 6/90. Some late order swinging doubled eppings to score all out 179. The wickets were shared around 3 for Parko, 2 to Cookie and Tejas.
Eppings aggressive approach left WCC 29 overs to bat in the day. It started horrible with Blaney, Singhy and Rishi all going cheaply, leaving Chappo and Tejas to steady the ship. Chappo struggled but fought and clawed his way to 17* overnight but Tejas was more aggressive and fluid, ending 56* overnight. The pair returned the next week and coninted the great work adding 120 and putting WCC in a dominant position. Losing 3 quick wickets lifted Eppings spirits again, but a great counter attacking knock from Ben Cook (24*) along with Chappo's unbeaten 58*. Immediately after passing Eppings score WCC declared to maximise the time to bowl Epping out and leave the Bulls an unusual 50 overs left in the day to bat out or attack and declare in.
Initially the Bulls shut up shop, but early wickets from Outred (2-22) and Singh (3-21) meant that the Bulls needed to try to put some runs on the board. The new approach spread the field but did not prevent the fall of wickets, eventually WCC dis
missed the bulls for 113 in the 29th over. This left MIG 105 to chase in 19 overs, a very achievable task to claim a massive 10 points.
A great 48 run opening partnership between Blaney and Cookie put WCC in a dominant position. A couple of quick wickets left Tejas and Ky Broome to finish the job, the pair knocked off the final 40 runs with 4 balls to spare.
This massive win puts 2nd grade in a playoff for 2nd place with Georges River next week.
Round 11
Warringah
96 (48.1 overs) & 142 (42.3 overs)
Labador 30, Kelley 12, Powe 10 &
Watts 33, Johnston 21, Sharma 19
Epping
205 (61.3 overs) & 0/35 (2.3 overs)
Matheson 3/33, Wilson 3/39, Kelley 2/21
Warringah lost by 10 wickets (outright).
Day 1:
Typical good day for cricket started off with the side boosting the stocks with a couple of the manly boys coming back into the side, and ‘the better Powe returning from newcastle. Being Driven to Epping in the car with Hurshi was enough to excite me for the day.
Reuben unfortunately lost the toss to their first match captaining their opponent, and we were sent in to bowl. Their openers came out with an aggressive intent for a two dayer. However this intent did not last long, the first opener being by W Matheson and his partner shortly after by C Wilson. The pressure was building and a run out was caused by S Thompson. Returned B Kelly into the attack taking two wickets in succession. A little partnership was being formed before W Matheson strikes again but to no success and their number 7 went on a rampage scoring 91 with some help from the tail wagging. C Wilson, Rueben D, and W matheson helpful finish the job.
Bowling stats:
C wilson: 13 overs, 39runs, 3 wickets
W Matheson: 14 overs, 33runs, 3 wickets
B Kelley: 8 over, 21runs, 2 wickets
H Sharma: 7.4 over, 28runs,
S Thompson: 7 overs, 25runs
R Donato: 10 overs, 41 runs, 1 wicket
L Watts: 2.2 overs, 10 runs
There were 16 overs left in the day after bowling them all out. It is L Powe and L House to open. Powe gritted the day out well on a tricky wicket, unfortunately losing C Johnston and L House to some questionable rolling balls.
Day 2:
Rain had poured down in the days leading up to day 2, and it was night watchman C wilson and L Powe to continue. After gritting it out early both wickets were lost and there wasn't too much enjoyment for the batsman due to a tough wicket and tight bowling, until D Labador came in at number 8 and was able to combat both the pitch and the bowlers with some class strokeplay for a well made 30. After not scoring enough to avoid the follow on Epping sent us back into bat. A similar story can be told with L powe and D Labador both making 15s, and the next highest score coming from L watts with a well made 33 finding a consistent way to bat, but only found help from johnston with 21 at number 7. A fire 19 coming from Hurshi at 11 to boost us to 33 above the hosts total. The hosts chased it non down and fair play to them.
Round 11
Warringah
7d./286 (45.3 overs)
Kasmar 110*, Verma 79, Kuchel 31
Epping
175 (62 overs)
Day 5/44, Rowse 3/42, Burke 1/29
Warringah won by 111 runs.
Arriving at Frank Gray for a two day match against Epping, we were sent into bat. 3 early wickets saw us in a bit of trouble however Harry Verma and Kaz began to form a great partnership to set us back on track. This terrific counterattack saw Harry make a quickfire 79 to put the opposition back under pressure. However it was Kaz’s brilliant innings that set us up for a great score as he made a chanceless 110 not out against a good bowling attack, as he batted through the innings to form multiple partnerships, which set us up for a good score. Some further support from the middle order with Matt Kuchel getting 31 along with Pat Day and Harry Burke with 14 and 10 each solidified our score to end up with 7/286. Kev then decided to declare and send Epping into bat, hoping to snag a wicket or two in the latter part of the day. The last 8 overs saw Pat and Harry open the bowling with one of Eppings opening batsmen getting clean bowled by Pat, with the other opener getting runout which saw us have Epping on 2 for 32 after 8 overs after day 1.
Arriving on day 2, the grounds were still slightly wet after the previous day's rain, however after a quick mop up of the grounds, the game was underway. Once again Pat and Harry Burke opened the bowling, as the Epping batsmen struggled to find their way through the first few overs. This time, it was Harry who managed to break the partnership at a crucial time to leave Epping 3 down for not many but a good knock from their no.4 batsmen saw them come back into the game. This didn’t matter much however as wickets continually fell from the other end, with Rowsey getting 2 wickets in 2 balls to put us in a great position by tea. Their final two partnerships saw their captain and their no9 batsmen put on a small score, but this was quickly stopped by Pat again, who took both their wickets as well as the final batsmen to end up with brilliant figures of 5 for 44 off 18.3 overs and leave Epping all out for 175.
Eventually, with only around 20 overs left in the day, the MIG opted to not go for the outright win, instead wrapping up with 6 points and the song for Warringah.
Round 12
Warringah
4-143 (??? overs)
Richardson 50*, Tipton 28*, Kapoor 20
North West Sydney Maroon
141 (??? overs)
Olde 3/56, Tipton 2/9, Beard 2/11
Warringah won by 6 wickets.
Day one saw a green and, in places, a little bit soft pitch. We won the toss and on the back of good aggressive bowling from Zac Buchanan (2/13 off 10) and Robbie Tipton (2/9 off 8) we had NWS 3/5. To their credit they knuckled down on a pitch that lost its early spite and we had to wait till the 27th over to get them 4/48 well caught by Tipton in covers from Lewis Beard (2/10 off 7). Lewis created plenty of opportunities but at times during the course of their innings our catching behind the stumps let us down a bit. NWS chipped away again and it was James Olde (3/56 from 14) who got them 5 down. James was a little loose early but recovered well and turned it and certainly got plenty of bounce with his leggies.
Senatrou (0/29 from 10) was still searching for the rhythm in his 2nd game of the season, Ollie Higgins (0/13 from 5) struggled a bit to contain the huge inswing he was getting and Evans (0/5 from 5) bowled exceptionally slowly but accurately.
We finished them off well for 141 and had a quick uneventful bat at days end where Richo and Ollie G saw off the new ball.
Day 2 the wicket was still well grassed but firmer although still a little slow and awkward to play shots on. Outfield was extremely slow. Ollie (15) & Richo (50 no) did the job well and made sure we were in the drivers seat. Ollie played a cut type of shot but only hit it to covers. Myle Kapoor (20) was busy and looked good. Luke Burgess (6) also looked comfortable before getting trapped to their strike bowler, the erratic Tyler Collins. Lewis fished at one early to make it 4/103 at tea. Tipton (28no) went out and made it look easy and belted it everywhere. Richo was battling from early in the day when his recently broken toe was yorked. It looked a mess at end of day. Not a peep from Richo though! Well batted mate, it would have been very uncomfortable to say the least.
We drew stumps at 4/143 to record a comfortable win which keeps us well placed.
Round 14
Warringah
200 (??? overs)
Tipton 36, Melville 34, Seward 27
Penrith
8-201 (??? overs)
Murata-Davison 2/7, Tipton 2/33, Melville 2/47
Warringah lost by 2 wickets.
Metros unfortunately were narrowly beaten in an important game v Penrith at Pawleys. Winning the toss and batting we scored 200. Gatehouse (13) and Seward (27) got us off to a good start before they fell in the space of 3 balls with the score on 48 in the 12th. The pitch was certainly offering the quicks some assistance with sideways movement so it was a good start. Martin (1) snicked off to make it 3/69. Zac O’Sullivan (9) and Matt Melville (34) started the rebuild before Melville was unluckily adjudged LBW to make it 4/93 in the 24th. Zac picked out deep mid wicket so it was Tipton (36) who then played his shots including some well struck 6s. This gave the scoreboard a bump and when he was caught out at 6/137 in the 33rd it could go either way. Sentarou (25) is starting to hit last year’s form and he and Evans (22) got the score to a reasonable 167 before Sen was caught in front in the 39th. Zac Buchanan (0) played a loose one and chopped on. Rochford (14no) played the spinners well but in the attempt of a quick single Evans was run out just as he started to hit the ball solidly. Lachlan Jurcevic (2) went a bit too hard a bit too early and we were dismissed with 14 balls to go.
Penrith also got off to a solid start with Jurcevic (0/32 off 7) bowling good pace and lines in his first 5 over spell. Mulcahy did the toil into the breeze very well (0/16 from 6) but it wasn’t till the 20th over for our first wicket care of a C&B from Tipton (2/33 off 6.3). Sentarou bowled beautifully (2/7 from 5.3) until leg cramp kicked in at a critical time. He got the 2nd wicket with a snick. A run out and some smart bowling from Melville (2/47 from 9) saw us well in the game at 5/134 after 39. Rochford (0/21 from 4) started his spell well but got a bit loose. Evans (1/15 off 5) bowled his usual stuff and when he got them 6/154 off 41 we should have gone on with it. However some indifferent bowling and missed run out chances along with the taking of singles when they weren’t really on saw Penrith win the game in the 49th over. Too many wayward full tosses throughout the innings and generally speaking too many half volleys on a pitch that had plenty in it just short of a length.
The table is tightening up with us in 4th spot less than a game ahead of 7th spot. We play 6th placed Syd Uni this week in a one dayer.
Round 15
Warringah
2-84 (22.3 overs)
W Greenland 50*, Z O'Sullivan 26
Lindfield
81 (36.2 overs)
McCracken 3/5, Jurcevic 2/10, Martin 2/11
Warringah won by 8 wickets.
Round 16
Warringah
141 (39.1 overs)
Gatehouse 62, Zanella 25, Cruickshank 15
Mt Pritchard-Southern Districts
5/143 (35.3 overs)
Zanella 2/18, Brown 2/31, Clift 1/25
Warringah lost by 5 wickets.
Round 17
Warringah
0/55 (10.3 overs)
Gatehouse 33*, Z O'Sullivan 12*
Balmain-South Sydney
54 (23.4 overs)
McCracken 4/16, Blacker 3/17, Cruickshank 2/16
Warringah won by 10 wickets.
Round 18
Warringah
5/115 (37.2 overs)
Conners 37, H O'Sullivan 39, Zanella 11
Epping
114 (40 overs)
Olde 4/20, Clift 2/22, Higgins 1/10
Warringah won by 5 wickets.
Semi Final
Warringah
9-192 (48.4 overs)
Johnson 52*, Greenland 28, Vinter 23*
Burwood
4-190 (50 overs)
Molyneux 1/28, Wigney 1/41, Greenland 0/23
Warringah won by 1 wicket.
A week after having their qualifying final against Pennant Hills washed out, the Frankies boys were off west to Rothwell Park for a rematch of the 2021/22 semi-final against the Briars. Needing a win to progress to the GF, and with the BOM forecasting heavy rain for the afternoon, skipper William Greenland decided that the MIG would have a bowl first on what looked a cracking wicket. The new ball pair of Daz Ahmed (0-39) and Ben Wigney (1-41) toiled hard in the oppressive humidity. However, some less-than-stellar catching from the MIG meant that the two Burwood openers survived the first powerplay unscathed. Unfortunately for the visitors, poor catching was to become a recurring theme of the morning session.
Nonetheless, the formidable Warringah bowling unit continued to show its class. On a true wicket offering very little sideways movement – and with the temperature gauge surging into the 30s – Oliver Vinter (0-22) stepped up to deliver an impeccable ten straight overs. Meanwhile at the other end, Lachlan Molyneux (1-23) was also toiling hard through a set of ten straight, delivering the crucial first breakthrough in the over after the first drinks break. That brought the Burwood skipper to the crease, who looked to up the intensity in the middle. Momentum gradually began to swing the way of the home side. That was until debutant Ben Cook capitalized on some mid-pitch confusion to run the opposing skipper out by a bats-length.
At the second drinks break, Burwood had reached 2-115. A good platform, but perhaps – given the state of the wicket – a little light in the runs column. Anything below 200 looked to be a good result for the MIG. Through the last 13 overs, all bowlers bowled well in tough conditions to limit the Briars to 4-190. All things considered – a decent outcome for the MIG.
Of course, that said, Warringah would still need to bat well to earn the right to contest the GF next week. That’s not how the innings began. After losing Blaney early, the MIG collapsed from 0-15 to 3-20, and then to 4-37. To make matters worse, heavy rain appeared to be drifting towards the inner West. Duckworth-Lewis (DWL) was most definitely not on Warringah’s side. A fighting 5th wicket stand between Greeny (28) and Cooky (22) provided a glimmer of hope by taking the score to 77. However, when both fell in quick succession – closely followed by Dougy – the visitors were reduced to a paltry 7-91. Over 60 runs behind DWL par, things were looking rather dire for the MIG. So dire, in fact, that cases of beer were seen arriving in the arms of Burwood supporters, presumably for celebratory purposes.
Lachlan Johnson (52*) and Lachlan Molyneux (11) had other ideas. Ably supported by Molly, a couple of lusty blows from Johnno dragged the score to 118. However, when Wiggers joined Johnno at the crease after Molly lost his leg stump, the MIG still required 73 runs to win. With just two wickets in hand, even the most ardent Warringah fan could be forgiven for losing all hope. Backing up after an (apparently) rather large evening across the mountains, Wiggers managed to tick the scoreboard over beautifully, a couple of late cuts to third man the highlight. A ball hitting halfway between his boot laces and knee roll would eventually undo the opening bowler (/1st grades’ best batsman).
Warringah 9/150, still 42 in arrears. No hope, except… the runs kept coming. With the field spread, Johnno looked to milk singles as best he could. At the other end, Vinter (23*) went on the attack. With the field mostly crowded around the bat, Vinter wielded his Kaboom with aplomb. Punches through cover, over cover, backward of square and down the ground gradually took the MIG closer to the target. When the score passed 180, a noticeable change descended over the home of the Briars. Chatter in the field began to dry up, while sideline conversation went from jovial, to nervous, to downright incredulous.
An upper cut over point for four from Vinter from the last ball of the 48th left just three required for victory. The matchup – Johnno vs opening bowler. First ball, thudded into the knee roll. Enormous appeal. Not out. Second ball, a bit more legside – too much so. In trademark fashion, Johnno flicked the ball towards and over the square leg boundary for four. Fifty for Johnno and the MIG get it done! From dead and buried to the grand-final, a truly memorable victory for all involved. Time to go one more next week to make it three years in a row.
North Epping Oval, 5th February. Calling on all MIG to come down to watch as the U24 MIG attempt to repeat their heroics at the same venue just two years ago.
Grand Final
Warringah
83 (25.4 overs)
Greenland 21, Colyer 17, Johnson 17
Epping
9-182 (50 overs)
Wigney 4/34, Vinter 2/31, Ahmed 2/31
Warringah lost by 99 runs.
We'll forgive Greeney for dodging the task of writing this one. It was a painful loss to a strong and deserving side. But by all account, Greeney's post match speech was excellent. So there's the reward in being at the ground to support the MIGs, Greeney speaks beautifully!
Round 8
Warringah
3-164 (33 overs)
Brady 41*, O'Connor 40*, Dolby 38
Pirates
7-163 (40 overs)
Davies 3/35, Wyatt 1/12, Johnston 1/23
Warringah won by 7 wickets.
Round 9
Warringah
5-111 (33 overs)
Brady 37, Kelley 34, Rockwell 31
Castle Hill
110 (40 overs)
Egerton 5/20, Davies 2/20, Wyatt 2/25
Warringah won by 5 wickets.
Round 8
Warringah vs Parramatta
Match abandoned (weather).
Round 9
Warringah
6-166 (40 overs)
Stolk 32*, Allsop 28*, Barnett 27
Mosman
163 (36.5 overs)
Park 3/19, Lyon 3/24, Allsop 1/17
Warringah won by 4 wickets.
<<<<<<<LOOKING AHEAD>>>>>>>>>
Before we sign off we would like to acknowledge our sponsors, in their various capacities, in how they have supported our club. Your contribution is invaluable to making our great club what it is.
Visit our sponsor's page to learn more about who they are, what they do or if you would like to inquire about our sponsorship packages for the 2022-23 season.
Thanks for tuning into this round's wrap. Don't forget to join our membership program - the Bruce Loudon Club. Learn more about it on our membership page.
Warringah Contacts
Club President
Chris Melville
president.warringahcc@gmail.com
Club Captain
Will Greenland
clubcaptain.warringahcc@gmail.com
Club Secretary
Luke Parkinson
secretary.warringahcc@gmail.com
Club Treasurer
Jamie Davidson
treasurer.warringahcc@gmail.com
