Our first round wrap of season 2023-24! Warringah Cricket is back! The first round of cricket we played was against Lindfield in grades 1-5, Auburn in Metro and Masters, and Roseville in the Classics. Before we get into the action, we would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsorsfor how they have supported our club and helped get us ready for what we're hoping will be the best season of MiG cricket ever. 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 2023-24 season or beyond.
We would also like to thank the WCC committee, coaches and captains for their role in getting the season up and ready. There is no shortage of effort and energy put into our club by people who want only the best for our community's cricketers and the community that supports them. You can learn more about who these people are in the Positions of Responsibility section on our About Us page.
Warringah
9-215
J Park-Johnson 72, R Sheahan 28, S Barnett 28
Lindfield
177
R Sheahan 3-34, A Bennett 2-29, R Mahajan 2-39
Warringah won by 38 runs.
The dawn of a new season and an influx of overseas talent added an air of anticipation to 1st Grade’s round 1 clash with Lindfield. With mainstays of the team away at a wedding Will Greenland guided the MIG through the murky early season waters. Winning the toss and batting on a seemingly flat Weldon track, trouble struck early with a mixup and Jarod was dismissed in the second over. Following this setback, the Kiwi Reagan and old boy Shane stabilised the innings before Shane fell. This pattern followed for the next couple of partnerships until James strode to the crease. Together with Barney, the sweepologist put on 50 odd for the 5th wicket and put us in a excellent position for the last 10 overs. A quest to up the run-rate saw wickets fall, James among them, finishing with 72 on debut. We finished our 50 overs at 9-215.
First over bowling was eventful. First ball to first slip, second ball 5 wides down leg, third ball a toe crushing yorker to give us the first wicket. Their number 3 came out and started wacking em from ball 1. After 7 overs, and a couple of dropped catches, Lindfield looked to be in the box seat at 1-60 odd. Back to back catches to Jarod at 1st slip saw a momentum shift and put Reagan on a hattrick. A catch and a runout from the captain, as well as a runout from Matt took Lindfield to 6-110 at the first drinks, a good fightback and an evenly poised game. Tight bowling, good fielding and negative batting combined to drag the day out and Lindfield would eventually fall fourty runs short on 177. An excellent start to the season for our 1st Grade boys who are looking forward to a challenging 2-day game against Auburn at Weldon this weekend.
Warringah
192
W Davidson 54, T Kelly 32, P Chapman 26
Lindfield
8-193
L Molyneux 3-19, T Gupta 3-57, F Holdsworth 2-27
Warringah lost by 2 wickets.
2nd grade turned up to Lindfield's Memorial Park for a bright and early 9:30 start for the first game on the oval in 18 months. Fill in captain TK had a good start to captaincy by losing the toss and Warringah were sent in to bat on a nice looking wicket. Losing a wicket early a consolidation was needed and Chappo with a handy 26 provided an upper order platform to build on. After a losing Chappo, Kas (22) and Davo (54) rebuilt with an important 70 run stand. With a flurry of wickets suddenly Warringah were 6 down needing more runs, TK (32) helped help to boost us to our final total of 192.With a fast outfield and one small boundary 192 was always going to be difficult to defend. A great opening spell from bowlers Pat Day (1-34) and Redders (2-27) helped get us off to a positive start. Utilising the small boundary a linfeild batsmen began the counter attack hitting continuous sixes until Tej (3-57) created the miss hit. At the forefront of stemming the runs was Molly (3-19) who placed the pressure back on the opposition with a crucial 10 over spell. Unfortunately linfeild just scraped home with two wickets to spare, to win a closely contested game.
Warringah
2-62
Downs 18*, Donato 15*
Lindfield
61
G Evans 5-9, H Nawaz 2-14, C Wilpert 2-21
Warringah won by 8 wickets.
Saturday 30th of September, it was that time of the year again. The footy posts come down, the the mighty MIGS gather their kits, to take on another season of the great game we love and despise (mostly despise), called cricket. Some may or may not find socks from last season covered in beer (we won the the 4th grade final last year fyi, it’s not talked about much so just thought it let you all know).
Ruben Donato gathered his troops for the first game of the season taking on Lindfield at Frank Gray Oval. The sun was out, and it was set up to be a great days cricket (or shall i say 3 hours of questionable cricket). The boys got straight into it, warm up in full flow, definitely not still trying to get the full side registered half an hour out from ball 1. A few new faces to wear the great green and a few legends of the club chucking it back on loud and proud. Ruben won the toss and send Lindfield in on what seemed to be a quite green Frank Gray deck that would hopefully flatten out later in the day… not that we ever found out.
Craig Rupert was handed the fresh rock and boy did he use it well. Hooping the red kooka like he had it on a string, mirroring Jimmy Anderson/Downs with a Duke. Qasim Hussain was on from the other end and after taking a few balls to find his rhythm, struck in the fourth over, drawing the opener into flashing at one that nipped away to the safe hands of Kapoor.
The Lindfield plan of attack was quite questionable, and big Singhy in the cordon let them know, allowing the entire Lindfield batting lineup to kindly invite us into their heads, and we we making some serious (but fair) noise. Lindfield put no sort of pressure on our bowlers, allowing us to find our line and length. Rupert and Qasim both bowled beautifully finishing with 3 for not many between them.
Then came the overseas young bloke, George Evans. (Prince) George has joined us from Liverpool, having never played in Australia he made it look easy. Bowling a beautiful line and length, moving it both ways completely dominated the Lindfield boys collecting a well deserved 5/9 off just 4 overs. Well bowled mate, looking forward to seeing you continue this season!
The MIGS rolled Lindfield for 61. The umpires were clearly AFL fans, as they ordered a 10 minute change over and a late lunch meaning Sticky and Jimmy Downs had to go in and take on this below average total. The boys were off to a good start, however Broomey was served up an absolute jaffa that cut his innings early for just 4. George batted beautifully playing some lovely shots but was dismissed for 13.
Ruben, clearly keen for a beach day, finished off a pretty flat Lindfield bowling attack alongside Jimmy downs who also played some lovely shots, finishing on 18* and Donato 15*.
Overall, a pretty interesting start to the season, great start for the 3s boys, well played to the new boys, Qasim, George and Hassan (Shaun Tait), all contributing well. Onto next week where we take on Auburn at Frank Gray again.
Warringah
1-133
Gatehouse 61*, Kapoor 41*, Richardson 19
Lindfield
132
Burke 3-9, Rowse 3-20, Pavely 2-21
Warringah won by 9 wickets.
Acron Oval hosted the MIG4s first match in their defence oftheir 2023 Premiership. Warringah showed up to a dew-covered ground and asticky wicket in good spirits with a number of debutants in 4thGrade and one for the club – Zac O’Sullivan, Myles Kapoor and Matthew Melvilleall playing their first game for the MIG4s, and Kevn Godfrey playing his firstgame for the Men in Green. Alfie Gatehouse also claiming this was his 4thGrade debut because he got a duck in his only 4th Grade game lastyear and claimed “that didn’t count”. With Kev Davies sidelined, stand inskipper (and renown grand final hero) Ben Rowse won the toss and elected tobowl.
The bowling innings opened with Vic Caruso and Harry Burke,who were troubling the batsman without a lot of luck. Harry in particulargetting some of his left arm deliveries to shoot low and pop high making him asunpredictable as Sydney weather. An early sharp chance missed at gully, and itlooked like Lindfield might survive their first 10 overs wicketless. HarryBurke was having none of that and claimed two quick wickets, well caught byFlynn Pavely and Myles Kapoor to leave Lindfield 2-28 after 10. But Harry wasn’tdone there, he claimed a third off a brilliant catch to debutant Myles Kapoor,diving forward full length at extra cover to leave Lindfield’s top order intatters. Kevin Godfrey’s first spell for WCC was constantly threatening butunfortunately cut short – his 30th birthday bringing with it all theusual problems that comes with being a middle-aged cricketer (though I don’tthink Deb or anyone would believe Kev 2.0 fits ‘middle aged’ as a description).It was then time to wring in the bowling changes with Caruso spent, Harryhaving bowled seven straight and Kev injured. Enter “Tiny”, “Errol” or “Muggsy”– Flynn Pavely – a tall, fast and strapping young bowler, and his exactopposite Ben Rowse. Between the two of them, they claimed five wickets, leavingLindfield with very little firepower remaining to set a total. Some late orderhitting (and some lucky edges) got them past the 100 mark, but Matthew ‘Squash’Melville wasn’t in the mood for chasing a lot of run, and two quick wickets tohis wile and guile, some solid catching from Burke and Richardson, and a tidystumping to O’Sullivan, finished off Lindfield for 132 from 41 overs.
The batting innings was less eventful but highlyentertaining. Only three Warringah batsman were required – Luke Richardson waslooking to be in ominous form, shaking off his late night shift from Friday torace to 19 before miscuing one to mid-off. Myles Kapoor and Alfie Gatehousethen spent the remaining time racing each other to see who could knock off moreof the runs than the other. Alfie’s attack on the Lindfield spinners wasparticularly brutal and saw him score 61* of the runs available, with Myles notfar behind finishing on 41*. Between the two of them the pulverised theLindfield attack, including a Jasprit Bumrah clone, to chase the runs within 22overs and help Warringah to a bonus point win to start their 2023-24 campaign.Honorable mention to Mitch Norton’s pad-rash – a complaint a skipper is all toohappy to hear from a number 4 batsman. Onto Auburn next week!
Warringah
4-137
Z Dowthwaite 44*, N Barnett 21, S Thompson 16*
Auburn
136
Z Buchanan 5-28, H McCracken 3-18, S Thompson 1-11
Warringah won by 6 wickets.
Good win for the lads on Saturday out at Mile Wood Oval, Auburn. Attitudes and hopes were high after rocking up to what can only be described as a dog park, fears of personal belongings being stolen quickly left as new skip Neil Barnett won the toss and sent the opposition out to bat. 2 early wickets from Zach buchanan showed some demons in the pitch, setting hopes high for bowlers too come. However a solid 40 run partnership from their number 4 and opener stopped the spree of wickets. However after the introduction of Hurshwin Sharma and Seth Thompson 2 quick wickets fell revealing the oppositions middle order, which were ripped through by opener Zach Buchanan and Harry McCracken. Harry finishing with 3-18 and Zach 5-28. Leaving us a solid total of 136 to chase down on a tough batting deck. Openers Harry O'Sullivan and Ollie Higgins started out well, from a great piece of fielding Ollie got out early exposing our inexperienced batting order. After a small partnership from Harry and Archie Rochford wickets fell quickly. Bringing to the crease Zac Dowthwaite and Neil Barnett. Neil’s experience showed through an anchoring 21 steering our ship to victory, with assistance from Seth Thompsons 15 not out, but most importantly Zac Dowthwaite's 44 not out taking advantage of the short boundaries. The MIG chased down the runs 4 wickets down in 33 overs, 3 off a bonus point. Solid effort from the lads hopefully signifying a successful season to come.
Warringah
7-219
L Coy 87, C Zanella 37, A Durainaj 27
Lindfield
130
Durainaj 5-11, P Clift 3-24, J Olde 2-29
Warringah won by 89 runs.
The long awaited start to the season for the 5th grade boys was against lindfield. with a very hot day ahead the boys were filled with plenty of fluids. The team had some returning faces, and some new faces with captain Kel as one of them. Kel chose correctly and Warringah were having a bat. After losing Jack Day early, Carlo Zanella (37) and Luke Macfarlane(13) steadied the ship until luke top edged one bringing Lachie Coy to the crease. Lachie planned is innings well by working his way into an aggressive mode by scoring a mammoth 87. With some lower order hitting from Ash(27), Harley (18*) and Clifty (10*) we reached a great total of 219. A well deserved innings break saw the boys devour the zooper doopers, and chill in the Weldon clubhouse air con.
Our bowling innings started with Harley and Lachie Scott applying some serious pressure which didn’t allow Lindfield to get on top at anytime, James Olde and Paul Clifty came on and bowled superbly with jimmy 2-29 and Clifty 3-24, including the wicket of a very angry old bugger who perhaps rightfully received something of a mouthful on his way off: “goodbye grandpa”. As Warringah edged closer to victory Ash Durainaj came on to bowl for his first game for MIG, he bowled with great control and consistency which led to him taking 5-11 including a freakish caught and bowled. Lindfield bowled out for 120. A great day for MIG with hope for 5th grade to go big this year.
First match
Warringah vs Linfield, Weldon Oval, Sunday 10 November, 2023 at 10am.
Warringah
8-185
D Brady 56*, G Hooker 41, B Lewis 29*
Auburn
129
B Johnston 4-15, D Brady 3-14, S Waddington 2-29
Warringah won by 56 runs.
The euphemistically titled Masters in Green were away for their round one clash against Auburn. The reigning co-premiers always deliver a tough contest played in great spirit, and it’s a fixture we look forward to each season. After a brief address on some new rules and a subtle reminder to promptly hand over his match payment, umpire Blommy officiated a winning toss for Green Men - “we’ll have a bat”.
After a bright start, Auburn’s spin-heavy attack took advantage of the slow early-season pitch, but probably benefitted most of all from the Greenie’s shot selection in those conditions. At the 20 over drinks break it was a shaky 4 for 59 for the Green Men, however, the ever-reliable Dave “DB” Brady was still at the crease along with debutant Grant Hooker. DB was retired (at 40 runs) just as the partnership with Hooker was building, but Grant continued to lift the run rate before his own retirement (41*). Some excellent late order hitting from Brad “LB” Lewis (29*) and the return of DB (56*) for the last 5 balls, which he took for 16 runs, iced an excellent turnaround for the Men in Green, finishing with a competitive 8 for 185 from their 40 overs.
Taking momentum from our finish to the batting innings, the Green Men took to the field with Guy “Gravies” Davies and experienced debutant Morgan Youell taking the new ball. Youelly bowled particularly well but wickets were hard to come by and the Auburn batsmen were scoring freely. Gravies (1 for 32) picked up one before Simon “Waddo” Waddington (2 for 29) made an immediate impact. Auburn were 4 for 90 at the 20 over break with the game in the balance. Warringah spinners DB (3 for 14) and Ben “BJ” Johnston (4 for 15) bowled in tandem after the break, and while you’d be hard pressed calling them twins, what they had in-common was big turn from the wicket. The contest also turned in favour of the Green Men as Auburn were all out 129.
A solid win to kick off the 2023/24 campaign for the Masters in Green.
First match
Warringah vs Roseville, Weldon Oval, Sunday 8 October, 2023 at 10am.
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Warringah Contacts
Club President
Chris Melville
president.warringahcc@gmail.com
Club Captain
Ben Cook, Lachlan Molyneux and Noah Kasmar
clubcaptain.warringahcc@gmail.com
Club Secretary
Nic Johnson
secretary.warringahcc@gmail.com
Club Treasurer
Jeff Downs
treasurer.warringahcc@gmail.com
